Spike stopped before the Golden Oak Library to catch his breath. He had run all the way from Rarity’s, and he needed a moment to compose himself before he could face a probably very angry mare.
“You know,” suddenly a voice called from above him, “even I have never come home so late from a party when I was your age.”
Spike raised his head to look up and saw Rainbow Dash hovering above him. “Oh, hi Rainbow,” he greeted her, slightly unnerved by her comment. “What are you doing here so early?”
The cyan pegasus landed beside him. “I heard that Daring Do was gonna have a lecture this morning at Canterlot, and I know Twilight would have watched it. I wanted to check if Daring mentioned something about when her new book will be out. She kept laughing whenever I asked her and waving it off…” she muttered under her breath.
“Um…” Spike stammered, not sure what the last part was supposed to mean. “Well, sure, Twilight would have seen it by now- Wait a moment,” he stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something. “How did you know about that? You’re not exactly… you know, the scholarly type,” he finished, not wanting to offend her.
Much to his surprise, however, Rainbow Dash merely chuckled. “Heh, listen, I’ll tell you that when you get older, ‘kay?”
Without waiting for his reaction, she opened the door and entered the library. Spike, bewildered, stood where he was for a few seconds. He was very confused.
“I get the strangest feeling that this is going to be a very long day…” he mused, scratching the back of his head.
As if some higher power decided to mock him, from inside the library came a badly stifled snort. It was followed by Rainbow Dash’s amused: “Oh, sweet Celestia!”
“Ugh, what now…” Spike groaned and entered the library.
The baby dragon quickly followed the chuckling of Rainbow and some other unidentified voices that were coming out of the bedroom. When he entered, Spike realized that all the blinds were closed. As his eyes adapted to the darker environment, he saw the pegasus rolling on the floor holding her sides, and on the bed was-
“Twilight!” Spike cried out, running up to her.
The lavender unicorn was laying in her bed, groaning and covering her ears. Her mane was a mess, and when she opened one eye to look at Spike he saw it was bloodshot.
“Twilight, what happened?” Spike asked, full of worry. “You never sleep in like this! Are you sick?” he added, noticing that nearby stood a bucket.
Instead of answering his questions, Twilight pressed her ears harder and turned the other way. Spike opened his mouth to repeat his questions, but at that moment he found himself being gagged by a cyan hoof.
“Yeah, she’s sick,” Rainbow whispered into his ear.
Cold talons of fear gripped Spike’s heart… until he realized that the voice in which Rainbow told him those news was an amused one. And then he remembered how she was laughing at Twilight earlier. Indeed, as Spike looked up at her now, Rainbow was still smirking while looking at their bed-ridden friend.
“Remember how we all got sick after the wedding?” she asked. Spike searched back with his memory; yes, he recalled that. He hadn’t paid much attention then, as Mat- Arthas was telling him about a dragon he once fought… “Come to think of it, he also seemed kind of sick that day…” He stopped reminiscencing and nodded to the pegasus. “Well, it’s more or less the same thing, only a bit worse, apparently. Go make her some tea, will you? I will look after her.”
“Right, one tea coming!” Spike quickly said and run to the kitchen.
Twilight groaned as Spike’s too-enthusiastic voice drummed against what was supposed to be her brain. With how much it hurt, she could not be certain if what was left inside her cranium could still be called as such.
The giggle of Rainbow Dash wasn’t helping her, even if she was quieter now. “Damn, you really overdid it last night, huh?”
The unicorn tried to formulate an articulated response. What came from her mouth, however, resembled “Moahhhh…” more than anything else.
Rainbow snickered. “You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you drink that much… which must mean you mixed the punch with the wine, huh? Light blind me, Twilight, you’re supposed to be the smart one!”
She was in too much pain to wince at her words. Rainbow was right, she should have been smarter. But to be fair, before she had started drinking whatever was in her hooves’ reach, Twilight had learned that her parents had tried talking Matt (“Who wasn’t even Matt this whole time!” she thought, still finding it a bit difficult to adjusting to Arthas’ real name) into dating her. Despite being in severe pain, she still felt that she was excused from turning her brain off when drinking.
“Great, I’m starting to talk like him,” she heard Rainbow murmur to herself. She then sighed and turned back to Twilight. “I guess this means you’ve missed Daring’s lecture, huh?”
Twilight glanced at her, blinking. She mulled over her words, trying through pain to concentrate. “Daring’s lecture, Daring’s Lecture… Daring-”
“Daring Do’s lecture!” she exclaimed. Twilight jumped out of her bed, ignoring the pain pressing against her skull. “How could I forget about it. I need to-”
Her words trailed off as her body swung, quickly losing its sense of balance, and on its merry way to lose against the gravity. Luckily, something blue swiftly appeared next to her and supported her.
“Whoa, easy girl,” Rainbow said, wrapping her wing around Twilight and guiding her back to bed.
Twilight muttered thanks through her dizziness. Worse, it wasn’t just her head that was spinning now, the contents of her stomach were too. Spotting a bucket in the last second, she quickly bent over it as her body expelled… whatever it was she had eaten back at the party.
Rainbow gently tapped her back as she puked. “Huh, really didn’t expect the day to go this way. Not to mention that it would have made way more sense if our roles were reversed. Better?”
Twilight nodded as she raised her head, using magic to wipe her mouth, even though using magic added an unpleasant hum to her headache. Ignoring the pain, she focused on a cabinet next to the wall. It opened, and from it’s insides she levitated a television set.
“Still have no idea why you keep it locked away.”
The unicorn glanced at Rainbow with offense. “Television is the number one thing that makes ponies stop reading books! Did you know that ever since the invention of gems capable of receiving magic transmission and projecting them on the display glass, the number of books being read had started falling at the rate of-”
Rainbow Dash covered her mouth. “Yeah, yeah, television kills reading, I get it.”
Twilight pushed her hoof away and continued: “I don’t want Spike to spend his days watching it. That’s bad for your health. And I myself prefer reading,” she added, as she started adjusting the gem inside the television to the Canterlot University’s main auditorium’s gem’s frequency.
Being Princess Celestia personal protégé had a few perks attached to it. Being able to see every important lecture was one of them.
As she worked her magic (the hangover was proving the usually simple task challenging), Rainbow commented on her words: “Seriously, you and Arthas are made for each other. He doesn’t even have a television down at the Abbey. When I asked him about it, he made a serious face and said something along the lines of: ‘Television is the blasphemous creation of the demons!’. He then chuckled to himself. Did you teach him that?”
Twilight giggled hearing the short story. “Oh, don’t be silly, he was just making fun of you. As for why he doesn’t have one there: his old world doesn’t have television.”
“What a weird world.”
She nodded absentmindedly, focusing on her task instead. A heartbeat later, she uttered a cry of triumph (for which she apologized to her head the next heartbeat) and turned on the television. On display appeared an image of a large auditorium, with many professors, doctors, and students listening to the mare behind the podium. A tan pegasus mare, donning a simple suit, though most of the time she wore a dark olivine vest.
Daring Do.
“And that ends my lecture.”
“Oh, come on!” Twilight groaned, grabbing her head and falling back on her bed. Hearing Rainbow chuckle, she tried threw a pillow at her, but missed.
“Thank you very much, Doctor Do, for your astonishing lecture,” one of the University’s professors said. “Now, does anypony have any questions for our esteemed quest?”
Twilight looked at the television just in time to see a forest of hooves shoot up into the air.
Daring took the microphone and sit on the podium. “Anypony got a question not related to my book series?”
And just like that, about a half of those hooves fell, most of which (though not all) belonged to students.
“If so, put your hooves down, my fans got the priority,” Daring said, smirking. When the auditorium was filled with laughter of the younger members, Daring stuck out her tongue to the elderly professors. She then looked back at the audience. “Yes, you?”
“Doctor Do,” one of the students, a mare by the sound of her voice, started, “when can we all expect your next book to be published?”
Twilight facehooved. Daring came to Canterlot to give a lecture regarding what she and her team found in the Frozen North, where ponies originated from, and this was the mare’s concern?!
If Daring was annoyed by the question, she hadn’t showed it. “Funny, I recall hearing that question a lot yesterday.” For some reason unknown to Twilight, Rainbow snorted and muttered something under her breath. “My answer was the same: that I currently don’t have plans regarding my next book. I haven’t had an adventure long enough to fill an entire book in a while.” A gasp of disappointment filled the auditorium. “Buuuuuuut-” Daring added, winking, “I will release three short stories, cramped into one book. A small book, mind you, but I think you will find it entertaining.”
“What will those stories be about?” another student asked.
“The first one will detail a rather unpleasant misunderstanding I had with some zebra’s of the Jurassica Tribe about half a year ago;” Daring started counting, “the second one will concentrate on those few difficulties our expedition had in the Frozen North that I had mentioned, especially in Unicolt; and the third and last one will be about my research of the diamond dogs’ old empire. I would advise anypony who is on, let’s say, book four, should finish the series quickly,” Daring added with a wink.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, surprised at the comment. “Funny, Arthas is still on book four,” she noted, turning off the television, despite Rainbow Dash’s protest; she knew from experience that Daring answered mostly questions regarding her books after those lectures. And even though Twilight was no lesser fan of them than Rainbow, she liked to be surprised, not to mention that hangover made her rather disinterested in listening to… pretty much anything.
At that moment, Spike returned to the room, bringing a tray with a teapot, teacup and sugar on it. “Here you go, Twilight,” he said, laying the tray on the coffee stand next to her bed. “Need something else?” he added, his eyes turning to the bucket.
Twilight wanted to bash her head against the wall for being such a bad example to him at the moment. Before she could reply, Rainbow did it for her: “Yeah, hang on a second.” She trotted over to one the table, took a loose piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled some things on it. “Go to a store and buy those, I’ll make something that will put Twilight right on her hooves.”
“You will make something?” Twilight said sceptically when Spike ran out of the room.
Rainbow glanced her way. “Yeah, Bloody Mare. It cures hangovers right out of you, trust me.”
“Um… maybe it would be better to ask Zecora for-” Twilight started, not really sure she wanted to try this ‘Bloody Mare’.
“Nope,” Rainbow cut her off, “we’re doing it my way.”
Reluctantly, Twilight nodded and laid back in bed, still feeling weak. She took some solace in the fact that there was nothing that could make her feel worse-
“So, what happened after Arthas led you home?”
Her eyes snapped wide. “Arthas!” She remembered him leading her back here. She remembered her leaning against him for support. She remembered… remembered… nothing else past opening the door.
“Oh no, oh no…” Twilight groaned pitifully, looking at Rainbow, “D-do you think he saw me puke?”
“Considering there was this bucket over here? Probably,” Rainbow said offhoofly, confirming Twilight’s fear. She uttered a weak cry and buried her face in her hooves. “Hey, come on now,” she heard Rainbow say as she came closer. “Don’t worry; I’m sure Arthas would still have the hots for you even if you had puked on him. Or worse.”
Twilight looked at her from behind her hooves. “You think so?” When the pegasus nodded, she smiled, but then quickly looked at her puzzled. “What could be worse than puking on him?”
Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno. Anyways, I gotta go get one more ingredient for the Bloody Mare. You try to get some sleep. I want you to be fresh when I tell you how I kicked Zecora’s sister’s tail after she had mopped the floor with Wind.”
“W-What?!” Twilight asked, confused, but Rainbow had already flown out of her room.
She tried to make any lick of sense from what she had just heard, but she couldn’t, so she quickly resigned herself to listening to Rainbow’s advice and tried to get some sleep.
Guard wasn’t surprised by Sir Lightbringer’s decision regarding Zahara. He would have done the same if he was in his place, except he would have probably also made her do some community service as punishment for causing a commotion in town. However, he had long since learned that Sir Lightbringer - and, to be fair, pretty much everypony in Ponyville - had a forgiving heart.
What did surprise him, though, was that he hadn’t come to tell Zahara his decision personally. Guard had assumed that he would have liked to see for himself such an intriguing zebra. Glossing over how rare it was to one of her kind in Equestria, she was also the sister of his friend. She had given him, Storm and Wind quite the beating... and had a rather uncommon companion.
“So,” Guard started once they left the Abbey behind, for the first time speaking to Zahara since he began escorting her and her pet, “ye’re from Jivbuti Tribe?”
Zahara turned to him, her eyes wide with surprise. “You speak Zebrican?”
Guard nodded, offering her a half-smile. “I’ve been a part of Princess Celestia’s envoy to Dowunai Tribe several times, I learned enough of your language to get by, as well as some of your customs.”
“I see. You’ve learned it quite well... though you could work on your accent a bit,” Zahara said, smirking. “Why would you think I am from Jivbuti Tribe?”
Guard nodded at her pet, who was walking slowly before them. “Your friend over there is a spitting image of Mngwa the Shadow Panther, one of the lesser spirits worshipped by, if I’m not mistaken, the Jivbuti Tribe.”
The zebra laughed pleasantly, causing the paladin to look at her in surprise. Until now he had only seen her when focused on her “hunt”, pleading for forgiveness and emotionless when she patiently trotted from Ponyville to the Abbey. This relaxed happiness was… pleasant to watch, to say the least.
“Well, it seems you learned quite a lot about my people,” she told him. Jivbuti was not the tribe I was born into, but your senses did not lead you astray; my companion, Nunda, looks a lot like his mother.”
The paladin’s eyes widened, even though he had expected such news. He glanced at the panther before him, who also partially turned. “You must be an exceptional hunter,” he said, briefly looking into the silvery eyes of Nunda before turning back to Zahara, “if you managed to befriend a child of one of the spirits.”
“Thank you,” Zahara replied, bowing her head graciously. “You’re not a common warrior yourself. How are you able to call upon those celestial-like powers?”
“Those ‘powers’ that I and Storm Clash can call upon is the Holy Light. Paladins - warriors such as I - can call upon it to aid us in a similar manner to how your priests and prophets are granted powers by the spirits, or how shamans by the elements. Now my turn;” he added; “if you’re not from Jivbuti Tribe, then what is your tribe?”
As soon as he looked into Zahara’s eyes, he realized that he touched a sore subject. All humor and amusement was gone from her. “I have no tribe,” she said, looking away. “Not anymore.”
Guard’s brow furrowed; being discarded from a tribe was one of the most severe punishments for zebras. He couldn’t understand why would she be banished. A hunter like her had to be a valued asset. What kind of crime she could commit to-
“Unless,” he suddenly realized, stopping his earlier train of thoughts, “she chose to leave the tribe by herself…”
There was only one tribe that came to his mind that a zebra like Zahara (and, by extension, probably Zecora as well) would want to leave.
“You are- were,” Guard corrected himself, “from Aaztai Tribe, weren’t you?” The sigh she gave confirmed his guess. “I heard stories-”
“Most of them,” Zahara interrupted him, glaring at him, “are just stories. Slander born out of fear and Aaztai Tribe’s seclusion.”
Despite her words, Guard tried to look at her teeth as she spoke subtlety. However, the zebra had noticed, if her frown was of any indication.
“Not all born to the tribe have fangs,” she told him, baring her teeth briefly.
“But you admit some of you have them,” Guard noticed, though he felt a sense of relief when he saw that Zahara lacked any unnatural addition to her herbivore mouth.
She cringed a bit at his words, but when she replied her voice was steady: “Those born with fangs are marked by Caesar the White Lion, Aaztai Tribe’s patron. They’re a sign of a great destiny within the tribe.”
Not wanting to argue, Guard nodded politely. He had heard the rumor (among some other, much more horrifying ones) of the zebra from that tribe having fangs, but he hadn’t given them much faith to them. To hear that they was actually some truth to them…
He opened his mouth to ask her more about Aaztai Tribe, but as he turned to Zahara, he noticed that, as she stared into the forest ahead of them, her eyes became clouded with what he assumed were unhappy memories.
“Forgive me,” Guard quickly said, chastising himself. “I did not mean to cause you any discomfort.”
The zebra’s eyes lit up as she looked at him in mild surprise. “Thank you for your concern, but that’s alright. Although…” Zahara hesitated. “Would you mind… not spreading all those rumors you heard about my former tribe in the town? I already made a bad first impression, I wouldn’t want to sullen my sister’s reputation as well.”
“A reasonable request,” Guard nodded. “My lips are sealed, of course.”
“Thank you,” Zahara smiled, and for some reason that sight made Guard smile back.
“I wouldn’t want to cause unnecessary panic. Although… would you mind telling me what are rumors and what are truths?” he asked uncertainly.
The zebra smirked. “You want me to tell the secrets of my former tribe, who stays away even from other tribes, to somepony that I don’t even know his name?”
“She has a point here, I suppose,” Guard decided, chuckling.
“... and with the blessing of Provato, I gained enough strength to make it back to Ponyville before midnight,” Storm finished, relieved for the momentary respite.
He had spent what felt like an hour recounting everything that happened to him yesterday, ever since he had left Sir Lightbringer and Daring Do in the catacombs with the knocked out Ursa Major (he made a mental note to ask Sir Lightbringer later what happened to it, and if they got into the ruined shrine as Daring wanted). Just having to tell all that to the Princesses and the head of his order would have been hard enough, but he also had to reply to the few questions they asked when they wanted him to explain things in more detail. As such, by the time he was done, his throat had become dry and he began dreaming of a glass of water.
“Looks like you had a really exhausting experience yesterday,” Princess Celestia summed up pretty nicely. “I’m sure you want to go and recover properly, but please bear with us for a few moments.”
Storm nodded with understanding.
“Are you sure that Lord Tirek had been destroyed?” Princess Luna asked him.
“The Light was ripping him apart,” Storm replied, wincing a little at the memory. “I think even he had realized he was about to die, as he tried to use his power to blow up everything around him. And even if he had somehow survived and the blast hadn’t finished him off, I’m sure Provato would have taken care of him.”
“Yes, Provato… He most certainly seems like a being who wouldn’t hesitate to finish his enemy off,” Princess Celestia mused. “Then again, most demigods are like that.”
“You’ve met some others, Your Highness?” Sir Lightbringer asked, a slightly raised eyebrow the only sign of his surprise.
“The patron of the Dowunai Tribe. It was… interesting talking with her,” Princess Celestia replied. “But at the moment I am more interested about this Provato and his mother, Everfree. He really had confirmed that those stories written in ‘Folktales of Eastin’ are true?” she asked, turning to Storm.
“Yes. I admit I was also surprised… even more when he had mentioned that this ‘Winged Warrior’ was Commander Hurricane.”
“Yes, that is rather confusing,” Sir Lightbringer said, frowning. “I’m not sure how it would be possible for a pony and the Spirit of Nature to…” He stopped and shook his head. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure if I want to know that.”
Storm found himself on the exact same page as his mentor and commander.
“Regardless,” Princess Luna resumed, “this Provato would make a powerful ally. As would his mother. Such a pity that because of Tirek’s actions a chance to heal her and restore the Everfree Forest won’t come in a foreseeable future. Still, it is good to know that there is at least one creature in that forest that wouldn’t seek to harm a pony and would try to save them instead.”
“We should try and make contact with him,” Princess Celestia decided, then both she and her sister looked at Sir Lightbringer. “This task will fall to you, Sir Lightbringer.”
The head paladin saluted. “Of course Your Majesty.”
The two alicorns nodded their head and all trio exchanged glances. “Now then,” Princess Celestia spoke, turning her attention back to Storm., “how about we turn to the other matter?”
“About time,” Princess Luna added, also looking at Storm.
“Agreed,” said Sir Lightbringer, trotting towards the pegasus.
“W-what is going on?” Storm thought, startled as Sir Lightbringer stood before him.
“Knight Storm Clash!” Sir Lightbringer said, standing inattention. Storm quickly mimicked his pose. “In recognition of your service in the name of the Holy Light and the Princesses, you are hereby promoted to knight-lieutenant!”
Storm’s jaw dropped hearing that. “W-what?” he thought weakly. “M-me? A knight-lieutenant? I don’t…”
“You have faced an unimaginable evil twice now and came victorious each time,” Sir Lightbringer continued, making Storm recall the events in Northville. “Your dedication to the Light and care for other ponies are without question. I am sure you are worthy of that rank, paladin.”
“I…” He wanted to protest; that he wasn’t worthy, that he had a lot of luck both with Tirek and the windigo, that Guard or Serenity were better candidates for a higher rank, maybe even Tucker… but as his eyes traveled from Sir Lightbringer to the princesses and back, all looking at him without any shred of doubt, he found that he couldn’t. How could he protest against what those three had all agreed on? Instead, he straightened up and saluted. “Thank you, Sir! I swear by my blood and honor that I will serve as best I can!”
“I expect as such,” Sir Lightbringer replied, smiling. “But for now, go and get some rest. You have the rest of the day free. However, I expect you tomorrow at six o’clock in my office, we’ll need to discuss your extra duties.”
“Yes Sir,” Storm replied, relieved that he was… relieved. He saluted to his direct superior, and then the two alicorns.
“Have a good rest, Knight-Lieutenant,” Princess Luna wished him before he respectfully left the office.
As he began heading to the bunk in the barracks he shared with Guard and Tucker (“Does being promoted mean that I will get my own quarters?”), he pondered about his sudden promotion. Instead of being worried, however, as he had expected himself, Storm realized that he was excited at the prospect of announcing this to Rarity during their date.
“That went surprisingly well,” Arthas said once the door had closed behind the newly promoted paladin. “I was certain we were going to spend a few minutes explaining to him why we think him worthy of a higher rank.”
“I am pleased that it wasn’t the case,” Princess Luna said as he trotted to stand closer to them. He frowned as they motioned for him to sit in his chair. “Your new knight-lieutenant growing more confident aside, we have important matters to look into back in Canterlot, and we are still not done here, aren’t we?” she added, looking at her sister.
Princess Celestia nodded. “What do you think we should do about Everfree?” she asked, turning to Arthas.
Before he answered her, Arthas jumped into his swivel-chair… which immediately spun around, as usual. Throwing an annoyed look in Luna’s direction, he replied: “I believe it would be best to consult with Provato first, assuming it would be possible. Rest assured, I will be on a lookout for him. But if the Light could heal him, despite that I hadn’t directed it to affect him in that way, I see no reason why it shouldn’t also work on Everfree.”
“But for that we will need her to focus most of her being into a single body,” Celestia pointed out. “If Knight-Lieutenant Storm Clash’s description wasn’t exaggerated, it might be difficult to perform an exorcism on her.”
“Seeing how it will take her months to recover, I expect that we will have many more new paladins ready to help with the task,” Arthas countered. “Though I suppose we could also use the Elements of Harmony. I must admit, it would be interesting to see their power.”
Both Princesses nodded. “Have Spike send a message to me if such scenario comes, I will deliver the Elements personally. We cannot let an opportunity to cleanse the Everfree Forest go to waste. Nor we can allow the chance to learn more about the past to slip by us.” Glancing at both her sister and Arthas, she added: “I’m sure it’s clear to you as well as me that Everfree knows something about the Sundering of Griffonia, right?” Once they nodded, she added quietly, as if to herself: “And those flowers…”
“Those Eon Petals?” Arthas asked, frowning. “What about them?”
“I did not know their name, but I recognised their description. Provato had told Storm that those flowers were picked only once before, and I know what happened to them.” Arthas quickly glanced at Luna, and saw that she was as surprised as he was. “A bouquet of them is within Queen Platinum’s grave.”
Arthas gasped. Luna was equally puzzled. “Are you certain?” she asked her sister.
As Princess Celestia nodded, Arthas’ mind was working at doubled pace. Why would Everfree allow Eon Petals to be picked from the Heart of the Forest and placed in Equestria’s queen grave? He could understand Commander Hurricane, even after he had burned down Ashvattha, but Queen Platinum?
“The first Queen of Equestria… the mare hailed as the most powerful and influential monarch in this world’s history… what could be the Spirit of Nature’s connection to her?”
“As intriguing as that is,” he finally said, turning to the Royal Sisters, “I do not think it carries much significance. I am much more interested in learning what “the Air and Earth collided’ Provato had mentioned means.”
“Maybe it has something to do with how the griffons had enslaved the earth elementals?” Luna suggested.
“It would make sense, but what about the air?” Celestia inquired. “The air elementals were never mentioned in recorded history, let alone anywhen around the time of Founding of Equestria.”
“You’re right, Sister…” the younger alicorn admitted, biting her lip. She turned to Arthas. “You’d better train your new initiates well, Arthas. We cannot lose a chance to learn what this means. We should also order our respective guards to patrol the edge of the Everfree Forest and report any sighting of an unusual sized timberwolf.”
While Princess Celestia agreed to her sister’s suggestion, Arthas decided it would be a good opportunity for him to bring up something that had been on his mind for some time now. He cleared his throat to gain the attention of both alicorns.
“If I may…” he started carefully. This was going to be a sore topic, especially for Celestia. “I feel that preparing new paladins would go much more smoother if they were trained by ponies who are… more experienced. They would have much more to teach them, would be able to better explain to them how to act when under pressure-”
“You have more experience than several generations of ponies combined, Arthas,” Princess Luna reminded him, interrupting. “And if you are speaking about your knights and knight-lieutenant, haven’t they fared exceptionally well in Northville?”
“Yes, they have” Arthas admitted. “But that little adventure, as significant as it was, cannot compare to the horrors of combat, of the clash of steel and will, of situations where every action you make can be your last. This is what paladins on Azeroth had to face since the creation of the Order of the Silver Hand.” He turned to Celestia, and though he knew instantly that she had already guessed what he intended, he said it anyway. “And there is only one place in Equestria where they can experience it.”
Luna gasped as realization came upon her as well. “You certainly have a lot of courage to propose this to me, Arthas Menethil,” Princess Celestia said slowly, her eyes gazing into his.
Arthas bowed his head. “You know I wouldn’t suggest it if I wouldn’t think it to be necessary. We all sense something is coming,” he said, turning to Luna as well. “Your connection to this world and the celestial bodies above us, my connection to the Light… neither of us knows what this warning we sense can be, but we must be prepared for anything.”
“But to send them there-” Luna started, but her sister raised a hoof.
“You are right,” Celestia said, looking at Arthas. Her eyes shone with determination. “We should be prepared for anything. And I would be lying if I said that it had never crossed my mind to send royal guards to that place to experience... it.”
Lune looked at her with worried expression. “Sister… are you sure?”
The older alicorn turned to her and smiled briefly. “Yes, I am sure. Just like Arthas said, we need to be prepared. I do not know what is coming, but there is no other place where those paladins can prepare for the worst.” She closed her eyes. “The Dread Isle,” she uttered the name quietly. “For the sake of Equestria, they have to go to the place where over eight hundred years ago I had taken a life of another... and experience war.”
She could sense a slow, steady growth of leaves, branches and roots. She felt a timeless wisdom, the eternal thoughts within. The tree had its own unique signature, as was true with anypony.
“They are alive,” came her teacher’s voice. “Like you and I, they are alive, and have their own thoughts and personalities. It takes time, but you can learn how to listen to their voices.” He paused for a few seconds. “Now, come back…”
Fluttershy concentrated on her body, just as Provato had taught her, and withdrew her mind respectfully from one of the bigger trees growing just outside the borders of the Everfree Forest. When she had asked why they couldn’t try with one growing in the forest, the timberwolf demigod told her it was too dangerous for now. Fluttershy was eager to agree; that place still scared her. Even though she couldn’t understand what exactly could be dangerous about it, it was a wonderful experience! She had actually felt what it was like to be a tree!
As Fluttershy retreated, her physical surroundings gradually reappeared, albeit murky at first. She blinked her blue eyes a few times, bringing everything to focus. Her breathing was heavy, and she was sweating, but she was happy and proud.
“You did better than I had expected, child of the skies,” Provato, who was sitting beside her, rumbled. Fluttershy detected both pride and amazement in his voice. “You certainly possess a great potential in you…”
The pegasus flushed, embarrassed at the praise she wasn’t sure she deserved. “I…I wouldn’t know about that,” she said shily, looking down on the ground. “I just followed your instructions…”
On her other side, two small creatures raised their protest. One was Elizabeak, the other Angel. Her faithful bunny came looking for her when she hadn’t came back for too long, and he stayed to observe her training under the eye of Provato.
Strangely, Fluttershy had realized that she could understand them. She could always tell what little critters were saying, but… now it seemed more clear.
“And exceeded my expectations,” Provato finished for her, drawing her attention. “You will learn the ways of the nature quickly.”
“T-thanks you,” Fluttershy replied, still blushing. Recalling something Matthias had once told her, she asked: “Ma- Arthas, my friend that healed you, had once told me about people who possess abilities like the one you spoke of. He called them ‘druids’, and their magic ‘druidism’. Is that what you’re teaching me?”
The wooden wolf gazed into her eyes, pondering her question. “Those are not names I am familiar with, nor does this magic has a name. I had always called it ‘ways of the nature’. But… they do sound accurate.” Provato nodded. “Yes, then, what I am teaching you is druidism, and you are a druid, young Fluttershy.”
Her heart swelled with pride. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends about it!
“Can we try again?” she asked her teacher eagerly.
To her disappointment, Provato shook his head. “This was enough for your first day. You need to rest before you try again. Also, haven’t you told me you have a meeting with your friends planned?”
Surprised, Fluttershy looked up at the sun. To her shock, it was near noon. She hadn’t even realized how long she had been with Provato.
“Yes, you’re right, Provato,” she said, turning to the demigod and smiling timidly. She was no longer scared of him, but he was still intimidating in that good sort of way. “Thank you for reminding me.”
Provato nodded as she raised from the ground. “Come back here tomorrow after dawn. I’ll be waiting.”
Her legs felt stiff after the long time she had spent not moving. Fluttershy stretched them carefully as she listened to Provato. Nodding, she turned to Angel and Elizabeak. “Come along now, we’re going back home.”
“One more thing, Fluttershy,” Provato said, also rising. Fluttershy turned back to him. “I would be grateful if, for the time being, you could keep me - and by extension our meetings - a secret. Please understand,” he said patiently as her eyes widened in surprise, “In ages past, I had been known by many ponies as a friend, and they ventured into my part of the forest without fear. But for the past thousand years, I was nothing more than an animal, and that is how everybody will remember me. I know I had harmed many of your kind. I do not want my presence to be known until I feel ready to face them again.”
Hearing his explanation, Fluttershy smiled with understanding. “Of course, I understand. But… you will have to face ponies sooner or later,” she added timidly. It didn’t feel like her place to give any advice to Provato…
But he chuckled warmly, taking no offence. “I know, dear Fluttershy. Now go, be with you friends.”
Fluttershy smiled, relieved, and waved goodbye as she took her pets and flew towards her cottage. She was a bit disappointed that she couldn’t tell her friends for now about what she was learning from Provato, but she understood his reason.
“Besides,” she thought, excited, “this means that I will later be able to show them how much more I’ve learned…”
Provato watched as the pegasus wandered off, his mind still on her. He hadn’t exaggerated; Fluttershy had made a tremendous progress in a short amount of time. She had been able, for a short time, to become one with a tree, something Provato hadn’t expected a mortal being to learn without days of practice at least.
“How long will it take her to learn how to talk with nature?” he mused; his mind seeing her through the plants surrounding her cottage as she led her pets back home. “How long until she will be able to heal the wounds of others? Maybe even,” he added, looking to his side, “change shape?”
On top of another tree, not the one Fluttershy had entered, on one of its branches, was crouching a sparrow. A seemingly common bird.
“Should I be disappointed, or relieved that, despite her talent, Fluttershy hadn’t sensed anything unusual about this bird?” He pondered before he chuckled inwardly. “Relieved. If she would learn everything quickly, it would be no fun teaching her.”
“What do you think of my student?” Provato asked, turning fully to the bird and taking a step back.
The sparrow - or rather, what appeared to be a sparrow - blinked its tiny eyes at him before it jumped into the air. As it neared the ground, it grew, its wingspan extended tens of times, and so did its height. It wasn’t just its size that changed, though. Its features had also became different. In place of brown, many other colors came, with gold most apparent to Provato, as it covered the face, chest and belly. He couldn’t see the back, but he knew it to be blue, ranging from dark to light. And the wings had feathers of many colors, harmonically going from red to violet.
Provato’s eyes stopped briefly on those wings, recalling the tale his mother once told him about how the first time a rainbow graced this world skies was when this being before him had taken flight.
Turning his head back to address the bird that now stood many times his height and size, Provato bowed his head in gesture of respect. “Marahute.”
Marahute, the Eagle Mother (though closer to the truth of her being would be a name that only a few knew, the Greatmother of Winged Beings), looked down at him. “Provato, right? You’re one of Everfree’s youngest children,” when Provato nodded, the great eagle continued: “I felt a disturbing power surge emanating from this forest. I came here, hoping to see if your mother and the others had recovered.” Her expression softened around her beak. “I am pleased to see that at least you have came to your senses.”
“Thank you, Marahute,” Provato replied. “I hope that in short time the same could be said about the entire forest, my mother included.”
“Is that why you taught this pony?” Marahute asked, her head turning briefly in the direction where Fluttershy had went. “I do not know if your mother would have approved of that.”
“I am not my mother,” Provato reminded her, despite having pondered the same matter a few times today.
“No, you are not,” the great eagle replied, though it was impossible to tell whether she meant those words as an offense or not.
Provato growled inwardly in irritation, but did not let it shown. Even though their powers were about equal, she was still his elder by millennia, and deserved his respect.
“Besides, she’s not nearly as bad as Arachnia was.”
“Is it alright for you to be away from your worshipers for so long?” he asked, changing the subject.
“The Dowunai Tribe doesn’t need me to hold their hooves on daily basis,” Marahute replied, shrugging her wings. She extended one and looked at it, as if looking for loose feathers. “Do you know what is that strange being about a mile east of here?”
It took a great deal of control to not reply with some snide comment. “Yes, my student had told me he is called Al’ar, the Phoenix God. Assuming this is a courtship dance he is doing, we can safely assume he can sense you,” he added, looking in the direction where, as Fluttershy said, Everfree Abbey stood.
“Interesting…” Marahute cooed, her eagle eyes probably seeing the fire bird without a problem. Provato raised an eyebrow, but before he could open his maw, the Eagle Mother spoke: “Considering last night, you really shouldn’t give me that look.”
For the first time, she had caught him by surprise. Provato hadn’t sensed her until about an hour after he had met Fluttershy. Irritated, he replied: “Are you seriously giving me a lecture?”
That had done it. Marahute turned to him, angered. “I see you’re more like your mother than I thought,” she said, glaring at him. “Though in her case, it was probably caused by jealousy over Caesar.”
“If you came merely to exchange petty insults far beneath your age, Marahute, I’m leaving. I have more important matters to see to,” Provato replied calmly, nodding his head respectfully before turning around. As he walked away, however, he glanced back. “One more thing: you might find it of interest that my student told me that in this town lives a pegasus with mane in colors of a rainbow.”
Her big eagle eyes opened wide, and her beak opened in surprise. “Really?” Marahute asked, regaining her composure. Her eyes turned to the town nearby. “How unexpected… It’s been some time since my blood had awakened among them… twenty five hundred years, I believe,” she added, looking thoughtfully at Ponyville.
Without a word of goodbye, Marahute had once again shrunk down to a shape of a small bird. Disguised, she soared into the sky, heading towards the town.
Zecora looked up in surprise from the recipe for a potion she had been asked to prepare at the sound of the knocking. She licked the empty space in her mouth were fangs once were, before she removed them after moving into ponies’ lands, pondering. She wasn’t expecting any guests today.
“Who could it be, I wonder,” she mused, raising from her table and trotting over. “I hope it’s not somepony who into the forest by accident had wandered.”
She reached for the doorknob and opened the door, about to greet her visitors with a smile… then stood agape once she saw who it was standing before her. Zecora could not believe her eyes, but… she was there.
“Z-zahara?” Zecora whispered, as if she was afraid that it was a dream and raising her voice would make her disappear.
Her older sister didn’t bother replying, instead she quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Zecora didn’t object; she hugged her fiercely, on verge of tears. She had missed her family so much…
About a thousand questions were pressed against her tongue, but Zecora managed to hold them. She had noticed that they weren’t alone. Next to Zecora stood one of Matthias’ paladins, Guard Shield, if she wasn’t mistaken. Other than them, there was also a spirit beast bearing a striking resemblance to Mngwa the Shadow Panther, which Zecora assumed to be her sister’s newest companion.
Zahara must have also wanted to ask her questions in private later, as despite not seeing her sister in three years she hadn’t said much other than “I missed you,” and “It’s good to see you again.”
When the two had finally pulled away from each other, Zecora turned to the paladin. “Please forgive me for ignoring you, seeing my sister now has a special value.”
Guard was about to reply, but he was stopped by Zahara’s snort. “Oh, Great Spirits, how I missed hearing your rhyming,” she told her in their native language. “Still doing that, I see?”
Zecora stifled a giggle. She forgot how her rhyming, a practice she had learned a long time ago that served to sharpen the mind, annoyed her older sibling.
The paladin tried again. “I am terribly sorry to interrupt this family moment, ma’am. However, I’ve been ordered to escort your sister and her companion after the commotion she had caused in Ponyville.”
Her eyes widened. “A commotion?” she asked sharply, glancing at her sister.
“I believe it would be best if Zahara would explain this to you,” Guard Shield continued. “I’ve been also ordered to inform you that until further notice, your sister and her pet are your responsibility.”
“For my sister and her pet do not fear, I will make sure with peace they won’t interfere,” Zecora promised, worried what kind of impression her sister might have left on citizens of Ponyville; she still remembered how long it took her to break the ice.
“I’m sure you will,” Guard said, nodding his head in goodbye. “Ladies.”
“Thank you for leading me here,” Zahara said with a smile in Zebrican as he began to turn around.
To Zecora’s surprise, the paladin stopped and replied in the same language. “I was ordered to do so,” he reminded her, though he was smiling.
As the paladin started going back to Ponyville, the panther jumped somewhere between the trees while Zecora closed the door and concentrated on her sister. “I am so glad to see you,” she told her, then smirked, “apparently since you’re thinking about giving me a niece or nephew.”
Her sister looked at her startled and surprised, then smiled and looked away. “Well... I am of age when I should start putting some thought into it, huh?” she asked, flushing. When Zecora giggled, she fumed and retorted: “You’re not exactly young yourself.”
She waved her hoof in apology, calming down. There was one question she needed to ask, even if she feared the answer. She led Zahara to her table and sat beside it. Not bothering with coming up with a rhyme, she asked: “So… where’s Zenobia?”
Zahara’s expression grew somber. “She.. stayed with the tribe.”
Even though she had expected this answer, she still hid her face in her hooves.
“You know how she had always been,” Zahara said apologetically. “I tried to convince her to leave the tribe with me after you had run away, but-”
“Yes, I know,” Zecora stopped her; she knew Zahara had done all she could.
If anyzebra was to blame, it was her.
“But it’s not the worst news I have for you,” Zahara continued.
Zecora blinked and looked up. Her sister was looking at her with worry.
“Chieftain had marked you to be found and killed.”
She frowned. Was this supposed to be the worst news?
“As unpleasant that it is, I kind of figured that would be the case. When the prophet of the tribe’s patron runs away, it upsets the uppercaste. Not that I have anything to worry, I’ll make anyzebra coming for me run like a sissy.”
“Even a shadow hunter?”
Zecora’s jaw dropped. Shadow hunters were the elite; few zebras, even prophets of the Great Spirits, could win in a fight against them. But the shadow hunters were extremely small in numbers. In fact, even amongst all five tribes it would be probably possible to count them on hooves of a single zebra.
And Zecora knew there was no shadow hunter in Aaztai Tribe. At least, at the time she had left.
“By the time I had finally caught your trail, I heard that one zebra of Aaztai Tribe became a shadow hunter,” Zahara said, confirming her guess. “And the chieftain had ordered her to hunt you down.”
As much as this news was troubling, Zecora’s thoughts immediately stopped on one word.
“‘Her’?” she echoed.
She hoped her sister would deny her fears, but the look in her eyes instead confirmed it.
“You’re saying…” Zecora said slowly, “that our own sister is coming to kill me?”
“I believe that’s all,” Arthas said, leaning back in his chair. “Serenity wrote in a letter today that she plans to return almost two weeks before the new initiates are scheduled to arrive, which gives us plenty of time to prepare everything.”
The two alicorns nodded in agreement. They had spent the last hour discussing and planning how to make everything work before everypony was satisfied.
“I’m glad we wrapped this up before the Ponytones concert, at least,” Arthas thought with amusement; that was still hours away. “The girls would have skinned me alive if I had missed it.”
“Now that we’re finally done,” Princess Luna started, raising, “I believe it’s prime time for us to return to Canterlot.”
Arthas had expected Princess Celestia to nod in agreement. To his surprise, he saw her shake her head. “You go, Little Sister,” she said, turning to Luna. “I still need to discuss a certain matter with Arthas before I’ll return. It won’t be long,” she added, seeing that Luna was about to object.
“Very well, Sister,” the Princess of the Night agreed, though reluctantly. “I bid you farewell, Arthas,” she said, turning to the earth pony, before her horn started glowing.
Arthas bowed his head respectfully as Luna teleported back to Canterlot. He turned to Celestia, raising an eyebrow. “It might be a coincidence, but I also wished to talk with you about something.”
“Oh really?” Celestia asked, surprised. “Then by all means, speak your mind first.”
“Thank you. I’ve been wondering... Daring Do told me that once she told you and Luna about how Commander Hurricane had possibly survived the Dragon Hunt, you were quick to accept it. And that you seemed convinced it was true.” He paused to look at Celestia. “I’ve given it some thought, and… I can think of only one possibility for that.”
Celestia closed her eyes and smiled. “When Daring told you about that humongous dragon Commander Hurricane had slain, did she tell you about what color it was?”
“No,” Arthas replied. “Though I can guess.”
“And I’m sure your guess would have been correct one. The matriarch of all dragons… had purple scales.” Celestia opened her eyes and looked into his. “Only one other dragon had been seen to have the same scales.”
“Spike,” Arthas said. When Celestia nodded, he asked: “Where did his egg come from?”
“I found it several centuries ago in one of the oldest part of Canterlot Castle by accident. His egg was stored in a small, hidden vault, along with an empty diary and some… questionable items,” she added, a subtle hint of red creeping onto her cheeks.
Arthas raised an eyebrow, surprised by her reaction, but chose to not question it.
“So you think it was brought back from the Dragon Hunt by Commander Hurricane? But… how would it have survived this long? On Azeroth, without proper temperature the egg of a dragon dies in the matter of days, or weeks if it’s lucky,” he said, recalling some of the research the Cult of the Damned had conducted in Scholomance, as well as what he could take from the memories of dragons locked in his head. Then something more obvious hit him. “And why wouldn’t it hatch for so long?”
“You know how Spike’s egg was hatched, right?” Celestia asked instead, raising an eyebrow. “Or rather, by whom?”
Arthas nodded. Of course he knew, he lived with the mare who had hatched him for months. He knew the story, of how the Sonic Rainboom, caused by Rainbow Dash, had interfered with her magic causing it to surge and affect everything around her.
“When I first saw Twilight, I sensed there was something special about her,” Celestia said, her voice becoming warm. “I arranged her entrance exam, curious if she would be able to affect the dragon egg, which was something I hadn’t managed to do. The results exceeded my expectations.”
“But what does it mean?” Arthas asked, confused. “Why did Spike’s egg hatch then? Why did it need Twilight?”
“You assume I know the answers to those questions,” Celestia smirked, amused. “Had it escaped your notice that ponies know little to nothing about dragons? To be honest, I do not think the dragons themselves know anything about themselves. Not if their treatment of the son of their last leader during the Dragon Migration is of any indication.”
Arthas frowned. Had he known after being brought back to live in the world of colorful talking ponies that there were mysteries as complicated as those he had to tackle today alone, he wouldn’t have believed it.
“Does Spike know this?” he asked, and as soon as that question left his lips, he knew what Celestia’s answer would be. “Or Twilight? Or Luna?”
“I told Luna sometime after Daring Do’s revelations. As for Twilight and Spike… I hoped to wait until Spike is older to first tell Twilight, then try to tell him together that his mother was killed by one of the Founders of Equestria.”
The tone with which Celestia said the last part of the sentence was neutral, but that made it sound even more daunting. Arthas slammed his head against his desk. “I miss the time when my life was simple,” he said with his head still on the desk, trying to remember when exactly his life had been simple. He sighed and raised. “Thank you for telling me this, I will keep this to myself. And I will help you and Twilight explain this to Spike once the time is right, as well as discover what all of this could mean.”
“Thank you, Arthas, I appreciate it,” Celestia nodded gracefully. “Now, can we go to the topic I hoped to touch with you?”
“Sure,” Arthas said, curious what it could be.
Celestia closed her eyes, as if needing to focus her thoughts. “As you know, I have been Twilight’s mentor for many years,” she started, completely surprising him, “and I have grown to know her well. Probably even better that she knows herself. And she also became to me the closest pony I have had to family in over a thousand years, until she returned my sister to me, and you my niece.”
“Princess Celestia,” Arthas started, taking advantage of the break, “what-”
“I know her well,” Celestia resumed, ignoring him. “And I know when she’s hurting.”
Without any warning, Arthas was thrown against the wall of his office with great force, pushing air out of his lungs. At the same time, an unbearable heat assaulted his body, so intense that he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t melting.
“I stayed away, hoping either one of you would finally grow smarter,” Celestia continued; her voice resonated through his body. “But it appears that is too much to ask. Listen.” the grip of her magic around him tightened. “If you truly care about Twilight, you will stop bucking Rainbow Dash before Twilight realizes how much it’s hurting her.”
Once the last words were heard by Arthas, it ended. The grip around him disappeared, as did the heat. He fell to the floor, gasping for air, as his mind tried to make out his office. Celestia was gone.
Arthas sat down, trying to understand what just happened. His thoughts, unexpectedly, didn’t center around Twilight, as if sensing that this was too hurtful of a subject in light of what Celestia had said. No, his thoughts instead focused on another matter, on something that had been bothering him for a few months.
“No wonder Chrysalis had defeated her so easily, despite her vast powers,” he thought, still recovering after Celestia’s display of power. He recalled the heat he had felt. “She couldn’t access her full power. If she had…
“… everything around her would have been instantly incinerated.”