I've heard you can never appreciate what you have until you lose it, and while I don't know if I'd ever taken flight for granted, I certainly felt wonderful to be back in the air again. Nurse Redheart had given me one last check-up, and passed my wing with a clean bill of health. I was free to fly, provided, she warned me, I take no long flights until I'd built up my strength again. Then she'd glared at me and told me to avoid ‘falling crates’. She couldn't have known the truth, but as her stare burned through me I sheepishly nodded.
Now that I was in the air, I could feel my wings strain with the sudden activity. They'd been idle too long, and it would take a little time to get back into shape. Regardless, I pushed higher. The night sky called to me, and I needed to answer the call. I rose up, and up, into the stratosphere at the edge of where most pegasi safely flew. There, I sought out a cloud to land upon.
The moon was watching, and as I settled my hooves into the fluffy cloud, I bowed my head reverently. I laid back, wings spread out just so I could feel the feather’s open upon the cloud’s surface. I shivered in the cool air; the chill invigorated me. Above, a thousands points of light were set into an endless blanket of darkness, laid out in a way you could never see from the ground. I gazed upon my namesake from the closest vantage point possible I could find, and simply felt at peace. I'd missed it so.
---
The Red Hoof Ranch apartment complex wasn't really much of a ranch. I suppose it wasn't really red either. The whole place had that strange feeling about it, the feeling a building gets when it's too old. No matter how clean it was, there were some parts that were just never going to be properly fixed up anymore. Mahogany didn't seem to mind, he said the rent was low and the landlord didn't bother him much, so I guess it all worked for him. I trotted through the hall, counting the numbers as I went.
I never understood why more pegasi didn't live in clouds, but maybe not everypony had the time to put into building them. The paperwork for the permits hadn't been too bad, really. Mahogany always said he just didn't have the skill, complaining that his clouds always somehow ended up square, and I couldn't even figure out how he could do that.
I knocked on his apartment door cautiously, never feeling comfortable going into another pony’s home. In my mind, it was like invading their privacy, their sanctum.
On the other side of the door, Mahogany called out in a curt tone. "Who's there?"
"Oh um... Night! I just figured I'd um... pick up my key from you... while I was thinking about it." After the accident, Mahogany had done me a huge favor, making sure my house was in order while I was grounded.
He opened the door, giving me an odd look before he smiled. "Right. Hey Night. Come on in, if you want."
I looked in after him, cautiously stepping my hoof over the threshold. I'd been here a few times before. Mahogany called it his 'bachelor pad'. The faucet was running over a small sink, a small stack of dishes therein, while a radio played some soft music from the corner. "Alright, um... just so long as I'm not interrupting anything?"
Mahogany turned off the water and idly nodded. "Nah, just housework. You know the drill. Gotta move these dishes out of the sink, but that can wait. You want a drink or something?"
I shook my head. "N-no that's alright. Although, I do owe you a drink, or something. I don't know what I'd have done."
"No biggie. Buy me a round at the Seapony, and we'll call it even." He chuckled to himself "If high-and-mighty Princess Merriweather ever stops picking up the tab."
"Oh, um... right... well, she's a knight... I mean... alright! No problem!"
He moved to the kitchen table, digging through a stack of papers and unopened letters. "Just gotta find where I put the thing. Sorry about the mess."
I raised an eyebrow. "It's... not much of a mess. Just a bunch of mail? You um... boycotting the mail again?"
"Was that a joke?" Mahogany turned his head and eyed me carefully.
"I... maybe?" I cracked a smile. "I mean, they don't do as good a job as EPS, right?"
He snorted. "I wouldn't boycott the mail. That's dumb." He glared at the pile. "Besides, I don't need to boycott them; EPS already offers superior services at competitive pricing to any of the postal services. If you're going through traditional post you're practically throwing bits away. We do advertising too. We can design, print, and distribute flyers, brochures, pamphlets." His voice grew more gravelly and bored-sounding as the tirade went on.
"Um... Mahogany...? You alright?"
"Hm? Yeah, yeah. I dunno. I've just been kind of off lately." He pushed a hoof over the table, sliding the mail aside in search of the key. "Doesn't matter. Besides, what about you and Dusky, hmm?"
I started, thrown off by the sudden change in topic. I could feel heat rising in my face. "Err.. I... I mean... we're f-fine. We're just f-friends.”
Mahogany shook his head with a wicked smirk on his face. "Riiiiiight. So did you ruin your ‘not-a-date’ thing or what?"
"I... it... n-no! It wasn't a date!" I lowered my head. "It was... good. Um... yeah, good."
His hooves stopped rummaging as he turned to raise an eyebrow at me. "Good is good. Toooooootally good. You a hundred percent sure things are good? I'm just playin' with ya, but you're too easy a mark." He frowned. "Did something happen at the festival?"
The image of those thugs came to me, and I shook it from my mind. "N-no... well... yes. But no. It was... mostly confusing."
Mahogany sighed, resuming his search. "You really gotta get over this, Flurry. Seriously. You're gonna drive yourself buckin’ crazy if you keep chasing after her like that. I mean, I like a lil’ bit of schadenfreude as much as any pony, but I really hate seein' you like this."
"B-but... it's... it's not like that. We're... she's said we need to just be friends, so... we're just friends. That's... t-that's all."
"Good! Excellent!” Mahogany grinned at me. “ I tell ya, buddy, romance is dumb. Everypony gets all crazy, and can't talk to each other, and then there’s fighting and name-calling, and bitter recriminations and on and on.. It’s all so much better when you just talk and drink and strictly avoid doing anything stupid.” A chuckle slipped out. “Like, y’know, throwing open a door and bellowing out love declarations."
I flinched. "B-but... I... um... y-yeah."
He moved closer, lifting a hoof as if about to hug, but instead just punched lightly at my shoulder. "Yeah, sorry about that. Sometimes I realize that I'm not really the greatest friend. And my advice pretty much generally sucks. But if there’s one thing I don't want to see, it’s you beating yourself up over somepony who just wants to translate this fanatical devotion’a yours to minionhood status.”
My jaw dropped just a bit, my mind trying to wrap around the term. "M-minionhood?” That just seemed so extreme. Dusky wasn't some evil pony trying to control me. I flinched as I thought of those thugs again. Minionhood.
Mahogany nodded sagely. "Yeah. Means you're a doormat who does everything for her, and she just… She’ll…” He trailed off for a moment before shaking his head, as if to clear out an unwanted thought.“ It's literally the worst thing. And right now you, my friend, are shaping up to be the king minion."
My ears drooped, thinking of how Dusky had talked to me, and helped me. Those weren't the actions of somepony trying to take advantage of me. "I... n-no. But there's nothing wrong with being f-friends, right?"
"Friendship? No. Nothing at all!"
"A-and... I want to be friends with Dusky."
"She's a pretty wicked cool mare!"
"But... minionhood?"
"Trust me. It’s the worst. Absolute rubbish. Still," He went back to the table, digging through the last stack of papers. He removed one envelope from the stack, no key. He stared at the letter, muttering. "At least being a minion to a pretty mare is better than being one to your stupid family..."
I watched him struggle with the letter, glancing back at the pile. He mumbled to himself, jaw set hard, and seemed to be struggling with some terrible decision. "You... you sure you're alright, Mahogany?"
"I'm fine. Spiffy." The words were terse, and contrary to his posture. He glared at the letter, and I imagined that had he been a unicorn, it would have burst into flame by now. "Just... been some fallout from a bit of trouble back home. With the family."
"F-family?" We'd never really talked much about family. Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about Mahogany's family. I guess he didn't know anything about mine either. "Oh, um... well... sorry to hear that."
He shook his head, finally throwing the letter back as forcefully as he could manage. It flew over the table, hitting the wall and sliding to the floor without any fanfare. "Don't be. Families are lame."
"I... r-right. Lame.” It wasn't always the others who were lame. Unlike Mahogany, I knew what it was like to be the one who was singled out. I still couldn’t bring myself to blame them, though. “But... not in a bad way, right? Not, um... not always, anyway?"
He stuck out his tongue. "Most of the time. Mine at least." He paused, and I waited in the silence until he turned to me with a grimace. "My brother's an idiot. A total punk. I can't say I miss him much at all. Heh… That probably makes me a bad pony..."
So, that's why we never talked family. He hates his as much as mine hates me. I sighed, shaking my head. "N-no. Not really... I mean... not every family gets along."
"They're all too focused on the really, really minuscule picture to give a crap about me wanting to live my own life. Their whole stupid furniture business can rot, for all I care."
I watched him curiously. "Family expectations... t-they're rough. My parents were always supportive... b-but I could never be what they wanted me to be. I wanted to be... I tried... but I couldn't do it."
He nodded. "Yeah... like I said. Families are lame." He grew quiet.
Visions of my own family haunted me. I wondered what they'd done after I'd left. It's not like I expected that they'd celebrated, but surely there'd been some relief. "I... hey Mahogany? Thanks. Thanks for being my friend."
"Meh,” he said, feigning aloofness. “A lesser friend would've let me go, but you keep dragging me back in." He leaned back, but he seemed to be smiling more than his usual self.
"Well, um... likewise, I suppose. I need a friend like you sometimes... to watch my back."
"Happy to be of service!" He laughed, and moved back towards the table, resuming his search. "So let's find that key. Then what say we head to the bar?"
I returned his grin. "That sounds like a good plan."
---
The Leaf Sister Cartel. Dusky had put a name to the nightmare. Our night at the bar had been pleasant, until Blizzard had arrived. She was weary, weighed down by the destruction of the ice sculptures in Fetlock Falls, and bearing the brunt of the town's blame. She'd started to argue, making accusations against Merri. That was when Dusky had pulled us all into the Seapony's backroom.
It was the Leaf Sister Cartel which, she told us, had attacked us. The criminals who hunted her. And whatever they'd been after in Fetlock, it hadn't been solely Dusky. I couldn't decide if that thought comforted me or worried me even more.
One way or another, Dusky's revelation to our friends had only served to galvanize my course of action. So it was that after everypony had headed for home, I found myself flying over the White Tail Woods, searching for a particular clearing.
I set down at the appointed glade, the snow crunching softly beneath my hooves. The White Tail Woods were a far cry from the Everfree, but that didn't mean they couldn't be dangerous. The sounds of the night echoed through the woods, and a clear sky overhead as if Princess Luna’s stars had come to watch.
"Welcome, Night Flurry." Starshadow stepped into the clearing, her steps silent despite the snow beneath her hooves. "I will admit, part of me did not believe you would come."
"I... I said I wanted your training. That... that's not changed."
She grinned at me, but there was little kindness in that look. "I shall not go easy on you. If I am to be your teacher, than your well being is my responsibility. And that means my responsibility is to ensure you are ready for anything."
I nodded to her, eager to begin. "I... I'm ready."
"No. You are not. But you will be." She stood at ease, even with the two blades hanging at her side. She levitated a small pouch down to into the soft snow. "You have brought the bracer which Sister entrusted to you?"
Settling my own flight satchel down, I dug the ornate bracer out and set it down between us, then sat upon my hind legs. "Um... yes. Although I um... I don't really get w-why she gave it me."
Starshadow's horn glowed as she lifted the bracer up into the air. "This is one of the great artifacts of our family, passed down since Ostfriesen was founded over one thousand years ago." She spoke proudly, rotating the bracer in the air before me. "It is the last remaining piece of our country’s greatest hero, the Warlord Bellerophon, First Knight of her Majesty Queen Tapioca."
That had been in my satchel all this time? I gaped at the bracer. I'd known it had been more valuable than Merri had made it seem, but their greatest hero? "W-why would you e-ever even consider me f-for that!?"
She laughed, a low subdued chuckle. I think that was the first time I'd ever heard Starshadow laugh. Her eyes shone in the moonlight. "You and he may have more in common than you believe. He was a pegasus, a great warlord during the time of the Unification."
"I um... I'm hardly a warlord."
"Quite. But you are of a similar heart. They say Bellerophon cared for the ponies under his command greatly, and that as Queen Tapioca conquered the realms that would become Ostfriesen, Lord Bellerophon opposed her more than any other. And when they met upon the field of battle, it is said he saw the love she held for her subjects reflected in her eyes. He surrendered to her, sparing many lives, and pledging himself to serve her and her new nation."
"He became the First Knight, and the Queen's most trusted adviser. All for love and honor." She lowered her head and grew silent.
I stammered, unable to even imagine the weight of the history attached to this bracer. "I... I'm n-not worthy of it..."
Starshadow opened her eyes, smiling faintly. "I believe, for once, Sister chose well. Put on the bracer."
With the bracer before me, and knowing exactly what it represented, I hesitated. My hooves shook as I reached for it, Starshadow's magic releasing it as I took hold. I slid it over my right forehoof.
I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting. There was no magical zap, no surge of strength or confidence. I wasn't suddenly transformed into a hero of legend. The bracer fit firmly against my leg, but nothing more.
"Now then. Raise your hoof towards me." Starshadow lifted her own hoof in demonstration. She waited until I complied, then nodded. "Now, I wish for you to focus upon the bracer."
It was cold. That was the most obvious feeling. It wasn't as heavy as I expected. I tried to concentrate, staring at my outstretched hoof.
Starshadow continued, stepping around me as she talked. "All ponies have magic. A cutie mark is proof of this. For Earth ponies and Pegasi, it may not be as obvious as for a unicorn, but it is part of you. The moment a pony’s magic is strongest is the moment in which they earn their mark." She stopped behind me. "Now. Imagine that moment. Picture it in your mind, and continue to focus upon the bracer, and we shall see if you are ready."
I continued to focus on the bracer, but let my mind wander back to Cloudsdale, when a little colt kicked his first cloud and watched a single, solitary snowflake catch upon the wind. My heart soared at the memory, and it was then that I felt the bracer react. It was as though somepony had taken grip and pulled me forward, though I did not move. A slight tingling as whatever magic was in the bracer reacted to my own.
The bracer glowed and with a sudden flash a magnificent blade extended out from it. The entire length of it was not much longer than six inches past my hoof, and it appeared to be incredibly sharp despite knowing that it was over a thousand years old. The whole length of it was suffused with a dim light.
"A hoof blade." Starshadow stated. "A knight of Ostfriesen is always prepared. This is a common weapon among our ranks, a close-quarters backup for many hoofed species. A pegasus is best suited to master the form, as it requires expert balance, agility, and mobility, which is most effectively used in the air."
"A... hoof blade?" The blade followed the motion of my hoof as I stared in awe. The weight of it was surprising, considering that just moments ago the blade hadn't existed. I raised it cautiously, becoming uniquely aware of just how sharp the blade actually was. I... I could hurt somepony with this... seriously hurt somepony. I could... could...
Starshadow must have been able to read the expression on my face as she nodded. "This is not a toy, nor is this training a game. If you do not take this seriously, than we are finished, understood?"
I sat up straight, careful of the blade, and nodded quickly. "I... of course. I w-wouldn't take this for granted. I'm doing this so.... so I can p-protect my friends."
She watched me carefully as I spoke, but I did not break her gaze. Apparently satisfied, she smiled. "Very well. I did not think otherwise. If you wish to retract the blade, simply focus upon the bracer in the same manner as before."
With a deep breath, I focused on the bracer once again. It seemed easier this time, now that I knew what to expect. The blade flashed and disappeared back to wherever it came from.
Nodding her approval, Starshadow levitated another bracer from her satchel, it was plain metal, no inlay or engraving as on the one I now wore. She raised a hoof and the bracer set into place. "My specialization is in magic-guided blades, but I shall teach you the basic forms of hoofblade combat. I shall begin with a demonstration of the basic combat drills, then guide you through them. Now please, step back and observe."
I shuffled back to give Starshadow space as she moved into position. I tried to note her stance, but suddenly she burst into action.
Starshadow reared up, and thrust her hoof forward with a shout of exertion. The hoof blade extended in an instant. She began by making basic jabs with her hoof, stabbing at the air at some invisible enemy. Her strikes were fast, each flowing into the next with ease. It was incredible to watch, and more than a little overwhelming, to see what the blades and armor she wore so casually had previously only implied.
“And a demonstration of a more advanced technique.” She lunged. As she moved forward, she pivoted on one hoof and spun, slashing her blade in a wide arc behind her. The momentum carried her in a full circle, and she let the blade slash downward before it disappeared and her hooves struck ground.
An elegant form. She appears to be holding back. The thought struck me as out of place. I supposed it made sense that she was holding back for a demonstration of the most basic drills. But it was so far beyond my own skill, how could I make such a judgment? It had sounded like truth, but still felt... alien.
I shook off the strange feeling as Starshadow concluded her demonstration. She exhaled a long breath and relaxed her stance. "When you complete your basic training, you shall be able to replicate this demonstration. I shall walk you through the steps. Night Flurry, are you ready for your first lesson?"
I raised myself up, glancing at the bracer upon my leg. "I... yes. I'm... I'm ready."
Starshadow nodded. "Very well then. Let us begin."