//------------------------------// // Homeward Bound // Story: Scarlet Tears // by Silent Quill //------------------------------// Following the awkward revelation and explanation from Paige, Crimsondrop had been somewhat more… accommodating to returning downstairs. Initially she had only returned to the kitchen where Clank was to fetch her drink, saying that she wanted to find somewhere to sit and think, but Clank and Paige had been insistent on her and White getting some time alone to work out the suddenly vast rift between them. The conversation had been awkward and stunted, full of nervous fidgeting and each being unable to look at the other. Eventually Clank nudged his wife hard enough to dislodge her voice. “Crimson, I…” She began weakly before swallowing to clear her throat, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” “I understan’,” Crimsondrop said quietly, “I suppose its t’ be expected; I did sorta just drop intae your lap an’… pick up skills. I…” she sighed and looked away, “I can refrain from usin’ m’ strength and magic if y’ want… I know how y’ must feel with a foal on th’ way…” “No Crimson, you shouldn’t have to stop being you just to quell my fears; I’ll… I’ll get past it in time…” Clank gave a short chortle and rubbed her stomach with a hoof gently. “Soon enough you’ll have plenty of distraction, I’m sure.” Whiterobe swatted his hoof away playfully. “You sound so eager now; wait until you’re on twelve AM diaper duty.” The couple looked across at Crimsondrop conspiratorially, prompting the nanny to lift a hoof. “Don’t look at me like tha’, jus’ because I’m a nanny don’t mean I’ll be yer nanny.” She said, before lowering her hoof and looking away. “Never liked kids in th’ first place; too… naggy.” Whiterobe gave an amused chortle at the nanny’s admittance. “Well, there goes that idea. We’ll just have to do the parenting thing ourselves like real parents, won’t we?” She punctuated her statement by nudging her husband sharply in the ribs. “Won’t we, Clanky?” Clank Clop coughed awkwardly and nodded. “Yeah, we’ll be ready; if a certain somepony weren’t taking up the room we’re planning to use I could get it prepared.” He said, giving Crimsondrop a sarcastic and accusing look across the room to which she huffed. “Well, excuse me f’r needin’ a place t’ sleep; I can take th’ couch if y’ want me to.” She huffed. “Honestly it doesn’t make much difference t’ me, I’ve slept on rocks and sand before, anythin’ is comfortable after that.” “No, you’re fine, Crimson; if push comes to shove we might move you to the lounge, but for now you’re fine where you are.” Whiterobe said before her stomach grumbled and she looked over at her husband with doe eyes. “Clanky, could you get some lunch?” Clank Clop gave a well humoured laugh. “Of course, Hon; anything in particular you’d like?” With a voice that would put a pining lovesick schoolgirl to shame, she replied with but one word; “Apples~!” “Everypony gets different cravin’s when pregnant, be thankful yours is only apples, White.” Crimson said as Clank walked out to the kitchen. “A mare I knew back in my world had a cravin’ for cactus.” At this, Whiterobe shuddered. “Cactus..? Yuck; all stringy and tough and so very disgustingly tart…” She stuck out her tongue distastefully. Crimsondrop gave a hearty laugh, thankful that things were back to normal. Well, subjectively normal anyway. *&*&*&*&* Crimson awoke the next morning to a heavy pounding on the door to her bedroom. Groggily she got to her hooves and hobbled to the door. She’d been able to walk almost perfectly without pain the night before, so she assumed that she was simply feeling her wounds in the morning and that the pain would go away after a short while. She gave a displeased grumble when the door pounded again, and her horns gave a faint glimmer as she reached out with her magic to open it. Beyond, a pony she did not recognize stood in full armour with a professional frown on his face. “Who th’ hell’re you?” The pony double-took at her before his mouth managed to work around his tongue. “Royal guard, second division, Princess guard regiment; I’ve been told to wake you and bring you and your hosts to the house of Miss Phony Paige. Please take a few minutes to make yourself presentable and be at the front door.” With that he turned and strode away towards the stairs, leaving Crimson to stare incredulously at his retreating form. She shook her head, figuring that she would find out what was going on after brushing her teeth. She meandered to the upstairs bathroom and stepped in, finding Whiterobe to be over the sink already, toothbrush in hoof as her magic attempted to run a brush through her bed-head. She looked over at Crimson in the mirror. “Good morning, Crimson; sorry for the early start, what with you still recovering and all, but when the Princesses call, one goes.” She said after rinsing her mouth out and finally getting her mane in order. She eyed Crimsondrop’s own mane for a moment before sighing. “I suppose you cannot go like this.” She mumbled, before beginning to run the brush through her surprisingly neat mane. “Ah, what’re y’ doin’?” “Brushing your mane; you’re meeting at least one of the Princesses, you can’t go to them looking like you just got out of bed.” “She didn’t complain when she met me two days ago.” Crimsondrop countered. “Two days ago you were crippled and unable to get out of bed.” Whiterobe huffed. “Princess Celestia is hardly going to make you get up and dance a tango when your hind leg is held together with surgical thread and good intentions.” Anything that Crimsondrop would have retorted with was cut off through her toothbrush and a rather large knot that the brush caught before untangling. For a minute or so the pair continued to brush their respective tasks until Crimson rinsed her mouth out and White put the brush back on the sink top. “Alright, if you need to use the toilet do so now and I’ll check your bandages.” Crimsondrop nodded and moved to the thankfully isolated cubicle of the toilet, closing the door behind her. * She stepped back out of the little private sub-room that was the toilet and washed her hooves before sighing and stepping over to where Whiterobe was waiting for her. She stood as still as she could as the surgically trained professional removed her bandages, carefully checked and cleaned her wounds, and then tightly bound them up once again. Crimsondrop hadn’t made a sound the entire time, not even when Whiterobe tentatively prodded the deep gash in her thigh to ensure that it wasn’t becoming infected or bruising oddly. It was still red raw, and the pregnant mare’s mind flashed back to the night she’d had to restitch this particular wound. Still she felt terrible over it; she could have killed Crimsondrop from that, or worse put her into a vegetative state for the rest of her life. She was drawn from her reprieve by Crimsondrop tapping her shoulder and tugging her into a hug, evidently aware of where her mind had been straying. “I’m fine, White;” She breathed into the mare’s ear, “y’ did what y’ had to t’ save m’ leg, I’d never begrudge ye for tha’. I should be thankin’ ye, though what I’d do t’ thank y’ enough I don’t know.” She pulled back and smiled as the cool gauze wrapped around her leg and tied off neatly. “Now, we should get goin’. After all, when royalty calls, one heeds, hmm?” Whiterobe smiled back and nodded before the pair headed out the door and down to the living room. *&*&*&* Phony Paige was currently seated in her lounge room reading from a novel that Holly Seams had recommended she read. Said mare was not present, currently still asleep at her home from a late night working on the project that she and her friends had devised. She’d tuned out the pony that was fussing over her housemate almost an hour ago, when she had been fussing over her instead. She knew all about Princess Twilight Sparkle, it was hard to not know about one of the princesses but, well, she had almost every fact that could be known about her within her hard drives. She was utterly disinterested in the Princess’s rambling questions that she assailed her housemate with. The housemate in question, Shadow Gazer, was slightly terrified that one of the alicorn princesses could be this… energetic. Granted he was the first Nightmare beyond the Everfree forest in possibly a thousand years, but she was looking him over and asking him questions that raked his brain and baffled his sense of personal space. From what he could gather she was the most scholarly pony that Equestria had birthed in many millennia, as evidenced by the notes that she was furiously taking with her magic. A purple dragon with green spines, apparently named Spike, sat nearby gnawing on some cookies that Paige had put out for the visiting royals. Two other alicorn, Princesses Celestia and Luna respectively, sat nearby with a cup of tea in fine bone china teacups, possibly the only crockery that Paige owned that she had splurged on. Luna had been most disappointed in her sister withholding the continued existence of the Nightmares from her, resorting to yelling at her sister in fury to get her point across. She’d known about Paige for quite some time, having been added to the ‘need to know’ list and her authorization for any stages of her project’s development being required before they could undergo the proceedings. Paige heard her name called, and she returned her attention to the room. “You need not shout, Princess Sparkle, I can hear you quite well.” She said, tilting an ear in the lavender alicorn’s direction. “If that’s so, what did I just ask?” Paige grinned as her memory recovered the archived data for her. “You just asked what the noise out front is.” She replied, before recovering the supposed noises. “It sounds like someone is throwing bottles again. Though it has become a somewhat less frequent event, it is still a common occurrence; there are many who do not like that I am here. One stallion in particular, Marky Red, has been at every single one of these little… events.” “It sounds like he has a vendetta against you.” Twilight commented. “He is the secretary to my manager at Trottingham Central Savings, he seems to dislike that I can get through a week’s worth of work in an afternoon. I used to take longer; it would be strange for me to be able to do such calculations so quickly if I were a normal pony after all, but since my unveiling to the town I’ve been a bit less reserved in using my processing power in my work. I think he finds it unfair that his superior, Bucky, likes me more than him.” “The fact that Marky is such a colossal jerk does not help him.” Shadow grumbled irritably, before looking sheepish. “I’m sorry, Princesses, I didn’t mean-“ “It’s quite alright, Shadow Gazer, we are aware that there are ponies in Equestria who might be… less than pleasant to make the acquaintance of.” Celestia replied calmly with a wave of her wing. “To be honest, Princess, that’s putting him mildly.” He replied. “To this day he calls me ‘Horror-Spawn’ and refuses to speak to me directly, and let’s not get started on what he says about me behind my back. I’m looking forward to our little expedition today, if only to get away from him.” “Well, we suppose-“ Luna began, only to finish again when the sound of hooves entering the front door and voices reached their ears. “… wish that he’d stop throwing bottles, last thing I want is to step on a shard when I come around.” This was the voice of a mare, and it was joined by a voice she recognized as belonging to an ex-guardsman. “You know what Marky’s like, Hon.” A third voice joined the conversation, “I take it tha’ was why y’ kicked him?” Her accent was thick but thankfully not unintelligible. “No, that was for calling my wife a deviant for being friends with Paige.” “Would explain why you kicked ‘im in th’ jimmies.” “Oh, I could have kicked him anywhere; I chose that because he’s in need of a personality adjustment.” The speaking stallion came around the corner with a smile that reeked of personal pride in his all too recent actions. Behind him a mare walked with the tell-tale gait and girth of the heavily gravid. Her face was one of both recent harangue and amusement. When the third figure walked into the room, Princess Twilight Sparkle seemed to forget all about the Nightmare she had been focused on. “Who, or what, in Equestria is that?!” The three newcomers bowed to the royals in the room before Luna could also talk. “Celestia, are you holding out on us again?” Celestia chuckled as she observed both the ire in her sister’s glare and the eagerness in her student broil over and cause her to almost vibrate in her desire to study this new creature. “Of course not, I’ve simply not had cause to bring her up; Sister, Twilight, these are Clank Clop, his wife Whiterobe, and Crimsondrop.” Luna put a hoof to her chin. “Clank Clop… isn’t he the guard who tried to…?” “Have Twilight Sparkle arrested?” Clank finished for her with a sigh. “Yes, but it was a prank from my lieutenant at the time. I resigned a few months later; never could be near Miss Sparkle without feeling ill after that.” “How are you so calm now?” Princess Luna asked curiously. “I’ve not been a part of the guard for a few years now, my need to uphold the strict routines and rules sort of weaned away, especially after I married Whiterobe.” He replied, giving his wife a peck on the cheek. “You still kept the crew-cut though.” Whiterobe added. She then motioned to Crimsondrop behind her. “This is Crimsondrop; she’s been staying with us while she recovers from her injuries.” “Okay, so you’ve answered part of my question, but I still want to know what Crimsondrop is; I’ve never seen anything like her!” Twilight Sparkle snapped. “Space goat.” Crimsondrop said flatly, before smiling at Twilight’s expression as she wrapped her head around this. “I give her ten seconds before her head explodes.” Princess Celestia sighed. “Crimsondrop is from another reality, brought here by magical mishap. Though I’m sure we could recreate the event and its effects, it is extremely unlikely that she would survive it and I am unwilling to attempt it if it might mean her death.” Princess Luna gave Celestia a diminishing look. “You know more than you are telling, sister.” She huffed. “She is of the Capra genus, has never taken a mate, and could give Snowflake, the resident muscle-pony of Ponyville, a run for his money in terms of strength.” Celestia stated calmly, before holding Twilight Sparkle back with an outstretched foreleg. “Now is not the time to study her, we’ve a task ahead.” Though still looking over at Crimsondrop as if she were the most amazing thing in the known world Twilight nodded and sat back a bit. “Now that everypony has arrived, I would like to inform you all why we are here;” Celestia began, “last night I received a scroll signed from one ‘Silver Glare’. After having the Canterlot record keepers delve into Equestria’s birth records as is usual for unexpected letters, we discovered that the only ‘Silver Glare’ that has been born in Equestria was over two hundred years ago. Though not impossible, it is highly unlikely to have been him. “The letter asked, simply, for one Shadow Gazer to return home for family matters. As of his arrival in Canterlot all those months ago, the only Shadow Gazer within Equestria is this one.” She waved a hoof at Shadow who stood in the corner with wide eyes. “Silver Glare wrote to have me return?” “You know this pony, I take it?” Shadow chuckled. “Silver is one of the Council.” He said, earning slightly confused and inquiring looks in return and sighing. “My home is divided into six Districts, each of which has a Council member that listens to and voices the opinion of their District. Council members must be a resident of the District they represent, and each Council member is elected by their represented District. Silver is the Council representative for the District in which I lived with my mother until I left to explore the world beyond the Everfree. “From time to time the Council cannot come to an agreement on any given point or decision, in which case the Night Terrors, effectively our version of Equestria’s monarchy, can yae or nae a decision. Night Terrors remain in power until it’s seen that they are not morally, mentally, or physically capable of holding the position, in which case the Districts must elect a new Night Terror who is not of the Council.” He huffed what breath he still held before looking back up at the room. “Does that clear everything up for you?” “That’ll do for now, yes.” Celestia replied with a slight smile. “I’m sure we’ll learn more once we get there.” She smiled at their shocked faces. “Oh yes, we’re heading out there by carriage once it arrives. Miss Applejack didn’t take kindly to the last trip she had in it and it should be reupholstered by now. All I shall need is who is going and a location for us to fly to.” A large scroll of paper burst into the air before her from her magic and she held it out to Shadow. “If you could mark where your city is located on this map, the information can be relayed to our drivers. I assume you’ll be coming with us as matter of course.” Shadow nodded, taking the map from Celestia’s magic almost reverentially. “Of course; I’ve been summoned back for a family matter, and I’m not leaving my mother in want.” Celestia nodded and turned her gaze on the other ponies in the room, her stoic silence asking the question for her. “I can’t go by air carriage, I’m too heavy and it’d never leave the ground.” Paige stated. “If CL0PTech can find a way to make my body out of Mithril, I’d be all too eager to go. That stuff is pretty light for what it can take…” Whiterobe shook her head. “I’d love to go, but… with a foal so close, I don’t want to risk it. I’ve seen the havoc of mid-flight carriage deliveries and, if you’ll forgive my language Princesses, to Tartarus with that!” Celestia gave an understanding smile and nod. “Of course; if you were to come along I would have insisted in additional guard. I’m not going to put an expectant mare into the middle of the Everfree Forest.” “That’ll count me out too, Princess.” Clank Clop said. “I’m stickin’ by White; I don’t want to be in the middle of the Everfree if she goes into labour.” “I understand.” Celestia said, before looking to Crimsondrop. “Crimsondrop, why don’t you accompany us? I’m sure you would like to see a little more of Equestria that just the home of Whiterobe and Clank Clop and the New Ewe spa?” Crimson shrugged. “I… suppose I can go.” She said reluctantly. “Though so far it sounds like only m’self and Shadow Gazer‘re goin’ from this town. I… don’t know anypony else.” “I don’t believe that you’ll have much to worry about, Crimsondrop; surely Shadow Gazer can keep you company?” Crimsondrop cringed. “I don’t like puttin’ somepony on th’ spot like that. I dunno if he’ll even want t’ keep me about.” Shadow stepped across the room and nudged her shoulder. “I’d like a friend to join me to my mother’s house. If anything wants to tumble I’m sure we could handle it together, huh?” “She managed to kick me off my hooves, you’ve no idea.” Paige mumbled to herself, unheard by all. A clattering outside the house told them of the arrival of their carriage, and Shadow Gazer held the map out to Celestia, a new mark just to the west of where the Princesses old castle’s ruins were. She nodded to him thankfully before turning to the Pegasus guard who strolled into the room and snapped a salute. “The carriage has arrived, highnesses; if I might ask, how many are coming?” He asked firmly, ignoring the glare that Clank Clop was drilling into the side of his head. Celestia’s magic handed him the map. “We are headed to that location, lieutenant, and there will be five of us going, including myself, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Shadow Gazer and Crimsondrop. Give this information to our drivers.” “Of course, Princess.” He replied, before snapping another salute and taking the scroll back out front, Clank Clop’s glare boring holes into him the whole time he could see him. “Clanky, what was that all about? You looked like you wanted to tear him a new navel.” White asked worriedly. “He was the one who put me up to attempting to arrest Twilight Sparkle. Never apologized for all the manure he put me through, either.” He huffed irritably. Twilight laughed. “I’ll be sure to have the captain dock his pay.” She said as she moved to walk past them. She paused to put a hoof on Crimson’s shoulder. “By the way, if you don’t have a stomach for flying, I’d suggest a window seat.” She advised. “The windows roll down and there’ll be less of a mess.” Crimson chuckled as she turned to follow the lavender princess. “You’ve clearly never had t’ carry an undead warrior through a sewer. Trust me, Princess; I’ve done stuff you can only nightmare about.” *&*&*&* “I changed my mind, I wanna get off!” Twilight sighed. “It’s too late now, we’re almost there.” She said, backed by the amused chuckles of the elder princesses. “I forgot I was this bad with flying travel.” Shadow Gazer groaned. “I don’t feel sick, I just don’t feel well.” “A natural aversion to being so high off the ground,” Luna said calmly, “The one pony I thought would be having trouble, however, seems to be doing better than expected.” She added, looking over at Crimson who was watching out the window passively. “Again I said; undead, sewer. I recall a few zeppelin rides too, so maybe I’m just well-weathered fer this kinda travel.” She replied, waving a hoof dismissively. “Don’t recall them being this, well, boring though; we usually got into a battle or two on th’ way.” “I could punch you a few times, would that make it feel like the good ole days?” Shadow asked sidelong. She sneered in return. “Don’t think I won’t fight back. Paige can attest I throw a mean hoof.” The voice of one of the pegasi pulling the carriage shouted back at them. “We can see the city between the trees; we’ll be attempting to land now!” “Hold tight, landings are a bit rough.” Twilight commented as the carriage drew lower and lower to the ground. When the first wheel hit the ground, all was well. When its siblings joined it, however, the carriage struck a loose cobblestone and jolted as if attempting to pirouette and flung all except Princess Celestia from their seats. After a moment or two of painful jostling, the carriage came to a halt and the jumbled ponies attempted to disentangle one another. “Whose wing is tha’? It don’t belong there!” Crimson protested. “I warn ye, I kick hard!” “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” Shadow repeated over and over as he struggled to remove himself from the pony pile without pushing against, poking with his horn, or kicking any of the mares. “I’m sorry; I think that’s mine, Crimsondrop.” Twilight managed to mumble, before pulling her wing back to her side, earning a yelp from Luna. “Watch where you’re putting those things, Sparkle!” The door to the cabin opened and the Pegasus guard looked on confusedly. “The hay..?” “Rather than stand there and watch us like some kind of peeping tom, would you kindly help us up?!” Luna snapped at him. “I’ve ‘ad smoother crash landings, at least then I didn’t end up with a wing lodged against my-“ “This is awkward enough without you saying stuff like that, Crimsondrop!” Shadow growled. “And get your hooves off of my stomach, the last thing I need is you unintentionally groping me!” With a sigh, Celestia’s horn gave a gentle glow and all four found themselves sitting neatly back in their seats, blinking at one another in bashful confusion before giving nervous coughs. “We speak of this to nopony.” Luna said sharply. “Agreed.” “Yes ma’am.” “Aye.” “Now that the entertainment is over, I believe that Luna and I should head to town hall and introduce ourselves to the Night Terror and Council. Twilight, I’ll leave it up to you as to where you go, but I would advise taking a guard with you if you go alone. Shadow Gazer, could you direct us to where your government is?” “The town is set up on a grid; parliament is in the middle, along with the marketplace, and residential districts are set up on either side. There are parks to the north and south of parliament.” He rattled off as they disembarked the carriage. He followed them out, letting Crimsondrop out before himself and looking about. “We look to be between District Blackberry and Peach, so parliament should be that way.” He pointed a hoof in one direction before pointing into the district to their south. “That’s Peach District, that’s where my mother lives so I’ll be headed that way.” The princesses nodded and dipped their heads. “We shall see you back here by nightfall to plan accommodations.” “If needs be, we can stay at parliament hall.” Shadow said. “The Council will allow it.” He began to stroll into Peach District at an even pace. “Come on Crimson; let’s go see what my mother needs.” Twilight hurried after them. “I’ll come too, would be nice to see what life here is like.” * After a few minutes of walking through the streets of Peach District, one thing was for certain; life here was dark. Light was sparse down beneath the canopies of the Everfree Forest, and a few times only the magical flame mane of Shadow Gazer’s lit their way. He had voiced his dislike of this, apparently the streets were only so dark because somepony had failed to light the magic-fuelled lanterns that lined the streets, and he reignited those that he passed with a flick of his magic. Finally Twilight felt the need to add conversation to their trip. “So, Shadow Gazer,” “Just Shadow, Princess.” “Just Twilight in return then,” She retorted before continuing. “Why does every home have a greenhouse? Isn’t that a little extravagant?” Shadow shook his head. “You must’ve noticed that the city is not very well lit. What little sunlight we get needs to be concentrated on our crops, and everypony has a greenhouse to aid the city as a whole in crop rotation. We grow crops depending on what District and part of district we’re in and grow accordingly to ensure that everypony’s soil rotates. The greenhouses are enchanted to magnify what little light we get down here to a useful level, and be capable of providing artificial light when need arises.” “Magical hydroponics, that’s a fantastic idea!” Shadow nodded and stopped out front a house. “Here we are; my mother’s house.” He said, before stepping up to the door and knocking. As the knock echoed into the house, the mares behind Shadow wondered what kind of mother Shadow had. Was she domineering? It seemed unlikely, since he managed to leave and explore Equestria. Shadow blinked and knocked again before turning to the mares. “Weird; she doesn’t usually take this long to answer.” He commented. A third knock was accompanied with shouting. “Mom, it’s me, can you let us in?” Again the house remained silent, and Shadow sighed before searching through a nearby flowerbed, retrieving a key and unlocking the door. He allowed his companions in before closing the door behind himself and flicking the living room light on. Twilight strolled into the room proper and looked about. “Doesn’t look like anypony is home.” She commented, before Crimson shushed her. “I hear sobbin’, sounds like it’s this way.” She said, leading deeper into the house. Shadow hurried over to her and held a hoof up to slow her before taking the lead. Sure enough the sound led to a bedroom, and Shadow knocked on the door politely before speaking. “Mom, you alright in there?” The sobbing halted and, after the sound of frantic hooves charged in their direction, the door was pulled open and a bubble-gum pink Nightmare unicorn mare with a purple fiery mane and tail threw herself against him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. Her cutie mark was similar to Shadow’s, a large eye with a small triangle constellation of stars around and behind it. “Shadow, you’re home!” Startled, Shadow took a step back before relaxing and wrapping his hooves around his mother. “I’m home, mom. It’s been a while.” “Don’t you ‘it’s been a while’ me, young man!” She snapped. “You could have written, or sent magical messages!” He sighed. “I’m sorry, mom; I’ve been busy. Got a job telling fortunes and helping farmers, you would not believe the sort of stuff they put up with.” He gave a cocky grin at her teary face. “By the by, you know that you should have alfalfa planted, right? Nopony else seems to have it in.” She laughed and lightly punched his shoulder. “Cheeky foal, of course I know; still using that list you gave me before you left.” “I’ll write up another before I go to see the princesses tonight, okay? Don’t want you in the lurch just because you’re retired.” Her enthusiasm trailed off for a moment, and she looked about the hall noticing the mares behind him. “And who are these ladies? You really should have told me if you got hitched.” “I’m not married, mom; this is Crimsondrop, she’s a friend of mine.” He said, motioning to the nanny who dipped her head. “Pleasure t’ meetcha.” “And this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic.” He said, motioning to Twilight and dipping his head faintly. She also dipped her head to the mare. “It’s a delight to make your acquaintance, ma’am.” “Twilight, Crimson, this is my mother, Star Gazer. She was an astrologist and meteorologist for the Council until she retired before I left to Equestria.” Shadow said, wrapping a hoof around his mother’s shoulders. He gave her a squeeze before looking her in the eye. “Now, we received a letter from Silver Glare about some form of family business. Should we move into the lounge?” Star Gazer lowered her head before nodding, leading the group back the way they had come. “Make yourselves comfortable, I’ll just put the kettle on. Would anypony like anything; tea, cookies?” “I think we’re all fine, mom, but if you want to bring some cookies out it might be appreciated?” She nodded mutely before heading off into the kitchen. She wasn’t gone long, and soon returned with a plate of cookies which she placed on the coffee table. By this point everypony had seated themselves on a respective piece of furniture, in Shadow’s case laying on the couch while leaving his mother enough space to settle herself. “So, mom, what’s got you so upset that you’ve got a Council pony sending me letters and you’re crying so badly you can’t answer the door?” She sighed. “I’ll not beat about the bush,” she mumbled, “Shadow, I’m pregnant.” He blinked at her. “What..? I didn’t know you’d remarried, this is great news!” “It’s not!” She shouted, fresh tears rolling over her cheeks. She heaved a breath and lowered her face. “It’s not good news. Honey, I’m not married and I have no intention to marry. I… When I had you, it took two days for me to recover because of a complication during childbirth. My blood doesn’t clot well, you see, and I almost bled to death having you from… tearing.” She hissed a breath as her face lowered further. “The doctors told me that I mustn’t have any more children because my body simply couldn’t take the strain of that much blood loss a second time; I was risking death with you. I… I also cannot simply abort the foal for the same reason, I’ll haemorrhage to death.” She smiled up at him distantly. “In nine months, I’m going to die.” Shadow just stared at her, jaw dropped and ears pinned to his scalp in shock. His throat croaked as he tried to say something which died before it could even leave him. Twilight cleared her throat calmly. “Mrs Gazer, might we ask how this foal came to be? I don’t want to point hooves, but this doesn’t sound like something you would do to yourself.” She shook her head. “It’s not, I wouldn’t.” She agreed. “I… I’ll just say that it was not something that was agreed upon by all parties.” Twilight coughed. “Rape, in this day and age?!” Shadow growled. “Who?!” He snarled furiously. “How has this not been addressed by the Council?!” “Because the stallion in question is the current Night Terror and only Silver would even speak out against him! Silver’s an elder, he’s had years on the Council and he knows his constituents by name. The others are, well, young and inexperienced; they think that the Night Terror can have them banished from the town, or worse, so they don’t speak up. I turned to Silver and had him send the letter because there was nopony else to turn to!” Shadow’s face didn’t seem to be capable of becoming any more furious, and he gave her one last question. “Who is it? I want a name to spit on.” She shivered slightly in place as she spoke. “Moonlight Flare, he’s from Rose District.” She breathed. “I know it was him, I even have proof; he left a scarf he’d been wearing in my bathroom when he cleaned himself up.” Shadow nodded, somehow managing to calm himself a little before speaking. “Mom, I’ve a friend out in Equestria who can help, she’s a medical professional and she should be able to help you. Princess Twilight Sparkle might even know of any procedures that can be taken to help you with this, so I’m going to ask that she remains here with you, alright? I have a few things to do.” He got up and wandered to the door, pausing only to look back to his mother calmly. “I will not allow a Night Terror to get away with something as disgusting as this.” He hissed. “I’m comin’ with ye.” Crimson said as she stood. “Wait fer me out front, okay?” He nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind himself with a click. Crimsondrop moved over next to Star Gazer and pulled her up into a hug. “Lass, don’t ye worry, everythin’ will be alright.” She breathed into her ear reassuringly. “We’ll be back, alright? I promise ye.” She eased the mare back into her seat before moving to the door and opening it with a hoof. “Don’t kill him!” Twilight called out. “Alright?” Crimson turned her eyes on the lavender alicorn and nodded her head. “No promises.” *&*&*&* Celestia and Luna had been having a reasonably pleasant conversation with the Night Terror they had been introduced to, one Moonlight Flare. He was charming and pleasant, yet also young and, to the Princesses’ experienced minds, hiding something. They couldn’t put their hooves on whatever it might be in particular, but he was certainly not the kind of pony they were expecting. His coat was a navy blue, and his mane and tail vibrant orange, much like his eyes. The lounges that they rested on were edged with silver and upholstered with some of the most exquisite satin that the Princesses had rested on. Of course, since they themselves used silk or velvet to upholster everything it was still no real competition for home. The sound of raised voices came from the halls beyond the room in which they rested, held back mainly by the solid marble doors that enclosed the room. As the voices died down, a heavy thud against the doors sounded, and the trio in the room looked over at them alarmed. A second strike reduced the door to rubble. Shadow and Crimson emerged from the dust, striding confidently into the room. “Worry not, Princesses, I’ll handle these two.” Moonlight said, getting to his hooves and stepping between the royals and the intruders. His horn burst with magic and a shielding bubble trapped them. Shadow pushed against it, glaring daggers at Moonlight Flare. “Release us, you son of a-” “Language, sir; you’re in the presence of royalty and your Night Terror.” He snapped back. Crimsondrop, undeterred by the shield, strolled on and passed right through it as if it weren’t there. Celestia and Luna’s brows launched themselves skywards at this. On the ride in, Celestia had informed Luna and Twilight of her resistance to magic, but this was something else entirely. Crimson closed the distance between the shield and Moonlight in almost no time at all and she stopped before him, sizing him up like he were an opponent. “You’re not my Night Terror, and they’re barely my Royals.” She spat. In one swift move she head-butted him to the ground. The Princesses got to their hooves and hurried over, attempting to hold back the nanny from any further violence. “Crimsondrop, explain yourself at once!” Celestia snapped, “This is very out of line and I will not have you treat dignitaries like this!” “This bastard,” Crimson spat, ignoring the slight flinch from Celestia at her harsh language, “is not fit to lead a parade, let alone a culture!” “That does not excuse your action!” Celestia snapped back. “Night Terror, are you alright?” “Not that I care!” Crimson snarled. “He deserves far worse for what he’s done!” “And what exactly has he done to enrage you so, Crimsondrop?” Luna asked. Shadow’s voice rang out furiously from where he stood by the door. “He raped my mother and now she is pregnant with a foal that might kill her upon birth!” Celestia blinked back at him, trying to wrap her head around this information, before she sighed and reached out with her magic. After a moment or two there was a loud pop and both Twilight and Star Gazer materialized in the room with a burst of golden magic. She uttered a single word, though her tone made it reverberate throughout the room. “Explain.” After the momentary confusion of a forced teleportation wore off, Twilight shook her head and nudged Star Gazer into the room. She draped a wing over her back comfortingly as she stepped over with the pink Nightmare. “Princess Celestia, this is Star Gazer, Shadow Gazer’s mother.” Twilight explained, “I assume you’ve heard the accusation already?” “I have, Twilight; such an accusation must be backed by evidence, you are well aware.” Twilight nudged Star again, motioning for her to reveal her evidence. “Star Gazer told us of her… unfortunate predicament, and after performing the necessary spells to verify her claim, I can assure you that she is both two months pregnant and that she is rather impressively haemophilic. I’m surprised that Shadow does not show the signs, but he might have gotten lucky. I’ll have to do more tests later to determine…” “Twilight, focus.” Celestia snapped. “Right, sorry, with these pieces of information I can deduce that she is pregnant and that birth very well might kill her. She was lucky to have survived giving birth to Shadow, though if we can get her to any of our hospitals when the foal comes or she decides otherwise, I’m certain that she’ll be able to handle the foal without incident.” She smiled at her conclusion before continuing. “I’ve also managed to use scrying magic to narrow down the father to the owner of this scarf left at her house after the fact. “Now all we need to do is use a spell to determine who the owner might be; to avoid risking emotional contamination, I would suggest that Luna perform it.” Twilight finished, taking the scarf from Star gently and offering it to Luna. The Princess, in turn, took the scarf and focused a spell onto it. For a moment it shook in her magic as she held it. “It will now move directly to its owner.” She stated, before letting it go. In an instant it slapped to Moonlight’s face, and he struggled to pull it off before glowering. “Nice trick, Star Gazer, but I told you before that you cannot prove anything, and your little marefriend there is a horrible liar, no spell can do what she claims; we would have discovered it by now if there were.” Twilight visibly bristled, but Celestia spoke out before she could. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Magic itself. Few know magic better than her, and she has been my personal student for many years; if she says that she has performed a spell, I shall trust her. The spell she refers to has been in our medical spell books for over three centuries as well, after a mare invented it to prevent issues between spouses should one fear the other is cheating on them. If that is not enough, if you or your Council are too naïve to understand or will not accept this, then there is nothing further for us to discuss.” She turned to the ruined door and, after motioning for her sister to follow, began to walk out. “Good day, sir.” *&*&*&* The Princesses, Shadow, Star, and Crimsondrop arrived back at the carriage to find a group of six ponies milling about who swiftly turned and gave their undivided attention to them. An elder stallion with a black coat and silver mane and tail bowed to them before smiling. “Greetings, Majesties, we are the Council. I am Silver Glare, representative for Peach District. We were just having a discussion over recent events.” He announced with a smile. “It is dreadful what has been committed to one of our own, and I’ll do everything in my power to assure she is cared for until the day comes. “I took a short detour to lock your house up for you, Star, I assumed that you would like it to be secure for your return.” He added. She smiled at him. “Take care of it, Silver; it’ll make a nice holiday home.” “… Mom?” “I’m coming with you, Shadow; I can’t stay here if I’m to get the medical attention I’ll need.” She said calmly. “And I wouldn’t trust anypony except Silver to look after our home while I’m not here.” “If it’s all the same, Star…” Silver began nervously, “I was actually considering something a little different. While I hate to see one of us go, and don’t you dare imagine this as asking you to leave, I was wondering if you’d rather move to Equestria to be with your son? Consider it as ambassadorial business for us.” “B-but all of my possessions, what about..?” “If you’re to move to Equestria, you’ll need furniture for your home, don’t you think?” Twilight asked. “We can send a few carriages to pick up your things.” “We apologize for what Moonlight Flare has done, and we shall have him removed from office and detained immediately. One does not commit such a heinous act within our city and expect to get away with it. A new Night Terror shall be elected within the week and we can put this whole ordeal behind us.” Silver said, looking hopefully at Celestia and Luna. “It is not our place to tell you how to run your government, nor would we.” Celestia stated. “I’ll have an ambassador sent as soon as possible, and shall have the components for a Shield Tower to be installed sent down; with any luck it should help to deter dangerous monsters. Whether or not you receive further aid is down to how Moonlight Flare is handled.” “I hope he never sees the light of day.” Star Gazer grumbled. “We shall see what the courts decide.” Silver stated. “He has violated a widowed mare which could have caused her death; he is unlikely to get much less than imprisonment for life.” Celestia and Luna dipped their heads. “We thank you for your hospitality during our visit, representatives. Farewell.” With dipped heads in return, the Council watched as the visitors boarded the carriage and it flew off into the distance. *&*&*&* The carriage had landed with far less issue this time, and Crimson, Shadow and Star stepped down before bidding the Princesses farewell and watching them disappear towards Canterlot. Shadow sighed and motioned for his mother and Crimson to follow him. “C’mon, we might as well go meet up with the others; they’ll probably be at Paige’s house.” He said as he led them up a street. “She’ll at least tell us how terribly we behaved.” “You think so?” Star asked, to which Shadow nodded. “Whiterobe is going to chew us out so bad.” He added. “And I only just got her over bein’ scared o’ me, too.” Crimson joked. “You kicked in a solid marble door, Crimson; she has good reason to be scared of you.” “I promised not t’ kill ‘im and I didn’t.” She huffed in return. “Got m’ fury out on th’ door instead. He should count ‘imself lucky I did so.” Shadow gave a laugh as he gave up arguing with her, his eyes latching onto the house they were approaching and his magic opening the front door. “And here we are, home sweet home once more.” The trio wandered inside and to the lounge, where the several ponies they were expecting to be here were, indeed, waiting. Crimson hopped up onto a couch and lay down, resting her head against the armrest. She was asleep before anypony could even say ‘hello’.