Shield and Shadow Part 1: Rise and Fall

by LucidReverie

Chapter 10: One closes, one opens

Anticipation.

Spring Mist stood in front of the gates out of Everfree. His saddlebags were filled with scrolls, ink pots, quills, and books. He was waiting for the scholars from the astronomy tower to rendezvous before heading out to the crash site of the meteorite from that morning, pacing back and forth in front of the great wooden gates.

He eventually saw the scholars approaching. Of course, the Head Scholar was not there, likely still in the tower. Mist wondered what he was like, if he was any better than that pink unicorn. Despite his earlier claim, he had no actual power to report directly to the Head Scholar, and wondered if he would even actually meet him. Best not let that pointedly provoking pink pony know.

Speaking of, she was heading the group that was moving toward the gate. Terrific. Well, just be pleasant and stay on her good side, Mist. Each of the scholars wore hooded robes and one or two was accompanied by an assistant - potential scholars hopeful to eventually gain a place on the tower. Following the scholar group was a gathering of other ponies, likely volunteers to do the heavy lifting, pulling carts of supplies, instruments, and gear. All in all, the group numbered around fifteen.

The pink unicorn noticed Mist standing in wait at the gate. "Ah, you're here," she only barely hid her disappointment, "You will carry your own supplies, make your own way, and you will return to the tower tonight to confirm the presence of your 'star' with Head Scholar Caramel Tart. Nopony will go with you, and she is expecting you at sunset."

Mist nodded at each condition, "Yes ma'am. I'll hold my own."

"Honey Sweetroll. Assistant Head Honey Sweetroll, to you."

Mist nodded again, "Yes, Assistant Head Honey Sweetroll." Externally, Mist was respectful of the pony in front of him, but internally, he was giggling almost uncontrollably at the absurdity of such a serious pony having such a sweet-sounding name. But he pushed those thoughts aside and asked, “Did you figure out where it landed?”

“We have a general idea of where to go. If your report is correct, then we should have no problem finding the landing zone. It sure was a great thing that you saw it first-hand, otherwise we could be way off,” piped up one of the other scholars, a light blue unicorn pony with a mint mane. Mist smiled at the pony, feeling quite pleased with himself. The blue pony extended a hoof toward Mist, “I’m Brilliant Bloom. But just Bloom is fine. Or Brilliant, but I can’t really say that without sounding a bit snooty, can I?”

Mist shook Bloom’s hoof, laughing, “Nice to meet you, Bloom. Or Brilliant. We’ll see.”

Honey Sweetroll just scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Yes, yes. We’re moving now.” And at that, the small parade of ponies moved towards the gate.

Bloom leaned close to Mist and whispered, “Don’t you worry about ol’ Honey, she’s like that with everypony. But become her friend, and there’s no other pony more loyal to her field or those she cares about.”

Mist wondered about that pink unicorn. If what Bloom said was true, she was now the third pony Mist had known who appeared to be rough and abrasive, but turned out to be the best kind of friend.

“Wait, you called her ‘Honey’?

“Heh, yeah. Mostly because it’s hilarious to see her get flustered when somepony calls her that. She tends to forget that is her name. You’ll see it on this little voyage of ours, I’m sure.”

“Open the gates!” Mist heard somepony shouting, before he could respond. At the order, the guards on the gate towers wound the mechanisms and opened the great wooden barrier that separated the town from the outside world.

Mist had been outside the walls only once or twice before, so stepping out into the world was not as daunting as it could have been, but still, it was a foreign idea. Ponies were safe inside the walls, and though no creatures came near the town, they were still out in the forest. The paths were generally safe, but every so often a traveler was lost, and that was usually a lone pony. The group was definitely large enough to make any creatures question attacking.

Mist was standing next to Bloom, and Sweetroll was just ahead. She sneered back at Mist, “You ever been in the forest, guardboy?”

Mist swallowed, “Um, once or twice.”

“Heh, getting nervous? It’s not too late to go back to your day job.”

“Night job,” Mist corrected.

“What?”

“Night job. I work at night. On the night shift? You know, when everypony else is sleeping and the stars are out? Big thing called the moon, too? I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

“Oh, we have a funny guy here. Well you keep at that, wouldn’t want you to strain your little guard brain on anything more complex.”

“Sheesh, you two! Get a hay pile,” Bloom interjected, laughing.

Sweetroll shot him a dirty look as her pink coat darkened to a more rosy hue. Mist just laughed along.

“Alright! We’ve dawdled long enough. Ponies, let’s go,” Sweetroll declared.

The group began moving out into the forest, following the clearly laid stone path. If the other ponies were worried or afraid, they weren't showing it. Mist tried to keep himself busy as they walked. Finding no interest in the trees or bushes, Mist decided to strike up a conversation. “So, how far away do you think the site is?” he asked Bloom.

“Well,” Bloom began, “it had to have landed far enough away that the resulting shockwave didn’t cause any damage at all, which would mean that it’s probably about a quarter of a day’s walk away. If that. Maybe less.” Bloom shrugged.

“Alright then,” Mist said. “Now, wouldn’t a crash like that cause some sort of fire? That would mean smoke for us to follow, but I haven’t seen any.”

“So you know something about meteorites, do you?” Bloom teased, “But yes, which makes this odd, and far more difficult. Right now, if it weren't for the information you gave us, we’d still be back at the tower trying to figure out where it went. Of course we did get other reports later, but none so detailed as yours. Still, it’ll be tough to find.”

Mist blushed a little at the complement, “Just glad to help. This is what I wanted to do with my life anyway.”

“Yes, about that… You seem more interested in academia than in guarding, so why are you not among us?”

“Were you born in the higher-living residences?”

“I’m sorry? What does that have to do with it?”

“Did you have money and social status?”

“Yes… I suppose I did. More my family than me, though.”

“Well there’s the reason. I had neither. So when I could no longer afford to attend Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, nor any other school on The Arc, I had to put my time into something else, something that could earn bits and put food on the table.”

“But why guarding? It’s the antipode of being a scholar.”

“Well, though I did want to learn and become a scholar or archivist, I wanted to serve more. My duty will always be to the Princesses and the Kingdom. So I decided that being a guard would be the best way to do that. And being on the night watch allows me to study the sky without bother.”

“Well that’s very admirable. And it’s interesting how you have kept up with your studies,” Bloom stated, “But another thing: why so much loyalty to the Kingdom and Princesses?”

Mist was about to shoot an offended look, but realized it was a fair question. Why am I so loyal, so duty-driven? “I suppose the short answer would be that I have always just felt a need to be so. But do you ever receive confirmation that a choice you make is the right one, as if the universe is pushing you in a direction?”

“Well actua—”

“Jeez, we’re astronomers, not philosophers. You can still go back and bother them, it’s not too late,” Honey Sweetroll groaned, looking back at Mist and Bloom.

“Sorry,” Mist said, shrinking slightly.

“No, no. I asked the question,” interjected Bloom, “Do you have a problem with me, Honey?”

“Gah!” was Sweetroll’s only reply as she faced forward again.

“Hehe, I love that,” said Bloom, “Now, Spring Mist, care to prove your academic ability with a little test?”

“Um, I don’t know…” Mist said uncertainly.

“Oh, come now! It’s just good fun!”

“Alright, I guess. But go easy on me, I’m self-taught mostly.”

“Great! Okay, so I’ll name a constellation and you tell me the stars in it, or I’ll name a star and you tell me the constellation it belongs to. Sound good?”

“Sounds easy enough, I guess.”

“Hehe, okay. First one: Taurus Major.”

“Ooh, okay. Well, there’s the main star Taurus A, then Taurus B, and … …”

Mist continued to answer the test questions as best he could, and he and Bloom carried on well into the morning, the hours disappearing before them. Their destination had taken them off the path at into the forest, but still they continued to talk and laugh. About halfway through the morning, they reached a relative quiet point.

“I still can’t believe you know all those stars. You missed a few, but that’s understandable. Very well done indeed. Now shall we try your knowledge of celestial events?”

Mist was eager to continue, as he was both showing off his knowledge and learning so much. But before he could reply, Sweetroll interrupted, “Put that test on hold, colts. I think we’re here.”

The scholars all gathered together and moved forward as a single unit. Sweetroll at the head cleared away the vegetation, and what everypony saw left them slack-jawed. A sizeable crater was in the middle of the forest, but unexpectedly, there was no scorching, and it looked as if the trees had moved out of the way of the falling object. No tree was damaged, and all the site looked to be was a dent in the ground.

“Well, this is going to be fun,” said Brilliant Bloom finally.

Fun indeed, Bloom. Fun indeed.

Comments

[Material Defender]

Nice. You ever consider adding this story to some groups? You can pick up more viewers that way.

[LucidReverie]

626400 That's a good idea, thanks! I'll look into it!

[BranFlakes]

And the plot thickens. :)

[Bryce98]

626448

Maybe a post on Reddit would help, too. There's a subreddit for everything.