The closer they got to the capital, the less snow Liam and his master found on the paths before them. The local farmers were the only ones who rose even earlier than the travellers and had most it removed already. Though the grey clouds over their heads ensured that the path would inevitably be covered again, the sparse snowflakes meant it would take time to form a white blanket.
They could both already see the Gods’ Tip, the mountain that the castle of Canterlot and the surrounding noble district rested upon. Also welcome to see were the two large elevators that transported ponies, at least those without wings, up from the foot of the mountain.
Liam had often made use of them in his lifetime, and even if it didn’t look that way right now, it was quite a way up. One trip took between ten and fifteen minutes, depending on the wind and weather. Added to this was the time to wait for the elevators, which could be a pain if they either failed or required maintenance. Metal tended to rust, and wood strained under the constant load very quickly and often gave way.
At the end of the path they were currently on, surrounded on either side by trees, the first houses were visible. While the nobility lived on the top, the common folk had settled around the mountain. Farmers, craftsmen, and merchants lived in simple houses of wood and clay that they had built wherever they had found the space. The general rule was that the closer to the elevators, the better the location was. If somepony walked around the mountain, in its so-called shadow, they would find the slums. There were the thieving scum, prostitutes, and anything else that would flee at the sight of a guard. A long time ago, there had also been an elevator, but the operators refused to carry out maintenance because of the high crime rate, and it had been taken out of service. These days, not even the cage for the passengers hung on the ropes, long had it fallen and been forgotten.
These three parts, the tangled paths of the merchant district, the dark alleys in the shadows, and the golden roofs on the Gods’ Tip, made up the city of Canterlot. Liam felt like a load fell off his back at the sight of his home. Too many moons had passed since he had lain in his own bed and tasted the hearty home cooking of mother, Wheat Brew. He also looked forward to see his father and, of course, his siblings.
A slight spring found its way in his steps, which obviously did not escape his master’s eyes. “Don’t forget, first we have to report to her Majesty.” Still, in her deep raspy voice was a hint of relief of being back in familiar realms as well.
“How long do you think we will be on leave?” Liam asked, excitement leaking from his voice. After every mission, one was normally granted one moon of leave to recover. Since Equestria was relatively safe these days, that leave could extend to two or three moons before they had to don their armour again. If that was the case, he would be at home for Winter Wrap-up. That would mean a feast, alcohol, and most importantly, hot young mares.
His master pondered for a bit. “I think we’ll get two moons. Her Majesty will surely send other Hunters after the necromancer we discovered. Perry and Court Magician Velvet should still be in Mareheim looking into the disappearances of the fishers.” Liam had heard of the case. In Mareheim, a city right at the border to Grifalla, fishers of both races had disappeared on the sea between the two kingdoms. Fish might be a delicacy not many ponies enjoyed, but in areas without suitable farmland, there weren’t many alternatives. “The last time I heard from Galen and Rona, they were on their way to Canterbury because there were some rumours of ghouls, and High Magician Helios took Finley with him to Stalliongrad. So, if we don’t receive any urgent cases or somepony needing reinforcements, it could even be four moons of leave with Otis, Kendall, Juna, and Sina still in Canterlot as reserves.”
With the last words spoken, they passed the first houses of the merchants’ district. Despite the fact that it was the dead of winter, ponies were on the streets. Merchants without their own business had set up stalls in every nook between the two-story buildings around them and tried to lure in customers. Cloth and linen from far away countries were praised as well as freshness of vegetables and fruits. Others traders sold all variations of junk they had collected on their travels while others tried to bring weapons to the ponies. With the latter, they would have more luck in cities like Haflingen or Marelin, the capital of Germaneigh. Canterlot, with its Royal Guard that patrolled nearly everywhere, was considered one of the safest cities of the known world. However, the winter had forced the weapon merchants to stay and winter here, as had many other merchants.
Smells and sounds flooded Liam from all sides, and as unpleasant they might be in some cases, he was happy to be back in civilization. It might not be the most pleasant of odours that came from a narrow alley to his right, where an old mare emptied the chamber pot from the second floor of her house, but it meant that around him was life. He preferred the smell of shit and piss over that of death and decay.
Despite so many ponies already afoot this early in the morning, they had no problems to get through the streets. The ponies in this town knew and respected the mantle of the Inquisition. They knew that as long as they did nothing wrong to attract the eyes of thestrals, they were safe from them.
In the corner of his eyes, Liam saw a white pegasus with a matted blond mane as he untied the purse from the clothes of a unicorn mare who browsed a merchant’s goods. He paused, his master doing the same after a slight delay. Her eyes followed his, and she saw the young pegasus as well. They waited a moment until he was about to take off with the purse before he turned around. His eyes met theirs, the golden orbs that glowed from under the hoods. They didn’t move, didn’t make a sound or said a word. The stallion swallowed, dropped the purse, and fled. The jingle caught the attention of the robbed unicorn, and when she turned around to look for the source, she found her purse lying on the cobblestoned street. They didn’t wait for the unicorn to pick up her money and continued their journey to the castle.
Though it had seemed like only two ponies could fit into the elevators a few minutes ago, their true size got clearer as they neared the mountain. Right now they looked as though three houses would fit into them, but Liam knew better. There was space for five. The eastern elevator was in descent at the moment. He could make out the wagons that must belong to merchants, who were probably on their way back from a delivery. Others were carriages that were drawn by two or more ponies in front of them. Those usually belonged to some noble pony who thought it would be a grand idea to travel somewhere or on their way to their chalet. The ponies that pulled those had Liam’s sympathy, as walking in the deep snow was hard enough without pulling something. Normal ponies were also visible, who most likely came back from a visit to the gardens or maybe even an audience with the princesses.
There was one thing they all had in common: clothes. Canterlot in winter was something different than Canterlot in summer. The city didn’t have many tailors who specialized in making clothes for the common pony, which was why they only wore light clothing in winter. Equestria in general was a very warm region so that nopony saw much reason to wear garments in the summer. Only the nobility wore the finest of attire most of the year, most likely to separate themselves from the rest. Still, everypony owned at least one piece of padded clothing for the winter, which was what was needed if you wanted to travel on the mountain. While a thick fur was enough to keep the wind at bay down here, at the top of the mountain, there had been a few accidents in the past, with some fools getting serious frostbite after just a small walk around the block.
Eventually they reached a large stone archway that separated the area around the elevator from the rest of the city. On top and before the archway, Royal Guards stood in their golden armour, also padded with wool to fight against the cold, spears over their shoulders and secured in their right fetlock. They were always alert, always looking straight ahead. As a foal Liam, had tried to see when a guard would blink. He had never needed all four of his hooves to keep count.
One of the soldiers in front of the archway saw them as they stepped out of the crowd and saluted silently. Liam as well as his master acknowledged him with a nod and stepped through into the area of the still descending elevator. On the wooden landing stage, several ponies and diamond dogs were already waiting to bring their goods up the mountain. They were also wearing clothing, but the fancier kind. These had embroidered patterns and buttons made of precious metals. Some of the diamond dogs wore light armour, also stuffed with wool so they would not suffer frostbite when they reached the top. They had to be sell swords, hired by the rich merchants to protect their goods. Liam heard at least three different languages.
The soldier at the ticket booth, which was next to the ramp that led to the landing area, also recognized them and waved them through with a small salute. “Damn vultures. We pay for the ride and they can just...” Liam heard one of the merchants hiss as he had to pay the small fee of ten copper bits. Some of the other merchants started to agree with him, but Liam didn’t bother to pay them any further attention. He knew the arrogance of the nobility and the wealthy and also knew how many fucks he had to give. He also knew it wasn’t him personally they despised, but the Inquisition. In his younger years, he would have grabbed the merchant and asked him who he thought he was for bad mouthing the Inquisition of Her Holiness, Princess Luna. He had been a bad tempered foal.
With a loud bang and the clank of metal and wood, the elevator’s cage reached the platform. Around fifty individuals, earth ponies, unicorns, older pegasi, and griffons, were the first to step out of the cage and head to the second ramp that led back into the merchant district. After them came the wagons and carriages Liam had already seen before. The last to step out were six guards to reinforce their fellow soldiers down here. Two soldiers of every pony race.
His master pushed him forward as the new passengers started to board the cage. Liam remembered his first ride as a young foal, how he had looked down between the boards on the floor as the mighty elevator started to ascend with a mighty jolt. He also remembered the view over the green hills around Canterlot he had enjoyed. At one point in the ride, he had even been able to see the small village of Ponyville, nearly half a day away. There had also been the apple trees of the local farmers and the clock tower they had been building at the time. Even today, the place was so small that the only thing that connected it to the road system of Equestria was a small dirt path.
A well-known jolt got Liam back into the present. Following his own little ritual, he looked down between the floorboards at the quickly shrinking ponies on the ground. Then he slowly turned his gaze forward. After the first minute, they had passed the tree tops, and after the second, the ponies on the ground looked like he could trample them with his hooves. After the fifth minute, even the largest houses had vanished completely under his hooves, and after eight, the entire merchant district was nothing more than a brown, yellow, and white blur of wood, straw, and snow surrounded by trees that looked like blades of grass. The clouds looked to be so close, and Liam had to resist reaching out to them. Feeling what others of his kind could touch was what dreams were made of.
Instead, he looked over to his master, his other mother. She stood as he did, her eyes forward and lost in thoughts. She had wings; she didn’t need to take the elevator if she didn’t want to, but she did anyway. She always did. Liam couldn’t remember her not taking the elevator. She had always taken the elevator together with him and, like the rest of the world, was robbed of her freedom to reach the top of the mountain on her own. Liam rarely regretted that he was born without wings, those elegant leathery appendage all thestrals had. It made him different, but also special, and long he had learned to live with that. The sky was the limits to him, but the rest of the world was not. It was one of the many reasons he had chosen to follow his mother’s path and become a Hunter.
With a second jolt, they had reached their destination. The doors of the cage opened with a wooden groan, and the passengers were in motion again. While at the bottom, they had been surrounded by walls made of natural stone. Up here the walls looked like they were all cut out of one stone. Of course, that wasn’t the case. Unicorns had built the walls with magic and enchanted them afterwards to look like that. That was also true for every other building up here. There were even unicorns that specialized in that kind of enchantment to add fake marbling to stones or even clay. Smash two vases, piece them together as one, and sell it as though it was a piece of art. Maybe that description wasn’t fair to said unicorns, but that was how Liam would describe it if he was asked.
Liam felt another push from his master, and she was right. He could reminisce later at home, after they had reported to the princess. The castle was already in sight. The familiar white towers stretched a good deal into the sky. On occasion, some scattered wild clouds enveloped them tightly. Like the rest of the district, the castle seemed to be made out of a single type of stone, white mixed with a slight grey and created the illusion of fine marble that was actually granite, impossible for nature to create.
They followed the paved road that ran from the elevator directly to the castle. To their right and left were some minor roads that led to large estates, high-end shops, and other facilities. Unlike the city below, everything seemed to still be asleep. Occasionally, lonely shadows moved behind the large windows of the mansions, but those were most likely only housemaids or other personnel. Maybe one shadow was even one of the noble owners, but even with his eyes, Liam couldn’t see anything more than outlines through the coloured glass.
The estates also shared the same design. Smooth, light grey facades, decorated with inlaid columns supporting a small roof over the entrance, with fine wooden double doors and golden handles. The roofs of the estates were covered with expensive tiles, not with straw as in the merchant district. Small gardens were laid out left and right to the front doors, but now were covered by a layer of snow like everything else.
The other passengers gradually parted from them as they approached the castle walls, and so they were the last ones on the street. The few hours of sleep he'd gotten in the tavern slowly became noticeable after the battle and the march in and through the city. His hooves were tired and cold, the latter very unusual for a thestral. The chainmail was practically glued on his body, and his eyelids fought with the slowly rising sun. Liam really hoped that this was the last time wearing it for a while.
“Halt!” came the order from one of the two unicorn guards at the entrance to the castle grounds. It didn’t matter who came to one of the mouse holes, the entrances in the wall surrounding the castle, everyone was checked. It didn’t matter if one wore armour or was even one of the princesses. There were things in this world for which it was no problem to get access otherwise. Some surely could even manage it now. No one passed these so-called mouse holes without undergoing a security check. Golden, enchanted doors waited to be slammed shut in front of unwanted guests, and Liam knew about the crystals on the inside at the back of the wall. Those created a magical shield that would turn the castle into a fortress that could resist any siege. "Who demands entrance?"
They took off their hoods, and this time it was his master who first saluted. “The Hunters Jeanne Dark and Liam of the Holy Inquisition of her Majesty, Princess Luna, report back,” she said firmly, and they both lowered their hooves again. “We are here to report to the princess,” she answered the second question before the soldier could ask. They all knew the questions by heart by now. The third question also didn’t need to be asked as they drew their swords and handed them to the other guard, a unicorn.
The horn of the stallion, to which they had given their weapons, glowed again and the first of five spells hit their bodies. The first searched for any hidden weapon on and in them. The second checked to see if there were any active spells on them, like a spell to hide their true identity. The third looked for passive magic like curses, and the fourth for any kind of mind control. The fifth and last was only a medical scan to make sure everything was alright. There were stories about soldiers who stood at one of the mouse holes with internal bleeding they didn’t even know about.
“Clear!” the stallion shouted and went away with their weapons. They would get them back when they were leaving the castle grounds. The Royal Guard wasn’t by any means a small unit, but they couldn’t be everywhere anytime, and they trusted nobody except one of their own. Everypony they didn’t know was a potential risk they weren’t ready to take. And every Hunter worthy of his title would most likely agree with them.
Both soldiers nodded towards the third on the wall, and the way was free. “Thank you, gentlecolts,” his master said as she walked past them. Liam followed with a light trot as it was custom for a subordinate to keep some distance between them. His gaze fixed forward. In a few minutes, they would step in front of Princess Luna, and he wanted to be the picture of professionalism. He had returned from his first mission more or less successfully, which would allow him to act without the order of a master in the future if necessary. Of course, he would still go with the rotating masters on travel, but he would no longer need permission to do simple things such as going into the bushes to relieve himself like the last two years.
Liam stopped as a small ball suddenly rolled in front of his hooves. Automatically, his eyes went in the direction from which it came, and he spotted a small purple unicorn foal that, somewhat clumsy on her hooves, made her way in his direction. She wore a knitted vest and under her wool cap peeped her dark blue mane which had a single stripe of pink that ran through it.
The eyes of the foal, which had been fixated on the ball up to this point, went first to Liam’s hooves, then up to his face. The small foal gulped and took a step back, unsure how to react. “Twilight!” Another mare joined them. At the sound of her voice, Jeanne also turned around and fell on her knees as Liam did. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza came after the foal a second later from between the snow-covered hedges of the palace gardens.
Liam felt as though the air had warmed as the goddess of love approached, her aura much like a physical force. The princess stopped for a moment as she saw Liam and his master, but then continued the rest of the way without hesitation. The smell of roses made itself noticeable as she stood in front of them. Liam kept his gaze downward at her hooves. “Your Majesty,” he greeted her formally.
“Rise, there is no need to bow.” Liam did as he was told and looked at the beautiful mare before him. A pony had to be blind or a liar to deny this. There were the loving and radiating purple eyes, the long elegant muzzle that fit her slender frame perfectly. Her pink coat was groomed to perfection, no doubt thanks to products that would cost quite a few bits. Her horn was pointy and long and freshly filed, and every feather on her wing was spotless and in the right place. The picture was completed by her light pink and purple mane with a golden stripe in the middle, tied into a ponytail.
Liam averted his eyes to the foal that now hid between her front legs and was watching at her ball again, which was still between his hooves. With his snout, he nudged the object of desire cautiously in her direction. “Here you go.”
The foal didn’t react, continuing to stare at the ball as it rolled slowly towards her and finally stopped in front of the hooves of the princess. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then little Twilight snatched the ball with both her front hooves and brought into safety. “What do we say if somepony is nice, Twilight?” the princess asked with a small chuckle.
They all waited for a moment for the foal to speak, but she just looked away. “I think the attention is a bit too much for the little one,” Jeanne said with a smile.
“Maybe if you two were books.” The princess giggled. Liam looked at his master, but she seemed as lost as he was. “Forget what I said.” The princess looked at each of them for a moment, then stepped closer to Liam. “May I?”
Liam nodded. “Of course, your Majesty.” She took another step in his direction and looked him deep in the eyes. It was in this moment that Liam noticed the princess was a bit smaller than him. The entire time he had felt like he had looked up at a monument or a large statue. But now their eyes were at the same level, and her purple eyes looked deep into his golden ones. Then she did something he never expected: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza leaned a little further forward and gave him a light kiss on the forehead.
“May you find happiness.” Her lips hadn’t moved and nopony had spoken, Liam was sure of that. Still, he had heard the voice of the princess more than clear.
It was already over. The goddess leaned back again, a broad grin on her lips and a hint of satisfaction. She winked at him before she turned back to the foal. “What do you think, Twilight? Want to go home and drink some hot cocoa?” The foal nodded twice and stepped next to the princess. “I wish you two a wonderful day!” the Alicorn called over her shoulder as she vanished with the foal back in the direction of the castle gardens.
“The same to you, your Majesty,” Liam and Jeanne called as one and briefly bowed their heads.
Then there was silence for a few seconds. “The princess blessed you,” his master stated the obvious. “You should feel honoured.” Having said her piece, she continued on her way. Liam could only nod and follow. He knew it was a very high honour to get the blessing of one of the goddesses. It meant she would watch over him, protect him, and lead him. A blessing from the goddess of love therefore could only mean one thing.
Fate was what controlled the lives of all living beings, some more, others less. Ponies were beings branded by fate, clearly visible on their flanks. Thestrals didn’t have such markings. They only wore the mark of their goddess. One of the three goddesses that had the power to alter fate. Just like his was altered just a moment ago.