Act 4.1
Act 4
On the Winds of Change
“Release yourself...”
The evening was concluded with the usual; Aiden and Celestia stood on the balcony, as she lowered the sun below the horizon, just like she did every evening before. Lyra had returned to her family home down in the city, Twilight had retreated to her own room to study for an upcoming exam with Cadence accompanying her, and Shining Armor had returned to his evening shift of patrolling the halls of the Royal Palace with his fellow guards.
“Hey, Aiden,” Celestia whispered as the sun was only a thin sliver of orange light on the crest. Aiden turned his head to her with both of his hands on the balcony rails. “Are you ready to speak with Distant Nebula?” Aiden nodded immediately to the Princess’s inquiry. “Very well.” She dipped the sun beneath the horizon, the moon trailing far behind it from the other end of the world. She turned around towards the balcony entrance and gestured her head forward for him to follow. “This way.” She softly spoke.
Aiden remained silent for the majority of the small trek from the upper floor of the Royal Palace to the ground floor. From there, Aiden followed the alicorn out across a stone bridge that overlooked the rest of the city that sat below the Palace, and into a tower that Aiden thought to be part of Celestia’s school. As it turned out, the Palace and the school were connected by this bridge, the tower they were entering being the highest point as it was a part of the city down below. The tower itself was a giant stone stairwell that spiraled down into the main campus of Celestia’s school, illuminated by the occasional stain glass window that allowed the remainder of the sun’s light to seep in.
The stairwell ended at a wooden door at the bottom of the tower. With the moon now hanging high above the two of them, Aiden and Celestia passed beyond the door’s threshold and were now officially on the School’s grounds. Their minute long trek down the tower left them in a small walled in courtyard. The trees and bushes were completely bare, with their leaves of various colors strewn across the grassy floor. Aiden followed by the Princess’s side, never lagging behind. The two of them crossed the nighttime courtyard, paying little mind to the serenity that the environment displayed. The white sliver of the moon reflected its likeness off the waters that ran over the rocks in a nearby stream. The occasional breeze lifted the fallen foliage off of the ground, carrying it short distances, occasionally into the stream. The courtyard ended with the campus’ main building; a rectangular structure, three stories high.
“His office is right up the first steps in here,” Princess Celestia stated, possibly just wanting to end the silence. Aiden simply offered a terse nod to acknowledge her words as the back doors opened, the handles enveloped in the same white glow as the Princess’s horn. The inside of the building was dimly lit with the occasional torch along the walls, and the glow from Celestia’s horn. The two of them turned left towards the first case of stairs that they saw.
Emerging on the second floor brought their paths to cross with Night Step on the other end of the hallway. The young unicorn mage immediately bowed at the site of his ruler. Celestia closed her eyes and raised a hoof. “Good evening, young Night Step,” she said. “You may rise.”
The unicorn did so, rising slowly. “Good evening to you as well, your Highness,” Night Step replied. “And to you as well, Aiden.” He said turning to the human standing next to her. Aiden again offered a terse nod and a smile in response. In the poor lighting of the hallway, he was unsure if Night Step even noticed the latter. Night Step continued on his way down the steps that the two of them had just ascended, possibly to his room, if he lived in a dorm on the campus grounds.
Princess Celestia came to a stop at a wooden double door about halfway down the hall. “Here we are,” she calmly stated. “This is Distant Nebula’s office.” The Princess’s horn was again surrounded by a pale white aura, as the gold handles on the door did the same. The inside of the Archmage’s office was about as Aiden expected; like that of a prestigious CEO or public official. The red carpet stretched across the entire floor, and tapestries of the same shade draped across the windows on the left side of the room. At the other end of the room, was a polished wooden desk. Illuminated only by candlelight, a unicorn sat at this desk.
This unicorn’s facial features seemed somewhat weathered; he was likely in his fifties. His coat was a dark blue color with a mane of an even deeper shade of blue. His eyes were of a golden yellow, not too unlike Lyra’s. This unicorn also wore mage garb similar to those of other members of Celestia’s Council of Mages. The middle aged stallion looked up to see his ruler and her human guest. His mouth dropped slightly. Immediately, Nebula stood up from his desk and approached the Princess, swiftly diving into a bow before her. She sighed softly in response.
“You may rise Distant Nebula,” the Princess exhaled, clearly getting tired of all the extreme formality. The unicorn obeyed, standing up and opening his eyes to look up at the Princess, for she stood roughly two feet taller than the average pony.
“Welcome, your Highness,” Nebula replied before he turned to Aiden. “And a welcome is in order for you as well, Mister Marsh.” Aiden’s head jerked back slightly in surprise of someone calling him by his actual surname for the first time in what felt like an eternity. For the first time that evening, Aiden offered more than just a nod.
“You can just call me Aiden,” he replied quietly. The unicorn nodded.
“Very well, Aiden,” Nebula said. “A warm welcome to both of you.” He turned his back to them towards his desk and the bookshelves behind it. “My thanks, your Highness, for coming on such short notice, what with your upcoming meeting with the griffin parliament the day after tomorrow.”
“It really is no trouble, Nebula,” Celestia replied. “Now, shall we begin this meeting?”
“Of course, Princess,” the Archmage replied returning to his desk. He sat awkwardly in the surprisingly very humanlike chair before he officially began. “Now then,” he started. “Princess, no more than a week and a half ago, our human friend here journeyed into the human ruins known as Taotras; the underground city that lies on the border between Equestria and Gryphonia.” He paused for a moment as he opened one of the desk drawers with a glow from his horn and pulled a rather large piece of rolled up parchment out. He unfurled it across the desk and motioned his head for the two of them to come closer. After exchanging a brief glance, Aiden and Celestia approached the desk and turned their attention to where Nebula had his hoof pointed. The parchment was a map of the Northern region of Equestria; primarily the Rachay Mountains, along with the Southern provinces of Gryphonia.
His hoof was pointed at a small dark blue circle of ink within the mountain range. “This,” Nebula stated. “Is the approximate location of Taotras within the Rachay Mountains. From the accounts given to us by Tempest Runner and Night Step,” the unicorn noticeably cringed at the mention of those two names. “The devices of human construct within the ruins were automated defense turrets, correct?”
“I...” Aiden stuttered for a brief moment. “Y-yes that is correct,” he said with a small amount of surprise at the unicorn’s knowledge of human technology. “But then again, he is the Archmage; I shouldn’t be too astonished that he has this information” Aiden’s mind countered, as though it had a mind of its own. Aiden placed a finger on his left temple at that last thought. “Wait...my mind having a mind of its own?” He barely avoided having to stifle a laugh at that.
“And once you reached the center of the ruins,” Nebula continued. “That door sealed shut behind you, effectively cutting you off from the others.”
“That is correct,” Aiden confirmed. “And this is when the griffins showed up.”
The unicorn smiled as he turned his attention back down to the map on his desk. “Yes, Corporal Tempest Runner and Scholar Night Step reported the arrival of a Gryphonian scouting team while you were trapped in the next chamber over. The griffins tried rigging the door with explosives, when the door suddenly opened.”
“Yeah,” Aiden replied while rubbing the back of his neck. He felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of his first encounter with Vanguard. He thought of the force of Vanguard’s hand around his throat, the cries of the griffin soldiers as they are cut down, one after another, Tempest Runner pleading with Vanguard for Aiden’s safety...
Celestia extended a wing across Aiden’s shoulder, also offering him a comforting glance to deter his thoughts. Her smile and the reflective candlelight glow in her pink eyes mirrored her thoughts. Aiden breathed in deeply through his nose before letting it out through his lips and allowing Nebula to continue.
Nebula apparently didn’t notice the brief, yet loving moment that the alicorn and human in front of him had just shared. He instead continued with summarizing the account of Aiden’s two travelling companions. “When the door opened,” he continued. “You were being held by what appeared to be another human being.” Aiden wasn’t sure if Nebula added that “appeared” in himself, or if Tempest and Night Step said that in their actual report. Either way, Aiden still voiced his thoughts.
“It was no human being that attacked me and killed those griffins,” Aiden interjected. “It was something else, something that was there for an extremely long time!” Aiden bit his lips before he could continue.
“No need to point out the obvious, Aiden,” Nebula smiled. “But I can understand your apprehension. You are correct in that the entity that attacked you was no human being. That entity was none other than one of the Forerunners: the first living, sapient beings to find themselves in this world.”
“That much I knew,” Aiden replied softly while casting a brief glance down to his left forearm.
“Yes,” Nebula sighed with a curious stare of his own directed towards Aiden. “The Princess has told me of these visions that you’ve been having as of late.” Aiden cast a brief scowl in the Princess’s direction before returning to Nebula, who was sifting through papers and parchments on his desk with his magic. “I understand that this must all come as a large shock to you, Aiden, to learn that you yourself are not entirely human either.”
“At first?” Aiden asked with a hand on the back of his neck. “I’ll admit I was pretty shocked to discover this truth.” “Hell, even that might be an exaggeration,” Aiden thought mid sentence. “But, to be perfectly honest, this information didn’t come as much of a surprise to me.” Aiden shrugged. “Maybe it’s because I was a soldier who saw combat back on my world; I dunno.”
“A reasonable theory,” Nebula said standing up. He turned towards the windows that enabled him to look over most of the campus grounds. Aiden’s eyes fell on the Archmage’s cutie mark; a collection of stars and various colored gases that formed what seemed to be a circular nebula in space. Aiden couldn’t help but wonder how a pony’s name eerily predicted their cutie mark. Nebula continued with his explanation. “What might normally deeply affect the mind of your average creature might not even so much as sway the mentality of an entity that has been alive for hundreds of thousands of years.”
“But Aiden is merely twenty,” Celestia interjected. “Are you saying that his human form is merely an illusion?”
“Not exactly,” Nebula said with a hoof on his chin, trying to think of a good way to explain this. “You know of Changelings, your Majesty?” Princess Celestia looked as though she was caught off guard by this sudden question, but quickly responded.
“Yes, of course, Distant Nebula,” she answered. “I myself had tangled with their new Queen several decades ago in an attempted invasion of Equestria. But what do Changelings have to do with the Forerunners?”
“The Changelings; as you are no doubt aware, Princess; are capable of shapeshifting to take on the forms of other equine species, primarily ponies and zebras. Forerunners, however, according to the texts we have, are capable of literally stealing the physical form of a member of any other species; it is not merely an optical illusion.”
Aiden brought a hand up in front of his face and examined it with half closed eyes. “So...” he said softly. “This skin and the blood beneath it is all real?”
Distant Nebula frowned slightly at Aiden’s words. He bit his bottom lip in brief contemplation on what to say. “This may not be the perfect explanation, Aiden,” he began. “But in a word: yes. You are human...on the outside at least.” His ears perked back up as Aiden’s attention was once again on him. “But beneath all of that flesh, and blood, and bone, indeed beneath your very human soul, lies something that is indescribably more ancient and more powerful.”
“Gee, that really fucking helps...” Aiden thought as he crossed his arms, but not allowing his face to betray his thoughts. He and Celestia shared a brief glance with each other while silence dominated the conversation. Nebula appeared to be waiting for a reaction. Celestia remained silent. Aiden closed his eyes for a second before he finally obliged.
“So what am I, really?” Aiden asked with emphasis on the last word. “Human, or Forerunner?”
“Both,” Nebula replied, immediately catching himself with his own hoof to his face. “I mean...” Celestia stopped the Archmage with a raised hoof. Celestia craned her neck to her right to face a troubled Aiden with a gentle smile.
“Aiden, in the end, it matters not what you are, but rather who you are.” She said these words with what must’ve been the deepest amount of sincerity in her voice that Aiden had ever heard. “Your name is Aiden Marsh; a brave young man and a wonderful friend.” Celestia offered an even warmer smile, again extending a wing to offer a small embrace over his shoulders. “Your actions are all the proof I need to believe this.”
Aiden relished in the comfort that Celestia provided, but his question still did remain unanswered. Knowing that the answer would not likely be coming anytime soon, he pushed it into the deepest confines of his mind, and decided to move on to the next subject. With his own small smile on his face, he asked Nebula the next thing on his mind.
“So how many of these Forerunners are there?” He asked. “Are we talking about the remnants of an ancient race, or an innumerable legion?” He suppressed a shudder at the second thought. The idea of there being an army of Vanguard wannabes was enough to send chills through his veins.
“I can definitely say no in regards to your second suggestion,” Nebula said with a chuckle at Aiden’s sigh of relief that followed. “The texts in our possession never provided us an exact number, but four of the Forerunners are mentioned by name.” He paused for a brief moment. “The first one mentioned was Prophecy, Forerunner of the Arrival. This one is also referred to as the ‘Firstborn’. The second one mentioned is Vanguard, Forerunner of the Reclamation...” Aiden’s body stiffened up at the mention of the second name. Nebula gave him a concerned look, but Celestia motioned for him to continue.
“The third one mentioned is Sovereignty, Forerunner of the Regime, and the last one mentioned is Recollection, Forerunner of the Memory.” Nebula turned back to his desk as he continued speaking. “They seem to derive their titles from various periods of their history, such as their arrival in this world, or their regime over the other species. Other time periods directly referenced include the Rise, the Corruption, the Fall, and the Loss, but the names of these Forerunners are not given.” He stopped for a moment, standing directly behind his desk.
Aiden softly hummed to himself, like his always did when the gears inside of his mind were turning. “What about my title, though?” Aiden asked with sincere curiosity. Nebula looked up at him. “If I’m the Forerunner of the Equinox, then do I represent a period of their history, also? ‘Cause the Equinox sounds more like a place than a period of time.” Aiden most definitely knew this for a fact from what the mysterious man told him the other night at the ancient castle back in the Everfree. Nebula huffed as he pursed his lips, trying to think of an adequate response.
“One text written by a unicorn mage by the name of Blaze Lance explains the phenomenon known as the Equinox as such,” he cleared his throat as he lifted a note in front of his face, surrounded in a light blue magical aura. “The Equinox can best be described as a constantly changing plane of existence. It is a place that brings every location of the past, the present, and the future into a single realm.” Nebula paused and looked up to see if his small audience was bearing with his words. “Its shape and form is constantly shifting, and its boundaries are only defined as eternally expanding.”
“A plane of existence that is always expanding?” Aiden thought with his head tilted slightly. “Huh, that sounds rather familiar...but this nonsense about being a place where all of time comes together in a single moment of continually expanding space?” He pinched his temple, trying to wrap his mind around the idea. “I know I probably shouldn’t say ‘fuck’ in front of the P-r-i-n-c-e-s-s, but...fuck...”
“It makes little sense to me as well, Aiden,” Celestia said, as if reading his thoughts. “But, Nebula, is it possible to step into this dimension? Does this ‘Equinox’ run parallel to our world?”
Nebula sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I could answer more than just one of these questions with an actual answer, your Highness...” he whispered in a tone just barely audible to both the human’s and the alicorn’s ears. “The most that we know is that the Equinox is a dimension that runs parallel to, most likely, every other world; not just this one. As for the subject of one physically setting hoof into the Equinox itself...” he paused and smiled at Aiden. “That brings me to discuss the advanced device that has decided to make you its new home.”
Aiden cast a glance back down to his left forearm before rolling the sleeve up to his elbow. Sure enough, the Thorn was giving off a faint glow from underneath his skin, as if responding to a cue. Both the alicorn and the Archmage examined it curiously, looking closely at the faint cyan lines intertwined with Aiden’s veins as the glow slowly began to die down.
“So this Praemian Thorn is basically the key to entering this Equinox place, right?” Aiden asked with his arm still in front of his face. Nebula placed a hoof on his chin, again pursing his lips.
“I suppose it is...” Nebula said taking a few steps back. “But there’s only one way to know for certain...” He took several more steps back. Aiden glanced around to see both the Archmage and Celestia locking their eyes on his left forearm, waiting to see what could be done. He gestured to his left arm with his right and shook his head, a bewildered look on his face.
“Don’t look at me!” He defended himself. “It’s not like I know how the damn thing works!” He yelled in his defence before returning his right arm to his side.
“Perhaps it needs a magical charge to operate properly?” Celestia suggested as her horn started glowing. Aiden cast his eyes up toward the ceiling and shrugged.
“If you think it’ll work, Princess, be my guest,” Aiden said while turning to her, his left arm still extended with his palm facing upwards. Celestia closed her eyes, channeling a small amount of her magic through her horn, causing it to emanate a white glow, like it did when she raised and lowered the sun or the moon. Soon, Aiden felt a barely noticeable tingle in his forearm; it felt as though the blood flow had run out from holding his arm up in the air for too long.
Aiden looked down at his own glowing appendage, to notice that the Thorn was indeed reacting; the cyan glow had intensified at least tenfold, revealing several glyphs underneath Aiden’s skin. Their meaning, if they had any, could not be deciphered by any of the three in the room. Nebula eyed the Thorn with fascination as Celestia opened her eyes.
“It seems to have been activated...” Nebula mused quietly as he squinted his eyes.
“Uh huh,” Aiden said while waving his forearm from left to right, trying to make it work. “Thorn!” He shouted suddenly, catching both Nebula’s and the Princess’s attention. “I command you,” he drew his sentence out as he raised his left arm into the air. “To activate!” He finished as he brought his arm down to point at the floor, pursing his lips and closing his eyes to the point where they were simply narrow slits in anticipation of what would happen.
Absolutely nothing...
Nebula promptly introduced his hoof to his face once again, while Celestia was preoccupied with her own laughter, mostly at the ridiculous look on Aiden’s face. Aiden sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, at least I tried.” He said in defense of his feeble attempt to get the ancient device to work. Celestia took a moment to recover from her laughter before offering her words of guidance to the young man.
“If using this device is anything like using magic, then it’s all about willpower, Aiden,” Celestia said as she stepped up to Aiden’s left. “Hold your arm up,” she gently instructed; he obeyed, holding his left arm in front of him, fully extended. “Now, focus all of your will into it; tell the force within the Thorn that it is under your command! Tell it that it is a part of you, and that it must follow your instructions to the letter!” Aiden closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, taking in Celestia’s words.
“Okay,” Aiden thought, breathing out. “I can do this...”
“If it helps,” Celestia offered. “Try to visualize what you think it will look like.” Aiden tried to drown out all other outside noises after hearing these words. “Close your eyes, visualize; and then, release yourself to the world.”
He thought back to the dream that had brought him to the ancient castle in the Everfree. He thought of the burning hot sand being blown in his face and obstructing his vision. He thought of the unbearable cold piercing his clothes and skin, and biting at his very soul. He thought of Vanguard’s words as Alex’s death was replayed in front of him.
Aiden opened his eyes.
---
This new realm before his eyes was quite similar to his dream the other night. The floor of Nebula’s room was covered in a thin layer of soot and sand, which were occasionally blown around at his feet by a gust of wind; the carpet was singed, and the windows were all shattered. His outside view was mostly obscured by the severe cloud of dust that had gathered around Canterlot in this place. He could however, very faintly see the outlines of collapsed buildings outside as he approached closer to the windows. What he could see horrified him.
The city of Canterlot was in utter ruin; sand had piled up in the streets below, nearly every building was little more than rubble. The few structures that still stood upon their foundations seemed to sustain severe damage. An occasional bolt of lightning shot down from the sky in the distance, illuminating the dust cloud around it.
“So this is the Equinox,” Aiden thought to himself as he panned his view across the ruined city. “This must be Canterlot’s future...complete devastation. It’s safe to guess that the rest of Equestria will suffer a similar fate; possibly even this entire world along with it...” He extended a hand outside of the Palace and allowed some of the dust to gather in his hand. It felt the same as in his dream; hot to the touch; a complete contrast to the freezing cold of the environment itself.
The smell in the air was akin to that of sulfur dioxide, like the contents of a volcanic eruption or an industrial plant with poor sanitation. He let out a small cough as the scent began to burn his nostrils and throat.
Taking a closer look at the clouds in the distance, he could see the outlines of something as another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Aiden squinted, trying to get a better look at whatever it was he was looking at, also waiting for another bolt of lightning. His wish was granted, and a second lightning bolt flared between the clouds for a fraction of a second.
The lightning illuminated what Aiden thought looked like a large bird at first glance. Aiden leaned closer to the holes where the windows once stood, and observed the strange creature. Or at least attempted to do so; the winged creature had apparently flown away and the storm no longer offered light.
He cast a glance back down to the Thorn, to see that it was giving off an intense glow from under his skin, revealing several glyphs that looked very similar to the ones he had seen in Taotras. For the life of him, he couldn’t decipher what the glyphs meant, that is if they meant anything at all.
Upon closer inspection of his left hand, Aiden found the knuckle of his thumb was surrounded in a glowing circle of a deep, navy blue color; the knuckles of his other fingers did not have these circles around them. What this could mean, however, was anyone’s guess.
“Well, Aiden?” A feminine voice from behind asked. “Do you see anything?” Aiden turned a hundred and eighty degrees to see both Celestia and Nebula standing where they were. They both recoiled slightly at the look of horror on Aiden’s face. Their own complexions, however, bore looks that were more of anticipation, rather than fear. Aiden was about to ask if they were not seeing what he could see, when he noticed faint, barely noticeable blue auras surrounding both of them, accompanied with a soft white glow.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they can’t see this,” Aiden thought as he turned back to the window looking out over the ruins of Canterlot. He took a few moments, and another deep breath, to soak it all in. He contemplated on the words he was about to speak to the ruler of all of Equestria; the oath he was about to swear. Then he tried his hardest to speak of what he was seeing to his meager audience.
“Celestia,” Aiden softly spoke; he could tell that she was taken off guard by him calling her by actual name, and not the usual “Princess” like he always did. “I’m not sure how I can properly put into words of the horror that is before me...” Aiden surprised even himself with his words. “But, if what I am seeing is the future of your world...of my world...” He turned to her with a look of anger, unseen before. He couldn’t stop thinking of those he had met since he came to this world: Lyra, Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, Bon Bon and her family; and of course, Celestia herself. He couldn’t stop thinking about them facing a world like this. He came from a world that had seen an unprecedented kind of destruction many decades ago, and he refused to let the same to happen to this one without a fight. With unwavering determination in his voice, he uttered the last words of his declaration.
“Then I will sacrifice everything to defy this future!” He clenched his eyes shut as he tried his hardest to escape from this lonely hell. He commanded the Thorn, which started glowing furiously, to release him from the Equinox’s frozen grip. He mirrored his actions from earlier in channeling Celestia’s magic to his arm.
“Aiden!!” Celestia called out as she rushed to his side, with Nebula not far behind. “Are you okay!?” Aiden looked up and met his eyes with Celestia’s. He quickly turned his head away and let out another cough, the foul air of the Equinox still stinging his throat and mouth. He turned back to the alicorn and slowly offered a reassuring smile to her. She returned it as she and the Archmage gave him space to collect his bearings.
Aiden cast his gaze back to the windows, which were no longer shattered; the storm and the clouds were gone, and the city was back to normal. He returned his smile to the Princess and Nebula, the latter of whom still appeared concerned. “I’m fine,” Aiden said, although he was unsure if he truly was.
Celestia clearly picked up on his uncertainty. “Are you absolutely certain that you’re alright?”
“I am,” Aiden lied...sorta.
“You really had us worried there for a second..." The Archmage said quietly. "What did you see?” Nebula asked with anticipation as he came to Aiden’s left. Aiden sighed and turned his gaze up toward the ceiling for a brief moment before returning his attention to his audience.
“I saw what must’ve been the future of this place,” Aiden answered. “The city was in ruins, and there was what appeared to be a large sandstorm above it. The stench was awful; I felt as though I couldn’t breath for a moment.” He paused and scratched at his chin for a moment. “It was very cold, but the sand felt scorching hot.” He looked over to Celestia, who seemed genuinely intimidated with the description being associated with her city.
“Did you see anything living?” Nebula asked.
“Sort of,” Aiden shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I saw some winged creature flying over the city for a brief period before it disappeared...”
“Not a pegasus, I assume?” Nebula asked.
Aiden shook his head. “No way; it was far too big.”
“A dragon, perhaps?” Celestia proposed.
“Maybe,” Aiden said while crossing his arms. “I dunno; I couldn’t really get a good look at it before it vanished.”
Nebula cleared his throat as he returned to his desk. “Well,” he said as gave a quick glance to the clock on the wall behind him, which read 8:47 PM. “It appears to be getting late; your Highness, I thank you for being able to discuss this matter with me on such short notice.” He turned to Aiden. “And Aiden, I thank you as well for your attendance.”
“Sure thing,” Aiden quietly replied as he followed the Princess out of the Archmage’s office. The wooden doors clanged shut behind the two of them, surrounded in a dark blue aura of Nebula’s magic. Aiden looked to the Princess with a sheepish smile.
“Well,” he let out an exasperated sigh. “That was quite educational, wouldn’t you agree?” He asked in a joking manner. Celestia picked up on his tone; she smiled and chuckled a little bit, while shaking her head. She gestured with her head for him to follow and began trotting slowly towards the stairs. Aiden wasn’t far behind. Silence perpetuated throughout the air as they made their trek back the way they came; through the Academy halls, out through the courtyard, past the bridge, and up the tower.
As the pair stepped back onto the grounds of the Royal Palace, high above the city of Canterlot, their conversation picked up once again. “So,” Aiden began. “You’re going to Gryphonia tomorrow, huh?” He asked, turning his head to her. “I guess their leaders want an explanation for what happened to their platoon in Taotras?”
“Ugh,” she turned her head up to the ceiling. “Don’t remind me, Aiden.”
Aiden frowned. “You don’t really enjoy being a leader, do you?”
“It’s not so much as leading my citizens that I hold distaste for, my friend,” she turned her head to him.
“It’s the politics?” Aiden suggested.
Celestia nodded with her eyes closed. “Politics,” she flatly stated. The pair came to a halt at the doors of Aiden's room, which Celestia opened with a glow from her horn. “Here we are,” she said as she followed Aiden in. The young man sat on the edge of his bed as the kingdom's ruler stood to his side. He looked to his left to see the stars outside his bedroom window; they shined their light through the glass and past Celestia's ethereal mane, which was flowing without the help of any wind, just like it always did. “Can I get you anything?” She asked with a smile. “Something to eat, or drink?”
Aiden was caught off guard by her sudden offer. “I, uh...no thanks,” he said just above a whisper, as if not wanting to wake up anyone nearby, despite the two of them being completely alone.
“Sure thing,” she said with a sigh, but not allowing her smile to falter. Aiden saw a look in her eyes that was all too familiar to him. Celestia was clearly nervous; most likely worried about her upcoming meeting with griffin representatives.
"Hey, Princess," he said as she turned to leave him for the night. She turned her head back to him, her eyebrows raised. "Would you like me to accompany you tomorrow?" She seemed taken aback by his own offer. She stood there for a moment, her mouth hanging open slightly.
“I...” was all she managed to get out at first. Her ears slowly drooped to the sides of her head as she spoke her next sentence. “Aiden, you don't have to worry yourself over matters that only concern myself.” She said with another frown. Aiden only smiled back at her.
“Well hey,” he chuckled. “It's not like I have anything else I could be doing with my time. And besides,” he stood up to her height. “You've helped me just in letting me live under your roof; I figure that the least I could do is give back a little bit.”
“You remember what happened last time I allowed you to help?” She asked as she turned her head away. “I’m not sure if I would ever be able to forgive myself if something happened to you again...” Aiden cringed at the memory of Vanguard dropping him from Equestria’s lower orbit.
Aiden lifted a hand up and gently pushed her head so that she was facing him again. “Princess,” he gently whispered. “Like I said earlier, I am willing to sacrifice everything if I can avert the future that faces our world.” He cupped her face in both of his hands. “Nothing bad will happen to me; it’s you I’m worried about, to be honest.”
“Me?” Celestia asked with her eyes still closed. She let out a small chuckle. “What makes you say that?” Aiden allowed his hands to return to his sides as he thought of what Vanguard said the other night.
“You will fail them, Brother...”
“It’s...” Now it was Aiden’s turn to be at a loss for words, but this only lasted for a moment. “Nothing,” Aiden said with sigh. “I just don’t think I’m worth worrying about, especially if I can fall from the stratosphere and live,” he laughed, trying to simply joke the matter away. Celestia didn’t seem entirely convinced. Nevertheless, she seemed to agree to his terms.
“Very well,” she said. “If that is what you wish, then I will allow it; you will accompany me to my meeting with the Parliament of Gryphonia tomorrow.” She finally opened her eyes and smiled. “I warn you, though,” she said. “Meetings like these can be very, very, very boring!”
“Not any more boring than just sitting on my ass here in the Palace all day,” Aiden playfully countered, mentally scolding himself for cursing in the Princess’s presence. She clearly didn’t mind it though, according to her smile.
“Point taken,” she replied. She turned to make her leave for the evening; “Tempest Runner and Night Step will also be accompanying us,” she stated. “The griffins wanted any surviving witnesses to the incident present.” Aiden nodded in understanding as Celestia opened the door of his room.
“Goodnight, Princess,” he said as he threw the covers and sheets up and nestled himself beneath them. Celestia whispered back through the slightly open door.
“Goodnight, Aiden.”
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It really seems like Aiden, and Celestia are groing very close. I wonder if that will become a romance?
1866764
Yes.Yes.Do this author you magnifecent bastard!
1866764>>1866842 From what I can surmise, the relationship between Celestia and Aiden is more akin to that of a mother and son than that of potential lovers.
1866977
Could be true, could not be true. For all we know we could just be reading too much into it.
Though it would be awesome if it does become a romace.
It is all up to the author.
1866994 That we could. Like the people of the world read too much into The Tale of Scroty McBoogerballs. (South Park... My dad lived in South Park, Galway.)
Playing Halo 4, are you?
Sentence is a bit clunky. Consider revising; perhaps to
1867012
Yup.
1867061 mmm-hmm. (Ha, Boomhauer)
wooo!
Love the friendship/relationship between Aiden and Celestia, i do hope it will grow into something else.
I remember this particular defect. I actually used it to great effect. Changed a friend's autocorrect. Notoriously hard to detect.
Why did I just have a small Zecora moment?
Society of Syntax Socialists,
-Onyx
Well, I seem rather entranced by this. Judging by the way I'm literally screaming quotes like “Then I will sacrifice everything to defy this future!” to give the words more purpose.
And previously, when Aiden was playing the piano, I downloaded Piano Sonata No. 14, plopped it into Logic, gave it some of le reverbs and basked in what was an epic tour to moon.
Now though. Sleep.