//------------------------------// // Epilogue: Three Months Later // Story: The Freeport Venture // by Chengar Qordath //------------------------------// As soon as I saw the story in the newspaper, I knew it was only a matter of time before she showed up. A part of me wondered if the trade negotiations were just an excuse to make a royal visit to Freeport. Maybe I just liked the idea that she was mainly here to see me. I’d put all my hard-earned bits to good use making a home for myself. I had a proper mage’s tower built in one of Freeport’s nicer neighborhoods—on top of a tower just being traditional, it meant I needed to buy less land. I’d picked obsidian for my tower, partly because that was the same material the Council used for its headquarters and I wanted to make a statement, and partly just because it looks cool. The inside of the tower itself was still a work in progress. With all the time it took to find a good plot of land at a reasonable price and get the materials for the tower itself, I’d only just started on furnishing the whole place. I had enough done to make it livable, but there were still a lot of little touches left to do. I’d barely even gotten started on filling out my library, and it would probably take months to get all the specialized equipment I would need for all my magical workshops. At least I still had bits left over from everything involved in hunting down Metal Mome, plus I’d taken a few smaller jobs to maintain a steady cashflow and keep in practice. The Council was still working out the terms of my magus status in Freeport. There were a lot of details to argue over, especially since I was being rather stubborn about sticking to at least some of my principles. Taking care of monsters was fine, but I wasn’t going to let them use me to advance their political agenda again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... I was still working on a plan to make Freeport a better place. It wasn’t like I could just march into the Council’s headquarters, throw them out, name myself Princess of Freeport, and then everything would magically fix itself. I was still debating whether or not to ask Puzzle for help with that project. On one hoof, he was very smart and had a lot of experience with Freeport politics. On the other, he seemed pretty happy working for the Council and maintaining the current status quo. Whether I got his help or not, it would be a huge long-term project. Reforming the entire government would probably take years, maybe decades. For now, I figured my best bet was to just work on securing my position as a magus. That would give me some degree of official authority within the government, including the right to regularly address the Council on magus affairs. It was a starting point for gaining influence and getting my voice heard, at least. Not to mention that dealing with monsters and warlocks would help make Freeport a better place all by itself. But for the moment, I was mostly busy getting my home taken care of. With how long it would take to get results I wasn’t too worried about delaying for a bit while I sorted out my personal life. Master plans to reshape an entire nation are all well and good, but I also needed to equip my kitchen. Improvising with my fire and ice spells was fine as a temporary measure, but a proper stove and icebox would save me a lot of trouble. So when somepony knocked on my front door, I assumed it was just another round of deliveries. Instead, I opened the door and found myself face-to-face with Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia, The Unconquerable Sun, Pony of the Three Tribes, Sovereign Monarch of Ponykind, Protector of the Western March, Coryphaeus of Harmony, and a bunch of other grandiose titles she hates hearing. Celestia smiled as soon as I opened the door, but the company of Solar Guard mustered up behind her looked a lot less welcoming. For a moment I was afraid she had decided that Strumming had overstepped in offering me that deal and she was here to drag me back to Equestria by force. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that she could make me leave, if she really wanted to. But instead of blasting me herself or sending in her guardponies to do the dirty work for her, she very politely asked, “May I come in? There are a number of things I think we should discuss.” She concentrated for a moment, and a nicely wrapped package appeared out of thin air. “Also, I brought you a housewarming gift.” “Er, thanks.” I took the present from her, setting it aside for the moment. My eyes nervously flicked to the small army of guards sitting outside my door. “I don’t exactly have room for all them, though.” “That’s fine.” Celestia turned back to her guards. “Remain outside and secure the area, I will not need you for a while.” She turned back to me. “I will be perfectly safe so long as I am with Sunset.” Even after everything we’d been through, hearing that sent a warm little thrill through my heart. Despite everything that had happened, she still trusted me. However, that warmth vanished a second later when I remembered what had happened the one time I’d blindly lashed out at her in the midst of my rage. Celestia had very calmly and efficiently shut my magic down without any particular effort. It certainly put a new light on her remark that she wasn’t in any danger. I doubted she’d meant it that way, though. I stepped aside, clearing the doorway and inviting her into my home. She strode in, regally surveying the entire place and making me keenly aware of every single speck of dust or misplaced item. I really should’ve cleaned up—I had been all but certain she was going to visit, but I hadn’t thought of doing anything to make the place look nice for her. It seemed a bit ridiculous, but despite everything that had happened a part of me was still very afraid that she wouldn’t approve of my living situation. Her lips pursed when she spotted the large block of hollowed out ice I was using to keep my food cold. She frowned and tapped a hoof on my mostly empty bookshelves. All I had done as far as my workshop went was a few dozen cheap glass jars containing various potion ingredients, all haphazardly stacked in a single room. When we reached the top levels, she discovered there was quite a bit of dust left over from all the construction work; I hadn’t gotten around to properly cleaning everything up in the areas I wasn’t using yet. Finally, she presented her conclusion. “This won’t do.” One of her wings flicked out, spreading gently over my back. “Don’t worry, I put a few bits from my discretionary funds aside just in case you needed help.” She conjured up a piece of paper and a quill, jotting down some notes. “Now then, let’s start with giving you some proper kitchen equipment—the last thing you need is to get sick because your food spoiled or wasn’t properly cooked. Your magic is fine as a stopgap solution, but—” “I already took care of that,” I cut in before she could build up too much momentum yet. “The rest of my kitchen equipment is supposed to be delivered next Tuesday.” Celestia frowned and met my eyes. She was probably trying to figure out if I was being honest with her or just lying to save face. The idea that she was even considering that offended me. For that matter, the whole inspection did. It’s not like she had any right to come in here and tell me how I could or couldn’t live my life. It was my life, not hers. “I’m fine,” I growled out, anger lacing my words. “I don’t need your help.” Celestia pulled back, blinking in surprise. I saw pain in her eyes and instantly felt guilty for snapping at her. She sighed, then took a deep breath. “Yes, I suppose you are. I did not mean to question your ability to take care of yourself, I just...” She paused, struggling to find the right words. “I only wanted to help.” “I know.” Guilt stabbed me in the stomach, but I tried not to let it show. The last thing this visit needed was for both of us to start down a death spiral of hurt feelings and mutual guilt over our mistakes. We both had plenty of things to regret, but that wasn’t why she’d come here. It wasn’t why I’d wanted to see her either. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air between us for some time before she spoke again. “I do hope you’ve at least made a few friends.” I thought about pointing out that, unless I’d completely missed my guess, she’d been keeping up with the EIS reports about me. Puzzle would’ve been letting them know that I hadn’t gone off the deep end, and Strumming was probably still keeping tabs on me too. I suppose I considered Puzzle a friend, or at least a business associate I got along pretty well with. Though the fact that he’d dated Strumming did indicate that his taste in mares was abysmal. While he hadn’t spilled any details about how the date had gone, he seemed disgustingly pleased with the results. Sure, Strumming was a bit more tolerable when she wasn’t trying to lock me up, but I wasn’t going to join her fan club anytime soon. Thankfully, Kukri was a lot less complicated. “Yeah, I made a few friends.” That made her smile. “Good. That’s good.” She walked over to the obsidian wall and slowly ran one hoof down it. “It looks like you will have a lovely home once it’s finished. Though to be quite honest, I’ve never liked black. It makes me look too pale. I do hope you’ll at least do something to brighten up the room a little.” A faint smile quirked at her lips. “You need a little light and color in your life.” I don’t think she was just talking about the room. I’m sure somebody with too much time on their hooves would make a big deal out of the symbolism of me moving from my white marble tower in Canterlot to a black one in Freeport. Celestia was probably thinking about how my life had taken a much darker turn than she’d planned. I was supposed to be back in Canterlot with her, earning the right to rule by her side. Instead I’d used dark magic. Twice. I’d killed. And I’d nearly done a lot worse. I thought I’d dealt with all of that, but now that I was standing in front of Celestia once more, all the old shame came back. Celestia was supposed to be the paragon of everything that was good and pure and righteous in the world, and I’d pretty much gone against all of those things. It felt like I didn’t deserve to be in the same room as her, let alone everything she wanted to do to help me. The Council wanted me to help hunt down dangerous warlocks, but how could I do that when I was a warlock too? I looked up at her, trying to find some way to put all the things I was worrying about into words. Part of me just wanted to spill everything out, and maybe even beg her to take me back to Equestria with her. Despite all the trouble I’d gone through to get away from the EIS, a part of me missed my home. I would probably always miss it, even though I knew it was for the best that I’d moved on. I might be making a new place for myself in Freeport, but for most of my life, Canterlot had been home. No, maybe it was better to say that home was wherever Celestia was. That’s why leaving her had hurt so much. I couldn’t go back to Equestria anymore, not unless something big changed. But that didn’t mean I had to leave everything behind, and it certainly didn’t mean that the most important parts of home couldn’t have a place in my heart. I licked my lips and hesitantly stepped towards her. “I’ve got the bits to pay for it all, but ... I wouldn’t mind a little bit of advice about how to decorate it all. If you’ve got time.” She turned to face me with a gentle, understanding smile. “Yes, I think I’d like that.” I leaned against her, resting my head on her massive shoulder. “Thanks, Mom.” She sighed, but the smile never left her lips. “You know, I really should remind you that I’m not your mother.” One of her wings slowly curled around me. “But let’s not spoil our day by bringing up old arguments.” “Plus you secretly like it when I call you mom,” I gently teased. “I admit nothing.” She held me a bit closer despite that. “I’m just glad to know you’re alright. I know things have been difficult for you lately. I have had my own share of tribulations. We both made mistakes, and things very nearly went terribly wrong because of that.” “Yeah.” I shifted to the side a bit so I could hug her properly. “But I think I’m gonna be okay.” “Yes. I think you will.” I spent the rest of the day shopping with Mom.