Vol'Shalai's eyes snapped open and he was immediately wide awake. He had overslept!
Grumbling to himself, he climbed out of the coffin and gathered his things. He sprinted to the bank island, dropping off his pillow and blanket along with a few of his flasks, and ran towards the elevator. He waited impatiently until the stone door retreated into a gap in the ceiling.
As he stood in the elevator, waiting for it to rise to the ruins of Lordaeron, he tapped his foot and thought about his last dream. He had seen a small grass-covered hill, a flash of arcane light and trees in the background. The sky had been covered with a green fog. He was sure the dream had shown him where to look for Jon and his friends.
If Vol'Shalai could pick up their trace he was confident he would catch up with them.
He opened his totem pouch, palmed the totem of the wild and began his transformation into a spirit wolf.
•°
"This is it", said Twilight, pointing at a small hill in the center of a clearing. It looked slightly different than at their arrival; the grass had grown a lot and was covered with tiny blue flowers. The trees were brighter than before, fresh leaves covering the long branches. A few birds sang in a nearby thicket, welcoming spring to the Glades of Tirisfal.
It had been three months since she had opened the portal to Lordaeron. To Twilight, it felt like a year. Jonathan's voice interrupted her train of thought.
"Yep, I remember that tree root", he said, rubbing his side and pointing at a tree root at the foot of the hill.
He stalked up the hill, Darren and the ponies in tow. Mr Carpenter stayed where he was, watching them climb the grassy incline.
When they reached the top of the hill, Twilight looked around.
"Yes, I'm sure it was here", she muttered. Twilight raised her horn and began to cast the spell. Jonathan quickly joined her side.
She reared, spreading her wings to keep her balance. As the light at the tip of her horn grew brighter, Jonathan touched Twilight's shoulder and added his part of the spell, stabilizing the portal with his Light magic.
This time, Twilight was the one who needed to specify the destination. She closed her eyes, recalling her memories of Canterlot. She thought of Princess Celestia, her dear mentor, who would be waiting for her and her friends to return. She remembered Princess Luna, who had helped them several times during their journey, directly and indirectly. Twilight thought of the golden spires of Canterlot Castle, the citadel on the mountain, of its white halls and corridors and the glass windows that lined the throne room.
She allowed her mind to fly up into the sky of Equestria and take in the image of her homeworld, with its tall mountains, green forests and lush hills. She made sure to think of the Badlands, the Crystal Empire, Manehattan, Ponyville and any significant landmarks that came to her. When she was sure that she had her home clearly before her mind's eye, she returned her focus back to Starswirl's Library. That was where the mirror stood, waiting for the portal to reconnect.
She could almost feel it.
Twilight opened her eyes and released the last part of the spell.
The arcane light expanded, forming intertwining circles. Ancient Equestrian runes formed inside the lines, pulsating in the rhythm of the spell. Pink and golden sparks ran across the wheel of magic. Then, in a blinding flash of light, the circles overlapped and formed a perfectly round gate with a diameter of roughly two yards. The force of the spell created a shockwave that threw everybody to the ground.
Twilight smiled as she saw the result of their shared effort. The ring of magical fire floated in midair, unmoving. It pulsated slowly, humming like a power line. The portal's surface rippled with every pulse, like water at the bottom of a well. The portal appeared to be stable.
"Thanks", Twilight said to Jonathan.
He nodded and readjusted the strap of his backpack, exhaling deeply.
"Is eyerybody ready?", asked Twilight. "Darren?"
The death knight smiled. "Yes, I think I am."
•°
Vol'Shalai the spirit wolf sniffed the ground, trying his best to pick up the faint scent of pony. He raised his head and howled. He had found it.
The wolf picked up the pace and ran along the dirt road, unseen by anyone outside the spiritual plane. He was very close.
•°
Twilight stepped through the portal, followed by Arcus and Jonathan. Levinia dashed after them as a small blue light.
Darren hesitated for a second. He cast a last look over his shoulder, inwardly saying goodbye to his homeworld. Would he miss it? Probably.
But he had made his decision. He wanted to live again. Additionally, he would not be alone, now that he had made friends again. His entire family was dead; there was nothing left for him here. So Darren clenched his teeth and crossed the threshold.
•°
The spirit wolf came to a stop on the top of a small elevation. He recognized it as the hill from his dream.
There was nobody else here, except for a single Forsaken at the foot of the hill. The wolf growled. It seemed he was too late.
There was a strange disturbance next to him, though. Maybe that was the portal that the ponies had set up to get back home. Vol'Shalai shifted back to the material plane, turning into the troll that he was. He wanted to have a closer look. How often did you get to see an interdimensional portal?
His transformation almost failed as pain shot through his limbs. He doubled over, grunting, and collapsed on the ground. Vol'Shalai groaned, holding his head which hurt as if it was being crushed in a vice. He was not sure whether he had ever felt that much agony in his life. His legs twitched with involuntary spasms. He called to the Loa in his panic, praying for the pain to stop.
It was over as abruptly as it had started. Vol'Shalai shivered as he regained control over his body. Cold sweat ran down his face.
"What... da hell... was dat?", he gasped. Panting and sweating, he looked up. The portal had collapsed, leaving behind a few sparks that quickly dissipated in the wind. Apparently, Vol'Shalai had transformed too close to the portal, thus interfering with its magic.
He looked at himself, tilting his hands, flexing his fingers. Everything seemed to be alright. He had not grown any additional limbs or lost any for that matter.
Whew. Vol'Shalai wiped his forehead and huffed. With shaking hands, he uncorked a pumpkin bottle and took a sip from one of his potions. As the brew warmed up his stomach and refreshed him, he staggered to his feet, looking down the hill.
Well, that was that. He was late - yet again. What a disappointment. But at least the ponies and Jon got home. Probably.
Vol'Shalai took an exasperated breath. He brushed some leaves off of his pants. Time to do the same thing as the ponies and get back to Miwemba... and beg for forgiveness. He was supposed to be back on Darkspear Isle months ago. Would she believe his story?
"Hey!" An angry voice snapped Vol'Shalai out of his thoughts. He readied his axe and whirled around, taking an aggressive stance.
The Forsaken from before was running up the hill, towards Vol'Shalai. He rolled his eyes. Great. The warrior had probably noticed him as he had transformed back into a troll.
The human came to a stop. He was clad in plate armor and wielding a big-ass axe. That did not impress Vol'Shalai. Maybe he had just a small axe himself but the elements were much more powerful than a metal blade.
"Get away from there!", said the Forsaken in Orcish. "You're not supposed to be here."
"Well, duh", grunted Vol'Shalai. "I did notice dey left without sayin' bye. No need ta rub it in!"
"What?"
"Look, mon", said Vol'Shalai, talking extra slowly. "I be deir friend, Vol'Shalai. If ya have a problem wit dat, it be yar problem. But I'm not gonna let ya go after de ponies or anyting because dey just wanna go home. So, ya see, ya be actually da one who be tresspassin' here."
The Forsaken raised his hand and opened his mouth. Then he closed it again.
"You know about the ponies?", he said eventually, relaxing his stance.
Vol'Shalai nodded, rubbing his chin. He lowered his own axe, mirroring the Forsaken.
"Ya know what? Let's talk about dis over a pint of Dwarven Stout. What'cha say?"
"I... I don't see why not", admitted the Forsaken. "If you can prove you're telling the truth. I'm just here to ensure they actually left."
Vol'Shalai grinned. "How about a deal? I give ya an exact description of what dey look like and what dey been doing in Silvermoon. And ya be tellin' me why dey been in Undercity."
He shouldered his war axe and walked downhill. The troll did not bother to look back. He knew that the Forsaken had picked up the bait.
•°
Jonathan was sure about one thing: He still hated portals. Once the nauseating ride through the trippy tunnel of swirling shapes and energies was over, he fell out of the mirror with a thud. Still, his landing was surprisingly soft.
"Get off me, please." Arcus had involuntarily served as Jonathan's cushion. The earth pony groaned, holding his side. Jonathan swiftly rolled off Arcus's barrel. He held out his hand, helping the green earth pony up.
"Sorry", he said.
Arcus shook his head. "Not like you could control what you fall onto."
"Welcome back", said a gruff male voice.
Jonathan and Arcus turned around, looking for the source. A white unicorn stallion in golden armor had spoken. There was a light blue pegasus mare next to him, also clad in golden plate armor. Each of them was armed with a short spear. Day guards.
They were back in Canterlot, in the library of Starswirl the Bearded. They were back home! Jonathan grinned, even chuckling a bit. Finally, some good news.
Twilight coughed and staggered to her hooves. Her blue saddlebags had fallen off her back. One had opened when she had fallen out of the portal. Part of its contents were spilt across the floor, including a a few potion flasks. Luckily, nothing was broken.
"Oops", she muttered, using magic to collect her things and stuff them back into the bag.
"Princess Twilight, are you alright?", asked the female guard, rushing to her side with a worried frown.
Twilight gave her a comforting smile. "Yes, I'm not hurt", she said. "Still a little dizzy but that should pass in a moment." She looked back at her friends. "Is everyone okay?"
Arcus nodded and Jonathan smiled. "We're good", "Just some bruises", they said.
Levinia, still in the shape of a wisp, flew across the room, circling Twilight's head. The light grew brighter as she bounced up and down, indicating her happiness.
Before she could turn into a pony or say anything, her light grew fainter. It flickered and disappeared within seconds.
"Levinia! Oh no!" Twilight's eyes went wide. "What's happening?", she asked, alarmed.
"She's back to being invisible", said Jonathan. "it's not Nightmare Night after all."
Twilight's ears went down. "Oh. Right, sure." She looked disappointed.
Jonathan put his hand on her shoulder. "She'll be all right, Princess. We just can't see her anymore. She's a ghost, remember?"
"Of course", muttered Twilight. "That's hard to forget."
The male guard politely cleared his throat. Twilight's ears flicked, turning towards the noise.
"Yes. Sorry about this", she said, adressing the guards. She straightened her back, taking a bussinesslike stance. "Please tell Princess Celestia that we have returned. Princess Luna will be asleep at this hour", she added, more as an explanation for Jonathan and Darren.
The pegasus guard saluted, instinctively flapping her wings. Her hoofsteps reverberated through the cavernous library as she dashed for the throne room.
"Wait a second." Twilight turned on the spot, searching the library.
Somebody was missing.
Arcus put his hooves before his mouth. "Holy Light, Darren's not here", he whispered in shock.
•°
"Oof!" Darren fell out of the portal, face first into the the snow. A howling wind assaulted his ears, bringing more snow as he watched. The portal behind him flizzled out and dissolved into a shower of pink and golden sparks.
He sat up and looked around, brushing a stray lock of grey hair out of his face, and pulled up his hood. There was nothing around him save an endless white cold. His dark cloak and tabard flapped in the vicious wind, tugging at his armor.
"Twilight?", he called against the wind.
There was no answer. Where was he?
"Arcus? Jonathan?... Levinia?"
No, if they had arrived before him, they were gone now. They had either walked away or been buried by the snow...
Darren stood up, turning around on the spot to look for elevations in the snow. He could not find any. That meant that his friends truly were not in the vicinity.
The snowstorm lost its enthusiasm. As the last flakes settled down, Darren could make out the sky. It was a dull purple, with shreds of clouds scattered about. The lights of the Aurora Borealis danced above the horizon, illuminating the night sky.
"Light damn it." So he was alone again, stranded in the merciless cold of Northrend.
•°
Vol'Shalai put a foot on the Forsaken's belly and pulled his axe out. The Death Guard still twitched a little so Vol'Shalai summoned another lightning bolt. The energy crushed the human, reducing him to a smoldering heap that stank to high heavens. No resurrection for this Forsaken, that was certain.
He sighed. It was not nice to kill in cold blood but he had to protect the secret of the ponies. Really, the Forsaken should have seen it coming. As if Vol'Shalai would believe that he had the wellbeing of ponies in mind. He probably just wanted to tell Sylvanas the position of the portal. The mages would be able to reopen it for another week. But Vol'Shalai would not take any chances.
He shook his head, then swung his axe again, sticking the blade into the ground. Vol'Shalai used the earth to wipe the axe clean of the dark smudge that passed for blood in these lands.
Now that he had wrapped this up, it was really time he got home.
•°
"Oh no!", cried Twilight. "He didn't make it!" Her eyes filled with tears. She had broken her promise!
Jonathan knelt down and hugged her.
"It's not your fault", he whispered into her ear. "We all know that portals are risky."
As the tears flowed down Twilight's cheeks, she hugged Jonathan back, throwing her forelegs around him. "Still, he could have been healed", she sobbed. "Now he's either d-dead or all alone. Nopony should be all alone."
Jonathan did not know what to say to that. He awkwardly patted Twilight's back. Arcus trotted over to them. He put his foreleg on Twilight's back, joining in the group hug.
"I'm sorry", he said, a lump in his throat. "Darren was my friend, too."
Distant hoofsteps made the three friends break the hug and stand up. The pegasus guard had returned, with Princess Celestia right behind her.
"Welcome back, everyone", said Celestia, smiling at the ponies and the human.
Twilight's face lit up as she saw her mentor. She wiped the tears off her muzzle and hugged Celestia.
"Princess Celestia! I'm so glad to see you again", she said. "I't been so long."
The Solar Princess smiled serenely. "You have been gone for four days", she said. "That means that in Azeroth...?"
"It's been over three months", said Twilight, letting go of Celestia's neck and stepping back.
A small frown darkened Celestia's face as she eyed Twilight. "Twilight, are you all right? You have lost weight - and you don't look very happy."
Twilight nodded slowly. "It was an exhausting journey", she said.
"You can say that again", said Arcus. He knelt down. "Princess."
"Raise, my little pony", said Celestia. "I am happy to see that all of you made it back in one piece. To be honest, I was very worried."
Arcus stood up, looking at the ground. His ears splayed back at the words of the Princess.
"What is it?", asked Celestia, confused.
"Darren didn't make it", he said sadly. "We promised him we'd take him to Equestria."
Twilight nodded, explaining, "He is a human that helped us a lot. He went into the portal, too, but he didn't come out on this side."
"I'm sorry to hear that", said Celestia with compassion. She raised her head, flicking back her beautiful flowing mane. "You can rest now and recover from your quest. I have new guest rooms prepared for you. We will meet again in the afternoon, once Day Court is over. Then you can tell me everything." She gave them an encouraging smile, especially Twilight, and walked out of the library.
The guards motioned for everyone to follow them.
"This way, please", said the unicorn.
•°
Darren walked through the endless whiteness, trying to use the stars as guidance. They were arranged in unusual constellations. Now that he thought about it, he could not find anything familiar up there. He shook his head in disbelief.
Apparenty, this was not Northrend. Was he in Equestria? Could this be the Frozen North where the Crystal Ponies lived?
Something must have gone wrong with the portal. He was not familiar enough with the arcane mechanics behind the spell but that much was obvious. It must have been intercepted. Or maybe they had taken too long and it had collapsed prematurely, thowing him out at a random location? How was he to know?
Darren sighed and kept putting one foot in front of the other. For once in his 'life', he was glad about the curse. If he were not undead, he would have been frozen to a popsicle by now.
He decided to walk in a more or less straight line, towards the part of the sky that was slightly brighter than the rest. If he ever wanted to see something else than snow, he had to get to civilization. Hopefully he would not fall into a glacier crack before that.
•°
The guards led the three friends to the other side of the building complex. Starswirl's library was in the bowels of Canterlot Castle so they needed to go upstairs and cross the entrance hall first, then enter an entirely different wing.
Twilight was shown her room by the pegasus mare. It had the size of a princess suite.
The unicorn stallion took Jonathan and Arcus to another room that had two beds but was almost as spacy as Twilight's.
"Wow." Jonathan was impressed. "This guest room is even bigger than the last one."
"The Princess ordered for you to get the best we have", said the guard. "To ensure you would be well rested after your return."
"Okay, that's really nice of her", said Arcus.
The guard left the room, closing the door behind him.
"This room actually reminds me a bit of the house in Silvermoon", said Arcus with a lopsided smile. "Except it's brighter. I just hope somepony'll pick us up for lunch. We might get lost in the castle."
"I think I'm gonna skip lunch." Jonathan took off his boots, then fell onto one of the beds with his arms spread wide. "Mmmm", he sighed into the fluffy pillow. "Soft bed. Yeah, definitely no lunch." He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.
Arcus rolled his eyes and smiled, then winced as a dent in his armor digged into his still slightly injured flank. He sat down and began to take off the barding.
•°
Somepony knocked at the door, waking Twilight up. She groaned. Slowly raising her head, Twilight blinked a few times. Now she knew what pegasi felt like when they talked of time zone disorder after long travels.
"Ugh." Twilight flicked the blanket aside and slid off the bed, hastily brushing down her bedmane. "Please enter." She held a hoof before her muzzle as she yawned.
The door opened, revealing the unicorn guard, along with Jonathan and Arcus, who both smiled at her. All in all, they looked well-rested, considering they had left Undercity in a hurry.
Jonathan was still in the same clothes as before minus his cloak and scarf. Apparently he had taken care of the worst tears in his garments by binding bandages around them. Twilight also noticed that the smell was better. Had Jonathan washed the shirt? She was sure that the dark blue had been more brownish before. The human also had combed his hair and bound most of it into a ponytail. A few strands had slipped out of the band. It had gotten shaggy over the months, growing down to his shoulders.
Arcus also looked much better. He had gotten rid of his armor and obviously taken a bath just like Jonathan. His coat was well-brushed and his short sky blue mane combed. His right cutie mark was still covered by a bandage that went around the flank and upper hindleg but the bandage looked fresh and clean.
"Hi", said Jonathan. "Ready to meet the Princess?"
Twilight frowned. "W-what time is it?"
"Four-fifty past midday", replied the guard at the door.
That woke Twilight up immediately. "What?! Already?" She raced to her bed, picking up her saddlebags and, after a moment of consideration, Clara in her flowerpot. "Then let's go before Princess Celestia has to wait even longer."
"Don't worry, Twilight", said Arcus, "I'm sure the Princess will understand. After jumping from one world to another, you can't be expected to adjust within less than a day. I mean, we sorta left in the evening and arrived in the morning without a proper night in between. That's just... wrong."
•°
"Levinia was drawn to Azeroth through the dream of Queen Sylvanas?", asked Celestia.
Twilight nodded. "Yes. And since the magic there is stronger than in Equestria, she was visible to everypony and could even talk to us. Levinia explained everything to Sylvanas. She sent some of her Forsaken warriors to rescue us. We could convince her to let us go if we keep our secret and never return to Azeroth."
"Wait", interrupted Jonathan. "She told me to never return to her territories", he corrected. "She's not the ruler of the entire planet. So if we ever had to return, we could just open up the portal someplace else than Lordaeron."
Arcus and Twilight gave him a deadpan glare.
"I said, 'if'", added Jonathan quickly, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know I promised. It was just a hypothesis. But you know what?", he raised an eyebrow, "I'm finally getting it. I had to return to Undercity to realize that I didn't belong there anymore. It's just like my teacher said, that I would find out the truth eventually. Undercity is a city for the dead. And I belong with the living now. With you.
"Even though you're a different species, you're closer to living humans than the Forsaken will ever be. On top of that, we are friends. So don't worry, I don't want to go back. You're stuck with me for good." He smirked, crossing his arms.
Twilight and Arcus nodded, seemingly relaxing. Twilight wiped her eyes with a hoof.
"Fair enough", said Arcus. "Besides, you got what you came for, didn't you?"
Jonathan grinned. "Yep." He pulled the silverpine wood and ruby star from his backpack. "Here."
"May I?" Princess Celestia leaned forward a bit.
"Sure, Princess." Jonathan opened his hands and let Celestia use her magic to float the wand materials across the tea table.
"This is an exceptional gem", she said. "Where did you find it?"
Twilight blushed and muttered something.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that", said Celestia.
"Inside... inside a maggot. In the Plaguelands", said Twilight. "Darren had the idea of 'looting' the corpse after we k-killed it."
Celestia gingerly put the gem and stick back into Jonathan's hands.
"I see." Her smile was gone. She put a hoof on Twilight's foreleg. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much."
"Please don't be." Twilight shook her head. "We made some choices. And even though we couldn't have foreseen all the consequences, we still have to live with them. That... that's just how it is."
Arcus cleared his throat. He shuffled around in his seat, fiddling with his teacup.
"There's something I want to say", he began. "Twilight, Jon, I want to apologize for how I behaved. Maybe it was the tracking spell that made me so angry but that doesn't excuse the things I said. I was rude and impatient. I'm sorry, especially for yelling at you. At the end, I didn't consider anything... but myself." His ears splayed back and he lowered his head, unable to look Twilight in the eye.
A hoof on his shoulder made him look up.
"I'm sorry, too", said Twilight. "I should have lifted this spell so much sooner."
"We're still friends, right? We're not gonna split ways once we get back to Ponyville? I'd really miss you guys. I already miss Darren... and... losing friends is just..." He trailed off, trying not to tear up.
Twilight pulled Arcus into a hug. "Of course we are still friends. We couldn't have done this without you, Arcus."
"That's right", said Jonathan, smirking. "Besides, I need a sparring partner. How else would we stay in shape? It's not like there's going to be that much trouble in Ponyville."
Celestia giggled, holding a hoof before her muzzle. "I wouldn't be so sure about that", she said.
Everyone perked up as somepony knocked at the door. The guards, both unicorns, used their magic to open the portal, revealing a familiar dark blue alicorn.
"Princess Luna!", cheered Twilight and Jonathan at once. Arcus bowed his head, almost knocking over his teacup. He quickly got hold of it before it could fall and spill its contents. He smiled awkwardly and his cheeks took on a deep crimson.
"I heard that somepony came back from the Undead", said Luna, winking at Jonathan.
He smiled back at her and pulled up a chair.
"So Sylvanas chose to help you", said Luna, sitting down between Twilight and Celestia. She raised her voice, calling, "Servant! More Tea!"
The door of the hall snapped open once again and a maidservant rushed inside, pushing a small cart. She swapped the empty teapot for a full one, restocked the cookies and gave Luna a fresh teacup and saucer.
"Thank you", said Luna, nodding politely.
Once the maid had left, Jonathan spoke up. "Thanks for looking out for us, Princess. We'd probably still be stuck in Silvermoon if it hadn't been for you and Levinia."
"I'm happy that I could help", said Luna with a hint of smugness in her voice. Celestia managed to keep her unwavering smile.
"Even though part of it was on accident", admitted Luna after a few seconds. "Now, I am sure you already told my dear sister most of your story", she cast a brief look at Celestia, "so I will cut to the chase right away. There is still a promise I have to keep, is there not?"
Jonathan gave her a blank look before slapping his forehead.
"Right! The wand. Sure, yes." He rummaged in his backpack, revealing the two wand parts. "Sorry, I forgot about the letter for a second."
Arcus looked at Twilight, confused. "What are they talking about?", he stage-whispered, eyeing the star ruby.
"Princess Luna offered to help create the wand", explained Twilight in the same manner.
"Oh, okay. That should be interesting", said Arcus in his normal voice.
"Indeed", Luna cut in. "Shall we begin?" She grinned eagerly, clapping her hooves together in excitement like a giddy foal.
"Good thing the star ruby is already properly cut", said Jonathan. "So, what now?"
Luna's expression grew serious as she rose from her chair, stepping away from the table. She lit her horn, taking both the star ruby and the piece of silverpine wood in her magical field. Arcus and Jonathan watched with fascination as Luna connected the two parts, cutting and polishing the pine stick at the same time. Twilight grinned widely. She had never seen Luna do any magic like this before. The end of the stick began to come alive and grow, winding around the gem in intertwining spirals.
Once the stick and gem were fused together, Luna looked at Jonathan.
"You may join the effort now", she said.
"Okay, how do I do that?"
"Place your hand on the gem and say the necessary spells. I shall use my magic to help you channel yours, thus embedding the magic in the wand."
Jonathan nodded, doing as Luna had requested. He closed his eyes, trying his best to remember all the correct phrases. When he was done chanting, he opened his eyes again. The spell was already in effect: Luna's magic field was surrounded by layers of golden and blue light. The words of the spell floated around the gem in circles. Arcus could probably not read them; the words were in the shape of ancient magical runes and hieroglyphs.
A bright flash of light and the magic was compressed into the gem, finishing the wand. The gem glowed in a bright red for a few seconds, then the glow dimmed down to a dull light.
The magical light around Luna's horn faded away as she let go of the wand.
Jonathan gaped at the finished wand in his hands. It had an intricate beauty to it that he never could have hoped to create on his own. A fine line ran along the pine shaft, faintly reminding Jonathan of the spiral of a unicorn horn. The wand was roughly twelve inches long and about as thick as his index finger, getting a bit thinner in the middle. He applied a little pressure to bend it, noting with satisfaction that it was sturdy and also a bit flexible. The spiral of the shaft continued into the tendrils that held the gem. Now that he thought about it, the wand tip looked a bit like a flower bud. Tiny red sparks floated around the ruby, just like fireflies or, as Jonathan suddenly realized, the stars in Luna's mane. The design looked... regal.
Arcus gave off an impressed whistle, snapping Jonathan out of his comtemplation.
"Uh, er, thank you, Princess, I mean, Luna", stammered Jonathan, still holding on to the wand. He stepped closer to Luna, sniffing and rubbing his nose. "This really means a lot."
He gasped with surprise when Luna pulled him into a hug.
"And that I did not expect", he said, glancing at Twilight. She giggled at his dumbfounded expression.
"You are most welcome", said Luna, letting go of a red-faced Jonathan.
He went back to the tea table, waving the wand around awkwardly. "No, honestly, this is... really... a beautiful wand. I never could have done that. Seriously, Princess -"
"Oh, please cease the praising already", interrupted Luna him. "'Twas a gift for a friend. We shall leave it at that."
"Okay", said Jonathan meekly, carefully putting the wand away.
"How long are you going to stay in Canterlot?", asked Luna, changing the subject.
"No offense, Luna, but I think we all want to get home as soon as possible", said Twilight.
Jonathan and Arcus both nodded at that.
"We have been on this journey for three months and really need a break from all the adventuring", explained Twilight.
"Amen to that." That was Jonathan. "Besides, I need to find an apartment with space for a workshop and I'd rather do that sooner than later."
"Do you need help?", asked Arcus eagerly. "I'm usually up to date on the property market."
They kept on discussing their plans for a while, with Celestia and Luna occasionally asking questions about Ponyville. Twilight also presented the notes she had taken in Azeroth. She had managed to collect extensive knowledge on herbalism, the Forsaken and arcane magic. The pile of parchment was not yet organized for which Twilight apologized several times. She promised to sort them out once she was back in Ponyville.
The Princesses seemed happy to just take part in a conversation that did not deal with the problems of nobles for once. The talking went on until dinner was served, at the same table. The three adventurers ate about three times more than both Celestia and Luna combined. The servants needed to return with more food once the bowls were empty. After dinner, Princess Celestia took everyone to a certain balcony and lowered the sun. Princess Luna stood next to her, raising the moon at the same time. Everyone bid their farewells and went to their respective rooms.
Jonathan repacked his backpack, carefully rolling the wand into a piece of parchment. He put Clara on the nightstand after filling her pot with water from the bathroom sink. Twilight had returned the flower to him during the afternoon without losing a word about his negligence. Jonathan was still embarrassed when he thought about it.
He dabbed at the leaves of the flower, reflecting on the quest, while Arcus was busy packing his armor, declaring that he would not wear it again before it was properly repaired. Clara opened her eyes once in a while, looking a little sleepy, and gave Jonathan a smile. He had to admit that the sunflower looked really cute. She had grown a bit. He wondered whether he should buy her a new pot once he was back in Ponyville.
Okay, now he was a little bored. Jonathan sighed. Going on a journey could do that to you: Once things started to settle down, Jonathan quickly became restless. Well, before he would go to sleep, he could always give Arcus a hand with the packing.
"Hey, Arc, need help with the armor?", asked Jonathan.
"No thanks, I'm good."
"Hm. G'night then."
"Night."
And with that, Jonathan decided to call it a day.