//------------------------------//
// Part III, Chapter 21: A Bright Future 
// Story: Stairway to Equestria 
// by AlexUk 
//------------------------------//

	

Part III

The Last Steps




Chapter 21

A Bright Future




	. . .

I am at peace . . .

I think I’m there right now. What I’m about to do is just another step on that stairway, a new beginning with new possibilities. But I know that I am ready, I'm not scared anymore.


The feather racked harshly across the notebook’s page, its sharp scratches breaking the early morning’s tranquility. The quiet night guard gritted his teeth at every clumsy step in the feather’s dance, his focus dispelled after a long shift. 


. . .

I want to tell you all how I found that stairway. How my first steps on it were with my shaky legs. How I tumbled down a couple of times or when I stopped and looked behind, silent, at what was and never to be.

I want to tell you how I found the Stairway to Equestria.   

But first, you probably need to know how I lost my blindfold.


The guard reviewed his piece with pride sparkling in his slit, dragon-like eyes. He levitated the notebook back in his satchel and picked up the spear that was resting against the stone wall of one of the royal castle’s towers he was on.  

A shadow landed behind the seemingly unaware stallion, his wing beats unheard and his landing silent as that of a feline. He then swung his weapon at the night guard but a sudden burst of blue magic was rapidly followed by a dark, shadowy tentacle that wrapped around the wooden end of the spear that was about to hit the guard.

“Darn you!” spoke the intruder, the shimmering early rays of the sun revealing him as another night guard. 

“Nice try, but I told you you’ll never catch me off-guard ever again,” said the first guard nonchalantly as he made his way to the tower’s stairway. His comrade picked his spear up and followed him, folding his bat wings against his body as he entered the narrow staircase.   

They reached a lower level and stepped out of the tower, walking along an external wall facing the vast forests outside of Canterlot. The unicorn guard took his head piece off, shaking his helmet-hair.

“So, how was your watch? Anything mildly interesting?” asked the pegasus behind him.

His friend turned around, a bored expression residing in his draconic eyes. “It’s the night watch, Chase’; nothing ever happens.” 

His almost black fur started glowing softly, slowly morphing its color back into the midnight blue that it normally was. The guard’s eyes also glowed briefly, and after a flash, the irises changed their shape back to normal.

He suddenly stopped, and started sniffing the air tentatively. “Chaser, that smell again. Do you feel it? It smells like . . . some sort of perfume?”

The brown pegasus that also just removed his helmet flinched, his eyes darting around nervously. “Uhh- we’ve been through this, Blink; I think it’s just some side effect of our appearance spell fading out.”

“Hmm, might be.” He took a sniff at his upper leg, but instantly jerked his head away. “But I never smell like that. Come on, let’s hurry back to the barracks; I need a shower.”

The two left the castle’s premises, giving a slight nod to the golden armored guards arriving to take their place. They joined in on a column of other night guards, all of them slowly making their way out into the city of Canterlot. 

“So what was that you were writing back at the castle? Don’t tell me it was for that book of yours you wanna start?”

Blink shot him a deathly glare. “Chase’, why did you join the army, and afterwards, the night guard?”

“Because I felt like it?” came the pegasus’s quick answer. 

“Exactly! There’s your answer. Just as you felt that being a guard was the next step up from a game keeper, and the logical choice to make, the same goes for me. We both joined the army what, over a year ago?”

“I guess so, yeah.”

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, some things have changed in that time, despite the monotony of our lives in the army. You’re basically the best archer among the guards, and I- well, you saw some of my training sessions. What I want to say is that sometimes it’s important to write down the adventures in your life. Like the time I fought with Discord or when I beat up that gryphon and had to answer to their damn court for it because that stupid Cele-”

“Blink! For Luna’s sake, she’s the Princess!” Chaser interjected, frowning at the way the unicorn addressed the former ruler of Equestria.

“She was the Princess! I almost died because of that journey. If it wasn’t for Luna, I would have been exiled who-knows where. Don’t think I forgot that, Chase’. A simple ‘sorry’ doesn't magically fix things,” Blink said harshly, stopping at the entrance of the castle’s premises, his nerves on the edge all of a sudden. “Forget it, I shouldn't talk about it anyway.”

“You probably should. Are you okay?” Chaser asked, concern lingering in his eyes. 

“I’m fine. I just-” he paused for a bit before continuing in a steadier voice, “I never had the opportunity to talk to her about all this. And now nobody knows where she is. I just wanted to know why . . .”

Blink resumed walking, his head filled with unpleasant memories. Chaser said nothing more as they continued their tired walk. After a while the barracks came in sight, right next to a secluded section of the capital’s great wall, where its line met the solid mountain the city was built upon.

The sun began rising as the morning settled in, its rays creeping over the wall’s end. Blink’s horn glowed and two small magical sun shields formed in front of his eyes, protecting them from the early light. 

“I really want a pair of those magical shades of yers,” the pegasus muttered, glancing at the unicorn’s makeshift eye protection. 

“You need one of these first,” Blink responded, nodding at his horn.

“I’m fine with my wings, mate.” Chaser then extended his now normal wings, basking them in the warm sun. 

“Pff . . . I’ll get that damn spell working one day,” Blink muttered under his breath.

“Hah! Do I have to remind ya? Broken chest, shattered leg, horn burn-”

“You don’t have to remind me! And all that happened in the course of several trials, mind you.”

“Several suicide attempts ah would call them. Yer very lucky to still be in one piece with all that experimenting on top of your special training and everything. The spells you’re trying out, all those talks you’re having with our weapon smith. What are you trying to do?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Blink’s rebuke turned to a shout as he realised what the time was. He made his way into the barracks, breaking into a gallop. 

Chaser followed him at his own pace and after a few moments, right when he was about to enter the dorms, his unicorn friend rushed back past him and into the showers, his armor taken off.

“In a hurry?”

“Train to Ponyville leaves in five!” Blink’s voice echoed from the shower rooms, the sound of hot running water filling the silence of the empty barracks. 

As the other night guards started arriving as well, Blink had finished his shower and went straight to his bunk bed. He started searching through his backpacks, and moments later he retrieved a pair of sunglasses and some bits. 

“So, how are your big plans coming along?” a voice came from above. 

Blink stared up to Chaser, who was lazily laying onto his top bunk bed, almost asleep. The unicorn opened his mouth to say something but froze before any words could escape his lips. The endless chain of debate triggered in his mind again as he was reminded of a pressuring issue he’s been having lately but quickly shook it off. 

“I’ll be gone for a day or two,” Blink simply said, trying his best to ignore the question. The strain in his voice however betrayed him. Chaser simply smirked, turning around is his bed.

With an explosion of smoke, the unicorn disappeared from the barracks, leaving behind a trail of magic that gently faded away.

Another burst of dark blue smoke made a few ponies jump in place in Canterlot’s train station as Blink appeared on the platform. His heart rate was a little high, but it had nothing to do with the teleportation, but rather with Chaser’s earlier question. He took a deep breath and looked around, trying to find the train that was about to leave towards Ponyville. Finding it, he boarded and took a seat in an emptier part of a carriage. The two hour journey would give him enough time to think things through. 



***      ***      ***



Luna sighed, her frustration reaching a new peak for that day. She floated a stack of official documents to the side of the desk, having finished reviewing and signing them. The alicorn craned her beck back, staring at the late morning’s sun outside. Her last break was several hours ago but she was already tired. Paperwork and bureaucracy in general were not to her liking, however there was little choice she had in that matter.

She adjusted the new crown on top of her head slightly with her hoof, still not used to it even after almost a year.

As she went through the letters on her desk, one in particular caught her attention. She unfolded it and her eyes dropped immediately on the addressing at top of the page:

Dear Princess Celestia,
. . .

It was a letter from an old mare that mentioned her son, an earth stallion, was just about to get married. Her only wish was to have the Princess’s blessings upon one of the most important parts in her son’s life.

Luna could tell from the name of the remote village the letter was sent from that those were fairly old-schooled ponies, living a simple yet pure life at the outskirts of the kingdom. It didn’t surprise her that they had not found out about her sister’s abdication, given how secluded their village seemed to be from the rest of the world.

As she recalled the hectic weeks that followed her public announcement, her eyes fell on the desk in front of her, memories of her sister behind it springing up in her mind. 


“Why hast thou called for me?”

Celestia raised her eyes from the stack of neatly arranged scrolls from the desk, all letters that bore her personal seal. 

“We need to speak.” Her face was emotionless and betrayed no thoughts, the large quill in front of her moving fast over a fresh scroll, drafting up another message. 

“Yes?” Luna said drily, their talk about the spirits in the Everfree Forest still fresh in her mind.

“I am leaving, Luna. And I need you to take my place while I’m gone.”

Her younger sister simply stared at her, trying to find an appropriate follow-up to that announcement. Her mind drew a blank. “Leaving? What kind of diplomatic-”

“It is not a diplomatic journey. I’m leaving Equestria and I need you to step up and claim the throne, just like you always wanted,” Celestia interrupted her, a weak, fake grin plastered on her tired face.

Luna’s eyes widened at her sister’s expression, not able to process what she had just heard. “This . . . this is unheard of, sister. You’ve been a princess since- w-why are you doing this?” she struggled to find her words and instate order in her thoughts.

“I’ve lost sight of what it means to be a leader, dear sister. I can’t continue doing this anymore. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to you and most importantly, it’s not fair to our subjects. I’ll remain for a few weeks and make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.”

“And then? Where are thou going to leave to?” Luna asked, still not believing what was going on.

“I don’t know,” Celestia said, her expression blank. 

“Don’t know? Thou can’t just abandon me again!” she frantically yelled, surprised at her own outburst. “You talk of fairness, yet we’ve been by each other’s side almost all our lives!”

“Then you understand why I need to do this,” Celestia replied, flatly. “And I am not abandoning you . . . I require some time to gather my own thoughts.”

Luna stared at her sister, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried to find a reason why she needed her sister to stay. ”I . . . cannot change your mind, can I?”

Her sister dropped the barely present smile and shook her head no.

“Will you keep in contact, at the very least?” Luna managed to say, holding back a wave of sadness.

“Of course. But I cannot promise you a when.”

Every last ounce of resistance evaporated away from her body as a brewing storm of emotions rolled through her mind. It was understandable, but no less difficult to accept that this was the inevitable outcome that fate has been building up to for some time. 

"As you wish then," she simply said, and left the room, her eyes forming up tears for the first time in years.

She couldn’t deny her sister’s decision. After all, their role as Watchers never included ruling over one of their world’s nations. It was the decision they made over three and a half millennia ago, a decision that saved the fate of a very recently founded kingdom, Equestria. 

Her eyes kept shedding tears as she took refuge in her bedchamber, the fear of responsibility and concern for her sister fighting a grand battle in her head and heart. 


A single teardrop fell on the hoof resting on the large desk. She quickly brushed the moisture from her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus on the relatively more important matters in front of her. Luna could only hope that wherever her sister had gone, she was able to find whatever she was looking for.

The Princess raised a hoof to gently scratch behind her mane. The new crown was sitting uncomfortable. 



***      ***      ***



The midnight blue unicorn jumped out of the train, rushing past the ponies on the platform. His fast walk carried him to Ponyville’s town center, his eyes darting around for a particular place he needed to visit first. 

For a single moment, a silhouette crossed the path of the sun’s light. Looking upwards, a large smile formed on Blink’s face. The sound of approaching wing beats got louder and louder as his friend was closing in from above. Blink took a few steps to the side, making room for the landing. 

Dust raised slightly as the purple dragon landed near the unicorn, his wings beating faster towards the end as to stabilize his final approach. 

“Bout’ time you mastered that landing, Spike.”

The dragon rushed towards him and grabbed the unicorn by his neck, giving him a rough, yet playful welcoming hug, almost lifting him off his hooves. 

“Yeah, if you could stop breaking my neck, that would be great,” Blink barely managed.

“How’s guard duty been for you, big guy?” the dragon asked as he let go of the unicorn.

“Same old, same old. It sure isn’t as exciting as they make it seem.”

Blink continued his walk through the town’s center and Spike followed closely.

“How about you? Still taking flying lessons from Ruby?” he asked, spotting a slight blush on the dragon’s face with the corner of his eye at the mention of that name. 

“Well, she’s a better teacher than Rainbow Dash,” Spike said, deviating from the subject. “I mean, she did wonders with Scootaloo but when it comes to dragons . . .”

Blink stopped in front of a flower shop, his face dropping at the sight of so many specimens to choose from. He was never good at telling flowers apart. 

“Get the yellow and pink ones, she likes those a lot this time of the summer,” Spike whispered to him, noticing his friend’s impasse. 

“Ahh, yes; thanks Spike.”

“No problem.”

The unicorn paid for a nice bouquet of those flowers whose name he couldn’t even pronounce and started making his way to the library. Various ponies on the streets saluted the two of them as they passed by, and they nodded their heads back at the welcoming folk. 

“How do they still remember me?” Blink asked, staring after a young mare that had just beamed him a smile. 

“It’s only been a year and a half or so since you saved this town from Discord. Also, that mare just moved into Ponyville, so that smile was just because-” Spike paused his sentence, giving his unicorn friend a once-over. He noticed he had indeed become more fit over the past year, and his short, army-style mane made him stand out from the usual crown of stallions in Ponyville. 

“Because?” Blink inquired, curious. 

“Because I’ll still shower you with fire if you break Twi’s heart,” Spike finished with a smile, showing more teeth than usually. 

Blink shot him a curious glare, oblivious as always of the context. Fortunately for him, they had arrived to the library. 

“I’ll be back in a few; leave you two lovebirds in peace,” Spike said as he rolled his eyes dramatically. He extended his wings, making Blink duck to avoid being hit. In just a few short moments he was already up in the sky, circling the large library tree a couple of times before heading out towards the distant mountains.

Blink watched him flying away, still amazed to this day on the way his friend defied gravity in a most beautiful display of power and agility. 

And a very stressful mentoring from poor Ruby, he said to himself with a chuckle. 



***      ***      ***



Twilight stared at one of the numerous books laid out on the desk in front of her, having a rather difficult time focusing on the teachings they contained. That lack of focus was to be expected from the young mare, as she knew very well that on that Saturday morning, a very special someone would get leave from his royal duties. 

Two gentle knocks on the wooden door made her heart jump in place. She got up as quickly as she could, her horn enveloping herself in a bright sphere. The next moment she appeared in front of the door, which was already being opened by her magic. She didn’t hesitate a moment as she jumped at the neck of the stallion in front of the door, gentle pink sparks flying by her mane, residue from the teleportation spell.

The firm yet caring forelegs of a young, midnight blue Canterlot guard wrapped around her neck as well and the two souls sat there under the warm sun, silently enjoying each other’s embrace. An even more silent kiss followed as they lost themselves in the touch of their lips, reunited at last after long weeks of waiting. 

“Hey Twi,” he said. 

“Hi Blink,” she said.

“Caaaw!”

“For fuck’s sake!” Blink spat out towards the library’s interior. 

“Who?”

“Which one of you ugly featherbrains said that?” he continued, marching into the house. 

Twilight simply laughed, following the stallion into the house, levitating the flowers that fell on the ground during their hug.

“You could have kicked her out, you know?” Blink turned to Twilight as she joined him, an owl and a raven sitting on a coat hanger in front of them.

“Don’t be so melodramatic, I actually enjoy Raven’s company. And Owlowiscious does too; sometimes it makes me feel that they’ve been good friends for a long time, I don’t know why,” Twilight said, looking at the two birds. 

“Damn traitor,” Blink said to his pet raven, and walked away. He levitated a small bag out of his satchel and placed it on the table near Raven, opening it slightly. 

The black bird jumped on the table’s edge and peered her head inside. Twilight stared at the bag herself for a moment, before a smile touched her expression. She joined Blink on the couch, burying her face in his neck as he wrapped a hoof around her. He floated his glasses off of his face, taking a moment to adjust to the fairly well-illuminated room.

“I know you care for her,” Twilight said from the comfort of his embrace. 

“What makes you say that? She’d rather live with you than with me. One day I’ll make good quills to write my book out of her,” he said jokingly. 

“Well for one, you did get her a bag of exotic seeds from who knows where. And two, you know very well Canterlot’s not her thing, that’s why I decided to take care of her for you. I bet she misses you as much as you miss her.”   

“Oh damn it!” he suddenly jolted, scaring the unicorn mare. “The flowers!”

“Calm down, Blink; I got them when I came in,” Twilight said, levitating the bouquet to herself, rotating it. “They’re beautiful,” she added, taking a sniff before biting a petal off. 

Blink contained a chuckle, the symbolism flowers held in that world still amusing him greatly. Twilight caught that and shot him an angry, yet playful glare. 

“I’m sorry, I still can’t help myself,” he excused himself. 

Twilight’s frown faded away as she remembered what Blink had mentioned moments before. “A book? Is that the book you mentioned to me about everything you’ve been through since you came here? Did you start it already? Do you need an editor?”

Blink stared at the mare in front of him as she bombarded him with numerous questions related to the field she was very well accustomed to. 

What have I done? I should have kept my mouth shut . . .

"Here's what I've done so far," Blink said, levitating the notebook to her. "Nothing fancy, just an introduction for the prologue."

Twilight grabbed it with her magic, quickly devouring the one-page introduction with her trained eyes. “What are you about to do?” she asked, finishing the paragraphs. 

Blink gave her a quizzical look. 

“You said here: What I’m about to do is just another step on that stairway . . . What are you going to do?”

The stallion’s eyes widened at that. “I- nothing it’s just . . . don’t really remember, I wrote it this morning after a long shift, probably too tired to remember anyway,” he blabbered, gesturing with his hooves through the air.

Twilight simply rolled her eyes before deciding to grab the stallion next to her and pull him into a kiss, a kiss in which he soon melted alongside her. His hooves found themselves behind her back, pulling her gently on top of him on the long couch. Their hearts, which were now just inches away from each other, pounded in a maddening rhythm as their owners’ lips melted together in passionate dance that became more intense by the second. 

They eventually pulled their heads apart, mostly because they needed to take a fresh breath of air. Blink stared into Twilight’s eyes, and she stared back, a connection that spoke more words that they could have ever said themselves. Desire sparkled in their eyes, as they both longed for each other’s closest intimacy, yet a promise they made stood between them, as strong as ever.

Twilight lowered her head into his neck, nuzzling him gently. It was moments like those that she wished they hadn’t made that promise, yet she knew as well as he did that the wait was all for the best. 

“Whoa there, you guys could have gone upstairs, I bet your bed is way more comfortable, Twilight.”

The mare raised her head and saw Spike standing in the kitchen’s door, having entered the library through the back entrance. A wide grin plastered his face and his hands were mischievously crossed together as he rested against the door’s frame.

“One day you won’t fit even through that door,” Blink said, matching his grin. 

“But not today. What’s for breakfast?” the dragon inquired, glancing curiously back into the kitchen.

Twilight fumbled from atop of Blink, getting down from the sofa and walking into the kitchen past Spike, trying her best to hide a deep blush. “I’ll warm us up some stew,” she said, disappearing into the kitchen. 

Spike gestured sickness with a claw, and Blink only shook his head from atop the couch. He stretched himself, letting out a mighty yawn. “Thought you like stew, Spike,” he said tiredly as he adjusted himself on the sofa.

“I like my stew. This week it was Twi’s turn to cook, you know?” He made his way to the dining table, plumping down on the floor at the end of it. The chairs were already too small for him to use.

Moments later two steaming bowls floated out of the kitchen, followed by a third, larger one. Blink got off the couch and lazily dragged his hooves to the table, sitting down on a chair near Spike. Twilight came into the room as well, the food already set up. She took a seat and the three of them began eating in silence. 

Spike raised his head and a claw, a stray thought catching up with him. “You guys remember the first time we ate here?” he asked, smiling at both Twilight and Blink. 

“It was the day after Twilight brought me here from Kazooie’s,” said Blink reminiscently. “Things really changed since then, didn’t they?”

“They sure did.”

The table jolted suddenly, causing the bowls to dangle around, threatening to spill their content. “Sorry!” muttered Spike sheepishly, holding on to his large bowl. 

“Spike . . .” Twilight said in a rather concerned tone.

“It’s okay, Twi-”

“It’s not okay, Spike.”

“Yes it is. I just need to . . . be more careful with my new size, that’s all.”

Blink was switching his attention from Twilight to Spike and back, slowly picking up on the hidden meaning of their conversation. “Uhh, what’s-”

“I don’t want to move out!” Spike blurted out, sending the entire room into silence. 

“I know you don’t. It’s just that the library is . . . you’re growing Spike, and soon you won’t fit through the door anymore. Don’t you want to have your own place to live in, just like you wanted to have your own room?” Twilight asked, her voice strained by the subject at hand.

“I- I lived all my life with you. I don’t even know where I would go,” Spike said, his eyes filled with sadness. 

Twilight got up from her chair and went to the dragon, wrapping her hooves around him. Her hooves stopped touching each other behind him in their embraces a long time ago. “You can go wherever you want, Spike. You will still be my number one assistant.”

Blink sat up from his chair as well, a little light bulb switching on in his head. He walked to a small window nearby and idly watched the forest in the distance, catching a glimpse of his old house by the lake. “Wow, I never realised how big this library’s backyard really is,” he simply said, turning his eyes to the two old friends still hugging each other.

Twilight’s eyes widened and she joined Blink near the window. “It- it actually is.”

“What do you say, Spike?” Blink asked, turning back towards the dragon. “Some terraforming here and there, depending on what kind of place you want, and you should have your very own home, right next to the library.”

“It sounds like a great idea, I could lay out the planning for you!” Twilight exclaimed, excited as always by the prospect of a new project. “We could dig in and make an underground cave or use rock from the mountains nearby to build an actual house if you want, Spike.”

The dragon’s face lit up, a little bit of Twilight’s excitement rubbing off to him as well. “I guess that would be cool. A house in the ground would be pretty neat, I guess. Do you guys think we could do it?”

Twilight pondered a moment, darting her eyes outside. “Do you mean, like a ground burrow house?” 

Spike nodded.

“We could do that,” came Blink’s approval as he considered the best location. “We could build it right near the lake house, into the hill that this library sits on. It will be facing the lake, and be close enough to the library but far enough to be considered private.”

“Use the excavated soil to build the outer dome and reinforce the walls with hardened granite . . .” Twilight went on, already planning the outline of Spike’s new home. 

“And I want to do it myself,” said Spike all of a sudden, the other two pair of eyes in the room turning towards him. “I mean, you could help me with the planning Twi, but I feel like I should build this myself, I can’t explain the feeling.”

Twilight’s face broke into a proud smile as she hugged the dragon she practically raised over the years. “Ohh Spike, you’re actually growing up. I knew your nesting instincts would come to surface one day, I never thought it would be so soon.”

Spike was surprised at first about her knowing that much about him but then he remembered who he was talking about in the first place. The dragon returned the hug warmly. “Thanks, Twilight; for everything.”



***      ***      ***



Twilight came down from her room, her eyes falling on the stallion snoring away the evening on her couch. He had fallen asleep following the breakfast meal, exhausted after a night shift at the castle and a tedious journey from Canterlot just so they could spend a day together. 

She went to him and gently nuzzled her coltfriend awake. As he joined in from his short trip into the realm of dreams, Twilight caught sight of his cutie mark. It was one of the very few things she didn’t like about him: his destiny. Even though she managed to get to know him well over the last year, she still secretly disapproved of what his cutie mark’s calling represented. 

She let out a sigh. It was hard for her not to notice Blink’s interest in destructive magic. Sometimes, images of Nightmare Moon gave her dreams unrest, those images morphing and turning into terrifying visions of the stallion she cared so much for. On those nights she would walk around her room, trying to dispel those representations from her mind. Sometimes she would read one of Celestia’s numerous letters to her from the time she still reported her findings on the magic of friendship; sometimes she would just stare at the sky outside, searching for an answer in the stars . . .

Even If she wasn’t saying it, Twilight missed Celestia greatly, despite the decisions made by her. On one hoof she felt anger and disappointment for her mentor but on the other, she realized that those decisions, influenced as they were, were made with her in mind, which made the unicorn feel somewhat responsible for what had happened to Blink.

“Evening . . .” Blink greeted her with half-lidded eyes, the tug of slumber still pulling at him.

Twilight snapped from her thoughts, her face lighting up at the colt in front of her. “Sun’s going down soon and I need to check in on something in town. Want to come with me?”

“Sure; where we going?” Blink asked, dragging himself off the couch, stretching his hooves with a yawn.

“You’ll see when we get there, come on,” Twilight rushed him, making her way out the door.

They went on a slow walk through Ponyville, simply enjoying each other’s presence under the falling sun. The gentle summer breeze pulled at their manes every now and then, bringing them closer to each other in their instinctual search for warmth and comfort. 

As they entered a rather crowded street near the town hall, Blink gave Twilight a rather loud peck on the check. She reacted the same way she did as always when those displays of public affection were directed to her: her cheeks caught fire and her eyes darted after the reactions of passer-by. 

“Aww, you’re cute when you’re embarrassed in public,” Blink teased patronizingly. Making Twilight uncomfortable was, after all, one of his little guilty pleasures.

Her face turned a deep frown and she continued her walk, keeping a few steps ahead of the blue stallion. Blink’s grin never waived a moment as they left the bounds of Ponyville, approaching a floating cloud house. 

“Uhh, what are we actually doing here?”

“Rainbow Dash asked me in a letter to keep watch over Tank until she’s back,” Twilight said, leading Blink in a small forested area nearby. 

“Oh, she’s still in the Academy?”

“Well, she has to finish the mandatory military training before she can actually join the Wonderbolts, but she’ll be back soon enough from Cloudsdale’s barracks.”

Twilight approached a small shed, went inside, and then returned, floating a barrel behind her. Blinked shot her a confused look but carried on following her into the small forest. They came onto a large clearing, a shallow pond taking the center stage of the small refuge. The whole set-up was clearly arranged by ponykind, rocks placed neatly around the end of a pond to create an elevated pool. Fresh water came from somewhere within the ground, filling up the pool then cascading outside into the pond, the water eventually draining into a small forest river. Large plants and short, green palm trees scattered the area, the whole clearing looking more like a piece of land brought from another corner of the world.

Blink’s mouth hanged at the mesmerizing sight, but he recoiled back when he noticed a large stone moving.    

“Twilight?” he asked cautiously. 

The mare just smiled back at him. Opening up the barrel, she scooped out a few cabbages, some carrots and a ballot of freshly cut grass. The large rock, over two feet in diameter rushed to the unicorn with impressive agility for an unanimated object, but then Blink realised that the rock was in fact, a giant tortoise.     

“How the hell? Is this- is this Tank?” he asked, approaching the creature as it was munching happily on the cabbages, managing to fit a whole one in its mouth at a time. 

“Uhh yea, you’ve never seen him before, haven’t you?”

Blink searched though his mind, failing to recall a time when he would have met Rainbow’s pet tortoise. “I don’t think so. Why is he so . . . big?”

Twilight levitated a couple more cabbages out of the barrel, Tank already preoccupied with the grass ballot in front of him. “Well, a few years back, Rainbow Dash decided to choose a pet for herself. She organized this elaborate competition to pick the coolest animal from Fluttershy’s garden and chose Tank over here after he helped her when she had an accident in the Ghastly Gorge.”

Blink approached the pet tortoise, who slowly craned his neck after him, a content smile hanging from his wrinkled face. “So why is he so large?” Blink asked again, gently tapping the thick shell with his hoof. Tank turned in place in a flash, and started rubbing the top of his head against Blink’s chest, making the stallion step back from the force of his affectionate gesture. 

“Well, when Rainbow took him he was actually very small, like a normal turtle. But then he started growing bigger and bigger and when I did a search for his species in the library, we found out that he is a Galapegas tortoise. A very young one for that matter. He got this big in just three years or so and he still hasn’t reached full maturity.”

“I’ll be damned . . .” Blink muttered, petting the tortoise over his head with a hoof. Twilight joined in and snuggled Tank, who gladly returned the gesture.

“Take care Tank, and don’t worry; Rainbow is going to be back soon,” Twilight said before making her way back to Ponyville. Blink followed in her hoofsteps, throwing occasional glances back at the giant tortoise. 

“Don’t get too worried about him,” Twilight said, noticing the stallion’s slight unrest, “Rainbow Dash visits us at least twice a week, depending on how far Cloudsdale is at a given day.”

“That’s good. What about the others? I only know that Rarity still spends some of her week days in Canterlot presenting her designs; I’ve met her a few times near the city center.”

“Ohh yes, she’s always busy when she’s at Carousel Boutique but we still manage to have a girl’s night every now and then.”

Their return journey was coming to an end, the library already around the corner. Blink cleared his voice, putting up an innocent face. “Well, see you tomorrow, I’ll try and see if there’s a spare bed in my old house somewhere . . .”

Twilight simply rolled her eyes, unable to hold her smile. Her purple aura enveloped the stallion, pulling him onto the correct path towards the library’s entrance. 

“Alright, alright, I’ll take the guest room,” he said in defeat, still holding the innocence façade.

“And by the way, Pearl’s building his own home by his cousin’s farm, so he won’t be living in the lake house for long,” Twilight said while entering the library.  

“But I still want that place back when he moves out,” Blink whined, putting up a fake pout. 

A thump made them turn their head to the library’s main room. Spike was picking up a book he had dropped using his tail, his arms already full of reading material. “Hey there, lovebirds!” he grinned at Twilight and Blink. 

“Nesting Grounds, Architecting your Dream House, A Dragon’s Cave?” Twilight voiced, picking up some of the titles of the books Spike was carrying.

“Reading material; you know, for my future house?” he responded, throwing a sheepish smile while making his way to his room. “Good night, guys!”

The door to his room slammed shut. “Well, at least he’s reading,” Twilight said with a smudge of accomplishment in her voice.

Not to fall short of his scaly friend, Blink cleared his throat loud enough to catch Twilight’s attention. As soon as she turned her head towards the stallion, he disappeared in thin air, a silent trail of dark smoke in the form of his body immediately dissipating into the air. A hoof tapped Twilight’s shoulder, startling her. However, a rapidly fading trail was everything she managed to catch with the corner of her eye. 

“Psst, Twilight!”

The mare snapped her head in the other direction. As expected, there was nothing there. “How are you doing that?” she asked, turning around in place until her eyes found the blue stallion relaxing on the couch as if nothing had happened. 

“Do you-“ he vanished away “-like it?” he asked, reappearing just inches away from Twilight’s face. 

The mare shot him a look of wonder, a rare sight for someone that was supposed to be proficient in even the most advanced of magic spells. “Are you teleporting? It’s so fast, and without shielding!” her glossy eyes betrayed curiosity. Blink simply grinned, enjoying the moment.

“Well, it’s kind of a new spell I made. It bypasses the whole quantum shielding, so the teleportation is- practically- instant,” he said, demonstrating the concept by teleporting in three different locations while seamlessly carrying out the conversation. 

“But you know what happens if you don’t shield yourself before teleporting!” Twilight said, clearly unhappy.    

“Relax, I’m not crossing any dimensions. This is direct, quantum teleportation in its truest meaning,” he explained. 

Twilight pondered for a moment. “That means that you have to see where you are going.” Blink approved with a quick nod. “That’s all fine however why would you need that extra second at the huge cost of range?”

The stallion opened his mouth, trying to come up with the best words to describe a rather delicate issue they had between them ever since Twilight began teaching him magic. 

“It’s for- you know-”

“Combat . . .” Twilight murmured, her face dropping slightly. 

“Come on, don’t be like this. You know very well what I do every day. Worst case I had on patrol in Canterlot was a bunch of drunks at a bar that needed to be taught a lesson.”

Twilight let out a sigh. “It’s not about what you’re training for, it’s about you enjoying it so much. I told you about the memories Celestia has shown me-”

“Again with Celestia?” Blink rolled his eyes, his voice containing small traces of anger at the mention of the former sun ruler. 

“You know very well that she was my mentor, I don’t want to argue about this again.”

Blink’s ears flopped down and he reached for the mare, wrapping his hooves around her neck. “I know, I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to be worried about me, that’s all.”

Twilight accepted the hug, returning it softly. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“It won’t. I promise.”

With that, the two slowly made their way up the stairs, keeping close to each other. The stairs however were too narrow for both ponies, especially since one of them was a rather sturdy night guard. Blink’s tail caught a small flower pot hanging on the outside of the stairs, making it fall and smash against the main room’s floor. 

“I got that,” Twilight said, enveloping herself in a sphere of light and vanishing after a second, reappearing by the fallen pot. Blink was by her side the next moment, his lips curled into a pout. “Well, that happened. Sorry . . .”

“It’s okay. In fact, I never got to tell you what I’ve been studying lately,” she said with a smirk, her horn glowing as the broken pieces started floating in the air in front of her. They spun and moved around, snapping against each other in midair, soft purple glows sealing the broken pieces seamlessly. They eventually formed the original pot, which was stuffed with the dirt and what remained of the small bonsai tree. 

“Still, sorry about the actual plant.”

Twilight threw him a ‘just shut up and watch’ look, then her horn glowed ever stronger. Out of the rooted half of the bonsai sprung fresh branches that curled and grew to their former size in mere seconds. With the whole thing good as new, Twilight beamed a proud smile and hanged the plant back where it fell from, making sure it wasn’t loose anymore. 

“Impressive; is that by any chance your-” 

“Yes. I feel it in a different way from my usual magic. I’ve done it with bigger things as well: an actual tree, even small animals. One of Fluttershy’s animals was sick one day, and I wanted to know if I can . . .”

“Twilight . . .”

“That deer would have died if I hadn’t done it. Fluttershy doesn’t even know,” she added with a sad smile. 

“You never told me that,” Blink simply said, taking everything in. “It’s beautiful though; your talent. Definitely better than mine.” He lifted her chin up with a hoof, their looks melted together into one. “You shouldn’t be afraid of who you are, Twilight. The same thing goes for me, unfortunately. Let’s just hope that I will never have to use my gift.” 

Blink pressed his lips against hers, their eyes closed as they lost themselves in the moment.  



***      ***      ***



Luna stared at the papers laid out in front of her on the large desk, a mare waiting nearby at full attention. 

“Are thou certain of these reports?” Luna asked. 

“Yes Princess. The military activity throughout the kingdoms is consistent with the information we have from our espionage reports. The gryphon representatives never returned from the Changeling main hive. It is presumed that they are dead,” the mare steadied her glasses, keeping her straight posture in front of Equestria’s ruler.

“So if what you are conveying me is true, that means that the gryphons are about to wage war against the changelings. The most imperative question in this case would be ‘why’?”

“I don’t think that matters to us, your highness. Should I convey the council to discuss our stance on this conflict?”

“There will be no need for that, Golden Quill. Equestria shall remain neutral for the time being,” Luna stated firmly. 

“As you wish, your highness,” the slender cream colored mare said, taking a deep bow. She then made her way out of Celestia’s former office, leaving the current Princess alone. 

Luna kept her eyes on the reports handed to her, trying to read between the lines. The Changeling Empire was always in bad standings with most of the world’s nations, as their attempts to invade and colonize everyone only brought more hate towards them. 

The Princess got up from her desk and walked to a large world map on a table near the windows. Her eyes followed the distance between the small griffin continent and the icy, isolated peninsula far up north. In the past, attempts to fight the insect-like creatures at their door steps were utterly futile. The cold environment and lack of resources made the Changeling hives very easy to defend, so in time, the nations learned to simply deal with the Changelings by passively defending against their attacks.  

Luna returned to her paperwork, her mind joggling past memories of the wars she had witnessed alongside her sister. Outside, the moon was starting to descend. 

She straightened the crown on her head, as it had started to feel heavy on one side.



***      ***      ***



The next day, Blink found himself awoken by the sharp rays of the morning sun filtering through the window drapes. He yawned deeply, stretching his body under the sheets. His hind leg bumped into something soft. He quickly remembered in whose bed he was sleeping. 

Next to him, Twilight was still sleeping peacefully, long strands from her mane spread across the top end of the bed sheets. Blink let out a sigh, recalling the night before. He remembered passionate kisses and the warm presence of his marefriend, but that was all there was to remember. 

“Curse that stupid promise,” he muttered, getting out of bed.

He went into the kitchen, where Spike greeted him lively. “Hey there, big guy. Got this for you when I woke up today,” the dragon said, handing him a letter. 

Blink unraveled it and began reading the piece of paper. “Well this is nice,” he said after a few moments. “Got invited to the Grand Galloping Gala this year; and not as a guard.”

“Ohh yeah, we get invites every year. This is my . . . fifth?” Spike pondered, scratching his chin with a claw. “Yeap, first one I was too young to go. Still, it’s nice that Luna thought of you too.”

Blink nodded his head. “Well I’m kinda her personal student, especially since I joined the army and then the guards. Anyway, what should I even wear?”

Spike shrugged. “Nothing?”

“Hah! I like the way you think. I hate formal wear, save for my armor.”

The dragon’s eyes widened all of a sudden and he opened his mouth. He spat green flames across the table, two more letters materializing when the fire subsided. He grabbed the first one and opened it. Seven tickets fell into his palm. 

“And these are the ones for me and the girls,” he said, putting them aside and grabbing the next letter. “And this one is from Cadence,” he continued with a more joyful tone. “She and Shining are coming too, and they’re bringing Emerald with them.”

“How’s the small one, by the way?” Blink asked. 

Spike shrugged again. “He’s okay for a foal. I mean, they don’t do much, I don’t see why everyone sees them as the most amazing thing in the world. He’s probably going to stay with Twilight’s parents anyway, he’s way too young for ceremonies like the Gala.”

“To each their own, Spike. Anyway, I still have this day to waste, what do you say we go outside and you show me what you got planned for your house,” Blink offered, immediately triggering a wide smile across the dragon’s face.

“Sure thing!”



***      ***      ***



The sun had risen at its highest point in the sky, basking the surroundings in scorching heat. The horizon line swayed and blurred from the rising heat, the sand around soaking up all the energy from the merciless star. 

A tall, white pony was the only living thing around for miles, lines formed by her dragged hooves marking the exact place she had come from. Celestia advanced another step, pulling the rest of her body along. Her large wings scrapped the surface of the hot sand, drawing her path through the merciless desert. The white, dry hooves were bare and her golden markings had fallen off hundreds of miles ago. 

Celestia’s mind had turned and twisted many times before becoming a greater barren than the one she was crossing. The alicorn let herself drop to the ground, and rested her head against the hot sand. There was nothing in sight for miles, only her, the sand and the scorching sun above.

“Celestia . . .” 

The voice was strangely compassionate and warm. It was an ageless voice Celestia recognized in a heartbeat. She raised her head slowly, staring at the pure white stallion that bore no cutie mark. 

The white pony turned his head around, studying the barren scenery. He then looked straight into the alicorn’s eyes. “Why are we here, Celestia?”





End of Chapter 21