There is a Season

by ArdanBlade


Of Life, Love, and Loss

Chapter 8
Of Life, Love, and Loss

Pinkie Pie rolled over in her bed, her eyes peering from under the blankets. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, then slowly focused them on the tiny figure curled up in the blankets across from her. The pale little filly was now completely visible, eyes squeezed tight, as if upset.
"She must be dreaming." Pinkie whispered to herself, creeping gently from her bed. She tiptoed over to her new friend, a motherly smile spread across her face. She brushed a loving hoof through Zephyr's mane, straightening out some of the rogue curls that had developed. Her hoof brushed against something hard beneath the pastel grey mane, causing Pinkie to pause. She felt the mystery object that seemed to pop like a lump from the pale filly's forehead.
"Wait, she has a…" Pinkie slowly lifted Zephyr's mane away, to reveal a small, flat nub rising from her head. It wasn't a full horn, more like the base of one.The top of it looked like Sgt. Ramrod's scars, all scabby and battered.
Pinkie Pie felt a sudden surge of emotion filling her, but she caught herself before she squealed. This poor filly! What had happened to her!? She sat down for a moment, her face twisted in thought. It didn't take her long to decide.
"Twilight will know." Pinkie whispered to herself. "I'll ask her about it later."
Rising to her hooves, the pink pony tiphooved quietly from the room, only stopping at the door to take another long look at her new friend. "Sleep well, little one. Auntie Pinkie Pie will be here when you wake up."
With that, she crept from the room, leaving the sleeping filly to her rest.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle slept fitfully, her mind filled with images of fire and shadows. The distressed cries of ponies echoed in her dreams, and over it all, a terrible mirth, as if a great storm had taken on a cruel, sadistic voice. The laugh grew louder, resounding and drowning out the fearful yells of the ponies.
A door came thudding to a close, awakening Twilight with a distressed cry. She had rolled too close to the edge of her bed, and upon hearing the sound, went over the edge in a mess of blankets. "Aaaah! oof!"
"Is everything okay in there?" The voice of Thundercloud came, sounding just as weary as Twilight felt.
Rubbing her head, Twilight sat up. "I'm fine."
Twilight's bedroom door opened, revealing the big white stallion. His coat was half covered in soot, bags hung beneath his eyes, and his wings drooped at his sides. He tried to form a half smile, staring sleepily up at her. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
Pulling herself free from the blankets, Twilight got to her feet. That familiar knot started forming, but she pushed it back. "It's okay, I needed to get up anyway. What happened to you?"
"Heh heh, I must look a mess." He glanced down at his messy coat. "We were out all night fighting the fire. It's under control now, but for a while there…" His voice trailed off.
Twilight felt a sudden pang of distress. Something was wrong. "Did something go wrong? Is anypony hurt?"
Looking at the floor, Thundercloud frowned. "One of the younger Guard ponies went missing in the fire. We searched for hours after the fire, but there was no sign of him."
"I should have made sure he was safe!" He shouted suddenly, squeezing his eyes tight. "He didn't take anypony with him, and now…"
"It wasn't your fault. I'm sure you couldn't have done anything more." Twilight walked up, her heart going out to the distressed Lieutenant.
"It was my fault! Boldheart was my responsibility, and I failed him!" Thundercloud looked up at her, seeing the sudden hurt in her eyes.
"Boldheart..?" Twilight felt her breath catch in her chest. Tears sprang unbidden into her eyes as she fixed her gaze Thundercloud, begging him to tell her it was a different pony.
Thundercloud drew closer, nudging the distressed unicorn softly. "You knew him, didn't you?"
"I- we had met last night…" Twilight wanted to curl in on herself. Losing a friend was too much for her to cope with. "He asked me…"
"Asked you what?" Thundercloud asked, his voice soft.
"He asked me how I was feeling. We ended up having a conversation, telling each other about ourselves, sharing our feelings…" Twilight choked on a lump in her throat. "I just made a new friend, and now he's gone."
Thundercloud nodded, his eyes sympathetic. "I know how you feel, Twilight." He sat down next to her, staring off as if in a trance. He spoke again, subdued by the weight of emotion pouring through him. "I remember losing one of my friends too. Her name was Sunny Sky. We had been close, very close."
"We had joined the Guard together, both so full of dreams it seemed that nothing on land or sky could stop us. We were reckless, and it cost poor Sky her life." He looked back at Twilight, his mane hanging down like a veil. "We were helping with an avalanche up near Baltimare, rescuing grounded ponies that were trapped by the snow."
Thundercloud could almost hear the shouts and screams as sad memories shimmered in his eyes. "There were some griffons there too, but they had other intentions. Sunny Sky and I thought we could take them in a fight, but we were wrong. They killed her, and left me for dead."
Twilight listened with rapt attention, her mouth growing wider at his description of the terrible day. Squeezing her eyes tight, she drew up next to Thundercloud, brushing her neck against his in sympathy. He returned the gesture softly.
The two sorrowful ponies stayed with each other for several long minutes, neither wanting to break their tender embrace. Finally, as they drew apart, Twilight spoke. "I'll get Spike to draw a bath for you. You should get some rest."
"Thank you, Twilight." Thundercloud answered, smiling at her. "I don't deserve such kindness."
Twilight smiled sadly back. "You've been through enough. We both have."
As the lavender unicorn headed off to go find Spike, a change came over Thundercloud. Gone was the sorrow and sympathy, replaced by confidence. "Yes, thank you very much Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps it was better that you started getting yourself worked up over that silly Boldheart."
He headed off to find the bath, assuming his downtrodden mood once again, yet within the recesses of his mind, he was already planning. Soon he would be a Captain of the Royal Guard! His plans were coming together perfectly, and all for the cost of a sap story, a little acting, and one worthless pony.

* * *

Deep in the Everfree Forest, a gnarled tree stood. It was ornamented with masks, and colorful bottles dangled from it's branches. This was the home of Zecora, an odd zebra who brewed potions for all a manner of ailments. Within the hollows of the curious tree, she was laboring with a patient whom she had run across under very mysterious circumstances.
Laid out on his side, Boldheart twitched as he breathed, much of his blue coat and red mane singed by fire. Zecora looked over the hapless Guard pony, a frown on her face. Had it not been for her intervention, her guest would have surely perished within the flames.
Looking him over carefully, she dabbed a muddy substance on the burns, eliciting soft moans of pain from her charge. Zecora couldn't help but smile a little. It might have hurt, but that meant the pony could feel. If he was strong, he would live.
With that thought settled, she turned her attention to yet another mystery. This curious pony was clearly of age, yet there was no cutie mark. He had not been scorched there, so why was his flank still blank? Pondering this oddity, she set her teeth carefully on the edge of the wounded pony's mane, trimming away a snippet of the hair. She then walked over to a wide, shallow wooden bowl, where she deposited the loch. Then with several deft motions, she poured a mixture of liquids and powders in as well, carefully mixing the brew.
"It is good Pinkie Pie is not here. That silly pony might start to fear." Zecora rhymed to herself, remembering her first encounters with the ponies of Ponyville. Had they known about her seeing dish, they might still think her some kind of enchantress. Indeed, the magic of the otherwise harmless wooden bowl was in a way an enchantment, but merely for seeing the ailments of patients. Certainly nothing so cruel as Pinkie Pie had made it seem.
Looking into the murky liquid she had mixed, Zecora began to chant. "Zabu kaf luru baan, keefo remu shi a waan."
Deep within the clouded waters, dark forms began to swirl. A pony, small and light. Great dark clouds? A shadow of some terrible beast? Zecora paused, contemplating for several moments before looking back into the water. Now a new pony, symbols swirling about it. It moved after them, but a great claw stole them from before it. Great glowing eyes, eyes of the beast.
Zecora slowly noticed that the light around her had begun growing darker. A crushing weight slowly descended upon the room, causing the walls to vibrate, and her things to clatter to the floor. The eyes in the water suddenly turned squarely upon her, and great claws of smoke swirled up out of the dish!
The dark, predatory claws swept about the zebra, their razor sharp edges closing around her. "Come to me, enchantress! Give me your dreams!"
"Nada! Naooka!" Zecora shouted back, slapping the edge of the bowl with a mighty blow. The dish went sailing through the air, spilling it's contents upon the floor.
"Uuuurraaagh!" The vile predator shouted as it's visage was splattered upon the ground, causing the smoke to break into a haze, clouding up the room.
Zecora slumped over, gasping for breath, her eyes still wide with shock. Recovering herself, she rose from the ground, looking at the mess left by the monster's attack. "A beast has come looking for it's prey, but it shall not have this poor pony today."
She turned back to Boldheart, and for a moment, she was sure she saw something appear upon his flank, but nothing of the image remained. "For this mystery I will need aid, or surely all this world will fade."

* * *

Twilight was finally away from distractions. She had made sure to take care of her guest, gotten things organized, sent Spike grocery shopping, and finally had time to think. Sitting up on her balcony, she leaned on the rail, staring out over Ponyville, letting her mind sink into some much needed contemplation.
Thundercloud had indeed been kind and understanding, she finally decided. Perhaps Rarity was right, and she really was falling in love. This wasn't anything like she'd pictured it, but then again, when was love ever what somepony expected? He did cut quite a figure, and was certainly compassionate, smart, alluring, all things she thought she wanted. It would be the easiest thing in the world to give him her love. Maybe it was time to find that special somepony, especially since he'd pretty much walked up to her!
Feeling her cheeks redden at the thought, her mind turned again. He was also a warrior, sworn to the Princess and to duty. What if she lost him just like Boldheart? The sobering thought stopped her for a moment. Boldheart had been so kind to her, friendly, willing, and brave. It seemed unfair that he had been stolen away so quickly, like a candle, snuffed out. A single tear fell to the railing.
"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared through the foliage below, a smile on her face, only to disappear just as quickly.
"Huh!? Pinkie?" Twilight Sparkle snapped out of her mood, trying to register what had just happened.
"Yep!" Pinkie Pie reappeared, then dropped out of sight again.
"What are you doing?"
"Bouncing on a trampoline!" Pinkie exclaimed, disappeared, then reappeared again. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Uh huh, maybe you should just come up here and talk to me." Twilight suggested, still a bit weirded out by the sudden appearance of her friend.
"Okie dokie," Pinkie said before falling through the leaves again, "lokie!" The random pink pony had somehow gotten off the trampoline, through the tree, and right behind Twilight before she could even register what happened.
Twilight did a double-take, surprise written on her face. "How did you- never mind. What was it you wanted to talk about, Pinkie?"
"Well…" Pinkie began slowly, drawing in a breath.
"Oh no." Twilight groaned.
"…yesterday night I met this interesting new pony who I've never seen before, and she was really hard to see, you know what I mean? I mean you can see right through her some of the time but then she can be solid like you and me, but only sometimes. Her name is Zephyr, and she's a unicorn, or at least I think she was because she sort of has a horn but it's not all there so-"
Startled by Pinkie Pie's statement, Twilight placed a hoof over Pinkie Pie's mouth. "Wait! Did you say she had her horn removed!?"
Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically, trying to speak around Twilight's hoof.
"Did she say how it happened? Was it an accident or something?" Twilight's voice grew more and more rushed. There was no way it could have been intentional, could it?
"Well, I didn't really ask her. She's kinda shy, and by kinda shy I mean like really shy! She even turns invisible sometimes! Can you believe it!?" Pinkie spurted in a burst of excited chatter.
"I'm not sure. Can you bring her here, and see if you can get Fluttershy too. I have a funny feeling about this."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie nodded, then promptly bounced off the balcony through the leaves again.
Twilight Sparkle hurried back down into the library, her horn flashing as she dragged book after book from the shelves. "Oh, why did I have to send Spike off right now!? No, no, no! It has to be here somewhere!"
Books continued to float through the air, landing in stacks and piles as Twilight searched for the book she needed. Finally she whooped in triumph as an old tome drifted towards her on a stream of purple magic. Blowing off the surface of the writing, she examined the cover. It was a reprint, of course, but even so, it was one of the oldest books in her collection. Etched carefully over the hard cover of the dusty volume was a form of writing barely seen in Equestria anymore.
"The Encyclopedia of Ancient Pony Practices." Twilight read from the cover, her eyes hovering down to the author. "By Starswirl the Bearded. I knew this book would come in handy one day!"
Setting the book down on a reading pedestal, she fluttered through the pages, looking for the topic she wanted. "Foaling, fort building, fudge, galloping, games, gems… Oops, too far. Ah, there we are, gelding!"
With that, Twilight settled down to read, hoping that the ancient pony's writings might reveal something about the strange pony Pinkie Pie had described to her.

* * *

Shining Armor raised a hoof, signaling his troops to come to a halt. The march had been long and hard, pushing many of the elite Royal Guard to their limits. Had there been any other choice, Shining would have gladly taken it, but right now, they had to secure the western borders of Equestria from harm. Luckily there was a rail station nearby that headed out to Dodge Junction, and beyond to Appleoosa.
"Fox Trotter, take three Guards with you and scout out the perimeter. Sergeant Barrelrider, have the stallions make camp. Corporal Mustang, get a patrol in the skies over that mountain. I want to know if anything is coming ten miles out." Shining Armor ordered, directing ponies to their duties.
Taking a moment to look up at the looming form of the Mountain of Misery, he frowned. Queen Chrysalis and her kin had disappeared in this region, but it was no safe place for ponies, no matter how brave. Things were different here, even more so than haunted realms like the Everfree Forest. Stories persisted of missing ponies, mysterious clouds that rolled across the ground, stones that walked like diamond dogs, hoofprints that appeared from nowhere, strange moaning voices, and ever zombie ponies if the paranoid stories were to be believed. Sure, Shining Armor was not superstitious, but there were definitely some places he never wanted to dare.
"Captain, Fox Trotter reports the perimeter is secure." A burly Lieutenant by the name of Nine Pins reported with a salute.
"Very good, Lieutenant. See to your men then. I want the unit ready for anything out here." Shining Armor replied, his eyes still watching the rough, stony hills.
"As you wish, sir."
As Nine Pins walked away, Shining Armor shuddered out an uneasy breath. "I hope this is all the action we're gonna see…"

* * *

Up the mountainside, the patrol of pegasus ponies had landed and were surveying the area. Corporal Mustang stretched his wings, his eyes slowly watching for trouble. It was quite a surprise then when two of his patrol suddenly jumped onto his back, beating him down and restraining him.
"What are you two doing!?" Demanded Maverick as he fought against the ropes.
"Oh, just getting our jobs done." One replied with a laugh. Maverick struggled to hide his shock at seeing them turn into changelings before his eyes. "Too bad your pitiful men didn't see us before we brought them down!"
The changelings laughed to themselves as a fifth joined the party, his body changing to match Maverick's. "You all remembered to bring the gems, correct?"
"Oh yes boss!" One hissed gleefully. "There's plenty enough to get the Walking Stone to come!"
"Good. We wouldn't want the army to miss their appointment, now would we!?" Maverick could only watch as they dragged him over to a rocky outcrop, sequestering him inside with the rest of his squad. Then the changelings departed, each taking the forms of one of the Guard ponies, with heavy bags slung over their shoulders.