After it All
So… where do we go from here?
I was hoping you’d have a clue.
Come on, bro! You guys are going on like it’s a bad thing!
It was a bit left field…
I dunno, it's kinda cool!
Not the time, Spike!
The child stood stoic, mouth drawn into a thin line and expression as devoid of emotion as he could manage. Around him, a faceless throng, garbed in sombre affair, milled. They brushed against him, vague whispers of condolences and reassurances, comforting hands on his shoulders, pats on the head. Even to the child, they rang shallow and hollow.
He focused straight ahead, at the true center of attention. Two caskets; closed with only two portraits to show who was inside. The bodies had been too damaged for an open casket funeral.
Mom… Dad…
The world narrowed to just him and the caskets. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could matter. Nothing else should matter. The illusion broke when a man in a crisp uniform stepped up.
‘Your parents were amazing people, Noah. It was horrible how they were taken from us. Far too soon, but… They saved a lot of lives in their time. Mine was one of them. Never a pair to let anyone who needed help go without. A lot of people will remember their contributions. You should be proud.’
He didn’t care. He didn’t want to have to care. So what if they helped a lot of people? So what if they saved a lot of people? He didn’t want to be proud of them. He just wanted them. He said as much, his stoic bearing broken, small fists pounding on the man as he started wailing again.
‘Let it out, kid,’ the man said, accepting the abuse without protest. ‘Your parents always spoke well about you. Just don’t forget about them. Don’t make it be something that holds you back. Remember them to keep you going, and don’t keep it pent up.’
“You didn’t, did you? Forget about them.” That wasn’t from the dream. The dream weakened, the memory becoming just that: a memory that faded back into the vagueness of a dream.
As the dream figment of my younger self wailed against one of my father’s best friends, the one who ended up helping me through various points in life, the real me—as real as it could be in a dream—whirled around to face the speaker. Wings that I hadn’t realized follow me into the dream flared slightly.
I was still in the church that his parent’s funeral had been held in, my dream self towards the front while I stood at the midpoint. A gentle beam of moonlight cast itself on me, and I quickly looked up to see a stain glass portrayal of a pony I had seen once before.
White light illuminated the representation of Princess Luna, the image becoming the ruler in question. Her wings spread and hair flowing sedately, she descended just as gently as the moonlight that was her backdrop. Her dress had changed since I last saw her. Silver folds of fabric garbed her upper body, similar length around her legs and down to her shins, oddly leaving her thighs exposed on the sides. On the exposed flesh were matching designs of some sort: a dark splotchy mark with a silver crescent moon. The entire affair was secured with a pale blue sash at her waist. Her hooves touched down silently, wings settling in relaxed behind her. She had a smile on her face.
“My niece informed me that you were quick to volunteer aid. And for that, I thank you, Noah Spring Field.”
“I, uh…” First Cadance and her husband, Twilight and her friends, the people of the empire, now the ruler of the dream realm? And niece? The list of questions just kept growing. I really needed to write those down.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to require a response from me as she looked at the scene playing out. She only let it last for a few minutes more before a wave of her hand hid it behind a bank of mists that, like her hair and tail, evoked the night sky. “I take it Sombra evoked some memory of your parents in the conflict between you two?”
“Wait, how did you know that?!” I demanded. True, I had admitted to them that Sombra had gotten in my head, but I never shared the details.
“A lot of what happened during Sombra’s time ruling the Empire may have been forgotten, but I recall enough of his methods.” Princess Luna’s expression was far from a pleased one. “He would search for the darkest moments or greatest fears in a pony before using them as a catalyst to bring out the worse.”
“Yeah, sounds about right,” I sighed, my mind briefly flashing back to the frenzy Sombra incited when he weaseled his way in. Unbeknownst to me at the time, traces of miasma started to creep from the edges of the dream. Princess Luna’s horn glowed, the gentle glow pushing them back.
“Worry not of that,” she advised. “In time, his influence on you will fade. I merely came to give you thanks, and ensure your dreams would be untroubled, so you could enjoy the rest you deserve.” She frowned slightly. “But, you did not have those wings when we last met. Nor a tail.”
“I… honestly don’t know, and haven’t had a chance to even really think about it,” I admitted with a shrug. After the fight, I had struggled through the impromptu celebration, and a short declaration from the royalty before finally crashing from magic exhaustion. I wasn’t the only one. Cadance, Shining Armor, and more than a few of the royal guards more or less collapsed once we were out of the public eye.
“They suit you,” Princess Luna said, spreading her own and rising into the air. “Though I did expect a horn after seeing glimpses of your magic prowess in the dreams of the empire.”
Right, ruler of the dream realm. A ruler who serves as warden and guide, too, it seemed. Totally different from what I expected. As far as I know, Maeve would have been more nightmares and boogies and maybe temptations of vice. Luna seemed a more native dream walker style than fae. “To be honest, I don’t know where they are from either.” They were too… benign looking to just be erebea corruption’s effects. “Funny thing, I always did want to fly.”
The clarity of the dream started to fall, a pleasant fuzziness spreading in my limbs, as Luna gained more height. “Then, that shall be a matter for when you wake. Until then, rest well, ‘hero of the empire’.”
That… was sass, wasn’t it? Okay, maybe she did have a few more typical dream mistress traits. Her wings spread wide, and with a brilliant flash, she was gone.
Either I forgot the rest of my dreams, or I simply didn’t have any. Either way, I was well rested and comfortable when I rose from my slumber, staring at the unfamiliar crystalline walls. I stayed in the warmth of the covers, giving my muscles time to get the wake up message. Eventually though, I sat up and yawned, then stretched all my limbs contently.
“And still there…” I grumbled, feeling the additional pair of limbs stretch at my back. Maybe I was just weird, but with everything that had happened: magic, talking ermine, turning into a kid, new world, the epic magic duel, the dark magic… I really needed to write that list down. But with the wing-tail thing happening during the frenzy…
I sighed and climbed out of bed even as I mused on what the implications of a forced acceptance of a possibly permanent transformation effects on my mind might be. Along with the tail, there was fur on my back, shoulders and upper arms; down my spine, over much of my back. It thinned out to pretty much nothing around my collarbone but did inch up my neck to meet my hairline. It somewhat reminded me of super saiyan four.
I experimentally shifted the tail, watching with a trace of bemusement as the somewhat disheveled appendage moved more or less as I instructed it to. I half folded the wings, contemplating the truly alien feeling of of feathers on fur. “This is going to be interesting getting used to…”
“Bro!” The wings I just folded flared in surprised at Al’s sudden call. The door to my room cracked open and a sleek shape rocketed in. In no time, he scampered up my leg and back and hid between my wings. “Save me, bro!”
Before I could ask what was going on, a ruckus quickly approached before my doors were slammed open by Rainbow Dash, hovering a foot or so in the air, fire in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks “Just wait till I get my hands on you, rodent!”
“I’ll help! That little fiend!” Rarity scowled, marching in behind her. Applejack was smirking as she followed, and Pinkie Pie was skipping merrily, two baffled guards with them. This was going to be awkward.
“Girls! We can’t just barge into Noah’s room!” Twilight’s voice called from the back of the group. “What if he’s still slee-?” she trailed off, and no one else spoke up.
You see, the fight with Sombra had been pretty brutal. Even with my barriers, more than a few of his attacks hit hard, and even outside that, there was the crystallization thing, the sprouting wings and a tail, the hand in my chest… In short, the outfit, all of it, I arrived in, save for my cloak which I hadn’t been wearing, had been reduced to rags.
They were nice enough to provide a replacement wardrobe, to wear during the impromptu celebration that had started up and kept going, but in the end, I crashed into the bed only after managing to disrobe. And I hadn’t gotten a chance to get dressed yet. And to make it even more awkward, I did say the entire wardrobe. They didn’t seem to do boxers either, instead using what was pretty much a jockstrap that worked with their ‘show the thighs and waistline so the tattoos can be seen’ fashion.
“Oh my…” Fluttershy’s voice broke the silence as she slunk away.
“Hi, Noah! Sleep well?” Pinkie Pie asked happily, seemingly immune to what hushed everyone else.
“Land’s sakes! Sorry!” Applejack quickly said, turning about.
“Oh, I’m…” Rainbow took off back through the door.
“Oh, dear... So sorry, Noah,” Rarity, face a-blush, turned tail as well. Twilight followed, taking Pinkie with her.
“Sir!” the guards said, quickly marching out, closing the door behind them quickly.
“Well… it could have been worse. They might not have had underwear for me at all,” I commented, a bit too shocked to be properly embarrassed about what just happened. I turned to Al to ask him what that was all about, but resorted to a facepalm when I noticed the panty he had in his grip.
-----
After I got dressed, and retrieved the piece of underwear from Al’s possession, I joined the girls in the front room, blushes all around. The guest suite they provided for me was pretty awesome. It was basically an apartment. A master bedroom, a lounge/entertaining general room, two smaller guestrooms, a kitchenette, a full bathroom with a tub that was more a small pool. Apparently, communal baths were common with them.
“So, let me get this straight, Rainbow Dash…” I started once we were all on the couch, faint blushes still on everyone’s face. “This little stoat—”
“Ermine,” Al insisted.
“—Weasel,” I continued, with a small smile from his reaction, Rainbow’s bark of laughter proving I wasn’t the only one amused, “snuck into your room and stole your underwear.”
“He attempted to get mine as well, but I was able to prevent that,” Rarity added with a frown.
“This castle is beautiful, but it’s so cold,” Al claimed, putting on an impressive act as he spoke, eyes watering with emotion. “I can’t help but need something more to provide warmth when I sleep, and I didn’t want to bother my bro about it.”
“Oh, you poor thing!” There was a flash of wind and yellow as Al was snatched off my shoulder. Fluttershy, her wings folding behind her, held him close to her ample bust as she settled on an empty chair. Al got a lecherous smirk on his face.
“You should keep that miscreant under control,” Rarity said, glaring at me.
“I never claimed to control him at all,” I said with a helpless and distracted shrug. Both Spike and I found it hard to keep from glancing at the leering Al. “He does his own thing most of the time. Actually, I’m not sure how our master-familiar arrangement is supposed to work.”
“That varmint ain’t right,” Applejack said, shaking her head and deciding not to pursue the matter as Fluttershy continued her doting.
“He only seems likely to smear the reputation of a knight,” Rarity said, still frowning at Al.
“Like I’d do anything to ruin bro’s rep!” Al said proudly, as if his lecherous expression wasn’t a direct counter to his claims. “On my honour!”
“You don’t have any!” Rarity said, clenching her hands as her frown intensified.
“Let’s change the subject,” Twilight interjected quickly, before the conflict between Rarity and Al could turn into something more, and forced grin on her face. “How are you doing, Noah? After the fight, you had burned all your magic reserves, particularly having to push and hold out through the party earlier.”
“It was an awesome party!” Pinkie said cheerfully, offering me a glass of apple juice she pulled from somewhere. Once I took it from her, she started gesticulating grandly, fondly remembering the event. “I never thought I’d get to help host a ‘Congratulations on overthrowing your evil dictator!’ party! I only ever heard of them in those books where Princess Celestia is a big meanie. It’s still running in some places.” She cast a disappointed look at me. “You disappeared WAY before it ended, too. Like, after an hour. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, too. Right after you and Spike got knighted.”
“I’m sure it was because they were very tired, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said softly, managing to tear her attention from giving Al hugs and care.
“Considering it’s been plum near a day, I’ll say he was plenty tired,” Applejack chuckled.
“A day?” I asked uncertainly.
“You’ve been sleeping about twenty hours, bro,” Al supplied. I stared at him, still pressed against Fluttershy’s bust, in shock.
“The doctors said you thoroughly exhausted your magic and pushed your body past its limits,” Twilight added a bit more explanation. “Not only did your reserves need to restore themselves, but your body needed to recover, too. Even the positive effects of the Crystal Heart’s light were basically only first aid.”
“Twenty hours?” I repeated, still trying to process that part.
“Shining Armor and Cadance already recovered hours ago, as did the guards,” Al said.
“You were the last,” Twilight said, picking up from Al’s thought, doing a good job of ignoring his position. “Aside from… Sombra.” Twilight shuddered slightly. “He’s stable but still in a coma. And still a colt. Nopony can figure out how you managed to transform him from a grown stallion to a colt. Age spells are among the most complicated magics known.”
“Speaking of awesome transformations: you got wings and a tail now!” Rainbow Dash said gleefully. It was clear from her tone that she had been holding back, on request from the others, going by Applejack’s rolled eyes and facepalm. “You almost look like a regular colt now. Though you still don’t have a cutie mark. How’d you pull that off?”
“No clue,” I smiled back at her, seeing no reason to lie. Besides, the expression on her face, somewhere between frustration, rage and confusion, was hilarious.
“I honestly think it was a side effect of the dark magic I used.” I stuck another spoonful of fruit salad in my mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until the food was actually in front of me. Twilight had been the one to suggest waiting until Shining and Cadance were available so we didn’t have to repeat anything. So, we moved to the private breakfast hall and gathered there.
The girls, Spike and I had taken seats around the large table in the room, though Cadance and her husband had taken the position at the head. The only other presence were the two guards flanking the doorway, lances in hand. As for the table itself, it was well ladened with various foodstuff, and we were helping ourselves to it.
“That really was dark magic you were using?” Rainbow Dash asked, her question muffled by the sandwich she was going to town on. “I don’t know if that’s really cool or really bad.”
“Don’t think I like the idea of the hero using dark magic, to be honest,” Applejack commented, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall.
“It’s not dark magic like evil, but it is focused on using ‘bad emotions’ to increase power.” I went with Rakan’s simplified, stupid but still accurate, description, my mouth still full. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to match Sombra’s power. I developed construct wings at the peak of my power. Them becoming—corporeal, wasn’t expected.”
“Speaking of unexpected,” Cadance said from the head of the table. She leaned forward slightly. “What were you thinking when you saved Sombra? Don’t misunderstand my intentions, I’m not eager to sentence anypony to death, but you know what he’s done. Even with the reasons you gave after his defeat: why did you save him?”
“And that’s the million-dollar question,” I sighed, setting my spoon down.
“Yeah, kinda surprised me, too, bro,” Al said as he tossed berries down his gullet.
I chose my words carefully. “First off, I wasn’t lying when I said he might be helpful. Twilight—actually, don’t you have to go back to your princess, Twilight?” I asked, suddenly recalling what Twilight said about being sent to help and the test issue.
“I already got in touch with Princess Celestia,” Twilight said without hesitation. “She has no issues with the girls and I staying for a few days to continue helping. She, in her official capacity as head of state, is sending more aid for the Empire as well.”
“Okay, good. As I was saying, Twilight and whoever else you have on call might be able to figure out what was done in time, but if we can convince Sombra himself to help, it should go a lot faster.” A few heads reluctantly nodded as I continued my explanation. “Secondly, the massive burst of light and emotional magic might have had a positive effect on him, making him less… okay, more agreeable overall.”
“I suppose,” Rarity said without much conviction.
“As for the last two reason,” I waved my spoon in the air, the delaying tactic annoying Spike and Rainbow, who didn’t hesitate to frown at me. “I managed to get inside Sombra’s head in the fight.”
“I don’t think ‘understand somepony after a fight’ thing is the best defense,” Shining Armor commented blandly, if with the barest hint of a smile.
I smiled back faintly at him. “No, not like that. He used mental magic to make my magic technique go out of control. I managed to use a similar trick to get back at him, and managed to see into his psyche somewhat. I have reasons to think there’s more to him than just a ruler gone bad. I saw a memory of some sort. He mentioned something about a master…”
“The big meanie King Sombra had a bigger meaner master?” Pinkie Pie asked, her expression exaggerated shock.
“There is always a bigger bad,” Spike said, nodding sagely as he dug a clawed finger in his bowl of gems. He threw me initially when he asked for the bowl, even more when he started to eat them.
“And, well…” I sighed. It was around forty-eight hours at this point. “I got transported here from another world. Twilight and I talked about it, and my magic is different from yours. Similar in a lot of respects, but still different with how it’s structured and operates.”
“Not to rush you, dear, but I suppose you are going somewhere with this?” Rarity asked, a slice of fruit floating before her.
“I… I saw someone in Sombra’s memory using the same type of dark magic I use,” I admitted. The table was stunned. “Not just that, but it looked like it might be a perfected form of it.”
“But… that doesn’t make any sense,” Twilight blurted out. “How could somepony else from your world using your magic have been here some one thousand years in the past?”
“Exactly,” I sighed. “I know it’s a selfish reason, but… I really want to find out what he knows, if anything, about how I might be able to get home. At the very least… he said my magic reminded him of something. I’d at least like to know what that ‘something’ is.”
The others stared at me with mixed expressions. Cadance, for one, looked tense. I let them. I was still confused about it and didn’t blame them for being unsure of my reasoning. Shining Armor finally sighed. “Very well. At the moment, his magic is far from what it was, and we can keep that sealed. Hopefully, you will be able to get something of use from him when he awakens. He is a grand wizard from a thousand years ago. He should have some intel of use to all of us.”
“It sounds dumb when you explain it like that,” I sighed. Rainbow laughed at me.
“Right! You said you’d tell me about your flying!” Rainbow Dash said suddenly, leaning forward eagerly.
“Wait, what?” I asked, fork halfway to my mouth.
“The flying you did before you got your wings! You said it was magic!” Rainbow insisted. She pointed her remaining third of a sandwich at me, a pickle flying out and hitting me in the chest. I picked it off and set it aside in distaste.
“You promised to tell her about your flying?” Twilight asked. “When did that happen?”
“I don’t remember either,” I admitted.
“Right before you blasted Sombra in the face with that big blast thing!” Rainbow said eagerly. “So spill! What was the deal with that?”
I chuckled nervously at the intensity in Rainbow’s expression, a response Al shared.
Satisfying Rainbow’s curiosity took a lot more out of me than I expected, and it was only the intervention of the others that allowed me to slip away. It wasn’t the magic she was interested in, but rather the flying. How fast I could go, how agile, how long it lasted, how fast I could go, who taught me how to fly without wings, if anyone could learn to use it and how fast I could go. No, that wasn’t a mistake. She actually asked how fast I could go three times.
Finally freed of her I was spending some time to get more acquainted with the castle. I was apparently an official Hero of the Realm, and a Knight, with more titles to come. I did not know how to feel about that. At all. Particularly the salutes and respective greetings, further tempered with awe, from the guards I passed. Of course, the castle was critically understaffed, so there was a merciful few of those.
It was a lovely place though. Idly, I wondered how it compared to the other castles of the world. They did say it was a 1000 years out of place. As I wandered, I counted on my sense of directions and memory, further improved as it was by inheriting Negi’s skill, to keep me on track. Somehow, I still got turned around at least twice and got lost. I swear this place was bigger inside than it looked. And not in the architectural trick way either.
“I should have taken their offer of a guide,” I muttered to myself as I opened another door. Rather than another hall, I found a staircase behind it. With a sigh I started climbing, finding myself up on the open area we found the Heart hidden. “I really should have taken the offer…”
The view was impressive though. Without an attack from external forces, and powered by the Heart like it should have been, the shield protecting the Empire from the wintery wastes had expanded vastly. Despite the damage it suffered in the fight, the city was glistening and eye catching. The grasslands and fields expanded out from it for miles, somehow converted from the cold rock and earth it should have been. I couldn’t help but lean against the railing and take it in. I guess I really did do good.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Cadance’s voice commented a moment before the joined me.
I started a little. “Princess! I didn’t know you were here.”
“I can be quiet when I need to. Love sneaks up on people, after all,” she teased. She was looking better. Even more than at the meal. There was still a little tension in her bearing, hesitancy, but I could excuse that.
But as for her line, I rolled my eyes. I had gained a better understanding of how the Princess and ‘alicorns’ of the realm worked. Cadance, the youngest of the three rulers, still in mortal age ranges, and young even for a mortal, was also the Princess of Love. “Love makes bad jokes too?”
“Only when it’s fitting,” she replied easily.
“So, I have royal permission to make bad puns, now?” I had to admit, Cadance didn't have the bearing I expected a royal to have. She was disarmingly normal, her massive magic power aside. Though, I shouldn't be tossing stones in that regard.
“Some would say there is never a time for bad puns,” Cadance remarked with a smirk.
I gave raised an eyebrow at her and made a show of taking in the view of the kingdom.
Cadance was quiet for a while, looking at me and trying to figure out what held my interest so much. “What? What is it?”
“Oh, nothing. Just taking in the view from this glass house of yours.”
For a beat, she was quiet, but it was quickly lost to a twittering laugh that had her wings twitching and even leaning on the railing for support. “Oh, you horrible pony, you!”
It felt good to hear her laugh, even more so since I could see her relax further. Laughter was the best medicine.
Eventually, she contained herself, though the ease remained, and we stood side by side in silence, looking over the kingdom. To be fair, I didn't know what kept me there.
“To think Auntie expects me to rule here... I don’t know if I can manage it,” Cadance said, breaking the silence with her admittance. “Or if I even should.”
“Didn’t the locals already declare you their Crystal Princess?” I pointed out, a bit confused as to why she would be telling me this. “Seems you already have your… subjects’ approval.”
“As much as they approve of you being the empire’s hero, savior and knight,” she retorted lightly. I groaned and hid my face.
“They won't let that one ever go, will they?”
“Well, I have already seen submitted plans to build a statue in honour of you and Spike, so that's not likely.” She laughed when I groaned again. “I'm surprised this bothers you this much. With your talent, I would think you would be used to attention. Their love for you is pure and honest. And all they want to do is show it.”
My expression must have shown my truly mixed feelings on that. “Oh, stop. You forge bonds easily. Not just with the ponies you helped, but you even impressed Twilight and her friends. Myself included. The connections you've made already, particularly between Twilight, are strong.”
“Is that from your ‘lovey lovely’ sense?”
“Princess of Love,” Cadance emphasized.
“More like Tree of Love, because you are getting sappy,” I commented blandly. She giggled, and I rolled my eyes. “So, what was that about you saying you shouldn't lead?”
The giggles turned into a sigh laden with melancholy. She stared out at nothing again. “Can a princess who fled her kingdom be really worthy of leading it?”
“Well, I… I suppose it would depend on the circumstances of the depar… ture…” my reasoning started to unravel as her comment actually processed. “Fled the kingdom? You? But… how… what?”
We flew, one on pink wings, the other on tan. Now that the worry of being in a strange land was the only thing weighing on me, as in not fretting about being lost, dying in the tundra, attack from a mad sorcerer, etc, I could actually enjoy the sensation of flight, particularly under my own power.
It kept the faintest twinkle in my eye as Cadance led me somewhere, promising to explain more when we arrived. We ended up in one of the levels I had never been, which technically defined most of the castle.
“I'll… give you the short version for now,” Cadance said in an oddly heavy tone as she led me down the empty crystal hallway.
“Yes, please. I thought you were the only princess not in the triple, if not quadruple, digits,” I said as I kept pace. “I mean, I know women don't like telling their real age, but there has to be a line.”
“No, I'm not over a thousand years old,” Cadance said with a bit more of her earlier humour. The hallway opened out onto a balcony that overlooked an open lower level and a Crystal art piece that stretched from the level below to the roof overhead. A pillar crafted into twisting curves and angles that had beautiful things that the light refracted, giving the appearance of the light having danced around it. “But I am from the Empire. My mother… she was the last Empress.”
Cadance stopped. There was a doorway slightly more ornate than the others, but rather than open it, Cadance merely laid a hand on the wall beside it sadly. “I don't remember much. I was only a little filly. Only four. I don't remember much. The war was bad. My… my father had gone missing, so I don't really remember him much.
“Sombra had breached the empire and was marching to the city. She took me into the atrium and sealed the residence and then… She said it was to save me.”
She didn't cry, but her eyes did water. “The next thing I knew, there was a bright light and all these shapes, and I was in a forest. I was raised by some ponies in a small town. It was a few years before Aunty Celestia found me.”
What was I supposed to say to something like that? It was… it was just as bad as what happened to me, actually. But one thousand years? She didn't seem to expect a response from me at least, and continued talking.
“With Sombra’s curse, even my aunt couldn't remember everything about the Empire or its ponies, but I've been having… flashes ever since I got here. Last night particularly. I think I remember parts of my foalhood more than anypony normally would!” she laughed, equal parts sad and happy as she leaned over the railing and stared at the art piece.
“For the first time in years, I know, really know, what my mother was like. I had an older brother, too. I can remember their love, the love from my father, too, even if I can't quite remember him. For some reason, you remind me of him.”
I mulled that one over before reaching for the door she brought us to. The handles glowed faintly when I touched it, a sphere of magic circling my hand for an instant. I was concerned, but the magic merely spread through the patterns on the door, causing it to unlock, turning without any problems.
It opened into what was basically a much bigger version of the rooms I got. There was a large open room that spanned two floors. The main level was set with a few plants, seating on one side, a table on the other, lit from above with a large skylight. A few more doors were on the far wall, both ground level and balcony.
I noticed those second hand though. My attention was drawn to the statue crafted from crystal in the middle of the room. Two young ones, both pegasus, a filly and colt, beaming wildly, a mature and motherly unicorn mare standing behind them, a hand on each shoulder. Tints in the crystal gave them colour.
The quality was such that, even without them, I could tell the youngest, the pink filly, was Cadance, multicoloured hair done up in girlish braids. The colt, a few years older I guessed, had to be her brother. His coat was the same tan as my own, but his hair was raspberry instead of red, while trying to outdo his sister’s smile. The mare… I could easily tell she was beautiful. A pale coat with her hair and tail flowing almost to the ground, each raspberry curl and lock crafted with expert care.
“Is this your family?” I said more as a statement to Cadance than a question, walking up to it with awe and, oddly, a strange stabbing sensation in my heart. I recognized her, seeing her in not only my research before the fight, but some of the art in other parts of the castle. Princess Amore, the previous Crystal Empress: Cadance’s mother. Hearing no response from my companion, I looked back curiously. “Cadance, you okay?”
Cadance stared back at me, shock and fear on her face, still standing outside the room. Worried, I immediately returned to her side. “Cadance? What’s wrong? Did I go somewhere I wasn’t supposed to? I’m sorry. I just… the door opened and…”
Cadance worked her jaw a few times before the words came to her. “That… you… how?”
“Um… I turned the handles? Is something wrong, Cadance?”
“This…” Cadance looked at me with the same strange expression. “This is the royal residences… it’s off limits to strangers…”
“Oh. Sorry about that…” I just broke into her home, her actual home in the castle. I looked at the statue ruefully and moved to back away from the door. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’ll stay out—”
“NO!” Cadance yelped, grabbing my arm. Her eyes had gained a hint of frenzy. “No! No… It’s… the residence isn’t just restricted… it’s a barrier. Mother explained it to me when I was little. It’s one of the strongest in the empire. The only ones who can enter are staff who were granted access, guests brought in by ponies recognized by the spell and…” She looked at me in fear and confusion. “And when the residence is sealed, the only ones who can open the seal on the door are those of the royal bloodline…”
Her words resounded in my head like thunder. Those of the Royal Bloodline… Members of the Royal Family…
And I opened the door…
“H… how?” I stammered. I was from another word. How much more twists were there to find? Dragged to the world, given the abilities of my favourite wizard, growing wings and a tail, finding out someone in the distant past also had the same magic, now being able to undo seals restricted to the Royal Family? “This is… I’m not going to use impossible at this point, but… this one doesn’t seem probable!”
“I… I don’t know either,” Cadance admitted. And here I thought stopping Sombra was the end of the storm.
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Okay, I'm so happy to see this story again. The beginning was funny since I missed Al having Percy shenanigans and the girls first interaction with Grey in the chapter was extremely hilarious. The fact that Grey has wings and a coat of fur, along with a connection to Cadence's family makes it very interesting. Overall, I loved the chapter and I hope the next one comes soon.
If you leave us on a cliffhanger like this for as long as it took you to get this chapter out, I may hang you off a cliff.
good job
i very much liked it
Its nice to see a new chapter of this i was sure it was dead. Reguardless of your thoughts on it ot was an enjoyable read.
yay finally an update, do it again soon
Yay im so happy now *sniff*
Happy to see a new chapter! I liked the start of the chapter definitely had me smiling, but that ending, hrm I'll guess it's his connection to the heart? Maybe, anyway, love this story Thanks for Writing!
*I'm going to go reread it now
Oh wow! That's a great twist there. I can't wait to see what comes next.
Oh good an update, was wondering when it would. Also I'm guessing time travel shenanigans are a foot or Noah is Cadance's brother.
Holy crap, it's alive!!
cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder562/500x/18317562.jpg
7879077 Noah, not Grey XD
7879109 Ha! Jokes on you. I have wings!
7879138 7879186 Only truly good when the next one comes out in a timely fashion.
7879396 7879685 Nice speculation. And both are possible too.
7880000 7880526 Not so load! You'll scare the muse!
7880725 I have a hammer
7880725 *Whispers in a Fluttershy voice.* Sorry...
I finally got to reading this, and strangely enough every time the mood shifted in here my music shifted to fit it automatically, kinda creepy. This is a very enjoyable story.
Gentle breeze guide your path, a warm smile welcome you home.
Normally I don't like displaced stories, I often find them retarded and over the top. But this one is increasingly interesting. Being honest I'm just ignoring the crossover aspect of it. Helps that I never really got into Negima. Either way this story is interesting, wish it wasn't a displaced story but meh.
7891427 I am trying to avoid being dumb and over the top, but is it crossovers you dislike or displaced?
7891566 It's the displaced I don't like. I think they lack creativity and all too often it's just "i wanna use these abilities so fuck any continuity or back story." Don't get me wrong not all of them are like that and there are a few that are unique enough that I find general interest in. However that does seem to be a grand majority. In my opinion you wanna do a crossover then do a real crossover, don't subjugate the character's personality with a new one. That's just saying "I'm too lazy to try and get this guy's personality down so here's mine."
Take this story for instance. Now I don't know the lore surrounding it, but couldn't you have done the same thing without including the displaced portion? From what I know about the manga (which isn't much and it's not like I read the whole thing so feel free to correct me) Negi only had a sister. So couldn't you have used the real Negi for this story? Or even another mage from his universe? There were other mages besides Negi it's not like he was the only one. Or since the incident with sombra is a thousand years ago can still have Negi have the royal blood.
I know plenty of people like the displaced stories but concept alone just makes me ask why?
7891617 Yeah, I can see that. And understand it. It's often a why for an author to combine two of their favourite things. I'm not faulting them on that, though. But it does have a tendency to make less impressive story telling. As for Friendship and Courage, it's more of a crossover with similar mechanics. I admit I started planning it as more typical displaced, but as I outlined my plot, it's closer to a true crossover with a few twists. My MC Noah hasn't become Negi, and there is a reason for it too.
7891689
Indeed, standard crossovers can be repetitive and predictable arguably this is true for displaced stories as well. Key thing that really captures the audience (or at least mine) isn't so much that "hey it's two favorite things" but the way you integrate and combine the two. That's why your little twist with Noah being or apparently being part of the royal family is interesting.
Very nice chapter, good work.
Just a question: Why is the hiatus tag still up if you just updated again?
You need to go back through and fix the coloring, the 4.0 update of FIM broke it
8279668 Gah. Yeah, the close tags for color wasn't always needed in the old coding. Pretty sure I got them all.
Okay this really needs an update.
8384548
Yes it does
Pleeeeeeeeeaaasseeeee moooooooaaaaaaar!!!!
Come on really want to see the next chapters
8745370
Someone please find a cookie and the author in that order
Question i see the story is good and you have romance & sex in udder story's but what about this one
The picture links are broken....
This idea is somewhat familiar... So let me take a wild guess: he's not turning into a pony, he's reverting back into a pony. And, going for 'two for two': Cadence is his sister, somehow.
8281704
You didn't. There's one more in the early chapters somewhere.
Also, do you intend to have this story continue? It's been some years, you know - and the Royal Mystery arc is just starting, too.
7900797
I am from the future, and I hold your answer.
Just came back and reread the fic, loving it still, Thanks for Writing!
MAKE MOAR PLEASE !
hay it is time for a new chapter
My dude, please continue this story, like many others, I want to know what happens next.
Back again after another reread, this really was a gem. Thanks for sharing it!