Her eyes were so profound and blue, like the deepest depths of the ocean, yet they were so caring and compassionate that they made the hearts of anypony who looked at them to flutter with hope. Light blue fur seemed to flow with her every motion, like a creek after a mild spring shower. Her mane was made of pure magic, so dark that it seemed to draw the light out of a room, yet every star in it was clearly visible, bright as they were. And there were so many.
This was what everypony would see if they were allowed to lay eyes on the Princess of the Night, the Goddess of the Moon, and immortal ruler of Equestria. It was her and nopony else who had jumped from her throne the moment Jeanne and Liam had entered the room and was now headed towards them. The expression of joy on her face could melt the heart of a daemon.
They met halfway on the red carpet, which led to the pedestal where the thrones of the two princesses rested. Princess Luna leaned down immediately and nuzzled the experienced hunter. “Jeanne, my daughter. It gladdens mine heart to see you once again. We were in quite a state of anxiety.”
It wasn’t known if Princess Luna or Celestia had ever had a foal in their long lives, but as the creator of the thestrals, Princess Luna granted herself the honorary title of mother and called all thestrals her children, treating them as such. Liam saw his mother return the greeting before she bowed her head. “It is an honour to see you again, Your Highness.”
“Liam!” He blinked in surprise as the attention of the goddess shifted towards him, and he found himself in the same position as his master a few moments ago. “We notice you have yet again grown since the last time we saw you.” Princess Luna pulled her head back and smiled down at him. She was nearly double his size. “We can remember it like yesterday, when your mother chose to ruin the carpet in our chambers by leaving us a little gift.”
“With all due respect, Your Highness, we aren’t here to reminisce. We’re both tired and had a long journey.” Liam tried his hardest not to smile. He could hear from his master’s voice that she did not like to be reminded of that day. Still, he also knew that she was right. They were both tired, she surely even more than him.
With her everlasting smile, the Goddess of the Moon shook her head in bemusement. “You are right of course, my child. You must both be exhausted. Do tell, what have you found in Manehatten? Had it been seaponies like we hoped?”
Liam remembered the mission briefing they had had around five moons ago. Sailors had reported unusual events near the coast, and the local residents had said they had seen something in the waters: ponies with fins and fish tails. The princess had been beside herself with excitement. The last contact with their relatives in the sea had been at the end of the First Era, or so she had told them. The accurate time of the last contact was something nopony could say for sure, as too much history had been lost in the Second and Third Era.
“We arrived at the city with a delay of two weeks. Like we discussed, we rented a room in the old tavern by the sea, questioned the residents, and spent as much time as possible in the harbour district. At the end of the first moon, the only evidence we could gather were fish bones that had washed up on shore in large quantities. We then rented a small boat for a more direct approach, but that also brought no results. At the start of the third moon, we observed an increase of visitors in the city, also attracted by the rumours about seaponies. We started from the beginning with a different approach entirely. It turned out that the sailors and residents had spread the rumours to get more money in the city. The fishbone originated in a restaurant for griffons in the city. The saltwater did a good job of erasing evidence of the fish being cooked, but after we knew what we had to look for… we closed our investigation and handed over the case to the local Royal Guard unit. Too many ponies were involved to name the specific culprit who started the rumours and tried to fake evidence.”
The smile on the face of the princess had shrunk by the end. “It makes us sad to hear that. We had hoped to get a clue to what had happened to our allies.” Liam also wasn’t really happy with the results of the mission. He didn’t like to disappoint his princess, and he would have liked to see one of the mythological creatures himself. The legends said they were a sight to behold. “Anything else, my daughter?”
“On our way back, we encountered the work of a necromancer. A young mare, who had been killed by wolves sometime in the last ten moons, was haunting a tavern near the crossroad between Canterlot and Manehatten. She was strong enough to imitate a living body.”
Princess Luna turned her gaze towards one of the coloured windows that showed her and her sister. “Celestia had told us of the incident. The young mare was not the only victim of the pack. It was during the last seed that she had sent a troop of Royal Guard to get rid of the problem. More souls could be victim to that necromancer. We will send Otis and Juna to look into that. Three moons should be enough time to recover from their last mission.” She looked back down towards Liam and Jeanne. “We thank you for your service, especially you, young Liam. You mastered the strain of your training and proved yourself in action. We will have to wait for the detailed report from your mother, but we look forward to sending you on your own missions in the near future if it should be necessary. We would normally grant you a small gift, but we can clearly see our little sister got ahead of us.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The smile regained some of its former size that it had reached when they had entered the throne room. “Do not fret, sweet child of mine. Our little sister would never do something that if it would not be for the best of all involved. She just tugged a bit on your red thread.” The princess eyed them both for a moment. “We think we should finish here for today. Go to your family, get some rest, and recover. We will not expect your reports before the end of the week. Your hunt has come to an end.”
Liam relaxed every muscle in his body, and his stature visibly sagged when he yielded to the weight of his chainmail. His ears fell down to the side of his head and lay limp for the first time in a long while. His tail began to swing a little, and a yawn forced his way out of his mouth.
The Princess of the Night giggled. “More tired than we thought. Hush, out of my eyes with you two.” She pointed with her left wing towards the doors. “There are ponies waiting for you,” she ordered and turned around, her head shaking but still with its usual smile.
The next moment, another wing collided with the back of Liam’s head. “Our hunt may be over, but we always stay alert,” his mother scolded him, also shaking her head. “Still, I’m so proud of you, and I want you to know that.” Her right wing also found its way from under her cloak, and she used both of them to pull Liam closer. Neck to neck, chest to chest, they stood in the throne room, her grey wings resting on Liam’s back. “I’m so proud. Luna said it already, but you finished your apprenticeship and did very well on every mission so far. I couldn’t be any prouder right now.”
“Thank you, mother. That means a lot to me,” he whispered back in her ear.
They stayed like that a moment longer in their embrace, then his mother pressed a kiss on his cheek and released him. “You go on ahead now – your father and Wheat will be happy to see you. I want to check in with the others in the barracks.” Jeanne took some steps back, her eyes not leaving Liam. On her lips was a smile as she finally turned around and headed towards a door on the side of the throne room.
With Princess Luna and his mother both gone, Liam was left alone in the large hall made of white granite, hung with fine tapestries, and illuminated by coloured glass pictures. The spell that the presence of the princess caused was lifted, and all what he previously only noticed as a kind of blur came back into focus. The light played on the windows on the walls; the gigantic columns stretched up to the ceiling and seamlessly went into it. There was also the coat of arms of Equestria on the tapestries, the sun and moon joined in a play of light and shadow.
Liam shook himself awake. This was something he still wasn’t used to. It was the natural effect the presence of the goddess who was called the origin of dreams had on everypony around her. Some said weak-minded simpletons would fall asleep in her presence.
His gaze wandered to golden thrones that stood at the top of the pedestal, and he wondered how it would be with both princesses present at the same time. Maybe he would get that experience some day.
With that final thought, he also turned and walked towards the massive golden doors through which they had come, one door nearly so big it could scratch the ceiling. Despite their size, they opened fluently as he drew near. The two unicorns, who made that possible with their magic, nodded to him as he passed. It was common knowledge that the unicorns who guarded these doors were considered to be the best spell casters in the realm and could have easily gotten a position such as that of a High Mage. They stood here though, guarding these golden doors that had more enchantments than the common pony could count.
Liam crossed the familiar corridors of the castle and finally the mouse hole through which they had entered the premises. With the familiar weight of his swords left and right on his body again, he remembered the days he had wandered the streets of the city without steel by his side. Back then, he didn’t even know what creatures were out there and only waited to get pony flesh between their teeth. Canterlot may be safe from such monsters, but like every soldier, a Hunter also became paranoid, if not even more so.
Leaving the castle behind, he returned to the wide main street and then turned into one of the smaller streets that led to the houses of the gentry and the Royal Guard. That was one reason so many ponies enlisted for the Royal Guard. A place on top of the mountain was promised to each soldier who had served at least five years in the name of the princesses, and not only for him but his entire family up to ten years after the soldier’s death. Often the eldest children took over the service from their parents, and so there were a few houses inhabited by the same family for hundreds of years, entire families who had themselves dedicated to serving the princesses.
It was no different with the castle’s staff. They were also housed in this district, equipped with many small houses in the same facade as the larger mansions. Parents taught their foals to serve the princesses, to cook or to clean their chambers. It was very rare that somepony was taken outside of one of these families into the ranks of a servant.
Liam had grown up here, played as a foal in the front gardens, and as a young stallion, studied the afternoons away with writings about ghouls, ghosts, and their ilk. He didn’t need to look where he was going. His hooves did the work for him on their own to carry him to the small house at the corner between a small smithy and a pond that housed a few fish and toads. At least if it wasn’t frozen like today.
Smoke rose in thick swaths from all the surrounding chimneys and also from the house inhabited by his family. His father had taken over the house from his father, and he from his father before. It was now in the fifth generation of the family, and it would be so for a long time to come. A look through the kitchen’s window showed movement, and Liam saw his mother as she likely prepared breakfast. After all, his sisters would want to be fed. By now, his youngest sister should no longer be depending on his mother’s teats.
In a short sprint, he crossed the last few meters to the front door. For a moment, he considered knocking, but he decided not to do so. He quietly opened the thick oak door and was welcomed by a warm breeze. A carpet was laid out behind the door so that each visitor could discard the snow from their hooves. Pictures adorned the stone walls, showing places or ponies that were dear to him, sometimes both.
Voices reached his ears from the common room, which lay just down the corridor. One belonged to his father; the other could only be a guest. He also heard his mother Wheat Brew in the kitchen, humming while a knife repeatedly struck a wooden surface. The decision was made in favour of his mother, and he poked his head around the corner into the kitchen. The light brown earth pony stood at the table, her back towards him, busy cutting carrots and apples with the knife in her mouth. Her bright blond mane, interspersed with grey streaks, was pulled back in a ponytail and was moving in tandem with her head for every cut she made. Normally his father helped her since his magic was better suited to move a knife than the rest of family could. Fine motor skills were something which few understood except unicorns. Fortunately, as Liam thought, there were no monsters that were apple or carrot sized. At least, he didn’t know any. If they existed though, they would certainly be a tough opponent, worthy of the title of arch-enemy.
“I’d offer to help you, but all I have are my brutish bread knives, and you said if I got them near the table again, it would bring me a week of latrine duty.”
The mare stopped abruptly, letting her knife drop out of her mouth as she turned around. Her eyes found his as he stepped into the kitchen, and in the next moment, Liam was in very hearty hug. His mother’s muzzle rested on his head, her nose rubbing through his mane while both her front legs pushed around his neck and tried to get him even closer to her. “My little colt is back.”
Liam also sat down on his haunches as his front hooves went around the neck of slightly plump earth pony mare, who was around two heads taller than him. “Hello, Mother, it’s good to see you.” Instead of more words, she answered by pressing kisses on his head, his cheeks, and again on the top of his head.
“Vigil!” she finally called out and silenced the voices in the common room. “Come here – our son came home!” Liam heard his father excuse himself, and a moment later the older stallion joined them in the kitchen.
Liam hurried out of the hooves of his mother to him, the hooves of his father already spread out for a hug. A hug was one of the most intimate gestures a pony could give. Not only was it impossible for them to run with only two legs on the ground, they were also mostly defenceless, sitting like that with their chest and abdomen open to anypony. In his history studies, Liam had learned that this practice was made to show enemies at the bargaining table that they really had come with peaceful intentions. Many customs like that dated back to the Third Era, the period of the Three Kingdoms.
For a former soldier like his father, somepony who knew danger and had experienced his fair share of it, it was an even bigger sign of trust that he spread his forehooves for him and held him close. Of course he expected nothing else, for it was his father, and he loved him. The old stallion, whose fur color he shared, was lacking an eye as well as the lower part of his right hind leg. An unsightly prosthetic made of iron was fastened on the remains and was used to fill the gap between the leg and the ground. Instead of a wooden eye, as many who had lost one used, the unicorn wore an eye patch. This brought out the striking greenness of his remaining eye even more. Not much was left of the color of his once black mane, long had it surrendered to his age. The mixture of grey and black was also cut short, just long enough to be able to choose a side of his neck it could fall.
“It’s good to know you home, son,” his father said into his ear while his hoof wandered to his shoulder. Then he ended the hug and pushed him back a bit. “Let me look at you.” The single green eye wandered from his head over his cloak and its various bulges that were his swords and chainmail. For Vigil, those might have well been invisible. A Royal Guard, even a retired one, knew how to see through one’s armor and clothing for any hidden accessories. “You’ve grown and become stronger,” he finished his examination with a grin, “but you smell like an old dog that wallowed in its own filth. And by the goddesses, your mane is in dire need of a pair of scissors, or will you soon be wearing fine dresses?” His father gave him a cuff to his shoulder, which made him waver before he straightened up again.
“I’ll finish the breakfast, then I’ll prepare a bath.” His mother nuzzled him from his other side.
“Thanks you, mother.” He nuzzled her back. “Taking a bath, getting some of your food, and a bed is what I need right now.”
“Put your armor and weapons down, then you’ll see about those things.” His father was already to the door. “Try not to wake your sisters.” The stallion took a step, then paused and looked back in the kitchen over his shoulder. “I suppose my other wife will come a little later?”
“Mother wanted to visit the barracks. She said she wanted to meet with the others.” Vigil nodded and continued back to the common room and his guest. Liam wondered who could have visited this early in the day, but he was sure he would find out soon enough.
Liam also rose and started his way to his room. “Don’t wake your sister. We put her in your room,” he heard his mother say before she took up the knife again with her mouth.
He nodded and walked down the hall towards the common room. He could see through the doorway, which was normally blocked by a curtain, that his father was sitting on the sofa. On the chair opposite to him sat another unicorn stallion. He had a brighter blue coat than Liam or his father, but still in the range of color that it fit the cutie mark on his flank, two differently-sized crescents. His similarly coloured mane was neatly combed. Liam did not believe he had met this stallion before, but by his appearance, he had to be one of the servants who worked at the castle. The simple cloak that hung over the chair and the lack of any other apparel made it unlikely that he was any sort of nobility. There were also no traces of perfume or oil coming from him. No, this was either a merchant or a servant.
Liam ignored the talking and turned left into the direction of the sleeping quarters. There were three, as in every house here. After all, they all shared the same floor plan. The largest of the three rooms belonged to his parents. The other two were his and that of his younger sister Moon Dancer, who last year began attending school. Her door was blocked with a curtain, and the young filly was still probably sound asleep.
Liam’s goal was the curtain down the hall that blocked the way to his chambers. Well, his youngest sister’s chambers as well, it seemed. The room looked like the day he had last seen it. A simple wooden bed was next to a desk close to the window, on which there had been some candles. He could see that some new ones had been added. In the corner behind the door was a wooden figure for his armour and swords. In the other corner, which had previously been empty, was a crib.
Quietly, he crept up to the crib and risked a glance into it. Buried under a thick blanket, only the head of his little sister was visible. Her bright green coat, the same colour as his grandmother’s had been before her death, was bushy and dishevelled, evidence that she had had a fresh bath. Her similarly green mane with white streaks was also in need of a brush, but that didn’t seem to bother the sleeping filly at all. With small breaths and a smile on her lips, her thoughts roamed the land of dreams, unaware that somepony was watching her.
“Hello Lyra,” Liam said softly and kissed his sister on the forehead. Her little horn sparked in response while her smile widened slightly. She probably wouldn’t even recognize him when she awoke. When he had left, she hadn’t even been able to walk.
Liam turned away from his new roommate and turned towards the wooden figure of a pony. His mouth wandered to the brooch that held his cloak on his body, and with one fluid motion, he pulled it off his body and laid it out on his bed. It was filthy, littered with stains of various origins. The only clean place was the symbol of the moon, which was mounted on both sides of the cloak so that it rested where a cutie mark would normally be.
From time to time, Liam asked himself if he envied other ponies for their mark of destiny. His mother’s was a tankard filled with foamy beer. Crossed lances belonged to his father. Moon Dancer’s was a vision of the night sky. His eyes fell again on his coat, and again he answered the question with a yes. It would be nice to know for what purpose one existed in this world. It meant knowing that what you loved to do was your destiny. If somepony asked if he liked being a hunter, he would definitely answer with yes. If somepony asked him if he liked to hunt, he would answer with a no.
The cloak followed the leather harness that protected his shoulders and chest, then his swords and eventually the chain mail. These joined the cloak on his bed, and he looked at them for a moment. His swords were old, several years now. Often he had honed them, brought back into shape and restored. As he looked now at their wooden sheaths, the notches in them and the rust that had infested several parts, Liam knew their time had come. He would have to buy or make new swords before his next mission.
Some of the chains in his armour had opened or were bent, but that was something that could be solved with a little work. His armor just needed a good polishing.
Freed from his armour, he began to put everything on the wooden doll, an exercise he had had to practice for weeks. In an emergency, every soldier had to not only be able to dress himself, but also his brothers and sisters in arms who would not be able to do so. First the chainmail went over the wooden head, then the leather armor, followed by the swords, and finally everything vanished under the dark blue coat. The only thing that gave away that it was not him under the cloak was the missing glowing eyes from under the hood.
Then he looked at himself. His dark blue fur was thick, unkempt, and dirty. If they survived the cold, he certainly would have fleas and ticks. His white mane hung far down to his right shoulder as if it was wet. His father was right – he urgently needed a pair of scissors. Then again, this was usually how Hunters returned home. In the woods, there wasn’t the luxury of baths, oils, or other things needed to keep yourself spotless. Teeth were cleaned with fern, and when the temperatures permitted it, one took a bath in a river if it was available. If Hunters stayed in one area for a longer length of time, they normally shunned hotels and taverns. After all, if the prey knew they were in town, it would flee. Hunters appeared, observed the ponies they had to question, searched the places needed for an investigation, and disappeared again to whence they had come. If whatever they were hunting knew where they were located, the hunter could become the hunted.
Liam’s eyes fell wishfully on the grey sheets of his bed, and he imagined how he would sink into the thick mattress made of straw. As he was, however, he would only ruin the sheets. His stomach also begged to be filled.
He left the room, trying to avoid waking his sister, and made his way back to the kitchen. “Liam!” he heard his father call as he passed the common room. The stallion still sat on the sofa and beckoned to him with a shake of his head to join him. Liam obeyed and walked into the warmest room in the house. A large fire was crackling in the fireplace and lit up the room at the same time. More pictures and drawings hung on the walls, just like the hallway, and showed ponies that he knew and loved. In two open cabinets rested his mother’s silver, and in between was a shelf of books that his father had acquired over the years. The most valuable assets of the family were showcased for everypony whom they called their guest.
“Liam, I’d like you to meet Night Light.” His father pointed at the unicorn across from him, and Liam bowed his head briefly in greeting.
“Good day, sir.”
“I also wish you a good day,” Night Light replied formally with a slight accent. If Liam was not mistaken, it sounded Germaneighan. Based on how the stallion spoke, he was now sure he worked at the castle. Only the servants spoke so eloquently, deliberately, and with a bit of grandeur in their voices. Either that or his nostrils were clogged.
“Night Light is a representative for High Mage Helios, who is currently in Stalliongrad.” It left Liam wondering why the servant of someone like a high mage was in their humble abode. “He’s here to discuss the details of an agreement concerning you.”
“Me, father?” Liam was surprised. “What could I have to offer a high mage?”
“Not the high mage directly,” their guest interjected and turned around slightly so that he could look at Liam and his father at the same time. “It’s about his youngest daughter.”
“Father?” Liam asked again.
“It’s about an engagement.” The eyes of the young stallion widened. He would be engaged? “And before you say anything, this decision was not made only yesterday. I’ve discussed it even before your departure with your mothers, and we all agree that this is for the best.”
“I don’t follow….”
“Liam, you didn’t have a normal foalhood. Other foals go to schools, play with other foals, and form groups that develop into herds over time. You received private lessons in the castle and learned how to use a sword from a young age. You didn’t have that. We also wish for you to find happiness while you’re young, not like I did.” Well, it was true. His father was a bit older. “I waited too long, and look at me. I’ll never be able to run with my foals in the meadows.”
“But father—”
“I’m still talking, son!” Liam’s mouth snapped audibly shut. “You’re young, and I know what goes on in the mind of a young stallion, boy. Still, you have to remember that we are soldiers. We generally don’t live as long as normal ponies do. I just want you to be happy and still have time to enjoy it. Or would you say that you’d be happier with having a different mare in your bed every night instead of one you could love and would be the mother of your foals?”
“The young lady also grew up in the same vein,” their guest said before Liam could speak up again. “She also studied the arcane arts all her young life so far, and was thus deprived of the possibility of normal social contact. When High Mage Helios heard that a highly decorated veteran of the Royal Guard sought a fiancée for his eldest son, a Hunter of the Inquisition too, he saw the opportunity of a good match for his youngest daughter. She is young, talented, smart, and at the end of her training as a court magician. However, the final decision is one we will leave to you two. The high mage only requests that you two meet and get to know each other for now. Should you not get along, you will not be forced into anything. That’s all for the moment.”
“Just a meeting?” Liam asked cautiously. He was not sure what to make of the entire thing. He only knew that he felt betrayed and maybe a little offended. He was not some antisocial stallion who preferred to be left alone instead of female allure. He was sure he could find love on his own. Maybe.