Celestia sat upon her throne, the elements of harmony below her. She had spent several hours fixing the damage caused by Tactician after his jaunt through the city. The moment she returned to the castle she was confronted by her student. She gazed over the mares, her eyes lingering on Twilight a bit longer.
“Twilight,” Celestia began, “I can understand why you want to know more, but… please breathe.”
Twilight gasped as her lungs took in fresh air. She hadn’t even realized she had been holding her breath. When she strode up to her mentor and demanded she be told what had happened earlier, she realized her mistake and immediately froze. Now that she got her voice back…
“I-I’m so sorry Princess Celestia! I-I just don’t understand what I saw earlier what with the fire and the magic and the explosions and-” Twilight stuttered before falling into a fit of hyperventilation.
Celestia internally rolled her eyes at her student’s antics. Twilight always meant well, but she could be a bit to stern with herself at times. She smiled at the distraught mare are spoke calmly, “It’s quite alright Twilight. As for your earlier question, you wanted to know why I didn’t portray Tactician in a negative light, correct?”
Twilight nodded, prompting Celestia to continue her explanation. “For starters, Tactician’s real name is Robin. When he arrived to Equestria, I do not know. When I first met him he had already spent three years within the Everfree forest.”
Applejack looked a little suspicious at the mention of the Everfree, not trusting anything that came from the evil forest. “So how did ya’ll first meet him then?” She questioned.
Celestia sighed as she brought up the memory. “Back then me and my sister still lived in the palace of the two sisters. I was exploring the forest when I came upon an abomination. I found a reanimated corpse stalking the forest. I was appalled at what I found and immediately destroyed the creature. I traced its path back to Robin who confirmed that he was responsible for the corpse. When I attempted to restrain him with my magic he broke free, attacked me and ran deeper into the forest. From that day I labeled him an enemy of the state for attacking royalty, disrespecting the dead and practicing dark magic.”
Twilight was disturbed by the walking corpse, but her sharp mind picked out something else from Celestia’s story. “Did you say he broke free of your magic!?”
“Robin seems to be heavily resistant against magic. With only a few seconds of struggle he managed to dispel my spell and counterattack.”
Twilight shifted on her hooves, storing that information in her mind before choosing her next words carefully. “Princess Celestia?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“W-Well, from what you told us, it sounds like a big misunderstanding. Is he truly evil?”
Celestia sighed, feeling almost guilty about how she had first reacted to Robin. “No Twilight, he is not evil. I’ll admit, I was hot headed when I was younger and I could have handled the situation better, but it wouldn’t change the outcome. When I later tried to apprehend him I brought with me some guards from the garrison. He warned me that should I use violence to subdue him than he would not hesitate to fight back. He… made good on his promise and violently attacked the guards I had brought with me.”
The six mares looked at each other. They have defeated Nightmare Moon and the God of Chaos. They knew what needed to be done to save Equestria. Twilight stepped forward and stared confidently at her mentor. “Princess Celestia… allow me to meet with Robin.”
“WHAT!”
Twilight pressed her ears to the back of her head as Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity screamed at her. Pinkie looked excited while Fluttershy was trying not to cower from the sudden outburst.
Twilight kept her gaze on Celestia, her eyes still beaming with confidence. Celestia on her part met the gaze with trepidation. She knew how powerful Robin was and she alone could only hope to stand up to him. The problem now, however, is that the elements of harmony are no longer tied with her.
Celestia sighed as she came to a decision, one she hoped would not prove to be a mistake. “Very well Twilight. I believe that Robin will not harm you outright should you come into contact. His actions today were rather subdued compared to the past. If you can find him in the Everfree, you have my blessing to speak with him. The only exception is that your friends must be with you so that you may use the Elements of Harmony at a moment’s notice.”
Twilight bowed to Celestia, a huge smile on her face.
"You can count on me princess!"
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“I preserve the home, but I forget to preserve the furniture. God damnit, hindsight!”
I looked around the meager living room of my home, the wooden furniture around me decayed and rotted after a millennia of existence. My home itself is a log cabin, located north east of Zecora’s hut. I was actually surprised her home was only half a mile from my own. I don’t know how long she’s lived here, but it’s safe to assume she knows the cabin exists.
When I first built my home I wondered how large it should be. I was no carpenter, but then again, magic is a wonderful multi-tool. I settled on a small kitchen/living room, two bedrooms, a study and a storage area. I hardly needed two bedrooms, but after living with my parents so long I was used to having company. Somewhere in my head I told myself I’d be having company in the future. Guess how that turned out...
I explored the rest of my home, running my hand against the dusty wood. I had used my magic to preserve the house the moment I built it. Only two things survived the test of time; my home, and my books. The bookshelf looked ready to collapse, but the tomes seated upon the shelves were as good as the day I wrote them.
I scanned the tomes, noticing all of them were present… save two. I frowned as I failed to find the tome Nosferatu and the translation book for the old language I had written. I needed Nosferatu in order to complete my studies. For only those two books to be missing meant that something came in here, took them, and left everything else. I internally shrugged; I can always make another Nosferatu, and the translation book was only in case I forgot the language. If someone did take the books, chances are they are either long dead. Not much I can do about it.
I grabbed a fresh Archwind off the shelf and replaced it with the near empty tome I had. I needed to check my local safe points to relinquish the books within. The closest one is near the outskirts of the Everfree, close to Ponyville. I had no idea the town would be built in that direction and I risked being spotted. Nevertheless, that particular haven has a good amount of blank journals, something I need if I want to make another Nosferatu. Groaning, I exit my home and step out into the darkening forest. I have only 4 hours before dusk.
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“Twilight, what the hay are you thinking!”
“Rainbow Dash, we can’t always solve everything with the elements!”
“Sure we can! Let’s just blast this dork and go home!”
Twilight huffed in frustration as she argued with her cyan friend. After they had been dismissed by princess Celestia, they had all agreed to stay the night before taking the train back to Ponyville. The six friends were all bunked in the same room, courtesy of Pinkie Pie and her desire for slumber parties. None of them thought twice to question Pinkie where she hid soda and chips. They were more focused on Twilight’s reasoning behind her earlier action.
“Listen… all I want to do is just talk to Tact- Robin regarding his actions today. All I’ve ever heard about him before were about his skills, power and knowledge in the field of magic. I even have a book about him back at my library!”
Fluttershy had remained quiet most of the day, but needed to voice her biggest concern now. “U-Um, are we really going to have to explore the Everfree for him?”
“I must say, to live in such a barbaric forest doesn’t put Robin in such a good light.” added Rarity.
“Ah’ve said it before and ah’ll say it now; anything that comes out of the Everfree is no good!” exclaimed Applejack.
Rainbow huffed victoriously as she listened to the others support her line of thought. “See Twilight! Some creep who lives in the forest can’t be as cool as you think!”
Twilight sighed and turned to Pinkie, hoping she wouldn’t be against her idea. “Pinkie, what do you think?”
Pinkie placed a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. “Do you think Robin is part bird?”
Twilight blinked owlishly at Pinkie, as did the rest, not quite understanding her line of thought.
“W-What?”
“It would make perfect sense! His name is the same as a bird and he made that breeze when he moved his forelegs! Maybe they’re actually wings and he can fly and make bird noises and he sleeps in trees and-”
The five mares wisely tuned Pinkie out as she continued her rambling. Twilight looked each of her friends in the eyes, her determination still strong.
“In a few days I plan on heading into the Everfree to look for Robin. Once I prepare for the journey, nothing will get in my way to meet him.”
Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy gave each other glances. They would stick by their friend’s side no matter what, but that didn’t mean they had to enjoy the coming adventure. With that done they all receded into their sleeping bags for the night… save one.
“-and I’ll make him a sunflower seed cake that says ‘please be our friend, Bird Man!’”