I just stood there in absolute shock and utterly speechless. I mean, what could I say? Galedon was dead and I was being blamed. This was not something I needed nor wanted. Celestia and Luna traveled to the outskirts of Baltimare just to negotiate with him. I just came along as an escort. I was someone the sisters barely knew but trusted, so it’s enough to suspect they were behind it as well.
“We know you didn’t do it, Sir Sarius.” Luna spoke up, seemingly sensing my distress.
I blinked and managed to get my thoughts back in order. “What was the purpose of telling you, other than to inform you of a fellow ruler’s death?”
Celestia sighed while Luna gritted her teeth. “They made a demand. Either we hand you over to the griffins or they’ll go to war with Equestria.” Celestia answered.
Once again I was shocked. “What?!”
“Do not worry, Sir Sarius. We will not let them have you. Or at least, I won’t.” Luna spoke with a stamp of her hoof.
I pursed my lips. “I truly appreciate it, Luna. But I refuse to let you go to war just to defend me. It’s the last thing I would want.”
Celestia waved her hoof. “Now now. I assure you that is not our intention. I have a solution.”
My eyes lit up with hope. “Really?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes. The griffins gave us three days to hand you over, so Luna and I decided we’ll call for a council meeting before the allotted time.” Luna huffed. It seemed she didn’t like the idea for some reason.
“A council meeting huh? Will they accept though?”
“I assure you, Sir Sarius. This is not something that can be ignored nor denied if multiple parties agree to it. This way, we’ll settle the matter about you and the accusation as well as make negotiations with the other nations.”
“That sounds good. When is it being held?”
“Two days time. We already sent out the notice. We should be hearing from the leaders soon.”
“Mind telling me how the council meeting is gonna go?”
“Of course. The leaders of each nation will decide whether to accept or not, and if enough accept then all the leaders will need to show up regardless if they accepted or not. Each leader will need at least 2 attendants and 2 guards with them. Luna and I are a special case, since we rule Equestria together, we can bring up to 6 attendants each and only require two guards. I will be bringing the Element Bearers.”
“And I will be bringing you and your siblings, Sir Sarius.” Luna added.
“Is it okay if I brought along a fourth?”
Luna looked at me with curious eyes. “I’m not sure why you want that, but sure. Who is it?”
“It’s Dusty Homage.”
“Ah, your maid. I don’t understand why you would want her to come along but very well.”
“Yumi and I will be their guards.” Morning Dew said.
“Naturally. Couldn’t ask for better guards.” Celestia said with a smile.
Dew smiled back and rubbed the back of his head. “Please, your highness. You’ll make me blush with those compliments.” Celestia giggled.
“This will also allow you to get acquainted with Equestria and its inhabitants.” Celestia added.
“That is a plus. My sister will want to get to know the cultures and history, while my brother will be interested in the geology of the land.”
“Then I suggest that Tirean get to know the Diamond Dogs. They are miners and study the gems of Equestria. They will certainly have knowledge about the geology of Equestria.” Celestia suggested.
“Thanks for the info, Celestia. I hope everything works out for us. I don’t want a war started over something I supposedly did.”
“It really doesn’t add up, does it?” Celestia inquired with a straight face. “The only one’s present at the negotiation were the guards Luna and I selected, you, Galedon and the guards he selected. Luna and I trust the guards we selected and you, and I’m certain Galedon trusted his guards. Galedon was a good king who did his best to help his kin during their worst time. As far as I know, he was respected so who would want to murder him and for what purpose? No matter how I try to think about it, it doesn’t make sense.”
I place a claw on my chin, thinking about the different possibilities and scenarios. “Hmm, the best possible conclusion I can come to, is that his murder was orchestrated.”
This got the attention of the only three ponies in the room. “Orchestrated you say? What makes you come to that conclusion, Sir Sarius?”
“Well, as Celestia stated, he was respected since he was doing his best for his kin. But that doesn’t mean every griffin was okay with him. Perhaps one decided to off him and put the blame on me. It’s a long shot but maybe it’s one of the guards that Galedon brought with him. I mean, who else will know who to put the blame on? There’s also the fact they know I’m associated with Equestria. As for the purpose behind it, I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. The best thing I can come up with is, they either really want to go to war against Equestria and need a good reason, or since I’m an unknown factor to them they’ll want to have me executed or converted. Again it’s a long shot so don’t hold me to my word until we have concrete evidence.”
Luna, Celestia, and Dew looked at me in surprise, though I mistook it for shock. “I’m not suspecting anyone or anything, just stating what’s on my mind. That’s all.” I added to try and defend myself.
Luna shook her head. “Nopony is thinking that, Sir Sarius. It’s just surprising you came to those conclusions.” Celestia nodded her head in agreement.
“My mother watched a lot of murder mysteries.” I chuckled.
“It certainly shows.” Dew agreed.
I just deadpan at him for a few seconds. “So, is that all you have to report, princesses?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes.”
“Alright. Before I go, I do have something to report as well.” Celestia and Luna perked up, obviously interested in what I had to say. “As you probably already know, my brother is in Equestria. Circe and I helped him fend off a berserk hydra.”
“Was it Raynin’s doing?” Luna asked.
“Afraid so. I can only suspect that a hydra is the worst he can throw at us, hopefully it is. Now I managed to extract information from the hydra.” Celestia, Luna, and Dew raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t torture it nor extract information forcefully. I merely looked into its memories. It was captured by a group, each member was of a different race, and Nelkanth was involved as well.”
Celestia had a serious expression when Nelkanth was mentioned. “You did mention that Raynin might be cooperating with Nelkanth. I expected Nelkanth to have a group backing him, I find it hard to believe that just two ponies can capture the likes of a manticore and a hydra.”
“Nelkanth is strong and experienced, Celestia. Make no mistake. He was able to keep me occupied. If Luna didn’t show up, I wouldn’t have been able to save Circe. At least not through brute force. I probably could have saved her if I made a wiser approach, but something tells me making a wiser approach wouldn’t work either.”
“He is right, sister. I saw it myself and I also sparred with Sir Sarius so I know how strong he is. The fact Nelkanth was able to match and keep up with Sir Sarius is concerning.”
Celestia took a sip from her tea cup. I won’t lie when I say I didn’t even notice she had one next to her. “Did you see who was in the group, Sarius?”
“I can’t give names obviously but I saw a minotaur, a human sized dragon and most humans are around five feet, a griffon, a bipedal dog, and most importantly Nelkanth.”
Celestia let that sink in for a bit. “I see. Do you think that’s the whole group? Be honest with me.”
I shook my head. “I doubt it. Nelkanth seems like the leader type, so I have no doubt he is most likely the head of a squad, and five individuals don’t make a squad.”
Celestia smiles. “You’re quite a fascinating individual, Sarius Trusdale. You truly are full of surprises.” Luna gave her sister a warning glare. Celestia giggled. “Oh relax Lulu. I don’t plan to steal him away from you. I’m just saying it’s nice to have somepony like him around.”
“Thank you, Celestia, that means a lot. I better get going since my siblings and I have a lot to do.”
“Of course. You’re free to go, just remember in two days time we may very well be attending a council meeting.”
“I won’t forget, thanks for all that you did.”
I took my leave, the thought of Galedon’s death weighing on me. He seemed like a benevolent ruler only wanting to do what’s best for his people, so the fact he was killed possibly by his own kin was shocking to say the least. I exited the castle and began my flight back to the mansion. I thought about what Celestia and Luna said, about the council. I was certainly curious about what kind of races were in Equestria, since there were no humans to be seen and I always loved mythological things and creatures. Though the group I saw in the hydra’s memory was really concerning. What I told Celestia and Luna wasn’t a lie, I had a feeling there were more members of that group that didn’t participate in capturing the hydra. Not to mention the high amounts of negativity that Kasulis sensed. Just what was going on here?
I was almost lost in my thoughts when I arrived at the mansion. I opened the door and was greeted by my sister with a hug. “I’m glad you’re back bro. How did it go?” All she had to do was take one look at my face to understand. “That bad huh?”
“It wasn’t bad, just bad news.” I saw Tirean walk into view. “Turns out the griffin king Galedon is dead.”
Circe gasped while Tirean raised his eyebrow. “By Asgorath. Here I thought murder didn’t happen with the amount of positivity in the air.”
“Tell me about it, but it’s a thing apparently.” I agreed.
“Who killed him?” Tirean asked, straight to the point as always.
“Me for some reason.” Circe and Tirean both gave me weird looks. “I obviously didn't.”
“Then I’m assuming you have a list of suspects?” Tirean questioned.
“Not a list pre-say, but I have some ideas. The peace talk was broken down thanks to Nelkanth and while the Equestrian side had no hard bearings towards Galedon, the griffin side I don’t think agreed. Especially one griffin in particular. A griffin by the name of Gilda. She gave me a rough time and tried to argue with me. She even would have fought me if Galedon didn’t hold her back.”
“So you think Gilda killed Galedon?”
“Most likely. I don’t know why but there had to be a reason for it.”
“What are the sisters doing about your accusation?”
“They’re holding a council meeting in two days. The four of us are going with them. There, we’ll be able to work out a solution to Galedon’s murder case, hopefully. We’ll also be able to meet the different races of this world so it’ll be fun. Tirean, Celestia suggested you get to know the Diamond Dogs as they’re miners and are familiar with the geology of the world. And I know you’ll be interested to know about the different cultures and histories of this world, Circe.”
Tirean, who didn’t always show interest in many things, showed a slight amount of curiosity to that suggestion. While Circe was just really giddy about learning more about Equestria and its inhabitants. I noticed Dusty walking out with a confused look. “You said four. Does that not include… me by any chance.”
I shook my head. “Afraid not. You’re coming with us. You used to be Queen of the Changelings so you might know some of the individuals we’ll meet and give us information about them.” I can see Dusty was already getting nervous about this. “Don’t worry, we’ll stay by your side the whole time.”
“That doesn’t help much, Sarius.” Dusty answered honestly.
“Yeah, I know.” I look at Tirean. “We got time so you can investigate the mass of negativity to the east.” I then turn to Circe. “As for you, you can get started on the shadow lock.”
“I might still have one left over from back when we had to deal with Scáth. Maybe that would work.”
“Possibly, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
“That lock was designed to counteract her Energtris power if needed.”
“True, but here everything is more magic based instead. So you’ll have to make tweaks to account for magic energy.”
“Oh right. You got a point. I’ll see what I can do. And what will you do?”
“Good question.” I said it with a Scottish accent while pointing an index claw at Circe.
Circe just stared at me with an unamused expression. “Do you have to act like Shrek when you say that?”
“No.” I said in my normal voice. “But it’s fun. Anyway, I’m tempted to visit Griffinstone to see if Galedon really is dead, but that may just land me in a trap. I’ll instead go check what’s going on in Ponyville today. It’s something I can do at least.”
“Fair enough.”
“Does Kasulis know where I’ll be going other than a general direction?” Tirean asked.
I hold up a single claw, then nod. “He says he sees an empty fortress in the distance and there’s a giant hole in front of him. That’s it.”
“An empty fortress, eh? I might look into that tomorrow as well. For today, I’ll just get my bearings around the town.” Tirean added.
“Be mindful of your surroundings, bro.”
“Of course, I’m not like you in that regard.”
“Ha ha.”
Tirean chuckles. “Well, I’m off then. I’ll be back before nightfall.”
“Oh before curfew huh. Good on ya.”
Tirean just gave me a deadpan look before leaving and flying off. Circe has already taken the shadow lock out of the pd and was examining it. “I believe I can modify this to resonate with magic. I just need to study how magic works in this reality, and I already got started with learning how to use magic. So it should only be a matter of time before I figure out how magic works on the fundamental level. I’ll get started on reading those books Twilight lent me.”
“Have fun with that, Circe.”
“I will. I’m glad I get to use these antlers for something other than looking pretty with them.”
I smile before leaving Circe with her day of reading about magic. As I left the mansion I saw Applebloom running to town with AppleJack following her. I decided to follow them from a distance. Sweetie Belle and Scootalo joined them as they went to the train station. I sat in the nearby tree and watched the events unfold. With my hearing I heard everything, the filly they picked up was Babs Seed, a cousin of Applebloom and had no Cutie Mark like the CMC. I simply watched the events of the day unfold. It made me upset that Babs was tricked into being a bully to the CMC by two bullies named Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. This was my first time seeing the two but I knew right from first glance that they were bullies. Plus they were rich brats too so that adds to it. In the end though Babs saw the error of her ways and stood up to the two bullies. It turned out Babs was bullied in Manehatten for not having a Cutie Mark much like the CMC, making this whole scenario ironic, which Sweetie Belle made very clear.
I took the opportunity to show myself which surprised everypony. “It sometimes is Sweetie Belle.” Babs was shocked and a bit terrified to see me, naturally. But she calmed down when the others didn’t scream or run for the hills.
“Sarius.” Sweetie Belle said with a cute squeak. Both she and Applebloom blushed a bit. “Were you watching the whole time?”
“Yeah. Sorry for that. I would have stepped in but everything worked out and if I did no one would have learned a lesson. Which is what’s most important after all.” I then looked at Babs who flinched a bit. “Relax. I’m not gonna pass judgment on you. I understand what it’s like being treated harshly just because you’re different. Though resorting to bullying others isn’t what you should do, even if you wanted to feel like you belonged. Trust me when I say, you wouldn’t be happy living that way. Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet a cousin of Applebloom. I’m Sarius Trusdale.”
“Uh, pleasure to meet you too, Sarius. Any friend of my cousin’s is a friend of mine.”
I smiled. “I really am glad things worked out in the end. I’ll be leaving now. Take care.” I then walked off.
Meanwhile with Tirean, he was perched at the top of the mountain Canterlot was on. He had circled from the south of Ponyville, all the way around getting the survey of the surrounding areas. Now he was sitting at the top of the mountain using his control over earth to determine the geology of the land. What he was getting was rather interesting. The very earth itself had traces of magic to it. Everything was slightly different than what he was used to. From the dirt to the rarest mineral. He was starting to have thoughts about the uses for them, some ideas were sounding pretty intriguing. Thanks to his control over earth he was able to map out the entire landscape.
It was the method of using soft vibrations, much like echolocation. Through this method he can map out cave systems, locations of minerals and gems, and even find living things. Every mineral, gem, and living organism have their own unique signature. It would be difficult to tell them apart to untrained earth elemental users, but Tirean has gotten enough experience and time to learn.
From what he could sense, there was a large cave system close to Ponyville with one part of it being filled to the brim with gems and minerals. This piqued his interest and had to investigate. He was able to map out the surrounding area of Ponyville so he was satisfied to up and leave his temporary perch to check out this cave system. The closet was in a ravine and he noticed several very large tunnels, and signs of large life forms. He makes a note not to mess around with the tunnels and enters the cave system.
As he enters, the tunnel is dark for a bit only for it to brighten up once he walks into a section filled to the brim with gems and minerals. What was odd was the gems and minerals were supposedly growing like fruit. It was weird but Tirean was not bothered by it as he uses his earth manipulation to help determine and identify the objects in great detail. Through this process, he finds out the gem and minerals are relatively the same as what he’s used to, but yet different. The makeup of the gem and minerals was a mix of the normal atoms and seemingly magical particles. Tirean was theorizing that if the same minerals and gems from his Reality and this Reality were used to make the same result, they would be fundamentally different in terms of properties and attributes. The main difference being traces of magic would be included.
As he finished, he heard the echoing sounds of hooves approaching. Like his siblings, he has a sharp sense of hearing so he can hear them from very far away. It didn’t take long for him to hear the voices of two females.
“You didn’t have to come along, darling. I’m very capable of doing this by myself.” Said one voice. It had an accent to it and sounded elegant.
“I know. But some of my animal friends keep mentioning I should get away from the cottage every once in a while. So that’s why I came along” The second voice said, nearly whispering. It was soft and gentle.
“There’s no need to get out of your comfort zone if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. They care about my wellbeing and are concerned. Besides, I… can’t exactly argue against them.”
The first voice sighed. “You are really too kind for your own good, darling.”
“I do represent the Element of Kindness.”
Tirean contemplated leaving before they inevitably arrived at his location but safe to say, he was curious to see these two female figures. He wasn’t the social type but he was at least more social than his brother. Eventually he heard the hoof steps getting louder from a hall across from him. The figures appeared from the hall. Tirean saw two mares similar in size to Pinkie Pie. The main, noticeably obvious, differences these two have are they’re color. One was white with blue hair and a horn, the other was yellow with pink hair and wings. When they entered they didn’t notice him right away but when they did, they were initially shocked. Tirean expected them to freak out immensely and run away screaming but they didn’t, which surprised him. Although the yellow pegasus hid behind the white unicorn as if the unicorn could hide her presence.
“Oh my.” The white unicorn spoke. “This is… unexpected. Although I suppose it was only a matter of time before dragons found this mine. We should leave Fluttershy.”
The two mares were about to leave when Tirean spoke. “My apologies.” This stopped the two mares.
“Beg your pardon?” The unicorn inquired.
“I was not aware this mine was frequented. Although, I’m not familiar with this world anyway.”
The pegasus’ ears perked up as she leaned over to look at Tirean with curiosity. “W-wait.” Her voice was like a whisper. “Y-you’re not from Equestria?”
“No. I’m not.”
“T-then… are you, Tirean?” She raised her voice a bit when she said his name.
Tirean wasn’t expecting anyone in this world to know him, especially by name so he was utterly surprised. “Yes. I am. How do you know my name?”
The pegasus seemingly lost her fear as she came into view. “I know your siblings. Your brother mentioned he went to get you last time I saw him.”
“I see.” Although Tirean acknowledged the pegasus knows his siblings, his training and habit of closing off others made him keep his guard up. “I’ll leave then. I apologize for intruding and interrupting your hangout session.” Tirean thought it best to leave quickly.
“Hold on a second darling.” Tirean stopped to look at the unicorn with a raised eyebrow. “Do you mind telling us what you are doing here?”
Tirean just stared for a bit, debating whether or not he should tell them. “I sensed the abundance of gems and minerals in this area. Naturally, being interested in the geology of Equestria, I wanted to see it for myself.”
“So you’re not here to take the gems for yourself?”
“Why would I do such a thing? Are you assuming I’m the type of dragon that has a hoard to his name?” Tirean didn’t mean to come off as intimidating but it came so naturally to him that he doesn’t catch himself often.
“C-certainly not, darling. Although it did cross my mind, wondering why a dragon was here just examining the gems. I meant no offense.”
“None taken.”
Due to Tirean’s unintentional intimidation, the unicorn was finding it rather difficult to pick a new topic. The pegasus however didn’t seem affected as she started to approach Tirean.
“We didn’t introduce ourselves, so sorry about that. I’m Fluttershy and this Rarity.”
Rarity knew all too well about Fluttershy’s fear of… well everything. Dragons especially. What pony wouldn’t be scared of one of their, if not the most, dangerous natural predators. So the fact Fluttershy showed no signs of fear or being affected by Tirean’s intimidation act, was leaving Rarity in awe and surprise.
Tirean could plainly see that Fluttershy didn’t have any malicious intent in her bones or soul. In fact he was confident she wouldn’t hurt a fly. But that did not stop his built in instinct to be on guard at all costs. In fact it’s almost easy to tell due to how tensed up Tirean tends to look.
Fluttershy noticed this little detail and was a bit worried. “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable.”
Tirean finally noticed how tense he was and tried to calm down a bit. “Don’t be. I developed a habit of being on guard all the time due to my training. So I don’t always notice.”
“Does that go for your intimidation tactics?” Rarity asked.
“Yes. That’s also something I developed during my training. Apologies.”
“What kind of training did you have, darling?” Rarity and Fluttershy were already told what Tirean trained to be by Sarius, so naturally they didn’t want to mention that fact and have Tirean say it himself.
“Why do you keep calling me ‘darling’?” Tirean asked, trying to avoid the topic of his training.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s a habit of my own. Don’t take it personally please.”
“Very well. Why are you two here then?”
“Ah, I came to collect some gems for some designs I’ll be working on and Fluttershy here insisted on coming along with me.”
“Designs?” Tirean was interested. Not a lot, but just a bit, mostly to understand how these gems would be used by Rarity. Tirean can sense some latent magic power in every single gem and mineral in this mine. He can find quite a few uses for them so he’s curious as to how Rarity would make use of them.
“Yes darling. I make dresses tailored for clients. And oftentimes these gems either make or break the designs.”
Tirean just blankly stared at Rarity. He started to wonder if she wasn’t aware of the uses these gems could have, if utilized properly. It’s true the air and earth itself has magic power running through them, so maybe it’s because of that fact she doesn’t notice the latent power in the gems themselves.
“Did I… say something wrong, darling?” Rarity asked with concern.
Tirean softly shook his head. “No.” Tirean thinks carefully about how to phrase his next question. “Are you aware of the magic power in these gems, by any chance?”
“Oh, well…” In truth Rarity never gave it much thought but she did in fact sense it in the gems. “Yes, but I’ve grown so used to it that it completely slipped my mind.”
“Makes sense. Then let me ask you this; should you waste these for pretty dress designs?”
Hearing the words waste and designs in the same sentence set off a part of her brain that designs. She glared at him. “How dare you assume they’re a waste for such elegant dresses! They are absolutely essential for making the designs perfect.”
Tirean was a bit surprised by her reaction. “You misunderstand the intent of my question.” Rarity calmed down a bit. “I was implying making use of the gems' latent magic power for different purposes. Like say external storage for magic.”
Rarity taps her chin in thought. “Hmm. I never considered that, but that sounds more suitable for armor or jewelry. Not dresses.”
“That is true. Though from my experience, sometimes combat scenarios get forced upon you at the worst possible times. For example, when you’re spending time with friends. So having clothes that can act as armor in bad situations can be helpful.”
“You do have a point. But Equestria is very peaceful so the possibility is very low.”
“That may be the case, but it won’t last long if recent events are anything to go by and what my brother mentioned.” Tirean paused for a moment. “That being said, I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your job. In all honesty, I don’t know if you have the capability of turning these gems into external magic storages. It’s just an idea. An idea I’m willing to help with.”
“If you want, you can share that idea with the Princesses to see if they’re interested.” Fluttershy suggested.
“I will when I get to see them.” Tirean may not be sociable compared to his sister, but even he could tell this conversation almost went from casual to an argument. So he knew he needed to change the subject to help relieve tension. “Since you’re collecting gems for dresses, how often do you visit these caves, Rarity?” It’s not a complete topic change but it will change the direction at least.
“Oh, umm, it depends, really. Sometimes I can go a couple months without resupplying, but more often than not, I need to make a trip into the mines every few weeks if I make a dress that’s pretty popular.”
“I see. Don’t you have to worry about these mines running out of gems?”
“Thankfully no. I don’t fully understand myself, but the gems in these caves replenish, almost like they’re farm produce.”
Tirean raised an eyebrow. “How curious. It is true that gems and minerals do replenish overtime thanks to nature naturally running its course, but that’s a very long process that takes months or even years. Perhaps magic has a play in this particular process.”
“It’s possible.” Rarity concurred.
“I’ll take one piece to study.” Tirean picked a sapphire from a stone-like branch, like it was a flower yielding its nectar. As he held the sapphire, he could feel the magic power sleeping within. Naturally, since he and his siblings' power resonated with sapphire, he could feel his power being influenced by the gem.
“I don’t mind, darling. I hope you get the results you’re looking for.”
“So do I. It was a pleasure meeting you two. I’ll take my leave now.” Tirean did a slight bow, turned around and walked out the mine leaving the two mares.
When Tirean exited the caves, he looked up into the clear blue sky in thought. What Rarity said about Equestria being very peaceful made him worry about the future for Equestria. Peace is a fragile concept that’s easily broken by unexpected conflict. Conflict that he can feel in his bones and soul is coming. Sooner than anyone realizes. And conflict can make people question things after the fact. Tirean recalled a famous saying back in his world; “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.”
Tirean sighed. He wondered if the inhabitants of Equestria would even be able to defend themselves and their country if war broke out. Perhaps he should bring up the possibility with the Princesses. Then again, his brother would say that it’s during those times when the heroes in their hearts would awaken. But the fate of the world shouldn’t be left to chances like those.
Tirean decided not to dwell on these thoughts, since it would all be brought to light soon enough, and maybe measures can be made in preparation for the upcoming conflicts. For now, he just needed to focus on helping himself and his siblings by learning more about this world and how it works. So he flew off back towards the mansion to begin studying this gem.
Back with Circe, she’s tweaking the shadow lock she took from the pocket dimension. She can tell right away that while this would work perfectly on Scáth, but it might not work on Sombra. Circe was smart enough to put two and two together when her brother recalled everything that happened to him since arriving here. When he first mentioned needing her help, he mentioned a shadow pony and Circe knew he wanted her to work on a shadow lock. This poses the problem with this lock. Sombra is a unicorn so he’s using magic which should mean his shadow manipulation relies on magic. So in order to prevent him from escaping with his shadow manipulation, she’ll have to make the lock prevent abilities that use magic. Which ultimately could mean; she’ll have to make a lock that prevents shadow manipulation and block magic. And with the little knowledge she has about magic, it might be difficult especially if her brother will need it very soon.
Circe sighs as she puts the lock down on the table. Circe concluded that for now, she would learn more about magic. Maybe she’ll gain enough knowledge and experience using it to make the necessary adjustments. She’s hoping there’s another method she hasn’t considered yet. But for now, she starts reading one of the books Twilight sent over about learning magic.
Like with the basics, Circe was getting the hang of magic pretty quickly. With her reading speed, she was able to read through all the book material Twilight lent her within an hour. Which would have required several days considering the size and complexity of the books. Circe told Twilight she wasn’t happy about this ability of hers. It made reading, which was her favorite hobby when she was growing up, become nothing more than a reminder of how much things have changed.
As she fiddled around with her magic, she heard the front door open and close. Without losing focus she checked the hall. Her brother came in holding onto a gem, they locked eyes for a second before Tirean spoke up. “Do you have access to our research equipment, specifically for studying geology?”
“Of course. But you’ll have to open the portal. I’m still depowered.”
Tirean walked in. “How long were you exposed to the Cobalt cage?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I was knocked out when I arrived and I don’t know for how long.”
“An hour at least.” The two turned to see me standing in the doorway. “I sensed you appearing and I quickly booked it to the scene. Then I had to be a distraction for Luna. So your power should be returning to you shortly.”
As soon as I said that, Circe felt a surge of energy rush through her body. This caused her magic to increase in power and size so she was forced to shut it off quite quickly before it got out of control. I gave her a ‘called it’ look. Circe rolled her eyes as she opened a portal. “I’ll be right back with the equipment.”
Circe entered the portal. A few minutes later, she brought out the equipment and put them on her table. Tirean bowed in thanks and got to studying the gem. The room was quiet except for the sound of Tirean testing the gem. A few minutes later, Tirean let out a satisfied sigh. “Whatcha got, bro?”
Tirean turns to us. “On a physical level, it’s the exact same as any sapphire that can be found. But there is a slight difference. The shape of its raw form is slightly different from normal. Most likely due to being like a harvestable plant and growing in a magic filled environment.”
“A harvestable plant? That requires some context.” I pointed out.
“I found it in a diverse cave system. It was one of possibly thousands in there. It was like stone flowers yielding fruits. It was quite a sight to see.”
“That is interesting. So do you think we can find a use for these gems?”
“I have no doubt in my mind, although since they contain latent magic in them, they’re far better suited for those who can use magic. I suggested to Rarity of adding these gems to dresses to hold extra magic that can be tapped into during emergencies. She simply suggested applying that to armor instead. Now since our sister can use magic now, she could make use of these gems as well. So who knows, this will warrant further study.”
“I see. Well, it seems for now you two have your work cut out for you. Learning magic for Circe and learning more about the geology of Equestria for Tirean.”
“What about you bro?” Circe asked.
“I suppose deeping my friendships with the ponies I met since this journey started. They’ll be crucial for the coming trails.”
“Huh.” Circe muttered.
“What?” I asked. “Is that a bad goal?”
“Of course not. It’s just… I know we have friends but you never prioritized friendships with them and you certainly didn’t want them to get involved with our affairs for fear of losing them or seeing them get hurt.”
“I still don’t want our friends to get involved, but this is their world. They know it better than we ever could and they have more reason to fight for it and protect the individuals living here than us. So it would be inconsiderate of us to try to keep them out of the fight.”
“Fair point.” Tirean agreed.
“Besides, if we really are facing a being whose confidant that he’s extinction itself, we’ll need all the able hands as possible. It might not be just a battle for Equestria, but all of Reality.”
The room got quiet at that foreboding fact. Circe shook her head. “We have plenty of time to prepare for it hopefully.” Tirean and I nodded in agreement. “No point in worrying about that right now.”
“Excuse my interruption, but may I suggest you three have some lunch?” We all turned to see Dusty standing in the hall looking at us with concern.
Tirean’s gaze narrowed a bit. “How much did you hear?”
Dusty naturally got nervous and was about to start sweating. “Relax brother. We can trust her. Who knows, she might help us brainstorm things. She’s smart and quick to catch on. Besides-” I felt my stomach rumble which made a loud growl as a result. I gave a silly smile. “-Having full stomachs will help our brains be more focused on sensitive subjects over thinking about what our next meal will be.”
Circe giggled while Tirean sighed. “Very well.”
We all got up and headed down to the kitchen. It was thankfully stocked with food so Circe and I got to work on making some lunch. Dusty and Tirean watched in silence. Circe and I made some egg salad. Dusty was a bit surprised by it. “What is this? You mixed eggs with various ingredients and put them between two pieces of bread.”
“It’s egg salad. It’s actually good. Try it.” I said.
Dusty hesitantly took a bite then her eyes lit up with surprise. Since she kept eating it was a sign she liked it. We all started eating. Dusty stopped for a minute to look at Circe with interest. “So you’ve been practicing with your magic Circe?”
“Yup. Somehow it’s coming easy for me.”
“As expected of my sister. I did notice your magic increased in power when your energy returned.”
“Really? Huh.” Circe noted while poking one of her antlers.
“I might be wrong but I came up with a theory.” I sat up in the chair I was sitting in. “For starters, magic in our world is supernatural and is difficult to explain the fundamentals and functions of. A lot of intelligent scientists came up with different possible theories but none were resolute and dismissed. But we’ve learned magic is not to be underestimated since it involves powers beyond our natural understanding. But the magic here doesn’t seem like it’s supernatural. I think it’s like energy. And we can use Energtris which is energy itself, when Circe’s energy returned it increased the power of her magic.”
“If that’s the case, it’s a good thing I cut it off quickly. Otherwise it would have been bad.”
“How bad?” Dusty asked with a worried tone.
“Hmm. Well for starters, this whole mansion could have been blown up. Or at least my brother’s room would be a bit messed up.” Dusty stopped eating to stare at Circe, hoping she wasn’t serious. Circe shook her head. “Let’s just be glad I have control and experience.”
“Still, with my theory in effect, it’s interesting that you’re able to use magic while you were depowered. If magic here works the same as energy does for us, then by my theory, you shouldn’t be able to use magic. Unless.” I pause.
Circe seemed like she was able to come up with an idea as her eyes lit up a bit. “Unless, our bodies follow our world’s logic and not this one’s. Remember in our world, magic is influencing and using the natural and supernatural energies from one’s surroundings. Or perhaps, since our life energy is Energtris and not magic like the inhabitants, I can use magic despite being depowered. But if that’s the case, how am I able to use magic despite this world’s logic saying it's life energy?”
Tirean, now more calm than earlier, nonchalantly took another bite of his sandwich. “You two are forgetting a key factor here.” Circe, Dusty, and I turned to him. “We’re Keepers of Balance. We don’t technically follow any world’s logic.” Circe and I look at each other. “Think about it. How many times have we done something with our power that otherwise seems impossible by laws of physics or natural laws themselves? If I need to give an example, I’ll give one simple one; you brother.” I turned to look at him with mild confusion. “You have been in one too many situations where you, by all means, shouldn't have survived. Yet, here you are.”
It suddenly dawned on me and Circe that our brother had a point. Ever since we got our powers, we’ve achieved feats that shouldn’t be possible by normal mortal standards or even godly standards. One such feat that comes to mind, is surviving a battle with the Deity of Darkness while also freeing him from the control of a malevolent force. Which was very recent mind you. I always chalked it up to my stubbornness and refusal to stay down, but maybe being a Keeper of Balance had some sway in my survival. As Keepers, we’re meant to balance out Reality. Neither good nor evil is allowed to dominate the other while we’re around. We haven’t really needed to do our duty as Keepers since the balance between good and evil has remained steady for a long time. But we still need to be here and ready, if any of us die, the other two Keepers would need to take up responsibility for the fallen. And if we all died, Balance would need to create a new Keeper to take our place. And there’s no telling how long that process will take, and the last thing my siblings and I want is to put the responsibility and duty of a Keeper on someone who isn’t ready for it. We want to make sure the next generation is ready to take our places when the time comes.
I blinked as I finished my train of thought and looked at my siblings. It didn’t need to be said that the three of us were on the same train. I could easily tell from their expressions. I finished my egg salad. “Let’s not dwell on that note, at least until we have more evidence to support it. For now let’s focus on the important things.” Circe and Tirean finish their meals, Dusty finishes hers not too long after. “I decided what I’ll do for today.”
“And what’s that?” Circe asked.
“Rest.”
Tirean raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re not the type to just rest and relax at times like this.”
“I know, but ever since I arrived here I’ve been getting one thing after another. The only real rest I got was being unconscious for a whole week. To me, that was simply forced rest. What I really need is some mental rest. I mean, so much has happened in the brief time since I arrived. I should take the rest of the day to collect myself mentally.”
Circe gave me a look of sisterly concern, something I was used to and always glad to see. “I will admit, I was getting worried about that. I’m glad you’re taking the time to sort through everything. I’ll keep practicing my magic.”
Tirean looked away nonchalantly. “And I’ll start studying the gems and minerals. With little knowledge of how magic influences this world, I doubt I’ll get satisfying results. Though I might learn about it through my studies.”
“Alright. Let me know if you two need me for anything.”
Circe and Tirean nodded before leaving for their rooms. Dusty then turned to me. “What should I do?”
I shrugged. “The usual. No need to do anything more. If there’s anything you need help with you just need to tell us.” I smiled softly before leaving and heading to my room to rest.
I laid down on my bed, not to close my eyes and sleep to the best of my current ability, but simply to lay down and think about things. Thankfully I was able to work through all the details of the past events, thanks to gaining a photographic memory when becoming a Hybrid. I noticed some things I didn’t before due to tense moments. Like my fight with Nelkanth. After playing through the battle in my mind, I realized that Nelkanth was able to keep up with me and match my every move despite being a Unicorn. I didn’t notice it was night time now.
I got off my bed when Luna teleported into my room, surprising me. “Luna. Are you dropping by?”
She gave a small smile. “Yes and to give you an update.”
I turned to her, my attention piqued. “Do tell.”
Luna walked forward slightly. “Celestia and I already got a few replies from the representatives in the upcoming Council meeting.”
“Already huh? Any good news?”
“Mostly. Naturally, the Griffins refused.” I sighed. “Remember Sir Sarius, just one vote against won’t stop the meeting from taking place, and even if they did they still have to show up. That being said.” She turned her head to look at me. “The Diamond Dogs and Minotaurs have agreed.”
“Minotaurs? That’s a race in Equestria?”
“Yes. Not as prominent as some races like Ponies and Dragons, but they are around. As for the Diamond Dogs, they mostly live underground.”
“Like dwarfs. Makes sense since they are mostly miners.”
Luna tilted her head. “Dwarves?”
I shook my head. “Forget it for now. Who else sent a reply?”
Luna’s expression became slightly serious. “The Changelings.” She said it with a bit of venom behind it. I was told by Dusty about the invasion during the wedding between Cadence and Shining Armor. It only seemed natural that Luna would be angry towards the Changelings, even though I have no idea where Luna was during the event.
“What did they say?”
“They refused.” Luna was slightly relieved but also distraught at that. Relieved that they didn’t want to bother with it but distraught because they’ll be forced to attend anyway if the majority voted for the meeting.
“I understand you and Celestia have things to work out with the Changelings, but please don’t let any negativity towards them swell out of control during the meeting.”
Luna looked at me before giving a soft smile. “Do not fret Sir Sarius. I promise I will keep my emotions in check.”
“Good. So you’ve gotten four replies so far? Two for, and two against.”
“That is correct.”
I tap my chin. “Four out of how many in total?”
Luna closed her eyes and thought about it for a minute. “14.”
I blinked in surprise. “Wow, that’s… quite a bit more than I expected.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and how many were you expecting, if I may ask?”
“Well, 7 at least. Ponies, Changelings, Griffins, Diamond Dogs, Dragons, Zebras, and perhaps a group that represents others.”
Luna smirked for a second. “Well, you are not wrong. There is a group of Anthropomorphs that are represented as a whole.”
“Really? Anthropomorphs.” I tried to imagine something like a pony or a changeling being more human than animal, which thankfully wasn’t difficult since there was a massive amount of fan art about that sort of thing back on Earth. “Huh, neat.”
“I’m sure you’re smart enough to realize that the total isn’t actually 14.” Luna said knowing full well this would pique my curiosity.
My animal-like ears perked a bit in response. “Then what is the total?”
“Of what I’m currently aware of, 25.”
“25 different sapient species in Equestria?!” I was beyond shocked and my eyes showed it. “25, you are actually aware of?”
Luna nods. “Celestia and I had contact with 20 for a long time. However, for reasons unknown, two species ceased communication. Those being the Kirins and the Hippogriffs.”
My shock disappeared as my interest and curiosity were piqued again. “Kirins and Hippogriffs? Wait, are you saying there was a point in time where ponies and dragons had offspring together?”
Luna blushed a bit but quickly recomposed herself. “Yes. A long time ago. While there have been records of ponies and dragons having relationships throughout the years, it is often looked down upon. For obvious reasons. I don’t really know whether or not offspring were produced nor sure if each one was a Kirin. But somewhere down the line, it happened.”
I liked the idea that there were Kirins in Equestria. “So why have they ceased communication?”
“We don’t know. Same with the Hippogriffs.” Luna was clearly upset about this.
“You and Celestia had good relations with them, didn’t you?”
Luna looked out the window as her face became more somber. “While I never met Rainshine and Queen Novo, Celestia has told me they are benevolent leaders. I wish I could have met them.”
“I’ll make sure you will. My siblings and I will find out what problems they’re having and help solve them.”
Luna turned back to me and softly smiled. “I’m glad you are so willing to help others.”
“Well, my siblings and I see it as our sole duty to help and protect others who can’t do it themselves. Besides I know what it’s like to be helpless and powerless to stop something. I don’t want others to experience that.”
“Indeed it is.” Luna nodded.
“So is there a reason why only 14 out of 20 might be attending the council?”
“Aside from the Kirin and Hippogriffs, the other 4 are Dryads, Reindeer, whatever controls the Timberwolves, and Sirens. Dryads and Reindeer are independent species. Celestia has chosen to give them their privacy. While the Timberwolves and Sirens are evil.”
“Hmm.” I look away for a moment before returning my attention to Luna. “But what about the Changelings? Aren’t they evil since they raided the wedding?”
“The Changelings operate off a sort of hivemind. If the queen is evil, the hive is evil. I haven’t had many interactions with Queen Chrysalis, so I can’t speak to her alignment.”
I won’t deny I considered telling Luna about Chrysalis, and it wouldn’t be the last time. I knew it was best to let things play out. Dusty wanted to prove herself after all. “You mentioned 5 other species outside 20?”
“Those are species that I know exist but they don’t reside in Equestria.”
“Outside Equestria, huh? I’m curious, what are they?”
“Centaurs, Gargoyles, Goats, Humans, and Shadow Walkers. My sister denies the Shadow Walkers exist, but I know better.”
I was shocked about humans existing on this planet, but Luna did mention she was familiar with humans. “Wait so humans do exist outside Equestria?”
Luna pursed her lips. “According to my sister, they do exist outside Equestria. But just as she’s skeptical about Shadow Walkers, I’m skeptical about her claim. Of course I mentioned my sister and I know about humans in an alternate universe. So in some sense or another, humans do exist in this, as you call it, Reality. You’ll have to venture past Equestria’s borders to find out.”
“Goals for the future then.” I was excited to say the least about discovering things on this planet. “So I take it you’ll be leaving now?”
“Correct. I have my duties to perform. We’ll see each other again soon.” Luna smiled before teleporting away.
I was left in my room to think about the topics I discussed with Luna. My siblings and I had a lot to look forward to. I checked the clock that was sitting on a nightstand next to my bed and it read 9pm. I left my room to check on my siblings, starting with my sister. When I walked into her room, I saw that she was using her magic to levitate several objects, including the shadow lock. She was currently carefully inspecting the lock. I suspect she was seeing how she can enhance it to my standards. Seeing that she was busy, I left her room not wanting to disturb her. I then checked on Tirean, whose room was now furnished. I assumed it was done while I was following the CMC around or sometime afterwards, and he has moved the equipment he used to study the gem into his room. He looked like he was studying another gem, while comparing it between other gems that were lined up on the table the equipment was on. Tirean also appeared to be busy, so I left him alone as well.
I decided to step outside and just sit down, looking up into the night sky. Since it was now night time, the stars and moon were out in full display. And since Ponyville supposedly didn't use electricity, the prospect of being affected by light pollution was null. So I could see all the stars.
It was that moment I realized, I never had the chance to sit down and just look up at the night sky. Now that I was, I immediately noticed the constellations I was used to were gone. There were completely different constellations. Though I didn’t mind since I enjoyed just sitting and looking at the night sky. Plus it was nice feeling the wind on my scales. If I didn’t have the ability to get 9 to 12 hours of sleep with just a 1 to 2 hour power nap, this sensation would make me tired and want to take a nap. Some time passes before the front door opens and Circe steps out with a groan and a sigh.
“Can’t get it to work?” I knew exactly what was bothering her.
“Afraid so. While I have learned quite a bit about how magic works in this Reality, even getting some practice with it, it’s not really something I’m used to. I might not be able to configure the lock to block magic as well as lock shadow manipulation.” Circe turned to look at me with her frustrated gaze. “How soon do you need it?”
I looked off into the distance towards a seemingly random direction, but I was looking in the direction of the Crystal Empire. I closed my eyes and focused on searching for the remnants of Sombra. Thankfully, it was in the same place the last time I checked and I didn’t notice any significant changes. I opened my eyes. “It’s hard to tell but not too soon. You should have plenty of time. Just take your time, sis.”
Circe took a deep breath. “I’ll try, but like I said I might not be able to pull it off.”
“Of course you will.” Circe blinked at me. “You’re the smartest out of the three of us, and you’ve made a lot of amazing things that have helped us get out of tight situations. The most recent is the cobalt nullifier you used on yourself to help Luna and I get you home. Sure, it didn’t work exactly as intended but it worked regardless and that got us out of a bad situation.” I smiled at her. “It doesn’t matter if you get it to work with your own two hands or get assistance from someone who is more knowledgeable in certain aspects, as long as the end result is the same. Afterall, you’ve been trying to get Tirean and I to realize we don’t need to handle things on our own. Heed your own advice.”
Circe just stared at me for a minute, before giving a warm smile. “Thanks bro. I guess I forget that, even I need help from time to time when making things. When we meet up with Luna and Celestia for the council, I’ll ask them for ideas. They’re sure to know something.”
“Now that’s using your brain.” I joked with a wink.
Circe pouted. “Hey, at least I use my brain.” She retorted.
We looked at each other for a couple seconds before we started chuckling for a good minute. “I’ve been told there are a lot of sapient species in Equestria.”
“Oh really?” Circe’s ears flopped a bit in excitement.
“Yup. One caught my attention; Kirins.” I knew this would get a reaction out of my sister.
Circe’s ears perked up. “Kirins! Oh my. So a pony and a dragon got intimate, huh~?” Circe gave me a knowing look. “You think Luna will birth a kirin?” I deadpan at her. “Relax, I’m only joking. Still, it’s interesting that kirins exist here and it makes me curious about their origin.”
My expression returns to normal. “I agree. Kirins are powerful creatures in our world so I wonder if the same is true for these kirins.”
“Will they be attending the council?” Circe asked with gleeful anticipation.
I shook my head with a frown. “Afraid not.” Circe also frowned. “For some reason, Celestia lost communication with them. Same goes for the hippogriffs.”
Circe became concerned naturally. “Hmm. That’s weird and a bit spooky.”
“Don’t worry. I told Luna we’ll figure out what’s going on and help solve the problems.” I reassured Circe.
“Good.” Circe stretched her legs. “I think I’ll take a nap, recharge my batteries. I’ve been practicing my magic while trying to tinker with the lock. I’m getting really good at it. Soon I might be able to defend myself even if I lose my power again.”
“That’s good to hear. Enjoy your nap, sis.”
“Thanks, I will.” Circe goes back inside, leaving me to gaze at the stars again.
The rest of the night was uneventful as I just gazed at the stars for a while longer then returning to my room. I decided to pass the time by getting better at controlling my energy. I was constantly gaining more and more energy as time passed, even if it was a little bit at a time. Before I knew it, it was morning when Dusty walked into my room.
She must have had something on her mind since she started the conversation. “Is it really wise to bring me along? A former queen of Changelings and the main culprit behind the wedding invasion.” I looked her in the eyes. It was obvious she was nervous. No, scared at the potential prospect of her true identity being revealed. I knew there was nothing I could say to help ease her worries, but I can try my best to comfort her.
I sighed. “Wise? No. Necessary? Yes. I understand you’re scared, but everyone has to face their fears eventually. Otherwise, it’ll control our lives.” I got off the bed. “I know I can’t put your worries to rest, but I can say with certainty; no matter what happens, me and my siblings will protect and cover for you should the worst come to pass. The three of us understand instinctual primal urges and the dire consequences of giving in. You’ll be surprised how many of my kin I had to put down, just because they lost themselves to their primal side. The fact you managed to come back from that is amazing. So don’t sell yourself short.” I gave a soft smile. “When the council is underway, just stay close to us.”
Dusty had a shocked expression. I can only assume it was due to mentioning I killed dragons. “You… killed them? I… had a feeling when you mentioned dragons tend to die when they go primal. But I didn’t want to-” Dusty was at a loss for words.
I shook my head. “I try to not think about it too much. I can try to justify my actions by saying ‘if they weren’t stopped, lives and homes would have been lost.’ but it doesn’t ease the guilt. It never does. Still, at least it’s on me and not anyone else. I have several things to feel guilty about already. But let’s drop this dark mood. It’s a new day now.” I slightly purse my lips. “Which means Pinkie Pie can throw her welcome party for Tirean. I have no idea when she’s doing it, so I should go find out.” Without another word, I left the room and the mansion.
I headed straight for Sugarcube Corner where Pinkie Pie was living. The store wasn’t open but I was able to enter regardless, which surprised the Mr. and Mrs. Cake a bit, who appeared to be cleaning up. “Oh my. A customer this early. I’m afraid we’re not open for another hour. We haven’t had a chance to turn on the fryers yet.” Mrs. Cake said with a somewhat drowsy tone.
I assumed they either just got up or haven’t gotten much sleep, which is possible since they have twins from what I’ve been told. “I’m not a customer, Mrs. Cake. I came to see Pinkie Pie. Is she here?”
Mr. Cake shook his head. “Afraid not. She left not too long after we got up, saying something about being too excited to sleep and needed to prepare for a party.”
I facepalmed myself. “Of course she’ll get up early for that…” I turned and headed out the door.
“Is everything okay, uhh-” Mrs. Cake started
I stopped at the door and turned my head to them. “Sarius and yes. I just need to catch her and convince her to slow down.” I was then out the door.
“Good luck with that.” Mr. Cake muttered.
I didn’t know where Pinkie Pie would be, but I had an idea. I was gonna check the residence of each of the Mane Six. Starting with Fluttershy. So I had to fly to get there quickly. When I landed I was glad to see my sudden appearance didn’t scare the animals. Fluttershy was thankfully outside feeding them so she was surprised to see me drop in. Literally. “Oh good morning, Sarius. What brings you here, if I may ask?” Fluttershy asked in her soft tone.
“I’m looking for Pinkie Pie.” I said rather quickly as I looked around. I saw no sign of her.
“Ah. Well, she’s not here and I honestly don’t see any reason why she’d show up so suddenly.” Fluttershy replied.
“She’s planning for another party.”
“Another? So soon?” Fluttershy inquired. “Is it because your brother is here in Equestria now?”
I stopped to look at her with surprise. “Yeah, how did you know?”
“Oh. I met your brother in the mines with Rarity. He’s-” She paused to think. “-an interesting dragon. If he wasn’t so tense, I would say he was shy like me.”
“He’s not the shy type. He’s just not a conversationalist and prefers to keep to himself.” I clarified. “Still, if she’s not here then I need to go.” I then took off into the air again.
“Oh… Okay. I’ll see you… later then.” Fluttershy muttered to herself in a disappointed tone.
While I was flying I started thinking about where Pinkie could be. I quickly ruled out Rainbow’s home and Sweet Apple Acres. Then I ruled out Rarity’s home. Which meant she should be at Twilight’s home so I quickly flew over there. I landed, walked up to the door, and knocked on the door. After a moment the door was opened by Twilight who was surprised, like Fluttershy was, at my sudden appearance.
“Sarius. I wasn’t expecting you today. But then I wasn’t expecting Pinkie either.”
“So she’s here?” I asked rather quickly.
Twilight blinked. “Y-yes. Is everything okay?”
“Oh hi Sarius! I was gathering ponies for your brother’s Welcome to Ponyville party.” Pinkie yelled from inside the tree.
Twilight sighed. “She showed up not too long after Spike and I woke up.”
I rolled my eyes. “I figured. May I come in?” Twilight motioned me in so I walked inside. “Pinkie, I know you’re really enthusiastic and excited about throwing this party for Tirean.”
“Yuppers, I am. I’ve never been so excited except for that time I threw a party for your sister. You remember that?” Pinkie started talking really fast.
“Yes, Pinkie.” I quickly said to cut her off before she went off on a tangent. “That was literally yesterday. It’s also early in the morning. Most ponies are just now waking up and getting ready for the day, so maybe you should hold off on the party until this afternoon at least.”
“Okay but why?” Pinkie asked with innocent glee.
“Like Sarius said. Everypony will still be a bit tired at this hour, so throwing a party this early would be a bad idea.” Twilight pitched in with her argument.
“But a party is the best way to get everypony smiling.” Pinkie tried to argue.
“Not this early. If everypony showed up to the party while they’re still waking up, the party itself would be dull and down, due to the culminating mood of the ponies. You don’t want to have a party like that do you?” I winked at Twilight knowing this would be the perfect way to convince Pinkie.
Pinkie opened her mouth to make an argument but said nothing for a good minute. “You’re right. I definitely don’t want a party like that on my watch. Okay, I’ll hold off on the party until lunch time. That way everypony is awake and hungry for snacks.”
I smiled. “That’s more like it. Now go on. You can at least start preparing for the party.”
Pinkie did a salute and started bouncing out the oak home. Twilight and I just watched her for a bit, then Twilight spoke up. “So did everything go well with your brother?”
I looked at Twilight with a confused expression. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“Circe mentioned you two have a rough history, that’s all.” Twilight stated.
“Oh. Yeah.” I sighed. “We are trying our best now to make up for the past. But there is a lot of time to make up for.”
“As long as you’re both making an effort, it’ll work.” Twilight said, trying to reassure me.
“I know.” I took a deep breath. “Anyway, I managed to stop Pinkie from making a big mistake so I’ll head back.”
I was about to walk out but Twilight stopped me. “Wait. How is Circe progressing with her magic?”
I looked at Twilight. “Uh, I think she’s got the hang of it. Last time I saw her using magic, she was levitating several things at once while tinkering with something being levitated by her magic.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “She’s already gotten that good in one day?!” I raise an eyebrow at her. Twilight then realized I wasn’t familiar with how magic works in Equestria. “It usually takes a young unicorn some time to develop their magic just to levitate an object, then it takes a bit more time to learn control to move said object freely. So the fact she was able to levitate multiple objects freely within a day is absolutely incredible and almost unheard of. She must be a natural with magic.”
“She is good at controlling her energy so naturally that will play a part in her control of magic.”
“You have a point. Still it’s incredible. I remember I performed a feat that required a lot of my magic to do.”
This piqued my interest as I turned to her fully. “Oh, do tell me.”
Twilight must not have expected me to take interest in what happened since she shuffled in place a bit. “Uh well. Firstly a unicorn came to town called Trixie who was a showpony. Using her magic to perform tricks and stunts to amuse an audience, while claiming she was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. Spike wanted me to prove her wrong but I didn’t want to be accused of being boastful so I ran. Trixie claimed she defeated an Ursa Major so I took the opportunity to look into the creature. While that happened, two colts; Snips and Snails, decided to bring in an Ursa Minor into town just to see Trixie perform the feat she claims to have done. So I ended up having to use my magic to lull the Ursa Minor to sleep by blowing wind over some cattail to make a lullaby, took Ponyville’s water tower and filled it with milk to feed the bear, then levitated the bear back home. All that took almost everything out of me.”
I was amazed and curious about the Ursa Minor and Major. “Well, don’t sell yourself short Twilight. That in of itself is an amazing feat. I doubt any unicorn could pull that off. But it’s interesting that there’s creatures here named after constellations in my world.”
“You don’t have Ursa Minors or Majors in your world?” Twilight asked, this time her curiosity being piqued.
“No. The biggest bear in my world is a dire bear. But there are a few mythological bears like a god that’s the king of bears.”
“Your world really sounds interesting.”
“Trust me, it’s not. Most of the things in mythology are hidden from the common eye since most humans are scared of the unknown. You’d have to go out of your way to find them and even then you’d have a hard time finding them if you didn’t know where to look.”
“I see. I’ll uh… take your word on it.” Twilight sounded disappointed.
“Forget about it. Equestria is far more interesting honestly. I mean there’s multiple races in Equestria itself that aren’t human at all. That really is amazing and I’m definitely looking forward to meeting them all.”
“So am I. I honestly don’t know how many races exist in Equestria so I’m looking forward to gaining knowledge on all of them.” Twilight said with enthusiasm.
“You’re in luck then, since Celestia is gonna take you and the rest of your friends with her to the council.” I smiled.
Twilight’s jaw dropped as her eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh wow. I can’t wait but why didn’t the princess tell me?”
“It’s up in the air whether or not the council will happen so she most likely didn’t want to get your hopes up, only to be disappointed.”
“That makes sense.” Twilight agreed.
“Well, I’m going now. See you at the party Twilight.”
“Likewise. I’m interested in meeting your brother.” Twilight said with curious glee.
My smile turned to a smirk. “Just don’t be disappointed when he’s not what you expected.” I walked out and then flew off.
I landed outside the mansion a few minutes later, I was a bit surprised Tirean and Circe were waiting for me. “Did something come up?”
“No. Just curious why you left so early. You’re not the morning type before we became Hybrids.” Circe spoke.
“Same goes for you two.” I retorted.
“True. With the benefits of our new sleep pattern, it makes it possible to do all-nighters and morning activities.” Tirean added. “So what did you do?” Tirean asked, getting straight to the point like usual.
“Going to convince Pinkie to delay her party until at least after lunch. Since a party so early in the morning would be a bad idea since everyone is waking up and getting ready for the day.”
“And you managed to convince her?” Circe inquired.
“I wouldn’t be back if I didn’t.”
“So what now?” Tirean asked.
“We could give Circe some practice with her magic during combat.” I suggested.
“What do you mean? I just learned to use and control it yesterday.” Circe protested.
“I told Twilight what you managed to do with your magic, and she was shocked that you progressed so far so quickly. I figured since you can levitate and control multiple objects at once, you’re ready to test your offensive capabilities with magic.”
Circe seemed a bit skeptical about this. “Well, I suppose I can give it a try, but there’s no telling if magic is applied differently for combat scenarios.”
“And the best way to learn; is to test it in a non-lethal combat scenario. I mean, that’s how we learned how to control our power. Also this way, any magic that could potentially hurt others will be used on me and Tirean without risk of a major or fatal injury.”
Circe contemplated it for a minute. “Alright. I can’t really make any good arguments here. So we’ll give it a try.” The three of us relocated a fair distance away from the mansion, with Tirean and I being several feet away from Circe. Circe stared at us for a while. I assumed she was channeling her magic and energy for offense. She then took a deep breath. “Here we go.”
Circe didn’t hesitate as her horns started glowing before a blast was shot from the gap in between the antlers, aimed right at me. It was too big in size to dodge while standing still, so I hopped to the right. As it passed me, I felt there was Energtris incorporated in the attack. The blast made contact with a hill and resulted in a small explosion, destroying a part of it and leaving a sizable hole in the terrain. Tirean and I looked at Circe in mild surprise. We knew she’s slightly stronger than us but the fact she’s able to produce such a strong magic-based attack on her first try was amazing. I didn’t know about Tirean but I felt proud of my sister, though I knew deep down he was proud too.
Circe smiled sheepishly and blushed a bit. “Sorry. The power output was a coin toss. There was no way to tell if it would be too strong or too weak.” Circe’s smile then turns into a confident one. “Now, I have a good grasp on it. Here I come, brothers.”
Circe’s horn glowed again as she fired two shots from her horns, one at me, one at Tirean. I was about to dodge it but it suddenly sped up so it hit my chest head on. It didn’t damage me per say, but it had a lot of force behind it so it ended up pushing me back several feet, causing four dirt lines to be formed in the ground. The attack did hurt but it wasn’t an external pain but an internal pain. I groaned a bit as I looked to see how Tirean handled it. Not to my surprise, he managed to block it with his wing claw despite the sudden speed. I chalked it up to Tirean’s instinct and senses being honed through his training.
Circe’s smile didn’t fade as she fired four shots this time, all of them aiming for me. What surprised me was that the shots were coming at me from different angles at different speeds. I considered canceling out the shots with my own, but the infusion of magic and Energtris would require more energy than usual. So I dodged the first shot, smacked the second away, forced to dodge the third since it suddenly sped up, and the fourth stopped in place. It confused me but when I looked around, I realized the other three shots turned around, then all four shots flew towards me from four different directions. I leapt into the air and started flying which caused the bullets to chase me, so I quickly realized Circe’s previous attack had a tracking property to it . I flew around a bit while they chased me so I took the time to think of a way to deal with the bullets. I decided to give something a try as I focused my energy into my tail. It turned into a claw as energy pooled at the tips of the claws, after a few seconds the energy was discharged as thin lasers shot out, piercing the four bullets. As I hoped, the lasers caused the bullets to disperse safely, although the lasers punctured the ground as well so I cut off the energy flow.
I landed on the ground and looked at Circe who raised her eyebrows. “That’s new.”
I smiled. “You’re not the only one who learned something. Also very clever incorporating a homing property into that attack.”
“Well, I just tried to do what I normally do with Energtris and surprisingly it worked.” Circe admitted.
“Convenient.” Tirean uttered. “Back to the action.”
Tirean then charged at Circe, surprising her a bit, and threw a punch with his wing claw. Circe dodges it and counters with a magic pulse that pushes him back, then quickly follows up with a magic bolt. Tirean couldn’t dodge it since he was being pushed back by the pulse so he couldn’t change directions and the bolt was fast. As it hits his chest it has a penetrating effect causing him to groan and knock the wind of him. Circe spins around and swings her tail in my direction, I noticed her horn was glowing so when a magic wave was created, I wasn’t caught by surprise. I leapt up and dove down, spinning forward to slam my tail down onto her. She reacted with a magic shield and countered with a pulse that pushed me back into the air, following quickly with another fast bolt. Normally, there would be no way to avoid it but there was one thing that would, as Tirean clearly forgot, is using my own pulse from an extended arm to push me out of the way.
Only for me to use a pulse to get back into Circe’s face to punch her in the face. I had no intention to connect the punch since I had an ulterior motive, thankfully she did exactly what I expected her to do and blocked it with a magic shield. Before she could counter, I used the shield to maneuver around as I placed my claw on the shield and pushed off it so I’m behind Circe, since her shield only covered her front. I quickly gathered energy in my claw and fired it at Circe’s back. Circe was watching me as she moved the shield to block the shot, the shield was shrunk due to how quickly she had to relocate it. I didn’t hesitate to land and quickly move around to try and swipe Circe across the face with my tail. Circe had to defend again, the shield shrunk a bit more again.
I kept moving around and attacking Circe to test her magic defense, each time the shield shrunk more and more. I was helping Circe test her limits of magic in a combat scenario, and so far she hasn’t been able to counter since my first attack. Tirean recovered from Circe’s counterattack a while ago and noticed what I was doing, so he stayed back and just watched. Circe’s reflexes and reaction time are as fast as mine, but her capabilities with magic were not up to par yet. Because of that, eventually Circe couldn’t muster a magic shield and ended up creating an energy shield instead. This surprised her but I knew it would happen so I stopped my assault and backed off.
“You did good, sis. Your capabilities with magic despite your first time using it for combat are good, especially since you learned it within a day.” I then smirked. “But you are a Trusdale, afterall.”
Circe smiled. “Thanks.” She then fired a magic bolt that came at me so fast and unexpectedly, it hit me in the face and knocked me on my back with a thud. I heard her giggle. “Sorry, not sorry. I couldn’t resist getting a cheap shot in.”
I rolled over and turned around to deadpan at her. “Very funny.” I stand up. “At least, you know what you have to work on.”
The shield vanishes as Circe nods. “Yup. Of course, I could use Energtris for defense and magic for offense or vice versa, until I get better at magic.”
“Don’t make it easy for yourself, sister.” Tirean stated. “You’ll never improve if you don’t push yourself to your limit.”
“You would know best bro.” I concurred. “We can only imagine what kind of hell you went through during your training.”
Tirean suddenly stared into the distance as if he was willingly losing himself to a distant memory. “It was grueling to say the least. Hell doesn’t even come close to describing what I went through. I was supposed to be ruthless, merciless, and null of emotion so I completed my task.”
“Like a dragon Winter Soldier. We know, Tirean. We do tease you about that, you know.” Circe interjected.
Tirean turned to look at Circe then me. He didn’t smile but both of us could tell he was happy and glad about how things turned out even though he wasn’t proud of what he’s done. “But I didn’t become the weapon they wanted. If it weren’t for the two of you, I would have. So-” Tirean stopped himself and I knew why.
“We know.” I said with a somber tone and a gentle smile. “You don’t need to say it. You didn’t have to, and you still don’t. We’re just as happy with this outcome.”
Silence settled in as we didn’t say anything for the next few minutes, not even through telepathy. Circe decided to break the silence by clearing her throat. “Let’s heed your advice brother, and push ourselves right now. We got plenty of time before lunch.”
“Yeah, I do love working up an appetite.” I said with enthusiasm.
“Just don’t eat out Ponyville’s entire food stock.” joshed Tirean with a smirk.
I return the smirk. “Same goes for you two.” The three of us share a good laugh before resuming our training.
Circe focused on getting better with her magic while I practiced with the piercing laser. Tirean and Circe gave it a try as well and they succeeded naturally. The three of us also trained our energy capabilities, since the more we use it the stronger they’ll get, and it’ll allow us to test our new limits. Everyday our power grows and our energy reserves deepen just a bit, so we’re always willing to test our new limits. By the time lunchtime was around the corner, we used 25% of our energy reserve and while we were out of breath, we weren’t exhausted in the least. In fact, we were still raring to continue but we knew we had to attend the party since we did work up an appetite like we said we would. So we headed off to the party which we assumed would be at the town hall again. But to our surprise it was in the town square outside the town hall.
“Welcome to Ponyville Tirean!” Yelled everypony. Tirean’s expression didn’t change and looked indifferent, but Circe and I knew he was a bit overwhelmed by this. He wasn’t a social guy after all and preferred to be solitary. Still he took this with grace all things considered.
He slightly bowed his head out of respect and replied with a simple, “Thank you.” The party commenced afterwards and naturally the Mane Six approached us. “Hello again, Rarity, Fluttershy.”
This surprised Circe and I as well as the other four Mane Six. “You actually socialized, brother?”
Tirean just turned his gaze towards me without moving his head. “I never claimed I was antisocial. You two just automatically assumed I was because of my training and how I was in the past. I just prefer seclusion so no one I know and care about ends up being targets.”
“That’s understandable.” Replied Circe. “Still you should have spoken up about it.”
Tirean’s gaze returned to the front. “Noted for the future.” Tirean said that but for some reason, it seemed like he was messing with us by saying it and not actually planning on doing it. “So who are the rest of you girls?”
“Applejack.” Answered Applejack with a tip of her hat.
“Rainbow Dash.” stated RD.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight responded.
“And you already know me.” Pinkie remarked with her trademark bounce.
Tirean nodded in acknowledgment. “Duly noted.”
The sound of a stomach growling would have interrupted the introduction if it wasn’t concluded. The mares looked around for the source of the sound but didn’t have to look too long as I sheepishly smiled and chuckled lightly. “That was me. The three of us had time before the party so we trained hard, since it’s been a long while since we did so. Naturally we worked up an appetite.”
“Then it’s a good thing I made a bunch of treats and snacks.” beamed Pinkie.
“Thank you.” thanked Tirean.
The three of us started eating, being mindful of not scarfing the food down like we’ve been starving for days. The food was rather tasty, but it wasn’t a surprise considering Pinkie was the one who baked them and she lived in a bakery.
“So how is it?” questioned Pinkie.
“Very good.” I remarked happily while carefully chewing the food.
“Indeed it is.” Tirean concurred after swallowing his mouthful.
“My brothers speak for me, like always.” Circe bantered knowing it would get a reaction out of the both of us. And it did since we both looked at her and rolled our eyes.
“You’re free to give your own opinions sis.” I verified.
“Then my opinion is this food is terrible.” joked Circe with a snarky smile. The Mane Six look at her with worry, especially Pinkie Pie. Though the worry quickly disappears when they realize Circe was only joking.
“So.” Twilight spoke up as if trying to continue the conversation. “Your siblings told us a bit about you, Tirean, but I wanted to personally ask you a question.”
Tirean shallows the last bit of the snack he was currently eating. “Go ahead.”
“What was your training like?” inquired Twilight.
Tirean paused for a moment. Circe and I knew why but the Mane Six obviously didn’t. “It was difficult and trying. I’ll say that at least.”
“Aw, I was looking forward to hearing about it.” Pinkie Pie whinged.
“You have to respect his privacy, Pinkie dear. If he doesn’t want to share, that’s his choice.” Rarity objected.
“She’s right, Pinkie.” concurred Twilight. “Besides, I have another question for the Triplets.” This caught our attention as we put a pause on our eating. “You’re triplets who share the same power and origin of those powers, so why are you three so different in appearance?”
“You know I never thought about it. But I don’t need to really think about it. I told you we’re DNA children of Asgorath, so our appearance might have been affected by our personality and character. I’m an all-rounder to be frank so that might be the reason I have the appearance of a typical dragon which is a European or eastern dragon in our world.” I pondered.
“I’m smarter and a bit wiser than my brothers. That apparently has a knick for magic now, who’s also female. So I became a long or a Chinese dragon in our world.” hypothesized Circe.
“While I have a very stony exterior personality, according to my siblings. I also technically abandoned my family to undergo brutal training for a rather dark purpose, so that would be why my appearance is a sturdy, intimidating, yet lonely looking dragon with wing claws.” Tirean surmised.
Circe and I glance at Tirean with regret. “Despite our attempts to stop him.” I declared.
“Though we are somewhat at fault for not trying harder.” Circe added.
“No.” He sighed. “I’m afraid any further attempts would have made my leave much harder on you two.” lamented Tirean.
“Anyway, that’s why our appearances are different.” I surmised trying to not let the mood stay somber. The Mane Six were a bit speechless about us answering Twilight’s question, then turning the mood somber, and me attempting to bring the mood back to normal.
“I apologize for ruining the mood.” Tirean spoke up. “I don’t socialize as much as my siblings, so I tend to forget mannerisms and what ‘kills’ a mood sometimes.” Tirean air quoted with his wing claws when he said kills.
I legit assumed that the Mane Six wouldn’t know what air quotes were since they didn’t have fingers, so I called out my brother. “Bro, what if they don’t know about air quotes?” I instantly felt guilty for making such an assumption.
“Oh, we know about air quotes.” responded Rainbow Dash, demonstrating the point by making air quotes with her hooves. It was a bit weird that she just simply scrunched up her hooves but it did answer the question.
“I should have figured.” I thought aloud while scratching the back of my head. “Sorry, I tend to blurt things in my head before even having a chance to think about it.” I pointed out.
“It’s alright, sugarcube. Everypony has their faults. The six of us learned more about each other and ourselves ever since Twilight moved to Ponyville.” Applejack reassured me. “I reckon ya’ll have yet to know each other or yourselves fully either.”
“Despite your deep bond and familial connection.” Fluttershy asserted.
“You might be right.” Circe pondered.
The party continued for a while as we got our fill of delicious and well-earned snacks. For the rest of the party, the Mane Six tried to make small talk with Tirean while Circe headed off into the crowd to socialize with the rest of the townsponies. Meanwhile, I decided to step outside for some fresh air. As soon as I was sure I was alone, I almost instantly dropped my facade of being in good spirits. My face melted down from a smile to being almost expressionless. Despite having a whole night to reflect on it, the news of the Griffon king being presumed dead, and a council meeting to openly discuss it among other things with various races has been on my mind all day. I was even told that two races have ceased communication with the Princesses. Even though I told Luna I would see if I can help them, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what happened to them. Were they still alive? Did they encounter problems or did they simply decide to not associate themselves with ponies? I knew these were questions I could only theorize on so I forced myself to push those questions aside. For now, there were other things to deal with first.
“You look stressed.” A familiar female voice spoke up next to me. I turned to look at her and quickly recognized her scarlet braided mane.
“Yumi.” I said putting on a smile. “I didn’t expect you to strike up a conversation with me of all people, I mean ponies.”
Yumi just looked at me with the same expression as before; suspicion and annoyance. “Too late to crack a smile, dragon.” gibed Yumi but she made the smallest of smirks which surprised me. “Though it does make me feel better knowing you’re not always cheerful and optimistic.”
My ‘fake’ smile faded as I stared back at her. “In what way? Better about yourself that I feel stressed, or better that I’m more relatable?” I challenged, hoping for a proper answer.
“I haven’t decided yet.” Yumi shrugged which made me purse my lips in mild annoyance.
“Alright, why are you out here talking to me then?” I queried.
“I’m not into parties. Despite the fact that Pinkie invited me. She always invites everypony, no expectations.” Yumi commented.
“Are you the only pony like that?” I questioned.
“Of course not. There are quite a few ponies in there who don’t like big parties like this. We all just accept the invite because it’s Pinkie Pie. She makes a big deal about parties.” Yumi deadpanned. “Nopony can figure out where or how she gets the energy to do these things with such enthusiasm.”
“How indeed.” I concurred.
“Anyway, I don’t know what’s got you so stressed and I couldn’t care less. But Princess Luna and Celestia hold you in high regards, so I have no doubt you’ll work things out. Whatever they are. Plus you have your siblings now.” mused Yumi with the same expressionless look from a second ago. “Regardless, good luck.” Yumi starts walking away.
“Why are you giving me a pep talk, if you aren’t concerned about me?” I asked, looking puzzled.
She stopped briefly to answer me. “Because I hate to see the Princesses be wrong about you. It would look bad on them, you know.” Yumi clarified. “Personally, I couldn’t care less what happens to you.” Yumi ribbed, continuing to walk away.
I just watched her leave as she left me baffled about this whole exchange. “Does she really not care, or is she just teasing me about her indifference?” I wondered to myself. “But she is right. With my siblings, we’ll figure things out. We have to, for everyone’s sake.” I vowed silently before returning to the party.