//------------------------------// // 14 - Perfect Machine // Story: A Fateful Flurry // by FIygon //------------------------------// Starlight made her way through the halls of the grand Canterlot castle, her hooves clicking the only sound audible to her nervous self. It wasn’t often she was requested urgently by Twilight, especially not with the festival plans at the school of friendship in full swing. The royal Canterlot guard was as silent and stationary as usual, making her solo walk all the more nerve-wracking. Though she had a sneaking suspicion of why she was here, she wasn’t sure how much Twilight had already discovered. Upon reaching Twilight’s study chambers and the large sign that read “DO NOT DISTURB” as boldly and aggressively as it could, Starlight sighed and knocked. The door opened quite quickly by itself, startling the mare for only a second as she entered. The door quickly closed again the moment she was through the doorway. “Over here, Starlight.” This alone made Starlight even more curious, as she hadn’t expected such a calm response from her rather neurotic friend. Weaving through the unorganized stacks of books that littered the floor, turning it into a maze, she eventually found her way to the voice. Twilight sat at her desk, her head unmoving from the papers that lay before her. “So…” Starlight began awkwardly: “You requested me, princess?” Twilight’s ears flicked in her direction, and she met her friend with a smile and a small laugh. “Mhm, please, come sit.” Twilight said, gesturing to a seat directly next to her. “You know you don’t have to address me that way.” Twilight added at the end. Starlight almost breathed a sigh of relief at her friend's demeanor, now knowing she was managing to keep a level head. “If I had to guess,” Starlight mused while sitting down in the chair with a sigh, Twilight’s form nearly doubling hers in height. “You’ve been working with the data Sunburst sent you.” Twilight nodded slightly, her eyes still fixated on the many papers of analysis, ones that matched Twilight’s own messiness with the amount of unorganized data. “Is it... bad?” Starlight asked with a tilted head, fearing the worst as she cringed in anticipation. Twilight sighed, turning in her seat to look at her friend properly and laughing nervously. “By "bad,” is it bad if I have no clue what’s going on? Because… It’s bad.” Starlight’s heart sank. “Oh no…” She muttered sadly, thinking of what could be wrong and the extent of problems it would cause. “That poor foal.” She huffed angrily. “Starlight I-” Though Starlight was already overtaken with working out the details of the previous statement, “I mean, we need to do so much! An alicorn without magic? Oh, poor Cadance will be devastated. He’s not sick, is he? Should we think about getting a specialist out there? I mean-" “Starlight.” Twilight said a bit more firmly, getting her attention and releasing a small laugh, “I’m supposed to be the anxious one, not you.” And Starlight could see, though she joked, that Twilight’s patience was waning for the research. She was barely holding on to her own composure. It was absolutely killing her inside to be oblivious to the issue. Starlight let a small smile out before it washed away once again. “Hey, this is serious, Twilight; you know that foal means a lot to Cadance now.” Twilight nodded with a sigh. “I’m well aware; Cadance is very emotional about him in her letters…” Starlight adopted a downtrodden expression, looking down at her hooves in thought, “Which is why I don’t want to stop looking into this. It means too much…” She said calmly, settling her two front hooves together with a sigh before looking back up with a face of determination, “Alright, well, let me see what you’ve worked out; don’t hold back on me.” Twilight slid the files over, as well as her own papers, and as Starlight flickered through them with intensity, her eyes only grew more and more in confusion. “Sunburst wasn’t kidding... It’s just not working… at all." Starlight scoffed in near offense. “His magic is just rejecting him? Am I getting this straight?” Twilight nodded slowly, resting a hoof on her forehead. “Yep, you’re reading it clearly.” “B-But that doesn’t make any sense!” Starlight stammered, “Magic can’t just say no to its host; that goes against everything we know about magic.” Twilight huffed a short laugh. “It goes against harmony itself.” She placed both hooves on her face, rubbing it with disdain as she released a frustrated groan. “I mean, what am I supposed to tell Cadance? She’s counting on me to figure this out for her!” Starlight watched a bit helplessly as the nerves finally caught up to her friend and began to consume her thoughts. Starlight sighed, “We can’t tell her anything for sure yet." Twilight groaned, “We’re doomed. What do I do?" She began talking in a self-mocking way, "Oh, hey Cadance! Your newly adopted-but-not-really alicorn foal is actually never going to use magic because it hates him. Sorry about that!" She looked up and locked eyes with Starlight in fear. “She’ll turn into some sort of evil deity just like Luna did in the past; I can’t just let that happen! We’ll have another nightmare situation on our hooves!” “You did not just make up an insulting story about Cadance like that,” Starlight said with a small, disbelieving laugh. "Well, now it’s my turn to tell you to be serious.” Twilight huffed as she crossed her forelegs. “You’re right, you’re right.” Starlight said, taking a deep breath and looking over the files again with a hum. “Is there anything in here that stands out to you that may make sense?” Twilight started to shake her head. “I mean, he casts it correctly; he has perfect leylines; by all means, he’s a perfectly healthy alicorn foal.” “Maybe we’re going about this wrong,” Starlight muttered in thought. Twilight looked at her expectantly. “Well, obviously, the circumstances of him being here have something to do with his inability to cast magic.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin and scrutinized the papers again. “True, it’s very hard to come up with an explanation; it was a fluke on Flurry’s part that brought him here.” Twilight looked at her curiously and asked, “Do you think maybe his death had a part in it?” Starlight tilted her head, “Being revived from death is chaotic, especially when it seemingly has no side effects.” Starlight huffed, “Do you think harmony is rejecting Kieran because he’s actually a chaotic being?” Twilight laughed, “You mean like discord? No, it’s not the same.” There was a pause as they both returned to thought for a moment, “Then maybe he’s in between!” Starlight countered, “You know, maybe he’s not a being of harmony, and he’s not chaotic. He is just… somewhere in between.” Twilight hummed, giving the idea more thought than Starlight expected. “Do you really think it’s possible? For a pony to live outside of the boundaries of chaos and harmony?” Starlight shrugged. “We’re all in the dark on this; anything is on the table.” Twilight adopted a large, excited smile that uneased Starlight a bit. “Wait! What if I used some new spells I've been developing on him? If I remember correctly one of them was involved in body manipulation..." She declared excitedly. Starlight scoffed suddenly, as if choking on her own breath. “And potentially be wrong and end up murdering a foal? I’m out!” Starlight set her hooves back down on the table as Twilight’s face bunched up in thought again. “Okay, Twilight, let’s start over a bit before we go too crazy. What have you researched so far?” “Well,” Twilight hummed as she looked at the few stacks of books on the table. "First, I looked into reincarnation and any stories pertaining to bringing something to life.” Starlight raised her brows but continued listening. “Than I researched spells that could bring things back from the dead and took a deep dive back into alicorn magic theory-” Starlight’s eyes widened. “Necromancy? Twilight, that was your first assumption? I almost feel offended for Flurry! You don’t just do necromancy by accident. You know it’s forbidden; I mean, how would she even have access to something like that?” Twilight blushed sheepishly and huffed, “It fit the description the easiest.” Starlight stared at her incredulously. “Did you ever maybe research, I don’t know, conjuration?” Twilight’s growing look of nervousness told her all she needed to release a sigh of disappointment, “Fine, I’ll research something actually plausible while you make up fairy tales.” “I was getting to it!” Twilight rebuked with crossed hooves and a sour face. “But as far as I know, conjuration can’t create real living beings, let alone using the soul of a dead pony to give it life! It goes against the fundamentals of what I know about magic!” Starlight was rummaging around for books on conjuration as Twilight ranted, eventually coming back over to drop a pile of books in front of her. “You’re too close-minded about magic sometimes, Twilight. If it’s not in the books, you always denounce it. Who’s to say an alicorn can’t invent new types of conjuration magic? We don’t even know what domain Flurry has in the first place.” Twilight looked away in a bit of shame, knowing there was truth to those words. She remembers experimenting with magic so much when she was young, but now she's gotten a bit complacent. Starlight sighed as she dropped another stack of books, sitting down next to her. Twilight expected her friend to reprimand her a bit more, but was instead met with her hoof grasping her own. “Which is why you have me to help you.” Starlight reminded her while giving her a sincere smile. Twilight nodded gratefully, grabbing a book of conjuration off the top of the pile. “Thanks Starlight.” “You really didn’t have to do all of this, Silver Drift.” Cadance sighed as she watched the crystal mare unload the massive pile of gift bags and boxes from her back. A quantity of which seemed nearly impossible to fathom and even harder to balance. She was swift, however, placing them neatly on the floor in the center of the living room. The mare bowed her head afterward, a stalwart and perfect pose to her action, “Nonsense Princess, it was, and always will be, a pleasure to serve you and Flurry.” Silver Drift smiled before giving a hearty salute and standing back at attention again. Flurry patted her guard’s leg, "Thanks, Silvy. Go take a break!” She happily suggested. Silver Drift nodded thankfully, retreating from the family’s quarters and into the castle elsewhere. Cadance glanced over the pile of gifts with a tired sigh. “You really take Hearth’s Warming seriously, honey…” Flurry paced around the pile with an eager giggle. "Well, of course! I have to get gifts for Aunt Twilight, Aunt Luna, Aunt Celestia, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity-” Cadance’s head went to mush somewhere in between as Flurry listed the dozens of recipients of her generosity. Though she was proud to have such a compassionate daughter, it certainly made shopping for them all quite an affair. She found herself lying down on the couch, stretching her body to its maximum length, and releasing a relaxed hum of contentment. “Momma, when are Kieran and Daddy getting back?” Flurry asked suddenly, sitting down at the base of the couch with a head tilt. Cadance kept her eyes closed, releasing another curious hum, “Whenever they’re done with their trip, silly.” Flurry sighed, her shoulders sagging a bit as she stared at the floor. “I’m worried about Kieran… Don’t the guards hate him? And Smoky?” Cadance peeked one eye open at her daughter and said, “That’s a problem for me and Daddy. Kieran will be okay.” “Oh yeah, true. Daddy will just beat them up.” Flurry said this without hesitation as she walked away to rummage through the gifts. Though she hoped everything would be alright, she could never know or be prepared if it wasn’t. Kieran had made many steps in the right direction; she believed that underneath all of his trauma was a truly brave and heartstrong young foal. The question that constantly plagued her was whether they were good enough to facilitate the little one from coming out of that shell. Could someone be better for him? Were they doing things right? ‘It’s a bit late to wonder if we’re doing it right,’ Cadance inwardly mused to herself. Cadance couldn’t help but let her mind wander to the worst possible scenarios. Thoughts of Kieran being mercilessly berated by the guards, and Shining and Bristle just barely holding back the angry mob. Kieran falling into an inescapable pit of despair that ruins the last bastion of sanity the universe was kind enough to gift to him, yet he’d feel so lonely, scared like the entire world is against him, and- … She took a long, deep breath. And good thing she did, as only a few seconds later did the front door burst open. Cadance sat up straight with a small jump as Kieran bound into the living room with more glee than she’d ever seen on him. It wasn’t just his cute little embarrassed smile; this time he genuinely looked like an excited little foal bounding towards his family. “Cadance!” He giggled, “I got my hair done!" Once he got close enough, he leaped, and Cadance caught him with her magic midair, levitating him over into her grip to hold the foal. She inspected his hair with an equal amount of excitement. “Oh my! You look so cute!” Cadance squealed as she held him up from under his front legs. Kieran laughed as he held his nose up high. “I am not cute! I look cool now.” He said with confidence that she had yet to hear from him since he got here. Cadance giggled and brought him close to her chest, giving him an affectionate nuzzle. Afterwards, she glanced upward at Shining, who was sharing a large smile with her. “You ruined my hair!” Flurry gasped with horror as she stood up on her back legs. Kieran glanced to the side and said, “Please, it’s an improvement.” He gave her a playful eye roll. Flurry growled and hunched downward, ready to attack, but Shining whisked her up into his arms before she could even start. “There’s my little filly!” He said, squishing his muzzle against the side of hers dramatically. “Hi daddy,” she replied, melting into his embrace. Cadance lowered Kieran from her hold a bit, brushing through his hair. “You look fantastic, Kieran. Who’s the artist? Shining can’t style a mane to save his life.” “Hey… I’ve had to do Flurry's... once.” Shining rebuked. Flurry scoffed, “I looked like a train wreck!” She crossed her hooves. A few seconds later, she glanced over at Kieran, putting on a smile. “I was just kidding, by the way; I like it, Kieran.” Kieran blushed awkwardly and stutered, “T-Thank you... It was a pegasus named Honey Flitter that did it all.” Cadance hummed, “I’ve never heard of her before." Shining chuckled. “Styling his mane was only a small part of that story as well.” Cadance nodded and reached her hoof up to boop Kieran’s nose. “How about you tell us the whole story of your day, hmm?” Kieran looked a bit more uncomfortable at that, but with a gentle back rub from Cadance, he eventually nodded. So the foal spent a while, and most of dinner, retelling his meeting with Flitter and everything she’d done for him. And even though he glossed over their conversation, it was clear that something Flitter had said had made a great impact on Kieran’s mentality. It was especially noticeable for Cadance, as Kieran didn’t look ashamed or annoyed as usual when she had to feed him dinner. What had Flitter said to him that had changed his perspective so much? Cadance couldn’t wrap her head around it; the only thing she knew was that her gratitude towards the recruit was grand. And she’d proven and settled something in Cadance’s heart that had plagued her all this time. She and Shining were doing just fine. “I am not touching that water!” I proclaimed greatly as Cadance levitated me over the warm bath. With the steam hitting my back, I clutched her front leg as hard as possible to stay out of it. She sighed worriedly. “Honey, please stop using your magic!” She reprimanded me as she pulled my hooves off her, subsequently cutting off my magic grip from reaching her. I instead crossed my hooves as Cadance gave me a worried head tilt. “Why don’t you want to be clean?” “I like being clean. I hate the feeling of wet fur.” I said with a huff, “It feels like I went swimming while wearing a full winter outfit, and you feel heavy and... Ick, it's nasty.” I said with a small shudder. She tilted her head at the comparison, and she sat down in front of the tub. “I promise to dry you off as quickly as possible,” she tried to convince me. "Please, would you let me clean your fur?” I raised my brow as she attempted to put on puppy-dog eyes. And well, ponies were good at it, considering how impressively large their saucer plate eyes were. I could feel the pull of my heart already, something urging me to give in to the cute stare. But just as I shut my eyes and was about to refuse again, Flurry poked her head in, her horn glowing to illuminate her dark bedroom. I was using her bathroom after all. "Kieran, just let momma clean you already, silly." I sighed deeply, rolled my eyes a bit, and released a relenting groan. “Okay, fine.” Though it didn’t remove my annoyance at the feeling of wet fur, I did garner a little bit of fun from forming a bubble foam beard onto Cadance’s face in retaliation. She thought it was adorable, which heavily countered my attempts at getting back at her for drenching me. It felt like my entire body had a wet blanket wrapped around it. Even when I tried to splash her, the water would mysteriously freeze midair as if time had stopped before being blasted back at my own face. I didn’t quite know what I expected, messing with an all-powerful alicorn with my own cheap tricks. “You’ll need a bit longer to hit me with one of those, sweetie. Flurry’s got you beat on trying that a million other times.” Cadance relayed to me as she scrubbed my mane. When she finally lifted me out, she lit her horn up, and the wetness on my fur seemed to soak out like a sponge in nearly an instant. Turning into a glob of water in midair, which she quickly dropped off right by the drain. “Why didn’t you do that before?” I asked with scrutiny and a bit of betrayal. She laughed and blushed. "I didn't think about it.” She brushed my hair gently. I looked into the mirror and felt a little upset to see Flitter’s perfectly styled mane disappear. Cadance leaned in from behind and nuzzled my head. “Just come find me when you wake up, and I’ll make it look exactly the same.” “Promise?” I looked up to her excitedly. She nodded resolutely and said, “I promise.” She gave me a look in the mirror that I couldn’t refute. “And I’ll do it every single day, if it makes you happy, little one.” She assured me before giving me another affectionate nuzzle mixed with a small kiss on the cheek. I blushed heavily as I looked down at my hooves. Why was I so embarrassed? I knew she was affectionate and loved me. She had told me as much quite a few times now. For some reason, I couldn’t get over my stupid mentality that she was a stranger. Even though I felt more comfortable around her than anyone else, I mean, she had even said she wanted to be my mother… Flitter’s words rang out in my mind: ~“Well, they still care about you. And judging by the description of your past life, how many people can you honestly say that about?”~ I hadn’t exactly returned any of the affection she had generously shown me. But Cadance was being patient enough to wait for me and was trying to show me how much she cared. Was it worth the potential pain? Finally letting somebody know I felt the same way back? Cadance would never see me as weak and suddenly use my newfound affection towards her against me; I could feel it. I smiled widely and leaned against her barrel, rubbing my head on her soft fur. I spoke so quietly I didn’t know if she’d hear me, “I love you, Cadance.” I don’t know what made me finally say it in the end, but it felt like I should’ve said it a long time ago. And I wondered if it was weird for her. I didn’t immediately get the reaction I was expecting, which made a pit form in my stomach. But it lasted only a couple of seconds, and I realized why soon after, when I felt water hit the top of my head. And suddenly I was in a full hug, with her wings wrapped around me. “I love you too, Kieran.” She whispered while nuzzling me. I looked upward as she wiped a few tears from her eyes. I hadn’t ever seen that look on her face. She was so relieved and… happy. She was happy that I loved her… That thought made tears well up in my own eyes. She leaned down, wiping tears out of my eyes, and she kissed my forehead. “I’ll always love you, Kieran; don’t forget that.” I blushed deep red but didn’t take my eyes off her, nodding shortly with embarrassment. “T-That makes me feel… really happy. Thank you.” I replied nervously with a smile. She giggled. “You’re speaking so formally now!” She said with another giggle. I blushed even deeper, suddenly feeling self-conscious of my voice. “I-I just… I don’t know the correct words to express those feelings.” She leaned in, “It’s cute." She reassured me, “Now where’s your little smile at?” She questioned, tilting her head. I lifted a hoof up and realized my smile had been replaced by a frown at some point. “Your cute little smile was here just a moment ago! Did it fall off? Is it hiding?” She started nuzzling me all over, which elicited another smile and laugh from me. “There it is!” She cheered, pretending that she stuck it back on with her own hoof. She locked eyes with me and lifted a brow. “Please never lose it, dear. It fits you much, much better." I giggled loudly and was content to bury myself in her soft, fluffy chest fur again. "Okay, I won’t, for you, Cadance.” She squeezed me tight with her wing and returned to brushing my hair, humming a soft little tune as she did so. “Are you two done in there?” Flurry called from outside. Cadance momentarily stopped her humming to call back, “Just a moment, honey!” She called back. For another couple of minutes, she straightened out my fur and even did some minimal preening of my wings for me. Which made me melt in her embrace just the same as last time. When she was finished, I was lifted onto her back with a final nuzzle as she unlatched the door, and I was immediately met with Flurry bouncing up and down waiting for us. “Kieran, you should sleep in my room tonight!” she urged me excitedly. I tilted my head as Cadance hummed unsurely, “I don’t know, honey; I think Kieran would be happier with us.” Though that was probably right, the way she had told Flurry had made me feel bad. Flurry glared slightly and growled as her horn glowed. “That’s not fair... Kieran, do you not like me?” Cadance face-hoofed as I laughed nervously. "Yes, I do like you, Flurry.” She beamed, “Then sleep in my room! It’ll be fun!” Cadance looked backwards at me with a bit of concern, and I sighed and nodded at her request. “Okay, sure.” “Yay!” She squealed, jumping up and down in delight, until she eventually got to her massively oversized bed. She jumped up onto it and crawled under the covers before popping her top half out and patting the bed next to her. Cadance laughed and carried me over, setting me down on the opposite end of her bed and booping my nose. “No video games in the middle of the night, you two.” Cadance warned, mostly directed at Flurry, “If you do, you know what happens.” Flurry giggled playfully at her mother but nodded in agreement. I crawled under the covers just as Flurry had, mostly exhausted from today’s excitement. I settled myself quite quickly; her bed was just as comfy as all the others. In fact, you sank into it so quickly that it felt like your entire body was getting a big hug. Cadance noticed my eyes were already closing and shushed Flurry, who was still going over something. Cadance leaned down over me, nuzzling my face and kissing my cheek. "Goodnight, my little aquaphobe.” I huffed and giggled. “Night, pink witch." She giggled as she moved over to Flurry and similarly said goodnight. Shining came walking in, "Oh, a little sleepover?” He said in surprise. Cadance shushed him, pushing him forward. Shining just laughed as he leaned over Flurry and kissed her goodnight. “Sweet dreams, sweetie.” “Always the sweetest!” Flurry said excitedly, even as she released a yawn. He moved to the other side of the bed, stopping at my side, and we locked eyes. He smiled and leaned downward, nuzzling me gently. “I’m proud of you for today,” he said quietly in my ear. I nodded shortly. “I hope what I did was right." He backed up a bit to give me a confident nod. “That’s all we can ever hope for. Sweet dreams, buddy.” He said. “Goodnight, I love you,” I said sincerely in my ever-encroaching tiredness. His eyes widened, and he paused, gauging me to see if it was a joke he didn’t understand. When he realized it wasn’t, he quickly leaned back down to nuzzle me again. "I love you too, buddy.” He backed away as my consciousness began waning, joining Cadance as they both exited the room quietly. The moment the door clicked shut, I could hear shuffling and practically feel the holes being burned in the back of my head. I tried to ignore it, but it was too potent of a stare to ignore. I gently shifted over to lock eyes with Flurry in the dark as I gave a tired groan. She had a small, tired smile. “Do you like it here, Kieran?” She asked quietly. I hummed back tiredly, “Yeah, why?” She tilted her head a bit. "That... Flitter mare, she really helped you, didn’t she?” I wondered what had brought this about and nodded. “Mhm, she’s great. Why though?” She closed her eyes a bit. “You just seem... happier now. Way happier.” I laughed slightly. “I can stop.” I teased. Her eyes shot open. “No!” She whined tiredly, “I like it!” I just laughed. Flurry went quiet for a minute, mulling over the question she clearly wanted to ask: “What did she... what did she tell you? Like, things you didn’t want to tell Momma and Daddy." I released a long sigh. There was no reason to withhold the information, it just felt embarrassing. “A lot of things, mostly telling me it was okay to be a foal again. And to trust the people around me who actually care about me.” “Do you trust me?” She questioned, hopefully. “Should I not?” I asked right back. “You should!” She said suddenly, her horn lighting in a flare of defiance. She jabbed me with one of her hooves. “You’re so mean!” She puffed her cheeks out and looked like she’d just eaten sour candy. “You told Momma and Daddy you loved them, but you’re being mean to me! And I love you just as much as them!” “I’m just playing,” I said, pulling her in for a hug. “Also, hey, stop eavesdropping!” I reprimanded her by gently bumping her forehead. She just shrugged, and I sighed again, putting on a large smile. "Okay, Flurry, I’ll be honest, I didn’t trust you when I first got here. But now, you’re my only actual friend, and I trust you.” She giggled happily, wiggling in my embrace. “You’re forgetting something, though,” she said hopefully. I tilted my head before realizing, "Oh... I love you too, Flurry.” I said with a large smile. She giggled and clapped her hooves quietly and excitedly, leaning in to hug me more. We hugged for a bit, and when she retracted, she stared at me pridefully and said, “Okay, now go to sleep, my minion.” I scoffed and turned away from her again. “In your wildest dreams, you psychotic necromancer.” She just giggled in response. I drifted off with a heavy mind. My entire life has been called into question and countered by conflicting things on both sides. The internal version of me and this new one that was starting to rear its head. Things Damon told me, the lies my old “parents” used to tell me, and now everything these ponies had said. What Flitter told me, especially. It was all so much, and haunted me into my dreams. “But you're being a bit too hard on yourself, don’t you think?" Flitter’s voice rang in my mind. “People don’t ever just… do things for you. And people don’t change. They just pretend they’re different people around different groups to save themselves." Damon’s voice countered back. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel bad or upset with yourself... But you want to be a better pony, right?” “If you can’t lie, then run. Nobody has ever been rewarded when telling the truth.” “I’ve seen many ponies who are adults make terrible decisions, learn from them, and grow from them as well… Age isn’t really the problem; it’s how you were raised that made you do those things." "Jane and Eric literally only took us in for the money." “Well, they still care about you. And judging by the description of your past life, how many people can you honestly say that about?” "Believe it if you want. Might hurt less to pretend otherwise, I guess." My raging mind was washed away with the tide, my thoughts blanking as the jumble of words escaped me. I found myself in a field instead. The starry night above me, a tree just behind my back. Well, “my” back. Looking down at my body, there was nothing recognizable. Like a swirling mess of dark energy, my limbs were more a suggestion than anything, my body present but not there all at the same time. Just a black mass of constant fluctuation and change. Sometimes I’d catch a glimpse of a pony, sometimes a human. “Thy heart is filled with the heaviest of conflicts I’ve hadst the displeasure of witnessing." I turned to meet Luna, and her brow furrowed with worry as she observed my sorry state. I opened my mouth, did I? I couldn’t tell. “Hello Luna…” She approached, her head fixed on my form. She reached out with her hoof and realized that there was some sort of physical form there that she could touch. She quickly used that information to sit down and wrap a wing around me. "Prithee, bid us what plagues thee, mine own dearest nephew.” I decided to let her use the label, and I gave a small laugh, “You’re speaking like a Victorian-era noble again.” Luna blushed in realization, clearing her throat. “Sorry, I’ve not yet adopted your “common” way of speaking with the ponies of today. They expect me to speak the same old… “Victorian” way as you call it.” There was a bit of silence as she waited for me to speak. “Has everything been alright lately? Something has your inner self caught in a wild fluctuation. And your nightmare called me to you for the first time in many moons.” “Thanks, I couldn’t tell.” I said, reaching out with my appendage to gaze at the swirling mass again. I sighed and groaned at the same time. Luna tilted her head and waited patiently. I looked over to her and said, “It’s nice to see you again, Luna.” She smiled, “I agree, and I cannot wait for Hearth’s Warming.” She hummed curiously. “You wouldn’t happen to be avoiding the question, would you?” I shrugged. “Things have been great—better than ever, actually.” I paused, thinking of what could possibly be the problem. “I just… I don’t know. I’ve gotten really close to Cadance, Shining, and Flurry. But there’s always something inside me trying to tell me to run or wanting me to continue pushing them away.” Luna hummed, listening to my words intently, and afterwards she looked upwards at the sky. “Something? Or memories of somepony?” She asked curiously, her gaze not wavering from the heavens. “Those are two very different things, little one.” I sighed, “No… it’s others… My brother Damon, mainly, he’s always in the back of my mind.” She held me tighter, clearing her throat. “Hm? I’m afraid you haven’t told me of him before.” She said a bit nervously. I just laughed slightly at her attempted fib. “Cadance did, though, didn’t she? You know what happened already, I bet.” She sighed sadly, her head lowering to look at my mess of a form with sympathy. “Sorry. I do not try to pry with my letters. However, Cadance likes to write about you.” A different version of me might get angry, but these ponies just wanted to help. Plus, if it was Cadance, I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s okay, Luna.” She smiled gratefully and bowed her head down to my level. “These thoughts running wild in your head—they're conflicting with your newfound happiness?” I slowly nodded, and she sighed greatly. “You must take control of your own head and replace those bad memories with good ones.” “Like… new memories?” I asked curiously. She hummed, “Of both your past life and the new. Dwelling on the awful parts of your past life will only bring grief.” Luna’s face was riddled with sadness—more than I’d like to see on her. “But it’s so hard to do,” I said, frustration seeping into my words. “Everything from my past that makes me happy is something that I relate to my brother. But…” I paused to stop the sadness from consuming me. “I just don’t want to think about him…” She wrapped both wings around me, “I understand, little one; trust me, it’s not easy.” She said with her own little sniffle. “Pretending that the past didn’t happen is unhealthy, and to move on and grow from your old self. Such a task is something no pony could call easy.” She leaned closer to me and nuzzled the mess of a form I am. “Just remember, there are those around you right now that love and cherish you. You aren’t alone, and none of us would like to see you suffer any longer.” “I-I’ll do my best, Luna, but... I don’t know if I exactly know how.” I told her honestly. “I mean, where do I even start?” I asked, gazing up into her eyes. “I would continue down this path you’re already taking.” She said with a large smile. “Plus, if so, I may gain an actual nephew.” I scoffed with a small smile. “You already called me that earlier.” “Wishful thinking!” She defended herself: “A pony like me does not often acquire new family members! For we live too long and have not had children of our own! Tis a treasure I holdest deep to the heart! I do not often get to cherish others with such glee, especially young ones.” I honestly hadn’t thought about that. Her and Celestia had never had children, to my knowledge. After thousands of years, you’d jump at the chance to get close to anyone in a familial way. Wouldn’t you? I don’t know; trying to understand thousand-year-old alicorns is too confusing. I laughed and leaned against her. “You know what? That is fair. Want me to call you Auntie Luna like Flurry does?” I said mostly in jest. Yet her eyes lit up much like the starry night above us, and she leaned closer and grasped my two appendages between her hooves. “I would love this decision!” She nearly squealed. But she seemed to realize her emotions were taking hold, and she cleared her throat. “Only if you would feel comfortable, Kieran. That’s what’s important.” I smiled and blushed in embarrassment, though I doubt she could tell. “I… I’m okay with it.” I shuffled a bit awkwardly. “So, Auntie Luna, what’s your consensus on my form right now?” She seemed to bite back her excitement at that, but she certainly hugged me even tighter with her wings. “You know…” She paused, positioning herself in a more comfortable position as she lay down, my body resting against her chest. “I have a story for you.” “A story?” She nodded with a content sigh. “One about myself, though the lesson is all the same.” She watched my curious expression and said, “I think it could help you with your conflicting feelings about the past. Would you listen to my tale?” I laughed a little at the way she delivered the question, “Mhm, I’m stuck with you anyway.” She rolled her eyes playfully at me, sticking her tongue out and waving it. I giggled, and so did she, and afterwards she guided my gaze to the stars above. They repositioned themselves like dancing lights, depicting a scene with which I was not familiar. She began her story, “Well, little one, it all started long ago one night, with the setting of my sister's sun…”