//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21: A Light in Dark Places 
// Story: Lost Fate 
// by Fluxxdog 
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Chapter 21: A Light in Dark Places

“Do you know who Silver Light is?” Luna asked her older sister as if she heard the latest gossip.
Celestia answered as if she hadn’t heard the latest gossip. “No. Name doesn’t sound familiar.” Her breakfast of muffins were a force to be reckoned with, and with the power of the sun, she would conquer them all! In other words, she took another bite and swallowed. “Wait, isn’t he the sheriff of Appleloosa?”
“No, sister, that’s Silverstar. I only ask because some of the ponies in Ponyville were having some rather disturbing dreams. I tried calming them as best I could, but it was difficult. I thought Twilight was among them, but her dream involved someone named Silver Light. A rather young male unicorn. She seemed overly affectionate towards him, like he was a son.”
Celestia declared a temporary ceasefire on her breakfast and chuckled. “She’s not a young filly anymore. It’s not that surprising if she is thinking of a family. I wonder if she has her eye on somepony. She sent some fascinating research that started the development on those Cantrip lines the researchers have been experimenting with. Perhaps she is looking to start something with this Cantrip.”
“I don’t think so. I know this Cantrip. He keeps himself remarkably well shielded in his sleep.” She took another bite of her waffles. Next time, she’d see if they have any Zap Apple jam to go with it. “But the only time his guard is down is when it comes to someone named Ink Nose. That’s Twilight’s librarian, is it not?”
“Oh dear. I do hope that doesn’t cause any problems. Perhaps I should write to her. She’s wonderful at making friends, but love can be a different challenge altogether. Hmm, no, I think I’ll ask Cadence to talk to her about it. She is more qualified than I.” A slightly perplexed look crossed Celestia’s face. “Come to think of it, I haven’t gotten a letter from her since Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville. She’s growing less dependent on me.”
“That’s a good thing, sister. She used to hang on to you like a child stays by its mother. Now, she’s more independent than when I first met her. But her dream wasn’t like that. It was… happy on the surface, but I could sense she was sad underneath it all. Like a child she had lost.”
“What?! No no, Twilight has never… I mean, I would think I’d find out… she’s not good at keeping secrets. If something like that had happened, I would have heard about it.”
Luna chuckled and poked fun at her sister, “Why Mommy Celestia, did your little Twily grow up faster than you thought.”
Celestia hung her head. “It’s not that. Sometimes I question taking Twilight under my wing. She still loves her family, but sometimes I think I replaced them. She sees me more often than her own parents, and she only sees her brother as often as she does because of his duties.”
“Tia, you took her as your student so you could teach her to control her magic. She told me herself.”
Celestia looked at the rising sun. “I wonder if I did, Luna.”


Slipwind looked at the rising sun. Yesterday was still a little hazy. He remembered passing out, and then it was a blur. They gave him food, which tasted like he made five round trips from Fillydelphia to Manehattan without stopping for food. They took him to a bed and told him to just rest. He passed out right after that.
“So soft.” He felt a hoof stroking his wings. It felt good. Then he realized somepony was stroking his wings and jumped up with a start. He looked behind him and saw Rarity behind him, waking up from his reaction. They both blushed.
“Let us never speak of this again. Agreed?” Rarity was quite flustered.
“Speak of what? What ever happened?” Slipwind was equally flustered. That was his way of agreeing to forget.
“My hoof on your wing. I was dreaming I was petting the softest feathers in… oh. Eh heh. Right. Subtext.”
Slipwind just facehooved. “Look, it’s okay. I’m not gonna blame you or say anything. After what happened yesterday, I’m surprised my brain is in one piece.” Suddenly, he felt a hoof on his wings again.
“They really are soft. I’ve had Rainbow’s and Fluttershy wings brush up against me before. Rainbow’s are rather stiff while Fluttershy’s just seem lighter than air. Yours are like a pile of pillows.”
“Rarity, please stop.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, darling.”
“It wasn’t uncomfortable. It just feels good. Really, REALLY good.”
“Then why did you want me to stop?”
“Because we’re not in that kind of relationship!”
“Oh. … OH! … oh.” Rarity seemed to be trying to blush her mouth shut. “I had no idea. Umm… Oh I know! Let’s find some breakfast!” They turned to the door to see a cart already in the room, with two warm stacks of pancakes covered in syrup. “I guess our friends knew we’d be hungry. Shall we?”
Slipwind extended a wing toward the cart and bowed slightly. “After you m’lady.”


“After you, Princess!”
“Thank you, Spike. You didn’t have to do all this.”
“What, make you breakfast? Sure I did. You seemed so down this morning you needed a good breakfast. I even followed the note you left me to make some for the guests upstairs.” He set the pancakes in front of Twilight and a separate stack for him with gem dust. “I made sure not to wake them.”
“Wait, and you’re not freaking out?”
“You said they were ill, try not to disturb them, just leave the food inside. Why would that freak me out?”
“Because we put Rarity and Slipwind in there.” Spike was now vigorously choking on his pancakes. He grabbed a glass of juice and drank some.
When he could breathe again, he admonished Twilight. “You shouldn’t joke like that when I’m eating! I nearly choked to death!”
“They were both ill after the spell we worked on yesterday. Discord said they needed food and rest and I wanted to keep a close eye on them.”
“But… but there was only one bed in that room.” Spike looked like he was ready to cry.
“Oh, stop it. I’m talking about sick ponies and your mind is going elsewhere.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” He just ate his breakfast in an embarrassed silence.
Twilight suddenly grabbed and hugged Spike. “Thank you for breakfast. I really do appreciate it and everything you do for me. I’m glad you’re in my life.”
“Uh, glad to be here. You okay, Twilight? You don’t usually get this sappy.”
“Every now and then, I need to remember the good things I have in my life. You’re one of them.”