//------------------------------// // Sleight of Bend // Story: Reba // by ErraticOverlord //------------------------------// I sit on my bed after my most recent of collapses. “What… happens… when you lose consciousness? Anything?” I ponder his words for a moment. I suppose I can tell him. “I see memories, my memories. But… I feel like I am there and… I do not remember them.” I say, slowly. Swiftwing nods. “Was there anything important in the memories?” Swiftwing asks. ‘Unicorns and Alicorns generally have to pick a creature whose mind they can force their will onto; a Unicorn cannot control an Alicorn, but an Alicorn can control a Unicorn.’ ‘Not you, Nightmare Moon.’ I am Nightmare Moon. There is not a way she could come back without my knowledge… Right? “Princess?” I look up. Swiftwing stands in my bedchambers, a quizzical expression on his face. After a moment, memory of what just occurred returns to me. “I do not know. We shall see.” I respond. Swiftwing nods. A knock on the door signals Swiftwing to hide behind a very old and expensive vase. “Who is there?” I ask whoever is beyond the door. “Princess Twilight.” Twilight says. I trot over and open the door to reveal a very cross looking Princess. Twilight trots in, eyeing me suspiciously. “I received a report stating that your unconscious body was carried to your bedchambers... again. Tell me what is going on.” Twilight demands, stomping a hoof on the marble floor. I motion to Swiftwing, at which, he steps out of the shadows. Twilight gives a startled ‘ah!’ when she sees him, but makes no move otherwise. “What do you wish to know?” I ask, simply. Twilight thinks for a moment. “What have you learned so far in the Runemaster investigation? And, who is he?” ‘Not you, Nightmare Moon.’ I shake the thought out of my head. It drifts into the back of my mind, biding its time before it assaults me again. “To answer the second question first, his name is Swiftwing Silver. He is a member of a dissident group against Celestia which, I believe, he runs.” Twilight gasps. “Why would you be trotting around with him? He’s a criminal.” Swiftwing stays silent, but I feel a twinge of pain from him and I wince. “He works with me on the investigation, Twilight.” Twilight scrutinizes Swiftwing, skeptically. “What have you found out in the Runemaster investigation?” I close my eyes, thinking back. Miss Sparkle has not heard anything about the investigation. Then I will start at the beginning. I take a deep breath and begin to relate our investigations thus far. Waxing Gibbous I watch the clock while Teacher writes something about Radirock spiders on the slate board. The clock strikes nine and gives a shrill whistle. I look at Teacher, expectantly. “You are free to go.” He says, tonelessly. I gather my spellbooks and dart out the door. The night has almost completely fallen and I want to see Celestia before she goes to bed. Turning a corner, I slam into another pony, knocking us both to the hard floor. I start to apologize, as most of the nobility are rather short with me, but, looking up, I see that I hit a foal. He looks close to my age and I simply stare at him in rapt fascination. There are never any other foals in the palace, much less any my age. Shaking my head, I rationalize that he couldn’t be my age, because I am an Alicorn and I am several thousand years old at this point which is beyond the lifespan of most ponies. But, he looks my age. “Excuse me?” The foal asks. I return from my ruminations and, upon further examination, I find that it is a Unicorn colt, with a bright white coat and light grey mane. He had many spellbooks with him, as illustrated by them scattered around our point of impact. The most odd of his features, by a good degree, are his eyes; his eyes are a very powerful black, in color, with no iris, cornea, or really anything but its position relative to his other facial features to indicate that they are his eyes, rather than a large ink stain. Is he… blind? The colt stands up and starts feeling around for his scrolls and books, finding each one and setting them in orderly piles while setting my books in a different pile. “H-hello.” I say, barely a whisper. The colt’s ears lock forward and he gives a startled exclamation, falling back on the floor. “Ow.” He states. I rush over to him and help him up, streaming apologies in the process. After a moment, he sits up and my apologies come to an end. “What is your name?” I ask. The colt’s ears swivel towards the sound and he faces, more or less, in my direction. “My name is Starswirl. No last name, it is just Starswirl.” He says the words a little sadly. I nod. “My name is Luna.” Starswirl laughs. “I had assumed that I would run into a Princess eventually. I just did not think it would be on my first day here and I did not think I would literally run into her.” I giggle and eventually, Starswirl and I are laughing together like old friends. “So, what are you doing in the palace?” I ask Starswirl. We had relocated to the gardens outside, after putting away our books. “I am studying under Psimon Magus; I believe he is your magic teacher.” I think about the name for a moment. “My name is Psimon Magus; I am going to educate you on magical practices and history.” “But, how does that work? You are an Earth pony; how could you teach me magic?” Psimon smiles. “Judging somepony strictly on how they look, is the swiftest way to die. Remember that.” I gasp. “You are studying with Teacher?” I ask, incredulously. Starswirl tilts his head to the side. “Is there something wrong with that?” He asks. I nod, and then realize that he cannot see me and reply in the affirmative. “What is he like? I just arrived so I have not seen him, yet.” Starswirl asks. I pause. “He is… instructive?” I say, hesitantly. “I believe that if you want to learn magic, he is the right pony to train under.” I say, with more confidence. Starswirl smiles. “What about you? Are you averse to the study of magic?” I think for a moment. “No, it is simply very difficult. Sometimes, I do not see the purpose of it.” I say, a little slowly. Starswirl stares ahead, displaying small and various facial expressions, and deep in his private thoughts. “Immortal life presents a lot of time to do the things you want to, I suppose.” Starswirl says, faintly. We walk in silence for the rest of the night. Full Moon I explain to Twilight our experiences during the investigation, being careful to only touch on the subject of my memories and completely avoiding anything I learned or have done with the dissidents. While I speak of our exploits, this memory floats into my being. As usual I experience the memory as though it was happening at that moment and I do not remember it before I experience it. This memory was strange, however; primarily the odd thing about it was that, when the memory was over, only a moment had passed. I finish my story and Princess Twilight nods. “Very well, I’m coming with you.” Twilight says. Both Swiftwing’s and my eyebrows reach heights previously unknown to them. After only a moment, I regain my composure. “Princess, you cannot come with us. If you were to abandon your post as regent who will rule Equestria while we track down the Runemaster?” I ask. Twilight smiles. “I have already sent a message to Princess Cadence, asking her to rule in my place.” Cadence... I believe there was some kind of altercation that occurred at the time of the wedding. If there was, I am not privy to it. Celestia simply said not to concern myself with it. Indeed. I sigh and rub my right temple with a hoof. “I will allow you to work with us if Cadence agrees to act as regent.” Twilight claps her hooves together, excitedly. “Yay!” She exclaims. Embarrassed, she regains her composure and excuses herself from the room. Swiftwing steps towards me. “I don’t think this is a good idea. If something happens to you and Princess Twilight, Equestria will be in trouble. Cadence cannot rule the Crystal Empire and Equestria at the same time. That means it could be ages before another Alicorn is born or ascends.” I nod in acknowledgement. “Very true. However, we have also begun to hit a dead end in our investigation. If we want to stop the Runemaster, it might be necessary to add another to our number.” Swiftwing sighs in defeat. “For now, I would like your assistance in some research in the Archives.” I say to Swiftwing, trotting forward. Swiftwing raises an eyebrow, in much the same way as Starswirl. “What kind of research?” Swiftwing asks, suspicious. “I want to find and gather any text on Nightmare Moon.” Swiftwing smiles and opens his mouth to speak. “Do not push your luck, Swiftwing.” Swiftwing closes his mouth with a snap. I pause. “You know, your name is Swiftwing, yet, I have never seen you fly.” A smirk graces Swiftwing’s face. “Someday, perhaps.” He says, smugly. I roll my eyes. We walk outside, towards the Archive building, when a shadow passes overhead. Without a break in step, I wordlessly turn to Swiftwing and he confirms that he too saw the shadow. We continue on our way to the Archives, when the shadow passes over us again, closer this time. I feel out the magic in the area, in an effort to determine what is currently flying overhead, but something blocks me; somepony is shielding the object overhead, we need to find out whom. The shadow passes over us again and still we do not break movement, making steady progress towards the Archives. Blocking spells such as these have a limited range so the Runemaster must be nearby. I hear a whistling noise shooting towards me. “On my mark.” Swiftwing murmurs, under his breath. The whistling noise increases until it is a high pitched scream, all taking place within a few moments. “Now.” Swiftwing says. With two flicks of our respective wings, we are flung to the sides of the screaming missile. Our aggressor hits the ground with an explosive force, showering dirt and stone around us. I roll to my hooves and face our would-be attacker. I am met by a Pegasus with a cyan coat and rainbow mane. Red eyes stare at me with Draconic ferocity. A rune glows brightly on her forehead. I bend forward into a combat stance. “Rainbow Dash.”