CHAPTER FORTY ONE
HOME
The moon truly was beautiful, hanging in the night sky far above, its pale glow bathing the land below with an otherworldly luminescence. Celestia rested her head on her forelegs and gazed out at the rooftops, lost in thought. In some ways, it was incredible just how few of her people actually understood how much it wore her to raise such a majestic orb each night, to paint the sky with stars, and in mere hours, replace it all once again with the warmth of the sun ready for a new day.
This had been Luna’s task, one which she now alone had to perform. Her mind wandered back to the terrible battle that had left her completely alone in this land she called home. The Elements of Harmony had, as she had known all along, tipped the scales in her favour, casting out the bitter cruelty of Nightmare Moon. Victory over her sister’s forces had come at a terrible cost, however, both to her people and the land. In her heart, what she had feared most had also come to pass.
In her grief, in her emptiness and pain, Celestia had turned her full fury, all her magic, onto not only Nightmare Moon’s forces, but on her sister, casting her into exile for the next thousand years. Her heartrending sadness at what she had done had threatened to drown her in its cold embrace. Nopony could know what had happened there; nopony needed to know. It was a burden only she could bear now. She closed her eyes. What a dreadful weight it was, to know that she had sent away the only pony who could truly understand the crushing responsibility of leadership, the only one she could have talked to about how lonely it was to be that which she was.
Ponies worshipped her, adored her. For all their praise and love, they could never see her as anything more than their beloved leader, the pristine white alicorn named Celestia. Her magic glowed around her horn, and a hot cup of tea floated over to her. Taking a sip, she thought back to the tea she’d shared with Rush. It had been so simple, so rustic, and yet so ‘real’ somehow, that everything that had had happened since felt like a dream. When she visited the towns or just walked around the palace, every so often she would see a chocolate-coated stallion and her heart would leap, and she would have to hold herself back from calling out his name.
Celestia sighed. Mother had been right—love only brought pain. She glanced up at the moon, placing the cup back on its saucer. “Goodnight, dearest Luna.”
She gave her mane a shake and looked back at the forest in the distance, far below the palace. Would he be looking up at the same moon, she wondered. Would he even remember her? Humans seemed such fanciful creatures… but then, he wasn’t human, was he? A lost stallion, a lost pony in a world where he was never meant to be.
A knock at the door at this hour? The princess trotted over and opened it to the sleepy-looking maid standing in the corridor.
“Yes, Lilly?”
The orange-coated maid bobbed a curtsy. “Please, your Majesty, pardon my intrusion at this hour, but you asked to be informed when the royal mage had news?”
Celestia’s tiredness disappeared like dew in the morning sun. Could it be? But… she’d been disappointed before. They’d been so close, and yet now something felt different. She hadn’t noticed it before, but… yes, there was a subtle change in the air, in the world around her. Her heart thumped in her chest. This could be the time, couldn’t it?
“Thank you, Lilly. Now, to bed, young lady. You look exhausted.”
“Yes, your Majesty.” The door slowly closed.
What was she to do? She had to get ready, but where had she put her crown? Her shoes, she had to—
With a loud crash, the door flew open, the guard outside near-flattened by the image of the princess charging past him full tilt, her rainbow mane quickly disappearing round the corner of the corridor. He sat back on his haunches, re-adjusted his helmet, and smirked at his colleague, who shrugged. Who knew the minds of alicorns?
Starswirl yawned, taking a mouthful of his tea as he leaned back to admire his work. It was done. It had taken years, but finally, he’d finished it. Unpicking and deciphering the thing’s residual magic had been hard enough, but recalibrating it based upon nothing more than the barest of memories on a wooden box had been a feat he’d originally thought impossible. A box, of all things! He smiled to himself in satisfaction and stroked his beard before taking out his pipe. Yes, it had all come together at last. As he lit his pipe, he pondered the destination. Why had the princess been so keen on that place? His familiar had been through the portal and reported nothing more than trees and a small hamlet of sorts. The beings there were evolved simians of some kind, intelligent apparently but bipedal, and that sent a shiver down his spine. He didn’t trust two-legged things. It always struck him as shockingly strange to think that they could somehow balance on two legs… two! Birds, he could understand, but anything bigger… Starswirl took a draw on his pipe. They probably used their upper limbs as weird pendulums, swinging them back and forth to keep—
A loud hammering at the door was accompanied by a guard jumping aside as the image of the Princess of the Sun appeared before him. She was… naked?! Well, not really—all ponies had fur—but… no crown, no shoes, no gorget? He’d never seen her like this! He sputtered and coughed on his pipe smoke as she approached.
“Master Starswirl, is… is this it? Have you…?”
The grey unicorn mopped his brow with a handkerchief, wafting away the tobacco smoke. “Yes, your Majesty.” He let out a loud cough. “Pardon me, I didn’t expect you to appear so soon.”
“Not soon enough, Master Starswirl. It has been too long already.”
The mage bowed. “Forgive me, Princess, I—”
Catching herself, the princess laid a hoof on his shoulder. “No, Starswirl, I didn’t mean you. You’ve done far more for me than you could ever know.”
He stared at her, adjusting his cloak. “Yes… well, I’m pleased to say, your Majesty, that the gate has been established, checked, and is ready for use.”
She stared at the silvery rippling surface of the portal. The thing had been off-limits since the theft of the box containing the key to the Elements of Harmony, and now, after all these years, here it was.
“As you requested, I’ve realigned the transformational matrix to allow anypony from this world to appear in their natural form on the other side. Anypony coming back through, however, will appear as, well, one of us.” He scratched his beard. “Somehow, when it was last used, the coordinates of the magical confluxation were scrambled, leading to a misalignment in the—”
Celestia held up a hoof. “Yes, Starswirl, thank you. You’ve done remarkably well... quite remarkably well.”
He looked up at her expression, the determination and single-minded look that shone in her eyes. Starswirl cleared his throat. “Princess, there is something you should know.”
She looked around at him, a faint flash of irritation and concern on her face. “Yes?”
“Erm, one of the reasons I was able to find the destination and reset it is that there is something there that is… I don’t know how to explain this, really.” He fidgeted with his beard. “There’s something, or someone there, who’s from this world, from Equestria.”
The princess smiled at him. “I know.” She reached across and kissed him on the forehead. “Thank you, my dear mage, from the bottom of my heart… thank you.”
“Why… I… oh!” Starswirl choked, turning bright red.
Celestia smiled, shook her mane, and did something she hadn’t done in an age: she neighed. It felt good, the world felt good… it was time! Rearing up, she charged into the silver light.
************************
The clatter of cart wheels, animal noises, and the chatter of people, the roaring hubbub of a town in full swing on market day. The air was filled with almost impenetrable sound. Winter was gradually relinquishing its grip on the land, yet despite the cold of the day, the market felt stiflingly hot. With the reopening of the hill road and Lord Ire’s promotion of the village’s products, people from the towns and even cities had come here to trade.
Rush was pushed and shoved from side to side, aggravating the old injuries that plagued him. Winter was the worst of times for him on many levels: the cold made his bones ache, and his scars pulled painfully. He used his stick to whack a large man out of the way, the other male glowering at him menacingly but still giving way to the older man. Age had to be good for something, he thought to himself bitterly. It sure as hell hadn’t been worth anything useful.
Rush elbowed his way to the small cart that most people appeared to be ignoring. Its peculiar array of trinkets and knickknacks looked more of a tourist magnet than something you’d actually expect to see in a remote village like this one. However, this was no ordinary trader—this one sold ‘specialities’, and Rush could almost smell it now. The tall man in the cloak nodded to him, his face hidden by the cowl.
“Greetings, Lord Rush, how fares you this fine day?”
The gruff older man huffed. “Not as well as you, it seems.” He stared up at the dark depths of the cloaked figure’s hood. “You never age, do you? Not as long as I’ve known you.”
The trader laughed. “We all age, my friend. Even I do.”
Rush gave him what he hoped was a rather sardonic grin. “I’m sure you do, under that bloody cloak all the time. Some sun would do you good, you know.”
“Really?” the figure replied levelly. “I have something that would do you some good as well.”
“You have it?” Rush asked expectantly.
The trader nodded, reaching down underneath the cart and extracting a waxed earthenware jar. With a flick of his wrist, the man removed the seal and opened the lid, passing it to Rush, who inhaled the contents deeply. The aroma was intoxicating, fresh, alive, and wonderfully earthy.
“Blackwort.”
“Indeed.”
“How much?”
“Oh, I think something can be arranged…”
Rush glared at the man. “Don’t play games with me, man. How much?”
The trader clucked his tongue. “Five bundles of reeds should suffice.”
“Four.”
“What?! For such a hard to find item of such flavour and rarity? You ask too much, Master Rush.”
“Four!”
The trader waved his arms in the air in exaggeration, before relenting. “Very well. You’ll make a pauper of me yet!”
Rush harrumphed. “I doubt that, somehow.”
“Oh?”
Rush pushed forward, leaning toward the cloaked man. “You must think I was born yesterday.” He stared up at the figure and smiled knowingly. “I’m nopony’s foal, my friend.”
Staggered, the figure took a step back. Rush could feel his stare boring into him as he chuckled. “I should thank you, really, shouldn’t I? For helping Willow and me.”
The trader cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Rush laughed. “Oh, don’t you?! Well, never mind. It’s all in the past now anyway.” He dumped the bundled reeds next to the cart and quickly deposited the jar of tea into his satchel. Leaning on his stick, Rush raised an eyebrow. “You were right about one thing, ‘trader’. The box really does find its way back to its owner. I can only hope they knew what to do with it.”
The trader said nothing. Rush watched him for a moment and then huffed, walking away back into the crowd. A voice behind him called out, “See you next market, son of Willow.”
Rush raised his hand and gave him a wave. “Maybe…” he muttered to himself. “Maybe.”
The climb back to the house had nearly finished him this time. Gods damn it, his bones ached, his chest hurt, and now he was starting to feel dizzy just to add to the cacophony of ailments that made his everyday life that little bit more ‘interesting’. Rush collapsed into his large chair by the fire, one of the more essential items he’d constructed to help him as the years had passed by.
Recovering his breath, he reached down to put the kettle on the fire and tipped forward, crashing onto the floor in a heap. Gasping, he tried to right himself, yanking the corner of his cloak out of the banked coals. Pushing himself back upright, he angrily poked the fire with his stick and began to coax the flames to catch on the fresh dry sticks. He hated this, the weakness, the tiredness—it was so bloody endless, and each day it seemed that little bit worse than the last. Mostly, all he wanted to do these days was sleep, yet he had to keep going, he had to see this winter to its end. Gods willing, he’d see another, but something within him expressed its doubts.
He checked the lid on the kettle and placed the precious jar of tea next to his two favourite cups. He smiled; there were always two. Rush’s eyes fell upon the most precious item he possessed in this world. Hanging from the rafters, carefully cleaned and maintained, the embroidered blue blanket had never aged, nor ever faded. He rose shakily to his feet and shuffled over to it, gently lifting a corner in his rough hands and held it to his face. It still smelled of her, of the beautiful mare who had brought such joy into his life.
Rush sighed, sitting back down by the fire and placing a few spoonfuls of tea into the pot. He stared out of the window at the snow dripping from the trees. For some, the world had moved on. For him, his world had ended that day in winter, the day he saw the one he loved vanish from life forever. He snorted, berating himself for such melancholy thoughts.
“She’ll come…” he murmured, pouring the water into the teapot. “She’ll come.”
The sun sank below the horizon, the forest falling into absolute silence as he lay on his bed, watching the fire die down. His eyesight wasn’t quite what it had been. He sniffed. Just like the rest of him! Bloody hell, it was cold as well. Grumbling, he looked round to the door… it was wide open. Hadn’t he just shut and locked the bloody thing? His bones groaned in protest as he hauled himself to his feet and slammed the door shut, pushing the lock home.
“Bloody damned thing…” he muttered, turning back to his bed.
A faint clink of china made his freeze in his tracks. “Exquisite…”
Rush began to turn, his body horribly reluctant, his heart racing in his chest fit to burst. His eyes went wide in shock, surely…?
“Tia?”
The white mare sipping the tea placed the cup back down and fixed him with her timeless purple gaze. “Hello, Rush.”
With a flurry, the princess was on her hooves, walking over to him. He didn’t know what to say, what to do. After all these years, she was here…
Celestia slowly leaned forward and nuzzled him tentatively, running her muzzle gently over his cheek. Rush reached up and touched her fur, recoiling in surprise.
“I… I’m dreaming this, aren’t I? Gods damn it, I’ve finally lost it.”
The princess shook her head, bringing him into her warm embrace. “No, Rush, you’re not dreaming, unless I am as well.”
Rush reached his arms around her neck and held her, the sting of tears welling in his eyes echoing those that were already soaking into his tunic from his beloved mare. She kissed him tenderly on the forehead and moaned softly into his hair.
“Oh, Rush, I thought I’d never see you again. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
Rush hid his face in the gloriously warm white coat. “I always knew you’d come back, Tia… one day.”
She smiled and pushed away gently. “Are you ready?”
He looked at her with the same large brown eyes she remembered from the very first time she’d seen him. “We’re going home?”
Celestia nodded.
“Oh gods!” he gasped, collapsing to his knees. “Tia…”
She leaned down and nuzzled him, her voice kind and reassuring. “Come on now, do what you need to do and let’s go. Time waits for nopony, my Rush.”
His heart racing, Rush collected the few things he could think of that were of any significance to him: his reed knife, the cups, tea, and…
“Tia?”
“Hmmm?”
He reached out and spread the blue blanket carefully across her back. “This is yours.”
Celestia’s eyes went wide. “You kept it? All these years? I thought it had been lost!”
Rush smiled. “Our old friend Rend had it, I’m afraid. I just asked for it back. Nicely of course.”
She shook her head, treating him to a wink and a smile. “Ready?”
“All set.”
Celestia trotted out into the night, the silver light of the portal casting its shimmering luminescence over the clearing. Rush walked out of his house in a daze. Was this real? Was he dreaming? He shrugged to himself. If it was a dream, it was one he didn’t want to wake up from. Turning around to lock the door, he paused.
“I suppose it’s a bit pointless now,” he muttered to himself and left the key in the lock. Hefting his small pack of possessions, he followed Celestia to the portal, gazing into those beautiful purple eyes.
The princess smiled. “It’s not very far now, Rush. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump.”
“Tia!”
With a flash of silver light, the echoes of laughter rang out across the hills, leaving only the whispering leaves of the bamboo as witness to the alicorn and her stallion leaving for home.