Price of Life

by Myst Ninja

Ice and Fire

Chapter-5 Ice and Fire

A shrill whistle violently pulled Myst from her dreams. The confused pegasus rolled from her bunk trying to figure out what was going on. Looking from side to side she could see ponies rushing about, but the haze of sleep kept her from comprehending what she was seeing. It took a tendril of smoke wafting past her nose to bring her out of her stupor.

Myst half remembered what was supposed to be done in case of fire, but half a memory is useless in the middle of the night. Instead of trying to remember exactly what she was supposed to do she flew outside to assess the situation. Fire had almost completely consumed a barracks in a matter of minutes. The speed with which the fire spread made it almost certain that the fire had been set deliberately. On the roof of the building Myst could see a couple of earth ponies waving frantically for help.

Myst had no time to try to figure out the proper protocol. If there was any hope of saving the ponies trapped in the building it was essential that she act quickly. Turning slightly as she heard a flapping sound, she saw that Klep had joined her.

“Klep. Get some ponies to throw water on the surrounding buildings! That barracks is a lost cause.”

Wasting no further time Myst dove towards the ponies stranded on the roof. As she glided towards the roof, the heat from the fire caused small eddies to buffet Myst on her descent. As she neared the roof a groaning sound could be heard as the building started to sag. A large crack signaled the collapse of the roof. Fortunately for the stranded ponies their section of the roof did not collapse. Myst grabbed one of the ponies only to discover that it wasn’t there. Instead of meeting with the soft resistance of flesh, there was no resistance at all. Despite all appearances the ponies simply were not there. Myst’s hoof passed through them as easily as the surrounding air. Myst hesitated for a moment, wondering if she was interfering with a training exercise. Not wanting to interfere with any pony’s training Myst considered leaving the building to its fate.

The memory of Mouse’s death stopped her. He had been a fellow trainee, Myst had watched as the flames devoured the building he was in. She had been ordered to remain outside and cover the road. Myst did so until the screaming over her com stopped. The memory of those screams and the blackened corpse that came out of that fire spurred Myst to action. There was no way she would abandon someone a second time. Entering through the front door acrid smoke burned her lungs as she trotted across the threshold. Flames were everywhere. The shock of the heat they threw off caused Myst to pause for half a second before continuing. Whatever had caused the fire had done a good job of it. Almost no surface was free of the flickering blaze. Moving through the rubble Myst used some of her magic to keep the smoke from her eyes. Grabbing a discarded blanket Myst covered her mouth, sparing her limited magical energy for more pressing matters.

The cloth reeked of smoke and sweat. Despite the stench Myst pushed on. As she trotted through the building her hooves’ clopping was barely audible above crackling fire. As she neared the stairs to the second floor a beam fell directly behind her, barring retreat and pinning a portion of her tail. Myst yelped in surprise as she was pulled down into a sitting position. Steeling herself for the coming pain, Myst inhaled. Then gritting her teeth, Myst quickly stood up.

Myst hissed in pain, but the accompanying adrenaline rush quickly dulled her awareness of her throbbing hindquarters. Her search yielded the same results as her search of the first floor: nothing. However while running to the nearest window to leave the building a stray leg caught Myst’s eye. That leg was attached to a pony. It looked as though he might have a red coat but with all the flames and soot there could be no certainty.

Halting her dash to the window Myst turned to save the unconscious earth pony. Nearing the limp form Myst felt the floor boards start to give slightly under her hoof. Myst knelt down and maneuvered the limp form onto her back. She did this as quickly as possible, after all lingering on a weak floor is undesirable. Staggering to her hooves she discovered that he was a very heavy pony.

This realization was driven home when the floor boards gave out entirely under their combined weight. Upon falling Myst instinctively flared her wings to stop her descent. Instead she barely slowed it. The strain on her wings from trying to support the weight of two ponies helped her focus despite the sudden turn of events.

As she hit the ground Myst was crushed under the red stallion. The sudden weight knocked the wind out of her making it impossible for her to stand up. The heat which had at first been bearable was now so hot the air itself felt as though it could ignite paper. To make matters worse a groaning sound from above made it clear that what was left of the building was about to fall down.

---

Klep looked on in horror as what remained of the barracks collapsed. He knew Myst was inside looking for survivors; he also knew that the collapse of the building ended all real hope that she would come out again. As he continued fulfilling his part of the bucket brigade a silent tear made a clear white track down his soot covered face. Soon beneath each eye his white fur could once again be clearly seen.
The only reason he did not completely break down then and there was the constant, mind numbing, repetitive work of passing empty buckets back to the well and full buckets towards the flames. After about an hour there was nothing left but a smoldering mass of debris. Klep had been hoping that somehow Myst had beaten the odds and was safe, but looking at the blackened field before him it became undeniable. Myst was dead.

As this thought echoed in his mind he aimlessly wandered about kicking a pebble. He wished he had stopped Myst from entering the building in the first place. He wondered if perhaps she would still be alive had he gone with her. Finally he sat down, his vision too blurred from smoke and tears to see where he was, or where he was going.

Klep sat there for a few hours, some part of him still not willing to believe that Myst was dead. A gentle hoof on his shoulder urged him to his feet. Without looking to see whose hoof it was he leaned on the other pony and let himself be guided to bed. There, still in shock, Klep finally drifted off to sleep.

It was close to midday when Klep was roused from his slumber by Princess Luna using the Royal Canterlot Voice to express her displeasure about the occurrences of last night.

“What doth thou mean two ponies died in yon fire!? We were informed that fire was a training exercise! It is your job to train recruits, not to slay them! How could such a thing have happened? Mind that should we not find your explanation acceptable your head shall surely adorn the gate for your failure!”

Klep groggily raised his head to be greeted by the sight of a brown coated earth pony cowering in front of Luna. Klep could see his lips move, but unlike Luna he did not speak loudly enough to be heard. After a short time he was cut off by another outburst from Luna.
“General thou should learn to use thine head. It was bestowed upon thee for a reason! We are appalled at your lack of good sense!” Luna turned from the general to address the barracks she was in. “Get out of bed! There is little time!”

Immediately following her statement Luna sized the general in her telekinetic grip, floating him outside. Klep and the few other soot covered ponies who still occupied the barracks followed Luna to see what she needed done. Luna led them back to the smoldering rubble the fire had left in its wake. Stopping, Luna turned to address her makeshift search and rescue crew.

“We have been informed that two ponies were in the building when it collapsed: specialist Myst, and private Grandon. In most cases it would be safe to assume that they are now dead. However specialist Myst is a unique pegasus, in that she has a horn. Therefore we cannot rule out the possibility that through some magic either Myst or Grandon may still be alive. Since this is the case I need you to search the rubble until you find them. The longer they stay in there the more likely they are to die if they are not already dead. So start looking!”

Klep unenthusiastically joined in combing the rubble. As he stepped over fallen beams he thought Luna was greatly overestimating Myst’s capabilities. After all if she could have survived, couldn’t she also have gotten out of the building? Klep quietly wound his way through the rubble moving a beam here and there that he thought might have sheltered Myst. Each time his slight hope was crushed by the sight of an empty hole.

After searching for roughly an hour every pony was ready to give up. Some shred of hope clung to Klep despite his lack of all rational hope. This shred of hope led him to canvas the area one last time. As he did so Klep noticed something very strange: near the center of the rubble there was a cool draft coming out of the debris. It wasn’t much cooler than the surrounding air. Klep very much doubted that any non-pegasus would have felt it. Pegasi are acutely aware of the temperature. This extra sensitivity is crucial to predicting air currents and conditions. But right then Klep’s sense was telling him that there might still be hope.

“Get over here and help me!” Klep shouted.

Soon he had the other ponies and Luna gathered around him.

“Do you feel that? It is cooler over here! There is no way that is normal in the aftermath of such a large fire. Myst is here somewhere!”
The ponies quickly set to work trying to carefully remove all the debris from the area. Luna helped to coordinate their efforts so that they did not collapse the rubble on the ponies they were trying to rescue. Occasionally she helped move some of the larger debris with her magic. Klep tried to prevent himself from getting too hopeful. He was certain the sight of Myst’s body would break him completely if he allowed himself to believe she was still alive. Klep’s endeavor to squelch his hope failed miserably. As he worked to clear the rubble the shred of hope he had ignored earlier quickly overpowered him. Under each beam he moved he expected to see Myst’s smiling face.

Finally drenched in sweat Klep pulled yet another fallen board free from the heap of rubble. This one revealed two ponies: one grey, and one red. Seeing Myst Klep redoubled his efforts until the opening was large enough to fit through. Once it reached this point Klep rushed in and pulled Myst out. At first Klep thought she was dead. With that thought it seemed as though the world was going to end. But when a tear fell from his cheek onto Myst’s ear, it twitched. Seeing this Klep carefully lifted Myst over his head and let her rest across his back, right in front of his wings. Holding her to make sure she did not fall Klep strained his wings to get them into the air. It was no easy task, but he refused to lose Myst now that he had her. Pushing himself as hard as he could Klep winged towards the hospital silently praying that he would get there in time.

Klep was vaguely aware of Luna following him with Grandon. Reaching the hospital Klep was greeted by the emergency room staff who bombarded him with questions about Myst’s condition. The questions flew by in a haze. Klep wasn’t really thinking about them. Even as he followed Myst when the doctors took her to be examined he was only vaguely aware of his surroundings. A few chattering nurses, white walls and floor, a couple of children laughing. Nothing seemed real to him except Myst.

As he thought about her he regretted how he had treated her on the boat. At first Klep had been intrigued by a prisoner without chains who was chatting congenially with Luna. Then he had seen an opportunity to impress a beautiful mare, and so he had interfered with Maven. After that an urge to use his talent led him into her bags. Reading her poem left him doubly intrigued. At that time she had been little more than a puzzle to solve. After all, how could a killer of innocents still be alive, and in favor with Luna no less?

Somewhere on that trip Klep’s perspective had changed. Thinking about it now he wasn’t sure exactly when. Perhaps it was when Myst tackled him. Perhaps it had been the way she smiled while flying. Maybe it was even how cute she sounded when she growled at the other prisoners for singing that kissing song.

Even if he couldn’t quite identify what had triggered it he now felt a great attachment for Myst. His mother had always said that he would know when he fell in love. But right now watching over Myst as she slept he wasn’t sure exactly what it was he felt for her. There was no doubt in his mind that he cared for her, but he wasn’t sure just how, exactly. That philosopher who said you never know how much you value something until you lose it was wrong. After losing Myst he was even less sure than before exactly how much he valued her.

---

Myst opened her eyes to see Luna’s face looking back at her. It was a comforting sight after the falling roof. It meant that she was not dead. It also meant that she had no idea how she survived.

“Are you feeling well?” Luna gently asked.

“I am alive, and feeling. I think that is a good thing after a roof falls on you. How is the pony I was with?”

“He will live. He inhaled a lot more smoke than you, but the doctors say he will recover. When he does I am sure he will want to thank you.”

“I am glad to hear he is going to be okay.”

“I have to ask. What did you do that allowed you to survive that fire? I must admit that I never really expected you to come out of that rubble alive.”

“To be honest I really don’t know. I had the wind knocked out of me. Then I saw the ceiling falling. At that point I panicked. I hugged that stallion and just channeled emotion through my horn. I don’t know any other way to explain what I felt. One moment I felt the ice of fear gripping my heart, the next I was perfectly calm but all around us there was a wall of ice. It sounds like those legends of the pegasi before Hearths Warming Day. They were said to be able to channel their magic in the form of weather. Sometime since then the secret to how that is done was lost. I guess having a horn removes the need for a trick.”

Finishing her explanation Myst sat up and looked around the room. It was a plain hospital room. There was a table with some flowers on it. Next to it there were a couple of padded chairs. What drew Myst’s attention, however, was the white pegasus curled up asleep on the end of her bed.

“What is Klep doing here? Shouldn’t he be out training or something?”

“I tried to convince him of that. All he had to say on the matter was, “No.” He carried you here and only left your side when a nurse convinced him to go clean up. I have no idea how he was convinced but when I next checked in on you, there he was curled up on your bed. I decided to let it slide since the normal training regime was thrown off by a day anyway.”

“Why would he do that for me? After I attacked him at dinner I expected him to at best bear a little grudge. It is kind of sweet. I am just surprised after all the effort he put into tormenting me.”

“In my many years I have often seen that when a pony loses something they realize exactly how important it is to them. He believed you dead after that fire. I found him dazedly crying in the middle of the road. I led him back to the barracks. The whole way he was muttering, “She can’t be gone.” I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant until I found out you had been in the fire. I expect he is only just coming to terms with what he feels for you himself.”

Myst wasn’t sure what to make of that. After all she had risked her life for a total stranger, so it wasn’t surprising that Klep might go to great lengths to protect someone he knew. Even so Myst doubted that she needed protection from doctors. She also doubted that Klep was there just as a friend. After all Luna had not stayed by her every minute until she woke up. Myst couldn’t help but think back to the boat ride where Luna pointed out that Klep likely had a crush on her. But even so that explanation seemed unlikely. A grown pegasus doesn’t say ‘no’ to the princess of the night over a little crush.

Finally deciding to figure out Klep’s motives at a later date, Myst got out of bed. Stretching her wings she felt every muscle in her body cry out in pain. If she hadn’t known any better she would have sworn that a few muscles she didn’t have were also complaining. Even so it was good to know that they were all there and working.

“How is that stallion I tried to save?”

“He is recovering thanks to you, though his commanding officer is being demoted. Apparently he thought it would be a good idea to have a fire drill with an illusion of fire. He then woke up a few of the new unicorn recruits and told them to make the building appear to be on fire. Apparently they thought they were supposed to actually ignite the building. His goal was to see how well all the recruits followed orders in an emergency. The result was both you and Grandon trying to save an illusion and almost getting yourselves killed. Overall this has got to be the most poorly planned and executed drill in the history of the Night Guard.

Specialist Myst, you are now relieved of duty until tomorrow. You will be back at the barracks by 09:00 hours. I recommend that you come back this evening instead of partying all night long. Normally I would not be concerned about you doing anything like that, but after you survived that fire there have been at least fifty different requests to see you. Whether you want to be or not you have become popular, and popular people tend to get invites to all the parties. Use good judgment and be back by tomorrow morning.”

Luna smiled at Myst, then turned and walked away to attend her duties. Myst watched Klep breathing softly for a few minutes before deciding to depart as well. For a second Myst considered waking Klep, but a mischievous voice in the back of her mind suggested that it would be more fun to make the bed and slip out without saying a word.

Listening to the voice is exactly what Myst did. The hallway outside her room was white and sterile looking. Here and there a picture hung from the wall. Some were famous ponies, and others were landscapes. A few nurses moved up and down the halls attending to their duties. With so few ponies in the hall their hoof steps reverberated through the building making it sound cold and empty.

As Myst moved through the hall in search of an exit one room caught her eye. There was a paper name plaque next to the door which read “Grandon.” Recognizing the name as that of the stallion she had saved Myst entered the room. The blinds were closed leaving the room in a dark yellowish haze. On the bed was a grumpy looking stallion with a dull red coat.

“Come to gloat about how you ruined my life?” The stallion said gruffly.

“Um. No. Actually I just wanted to see for myself that you were okay after that fire. You were unconscious when I found you so you must have inhaled a lot of smoke. I was just concerned about your wellbeing. Would you mind explaining how I ruined your life?”

“I am the son of a noble-pony. It is family tradition for the oldest to join the Royal Guard and serve for at least a few years. However my esteemed older brother, Prince Blueblood, decided he did not care to uphold the tradition. Much like he does not care to do anything besides be a royal pain to every pony around him. In an attempt to salvage something of the family name I joined the Royal Guard. However I quickly found out that they were not much of a guard and that the Night Guard does all the real work.

Since my brother does everything in his power to avoid work someone needed to step up and offer a real service to Equestria, and so I asked for a transfer to the Night Guard. I had hoped to be recognized for outstanding service, or at least be remembered for dying while fighting for a worthy cause. By saving me you ruined both possibilities. The first because even if I am remembered, my name tale always be told with the addition of being so incompetent a mere recruit had to save me. I am sure that it won’t slip anyone’s minds that that recruit also happened to be a mare.

Had you let me die at least I would be remembered for trying to save other ponies. Now if I die doing anything like that I will be looked down on for not being as good as the mare who saved me from that fire. Whether you meant to or not, you have successfully ruined my life and all hope of salvaging the family name.”

“That does sound awful when you put it that way. So let me set you straight on a few things. First, I am not a ‘green recruit.’ I am in fact a Specialist. This means that you were saved by a superior officer, even if Specialist isn’t far superior to Private. Second, being dead is not a good thing to strive for. If you are dead then there is no way to redeem your family’s name. Furthermore if you are dead you can’t help any pony. If you die while attempting to save some pony you will not be remembered as fondly as if you actually save some pony. Third if the only reason you are here is to salvage your family name, please leave. I don’t want someone watching my back who only cares about being a hero. The odds of you leaving me exposed while pursuing your own glory are too high. Think about what I said.”

With that Myst turned to leave the room. Before she got more than a few steps Grandon’s voice interrupted her.

“How did you get promoted to specialist?”

Myst hesitated for a second before responding. “I grew a horn, I killed a unicorn. His blood was not the first I spilt, and I doubt it will be the last. If you stick with the Night Guard remember that how many ponies or monsters you kill is not a badge of honor. Far more important is how many lives you save by your actions. Don’t let me catch you seeking glory or I will kill you myself. A pony who can’t follow orders is as much a danger to friend as to foe.”

Without waiting for a response Myst left the room. Walking down hallway after hallway Myst soon realized that she was lost. Each hallway looked the same. The only difference was what paintings had been hung on the white walls. Deciding that finding the proper exit was a lost cause Myst entered the next room she saw that had a window. Throwing it open she breathed in the fresh air savoring its sweetness. After the stale air in the hospital it smelt full of life. A breeze blew over her, gently ruffling her feathers. Embracing the freedom the sweet air promised Myst leapt through the window and spread her wings.

As her wings caught the air all thought of her sore muscles was washed away in the rush of the air across her wings. The breeze created by her passage through the air caught in her mane blowing it back from her face. Myst smiled broadly as she flapped her wings quickly to gain momentum. The sensation of air under her wings never got old. No matter how Myst felt before taking wing she was always calmed and soothed by the rush of air past her face. The unparalleled freedom of flight was the greatest thing Myst had gained in her unexpected trip to Equestria.

After frolicking in the air for several minutes Myst came to land outside the armory. Entering the building Myst was instantly hit by a wave of heat from the forge. A large brown earth pony was working the bellows while a yellow unicorn mare used her magic to hammer a sword. Myst watched curiously as the unicorn finished an elegant looking scimitar. After the unicorn had set the blade aside to be sharpened Myst announced herself.

“I am Specialist Myst. I was told to teach you how to craft blades from clouds.”

“We didn’t expect you so soon.” The earth pony replied.

“I am so glad to see you!” The unicorn enthusiastically greeted. “We are very impressed with the blades you brought with you. I am eager to learn how to make such light yet durable weapons.”

“Well I am glad to oblige. Do you have any clouds here or do I need to go get some?” asked Myst.

“Actually we have a few over in the closet. I was intrigued by the weapons I saw so I sent a pegasus up to get some clouds. No matter what I tried I couldn’t figure out a way to make a usable blade from them.”

Myst walked across the dirt floor to the specified closet and took out a cloud that felt like it had been abused and was about to fall apart in her hooves. Ignoring the sad state of the cloud Myst gathered it together and crushed it between her hooves. After the cloud began to feel solid Myst brought it over to the anvil and pressed it out flat. Using her teeth Myst bit away pieces of the cloud until it was in the shape of the scimitar that the unicorn had been working on when she had entered.

“That part of the process you will need a pegasus to complete for you. It isn’t very difficult unless you want a really complex shape, so you shouldn’t have to work too hard to train a pegasus helper. Now comes the part you will need to do. First what you want to do is harden the cloud. Any hardening spell will work, though my preferred spell is Clover the Cleaver’s spell of Stone Skin. It is the most powerful spell I could find. Just be careful with the cloud after you harden it. At this stage it is extremely brittle and easy to shatter.”

The unicorn’s horn glowed with a light pink aura as she concentrated on her spell. After a few seconds she stopped casting the spell and tentatively touched the cloud. It was obvious that she was half expecting it to dissipate at the slightest touch. Instead it held firm. Sighing in relief the unicorn asked, “What’s next?”

“Now that you have hardened the blade the next step is to strengthen it. If the blade is left like this it will shatter on impact making it all but useless. So what you need to do is cast a spell of strengthening, but not a normal strengthening spell. Most unicorns think of hardening something as strengthening it. What you actually want is for the blade’s component parts to be strongly attracted to each other. So what you need is a spell that heightens atomic attraction. The only spell I know of that does that is Star Swirl the Bearded’s spell of shrinking. It shrinks the subject by bringing the atoms closer together. The side effect that is useful here is that the atoms are also made much harder to separate.”

The unicorn looked at Myst skeptically, no doubt finding it hard to believe shrinking a weapon could in any way improve it. Despite her skepticism the unicorn’s horn glowed once more causing the cloud to compress in on itself. The result was a scimitar that looked like very slightly blue tinted glass. The blade was about two hoof lengths and the handle was one. The earth pony who had been working the bellows picked up the blade and brought it down on the anvil expecting it to shatter. Instead much to his surprise and dismay it cut into the anvil and stuck about an eighth of the way through.

Myst let out a very unprofessional snicker at the look of shock on the stallion’s face. “I hope this method of smithing meets with your approval. Just keep in mind that anything you make like this will slowly dissipate if a non-pegasus uses it.” While the two ponies struggled to remove the scimitar from the anvil Myst left the forge and made her way across the cobblestone courtyard to the archery range.

Once there Myst asked for a crossbow to practice with. While she had never been the best sniper she hoped that her skills would still carry over and that she could at least become proficient even if she was not the best archer. Shouldering her weapon Myst walked over by the benches where a few other ponies were also practicing. Instead of sitting like the other ponies she lay prone on the ground. Carefully Myst took aim at a target roughly fifty feet away. After her tenth bolt landed about six feet from the cat cutout Myst sighed and prepared to go retrieve her projectiles. However before she could do more than sit up a white figure landed beside her and unexpectedly embraced her.

“I am so glad to see you are all right! I woke up and you were gone. I was really worried that something had happened to you, or even worse I had only dreamed that you were still alive.”

“Relax Klep. I am fine.” Myst said as she gently pushed Klep away from her.

“How am I supposed to relax when I think that the only reason I am here died? Besides if you were to die who would I have to torment?” Klep grinned mischievously before continuing, “Seriously though I don’t want you dead, so from now on I will not obey any orders to go away from danger if you are going into it.”

“How gallant of you. But what would I do if you were to die on my account? I doubt I could have saved any more than two ponies in that fire. Should you die I am sure I would faint from shock and be bedridden for the rest of my life.” To accompany her words Myst stood up on her hind legs and fell over backwards. Klep rushed in and caught her before she hit the ground.

Myst giggled and gently punched Klep in the chest. “Seriously you need to relax and obey orders. I really don’t want you to die because you didn’t listen. Crazy as this may sound I can’t do everything. I couldn’t search the building and contain the fire. If you had gone into the building with me the fire might have spread, and you almost certainly would have died. It was the best thing for everyone that you were outside and I was inside. I appreciate you watching my back, but always make sure that every pony else is safe first. I am here to protect Equestria first and foremost. What is my life compared to the hundreds or thousands who might die if you don’t do what you’re told? So feel free to watch my back, but never do so at the expense of others, okay?”

“Fine, but try to be careful. Don’t throw your life away. Even if no pony else cares about you I do, and I would like to see you in one piece and dying of old age instead of crushed in a fire, or being eviscerated.” A pleading tone filled Klep’s voice, and his eyes felt as though they were about ready to unleash a flood as he made this request.

Myst nodded, taken aback by Klep’s seriousness. She had always fought to protect others so that they could enjoy their lives and loved ones. Somehow in her quest to defend others it had almost never occurred to her that someone might actually care about her. “Alright Klep, I will try not to risk my life unnecessarily. Just make sure that you don’t make my life a higher priority than the safety of Equestria.”

Klep nodded and smiled. He was not entirely happy with the situation. He would much rather have gotten a promise that Myst would stay away from any risk but he also knew that she wouldn’t be the mare he loved if she did. Klep paused for a second to rethink his last thought. Did he really love Myst? Once again he tried to decide exactly what it was he felt for Myst. His mother had always told him that he would know love when he was in love. But how could you just know something without a real basis for comparison? All his thoughts left him with more questions than answers. Finally deciding that the only way to sort out his feelings was to spend more time with Myst, he spoke.

“So on a more pleasant note, would you like to get some dinner? I hear that the Apple Tavern has some really good food.”

“Sure. I would love to get some dinner. Near death experiences always make me hungry.” Myst laughed merrily and winked at Klep.
This left Klep even more confused than before. He wasn’t sure what Myst’s feelings toward him were, and he was even less sure of just what he felt towards Myst. The way she smiled and laughed always made his day a little brighter. But her tendency to solve problems violently coupled with her seeming lack of any sense of self-preservation set Klep slightly on edge. On the surface she seemed noble, but he wondered if there was something deeper that he was missing.

Klep was shaken from his thoughts when Myst said “Are you coming? Or should I bring the food back here?”

“Oh sorry. I was lost in thought.”

Blushing in embarrassment Klep ran to catch up with Myst. They made small talk as they walked to the tavern. At first their conversation felt a little forced. But as the evening wore on they became more comfortable talking. The food was very good indeed. Myst thought the apple cider left a little to be desired but nothing is perfect—not that it matters when you are spending time with a good friend. Myst was a little surprised to realize that she had completely forgiven Klep for all the trouble that he had caused her. In a way she was grateful to have attacked him at dinner. If she hadn’t she would not have realized that he was actually quite an enjoyable pony to be around. After finishing their meal they walked outside and spent a couple minutes admiring the stars.

As they walked back to the barracks they walked in silence mulling over their evening. They had told each other a number of little things and a few larger ones, like the time Klep stole all the windows from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. So as they walked they felt that for the time there was nothing more to be said. They merely enjoyed the cool night air and each other’s company. Back in the barracks they wished each other good night and fell asleep.

Author's Note:

I am sorry to have taken so long to update, but school got in my way. Hopefully I will get another chapter out by the end of break. Enjoy!