Chapter LXXIV – Pray Tell
Twilight wasn’t entirely sure how she had gotten back into her temporary chamber, sitting on the bed as if she had never left on her tour with Dusk Tarn, though she knew that not to be the case. Actually, as far as she knew, she had just finished it, and then… Well, that “then” was missing just a little, if one could allow themselves a bit of levity in this extraordinary situation.
Her entourage definitely didn’t see anything amusing about what had transpired, whatever it had been. Both of them were in her room, crowding it a little with their presence, both looking at her with a mixture of relief and mounting worry, having, apparently, just realized that she was once again present and aware of their company.
“Neskaza Lunee… ia grat Tue,” Midnight muttered under his breath, sitting down on the floor before Twilight. “Can you hear us now? Are you alright, Twi—hwalba knaze?” he asked, trying his best to play the role of the dutiful bodyguard rather than the worried coltfriend, though without true dedication to his act. His attempt was so desultory that Rowan Berry, standing right beside him, glowered at him with enough intensity to burn a hole through his head.
As much as Twilight wanted to address that particular issue, she had her own problem to consider, whatever it might actually be.
“I… I believe I am alright, yes,” she replied, looking about, now that she had finally returned to her senses. She knew that time had passed and that they had returned to her room, but… nothing more than that. Thoughtfully, she reached up to touch her forehead. “I… don’t feel a fever, and there’s no strange buzzing or anything in my horn.” She blinked, moved her wings, wiggled her hind legs. Everything seemed fine. “I don’t feel like anything’s wrong, but… it would help to know why I would not be alright,” she admitted, giving both of the batponies a quizzical look, sincerely hoping for answers.
Rowan Berry stepped forward and began checking Twilight’s observations, prodding her head, taking her foreleg in her hooves, even reaching behind Twilight’s back and pressing on the bases of her wings, causing them to twitch. Nothing on the healer’s muzzle suggested that she doubted Twilight's assessment, but she was trying to get to the bottom of the matter at hoof.
“Signs and responses seem normal,” she said when she finished her check. “As to why they wouldn’t be, well, hwalba knaze, we… It began with us stopping you.”
“Stopping me from… what?” Twilight blinked in confusion.
“From perching yourself on the railing over the junction cavern,” Rowan Berry explained, glancing at Twilight with concern and mounting curiosity alike. “If I didn’t know better I would say that you wanted to just jump right down, hwalba knaze, considering your movements...”
“That is… unlike me,” was the best response Twilight could muster, as baffled about such a scenario as any of them. “Was I… I don’t know, saying something? Letting you know what I wanted to do exactly?”
Midnight looked at Rowan Berry, then back at Twilight, as if he was trying to consult with the healer on whether they had seen the same thing, making sure that he conveyed it properly. “You… We could have sworn that you were crying, or, at least… that your eyes were leaking, because you didn’t look like you wanted to cry.”
Twilight blinked, as if trying to clear her eyes of any tears yet remaining, not that she felt any at the moment. “I do remember being a little upset, and tired. And thirsty, but nothing that would cause me to have a… you know, a breakdown, or a tantrum, or…”
“No, it wasn’t any of those,” Midnight stopped her from saying anything more, though he tried to interrupt in the softest way possible. “Bogine, dimitae ia, I saw… I mean, I thought…”
“We both thought you’d lost your mind,” Rowan Berry chimed in, hardly pleased about such a state of things. “It came out of a sudden, like a strike of lightning. One moment you had just stepped away, upset perhaps, but not… like that. Next thing we knew, you were putting your hooves on the railing.”
That… that definitely caught Twilight’s attention. Why would she…? What must have been going on with her if she had suddenly decided to… do what exactly? The implications were quite terrifying. The expression that realization caused to cross her face must have been striking, considering that Midnight immediately recognized her distress, and the reasoning.
“Fret not, hwalba knaze, we immediately jumped in, both of us, though I think I pulled all of my bandages doing so,” he explained to her, sounding almost apologetic for daring to speak of what had happened. “I don’t think anypony spotted you doing that, at least we didn't see anypony reacting or staring. Unless a tear or two fell down your muzzle, further into the cavern, and then managed to land right on somepony, drawning their attention, yet… no signs of that either. I thought I was imagining things at first, but, kirwe, Rowan Berry saw you just… clambering up that railing as well.”
“Ita to bid,” the healer confirmed, still keen on performing her duty, now by measuring a heartbeat, her hoof on the side of Twilight’s neck.
“That is… an extraordinary situation, indeed,” was the only coherent response Twilight could think of, shaking her head a little, though that forced Rowan Berry to start over again. “I’ll definitely want to know more about all of that, but… how did we return?”
“You weren’t really opposed to us trying to stop you from diving down the cavern,” Midnight admitted, the tone of his voice betraying great distress. “You just… weren’t replying, even when being led away from the railing and back towards you chambers. You stopped crying as soon as we were out of the cave, but you weren’t doing anything else. Not hearing, not seeing, not... nothing. You looked fine, so we could get you back here, but… it was terrifying.”
Even Rowan Berry, despite all of her apprehension over their relationship, looked at Midnight with a dose of understanding, before turning to Twilight once more. “I believe the term in your language is ‘catatonia’. You weren’t responding to anything, other than us letting you gently know we had to return, but even that was more by trotting than proper recognition from you. You say that you do not recall anything, hwalba knaze?”
Twilight racked her brain as much as she could, but the last thing she clearly remembered was being over the junction cavern. There was… something she felt, she thought, but it was blurry and distant.
“The Overseer General had just left. We were going to head back here soon, though…” She furrowed her brow. “I had some firm questions for you, didn’t I?”
Both the batponies looked at each other and then nodded. It was reassuring that they weren’t escaping from the issues she had brought up, at least. Not that she was in the best state to actually tackle those at the moment.
“So I do remember that. And then I… I suppose I just needed a moment to organize my thoughts, so I approached the edge and looked around the cave and… and that’s it. I had a strange feeling come over me, but then I woke up here, sitting on the bed, and now I’m talking with you two.”
That was the situation Twilight was still in, the only difference from before her lapse in memory being that one or both of them had helped her by unbuttoning the furry trim fully, allowing her neck to know cold air again and helping her breathe a little deeper.
Rowan Berry’s coral eyes occupied Twilight’s vision as the healer came almost unpleasantly close, casting a darker shadow against her.
“Regular pupil reaction… As far as I can tell, I’m usually dealing with slit ones, but I believe both have changed at a normal pace…” she told Twilight before stepping away. “Apologies for the previous bodily contact, hwalba knaze, I needed to make sure you are alright… or returned to normal, at least.”
“No apologies needed, Rowan Berry, it is your calling and your prerogative as a healer,” Twilight told her sincerely, earning a small, happy glint in the other mare’s eyes for herself.
However, it was still followed by a warning. “I will need you to tell me of anything out of the ordinary you might be feeling, now and for some time in the future, please,” she instructed, with the tone of an undisputed specialist. “Catatonia is not an illness in itself, it is caused by something. True, you are under a lot of stress—”
Midnight’s hiss cut her off. “Without a doubt caused by us, too…” he claimed, earning a sharp glare from Rowan Berry, but one much less chastising from Twilight herself.
“Stress that I am pretty sure I can normally manage, and even vent in a better way than turning into…” she paused, pondering for a breath. “Actually, I don’t have a good comparison. I just know that, while I was upset, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t been able to deal with before, so should have been no reason for a sudden bout of madness. No, it was…”
She paused, ever so briefly, but that was already enough to cause both of her companions to lean in, keenly interested in her follow-up, and in assuring that she wasn’t losing herself again.
“It was like… I suddenly felt the entire cavern,” Twilight tried to explain, to her companions and to herself. “I saw the work of all those ponies, the rhythmic trotting with purpose and dedication, and… I suppose I was moved by it.”
“Enough to join them below, in such a sudden fashion?” Midnight asked, sounding a little doubtful, though it was clearly his confusion talking.
“I… don’t think so,” she replied, shaking her head. “I just felt like I truly understood the scope of things in Noctraliya, once again, and then came… I don’t know, a feeling, a cadence I couldn’t quite grasp. And... that was it. I can remember nothing more.”
Rowan Berry sat down, rubbing her chin in deep thought, trying to come up with a medical explanation, while Midnight’s reaction was far less professional. “I’m just glad you are back with us. It was scary, seeing you just… like that. Like you weren’t there, or at least not entirely,” he said, not bothering to hide the softness in his voice.
The only thing that stopped Twilight from leaning in and nuzzling him was the healer’s presence, though the temptation was hard to ignore nevertheless.
“Glad to be back, honestly. Not sure from what, but still glad,” Twilight admitted, using her tone to try and bring a smirk to her beloved's muzzle, but without success. Not that she would blame him for that, the situation was worrying. “It was a long night and… actually, what is the hour now?”
“It is getting close to morning, yes,” Rowan Berry admitted, breaking her deliberations. “I will think more on what happened, hwalba knaze, I promise you. Perhaps I am holding an answer already and I just need to reach for it. Regardless, I’ll treat this as a test for my skills, and I have at least some faith in those.”
Twilight would heartily endorse such an approach, keenly understanding her desire to challenge herself, but… the operative's choice of words caused her to blink and raise her hoof almost immediately. “I… I just realized, I do know this feeling,” she said, recognizing that open space in her head, the foggy feeling suddenly letting go and allowing her to realize her position, though still hiding memories in its numbing grasp. “I’ve felt like this before.”
“What? When?” Midnight immediately asked, Rowan Berry stepping towards them as well.
“During the meeting with the Tuariani. Back in the Sanctuary, when I first arrived,” Twilight explained, trying to connect the dots in her mind further, bringing forth the clearest memories of the armored, enigmatic ponies she had. The clamor of their armor, the echoing stomps, the rite they had put her through, and then the hole in her memory. “After their challenge, the Test of Faith, and…”
… and later on? But she hadn’t had another encounter with the guardians of the sacred peak! Then why... Why did she have the feeling that she had? She shook her head. She might have been confused on that point, but she was certain that at least her initial thought was accurate, not that it brought any calm to her chambers.
“Definitely no Tuariani nearby,” Midnight both reminded and reassured her, his voice full of care. “They don’t really sneak about, not in that gear. They want to be spotted, as it is their right to be acknowledged. Are you certain it is the same sensation as from the Tuarie?”
“Y… yes.” She nodded. “Yes, definitely, now that I think about it.”
Rowan Berry looked around warily, as if she expected a sacred warrior to step out of the shadows after all, clad in dark, heavy armor, yet capable of masterful furtiveness. “That… that is definitely something to ponder. Nopony was performing any sort of rituals on you, hwalba knaze,” she said, her tone just a little shaken by the idea, “though you finding the connection is logical, as I have learnt about the effect of the Test on one’s memory. Still... I mean...”
She paused, in a way that suggested to Twilight that the mare needed encouragement to continue. “Yes? Speak plainly, Rowan Berry.”
“I am trying to dare myself to say it, yes,” the healer stated, visibly trying to gather the courage to speak her thoughts. “You... claim that you heard a calling, then we saw you… like you were. What calling? Who… was calling you?”
That question was a powerful one, indeed, as the tone of Rowan Berry’s voice left no room for false interpretation as to the “who” she meant.
“I… don’t think I would dare suggest that,” Twilight claimed at first, but Midnight shook his head firmly.
“Have or have we not seen a beam of silvery light, the sign from Neskaza Lunee… upon you, back in the Tuarie?” he reminded both of the mares, his voice filled with pious fear. “Perhaps the merciful Goddess decided to speak to you again, but… in this way? Was it a warning of some sort, the way it happened? Or a confirmation that all the toil you were witnessing was pleasing to the Goddess?”
“I don’t think,” Rowan Berry answered him, chastisement ringing in her tone, “that we are qualified to interpret such a possibility in any way, shape, or form, Maednoc Wentr. If... it is a warning, however, or a guidance of sorts,” she added, risking hypocrisy, “it required you to ultimately return to your chambers. And it did lead you here. Well, we helped it along, but I wonder if you would have been willing to go any other place...”
“But... then why the attempt to go down the cave...?” Midnight’s question was logical, but the only answer Rowan Berry could offer was a shrug, clearly overwhelmed by the possibility and all its implications.
Twilight considered the scenario for a moment, mystifying as it felt. Yes, she had encountered many strange happenings about Noctraliya, some of them connected with her or aimed directly at her. It was, however, extremely hard to interpret them, or make them make proper sense. She had no idea why she would need to be led back to her room, for example, she had been planning on doing that anyway, after a rather long and tiring tour of the Valleys! Unless, of course, something else completely was at stake... though why would it involve an attempt at diving into the cavern...? To motivate her entourage to have her seek a safe place?
Twilight wasn’t used to accepting things as they were. Trying to get to the bottom of such mysteries was usually her want, like in the case of the “Pinkie Sense”, her friend’s extraordinary abilities and instincts driving her curiosity to the point of obsession. Yet, the notion of just… accepting what had happened to her did appear in Twilight’s mind, and had to be faced. For who could understand the plans of a deity, if one were even to consider what was happening about Twilight as being of divine design. Besides, which deity was to be considered, exactly? Princess Luna, the alicorn back in Canterlot? Or—
“I... have a proposal.”
Midnight’s voice brought Twilight back to the present, as her beloved stepped slightly away, his muzzle scrunched in focus and thought.
Rowan Berry gave him a curious glance. “And what would that be?”
The stallion gave a long exhale, as if battling the very idea he was about to bring forth, but ultimately found just enough conviction to reveal it anyway.
“We know not what happened, but we are taking Neskaza Lunee... into consideration,” he pointed out, looking intently at both mares after the traditional bow of his head, though there was a certain caution in his piercing stare. “We certainly lack the skills to interpret Her will, nor do we even know if what transpired with Twilight is something brought forth by it.”
“But Her hoof can be in all things.”
Rowan Berry’s head snapped to look at her, as it was Twilight that uttered the suggestion, while Midnight nodded, agreeing and continuing. “So, having in mind certain things, I was going to suggest we offer a prayer to our Bogine. If this was due to Her will, may we accept it and find out the meaning of this happening. If it wasn’t, may we be protected by Her silvery care.”
“Maednoc Wentr, not that I am opposing the idea, but ‘Twilight’ here... well...” the healer responded, making it perfectly clear that she was not alright with Midnight shortening her name, or with him speaking so casually. Or, and on this Twilight was almost certain, with the simple fact of Twilight not being considered one of the faithful by the standards of batpony belief.
Thankfully, Twilight had a thing or two to say about that.
“While I am a sunpony, and my connection lies more firmly with Princess Celestia, if those things are considered and respected, I can show my respect towards your spirituality. And, having in mind the blessing I have received from the Immaculate Moon...” she stated, giving a proper bow to add strength to her words, “I have no qualms about partaking in a prayer at this moment. My faith or lack thereof has nothing to do with it. As long as there is a good intention, I am willing to participate, even if I would be unable to contribute.”
A true bouquet of emotions went past Rowan Berry’s muzzle, most visibly in her coral gaze. There was apprehension, surprise, confusion, even an ounce of respect and... befuddled merriment. So many emotions flitted through her gaze that the mare had to shake her head a little to try and restore enough composure to respond. “That... is very kind of you, hwalba knaze. I saw you in a herame before, but I wasn’t really... I mean, respecting a custom just because one is a diplomat is one thing, but there’s more to your approach after all...?”
“I want to believe there is more to us all, we’re complicated creatures,” Twilight retorted, while Midnight sat down, shaking his head.
“Have I not just mentioned what happened in the Sanctuary? Is that to be ignored? I can quite well remember Twilight… Sparkle,” he added, though only to avoid irritating the other mare further, “with her hooves raised to the glorious Goddess, multiple times. I’m certain she wasn’t thinking about her last meal when she did so.”
That was quite nice of Midnight to declare, and true. Twilight would actually make the effort to focus on what she was doing, as little as she had to do with true, and planned, religious experiences. Wandering thoughts were a common enemy for everypony, not least those trying to partake in prayers, Twilight imagined, but she also recalled that she had, indeed, turned her thoughts to the Immaculate Moon during the times in batpony holy places. There wouldn’t be any harm in doing so again.
However, the memory of her visions at the Mountain of Fangs caused a knot to form in her stomach. After all… there was something happening around her once again, and she hoped it wasn’t due to any tides of arcane power she failed to notice.
Rowan Berry, having the most qualms about the suggestion, inhaled deeply, searching for her answer in the air entering her lungs.
“I… am no aksiosane. Quite the opposite, some could say, though I have also been ‘informed’ of my dogmatic approach in some matters. While I could be distrusting when it comes to the purity of intention in this instance… I am willing not to be this time,” she said, her eyes firmly locked on Twilight. “You have given me enough reasons not to be worried about such a prayer being sour in the eyes of the Bogine.”
“If anything,” Midnight decided to add, not even trying to hide the mirth in his voice, “the Honored Princess’ presence will assure the Sewira Solee will find it pleasing as well. Am I not right?”
Twilight wasn’t sure if she was capable of discerning that possibility, but… to hear her beloved taking the belief of Princess Celestia’s divine nature into consideration was definitely something to be happy about.
Though Rowan Berry’s muzzle twitched quite visibly as well, as if she was stopping herself from crying 'blasphemy' with a stern voice. Still, the situation didn’t stop her from finding enough space in the cramped room to sit down properly and extend her wings. Before she did so, however, a comment escaped her lips.
“This is… weird.”
“In what way, Rowan Berry?” Twilight asked her back, a gentle smile on her lips.
“Just… weird,” came the simple but meaningful reply. “You… and us.” She pointed at herself and Midnight. “This is no herame. Not an official situation. This is us offering a personal prayer, and that is… something else entirely.”
“A gesture of trust, isn’t it?” the stallion asked her, and the healer’s glance felt much more meaningful than it looked.
“Yes. Definitely,” Rowan Berry responded with a slightly confused and tense tone, her gaze jumping between the two.
Yet Twilight’s smile only grew. “I’m not going to interpret this situation in any way you aren’t comfortable with,” she told the healer, nothing but kindness in her voice. “Let us just focus on the moment, without implications.”
The other mare nodded, and it was obvious that she understood what Twilight had in mind. This could have been another step on the road to Friendship, even if along a spiritual path, but there would be no pressure put on Rowan Berry, at least not from Twilight. Friendship didn’t work like that. Getting to know another pony and considering them one’s friend was not about forcing it to happen.
Before she followed her companions in raising her forelegs and spreading her wings, trying to be even more proper for the sake of Midnight, whose bandaged appendage couldn’t participate properly, Twilight pondered for a breath. This wasn’t quite how the noctrali had initially treated her, was it? When she had first arrived between the Seven Mountains, she had occasionally felt pressured, almost intimidated at certain moments, to accept matters, to partake in them. She still remembered the distress she’d felt when she thought Adamant Fang had been trying to convert her, trying to get her to pray, like she was preparing to now.
Yet this… This felt different. She felt different, finding in herself the confidence to share in her love’s suggestion of a prayer, not “enduring” it but understanding it. He wanted to address the issue of her sudden catatonia in a way that was understandable to him, and potentially beneficial. She could appreciate the thought and the care, even when shown in a religious fashion. That was what made all the difference for Twilight, finding Friendship in faith.
The two batponies began their prayers, though only in muttered voices, leaving what was to be said to the Goddess above to everypony's own discretion. So Twilight took a deep, cleansing, and calming breath, ready to add to the supplications in whatever way she could.
“This is weird, isn’t it?” she quietly began, parroting the healer, but finding a lot of depth in that question, offered towards any possible recipient of her pleading. “Last time when I talked with you, Immaculate Moon... I asked for help. I believe I have received it, but there are still mysteries around me, things to consider, and matters to unravel. What happened tonight... all that is happening, I hope is under your control, and if not, at least under your scrutiny.”
She paused for a breath, trying to divert her attention from her companions’ utterances. It felt unkind to eavesdrop, even without grasping the language entirely. A prayer was something deeply private, that much she could agree with.
“Do you... think this is out of place? I speak to you, I see signs around me, but I have no faith. No dedication, not like them,” Twilight whispered honestly, seeing the two batponies offering praises and prayers which were nothing if not sincere. “And I know... you. The one I talked with, the one that gave me her blessing before my travels. So how does that work, Immaculate Moon...? Does it work? Are there two of you? One, who I don’t understand and grasp?”
Another break in this doubtful invocation made Twilight think. She could speak of the signs, or she could speak of the doubts she had. Which was a better approach to take here? Was there a good one?
Perhaps there was, indeed.
“The... The ponies around me, those that I meet in this mountainous land, they seek your help. They ask for guidance, they hope to please what they consider divine, and they do so out of their love for you, not just a search for gains. So, as their intentions are surely pure, shouldn’t there be somepony to hear them out?” she asked, of herself and the unseen forces that might have been listening, freely expressing hope and skepticism alike. “Let their determination be heard. Let their noble thoughts reach one that could help them, for it is only fair. Good cannot be answered with... with nothingness.”
Having said those words, Twilight felt rather proud of them. Yes, perhaps they could be considered daring in a certain sense, but for her they were simply just. It wouldn’t be fair for the faith of a pony, when based on virtue and principle, to be completely pointless, no? Of course, she couldn’t speak for everypony, for belief and spiritual motivation was a very personal matter, but she was comfortable speaking for at least some.
Not to mention for herself.
“I… using this chance, I would implore you for clarity, so that my actions won’t harm, but help instead. So that my words won’t sow doubt, but inspire. And so that I may understand what needs to be done, so that the faithful of the Goddess find their path into a future...” Twilight took a deep breath, making sure that her forelegs remained properly stretched, even as she uttered the end of her supplications. “A bright future, where the light of the Immaculate Moon... and the light of the Judging Sun... can both shine brilliantly.”
She wasn’t sure if everypony would agree with that… but it, that vision, resonated with her, and that made her declaration worthwhile. Still, she waited for a moment with bated breath, expecting somepony, or something, to disagree with her through a sign or a warning.
Yet nothing like that happened, and soon even the two batponies dropped their pious stances, folding their wings and lowering their forelegs. Midnight was wearing a focused, but still relieved, expression on his muzzle, while Rowan Berry exhaled as if after a particularly long night. Which, truth be told, it had been.
Twilight sent them both a kind expression and a nod of gratitude. “Thank you. I think it was a good idea in the end, and we have all benefited from it.”
“At least I know my worries are in good, blessed hooves,” the healer claimed, standing up ever so slowly. “And… let us hope we receive the right guidance. Or protection. Both will work for me,” she claimed, prompting Midnight to speak up as well.
“Let’s just hope that whatever awaits will not involve… too much for us to bear. If we are called to the Goddess’ service, we shall answer, with readiness. May Our Mother send us a task we can complete, however.”
“I believe she would… but I wouldn’t bet on anything if something else decides to test us,” Twilight told him, which he accepted with a begrudging nod and a shrug. “Now, I might not remember returning here, but my hooves are telling me that I made the journey to the Valleys and back and then some… Should we have a meal and then find our rest?”
“Sounds like a brilliant idea to me, Honored Princess,” the stallion agreed and Rowan Berry also appeared willing to let that scenario happen.
“I will take care of it, though I’m not sure if I have the appetite this morning,” she revealed, trotting away with a somber expression. “However, are you certain you are feeling alright now, hwalba knaze? We could figure out a way to make sure you are tended to during the day.”
Twilight smiled kindly in response to the seriousness of Rowan Berry’s request. “That is most generous of you, and I appreciate the offer, but I don’t feel like I need it. I think I shall be fine to rest.”
The healer accepted that, though there was some professional reluctance in her too. “May that be the case. Have a pleasant day, hwalba knaze,” she wished, bowing politely before leaving the chamber, sent away with Twilight’s honest smile.
It was heartwarming to see the lupule before her, not the spy.
No sooner had the door closed behind Rowan Berry than Midnight lunged forward, embracing Twilight with a tight hug that almost stole her breath from her chest. It definitely did so for him, as he hissed from upsetting his healing wounds.
“Hey, hey…” she whispered, embracing her beloved, whose firm grasp teetered on the brink of being uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?”
The stallion said nothing at first, only embracing her as if he was holding on for dear life. Twilight felt his body shuddering, as if in fever, and his deep breaths were just as shaky.
“I...” he finally said something, managing to calm down just enough to speak a little. “I thought I’d lost you. Bogine, back there, when I saw your vacant eyes, I just… That fear was all-consuming. I don’t think I have ever felt so helpless.”
Twilight was going to respond, but simply holding Midnight close, though wordless, felt like the best reply, one letting him know that she hadn’t gone anywhere.
The stallion kept holding on, shaking his head right against her neck. “I... Were it not for Yazembe Acine, I would have kissed you the moment you woke up, ab Bogine...” he claimed, then leaned back just a little, his eyes reddened and his look incredulous. “Why haven’t I…? And why am I just talking about it?”
She was going to give him a logical reply, but he grabbed her muzzle and planted a powerful kiss right on her lips, one that stole her attention and firmly held it hostage. Twilight, as dazed as she felt, could taste the relief and joy in Midnight’s gesture, which invited her to go with the moment, to have their tongues dance for an indecent while, leaving them both lightheaded and flustered afterwards.
The stallion pressed his forehead to hers, mindful of her horn, panting just a little as he recovered. “I know you were not responsible, but please don’t do that again, iau lumn...” he muttered, eliciting a giggle from Twilight.
“I’m glad you already see the problem with me promising that, you know,” she told him, but that only caused him to exhale in a short laugh. “I’m not saying it was worth losing awareness for so long to earn that kiss, but...”
Midnight nodded, his muzzle sweetly brushing her own. “I’ll give you all the kisses you want and more, you don’t need to go through that to get them, you just need to ask, conmod...” he told her, almost desperately, which definitely earned him a tighter and more meaningful embrace.
“I want to hold you to that,” Twilight let him know, giggling at the unintended pun.
Her beloved leaned into her touch, before taking one of her hooves and kissing it tenderly. “You know... part of the reason I suggested the prayer was because I wanted to thank Bogini that you were fine,” he revealed, his voice devoid of pride, instead filled with gratitude.
No less than Twilight’s own. “Midnight, that is so sweet of you. I’m glad that, whatever that was, it—” Something clicked in her mind, causing her to abruptly stop. “Wait, wait, wait... You said...” She leaned back just a little, looking at the stallion with mounting surprise.
Her beloved nodded, confirming her suspicions, but she felt the urge to voice them anyway.
“... ‘Goddesses’? You mean that...” She pointed at where he had been sitting, then unfolded her wings a little and briefly lifted up her forelegs, almost making it look like a strange, jittery shrug.
“Yes,” Midnight confirmed, his voice trying to sound perfectly confident, with the emphasis on ‘trying’. “It... It is a new one for me, but... uhm... Considering the circumventings...”
“ ‘Circumstances’.”
“Both, then,” he responded, a little confused in word choice, but definitely not in his ultimate message. “I just needed to thank somepony. To offer thanks to Neskaza Lunee... is one thing, right and just, but you... you represent both Her and her fiery Sister-Goddess, whose... whose sign I have seen and still see to tell the tale,” Midnight tried to explain himself, shaking his head at his stumbling sentences. “I mean... I could still tell it without sight, but I’m grateful to still have it, means I can see you before me and—”
Twilight leaned in and briefly kissed him. Not to silence him, but to grant him more confidence. “Better?”
“Always,” he told her, smiling ever so briefly. “So, I hope I managed to please both Bogini, though... it felt so weird to me.”
“Good-weird?” Twilight suggested, causing her beloved to shake his head with a nervous chuckle.
“If anything could make it so, it is you and your presence, my light,” he told her, once more pressing his forehead against hers in an almost ritualistic manner, one meant to testify to their deep connection. “In you there is the blessing of the Immaculate Moon...” he continued, nodding just a bit, his muzzle once more brushing against her own, “... and that of the Judging Sun. It made sense to me to... you know.”
She did, and was willing to tell him that. “Do not quote me, since I’m not a priest, but I think such a prayer is pleasing to the Immaculate Moon...” She demurely nodded as he had, briefly drinking from the tender gesture that likewise followed. “The two are sisters, you know?”
“Yes, of course...” her beloved instantly agreed. She could feel the trust he had in her then, complete and utter, almost matching the one he held in the Goddess.
“And even if you think that you cannot placate the Judging Sun... Do you really think your prayer was pointless?” she asked him, remembering a certain part of their second interview.
Midnight took a deep breath, and held it in for a good moment. Twilight began to fear that, perhaps, she had asked a question he considered provocative, but her beloved quickly made it apparent that he’d simply needed a moment to find the right words he wished to use.
“I don’t think it is ever meaningless to apologize, or to express gratitude,” he said, and she could feel his lips briefly shudder in a smile. “Yes, it is hard, very hard sometimes, when one looks back at the extent of one’s faults, or the depth of kindness received from another. And I am so, so grateful to have you in my life, iau lumn... I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t,” she promised him, knowing that much to be true.
She felt his grasp on her hoof tighten just a little. “I hope so... I hope so, by both the Goddesses,” he whispered, before embracing her fully again.
Twilight drank from the moment in great gulps, refreshing her spirit, as she realized that, even though she might have not felt it, her prayer had already been answered. For Midnight to even consider turning not only to the beloved Goddess, but to a merciless deity of judgment, and only because Twilight was somehow connected to her... that was a groundbreaking moment, she felt. A dangerous one, as such moments usually were, but one that could very well be the first of many, as long as he was comfortable with continuing this approach.
Oh, how she wanted to take some comfortable time with him, ask him about what exactly prompted him to take such a step, and whether he would be alright with speaking more about it. She even imagined introducing him to Princess Celestia one evening, in hopes that he could see that she was far less terrifying of a being than he thought, though Twilight knew that possibility was distant. Still,she felt just so... so overtaken by this situation, she could barely contain her, honestly, obsessive curiosity.
However, they had only a brief time to enjoy the moment’s intimacy, and after staying close to her for a few heartbeats longer, Midnight finally exhaled, in a way that suggested that reason had caught up to him. “I better leave now. It’s getting late, there’s Rowan Berry and all, and...” He paused to sigh. “Though my whole being tells me to stay with you, especially after what happened.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere...” Twilight assured him with enough conviction for the both of them, gifting him with a peck on his cheek before he stood up. “We could still enjoy a little meal this morning, you know?”
“That could sate my thirst for food, and maybe that of keeping you safe,” he responded, taking a step away and then looking her way again, “but the one for you is bottomless...”
That was more than enough to cause a blush that surely turned Twilight’s muzzle pure red, especially due to the topic’s contrast with the very recent, spiritual confessions. She felt just flustered enough to be surprised that the stallion wasn’t eyeing her neck for any veins which might have become more visible and enticing.
However, Midnight’s muzzle fell a little before he spoke up again, despite his desires. “Actually, listen, I... About Dusk Tarn, since that is what you had asked about before—”
“Wait, Midnight.” Twilight lifted her hoof just a little. “I would like an explanation, yes, but let us have that talk tomorrow night. I am exhausted, truth be told, and I would prefer to approach this topic with clarity of mind and calmness of heart, alright?”
“Of course,” he agreed with a simple nod. “Maybe we won’t be required to tour so much anymore. It is pleasant, especially for you, I imagine, but time-consuming.”
“Depends on the Honored Lord, I suppose...” Twilight responded, reaching up and further undoing her warm clothing, still on her person and making her more and more uncomfortable. “The better we try to find some rest before tomorrow, I'd say.”
Midnight’s gaze was locked on her for a moment longer. “If you are doing what you are doing to make me stay, iau lumn, ha, I’m staying, indeed.”
She wasn’t, she had simply forgotten for a moment that undressing was a little bit more suggestive for batponies than Equestrians. Though the idea of teasing Midnight just a little wasn’t entirely unpleasant, oh no. “I was genuinely getting too hot in those clothes.”
“Shame... and also, ironically, you are more hot without them,” her beloved told her, sending her a wink and then leaving her chambers with one of his roguish smirks, leaving Twilight to shake her head and giggle to herself.
There was a time and place for everything, however. Serious conversations, religious breakthroughs, even closeness with her beloved, though feeling that deep-seated impatience to have another moment with her stallion, a moment just for themselves, didn't exactly make keeping that order easy.
Thankfully, Twilight managed to keep herself just grounded enough to stay focused. After a meal that soon arrived, shared rather pleasantly but, due to their weariness, briefly with Midnight, it was time for them both to find their rest for the day. After freshening herself up with a little bath, avoiding the deathly cold of the mountain water through magic, Twilight found herself, relieved and happy, in the soft embrace of the royal wool, which was only just losing to Midnight’s cuddles when it came to the pleasure of experiencing it.
Slumber came to Twilight quickly, and her barely conscious mind was hoping it would not be disturbed by terrible visions this time around. She had had her fill of unforeseen and extraordinary happenings, and a calm day of rest would be a much-welcomed scenario.
That was her last conscious thought of the morning, as she soon found herself drifting in and out of sleep. Pictures of memories of last night were brought forth by her mind, strange in their dream-like quality, disorganized and muddled. They changed and shifted, disappeared and then were evoked again, ultimately melting into a feeling of slumber which brought the veil of oblivion over her mind, like the rhythm of an invisible clock.
Ticking and tocking. Tapping and rapping. Knocking and knocking.
Knocking...
Twilight managed to open her eyes, momentarily confused. She had no idea how much time had passed, nor even whether she'd managed to get some proper slumber, but the sound continued, heedless of her situation. Quiet, but still loud enough to stir her awareness, as if measured to be like that, and persistent.
Fighting further sleep, Twilight somehow had enough clarity of mind to wrap herself snugly in her comforter and trot over to the door. Squinting and blinking hard a couple of times, she finally managed to get her eyes to stay somewhat open, before she unlocked her chamber much the same way, mustering up just enough awareness and caution to do so safely. Of course, a semi-conscious, hopeful part of her mind was expecting to see Midnight on the other side of the threshold... but instead she managed to register the hood of an arcemandr, his muzzle hidden away in the shade of the cloth, the limited light in the corridor... and the lack of Twilight’s enchantment.
“Yes, who—”
“Tomorrow morning, the Mountain’s herame, alone.”
She heard the words, clear as day, and waking her up like the break of dawn, but before Twilight could ask for a clarification, or even the name of the pony before her, the figure rushed away, trying not to make any sound with its hooves.
Twilight was left stupefied, holding the handle of the door, and repeating the words in her suddenly awakened mind.
In the shrine, tomorrow morning... alone. The last part would be the trickiest, she thought, but if her flaring instincts weren’t wrong, the secrecy must have meant that the pony at her door had either been Count Mistlock letting her know of his plans, or a messenger sent by him. He had expressed his desire to have another chance at a private conversation the last time they had met, when he had posed as a local shepherd.
What did this sudden, nocturnal… well, diurnal visit mean, though?
Twilight finally closed the door and, realizing that she was still holding the comforter around herself, returned to the bed, sat on it, and pondered, the last slivers of sleep rapidly being banished from her mind.
The need for furtiveness was obvious, but what sort of news was the heir to the Mist Family bringing with him? He had mentioned that his mother was planning an, as he had called it, ‘decisive’ move, whatever that could mean... Whatever it meant, she doubted it was anything good.
Great... How was she supposed to rest now?
Twilight lay back down with a long sigh. She would have to plan ahead, to make sure to be present in the shrine by the end of the night. Maybe she could request a night to herself? Ah, but that would cause her to remain at the peak for longer than necessary, potentially breaching the agreement with Count Ebony Crescent... Actually, no, that wouldn’t be quite right, what had Mistlock told her? That she would stay at the Iug for long enough, that he had been assured of that?
Was Lord Dusk Harvest playing many games at the same time after all? She hadn’t dwelt too much on it, especially since her latest revelation regarding that possible alliance had caused the poor Lord to take an unexpected, frigid bath. Yet it was still a possibility, for what if he, as he said, wanted to let her know the needs of Noctraliya and let her see the Valleys, but was also letting the Count meet her and warn her? Had he also arranged for their very first meeting to happen?
Had she already considered all that? Or had she been so occupied with the Lord’s predicament and personal issues that she had completely forgotten that even he, surely, wasn’t utterly incapable of intrigue?
Twilight’s hooves lividly rubbed her muzzle. That was not helping her find peaceful slumber again. Quite the opposite, as the notion that even the stallion who appeared the least interested in scheming among the local rulers had an agenda did wonders to make all the sirens in her mind blare. Or was she being too harsh? This entire situation with Count Mistlock was, at least in theory, meant to be helpful to her, and in these circumstances, the Noctraliyan circumstances, it might have simply required intrigue.
Great.
Twilight sighed, putting her forelegs down with just a little bit of force, though that meant her momentary annoyance also encountered the softest of material and allowed itself to be appeased at least a little. That was good, for she still felt in need of finding enough sleep that night, and getting frustrated after already being awakened to receive a secret message definitely didn’t help.
Twilight closed her eyes, hoping the softness around her would come to her aid... then her thoughts turned to Midnight. Her Midnight. The stallion who had made his way deep into her heart, one that was willing to guard her, protect her, be with her. One that had been holding onto her for dear life, almost traumatized by... whatever had happened that night, witnessing her affected by something he could do nothing about. The pony she wanted around her constantly, and one that was definitely missing from her bed at that moment, because right now she wanted nothing more than to take from his closeness and warmth, more and more, until she was immodestly drunk on him and their love.
Their love. Expressed in heart, mind... and body.
She couldn’t deny, she allowed her imagination to run wild for a moment… and she wasn’t particularly ashamed by it. She imagined him next to her, his thicker coat pleasantly pressed against her own, his calm breathing lulling her to sleep, right in the embrace of his leathery wings. She hoped his injury would heal soon enough for it to become reality.
Twilight sighed at the thought, turning to her side, and even managing to smile to herself. Silly things came to her mind, like conjuring an arcane image of him to be with her at that very moment… though that would require focus that she couldn’t spare if she actually wanted to sleep.
So her thoughts changed, shifted, then turned to Equestria. To her home, her castle, her room… shared between the two of them. She would like Midnight to feel comfortable, so she would have to make some room for his belongings... and reorganize her schedule just a little. Unless he decided to suddenly abandon being nocturnal, maybe with the help of her magic, but it was more probable that she’d need to push her life a little into the cozy embrace of night, if she wanted to feel his embrace and presence, combining her duty and her family life.
Not to mention...
Twilight felt her muzzle shifting in a most wonderful way, a happy expression coming over it as she realized that one of her hooves had landed on her barrel. It made her imagine the sights and experiences that could await her, that had been depicted so touchingly in the wonderful dream that Midnight had shared with her, the beautiful if distant vision of a family. Their family. A dream worth working for, worth fighting for, every night, with every breath.
But... would she make a good mother? Twilight surely hoped so, though the very notion seemed so unbelievably alien and natural to her mare’s nature, she felt her brow furrowing even in her strange state of partial awareness. Still, was there a more profound bond that she could think of, other than that between two loving ponies? A parental relationship felt like a natural enhancement of the latter, actually…
She shook her head, which made her turn to rest on her other side. To think that not so long ago she would have panicked at the very notion she was considering. Strangely that was only making her more elated to contemplate it…
Twilight wasn’t sure how much time had passed since her slumber had been interrupted, but when she opened her eyes again, she found that she had at some point managed to fall asleep to these many visions of possible futures. She also felt at least partially rested. So, resolving not to waste any more time on seeking further slumber and paying for it with discomfort, she got up with a small groan.
She decided to freshen her muzzle up a little bit first, actually appreciating the ice-cold water for once. It was definitely doing wonders against a racing heart and a chaotic mind, so Twilight embraced the many sharply cold droplets against her muzzle. The next thing she registered was her stomach rumbling just a little, not to mention giving her a small bout of nausea that made her face scrunch a bit. Twilight hoped that a quick meal would help her out in that regard.
Having put on a simple and modest dark blue dress, she was about to step outside and check on her entourage, even if only to learn what the actual hour was, robbed as she was of the natural, batpony internal clock. However, the knock on her door was faster, leaving her to hope that it didn’t mean another cryptic message in the dead of night, or day, or whatever time it actually was.
So she opened the door, cautious and ready for anything… except, as it turned out, for who was waiting on the other side.
His eyes locked on anything but Twilight’s own gaze and his expression unsure and apologetic, Lord Dusk Harvest stood right at the threshold, looking like a school colt waiting to enter the headmare’s office. Wearing black, noble attire, yet of a more casual style than his station might have required, he didn’t say a thing at first, simply waited for a reaction from Twilight. However, she too was silent, suffering from a sudden bout of confusion that stopped her from speaking for a moment.
Fortunately, there was another creature that didn’t mind saying something, albeit in her own, squeaky language.
Blossom, loyally accompanying the Lord once more, first greeted Twilight with the toothy grin of a friendly bat, then waddled ever so gently over to the stallion’s neck, let out a little hiss, and promptly bit the side of his ear in a playful fashion.
Her friendly nip caused Dusk Harvest to jump a little, and shortly thereafter find his tongue. “N-Neskaza L-L-Lunee... welae t-tueu noc i-illum, h-hwalba k-k-knaze…” the Lord offered the polite, if stuttering, greeting, trying to look Twilight’s way but failing miserably.
So much so, that it was by itself very disturbing.
“I welae Neskaza Lunee... illum tuu noc tez, Honored Lord,” Twilight still replied, taking the time to bow her head before continuing. “I didn’t know you wanted to visit me, was there a message conveyed and I forgot? I have just gotten up, actually, is it late? Have I slept in?”
Belatedly, she realized that maybe asking so many questions so quickly, and in such a worried fashion, wasn’t the best of ideas when dealing with Dusk Harvest, but she couldn’t help being concerned just a little.
“N-no, H-Honored P-Princess, n-not late. It is a-actually q-quite early. A-and I w-wasn’t planning on c-c-coming, b-but…” He didn’t quite finish the sentence, even with Blossom diligently nuzzling his neck.
Twilight’s brow furrowed for just a brief moment, trying to discern what was going on, and why the haspadr would appear just like that to speak with her. But first things simply had to be first. “I will be more than happy to invite you in, Honored Lord, and talk. I just hope you won’t take offence if I first take a brief moment to make sure my chambers are presentable…”
“N-not at all...” Dusk Harvest assured her, clearly preparing himself to wait patiently, though a part of Twilight wondered whether the stallion would still be there when she opened the door in a minute or two.
Still, she closed them before looking around, making sure the place didn’t look like she had just woken up from a bad day of sleep. While casting a few helpful spells to speed up organizing the space around her, she idly mused that it was the second time that she'd had a member of the local leadership simply appear like that, right at her doorstep. Even if it wasn’t exactly hers, so to speak, like she had nervously pointed out to Lord Consort Dusk Flight.
A couple of arcane arrangements later and Twilight was all ready to welcome the haspadr in. He was still there when she looked outside, at least, though he was giving Blossom some begrudging glances, making it anypony’s guess whether he would have actually stayed if not for his faithful little companion.
“Please, Honored Lord, do come in,” Twilight invited him, prompting the haspadr to trot forward, albeit reluctantly. She hoped that the reason for his hesitation would become clear soon enough, though still taking into consideration that she was dealing with Dusk Harvest. The stallion needed his space and some time to overcome his difficulties and speak up.
It didn’t take too long this time around.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Twilight had just managed to lock the door when she heard his words, turning to the Lord with great interest, and some concern. “Whatever for, Honored Lord?”
“F-f-for h-hiding.”
“ ‘Hiding’?” she responded, pointing for the stallion to sit down by the table and joining him a second later. “Whatever do you mean?”
Dusk Harvest stayed silent for a moment, his lips shuddering just a little. A careful nudge from Blossom finally convinced him to continue, over whatever perturbation had grown inside him.
“I-I felt s-so e-embarrassed after the f-fall in the D-Dalli, I... I n-needed t-time for m-m-myself. B-but I should h-have d-dealt with it q-quickly, instead, a-and f-f-fulfilled my o-obligations a-as a host...” he explained, trying to look into Twilight’s eyes, though his nervousness was not allowing him to do so for longer than a heartbeat before he had to duck his glance away again.
Still, in the brief flashes of his gaze she caught she could see a genuine apology, one that needed to be recognized and addressed. “Please, Honored Lord, this is nothing to feel sorry for. I wasn’t insulted, not in the slightest.”
“I-it’s not a-about i-insults and b-breach of p-p-protocol,” Dusk Harvest replied, trying to make his stance sound strong, now that he had found the courage to voice it. “I-I invited you h-here, I-I am the h-h-haspadr of the M-Mountain and the F-Family… a-and I hide i-instead.”
Twilight gave him the courtesy of listening, and of giving what he was saying due consideration. She could understand the disquiet inside him, as he was clearly torn between what his duties required and his crippling lack of self-confidence, something that the accident he’d suffered definitely hadn’t helped with. Furthermore, the Lord Consort had already told Twilight of the gossip around the slip, so it had surely reached the stallion’s ears as well, adding to his embarrassment.
“I understand you feel the need to be present, Honored Lord, I truly do, but I didn’t feel offended, nor did I consider myself improperly attended to. Quite the opposite,” Twilight tried to assure the haspadr, although his eyes still refused to properly meet hers, instead flitting about the chamber like a bat, trying to nest wherever they found something of even moderate interest. “The Overseer General provided me with a wonderful explanation of the workings of the Valleys. I feel that I have an even stronger grasp on the extent of your hard work, now. I dare say that that shall be of great value to me when I shall present a possible offer to Noctraliya during the Covenant’s next meeting.”
“That d-does m-make me m-m-more joyous,” Dusk Harvest claimed, giving her a short glance that belied his words with its dearth of actual happiness. “B-but...”
He wanted to pause, but Blossom decided to nuzzle him a bit more, trying to add her little confidence to his lack thereof.
“B-but I h-have h-heard some c-c-concerning rumors...”
‘Of course,’ Twilight almost said out loud. It looked like the observation from Rowan Berry regarding the Dusks' love for gossip was only the tip of the iceberg, or glacier, or whatever it was. “What rumors would those be, Honored Lord?”
Dusk Harvest leaned towards her just a little, but it looked to be done more out of habit than actual fear of an eavesdropper waiting right outside the chamber doors. “I-I wanted to v-verify whether n-nadvidan okolnu p-performed his t-t-task well. I-I was told that y-y-you returned to this r-room yesternight l-l-looking a-absent, and y-your entourage a-appeared c-c-concerned for you.”
“Pray tell, Honored Lord,” Twilight responded, trying her best to keep a straight face and not, even for a moment, betray how concerned those words had truly made her, “how ‘absent’ was I, exactly? I tend to ponder rather deeply when I am provided a lot of useful information, and everything that the Overseer General had told me was very beneficial, especially for our future diplomatic meetings. Those matters are obviously something to consider and weigh, and sometimes they can make one look absent, or rather lost, lost in thought. Though… what you have heard about my look sounded both troubling and exaggerated, I take it?”
Dusk Harvest didn’t say anything outright, Twilight just took note of his head slowly burying itself in his withers. He buried it so deep that, for a moment, she worried about whether she'd phrased the question too harshly. Sadly, that seemed to be the case, as Blossom gave her the glance of a concerned caretaker, letting Twilight know that while she understood her displeasure at all the gossip, she needed her to be much more mindful when addressing the Lord.
It was, again, far too easy to tell why Dusk Flight had chosen this little bat to accompany her poor husband. Blossom was an extraordinary creature when it came to her sense of duty, her insight, and her ability to convey emotions.
However, it was her lordly companion that had something to relay in the end. “… I-I knew I sh-shouldn’t have b-b-bothered g-going through with this r-ridiculous idea,” he stated, looking at Twilight abashedly. “I-I am wasting y-your t-time on e-empty h-hearsay, h-h-hwalba knaze.”
Having said that the stallion looked ready to get up and leave, but Twilight gestured for him to wait with as much kindness as she could muster. Partially because she wanted to apologize for her unknowingly hurtful words, but primarily because in the haspadr's tone she heard that strong note of self-disparagement that she hoped to, in some way, help address.
“Please, Honored Lord, don’t go. I don’t believe sharing one’s time with a Lord is ever a waste,” she said, but that only caused Dusk Harvest’s gaze to turn… amused?
“Y-you’re being v-v-very kind, saying th-that, but we W-Waesperi know the v-value of e-every moment, and we c-c-cannot be w-wastrels. Even f-for the s-sake of a h-haspadr.”
“Well, I’m not a Dusk, as it happens,” Twilight tried to joke, but sadly received no response from the Lord. “Besides, I don’t believe making sure one’s guest is alright counts as squandering of any sort. On the contrary, I believe it is the mark of a mindful host. Not to mention, Honored Lord, I understand that unwarranted gossip is rather distracting, and it can worm its way into one’s mind, which wastes more time and energy than any visit. Again, I am very grateful you have decided to check on me and…”
Twilight was planning on continuing, but Dusk Harvest’s expression suddenly petrified and his gaze finally found her properly. Actually, right alongside Blossom’s, making it clear to Twilight that she had somehow struck a chord with both the stallion and the bat. Just as she realized how that might have been possible, the Honored Lord desperately tried to get his words out.
“I-it was m-my wife’s p-p-persistence that p-prompted me to check o-on you, h-hwalba knaze. F-from your w-words I can a-already tell th-that the t-two of you have m-met. And d-directly,” he told Twilight, his tone hidingsomething in between the stuttering, something rather… unpleasant. “I w-wonder what s-sort of things sh-she t-t-told you that were m-meant to w-worm their way i-into your mind.”
There was a subtle but very bitter accusation in his tone, so bitter that Blossom, up to that point loyally helping Dusk Harvest speak, nervously shuffled away from the Lord’s neck. Once she was out of his sight, she looked away in her small, animal sorrow, anxious like a hurt foal in a failing marriage.
Which might very well have been the case, but Twilight certainly wasn’t going to start an outright fight about it, especially not with Dusk Harvest. She pitied his situation and his affliction, and she respected him both as a pony and as a ruler. Still, she wasn’t fond of unfair, potentially even baseless, condemnations, even if their foundation lay in profound misery.
“Honored Lord, I have, indeed, met with your wife, though it wasn’t a planned occurrence between us. However, we have shared a polite conversation, and nothing about what Lord Consort Dusk Flight said struck me as deceitful or manipulative, which makes your words most unusual to me.”
For once, the stallion opposite her did not flinch as she declared that, even if her voice was a tad stronger than normal. Unfortunately, it appeared that the strength of the Lord’s antipathy towards his own spouse was granting him poisonous confidence, at least to some degree.
“O-of course you w-wouldn’t mark a-anything as being like that, y-you don’t know my w-wife and how sh-shamelessly she c-can lie to one’s m-muzzle,” the stallion claimed, his goldenrod eyes flickering fiercely and sadly at the same time. “And you a-are woefully u-unprepared for the d-dangers among our p-peaks. E-Even with me warning you b-back then, you c-couldn’t spot t-treacherous lips w-were they to k-kiss your hoof.”
Twilight held said hoof to her chest, stunned at hearing so much resigned malice from the Lord. Not to mention the insinuations that his words contained, causing her mind to return to the Sanctuary and the daring actions of Count Ebony Crescent...
Of all the creatures Twilight could confide in regarding her shock at actually hearing such sentences from Dusk Harvest, Blossom turned out to be the fated one. The bat’s expression was already twisted in pain, as if she, herself, was physically feeling the effects of this gloomy vitriol from the stallion.
Thankfully, the Lord himself recognized that he had gone decidedly too far and leaned back, trying to create some distance, perhaps even planning to rally for an apology.
Twilight wouldn’t have that, even mindful of what sort of pony she was “conversing” with. This was a serious problem that she had just encountered, one that she couldn’t possibly just brush aside.
“Honored Lord, I do not find your tone, or your words, appropriate, and I am not afraid to say that. I do not know exactly what sort of rift there is between you and your wife which spurs you into this sort of behavior, only that it is much more visible than any gossip said,” she spoke, in a practiced, firm cadence that would surely make even Lord Midnight Eye proud. “Regardless, I will not grin and bear such a stance from you, no matter what sort of motivation or reasoning lies behind it. If you have come to learn if I am alright after yesternight’s sightseeing, then I can say that I have been, up until you decided to let your misery do the talking for you, Honored Lord. You are better than… this.
“And, risking the confidentiality of what your wife and I discussed, I will let you know that she came to see me to make sure you were alright, and that it hadn’t been my actions which caused you to fall into that canal. She was not afraid to come before me, a pony of Divine Aspect, and was even ready to stand up to me for your sake, Honored Lord. That means something, and I’d rather you realize it.”
Twilight hoped she'd made the right choice by revealing all that, and choosing such a strong approach, because to her eyes Dusk Harvest’s stance hadn’t changed at all. He simply stared at her, his gaze sorrowful, but still as hard as the mountain around them. And, apparently, just like his heart. Even Blossom dared not to move, petrified with concern for both her charge and Twilight.
“S-so,” the Lord finally decided to try and respond, “you think th-that makes her a noble p-pony? A-absolved in the e-eyes of the S-Sewira Solee, because she s-stood b-before her d-d-d…”
He caught himself on the word and, despite everything that had happened in the room, Blossom still came to his aid, coming closer and nuzzling his neck until he broke through the barrier of his impediment.
“Disciple?!”
Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion. “And what has she done, Honored Lord, that the very thought of her fills you with this noxious loathing that you have decided to empty on me?”
“Since it’s the s-same thing, how about you a-ask the n-nadvidan okolnu what ki—!”
“Hwalba knaze?”
Midnight’s voice and the rapid knocking on the door interrupted the Honored Lord, though. It looked like he was relieved by that, his eyes finally losing their anguished quality, though not their unnatural sharpness.
“Hwalba knaze, is everything alright?”
The question was repeated, prompting Lord Dusk Harvest to get up. “N-nyegatwa…” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head, though Twilight was certain that his eyes were teary even if he tried to hide it behind his dismissive attitude. “H-have a c-calm night, h-hwalba k-knaze…”
“You as well, Honored Lord,” Twilight replied, for, whatever scuffle they had just suffered, she couldn’t let the stallion leave with the belief that she had suddenly decided to become his enemy. Even after their argument, especially after it, after she’d witnessed the depths of misery that haunted the poor stallion before her, she still wanted to be his friend.
It was the second time that Midnight and Rowan Berry were astonished to see a pony leaving Twilight’s room so early in the evening, their gazes first following the Honored Lord before turning on her after he departed, the obvious question in both of them.
“Well… It is quite possible that we won’t be enjoying any more sightseeing tonight,” Twilight let them know.
However, a little trip in the morning to a place of prayer would be very much warranted… As it would also help her determine whether, as she had asked the Immaculate Moon the night prior, her choices would ultimately help, not harm.
At that very moment, she wasn’t quite certain.
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Uhh.. FimFic? Why did you remove this from my favorites cx
11481219
That I don't know, but I am glad to have you back, then!
Oh-ho, so this is what happened between Dusk Harvest and Dusk Flight!
11481334
I have no idea what you mean.
The whole prayer scene this chapter was a masterpiece, and the philosophic framework it provided Twilight is brilliant. Like Bishop Fulton Sheen said, one of the most important things to do when encountering a religion other than your own is to look for the good in them, and the way Twilight does that here, understanding that Midnight's prayer was a gesture of concern, helped her immensely. She is not a believer, but she's willing to meet those who are halfway, allowing them to act as they believe fit and "translating" their actions so she can understand them without subscribing to their worldview. She is truly being tolerant, appreciating other's beliefs without necessarily accepting them. If more people were like her, including in fields aside from religion, the world would be a much better place; imagine being able to have actual conversations across the political aisle, not just shouting matches. *cries in American*
Whoops, realized an error slipped by me. Aside from that, Twilight's meditations on love were another highlight of the chapter, and the reminder of her dream of family (who else wants to bet Twilight and Midnight's little bit of warmth in Chapter XL makes that vision turn out to be not so distant?) was as beautiful as an angel. Though, I will say her and Midnight flirting was adorable, and amusing at points. Less philosophical, but no less satisfying.
Can I just say that Dusk Harvest this chapter hurt? You can really feel how he would rather do pretty much anything other than what his role demands of him, but his sense of duty refuses to allow him to shirk that position, making him feel trapped in a cycle of misery. I think this is actually part of the reason why he seems so sure that his wife cheated on him; he's been so hurt by the world, he can't fathom being offered genuine happiness. The friendship Dusk Flight offers him is "too good to be true," something beyond the wildest dreams of the poor stallion who's suffered seemingly nothing but disgrace through his life. It has to be false, it has to be a trick, and so he convinces himself it is. (Part of me also cynically thinks it could be partially ego-driven, Dusk Harvest going "Look at me, nothing good ever happens to me, please pity me," though not so obnoxiously.)
Two last things before I let my weariness overcome my writing:
Since he was probably going to say "killed Dusk Stream..."
1. How does Dusk Harvest know about Rowan Berry and Midnight's affair? General information sharing among the Lords?
2. What possessed him to think that putting Dusk Tarn anywhere in the vicinity of Midnight and Rowan Berry was anything other than a disaster waiting to happen?
11481358
Good observations and great questions, friend! I can promise answers... at some point, I believe.
Also, thank you for the praise. I'm just trying to make the story interesting.
More intriguing developments... Why did Twilight become unresponsive? Who asked her to go somewhere alone?
Why does the Lord distrust his own wife?
Hopefully we will find out soon! Same bat time, same bat story!
Good chapter, but I am hoping we get some answers soon before we get more questions.
11481754
I believe you will, at least one.
But, you know how it works, right? It's not about getting an answer. It's about handling it when it comes.
There's certainly a lot of intrigue going on. Dusk Harvest's distrust of his own wife is strange and they need a marriage counselor badly but I'm not sure if Twilight is the best person for that. I wonder hwat Count Mistlock (presumably) wants to talk about with Twilight but I wouldn't be surprised if it's connected to the messages that gave Midnight Eye such concern. The developing realtionship between Twilight and Midnight is also nice to see.
11481870
I'm glad I am building things up.
I thought midnight would propose they would go back to the cave, but this time instead of preventing twilight they could join her
Btw thank you for the update! You weren't kidding when you said soon xD
11482062
Hah, that would have been amusing.
Yeah, I did mean it. This time, however, you will have to wait a little bit, at least. I hope that is bearable.
Disciple... iiiiinteresting choice of word there, Lord. Makes me think Dusk Flight is accused of being a Sun Pony Worshiper. That would be quite the scandal.
11482597
He did mean Twilight here, with that word. But he definitely accuses his wife in his mind, without a doubt.
Ooooh…that got rough.
LOVED IT!!
11483757
Happy to hear it! Sometimes things have to take a plunge...
11483763
Well I want rowen berry to accidentally take a plunge into twilights bed… for SNUGGLES!!
11483791
... right, yes. I'll... write that down out of courtesy.
Well. Well well well. That does remind me of a certain vision Twilight had. "The Goddess is crying." And here we have a crying alicorn. And a vision which did not exactly specify which Goddess was crying.
11486165
Ah! Now that's a neat observation.
Morning sickness…
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
A dream…or a consequence of fun in a hot spring?
Excellent as always
11486643
To answer both of your comments, yes, indeed, a lot is happening and the stakes are getting yet higher. And, as I have said, I hope that, in this forest of questions, some answers will come, soon enough.
11486675
I eagerly await them
"Tis some visitor" I muttered "Knocking on my chamber door."
11493244
It was an ill omen, I'd say. Just less of the raven kind.
I could go to the moon and back with all the excitement I have for the next chapter, can I please know when's the update? Pretty pweaaase? (2) because I still feel the same way with every update you make
11500156
Trust me, it is almost ready. Just a little more patience.
Wait...... I just noticed something..... When was the last time Twilight has cast the eyesight spell that helps her see in the dark? I don't remember seeing anything written about it for several chapters now and Twilight has been all over Dusk mountain..... Is this being done off page, am I missing it, or is Twilight not even notice she no longer needs to cast the spell now to see in the dark?
11502132
No, not really, this just means that she is capable of doing it herself (as she had mentioned at one point) and I don't think that repeating it constantly adds anything more to the narrative at this point...
... until it perhaps will.
11502228
I must have missed where it was said she can do it on her own. I must say tho that one time she did cast it and then had slit pupils like a Noctral always caught my curiosity and I want it to happen again SOOOOOOO bad.
11502850
Well, maybe another magical surge will put her magic on overdrive. I'm not saying "no" to that possibility.
Happy Hearts and Hooves day Honored Lord! Any crumbs for this humble one?
11506549
Why, thank you, I appreciate that!
A little bit longer, if you would be so kind. I'm preparing something pivotal, and so I want it to be done well.
11506847
Yeees...
If he knows something of his wife's attitude and actions, it is worth listening Twilight
What could have caused such a rift though?
11568041
That is all to be uncovered, I think.
11506847
Oh boy... Since I'm really enjoying how the story is going, a statement like that is... Terrifying. I suppose I'll know when I read it, I do trust in your talents from what I've read this far.
11641568
Oh, don't worry, I think you'll know. You're closer to it than you think.
Midnight continues to be adorable.
Third time's a charm?
Interesting...
And Blossom continues to be my favorite character.
11724806
I'm glad I do make things somewhat adorable even in this intrigue-ridden tale.