//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Reflected Reflections // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// As the four companions were headed homewards, they were found by a watchful patrol of Guardians and Rangers who had gone searching for them after the explosion that had destroyed Canterlot. Now, under heavy guard, surrounded on all sides, the companions were headed back to the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. Sunrise Surprise hoped that there would be answers, that she would finally learn the truth, but having the answers and knowing the truth scared her. She plodded along, Fogwalker on one side of her and Chert on the other, a part of her not wanting to return home at all. “You there, Preserver Garlic Van der Grease… you’ve done well,” one of the Guardians said as he walked alongside Garlic. “Thank you, sir,” Garlic responded. “I am Protector Ferrum Stout… I’ve been keeping an eye on you,” the pegasus admitted, looking over at Garlic. “I am barely worth your notice, sir,” Garlic said in a subdued voice. “I disagree… I’d like to sponsor you,” Ferrum stated in a firm voice. “Sponsor me?” Garlic said in disbelief, slowly turning to look at the pegasus beside him. Garlic could scarcely believe what he had just heard. “We will talk later… the Shields of clan Stout are always looking for steadfast defenders. You will hear from me and mine later,” Ferrum said, smiling under his helmet. “Thank you, sir,” Garlic said as he trotted along. “Wait, sir, forgive me for asking, but what are you getting out of this?” the big earth pony inquired. “Clan Stout wants a royal guard within our ranks…” Crossing the drawbridge and entering into the gatehouse, Sunrise Surprise felt her breath catch in her throat. There was a large crowd of ponies there to greet her. She saw Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Flim and Flam were there, so was Derpy, Chrysalis, and Trixie. The roar of the crowd was painful to her ears. She stumbled, falling into Fogwalker, who gently nudged her along. “Welcome back,” Princess Celestia said, a soft smile upon her muzzle. Standing beside Princess Celestia, Princess Luna stepped forward. “It pleases me that you have returned and you are safe.” “Huzzah, our humble heroes have returned,” Trixie crowed, her wings fluttering with barely contained excitement. A dreadful fear overcame Sunrise Surprise. She froze, unable to move, her eyes going wide with fear as she looked all around her. It was too much to take in, too much to deal with all at once, too much to handle. Her mouth opened as she began to protest everything that was going on… but no words came out. Unable to deal with the shock, Sunrise Surprise fainted dead away. Finally free of his armor and his saddlebags, and now in a private bath fit for royalty, Garlic heaved a weary sigh. He eyed the large stone basin in the middle of the room, it was filled with steaming water and fragrant oils. He was the sort to occasionally bathe in the nearest watering hole, stream, or the river if he happened to be out that way. He sniffed, not knowing what it was that he was smelling, He stuck in one hoof, felt the soothing heat, and then he dropped in both front hooves. With a grunt, Garlic eased himself into the large stone bath, moved to the center, and sat down. Only part of his neck and head stuck up out of the water. He suspected that most ponies would be completely submerged. He took a deep breath, pressed his lips together, and dunked himself beneath the water, slumping down and bending his front legs. When Garlic emerged a moment later, he saw Fogwalker looking at him curiously from the edge of the stone basin. He felt strangely naked and vulnerable as the mare splashed into the tub with him. They had swam together, even bathed together before, but this was somehow different, and Garlic knew it. He dropped his head down low into the water, leaving only his nostrils and his eyes above the water. Fogwalker’s blue-grey pelt darkened as she became wet, the dampness creeping upwards as her pelt soaked up the water. She hissed when the hot water hit delicate flesh that hadn’t been bathed in a while. She kicked her hind legs out wide and stood there for a moment, letting the hot water soak in, a cross eyed look of bliss upon her face. After a few moments of standing there stupidly, she sat down in a shallower spot and watched Garlic carefully. “Do you really find me unbearable?” Fogwalker asked as she looked at her companion. Garlic felt his tail twitch in the water, the different hairs swirling around from the sudden motion. He thought about saying something rather mean spirited, but then he changed his mind. He eyed Fogwalker, noticing her beauty, and he felt a powerful feeling of what could only be arousal creeping though his belly. “No Foggy… I don’t know what to say. It’s complicated,” Garlic admitted in a low voice as he kept his eyes on Fogwalker. It was about to be a lot more complicated if he couldn’t keep himself under control. “You changed… you started treating me differently,” Fogwalker said, looking at her oldest friend. “You really hurt me you know… one day, you were my foalhood friend and then you started treating me weird. You pushed me away. You changed… why?” “We grew up,” Garlic said bluntly. “You’re a pegasus and you are practically a noble. I’m a dirt poor earth pony. You kept throwing yourself at me and that’s bad for both of us. Our tribes don’t mix. If we had a foal, if it was an earth pony, what future would it have within your clan? What respect would it get? It’d be nothing more than the common wagon puller most likely, do you want to see that happen? It’d be poor like me… is that what you want? “It might have wings… either way, I don’t care. I wanted to be with you. This is our last chance to be together,” Fogwalker said in a pained voice, more hurt from Garlic’s words than she cared to admit. “Last chance?” Garlic asked, shaking his soaked head in confusion. “I’m not in season… and I still really wanted my first time to be with you… when we reported back… I had a scroll waiting for me… they’re breeding papers. Somepony has secured a contract with me. Somepony has purchased the rights to an exclusive breeding contract,” Fogwalker explained in a hurt voice as she allowed herself to sink into the water. “Can’t you just say no and be done with it?” Garlic questioned, feeling a strange pain in his own heart. He looked at Fogwalker and felt a strange ache. She was beautiful, especially now that she was soaked and her mane was clinging to her face and neck. He began to feel an almost painful feeling of need. “I could. But I would lose my financial backing. I would lose my clan. I could become a vagabond mercenary I suppose… I would bring shame to my whole family. Anyhow… well, they want to breed me young so I can focus on my career later when I am in my prime,” Fogwalker said in a voice that was little more than a whisper. “I’m sorry… I had no idea… I don’t know what to say,” Garlic said, his eyes stinging. He could feel it, that horrible sensation that he hated more than anything else in the whole wide world, that feeling that came with the need to cry. “Foggy, you are my best friend… that never changed. Growing up, you made my life so much better. I don’t know what I would have done without you. All I had to look forward to was dirt, mud, and onions. You… you were the best friend a foal could ask for. You brought me cakes on my birthday. You gave me candy on the solstices. Almost every nice thing I had as a foal was because of you.” “Thanks Stinky,” Fogwalker responded, her ears drooping down. “But we’re not foals. We had to grow up sometime. I… I want…I lo-” Garlic said, his voice faltering. “You know what, it doesn’t matter what I want or what you want. Things are the way they are. You have a breeding contract. You’re somepony else’s prize. What you have was never mine to take. And it would be wrong of me to take it now.” As Garlic spoke, he felt a stabbing pain through his heart as he saw the pained look on Fogwalker’s face. He was breaking her heart and he knew it. It was better this way. “It was just stupid foalhood dreams Foggy… it wasn’t like it meant anything anyway,” Garlic finished, scarcely able to believe the words coming out of his mouth. He watched as Fogwalker fled out of the basin, the mare was bawling, she was sobbing and grief stricken, and he knew that he had broken her heart. He watched her go, water streaming from her pelt, wanting to go after her and apologise for the terrible words he had said, but he knew it was better this way. At least this way she kept her position, her honour, her place in her clan, and her financial backing. A good soldier had to have armor, lots of food, blacksmiths, a soldier was only as good as the resources they had access to. And Fogwalker had everything. Garlic had dirt and onions. Garlic had done what was best for Fogwalker at the terrible expense of hurting both of them in the process. Try as he might, the stoic earth pony could not stop the tears when they finally came. Her head aching, Sunrise Surprise looked up at Princess Celestia, unsure of what to say. She was in a comfortable bed and a cool damp cloth was placed over her forehead. She felt clean, she had been bathed while she was passed out, and she smelled strongly of roses. “My parents aren’t actually my parents,” Sunrise Surprise stated in a soft voice. “No Sunrise, they are not. But they do love you,” Celestia said in a gentle voice. “So you knew this whole time… but you still made me beg to become your student,” Sunrise said in a puzzled voice. “Why?” “The Virtues wanted to make sure that nothing was ever just given to you. They wanted for you to feel that you had earned everything you had,” Celestia explained. “How is your head?” she asked. “It hurts,” Sunrise murmured in reply. “I don’t understand any of this.” “Not long after you were born, the world nearly ended. Sombra took the evil that was within me upon himself, everything became balanced out, and he gave you to the Virtues to protect you. He… he… he was still himself, mostly, he was resisting. He wanted what was best for you. He loved you so much. You were all he had of her. The other Celestia that he loved. I was offered a chance to redeem myself. The Virtues all had their reasons. It would humble me to look after the foal of my former enemy. It would be fair of me to provide for the foal of my fallen rival. It would behoove me to learn to love the foal of my enemy. And learning all of this would make me wise. They all had their reasons. So I found the very best parents I could find, the Virtues all worked them over to make sure they were trustworthy, and then we all watched you as you grew up. We all protected you,” Celestia explained, looking at the young mare laying in the bed. “And finally, we all realised that the time had come, you were grown up enough… and all of us working together found for you the most steadfast companions that could ever hope to be found. We wanted you to have friends that you could trust. You will find that trusted companions are a luxury in our position.” “Where are my friends?” Sunrise inquired, kicking out her hind legs and stretching in the bed as she spoke. “Chert is in the next room. He is worried sick about you. I do believe it is the geas he is under. He is guarding the door and refuses to budge. Garlic is off bathing because he was truly living up to his nickname of ‘Stinky’ and I do not know where Fogwalker has slipped off to,” Princess Celestia responded in a soft voice. “Stinky is the nicest pony I’ve ever met. He let me cry on his neck. He carried me up the mountain on his back. He carried Foggy too,” Sunrise said in strong nasal lisp. “Garlic is the sort of earth pony they will write legends about one day. His strength and endurance is the stuff of myth. He caught the attention of the Virtues at a young age and they’ve all been working very hard to make sure that he becomes the pony they hope he can be,” Celestia replied, her large eyes blinking as she spoke to Sunrise Surprise. “Is that why he was sent with me?” Sunrise asked. “Yes Sunrise, you could not ask for a better protector,” Celestia answered. “Why me?” Sunrise questioned. “Sunrise, you were born an alicorn. Your father, your mother, and all of the Virtues found a way to protect you. It was decided to have you grow up to be as normal as possible. Now, you have reclaimed your heritage and it is time for you to learn how to rule. The Virtues believe that you can help to heal this land. There is also the matter of dealing with Sombra, but that will come later,” Celestia patiently explained. “What about you?” Sunrise asked. “What about me?” Celestia inquired. “Aren’t you worried about me taking away your kingdom?” Sunrise questioned. Celestia burst out laughing and it took her several moments before she could answer. “Equestria is a large place. A wild place. A very dangerous place. Truth be told, Luna and I need the help. I do not see you as a rival, but as an equal. And now it is time for you to take your rightful place. Are you ready to begin?” “No,” Sunrise whimpered, closing her eyes and pulling the blanket up over her head.