Witch laughs heartily at the image of her friend reflected in the small mirror floating in her magic before her. “Sure… Your brother’s face when he met Partner was priceless, but I think the look on Rarity’s face was more hilarious.”
Twilight chuckles as well, recalling the initial reaction well. “She still hasn’t stopped flailing about ‘Viscountess Grey served me tea’. The only thing that changes is whether she’s panicked about having offended your mom somehow, or vibrating from ecstasy about a noble giving her tea.”
“She really shouldn’t worry too much about offending my mom… She serves anypony who comes into her tea room…” Witch explains with a sigh.
“Well you know how effective that explanation was… And you’re still going to relay her needless apology too,” Twilight responds teasingly.
Witch levels a playful scowl at the mirror’s image of Twilight. “You know… It’s really not fair that you know me this well already…”
Twilight simply shrugs, smiling. “Princess of Friendship; it comes with the territory… Same way you always know what to say-”
“Don’t even start on that!” Witch interrupts, no longer playful and now glaring with a furrowed brow at her mirror.
“Sorry, Witchy, but it’s just too easy to tease you because I was-”
“I know, I know! You were there yourself… Please stop reminding me?”
“Alright… I’ll stop… Just… Stop worrying so much about it, would you?” Twilight pleads. “You know it only causes panic attacks, and there’s no guarantee anything similar will happen to you.”
“Tell that to Diet Chaos…” Witch grumbles to herself, sighing. “Not thinking about it isn’t exactly easy when everypony likes reminding me about it every bucking day,” she states, louder and clearly for Twilight to hear.
“Well… If it helps, you’re twenty percent cooler just as you are…” Twilight replies, smiling with amethyst eyes sparkling mirthfully.
“Rainbow Dash got over that ‘not cool’ trick of mine pretty fast, didn’t she?” Witch concedes, unable to keep a small chuckle from escaping.
Twilight shrugs again, but still smiles. “Showing up in a Wonderbolt uniform will do that with her.”
Witch opens her mouth to reply, but the train brakes, making her lurch on her couch. A quick glance out the window of her private compartment shows the higher middle-class district, and lets Witch know that the station isn’t too far off. “I gotta go, Twy. We’re almost to the station now and I’m gonna be busy for a while… Thank Fluttershy again for the pictures for me? I’ll call you again later tonight if it’s not too late, all right?”
“Sure thing, Witchy. Take care!”
Witch smiles and waves briefly before the image of Twilight fades, replaced by her own reflection. Sighing, she slides the mirror into her saddlebag and pulls it over her shoulders. The mirror-call with Twilight had taken almost the entirety of the half-hour trip, so the mirror had been the only thing she’d pulled out. Smiling slightly as she levitates her suitcases and additional luggage gained on their travels, Witch recalls how ecstatic Cadance and Twilight had been when they discovered the mirrors’ purpose; instant communication for them was a luxury they’d missed in the years since Cadance was Twilight’s foal-sitter.
The train pulls to an easy stop and Witch leaves her compartment, joining the throng of ponies milling about the large train station and heading straight to a luggage counter to arrange to have most of her belongings sent back to her home. That convenience arranged, Witch makes her way out of the station lobby and onto the sunny streets of Canterlot.
Closing her eyes and tilting her face up into the sunlight, Witch inhales deeply, a small smile tugging at her lips. While her time with Twilight had gotten much done with her assignment, she can’t help but be relieved at being home. After being to the other side of the globe and back, the familiar sights, sounds and smells are a balm to the doctor.
Her walk to the Compound is a leisurely twenty minute stroll. It probably takes her longer than it should’ve but the simple pleasure of walking amidst the bustle along usual streets slows her steps, and as the Castle bell tower chimes once for the hour, Witch pushes open the lobby doors.
The routine comings and goings around the compound flow around Witch, a few greeting her in passing on their way to somewhere else, as she heads straight for the cafeteria. Though not hungry, she scans the tables, trying to find her coworkers. Raising an eyebrow as she spies not only her friends from medical, but also Treble and four strange and mismatched pegasi at the table with them, Witch threads and weaves her way through the throng of Wonderbolts to get to them. Predictably, Cinna is the first to spot her.
“WITCHY!!!” Cinna shouts, immediately getting up and charging towards her. Smiling with a hint of resignation her her friend’s exuberance, Witch braces herself just in time for the younger unicorn to tackle her into a hug. “Ohmigosh, you were gone for so long!!! How was your trip? Where did you go?!”
Witch chuckles as a green halo of magic surrounds the secretary and pulls her away to reveal Green Flash, standing near by. “Ease up on the coffee, Cinna or I’ll make Bliss change the Training Room’s pot to decaf…” Flash threatens even as she smiles at Witch. “Good to have you back, Witchy… Come on over and tell us everything, or Cinna will never calm down…”
“Can’t have that, can we?” Witch replies, returning the smile. Following Flash and Cinna to the table, Witch circles briefly only to discover that there are no free seats. Treble rises from her own seat as Witch passes, forcing Witch to stop.
“Here Witchy. I finished eating a while ago,” Treble says, offering Witch her seat across from Bliss and beside a thistle-colored pegasus mare with tri-toned mane dark and light blue with a streak of golden yellow. “See you Monday. Oh! And congratulations!”
“Wait- what?” Witch stammers but Treble’s already darting away with her empty tray floating in front of her.
Bliss chuckles, drawing Witch’s confused attention to her as Witch sits down. “Treble just had to beat me to the punch is all… I told her I was going to promote you to Senior Chief as soon as you got back so I could fill out the paperwork.”
Witch blinks as Cinna, again predictably, squeals happily. “What?” Witch repeats, stunned.
“Well, I couldn’t promote you while you were on leave, obviously… Besides… Why would I want to miss that stunned expression when I told you?” Bliss explains, a teasing smile on her face.
“You’re a little vicious when you’re rewarding somepony, m’dear,” says the dark-maned, brown pegasus stallion sitting at Bliss’ side as he takes her hoof in his, bringing it to his lips to place a quick kiss on it.
“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Bliss retorts, turning and smiling at him before lightly kissing his cheek. Witch’s eyes snag on the gold band that hadn’t been around Bliss’ hoof when she’d left.
“YOU WERE GETTING MARRIED AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?!” Witch exclaims, both excited and happy for her friend, but also a little hurt that Bliss had gone and gotten married without so much as a word of warning. “Bliss!!! I could’ve put off my trip for a while if I’d known!!!”
“SEE!!!” Cinna crows triumphantly while Bliss smiles sheepishly at Witch, and the others at the table try to regain their hearing. “I told you she’d say tha-ah!” Flash cuts Cinna’s vindication short by reaching across the table and forcing Cinna face down into her salad.
“One more time, Cinna… And I’ll have Bliss do it…” Flash sighs, holding Cinna’s head down a moment longer before letting the secretary up from her plate.
“I was going to tell you, but I already knew you had an important trip planned to do research for Princess Luna…” Bliss explains contritely. “You’re right, though. I should’ve told you. I’m sorry… Ugh… Now I feel bad for not telling you!”
“Oh no no no no no!” Witch says quickly, shaking her head. “No… You have to be happy. I refuse to allow any other feeling about your own wedding! You just have to accept my present late is all. Of course… I do have to track one down…”
“You might be able to dig up their registry at Crate & Barrel… If not, I still have the print out, and I was the last pony to buy anything… I know, because I bought it on the way to the wedding,” Flash offers helpfully as Bliss and the stallion blush and avert their eyes.
“I’ll deal with that later,” Witch responds, smiling to the green unicorn. “But first… Introduce me to the lucky stallion already!”
Laughing sheepishly, Bliss says, “Well, this is my husband, PlayBitz. He’s part of a new special squad here.”
Witch blinks, her mouth slightly ajar from being about to offer her congratulations again but her mind has snagged on the additional information. “Special Squad?” she queries, surprised.
“Well… Long story short, they’re being trained a specific way to combat the Shadowbolts,” Bliss elaborates. “Officially, they’re named Squad Zero.”
“Still think Zeroes to Heroes is a better name!” Fleetfoot adds in a singsong voice as she zips by, making Witch laugh.
“Nice to see you again too, Commander!” Witch calls after the retreating mare, receiving only a one-winged wave in response before she returns her attention to the table. “So… Can I presume that the rest of these new faces are other members of this special squad?”
“That we are,” pipes up the mare sitting to Witch’s left, smiling broadly. “I’m Shine Struck.”
No sooner does Shine Struck finish speaking than the dark blue stallion next to her nearly knock her out of her seat by leaning across her to get closer to Witch. “Hey there… Name’s Swift Justice… You free tonight?”
Witch blinks and leans slightly away from Swift. “Uh… Only if my roommate will foal sit for me…”
Swift recoils away as though slapped, making those immediately around them burst into laughter and giggles. An incongruous thud followed by a mumbled apology draws Witch’s attention towards the end of the table at the very large pale blue pegasus sitting on the far side of PlayBitz and Flash, across from Cinna.
“Wakey wakey, big guy,” Shine Struck says teasingly as the stallion brushes crumbs of his lunch off his face.
“I haven’t had tea in two days, alright?” the stallion grumbles sourly.
“Cinna? Is there anything left of my stash in-” Before Witch can finish asking the assistant if her personal tea supply is still left in the Trainer room, Cinna’s up from her seat and darting out of the mess hall. “Make sure it’s the house blend!” Witch calls after her, half-standing and shouting after the retreating unicorn.
The stallion skeptically eyes Witch as she sinks back into her seat. “And what is this ‘house blend’ exactly?”
“Black tea with bergamot, orange and chocolate,” Witch replies easily and his eyes widen in appreciation, and Witch watches in amusement as Flash has to duck as the blue stallion’s wings extend with a snap. The rest of the special squad laughs as he blushes brightly and averts his eyes, folding his wings back with a nervous cough.
“Oh sweet Celestia… Calm’s found someone who speaks his language… You’re doomed, buddy,” PlayBitz says, still laughing.
“What? Why would knowing about tea make him doomed?” Witch asks, blinking, and drawing disbelieving stares from all but the stallion in question.
“Oh, stars preserve us…” Flash groans, the first to speak into the silence as she presses a hoof to her face. Mercifully for the stallion, Cinna returns then with four items floating carefully before her in her umber magical aura. The first is a steaming mug with a small chain dangling over the lip, a silver teacup charm hanging from the end. The second and third are the small containers of cream and sugar from Medical’s own supply (something Witch had quickly instituted upon her arrival). The last, and possibly most important, is a violet paper bag with a grey label reading “Fine Brew House Blend” in swirling black script.
“Here you go, Calm Wind. Should be ready now,” Cinna says, gently placing the assorted tea supplies before the stallion as she slides into her seat across from him.
With practiced motions, he stirs the mug’s contents with the tea-ball at the end of the chain before removing it and holding the mug under his nose to inhale the aroma wafting on the steam. Nodding in appreciation, he sets the mug back down long enough to add cream and sugar to the brew and give it another quick stir before bringing the mug to his lips and taking a careful sip. “Ooooh…” Calm sighs appreciatively, sagging back in his chair and clutching the mug close to his face.
“My mother owns a tea room not far from here. If there are any flavors you’d prefer, I can ask her to see what she can make up… She already gets tons of special orders from the other nobles anyways. One more won’t bother her,” Witch offers, glad to see him enjoying the tea.
“Wait… Witchy, are you flirting with him!?” Cinna asks, brown eyes wide as she stares down the table at Witch. “Call the press!”
“How was that flirting with him?” Witch retorts, baffled at how her friend had drawn that conclusion. “I was just telling him where he could get more tea, and that he wouldn’t need to be restricted to the blends my mother keeps on hoof.”
Flash groans again, nearly planting her face into her plate. “Witchy… Has anypony ever told you that you’re oblivious?”
“Yes Mahogany?” Bliss asks, making Witch turn to look at the yellow unicorn mare with auburn mane peering hesitantly around the door into Bliss’ office.
“Sorry to interrupt, but…” Mahogany starts hesitantly before the door is pushed further open by a stern-faced Silver Lining.
“Chief Hour, the Captain insists on your presence in her office,” the second captain says with a scowl at the subject of his address. Witch swallows nervously, forgetting for the moment that her job is secure because the Auxiliaries had their own chain of command that would require Wonderbolt Chief Breezy Strings to be in attendance, which the Second Captain had failed to mention.
“Just quick sign here, Witchy.” Bliss pushes a form across the desk to the doctor for Witch. “I can handle the rest of this. I’ll have the new rank insignia for you Monday morning.” Witch takes a pen in her magic and quickly signs the page before turning anxiously to the waiting Command Captain.
Stonily silent, he turns, expecting Witch to follow, and she does. All she hears are their hoofsteps as she decides that the wordless trip out of Medical, up the stairs and into Spitfire’s office is more nerve-wracking than anything the last month had thrown at her.
When she follows Silver into Spitfire’s office, she barely manages to keep her calm intact upon seeing Fire Streak standing to the left of the Lead Captain’s desk, and Silver moving to stand mirror Fire Streak to the right side of Spitfire’s desk after closing the door behind them. Most worryingly of all is Spitfire, sitting stiffly at her desk, only glancing up briefly at their entrance before finishing with a folder that she then closes and sets to one side, fixing Witch with a flat gaze.
"Two weeks ago, a storm of unnatural strength nearly wiped out the flight academy. Your friend, Monkey Wrench, as well as your brother and their squad, were able to stop it. However, they discovered something within the storm, something that Monkey Wrench claims you have knowledge of. So, I ask you, Chief Petty Officer, what do you know about the crystals the Shadowbolts are using?" Spitfire’s tone is mostly level and outwardly calm, but even so, Witch can still hear the angry undercurrent beneath the professional coolness.
Facing the three stone-faced Command Captains, Witch clears her throat with an anxious cough. “I really don’t know much, ma’am. My magic reacts badly to them, and while I initially thought it might be because they’re unnatural, no other unicorn has reacted as I have to them. I spent my leave chasing down any rumors I could about them, but I didn’t find anything that made sense,” she explains cautiously, speaking slowly to keep her tone from reflecting her apprehension.
"And when, exactly, were you planning to inform us that you were studying them and have one in your possession?" Silver asks, a slight growl to his tone making his displeased ire obvious to all present.
Witch swallows around the fearful lump forming in her throat. “If I’d had more information when I started investigating for the princess, you would’ve known right away. But really, aside from how the crystals seem to drive me alone into a frenzy of ‘smash it with a hammer’, I don’t know any more than you do.”
“And this research trip? Did it reveal anything?” Fire asks, notably the calmest of the three.
Witch shakes her head. “Not about the crystals specifically… I know a little more about the magic involved and why I specifically have issues with it, but I don’t know where the crystals are coming from, or who could be creating them. It certainly doesn’t help that the crystal I had was destroyed when Princess Twilight and I crashed the CAGS Cirrus.”
“But you were, in fact, studying the crystal prior to your little ‘trip’,” Silver grumbles, giving a very pointed look toward Witch.
“Yes sir, I -” Witch starts only to be cut off by the Second Captain breaking from his position to stomp towards her two steps.
“And you didn’t see fit to inform any of your Wonderbolt superiors about this little detail… why, exactly?” Silver growls harshly.
“It was an assignment from Princess Luna, sir. It was my understanding that she would report any new findings to you as I found them,” Witch responds, leaning backwards and away from the irate veteran but not taking even a half-step back.
Sighing heavily, Spitfire presses a hoof to the bridge of her nose. “Stand down, Silver,” she says, exasperated as only one whose hooves were tied could be, before leveling a stony expression at the unicorn. "Chief Petty Officer Hour, when Luna asked me to add you into our ranks, I was not opposed to you joining us and was more than happy to take the Princess' student. This... whole matter is making me question that faith. Princess Luna assured me that you would be as devoted to your work here as you have been in your studies with her. However, when both require your attention on the same matter, it seems that is not the case. If I become aware of another such conflict of priorities, and it is not from your own report before it becomes a problem, I will act to resolve it on my own. Am I clear?"
Nodding quickly, Witch manages to squeak, “Yes ma’am.”
“Very well then. Dismissed.”
At the Lead Captain’s release, Witch manages to make it out of the office, down the stairs and into the passage to the castle before her calm mask cracks, stopping her in the dimly lit hall and forcing her to sit.
It had not been until Spitfire’s promise of removal that Witch had realized she no longer wants her assignment with the Wonderbolts to end. While she still misses her friends at Canterlot General, she knows now that she would miss working with the auxiliary corps just as much.
“Shit… What am I going to do?” she asks in the empty passage, getting only an echo of her own voice in reply.
It is in that thoughtful frame of mind that Witch arrives at the palace, eyes on her hooves with the occasional glance to the bracelets, the gems seeming to glint like eyes that know something she doesn’t.
“Dr. Hour?” The sudden query beside her makes Witch jump to the side, looking to the young lieutenant standing guard outside the audience chamber.
Taking a moment to calm herself down, Witch sighs. “Yes, Golden Compass?”
“Her highness wants to see you immediately,” Golden Compass explains, before opening the throne room door and gesturing to the familiar antechamber. “Go right on in.”
Groaning, Witch makes her way over to the side room, desperately hoping to not have yet another task forced upon her as she had the last two times in the same chamber. The door swings open, and Witch stops in the door, blinking repeatedly and silently wishing that her stressed mind is simply playing a very mean trick on her.
“Ah… Witching Hour, we were hoping you would arrive before our guests needed to depart…” Luna’s greeting snaps Witch’s attention away from the other ponies gathered in the room.
The scene laid out before her runs counter to everything Witch knew so far, making the mare look between her mentor and the pegasi in purple and black flight suits several times before she finally finds her voice. “What in Tartarus are they doing here?!” she demands, full of confusion and no small amount of anger.
“Hold, Rat,” the larger one says to the younger, causing the younger to relax his muscles and keep from leaping to attack. “Allow the Princess to explain to her pupil why we’re here and why she need not fear us.”
“Somepony had better!” Witch exclaims as she turns her gaze on Luna.
“Witching Hour… This is Descent, leader of the Renegades. They are not the same group that use the crystals you’ve been studying,” Luna states, her calm words oddly riling Witch’s nerves more.
“But they- and they’re- ow…” Witch holds her head, unable to coherently form words from a splitting headache setting in. “The academy? Did they-?”
“No, Miss Hour, we did not attack the academy,” Descent explains. “In fact, without the presence of my own former student, Rat, and his group, the academy would be in ruins right now.”
At the mention of his name, the younger dark grey stallion bows his head in acknowledgement. “I understand that you were the one who informed Miss Wrench about the nature of the crystals?”
Taking a deep breath and pressing her hoof to her chest, and then exhaling as she moves her hoof away as though to force the confusion away. “I just told her that pegasi used it for magic… and that she shouldn’t touch it,” Witch replies with a sigh.
The younger pegasus nods briefly. “Without that, I doubt my group would have been able to fight off the Shadowbolts and destroy the crystal before the storm hit the academy. For that, you have my thanks.”
“Well at least I’m not in trouble here for that…” Witch grumbles.
“The Wonderbolt elites were inquiring about the crystals?” Descent frowns.
“Specifically, my knowledge of them, and why I’d not told them I was studying them for the last four months,” Witch elaborates, casting a half-sour glance to her mentor. “I told them the one I had got lost on my month-long trip… but I’m lucky they let me off as easily as they did. It was only the fact that I was under your orders, Princess Luna, that saved my hide.”
“This complicates matters, Descent,” Rat sighs as he looks to his mentor. “You remember what I postulated months ago about them and keeping them in the dark.”
“As I’m sure you remember my explanation of how that was not my choice, but the client’s request.” Descent frowns at his former student, glancing briefly at Luna.
“I still say that we should have a few undercover Renegades at the Wonderbolt compound to keep an eye on their actions and to be ready should the worst happen,” Rat argues. “The few minutes they buy could-”
“Wait - Client, Luna?!?!” Witch nearly shrieks. Luna only sighs, gesturing to Descent to explain.
“Miss Hour, you are informed on the Shadowbolts and the nature of the organization before the incursion a few months ago?” Descent asks.
“Only what I overheard in the Compound,” Witch replies weakly. “Evil, crystal-using mercenaries was the favored description…”
“‘Evil’ is a bit much, and not all of us were crystal-users,” mutters Rat. “Besides, if fighting your fight is so distasteful that you have to pay someone else to fight it, why fight at all?”
Descent shoots Rat a look before resuming his explanation. “As you can tell, my former student has strong opinions on the subject, but the point is that we were mercenaries of the highest caliber. At least, we were before Kayn Ost became our sole client. So, after the confrontation between the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts, the latter group was left in considerable disarray, especially with the desertion of myself and Starry Skies. The remnant that remained is still bound to complete the contract set out by Kayn Ost, but I have already managed to convince a significant number to leave. Luna was able to track my group down, and in exchange for combatting the Shadowbolts and keeping the Wonderbolts safe from the shadows, we would be pardoned for past actions.”
Witch sighs heavily, rubbing at the temple of her right eye. “So… Let me just make sure I have this all straight,” she starts slowly. “I’m studying an artificial chaos-magic crystal, being used by a group of crazy pegasi under a contract from this ‘Kayn Ost’ pony, presumably to wipe out the Wonderbolts while capturing Commander Soarin… And now there’s a splinter group under the princess’s… employ?… that doesn’t use the crystals of Make Luna’s Student Go Bug-Nuts, that’s keeping the crazy pegasi off the Wonderbolts until… When exactly?”
“Whenever we’ve managed to stop the ‘crazy pegasi’ from completing their mission, by whatever means we can,” Rat interjects, frowning at the Witch’s choice of descriptive words.
“To be more accurate, we will leave whenever we’ve completed our contract to our client’s satisfaction,” Descent explains. “Our own personal goal is to reunite the Shadowbolts, but we are only under obligation to protect the Wonderbolts by contract.”
Witch turns her gaze expectantly to Luna. “So… when?” she reitterates.
“Until they’re ready,” the princess responds vaguely, making Witch groan again.
“Another secret I have to keep from them!?” Witch’s voice raises in her frustration. “Luna, please! I know you want me to expand my practice, but how long do you expect me to keep secrets from my superiors like this?”
Luna sighs heavily. “It was simply bad luck that Miss Wrench was caught in the middle of this and did not know to keep your knowledge of the crystals secret. We have every confidence in you to keep doing exemplary work for the Wonderbolts while-”
“While I lie to them!?” Witch interrupts crossly. “You realize this is a military organization that has punishments for this sort of thing, right?”
“We are well aware of the Wonderbolts’ purpose, Witching Hour,” Luna states sharply, making Witch flinch. “Tell them no more than what you have, and that your research has reached an impasse.” Turning her attention to the two pegasi, Luna nods to them both. “We thank you for your reports, Descent, Rat.”
Descent gives a respectful nod before departing via the balcony. Rat also nods once to the Princess in acknowledgement, but hesitates slightly. He looks over at Witch, and the expression on his face is one of distrust and disappointment.
“We’re not all ‘crazy’, you know,” Rat states plainly, with only the slightest hint of contempt. “Most of us just never had the opportunity to be the Princess’s student, and so we found another place where we belonged. Your family was given to you. We found ours.”
And with that, the young pegasus doesn’t say another word. He takes off, not even waiting for Witch to respond and ignoring her wide, hurt eyes.
“I never asked for this,” she murmurs in the quiet room, her gaze fixed unseeing on the now closed door as the weight of everything forced upon her settles heavily on her mind and shoulders. “I don’t even understand what ‘this’ is!” she adds, raising her voice and turning to look at Luna.
Frustration overpowers the pain of Rat’s quip, and Witch paces back and forth in the small room. “We’ve got three alicorns representing aspects of Cosmic Harmony which should not be happening and I’m somehow equal to them without doing a gods-damned thing to merit it, artificial chaos magic running rampant in the hooves of murderous pegasi with a mercenary group that doesn’t use the damnable crystals trying to stop them from going after my coworkers, and my only clues for what makes the cursed things work are either jumbled memories I can’t make sense of or in a journal written in a language I can’t read while being taunted by a god whose goal in existence is either to drive me bat-shit crazy or piss me off… And in case this wasn’t enough of a mess already, let’s put some whipped cream and a fucking cherry on top called ‘I have to lie to my bosses at work about the side-projects I get from you’!!!” she rants, emphasizing the occasional word with a stomp of her hoof or over-dramatic sweep of an arm. Breathing hard, she turns on the Princess, almost glaring up at Luna.
“Witching Hour,” Luna starts, firmly enough to capture Witch’s attention and meeting her student’s gaze evenly. “Do you trust me?” she asks calmly.
The question brings Witch up short, her train of thought screeching to a halt. “Yes,” she responds, almost instinctively. “I mean… I do… But I don’t like having to lie to Bliss and Treble…”
“And if there were another way, I would not ask you to,” Luna agrees. Quickly, she holds up a hoof to stall Witch’s immediate reaction. “Would you rather risk putting the Wonderbolts in danger because we did not take every precaution to keep our knowledge of their crystals secure? Or because one of your coworkers became tempted by the crystal themselves?”
Sighing, Witch hangs her head. “No,” she admits softly. Luna smiles gently at her student, moving to sit beside the unicorn and extending her wing around Witch’s shoulders.
“I thank you for your faith in me, my hopeful student,” the princess says, her tone warm and comforting. “Now… What’s this about a journal you cannot read? I presume you found it in the Crystal Empire since you have not contacted me with your lucid dreaming since you arrived there.”
Nodding, Witch pulls her saddlebags off and finds the old diary quickly. She grimaces as her hoof brushes against the circlet beside it before she levitates the book out and presents it to Luna. Luna’s magic displaces Witch’s quickly, and the princess scans through the pages as Witch watches her teacher’s face for any sign of comprehension.
“Do you have any idea what this is?” Luna asks, her voice giving no indication whatsoever to Witch.
“I know it was Crystal Hope’s journal… and I know the mood she was in when a few of the entries were written… But other than that? Nothing. Part of why I didn’t contact you is because I was spending so much time trying to translate it, I wound up falling dead asleep as soon as I crawled into bed. If not for Twilight, I likely would’ve just fallen asleep at a desk,” Witch explains, a small amount of her frustration leaking into her tone.
Without seeking her student’s permission, Luna magically pulls the rest of the satchel’s contents out, arraying the several tomes and the circlet in the air with the journal for her to peruse with a thoughtful expression.
“I was hoping I could keep the books about crystal iron and crystal trees, but Twilight and I found them in the Castle of the Two Sisters, so if you want them -” Witch starts, but Luna shakes her head with a smile.
“Given your work with crystal iron and your previous study of strange flora, I think it rather appropriate for you to have them, Witching Hour,” Luna replies as the two books in question return to the saddlebag. Eyeing the remaining books, Luna smiles slightly at the faded green and amber tomes. “I remember when Star Swirl brought us these,” she comments fondly. “He said Crystal Hope thought they would serve us better than they would her or Amore… It is rather amusing in hindsight, since we know now that my sister is the representative of Life.”
The two books float with Crystal Hope’s journal over to the table, stacked neatly while Luna’s attention falls on the last two items; the circlet and Blessings of Order: Dauntless Hope.
“I found the book about Hope at the old castle as well… I’d like to keep that one too, since the Librarian was lamenting that the copy for Life’s Temple had been destroyed in the Fall of Equus, and Librarian said that it would help me understand these relics better,” Witch discloses, trying her best to ignore the silver diadem hovering beside the book in question as she raises a hoof to indicate the bracer just above her fetlock.
“Seems reasonable to me,” Luna ascents before turning with a knowing glint in her eyes to the circlet. “I presume this had something to do with the light display three days ago?” she queries as Witch squirms and fidgets uncomfortably, her tone making it more of a suggestion.
“That happened when I approached Cadance after she connected to the last Love’s memories through the Crystal Heart… Somehow, one for Cadance and… and that… were created by our presence together there,” Witch answers haltingly, her eyes firmly fixed on the floor.
“That seems rather fitting to me,” Luna comments, unable to keep her amusement from coloring her voice.
Witch looks up sharply. “Luna! Please don’t say that!” she protests.
“My dear hopeful student… Explain to me why I should not?” Before Witch can respond, Luna continues, “You have always prefered renown for your own actions over your connections or blood. This coronet symbolizes what you do and who you are, with no reference to your family or acquaintance. Does that not make it better than your mother’s tiara? Or the coronet your grandfather bears as Earl of House Grey?” Smiling reassuringly at Witch, Luna places the circlet back in Witch’s satchel and wraps a wing comfortingly around the unicorn. “I am not saying you must wear it… Merely consider that it better represents you than those titles granted by your birth, and that you may wish to get used to its presence rather than rejecting it simply for its symbolic representation of hereditary privilege.”
Witch sighs, her shoulders sagging. “I suppose…” she concedes reluctantly. “But… What about the journal?” she asks, casting a glance back at the table where Crystal Hope’s diary rests atop the two books from the old castle’s library.
“I think it might be best to give yourself some time away from your translation attempts. Go home and get some rest, Witching Hour. You have had a very long month and you deserve some respite before you go back to work,” Luna replies with a slight shake of her head.
Witch senses something off about her mentor’s reasons, like the alicorn is holding something back, but the thought of being at home appeals more than trying to push Luna. “You’re right, Luna… I’ll have a full report ready for you Sunday though, as usual.”
“Do not make me cancel our weekly meeting to ensure that you rest, little Witch,” Luna gently chides with a smile. “I am certain you have other, more important matters to attend to… Like a young colt who has missed his Witch Doctor.”
“Yes, Luna,” Witch says obediently, though it’s made less submissive by her responding grin.