//------------------------------//
// Noble Conflicts 
// Story: Shadow of the Sun 
// by moguera 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 8: Noble Conflicts

"Well," said Prince Blueblood, maintaining his awkward smile, "We might as well get this over with."
"I guess," agreed Twilight.  The two of them left the waiting room and made their way down the halls of the Royal Palace.  To be perfectly honest, this was the most time she'd spent with Prince Blueblood ever.  She couldn't ever remember meeting him during her tenure as Celestia's student in the palace.  Most of what she knew of him came secondhoof from Rarity, who, given the opportunity, wouldn't shut up about what a boorish swine he had been at the Grand Galloping Gala.  She had been surprised by her conversation with him before her audience with Luna.
At the same time, she got a strange impression of likeability from him.  If the Blueblood Rarity had met at the Gala was merely a facade he had concocted and the Blueblood she was with now was his real personality, she had to admit she found him much more charismatic and endearing than she'd thought.  Furthermore, it was clear that he and Arkenstone were friends.  She wondered if he was friends with Shining Armor too.
There was something else that bothered her.  "What did Arkenstone mean when he said 'training?'"
Blueblood looked at her, his expression confused for a moment before he realized what Twilight was talking about.  "Oh!  That.  He was originally supposed to be my personal butler."
"A butler!" exclaimed Twilight, unable to conceal her surprise.
Blueblood raised any eyebrow at her.  "What, Arkenstone never talked to you about his family life?  I'm a bit surprised.  He was never ashamed of it."
"What do you mean about him being your butler?"  Twilight was aghast.  Arkenstone was a Knight of the Celestial Order, one of the most formidable warriors in all of Equestria.  It was virtually impossible for her to see him as a mere servant.
Blueblood's mouth twitched in a smile.  "Exactly what I said.  His family has served mine for generations.  His father was the personal butler to my father, while his mother joined the staff to serve as my mother's chief maid.  When Arkenstone was born, he was originally going to be raised alongside me before being taken into my service."  He paused to study Twilight's horrified expression.  "Oh don't be like that.  It's a very important position.  The Duke's personal butler is head of the household servants, charged with maintaining the order and dignity of our household.  He minds his master's dignity and responsibilities even when his master doesn't and is charged to correct his master when such incidents emerge."
Blueblood gave Twilight a sheepish grin.  "I should know.  After that incident, Old Redwood, that's Arkenstone's father by the way, was even more severe with me than Auntie Celestia was."
"Huh?"
"Well, he was more than aware of my intentions, but that doesn't excuse Duke Blueblood making an utter buffoon of himself in public."  Blueblood chuckled.  "Arkenstone would have been charged with the upbringing of my children (if I ever had any) and would be expected to be as stern with them as his father was with me."
"His family served yours for generations," said Twilight softly, "He was practically born into servitude."
"I suppose you could say that," admitted Blueblood, adopting a slightly contrite tone, "However, it is a prestigious duty, one that its holders take a great deal of pride in.  Within the noble household, at least those of our caliber, Arkenstone's family is practically a noble line of their own.  If anything, dear Redwood was the most disappointed among us when his son opted not to 'take up the family business' as it were."
"What happened?" asked Twilight.
"His cutie mark happened," replied Blueblood, "I don't know if he told you how he acquired it, he certainly didn't tell me.  However, he decided that serving our household was not to be his calling and he left to seek that calling elsewhere.  I heard that he went to study under one of the former Knights before returning to Canterlot to be Knighted himself.  His and my families were among the few who were invited to attend the ceremony."
"I see," said Twilight, unsure of what to make of the situation.
Blueblood chuckled again.  "Do you think less of him because he was originally slated to be my servant?"
"Of course not!" exclaimed Twilight, glaring at the Duke.
"Good."  He sighed.  "It's a pity.  Because I was shackled by the obligations of my rank, even as a foal, I never got to meet any of Arkenstone's friends or play with them like a normal foal.  I never even knew your brother until Arkenstone introduced us sometime before Shining was made Captain.  Perhaps if we had met back then, or during your time as Auntie Celestia's student, perhaps we could have been friends as well."
Twilight found herself smiling at the thought.  Of course, during her time as a student, she had been so completely engrossed in her studies that she hadn't even remotely considered the possibility of interacting with anypony, much less nobles, whom she'd regarded as being overly stuffy and obsessed with their reputations more than anything that mattered, like actually learning.  Quite a few students in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns had been scions of noble houses and had spent a great deal of their time feeding their own egos, rather than trying to follow the curriculum.
Of course, the fact that many of them bore a rather large chip on their shoulders over the fact that she, a commoner, had been chosen to be Princess Celestia's personal student was another factor that contributed to her desire to stay away from the nobles during her schooling years.
"I suppose that would have been nice," she admitted.
Blueblood nodded, then his ears twitched as the faint clop of hooves other than their own echoed down the hall.  Turning his head, he managed to spy a servant in livery darting down a side corridor.  His eyes narrowed as he processed the fact that the servant in question was not dressed for Palace service.  "I think we have been marked," he said.
"Huh?"  Twilight's head shot up and her gaze darted around the hallway, her reaction too late to catch sight of the fleeing servant.
"Somepony's servant just marked our movements.  We should be on our guard.  I suspect we may meet with a troublesome situation before we can leave the palace."
"Troublesome?"  Twilight gulped.  Was Blueblood expecting some form of violence to break out?  If so, would her purely academic lessons with Arkenstone be enough for her to account for herself in the thick of things?  Her eyes looked up towards the base of her horn, where her secret asset waited if she needed it.
"I doubt it'll involve force," said Blueblood, giving her an encouraging smile, "Likely it will only involve exchanging some words.  However, that can be dangerous enough on its own here, with these ponies."
Twilight nodded and swallowed hard, unhappy at the prospect of a confrontation of any kind.  "Why spy on us like that?"
"Whoever was behind that servant likely wanted to know which exit we would be using," replied Blueblood simply, "While the main entrance is the obvious choice, it is but one of many entrances and exits the Royal Palace has."
"Could we take another exit?" asked Twilight.
"We could," agreed Blueblood, "But that could cause problems for us later.  Right now, the best approach will be to confront whoever is waiting for us head on.  Don't worry.  As a duke, I am at the highest rank in the Noble Court.  Since I am accompanying you, there can be no direct interference right now."
"Okay," said Twilight nervously, feeling a little unbalanced by the fact that it was Blueblood of all ponies that she was depending on at the moment.
The two of them took a few more minutes before they arrived at the main entryway of the Royal Palace.  It was a massive hall that stretched for over a hundred meters.  The space was wide enough for nearly an entire company of soldiers to stand abreast.  The vaulted ceiling loomed overhead with enough space that a pegasus could easily take flight.  On one end, the massive hall terminated in a large, ornate staircase, down which ran a broad, red carpet that stretched all the way to the other end where the colossal gates leading to the drawbridge waited.  Even though it was evening now, the gates remained open, with only a pair of Royal Guards, one waiting on each side, standing sharply at attention.
Partway down the hall stood a unicorn stallion, his head bent slightly as he gave his ear to a maid, a mare dressed in the livery that Blueblood had spotted in the hallway.  This then, was the one who had spotted them.  Blueblood frowned upon realizing that they had drawn a particularly troublesome opponent.
"Tread carefully Twilight Sparkle," he said softly, "This one is quite dangerous."
Twilight nodded nervously.
The unicorn before them was a muted orange color.  As he noticed their presence, he tilted his head upwards to regard them with deep, forest-green eyes.  His attention immediately zeroed in on Twilight, who felt her skin crawl as she felt his gaze lasciviously caress her every feature.  She was nearly overtaken by the need to shy back and hide behind something, anything to break his line of sight.  His lips stretched into a smile that looked faintly vicious before he managed to school his expression into a more polite mode.
Realizing that she couldn't afford to back down in front of this opponent, Twilight returned his gaze and examined him in turn.  If she had to guess, this stallion was probably only a little older than she was.  His body was fairly well built, with nicely defined muscles and no trace of flab.  While he wasn't an athlete like Rainbow Dash or a warrior like Arkenstone, it was clear that this stallion worked to keep himself in good shape.  Twilight would have found him attractive if his very presence didn't make her feel like she was being rubbed down with grease.  Perhaps his most notable feature was his horn, which seemed unusually sharp for a unicorn.  However, she also noticed his cutie mark, a spear with a scroll rolled around the shaft, which certainly didn't do anything to lessen the sense of danger Twilight felt from this stallion.
As they came within speaking distance, the stallion smiled and bowed his head to Blueblood, the movement ruffling his rust-colored mane, which was shot through with streaks of gray.
"Duke Bluebood," he said, his voice tinged faintly with a note of frustration, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Your Grace."  It was clear that he was not happy to find Twilight in the company of a higher-ranking noble.  For the first time, Twilight was truly grateful that Blueblood had agreed to see her out.
"Likewise," said Blueblood, his tone carefully neutral, "I wasn't expecting to run into you here, Earl Flint."
The orange stallion then turned his attention to Twilight, his expression taking on that leering quality that made Twilight feel like her body was being inspected as though it were being sold at market.  "Dame Sparkle, how nice of you to grace the halls of the Royal Palace with your presence."
Twilight bowed her head to the earl.  "Your Lordship, I am honored by your words."
"Can we help you?" asked Blueblood.
"Well, I found it odd for you to be accompanying Dame Sparkle, Your Grace," replied Flint, still fighting to keep his frustration from showing, "It seems an odd pairing to for a Duke to associate with a mere knight."
"It's true, I admit," replied Blueblood, his lips twitching upward in a smile, "However, her brother, Shining Armor, is a dear friend of mine.  Dame Sparkle had business here in the Palace and her brother asked me to see her home."
"I see," replied Flint, his eyes darting between the two ponies, "Dame Sparkle, may I ask what your business in the Palace was."
"Your Lordship, I had business with Princess Luna," replied Twilight, "As for what that business is; it is a private matter between the Princess and myself."
The earl's eyebrow rose a small fraction.  "I see.  I apologize for prying.  However, since I have the opportunity here, I would like to extend an invitation to you, Dame Sparkle."
"To what?" asked Twilight, trying hard to keep her nervousness from showing.
"Since you arrived in Canterlot so unexpectedly, I thought this would be an opportunity for us to get better acquainted with each other," replied Flint, whose smile was back in place, "In about three days time, I will be hosting a gathering at my estate here.  It is a rather standard social affair.  However, it could only stand to benefit from your presence."
"I don't understand, Your Lordship," said Twilight, averting her eyes, partially to project the image of a demure mare out of her depth, but also to avoid the Earl's gaze, which she found distasteful in the extreme, "I'm only a knight after all.  It seems that it would be better for someone as lowly as me to not attend."
"Don't underestimate yourself," replied Fint, who was now grinning slightly, "After all, you have an impressive list of accomplishments for one of your rank.  You are more than welcome."
"I understand," said Twilight bobbing her head, "My visit to Canterlot was meant to be brief.  I expect to be leaving to return to Ponyville soon.  However, should I still be in the city in three days, I would be honored to accept your invitation, Your Lordship."
The earl's eyes narrowed slightly.  But he appeared to accept her answer.  "Your Grace," he said, turning back to Blueblood, "We would be honored by your attendance as well."
Twilight could easily see that this was merely a token gesture by Earl Flint to keep from offending a pony of a higher noble rank than him.  Blueblood obviously saw through it as well.  From beginning to end, the only pony Flint wanted to bother with had been Twilight.  However, Blueblood took the matter in stride and nodded regally.  "I would be happy to accept your invitation," he said calmly, "I look forward to attending three days from now."
"I am honored, Your Grace," said Earl Flint, before turning his attention back to Twilight.  "It may be unseemly to hope for delays, but I pray that your business does not conclude too quickly, Dame Sparkle.  I truly do wish for you to enrich our experience with your presence."  He reached out and grasped her foreleg with his fetlock and pulled it up so that he could lay a gentle kiss on her hoof, his lips remaining just a little too long for it to be proper, but not long enough for it to be noticed by outside parties.
Twilight had to fight to keep an expression of revulsion from her face as he lowered her hoof back to the floor.  She barely knew him, but she already detested this stallion.  It was clear that she was little more than an object to him and his attempts to manipulate her were blatant to an offensive degree; so much so that even the less social savvy Twilight who had not yet gone to Ponyville could have seen through his behavior.  Twilight waged an inner war to keep her disgust from showing.  Fortunately she appeared to have won as Earl Flint showed no signs of seeing her distaste.
"Well then, I hope to see you soon," said the orange unicorn, bowing to Blueblood, "Your Grace," he turned and nodded to Twilight, who bowed in return, "Dame Sparkle."
Earl Flint turned and trotted out the palace gates, his maid falling into step behind him.  Though the Royal Guards standing on either side of the gate remained as impassive and motionless as ever, a detailed observation would have noted a greater tightness in their muscles as the stallion passed, their eyes narrowing slightly as they regarded the noblepony going on his way.
Once Flint was out of sight, Twilight felt her legs beginning to tremble and she found that she needed to sit for a moment to regain her self-control.
Blueblood reached out and gently patted her shoulder, an approving smile on his face.  "You did well," he said.
"Thanks," replied Twilight, "Can you tell me who that was?"  She had little knowledge of the individuals making up the Noble Court.  She had been fortunate that Blueblood had greeted the earl by his rank and name so that she would know how to address him.  Then again, Twilight reasoned, That may have been deliberate on Blueblood's part.
"That was Steel Flint, Earl of Hollow Shades," replied Blueblood, his eyes narrowing as he stared in the direction the aforementioned earl had taken.
"That name doesn't bode well," muttered Twilight.
"Indeed.  He is a pony who enjoys starting fires, both figuratively and literally."  Blueblood sighed.  "He's a troublesome one, no two ways about it."
"How so?" asked Twilight.
"Let's walk," said Blueblood, "It wouldn't do for wandering eyes to note that you've been shaken by your encounter with the good Earl."
Twilight nodded and stood up.  The two of them made their own way out.  The Guard stallions, who had been standing impassively at the gate both nodded at her as she past.  Out of the corner of her eyes, Twilight saw them both giving her a smile of encouragement.  The small gesture was enough to warm her heart.  I have more friends here than I thought, even if it's just moral support.
Blueblood began his explanation.  "Auntie Celestia has made great strides in ensuring that the members of the Noble Court can no longer interfere with the lives of common ponies.  However, within the boundaries of their own society, the nobles can do a great deal without attracting censure from the law.  If the proper rules are observed and procedures followed, a great deal is permissible, even murder."
Twilight shivered.
"Feuds between different noble families are quite rare these days, particularly ones that end in death.  A conflict between families may generally result in some basic mudslinging, a little snubbing, the occasional upstaging at social functions, quiet acts of sabotage behind the scenes, and so on...  These days, if feuds are bad enough that blood is demanded, the matter is generally settled in a duel."
"I've heard about that," replied Twilight, "I thought the noble houses maintained mares at arms for those purposes as well."
Blueblood nodded.  "They do.  But Princess Celestia has made it quite clear that she is most displeased whenever a conflict between families results in fighting in the streets, particularly since that raises the risk of uninvolved ponies coming to harm.  Because of that, dueling is the favored method of settling blood-feuds.
"Unfortunately, Earl Flint specializes in both starting and ending feuds.  Since he inherited his title from his father, he has initiated blood-feuds against no fewer than three other families and subsequently won duels against them."
"I don't understand.  Why would he do that?" asked Twilight.
"The winner of a duel has the right to demand a restitution or penalty from the kin of the loser.  In Earl Flint's case, he uses his right as the victor to claim the assets of the losing family and condemn them to utter poverty.  If it were allowable, he would probably disband their family as well and force them to relinquish their titles.  However, only the Princess may do that."
"That's awful," gasped Twilight, her eyes wide.  A sickening feeling settled in her stomach.
Blueblood nodded in agreement.  "He uses the laws governing the Noble Court to his advantage in order to advance his own wealth and prestige.  He acts as a provocateur, inciting a fellow noble to violence against him so that he may claim a duel on his terms, which he then wins."
Twilight felt sick as she hear Blueblood's words.  What could possibly be noble about this?  "Isn't that risky though?  What if he loses?"
"It is risky, but unlikely," said Blueblood, "Steel Flint is incredibly accomplished at battle magic.  He knows several lethal spells and can cast them with both great speed and accuracy.  So far, his duels have never extended beyond the first minute."
"Is that what he wants from me?" asked Twilight, confused.  She may have been a knight, but she had no assets worth seizing.  Her status as the Element of Magic and Princess Celestia's student were not things that could simply be hoofed over to another pony.  Taking her life in a duel would not give Flint any of those things.
"Not likely," scoffed Blueblood, "As you've probably already deduced, any noble who intends to use you for his benefit would need you alive.  A relatively young stallion, like Flint, would most likely seek you as a mare, most likely as his consort.  In fact, that's the most likely aspiration for most of the stallions among the nobility that would be looking to leverage some control over you."
Twilight nodded, a shiver going down her spine.  As the daughter of commoners, she'd never truly expected to be sought after for arranged marriages or anything of that nature.  In fact, her commoner status was probably the major buffer that had kept potential suitors at bay during her time in the Palace.  But now that she'd been knighted...
"And what about mares?" asked Twilight.
"I have no doubt that there are a few who seek you as a consort as well," replied Blueblood, "There are plenty of mares among the aristocracy who swing that way.  However, those that don't are still plenty dangerous.  They'll most likely try to find ways to leverage favors from you or ways that you can sway Auntie Celestia's opinion in favor of whatever it is that they want."
"I see."  Twilight paused for a moment.  "Besides Steel Flint, who else should I look out for?"
"There is Elderflower, Baron of Dream Valley," noted Blueblood, "He's not as bad as most, but very much a stickler for the rules.  He would likely try to court you through relatively orthodox methods; probably approaching your parents for a marriage agreement.  While he may generally behave honorably, he has been known to use his status and financial clout to leverage what he wants from ponies."
Twilight nodded, but didn't feel overly worried.  While her family had never been swimming in money, they had been well-off enough that they would have been able to afford to send Twilight to Princess Celestia's school without any kind of scholarship.  In fact, she knew that both of her parents were considering retirement in the near future, which made it unlikely that they could be threatened through their jobs.  "Who else?"
"There's also Sweet Water, Viscountess of Diamond Mountain," added Blueblood, "In recent months, she has been a rather avid buyer of Miss Rarity's latest designs.  Fancy Pants has also told me that she plans on offering a sponsorship to your friend."
Twilight mentally made a note to warn Rarity about that.  At the moment, she knew that Rarity had suspended most of her negotiations with ponies in Canterlot at Fancy Pants' urging.  Of all of Twilight's friends, Rarity was probably the most aware of the problem.  But Twilight would give her a head's up nonetheless.  However, something occurred to her.  "You keep saying that these ponies are Baron, Earl, or something or other, of some place.  What does that mean?"
"Those are technically their full titles," replied Blueblood, "A thousand years ago, Equestria still had a feudalistic structure, with the members of the Noble Court serving the Princess, but also controlling their own fiefdoms, lands that they owned and leased to commoners to live and work on.  While the members of the Court spent a great deal of time in Canterlot, their true estates were on their ancestral lands.  Auntie Celestia spent the past millennium stealing those lands out from under them, while keeping them from being able to exert their control over that land once they no longer owned it.
"In this day and age, hardly any nobles hold much more than their mansions on those lands, if even that.  They spend almost the entirety of their time here in Canterlot.  It used to be the other way around."  Blueblood snorted derisively.  "My full title is Prince Blueblood, Duke of Paradise Estate."
"Where is that?" asked Twilight.
"It's a lovely place near Hoofington.  Those have been our ancestral lands for over five-thousand years now.  Originally, we had a magnificent villa where my family resided for several dozen generations."
"What happened to it?"
"Oh, it's still there.  My father sold it to the city of Hoofington at a premium.  The city maintains it as a tourist attraction now.  Technically, I still own  five square-meters of that place, a lovely little rose garden in the front yard.
"Even Fancy Pants is, in fact, Marquess of Manehattan Island.  However, he completely relinquished ownership of his estate there and went into business instead."
"I had no idea," said Twilight, her eyes wide.  It was amazing to see the scope of Celestia's thousand years of work to advance the cause of the common pony.
"I'm surprised you didn't," replied Blueblood, "Auntie Celestia has always told me that your education was rather comprehensive."
"Yeah, but I never cared much about the nobility, except to stay far away from them," grumbled Twilight.
Blueblood chuckled.  "A wise sentiment, to be sure.  However, now you are a noble yourself.  You should make sure you are better educated in the norms of your position."
Twilight nodded.  Looking up, she saw that the two of them had arrived at her family's home.  "Thank you very much for coming with me," said Twilight, smiling at Blueblood, who nodded cordially at her.
"One last thing," said the Duke before Twilight could turn away.  She looked expectantly at him.  "Take care of Arkenstone.  As a Knight, he's one of the strongest ponies in Equestria.  But it is the strongest ones who often break most easily."  His expression became quite serious.  "More than anything else, you are his strength."
Twilight nodded solemnly.  Blueblood smiled at her one last time and turned to take his leave.  With a sigh, Twilight turned and entered her home, feeling a bit vulnerable now that nopony was with her.



After a late dinner with her parents, Twilight settled into the family library to wait for Arkenstone return.  She was nodding off over an old history tome when she felt a tap on her shoulder.  Looking up, she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the sight of the beige stallion behind her.  "Welcome back Arky."
Arkenstone nodded and lowered himself onto the cushions next to Twilight.  "I heard you got to meet one of your antagonists on your way out.
Twilight suppressed a shudder at the memory of Earl Flint and his rather transparent designs on her.  "We'd better wrap up our business as quick as we can," she said, "The less I have to deal with that, the better."
"Do you have any plans?" asked Arkenstone, "Our business with Princess Luna concluded more quickly than we thought it would.  We could easily return to Ponyville on the morrow."
Twilight shook her head.  "No.  What I need to do now is take advantage of the opportunity we have here.  I'm going to have Spike send me the collected lists of individuals affected by the Eyes of Nightmare.  I'm going to start looking through the Royal Archives to see if I can locate anypony descended from or related to them.  If the Eyes really are an inherited trait, we should be able to find some trace of it in the descendants of those ponies in the material Princess Celestia sent me."
A glimmer of violet light streamed off Twilight's horn as she called up a sheet of parchment and a quill and began to write a set of instructions for Spike to follow.  It was the work of but a few moments.  The scroll rolled up with a snap and Twilight levitated it in front of her.  "I haven't done this in a while," she muttered.
"Before you do that," said Arkenstone, "Could you send something for me as well?"  He held up a roll of parchment of his own.  "Shining and I came up with some instructions for Red and Storm.  Hopefully, those two will be able to keep things under control until we are done here in Canterlot."
Twilight nodded and held up the two scrolls in front of her.  Frowning, she narrowed her eyes in concentration.  A spark of emerald green welled up within the normal violet of her magic.  The spark burst into a green flame that enveloped the scrolls, transforming them into a cloud of glittering ash that streamed out the window and on its way back to Ponyville.
With a sigh, Twilight settled back and leaned against Arkenstone.  "Arky..."
"Yes?"
"Yesterday, you were talking about something that made you very upset.  What happened to you on your last mission...?"
"I..."  A shiver transmitted itself from Arkenstone and into her.  His voice seemed strangely hoarse, as though he was instinctually struggling to keep himself from talking about whatever it was.
Twilight looked down.  "I guess you don't want to talk about it."
Arkenstone's body seemed to go limp next to her.  "Not yet," he said softly, "What happened is...difficult to describe.  I...I did a terrible thing Twilight.  I don't know if I can ever be forgiven for it."
"Arky..."  Twilight directed a worried glance at the stallion.  To her surprise, she saw tears leaking from his eyes.  "Okay then.  I'm sorry."
"It's alright.  But it remains an extremely dark matter for me," said Arkenstone softly, "I erased something very important from the world."
Twilight said nothing more.  She only leaned over and gently pressed her head against the stallion's neck, trying to impart all the care and affection she could into the gesture.



With a screech of steel, the train slowed to a stop in the Canterlot station.  The crowds were much sparser so late at night.  This was the final train scheduled to arrive.  Its cars only held a few ponies traveling south from the Crystal Ranges.  From where the train had come, one could see the tracks winding their way north into the frigid reaches of Equestria, where the Crystal Empire, among other things, was situated.  Also out there were small townships of ponies eking their lives in the icy lands where even the magic of the pegasi could not forestall the chill that pervaded the air year-round.
In the train, two figures stirred from the humble coach-class car they had been using.  Because the train was so late, they'd been fortunate enough to have the car to themselves.  The larger of the two had already donned his worn cloak.  As the last shrill squeal of the brakes faded, he turned to prod his companion, who remained in a listless doze.
"Wake up," he said gently, "We're here."
The other pony stirred.  "Canterlot?" she asked softly.
The larger one nodded.  "Can you walk back to the house?"
The smaller mare got uncertainly to her hooves and took a few careful steps before turning to look up at her companion and nodding.
The stallion held out a foreleg, over which was draped a worn, brown cloak of similar make to his own.  The mare took the cloak in her hooves and wrapped it close around her, not bothering to light the horn atop her head.  Then, as her companion did, she pulled the cloak's hood to cover her face.
The only thing the two of them carried were a pair of saddlebags apiece.  Aside from that, they had no luggage.  The pair made their way through the aisle and stepped out the doors and onto the platform.  As they did so, the mare paused and took a deep breath of the clear mountain air of Canterlot.  It's warmer here, she thought, almost giddily, I forgot what it felt like.  And to think, it's nearly autumn.  She fought the urge to giggle at the thought.  After so much time spent struggling against the harsh and unforgiving elements of the northern wilderness, the fact that she had the time and opportunity to think about such simple things filled her with an indescribable euphoria.
The stallion with her looked over his shoulder, seemingly unconcerned about the mare's state of mind.  But when he spoke, there was no air of strained patience, just firm instruction.  "Come along Trixie."
"Y-yes!"
Together, the two of them made their way down the dark streets of Canterlot in silence.