Gathering Pieces

by Random_User

Conspiracies, Discoveries, and Opportunities

“Tell Mom and Dad I love them, okay?" Cobalt asked, as he hugged Stone. “And get some sleep on the flight. You’re about to fall asleep sitting up again.”

Stone returned the hug and patted his brother’s shoulder. “I’ll do both, I promise.”

“Do I get a hug?” Puca asked.

Cobalt broke his hug with Stone and embraced Puca.

Puca gave him a little squeeze. “Let’s make a deal. You keep a watch on Bonsmara, while she recovers, and I’ll keep a watch on Stone for you.”

“Deal.”

“Enough with the mushy stuff you two. We’re supposed to be back in Canterlot by sunup.” Freight gave Cobalt a poke in the ribs. “You will see them again in two days.”

Cobalt ducked under Puca’s forelegs and caught Freight in a hug. “Thank you for everything.”

Freight grinned and returned the hug. “You like hugging mares don’t you?”

Cobalt looked up at her, with the start tears in his eyes, and shook his head. “I don’t know if I will ever get to see you again.”

“You shouldn't go and cry over me.”

Cobalt’s ears folded back. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

“Since you’re so cute, you’re forgiven this once. ”She patted Cobalt on the head. “Don’t give the princesses too much trouble.”

“I won’t.”

“Now, it’s time to end the mushy stuff. We’ve got to go.” Freight prodded Cobalt towards Twilight and Cadence, who had been watching the scene on the edge of the landing pad. “You two,” she said, addressing Puca and Stone. “Get on board and pick yourselves bunks in the sleeping quarters. There won’t be any princesses on board to keep you from freezing this time, so no going out on deck.”

Stone and Puca made their way into the ship and to the sleeping quarters.

“The ship seems empty, without all the Guard in it,” Stone voiced.

“I’m glad for them that most of them got time off.” Puca yawned, showing her sharp teeth for a moment before covering her mouth with a hoof. “Sorry about that. With all the high emotions from Amore coming back to the Empire I haven’t been able to sleep much.”

“Another reason to be glad the ship is about empty.”Stone said, sliding his saddle bags under a bunk and securing them.
Puca chose the bunk across from Stone’s, and stowed her own saddlebags. “Have you figured out how you will tell your parents the princesses coltnapped your brother so they could study him.”

“They’re not going to study him, they want to make sure that the spell didn't affect him in some weird way.”

“Not all of them will, but I guarantee Twilight is going to.”

Stone snorted. “I wish I could argue, for Cobalt’s sake, but you’re right. She would ask me about what I remembered about being with the Nightmares every opportunity she got and she didn’t seem as interested in what happened with me as she did with Cobalt.”

Puca studied him for a moment. “What do you remember?”

“I remember almost all of it. Right before the Nightmares left me is a blank, but Luna said the memories would come back.” He gave her a warm smile. “I never thanked you for talking with me about me when we were heading towards the sanctuary.”He stopped, blinked, and shook his head. “That was kind of weird to say. Now I understand why Luna slips into talking in the third person sometimes.”

She giggled at him. “You’re welcome.”

He hugged her against his chest and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I mean it. Even while I was with them, the part of me that was still me was worried that their way of looking at things would seep into my personality.”

“I’m glad.”Stone listed to the side, and Puca helped him remain upright. “You’re about to collapse again.”

“Sorry, I’m just a little tired.”

“You’re just a little half-asleep on your hooves.” She patted him on his back. “Get in your bunk, or do I need to get Freight to come back here and order you to?”

“There’s a threat if I’ve ever heard one.” Stone crawled onto his bunk. “Why did I have to start to collapse again now? I wanted to talk to you.”

“You need to take care of yourself first. You’re still recovering, remember?” She rubbed his shoulder in an assuring way. “It can wait for.”

He took her hoof with one of his. “It’s important though.” His eyes half closed. “I want-”

She smiled as he drifted off, still holding her hoof.

*****

“Princess?”

Twilight looked up from her writing. “Just Twilight, remember?”

Cobalt shifted in his chair. “Sorry, Twilight, I forgot. Can we take a break? I want to check on how Bonsmara’s doing. I don’t want her to be by herself too long while Fierce and Grayson are in their meeting.”

“Of course you can,”Cadance said, from a nearby couch, gaining her a irritated glance from Twilight.

Flurry, who was tucked against Cadance, giggled and wriggled as Cobalt hopped down from his chair. He looked at her. “Does she understand what we’re saying?”

Cadance nuzzled the top of Flurry’s head. “She can tell you’re happy, so she’s happy.”

Cobalt grinned at the filly. “Thanks for being happy for me. You behave for your mom, okay?” Flurry responded with happy babbles. Cobalt waved to the three princesses, before trotting out of the room.

Cadance glanced over at Twilight. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing at all left over from the spell, which is good, or what I was hoping to find, which is frustrating.”Twilight rubbed her temples with her hooves. “How am I supposed to figure out the deeper magic of cutie mark formation if I can’t even detect it? I can’t hover around him all the time and wait for it to happen.”

“Are you sure he’s about to get his mark?”

Twilight tapped her hoof against the table. “I’m shocked he didn’t get it when he was part of the spell that restored Amore.” She pulled out a sheet of paper from her notes. “Stressful or surprising situation that pushes the pony to the edge of their limits, check. New experience based on activity preferences or talents previously shown, check.” She ran a hoof down the page. “All of these factors that are associated with cutie marks appearing are there. If my theory is correct, one should have appeared!”

“He won’t be the first colt you might observe right before they their cutie mark, I promise, so don’t worry about it.”

“You know something.”

“I know quite a few things.”

“You’re not going to tell me about whatever it is, are you?”

“Nope, I will not risk the wrath of Celestia and Luna.” Cadence smiled and Flurry giggled up at her. “Flurry knows too, but she’s not going to say anything.”

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

“It will be worth the anticipation. Just be patient and keep your ears open for hints.”

Shining entered the room. “How are my two lovely ladies?”

Flurry squealed happily on seeing Shining.

Cadance gave him a welcoming smile. “We’re doing just fine”

“And not a word to me,”Twilight teased.

“Hello, Twily.”Shining gave Cadance a kiss and then kissed flurry on the cheek, which gained him a happy giggle from his daughter. He grinned over at Twilight. “Would you like a kiss too?”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. How did the meeting go?”

“It was interesting.”

Twilight stared at him. “That’s all you’re going to say? It was a two hour meeting.”

“The rest is classified and cannot be discussed with anypony outside the meeting.”

Twilight tapped herself on the chest. “I’m a princess of Equestria, for crying out loud!”

“No way,I’m not talking. Celestia would shave my tail, and I want to sleep without Luna messing around with my dreams in creative and horrible ways.”

“Celestia and Luna again?! I’m being conspired against!”

“Perhaps you’re just being paranoid?”Shining scooped up Flurry and touched his nose to hers. “Hello my little princess.”

Twilight’s wings unfurled. “Something sneaky is going on! I’m sure of it!”

“Would you like to hold Flurry? She always calms my nerves.”

Twilight sighed and sat back in her chair. “Sure, but I don’t want to take her from you too soon. You just got here.”

Shining levitated Flurry to Twilight. “I’ve said hello to her, and you’re her favorite aunt so she won’t complain.”

“Unless there’s something Mom and Dad not to tell us about, I’m her only aunt.”

Shining turned to Cadance. “Now that my princess is in good hooves, I must hug and hold my Empress, as my duties as consort dictate.”

Cadance grinned and extended her forelegs, inviting him. “Come, my consort, and lavish your Empress with affection.”

“It would be an honor and privilege most enjoyable.” Shining hugged Cadance and kissed her cheek. “I love you, my empress.”

“I love you too, my dear consort.”

Twilight sighed and looked down at Flurry. “Your parents are romantic goofs.”

*****

Bonsmara looked up from her book. “I see you peaking around the door frame. You should be heading to bed.”

Cobalt, looking a bit guilty, stepped into the room. “Twilight was looking me over again, so I was late checking on you. I didn’t want to go to bed, before making sure you were okay.”He looked around the room. “I’m glad I did. They’re still in the meeting, aren’t they?”

Bonsmara put her book down and patted the bed. “Come here.”Cobalt climbed on the bed and Bonsmara tucked him against her side. When he looked up to her, she touched his nose with a finger. “Something is bothering you, I can tell. Is it Stone leaving to go back?”

Cobalt leaned his head against the side of her chest. “That’s part of it.”

“You can talk to me.”

“I don’t want to bother you. You’re trying to get better.”

“It would ease my mind, if you told me what is worrying you.”

“Everything is about over, isn’t it?”

“It looks like it.”

“I don’t want you to go. You, Fierce, Grayson, Puca, I want you all to stay.”

“Fierce and I don’t live too far away. We’ll come and visit.”

“What about Grayson?”

Bonsmara sighed. “I am not sure what we are going to do about him. We had a time of it tracking him down for this job. He is looking for a place to land, but he is not sure what he wants.”

“Stone is kind of like that.”

Bonsmara looked down at Cobalt. “What do you mean?”

“He wants to go on adventures, but he wants to be at home and help Mom and Dad with their business too.”

“He is a rook, just like his mark. He is dedicated to protecting that which is important, but can also end dangers too. It is hard balance to keep.”

Cobalt nodded. “I’m scared he’ll let Puca get away trying to because of it.”

Bonsmara laughed.“I would not fret about that. Puca is an expert. If she is interested in him for the long term, she will get him. I get the impression your brother would protest too much if she made the first move either.”

They stayed quiet for a time, both seeming lost in their own thoughts.

“Ladies first,”Fierce said from the doorway, breaking Bonsmara’s and Cobalt’s introspection.

“Thank you my good sir.” Amore walked into the room. “There you are, Cobalt.We stopped by your room to find you weren’t there.”

“Cobalt has become Bonsmara’s get well plushie,” Fierce said, as he let an older mare with a pink coat and silver mane pass into the room.

“So you’re the colt everypony’s been talking about. I’ve wanted to take a gander at you.” The mare took off her saddlebags, which had the markings of a first aid kit. She nodded toward a corner of the room. “Do you see that circle?”

“Yes ma’am,” Cobalt said.

“You will be standing in it in a minute. Get out of the bed, but stay close. I want you to see something.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said and climbed out of the bed.

“Such good manners, your parents taught you well. Don’t worry about the ma’am though, save that for the royalty around here.”

Amore smiled. “Cobalt, I will introduce her, since she seems too preoccupied to introduce herself, this is Tender Mend. She is the pony that has been helping Bonsmara heal the last couple of days.”

Mend pointed a hoof at Fierce.“You with the thumbs, would you help the lady with her blanket while I get everything set up?”

Fierce’s ears wilted, as he looked toward the ceiling and sighed. “Fierce, dear lady, my name is Fierce. I am sure we have been introduced at least twice now.”

“Names aren’t important.” Mend took out a wooden case as if handling a delicate instrument and placed it on the bedside table. “You’re helping me help your lady love, that’s what’s important.”

Fierce’s eyes met Bonsmara’s, and he smiled. “You speak true.” As he helped Bonsmara get out from under her blanket, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Mend opened the case and motioned for Cobalt to get closer. “Tell me what you think about these.”

Cobalt moved so he could see the interior of the case. Inside the case were a series of padded sections each of which held a crystal.

“You can get closer.”

Cobalt shook his head.

“Why not? They don’t bite.”

“They make my coat stand on end.”

A knowing smile came to Mend’s face. “Like static in the air?”

Cobalt nodded. “This isn’t going to make sense, but it’s like they’re loud.” Cobalt’s ears folded and he looked away. “I’m sorry for being a scaredy colt, but-”

“You’ve got good horse sense. If something is giving you the whim whams, you leave it be.” Mend patted him on the shoulder. “That’s not being a scaredy colt, that's being wise."

“Thank you.”

“So there is a soft spot in you,” Grayson said, from his spot in the doorway. “The stitches are doing fine, so you won’t go tugging on them this time.”

Mend narrowed her eyes at Grayson. “Just for that, you can be the one to go get the nosy princess and bring her here so the patient doesn’t freeze.”

“Twilight is who you mean, right?”

“She’s the purple one who comes and asks me all kinds of questions when I’m trying to help somepony and writes down everything, right?”

“That would be her. As for Bonsmara, it’s warm in here. She’ll be fine till I get back.”

“No back talk from you, you overstuffed falcon! Get!”

“Yes ma’am.” Grayson saluted and headed off down the hall.

“Griffins always make the worst patients. They give you nothing but beak and complain.” Mend examined Bonsmara’s leg, poking it with her hoof. “Any pain here or here?”

“None.” Bonsmara answered.

“The bruises are gone. That’s good. Colt, come here.” Cobalt did as Mend asked and stood beside her. “Put your hoof on her leg here, right where mine is.”

Cobalt blushed and looked up at Bonsmara. “Is that going to be okay?”

Bonsmara nodded. “I trust you and her.”

Mend raised her hoof, letting Cobalt place his on Bonsmara’s thigh, and then put her hoof on top of Cobalt’s. “Relax, close your eyes, and focus on what I am doing.” Mend closed her eyes and hummed a soft note. “Do you sense anything?”

Cobalt’s nose wrinkled as if he smelled something vile.“A dark streak, I guess is what I would call it.”He pulled his hoof away and shook it. “What was that?”

“That was amazing!” Twilight’s pen went across the parchment she was levitating with precise speed. “Guided magical sensing through hoof contact, something like that hasn’t been seen in-”

“About a thousand years,” Mend said, giving Twilight a chastising glance. “I invited you so you could observe. Keep your comments on the paper or I’ll ask Grayson to throw you out.”

Grayson snorted. “I’m the one who went to go get her. Shouldn’t it be Fierce’s turn?”

“Leave me out of this.” Fierce took Bonsmara’s hand in his paw. “I am here for my lady and shall not be moved.”

“Guess I will play the part of the bouncer then.” Grayson grinned at Twilight. “Please misbehave. I’ve never roughhoused with a princess before.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose.

Mend shook her head. “This was supposed to be a healing and teaching session, not a theater production complete with peanut gallery. Colt, you go stand in the circle. Hound, fetch my bags, while I get him ready.”

Grayson sighed. “You had to bring up that cliché.”

“Sure did.” Mend used her hooves to adjust how Cobalt stood so his hooves rested on a set of symbols. “Hold still.” She adjusted his chin so his nose was level. “Don’t move. Some of these might be cold.”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, but I'm curious. Why do I need to stand in the circle?”

“It’s made of quartz that has been inlaid into the floor. It helps magic flow for tests like this and allows me to better diagnose some of the more tricky patients’ problems.”

Twilight squeezed between Amore and Fierce so she could see. Her quill never stopped, as she took notes as Mend took a pouch from her saddle bags, which Fierce held for her.

Mend took five crystals from the pouch and put them on markings on the edge of the circle. She then took five more crystals from the pouch and placed them along Cobalt’s back, starting with his haunches and ending by placing one on his nose. “Amore, you want to bet which one responds the strongest?”

“The malachite,” Amore said, without hesitation. “A bottle of crystal berry wine, if I’m wrong.”

“That’s was my choice too, so no bet.”

Cobalt, cross-eyed due to looking at the green stone on his nose, asked, “What do you mean?”

“I have a hunch why you could hear Amore and I want to test my theory.” She tapped his chest with a hoof. “I’ll give you this chance to say no. Sometimes things like this can lead us down a path we would not have chosen otherwise.”

Cobalt swallowed, met her eye, and told her, “I want to find out why.”

She put her hooves on his cheeks and smiled. “Remember, this is a lot like having your fortune told by using cards. You can follow what is shown, or go your own path. How you react to what is shown is the important part. I know ponies who followed the signs and ponies who ignored them and all were successful in life. Close your eyes. Clear your head as best you can and don’t move.”

Cobalt took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Mend took a step back and then circled Cobalt. She stayed just outside the circle and as she passed the crystals she had arranged, she put a hoof over them as if trying to protect the flame of a candle. Once she made the full circuit, she announced, “So far there hasn’t been so much as a flicker, which I’m not surprised at.” She stepped into the circle. “Now, we’ll see if I’ve still got it.”

She started by putting her hoof over the stone on Cobalt’s haunches. “A little something, but not what I would call a reaction.”She moved her hoof to the stone at the small of Cobalt’s back. “Missed on this one, I’m not getting anything at all.” She moved her hoof to his shoulders. “Not much here either.” She moved her hoof to base of his neck. “Closer this time, but not what we’re looking for.” She stood beside Cobalt so her head was next to his. As she put her hoof above Cobalt’s nose, she smiled. “There is the reaction I was expecting.”

On Cobalt’s nose, the malachite gave off a calming green light. A collective, excited murmur went through the room.

“You can open your eyes now,” Mend said.

Cobalt stared at the stone. “What does it mean?”

“Malachite is a healing stone,” Mend explained. “It means that your affinity is for crystals and magic that helps others.” She took the other crystals from Cobalt’s back and put them back in her bag. “You take that one from your nose now.”

Cobalt took the stone from his nose and held it in his hoof. “Now I know what kind of magic I can work with, what do I do now?”

“You work with me to help your friend over there.”

“Mend, don’t push things too far,” Amore warned.

“Princess, with all due respect, I’ve tutored fillies and colts in this longer than you’ve been alive. Trust me.”

“I trust you but I don’t want you to…” Amore let her words trail off, though it was clear she wanted to say more.

“I want to help,” Cobalt said looking to Mend, and then to Amore.

“So much like your brother,” Mend said. “Yes, while I was checking in on him, I talked with him and did the same test.” She put a hoof to her cheek. “Here I am prattling on like an old ninny when there is a patient and a student I need to attend to.”

“Student?” Cobalt asked her, his ears perked.

“While you’re here,” Amore interjected.

Mend looked as if she were about to say something to argue.

Cobalt assured, “Any time I could spend with you would be great.”

“Then let’s make the most of it.” After putting the rest of the crystals back in the pouch, Mend instructed, “Hound, take these and, please, put them back where you got them.”

“With pleasure.”

Mend took a variety of stones from the case on the bedside table and placed them around and on Bonsmara’s leg. “You minotaurs are made of stern stuff. Had you been a pony, this would have mended days ago with as much magic as I’ve poured into you.”

“Thank you.” Bonsmara tapped the side of her head with her knuckles. “It is often said we have hard heads, but it would seem that it goes for the rest of us too.”

“Colt, come here and stand by me. Now, put one hoof beside her leg here. Put the other here. Good.” Mend moved and stood closer to Bonsmara’s hip. Before placing her hoof near Bonsmara’s waist, she took his left hoof in hers and placed their hooves so they touched the top of the same piece of malachite that had responded to him. “I want to close your eyes, feel what happens between me and the stones and then mimic me as best you can.”

He looked up at her with worry. “What if I mess things up? Will it hurt her?”

“You couldn’t hurt her even if you tried.”

“That makes me feel better.”

“Ready?”

Cobalt nodded, closed he eyes, and turned his head so he faced Bonsmara.

Mend closed her eyes. “Here we go. Just relax and follow what I’m doing.”

The crystals on and around Bonsmara glowed. Her eyes widened. “My leg is tingling more this time.”

Fierce put a paw on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

The room lit with a flash of light.

Mend grinned before she opened her eyes. “We got it this time.”She looked back towards Cobalt’s flank. “It looks like you got something for yourself too.”

“Yes, yes, yes, yessss!” Twilight cheered.

*****

Puca rolled over in her bunk. “You okay?”

“I thought I was being quiet. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t make a sound, but I can feel you thinking. Are you all right?”

“No, I’m not. I keep waking up with something on my mind. It’s been happening for a few days now.” He got out of his bunk and headed toward the hatch. “Sorry about waking you up. I’ll move around a bit, clear my head, and come back.”

“Stone, come here.”He came to her and she put a hoof on his shoulder. “You’re a mess right now. What are you thinking about?”

He sat down and leaned his chest against the frame of the bunk. “You.”

“I don’t know if I like that, if I’m causing you to worry like this.”

“You’re not what’s causing me to worry. It’s the what-ifs running around in my head.”He took her hoof from this shoulder and held it with both of his. He looked from her hoof and into her eyes. “Remember when you asked me what I remember from being with the Nightmares?”

“I do.”

“I remember you checking on me and holding me when I passed out. When you held me, I felt safe and cared for.”

She blushed. “I was so relieved that it wasn’t as bad as it looked. You were a bloody, dirty mess and I couldn’t tell if the wounds had closed up or not.”

“I sort of remember talking to you and Stone when we were first in the cave, but there is something I know I will remember for the rest of my life that happen not long after that.”

“What was that?”

“Waking up holding you, it felt right. It felt wonderful. I was the most content and happy I can remember feeling, because you were there.” He smiled and touched his nose to hers. “I bet you sensed all of that, though.”

She smiled. “I did, but I wasn’t sure if I was what was making you feel that way. Going on assumptions based just on what you read from emotions is dangerous. You never know what the thinking behind the emotions is.”

He drew back, and his smile grew vulnerable. “I want to ask you something.”

“Ask anything you want.”

“Can you feel I love you?”

She nodded. “I can.”

“Is it enough?”

“Enough? What do you mean?”

“Could you live off it?”

“Yes, it’s more than enough.”

“Good, then I won’t feel guilty asking my next question.”

“Which is?”

“Will you stay with me in Ponyville?”

She smiled. “I will.”She leaned in, hugged him around the neck, and kissed him. “I love you.” She bumped her nose against his. “You’ll have to let me drag you out on the occasional adventure with the others now and then, though.”

He laughed. “I will go with you wherever you want to go.”

“I’ve already got a job you could help me with me. I’ve got royal duties to attend to in Ponyville, and I’m sure you can make them go a lot quicker by helping me.”

Stone’s right ear flicked. “Royal duties?”

“Part of us being asked to head back before the others is that I’ve been conscripted by Celestia and Luna for clandestine purposes.” She kissed his nose. “I can’t tell you much about the overall scheme, since I don’t that much myself. But you must decide whether we will be in your bunk or mine, before I tell you what I know.”

“I’ll meet you in the middle.”Stone used his forelegs as impromptu measuring sticks. He took the width of his bunk and then measured the space between his bunk and Puca’s. “That’s a problem. Both mats won’t fit on the floor.”

“That’s not a problem at all.” She shifted to being the pegasus she had been when they were on the deck of the ship as they traveled to the Empire and patted her forehead. “Now we won’t risk you getting poked, since we don’t have that much space.”

“But...”

She got out of her bunk and bopped him on the nose. “Remember, I like changing for others, so no fussing.”

He grinned. “I can do that.” He took her hoof and led her to his bunk, and they snuggled together.

She wrapped her free wing around him. “How’s that?”

“Wonderful. Is it comfortable for you?”

She hugged him a little more. “Very.”

“I never did really say it, did I?” Her eyes widened, as he kissed her. “I love you.”