Guarded Emotions: Burying the Past

by Alabenson

Rodeo Reconciliation

“You do understand that it’s extremely unorthodox for us to have these little meetings, don’t you?” Conscious Mind glared wearily at Princess Twilight Sparkle as she sat across the table. The teal-coated earth pony psychologist knew full well that the young alicorn wasn’t concerned in the slightest about orthodoxy when it came to her patient, but pointing it out at least made her feel a little better about the situation. “I know you’re technically allowed to ask questions about Moonwhisper’s progress thanks to some guard regulation, but there’s a huge difference between that and asking me about the specifics of what Moonwhisper and I discuss during his sessions.”

“But hasn’t Moonwhisper given you permission to talk about those things with me?” Twilight asked as she poured Conscious Mind a cup of tea. “I remember Moonwhisper telling me he had even given you the permission in writing.”

“And in triplicate, no less,” Conscious Mind added. “I’m just saying that this isn’t a situation I’m totally used to yet. Building trust with my patients is essential for what I do and confidentiality is a key part of that.”

“I guess I can understand why talking to me about Moonwhisper might make you a little uncomfortable,” Twilight conceded, “but Moonwhisper and I both think that this is the best way to help him.” The truth of the matter was it had actually been Moonwhisper’s idea for Twilight to keep tabs on his progress with his therapy. Granted, Moonwhisper’s reasoning had probably been that Twilight was likely to try and ferret out that information regardless, but Twilight still felt it was a nice gesture of trust on his part. “You have to admit,” Twilight added, “Moonwhisper has been improving since the two of us started dating.”

“I have to admit Moonwhisper has been considerably more talkative lately,” Conscious Mind admitted as she took a sip of her tea. “We’re still working through some of his trust issues, but at least we’ve finally reached a point where we can make actual progress. So what exactly did you invite me here to talk about?”

“Well,” Twilight began, “Moonwhisper told me that he’s been having really severe nightmares recently, and I was wondering if he’s been talking to you about them.”

“And let me guess, you’re hoping that I’ll be able to tell you what exactly Moonwhisper’s been dreaming about,” Conscious Mind sourly interrupted. “The subject has come up a few times during our sessions, and Moonwhisper has already asked that I not divulge the specifics about their contents, even to you, your highness.” Seeing Twilight’s expression at this revelation, Conscious Mind softened her tone. “What I can do, if you’d like, is tell you what I think is causing these nightmares in the first place.”

“Really, that’d be perfect!” Twilight exclaimed happily. “But, didn’t you just say that Moonwhisper didn’t want you to talk about his nightmares to me?”

“What Moonwhisper wants to keep private is the specific imagery of his dreams,” Conscious Mind replied with an air of authority, “and frankly I don’t blame him. Most of it is very personal and really rather disturbing. But, so far almost every dream that Moonwhisper has told me about seems to originate from the same set of anxieties.” Conscious Mind paused for dramatic effect and took a sip of her tea before continuing. “Specifically, Moonwhisper seems to be have issues with his fear of hurting those he cares about, yourself in particular.”

“He’s afraid of what?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Moonwhisper would never hurt me. Ever.”

“Well, I didn’t say it was an entirely rational fear,” Conscious Mind interjected, completely unfazed by Twilight’s outburst. “Really his fears of hurting you tie into his issues surrounding his father. Moonwhisper is terrified of the idea that he could, for the lack of a better term, become his father or follow him in his hoofsteps. And when you consider the years of abuse he witnessed…” Conscious Mind’s voice trailed off for a moment before she continued. “You know, before you sent Moonwhisper to me I had never really dealt with anything even remotely as serious as what he’s been through. Mostly it was mild anxiety disorders, maybe the odd existential crisis every now and then. But Moonwhisper…he’s just a giant knot of fears and unresolved traumas that feed off one another, and every time I think I have a handle on it I learn about some new horror from his past.” Conscious Mind let out a long sigh before continuing before Twilight had a chance to respond. “Mostly, though, everything eventually leads back to the unresolved issues Moonwhisper has with his father. For instance, from what Moonwhisper has told me his father has an unhealthy obsession with the idea of family.”

“Wait, you’re trying to tell me that the stallion who regularly beat his wife, and magically tortured his son, was somepony who thought family was important?” Twilight asked incredulously.

“Well, maybe family wouldn’t be the best word for it, at least as we might use the term. The concept that Penumbral Dusk was fixated on was maybe more along the lines of his legacy or his bloodline. To him, any suffering he inflicted on Moonwhisper or his mother was perfectly fine as long as it served his ultimate goal of furthering the interests of the ‘family’. Penumbral Dusk’s efforts to drill this ‘family over all’ mentality into Moonwhisper is ultimately the source of Moonwhisper’s current anxieties regarding turning out like his father. Essentially, Moonwhisper has been conditioned to be unable to mentally separate himself from his family’s ‘legacy’, which to him represents a major source of a guilt and shame.”

“That…explains a lot, actually,” Twilight said sadly. Silently, Twilight recalled the time she had spied on one of Moonwhisper’s nightmares and had seen him tormented by reflections showing the visage of King Sombra.

“And of course then you also have the fact that Penumbral Dusk made a habit of tormenting anypony who Moonwhisper was even remotely close to,” Conscious Mind continued. “Moonwhisper’s mother bore the brunt of it, of course, but apparently Penumbral Dusk had a habit of making life miserable for just about anypony Moonwhisper became close to. For example, when Moonwhisper was little, his father hired a family of migrant earth pony farmers to tend the von Umbra family’s holdings. This particular family of earth ponies happened to have a colt roughly Moonwhisper’s age…”

*********

Moonwhisper had always loved exploring the ancient apple orchard that sprawled out to the south of his family’s castle. Trotting underneath the tangled canopies made Moonwhisper feel as though he were in an adventure novel, far away from his father. Today, the young unicorn colt was climbing around on a rock formation near a stream that ran through the orchard, envisioning himself as a brave explorer traversing a mountain range.

“Well howdy!” A cheerful, unfamiliar voice called out to Moonwhisper as he hopped from rock to rock, startling him out of fantasy. Luckily for Moonwhisper, he was able to recover his footing almost immediately, and once he was no longer in danger of crashing to the ground he looked towards the voice’s source. Standing on the other side of the stream was an earth pony colt with a yellow coat and light brown mane who looked to be about the same age as Moonwhisper himself. “Golly, are y’ alright? Ah didn’t mean to startle y’”

“It’s alright,” Moonwhisper said as he tried to salvage some of his dignity. His father had always stressed that it was crucial to maintain one’s dignity when dealing with other ponies, especially one’s lessers. Moonwhisper wasn’t entirely certain what being a lesser entailed, but from the way his father talked about earth ponies in general seemed to fit the definition. “What are you doing here, anyway? I didn’t think there were any other foals living around here.”

“Mah family and me just moved out here, we’re supposed to be helpin’ take care of the plants ‘n stuff. Say, y’ wanna play with me?”

“Yeah! I mean,” Moonwhisper paused to clear his throat so he could respond in a more distinguished manner (Moonwhisper wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he was fairly sure it involved a lot of throat clearing), “that sounds like an excellent idea.” With that, the colts ran laughing off into the forest to seek out imaginary adventures together. For the next several weeks Moonwhisper made an effort to sneak away from the castle whenever possible so he could play with his new friend. Moonwhisper privately suspected that his father wouldn’t approve of his new friendship, but personally Moonwhisper didn’t see any harm with it. One day, however, Moonwhisper’s friend failed to show up at their usual meeting spot. Moonwhisper waited for as long as he dared before finally giving up and returning to the castle. At first, Moonwhisper didn’t think too much of his friend’s absences; he was a farmpony, after all, so perhaps he simply was busy helping his family. It wasn’t until Moonwhisper returned home and saw his father waiting for him and glaring angrily that Moonwhisper started to worry. Initially Moonwhisper tried to simply slink by with his head held low in the hope that his father was just angry in general as opposed to being angry about something specific. These hopes were quickly dashed, however, as his father swiped Moonwhisper’s legs out from under him as he passed by.

“You miserable, lazy little parasite!” Penumbral Dusk snarled as he loomed over the terrified colt. “It’s bad enough that you’re always wasting time tramping about the woods, but now I find out you’re gallivanting about with some worthless mudhoof?” Penumbral Dusk practically spat the slur out as he brought his crutch down across Moonwhisper’s withers, eliciting a cry of pain from the colt. “You’re a damned von Umbra, I expect you to act like one, and that means you don’t go running around with some filthy degenerate.”

“B-but,” Moonwhisper stammered, despite knowing that he was risking his father’s further wrath by doing so, “he’s my friend!”

Penumbral Dusk let out a disgusted snort in response. “Well, you won’t be embarrassing me by scampering about with you little mudhoof ‘friend’ anymore. I’ve already had the brat and his whole disgusting family evicted off our land.” Penumbral Dusk paused for a moment as though to savor the look of despair that crossed Moonwhisper’s features before continuing. “And that isn’t all, I’ve prepared a little something extra just to make sure you remember your place from now on. Come on!” With that, Penumbral Dusk roughly levitated Moonwhisper up into the air and stormed off out of the castle pulling the terrified cold behind him. It didn’t take long for the pair to reach their apparent destination, a small cottage on the outskirts of the castle’s orchard. The cottage appeared in disarray, as though its occupants had left in a huge hurry all of a sudden, and Moonwhisper realized right away that this must have been where his friend had been living. Standing nearby was the von Umbra family butler, Quiet Custom. Moonwhisper had never liked the gaunt, dun-coated unicorn, who always seemed to be lurking at the edges of any room he was in, watching and ready to report back to Penumbral Dusk with what he saw. “You see that?” Penumbra Dusk asked as he tossed Moonwhisper to the ground, snapping the young colt’s focus back to the situation at hoof. “That hovel is where your filthy mudhoof friend used to live. And now I’m going to see to it that he never, ever comes back. Quiet, are you ready?”

“I’ve made the preparations as you requested, sir,” Quiet Custom rasped. “Shall I proceed as we discussed?”

“Do it.” Penumbral Dusk snapped in response. With that, Quiet Custom levitated a torch into the air and ignited it with a flash of magic from his horn. Quiet Custom then lobbed the burning torch through the cottage’s open door, which quickly began disgorging thick, black smoke. “Now,” Penumbral Dusk said as he looked down at Moonwhisper, “you’re going to watch as that rubbish heap burns to the ground, and I want you to think about how none of this would have happened if you hadn’t lowered yourself to associating with lower-class filth. Then, since you apparently have so much free time on your hooves, we’re going to go back to the castle for a training session.”

*********

Twilight felt sick to her stomach as Conscious Mind finished the story. Granted, everything Twilight had just heard sounded entirely consistent with what she already knew about Penumbral Dusk, but it was still difficult for Twilight to comprehend how anypony could be so vile. “All that, just because Moonwhisper was making friends with an earth pony…” Twilight said as she tried to make sense of it all.

“I understand it can be hard to take in, and that was hardly an isolated incident. Penumbral Dusk seemed to practically make a hobby out of traumatizing his son,” Conscious Mind said sadly.

The two mares sat in silence for several minutes before Twilight finally spoke up. ”Well, if you come up with anything that could help you’ll let me know, right?”

“Frankly, your highness, my best advice right now would be to just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Moonwhisper’s progress may seem slow, but I’ve definitely seen a change in him for the better since the two of you have started dating.” Conscious Mind tapped her front hoof on the table for a moment before she went on. “It probably wouldn’t hurt if you could nudge Moonwhisper into being a little bit more social, though. For instance, isn’t the Ponyville Rodeo supposed to be coming up fairly soon?”

*********

The Ponyville Rodeo was in fact approaching very soon, and as usual Applejack had placed herself in charge of the preparations. Applejack had always taken a certain amount of pride of insuring that her hometown rodeo was a well-managed as any big city event, and this year it was especially important to her that everything go perfectly. Unfortunately for Applejack, ‘perfect’ was easier said than done. “Dagnabbit, Carmel, watch what y’all are doin’ before y’ wind up hurtin’ somepony!” Applejack shouted as she saw Carmel stumbling across the field while carrying a large bundle of wooden boards. It quickly became apparent to Applejack that her warning was too little too late, however, as Carmel rapidly lost his footing and crashed into a pile of barrels sending them careening down the field. The barrels looked like they were going to crash into a group of other ponies at first, but before Applejack even needed to call out a warning a pale green aura enveloped the barrels and neatly righted them.

“Whew, that was a close one! Y’all alright there?” Lieutenant Sharpshooter asked as he trotted over. The one-eyed union had volunteered to help with the preparations for the rodeo and at the moment Applejack was thankful he had. As Applejack galloped over to make sure everypony was alright Sharpshooter went over to Carmel and helped the unfortunate stallion to his hooves. “Y’ might wanna rethink tryin’ t’ carry so much of this staff at once, a stallion’s gotta know his limitations, y’ know?” Sharpshooter gently admonished. “Now, why don’t y’ get yerself dusted off an’ go see if they need an extra set of hooves settin’ up fer the hay bale stack.” Carmel nodded and scurried off, the sight of an irritated and rapidly approaching Applejack all the encouragement he needed to make himself scarce.

“Don’tcha think y’all went a little too easy on him there?” Applejack asked. “If y’all hadn’t been here to stop those barrels-“

“Point is, though, Ah was here t’ stop ‘em,” Sharpshooter quickly countered, “so in the end there weren’t no real harm done. That colt was jus’ tryin’ t’ be helpful, and assumin’ he learnt his lesson ‘bout bitin’ off more ‘n he can chew Ah don’t really see the point in haranguin’ ‘im anymore.”

Applejack grumbled a little, but chose not to argue the point. There was a certain logic to Sharpshooter’s handling of the situation, but that didn’t mean Applejack had to like it. Truthfully, Applejack still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the one-eyed unicorn guard. When Applejack had first met Sharpshooter she had assumed that the two of them would have no issues getting along given his accent and profession. The more Applejack got to know Sharpshooter, however, the more she found herself irritated by his perpetually laid back demeanor. Still, Applejack did have to admit that Sharpshooter, whatever his faults, did have a knack for getting things done effectively. “So,” Applejack began in an effort towards general friendliness, “why exactly were y’all so interested in helpin’ out with the rodeo. Not that Ah’m not grateful or nothin’, but most of the unicorns Ah’ve met ain’t exactly the outside sports types. No offense.”

“None taken,” Sharpshooter replied with a laugh, “’specially seein’ how most of the unicorns y’ve probably met have been the highfalutin Canterlot types. Now me, Ah actually grew up in the rodeo circuit, travelin’ all over Equestria. ‘Course, we spent most of the year ‘round Gallopin’ Gorge durin’ the offseason.”

“Gallopin’ Gorge, huh? Ah thought Ah recognized that accent of yers,” Applejack said. “So, how the hay did a rodeo pony wind up joinin’ the Royal Guard?”

“Now, that’s a bit of a story. Y’ see, Ah was part of a family of performers, trick shootin’ ‘n storytellin’ ‘n the like. It weren’t exactly what y’ might call a traditional upbringin’, but it suited me just fine. At least, it did at first. Now, don’t get me wrong, Ah loved performin’ an’ whatnot, still do as a matter of fact, but as time went on Ah started t’ want t’ try an’ do somethin’, Ah don’t know, bigger. More meaningful, Ah mean, somethin’ that could really make a difference. An’ the more Ah thought about it, the more signin’ up with the guard seemed lit it’d fit the bill. Mah family weren’t exactly thrilled about it, mostly ‘cause it’d mean Ah was leavin’ the performin’ life, but they came ‘round eventually. So, the next time the rodeo came t’ Canterlot Ah headed over t’ the nearest recruitment office an’ the rest is history.”

“Well, Ah can’t really say Ah’d have taken y’all fer the performin’ type,” Applejack replied after a brief pause to take everything in. “Ah remember seein’ a few trick shooters at the Canterlot Rodeo and they pulled off some pretty fancy stunts, blastin’ targets out of the sky and all. Are y’all sayin’ y’ can pull off stuff like that?”

Sharpshooter scoffed at Applejack’s remark. “Please, just shootin’ targets outta the air’s amateur stuff. Y’ wanna see real talent, then take a look at this.” With that, Sharpshooter walked over to a nearby table that had been set for lunch and plucked an apple off of it. With an elaborate flourish, Sharpshooter proceeded to toss the apple into the air. Then, after pausing for a moment to gauge its trajectory, Sharpshooter fired off a barrage of magical blasts at the flying fruit with dizzying speed. Sharpshooter then neatly caught the apple in his magical aura as it fell to the ground and presented it to Applejack. To Applejack’s amazement, the apple’s core and peel had been neatly blasted away, leaving only the flesh of the fruit behind.

“Well, Ah have to admit that was definitely some might fancy shootin’ there,” Applejack said, honestly impressed in spite of herself. “Ah don’t suppose Ah could talk y’all into performin’ durin’ the rodeo?”

Sharpshooter let out a nervous chuckle as he considered Applejack’s request. “Ah suppose it would be nice t’ get out in front of a crowd again. ‘Course, Ah’d have t’ get the Cap’n t’ sign off on it first. Maybe Ah could pitch it t’ him as a sort of public relations move, demonstratin’ the talents of the guard or some such. Ah’ll talk t’ him about it in any case.”

“If it comes to it Ah’ll ask Twilight about it too. If she asks Moonwhisper there ain’t no way he’d say so.” Applejack grinned as she considered the added spectacle that Sharpshooter’s performance would add to the Ponyville rodeo. “Woo wee, Ah can’t wait for Braeburn to finally get here so he can eat his durn words.” As Sharpshooter looked at her in confusion Applejack elaborated. “Mah loudmouth of a cousin has been yappin’ about how someplace like Ponyville could never put on a rodeo that could match up with the one they have in Appleloosa and Ah aim to prove him dead wrong.”

“Y’ know,” Sharpshooter said after thinking about it for a moment, “if y’ really want t’ show up that cousin of yours, maybe y’ should try seein’ if y’ could talk the princess int’ openin’ everythin’ up. Ain’t like Appleloosa’s got any royalty to kick things off.”

*********

“As Princess of Friendship, I, Twilight Sparkle, hereby declare the Ponyville Rodeo to have officially begin!” The crowds seated in the stands that had been erected for the rodeo roared their approval as Twilight finished. As several ponies began setting out barrels for the opening barrel weave Twilight flew up into the stands to take her set among the rest of her friends, or at least those in attendance. “It’s a pity Rarity couldn’t make it because of the emergency at her Manehatten store,” Twilight remarked as she settled into her seat, “I think she would have actually enjoyed this.”

“If you say so,” Moonwhisper said, sounding rather unconvinced, “frankly your friend Rarity has never struck me as the sort of pony who had all that much interest in this sort of thing.”

“Rarity might not be interested in actually competing, but she’d never pass up a chance to cheer on her friends,” Twilight countered with a note of defiance, as if she were defending her friend from some horrible slight.

Moonwhisper thought for a moment before simply shrugging in response. “That’s a fair point, I suppose. I will say, though, that I’m a little surprised you’re not competing, Miss Dash.”

Rainbow Dash, who was seated nearby along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, gave a nonchalant chuckle. “Nah, rodeos are really more AJ’s thing, I’m more into stuff where I don’t have to keep my hooves on the ground. Besides, I’m heading up to Wonderbolt HQ in a few days for training and I really wanna take it easy while I can. What about you?” Rainbow Dash asked suddenly. “I mean, you’re the big ultimate guard super-solider, right? Shouldn’t you be competing to show everypony how awesome the guard is or something?”

“I had initially considered involving myself in the rodeo early on for that precise reason,” Moonwhisper admitted almost guiltily, “but then Lieutenant Sharpshooter offered to perform a demonstration of his abilities. And to be honest I’d much rather let him handle it.” After a slight pause Moonwhisper allowed himself a slight grin. “Also, I do have to admit I am looking forward to watching the Lieutenant’s performance. Lieutenant Sharpshooter is one if the top beam-specialists in the guard and—“

“Hey, did we miss anything?” Moonwhisper found himself cut-off as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy arrived, the former carrying a truly prodigious amount of food. “I brought snacks for everypony!” Pinkie Pie declared as she expertly bucked the food she was carrying into the air, causing the various treats to land neatly amongst her friends. “We didn’t miss Applejack, did we?”

“Nope, looks like she’s comin’ up next!” Apple Bloom excitedly replied as she tried stretching herself as tall as she could to get a better view of her older sister.

*********

“Woo wee! Ah gotta hand it to ya cuz, that was some fancy hoofwork out there,” Braeburn exclaimed as he trotted alongside Applejack.

“Aw shucks, Braeburn, Ah didn’t do anythin’ special, leastways nothin’ Ah haven’t done plenty of times before.” Applejack replied with an air of false modesty that would have done Rainbow Dash proud. “So, do y’all still think Ponyville can’t put on a decent rodeo?”

“Well, Ah’ll admit y’ got me there, this here’s a pretty dang nice setup. If nothin’ else we sure don’t have a princess to kick things off fer us back in Appleloosa. That actually reminds me, Ah was wonderin’ who that fella sittin’ next to her? Y’ know the big grumpy lookin’ unicorn in the little hat?”

“Sounds like y’all are talkin’ about Moonwhisper, Twilight’s coltfriend.” Applejack replied. “Ah must’ve told y’all about him before, he’s the guard who got picked to be Twilight’s bodyguard and one thing pretty much just led to another.”

“And by ‘one thing led to another’ y’ mean he graduated from bein’ the princess’ bodyguard to bein’ her special somepony,” Braeburn chuckled. “Sound like a pretty good deal if y’ ask me.”

“Look, Ah know how it sounds, but Moonwhisper didn’t come in tryin’ to seduce Twilight or anythin’. Things just sorta happened and that’s just how everythin’ shook out in the end.” Applejack thought for a moment before continuing. “If y’all want Ah could introduce the two of ya.”

As Braeburn nodded in affirmation, Applejack began leading him through the throngs of ponies milling about own to the stands where Twilight and the rest of her friends were sitting. Most of the crowd was currently engrossed in watching the antics of the rodeo clowns, particularly the now famous Troubleshoes, who was clumsily galumphing around the arena with a barrel over his head. Approaching the stands, Applejack could see Twilight, Fluttershy, Moonwhisper and Rainbow Dash chatting and watching the performance. Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, however, were nowhere to be seen. “Oh, hey Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said as she noticed her friend trotting up, “congrats on the blue-ribbon - pft, hahaha, oh geez, look at that guy go!” A brief glance back town’s the arena revealed that Troubleshoes had crashed into another group of clowns who were now clinging to the massive stallion for dear life. Given what she had been told by Apple Bloom, Applejack had to wonder if any of what she was seeing was actually part of the show. “Anyway,” Rainbow Dash continued as she managed to stop snickering, “Pinkie Pie really wanted to meet this Troubleshoes guy, so Apple Bloom and her friends took her down to see him once the act’s over. So, shouldn’t you be getting ready for the hay bale toss or something?”

“Nah, Ah’ve still got plenty of time before that. After their done with their clownin’ Sharpshooter’s supposed to put on his big show, and the hay bale toss isn’t ‘til after he’s done with that. Anyway, Ah thought Ah’d take the chance to introduce Moonwhisper to mah cousin. Moonwhisper,” Applejack said as she gestured towards Braeburn, “this here’s mah cousin Braeburn from Appleloosa. Braeburn, this here’s Captain Moonwhisper.”

“Well howdy!” Braeburn said as he climbed up to where Moonwhisper was sitting and extended a hoof in greeting. “Ah’ve heard quite a few tales about y’ from mah cousin, and Ah have to admit Ah had a hard time believin’ all of them. Is it really true y’ fought off a full grown wyvern to save mah little cousin Apple Bloom?”

Moonwhisper let out a small sigh of resignation before shaking Braeburn’s hoof. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister Braeburn. I can verify that I did in fact fend off a wyvern that was in the process of attack miss Apple Bloom, but other ponies seem to ascribe considerably more significance to that encounter than is really necessary.”

“Ah don’t know about that, fightin’ off a wyvern and savin’ a little filly sounds pretty durn significant to me!” Braeburn let out a good-natured chuckle. “Ah’m guessin’ yer not much of the braggin’ type, are ya?”

“He sure as a sugar ain’t,” Applejack declared before Moonwhisper had a chance to respond. “Moonwhisper’s durn near the humblest pony yer ever likely to meet.” Applejack’s praise left Moonwhisper looking rather embarrassed and he found himself unable to do much more than clear his throat continually and mumble a few half-hearted dismissals. With the introductions out of the way the assembled ponies began chatting amicably while they watched the performance of the rodeo clowns. While at first glance everypony seemed to be having a fine time, Twilight couldn’t help noticing that Moonwhisper seemed to be continually glancing over towards Braeburn with an oddly confused look on his face.

“Um, Moonwhisper, is there something the matter?” Twilight asked softly as she nudged Moonwhisper to get his attention.

“What? Oh, no nothing’s the matter, really,” Moonwhisper absentmindedly replied, “it’s just that there’s something about Applejack’s cousin that feels oddly familiar somehow. I know it sounds farfetched, but I swear to Celestia I’ve met him somewhere before.” Moonwhisper let out a snort of frustration. “The problem is I can’t for the life of me think of where I might have met him previously.” Moonwhisper continued to stew in frustration as he tried to recall where he may have encountered Braeburn in the past while Twilight looked on. A nagging thought in the back of Twilight’s mind told her that she might have an answer to Moonwhisper’s question, but Twilight wanted to confer with Applejack before she said anything.

Meanwhile, the rodeo clowns’ act had ended in predictable chaos and the floor staff were busily setting up for Lieutenant Sharpshooter’s performance. As soon as everything was ready, the Lieutenant strode out onto the field in full armor, cheerfully waving to the crowds. “How’re y’all doin’ this fine day?” Sharpshooter called out. “Now, more’n a fair bit of y’all know me from ‘round Ponyville, and once or twice Ah’ve been asked ‘bout this here eye patch of mine. And Ah figure fer every pony who asks there’s probably quite a bit more who want to, so if y’all don’t mind Ah’m gonna take th’ opportunity to set th’ record straight.” Sharpshooter subsequently proceeded to launch into a rather embellished retelling of his part during the gargoyle migration. While telling the story, however, he would frequently perform all manner of tricks with his magical blasts, casually demonstrating an incredible degree of skill and precision.

“Sweet Celestia, that stallion’s almost as good as Calamity Mane!” Braeburn exclaimed as Sharpshooter tossed a hoof mirror into the air and expertly blasted three targets by bouncing beams off of it before catching it again as it fell. “Do y’ really think he fought off a half-dozen gargoyles by himself like that?”

“Personally it sounds like a tall tale to me,” Applejack replied, “but if y’all really want to know how it went y’ should try asking Moonwhisper over there. He’s supposed to be the big hero of that whole mess, so Ah’d bet he could tell y’all what really happened.”

“Yeah,” Braeburn said nervously as she glanced back towards Moonwhisper, “Ah’m not so sure Ah’d want to bother him about somethin’ like that.”

“There somethin’ wrong, Braeburn?” Applejack asked, sensing something off about her cousin’s tone. “Y’all seem a little tense there.”

“Well, Ah can’t quite put mah hoof on it, but there’s somethin’ about Moonwhisper that just seems…Ah’m not even sure Ah know how to put it. Ah kinda feel like Ah know him from somewhere, but fer the life of me Ah can’t think where Ah would’ve met him before. He doesn’t exactly strike me as the sort of pony Ah’d be liable to forget about.”

“Huh,” Applejack replied simply as she turned back to the show. Applejack honestly wasn’t entirely sure how to react to Braeburn’s statement. From what little Applejack know about Moonwhisper’s past she though it unlikely that her cousin would have crossed paths with Moonwhisper before. On the other hoof, however, Applejack couldn’t honestly say she was an expert on either Moonwhisper’s or Braeburn’s pasts, so it was entirely possible that the two really had met under circumstances she wasn’t aware of. As Applejack sat and watched Sharpshooter finish his exhibition she made a mental note to speak with Twilight about the issue. If there was anypony Applejack knew could answer questions about Moonwhisper’s past it would be Twilight.

*********

“So Braeburn had the same feeling that Moonwhisper did,” Twilight said as she and Applejack made their way back from the rodeo. “This can’t just be a coincidence, I’m sure those two must have known each other in the past. The only question is where? I know Moonwhisper was stationed all over Equestria before coming to Ponyville, and before that…could Braeburn have ever lived in Trotsylvania by any chance?”

“Ah can’t say Ah know fer sure, to be honest,” Applejack said as she tried to recall what she knew about her cousin’s past. “It’s possible Braeburn might have lived in Trotsylvania at one point, but that would have had to have been back when he was a real young’un. Ah remember hearin’ that Braeburn’s parents fell on some hard times when he was real little and they spent a few years workin’ as migrants. They wound up travelin’ all over Equestria, goin’ from orchard to orchard lookin’ fer work, so Ah reckon it’s as likely they spent time in Trotsylvania as anyplace else. Do y’all really think that Moonwhisper and Braeburn could have met way back when they were foals, though? From what y’all’ve told me, Moonwhisper’s Pa doesn’t seem like the type who’d take kindly to his son makin’ friends with an earth pony.”

“He didn’t,” Twilight said grimly, recalling the conversation she had had with Conscious Mind. Seeing Applejack’s quizzical expression Twilight quickly elaborated. “When Moonwhisper was little his father hired some earth ponies to work the orchards on their land. The family he hired had a colt about Moonwhisper’s age who made friends with Moonwhisper, but when Moonwhisper’s father found out he had the whole family evicted.” Twilight paused for a moment as she willed herself to finish the story. “And then he had the home the family had been staying in burned down while he made Moonwhisper watch.”

Applejack folded her ears back and let out a snort of disgust. “Y’ know, the more Ah hear about Moonwhisper’s pa the more Ah think it was a durn miracle Moonwhisper turned out as well as he did. “Applejack thought for a moment before she continued. “Do y’all really think that the colt Moonwhisper knew back then was really Braeburn, though? That’d be one hay of a big coincidence.”

“As big a coincidence as you and I and the rest of our friends all getting our cutie marks after seeing Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom?” Twilight said with a sly grin.

“All right, Ah’ll admit y’all’ve got me there.”

“My point is we can’t really discount the possibility, at least until we talk to Braeburn to make sure.” A look of excitement crossed Twilight’s face as she considered the potential implications. “You know, if it turns out that Braeburn really is Moonwhisper’s long-lost friend then this could be an excellent opportunity for Moonwhisper to learn a friendship lesson.” Twilight practically sang the last part as she changed direction and picked up her pace. “Do you mind if we make a quick stop at any castle before we track down Braeburn and Moonwhisper? I want to pick up the copy I made of the checklist I gave Starlight Glimmer when she reunited with Sunburst.”

“That’s fine with me,” Applejack said as she hurried to keep up with her suddenly energized friend, “but Ah just have one question. Do y’all happen to have any idea where Braeburn got off to after the rodeo? Ah lost track of him after he went off with Big Macintosh.”

*********

Ponyville had always had a rather limited number of options available if one really wanted to ‘cut lose’ or ‘go wild’. This wasn’t to say there weren’t any options whatsoever, however, and the Brinery was chief among them. Tucked away within a nondescript alleyway, the Brinery was Ponyville’s sole bar, an acceptably disreputable hangout for the town’s assorted ne’er-do-wells, ruffians and Berry Punch. Of course, given that this was Ponyville the ‘ne’er-do-wells’ and ‘ruffians’ tended to consist of regular mares and stallions who just needed an opportunity to let off some steam for an evening. Still, the Brinery was certainly rougher than any other of the town’s establishments, and a placard in its front window even boasted that none other than Discord himself had deemed it the rowdiest establishment in Ponyville. That evening the Brinery was unusually crowded, many of its patrons being ponies from out of town who had come to Ponyville for the town’s rodeo. Every available table was occupied by ponies in various states of inebriation, all of them drinking, laughing and generally having a fun time.

“-but right then we all hear Pinkie Pie out in front of town and she’s out there dancin’ and singin’ that same corny song!” Braeburn burst out laughing at the memory. “Well, them buffalo just went wild at that point and we had one hay of a fight on our hooves, leastways ‘til everypony finally figured out a way to compromise.”

The conclusion to Braeburn’s story elicited a round of laughter from the other stallions at the table. To Braeburn’s left Sharpshooter was guffawing hysterically as he banged one of his hooves on the table. Across form Sharpshooter, Big Macintosh was in the middle of an uncontrollable sniggering fit, though that was likely as much a product of the alcohol as it was Braeburn’s story. Moonwhisper, sitting directly across from Braeburn, simply watched his companions for the evening with a faint smile on his face. “Y’ know,” Sharpshooter managed to gasp between peals of laughter, “if that story had been about any other pony Ah’d never have believed a word of it, but dang it if that don’t sound exactly like th’ sort of thing Pinkie Pie’d do!”

“Eeyup!” Big Macintosh wholeheartedly agreed.

“By the way, Sharpshooter,” Braeburn asked, “Ah was wonderin’, where the hay did y’ learn to shoot like that? Ah’ve known plenty of rodeo ponies and Ah’ve never met any who could do half the tricks y’ were doin’ back at the rodeo. Did they teach y’ how to do all that in the Royal Guard?”

Sharpshooter paused for a moment upon hearing Braeburn’s question before collapsing in uncontrollable laughter. “Are y’ seriously tellin’ me y’ think th’ Royal Guard could teach somepony t’ shoot like that? Dang, most of our instructors wish they could train ponies half as good as me.” After gradually getting his laughter under control, Sharpshooter continued. “Now, Ah don’t usually brag about this sort of thing, but…aw what the hay. Thing is, Ah learned everythin’ Ah know about trick shootin’ from the best there is, Calamity Mane herself.”

“All right, now Ah know yer pullin’ mah leg,” Braeburn said incredulously, “Calamity Mane’s one of the most famous rodeo ponies in Equestria, how the hay did y’ manage to wrangle shootin’ lessons outta her?”

“It likely helped that Lieutenant Sharpshooter happens to be Calamity Mane’s so,” Moonwhisper said with a wry grin.

“Now Ah know y’all are kiddin’ me,” Braeburn said with a chuckle, “y’all can’t honestly expect me to believe that Sharpshooter here is Calamity Mane’s son. Hay, if nothin’ else Calamity Mane’s too young to have a son Sharpshooter’s age, right?”

“Ma was pretty young when she foaled me,” Sharpshooter replied a little apprehensively, “but, yep, Ah’m Calamity Mane’s son all right. Ah don’t bring it up if Ah can avoid it fer mah own reasons, but that’s the truth of the matter.” After a brief pause, Sharpshooter’s face suddenly brightened. “All this jawin’s made me thirsty. Come on, Mac, y’ can help me carry mah order back to the table.” Without waiting for Big Macintosh to respond, Sharpshooter levitated Big Macintosh out of his chair and carried the flailing stallion over to the bar.

Braeburn watched the pair disappear into the crowd before turning back to Moonwhisper. “The hay was that all about?” Braeburn asked, “Ah didn’t mean to upset him or nothin’.”

“The Lieutenant has always been somewhat…uncomfortable when it comes to the subject of his mother,” Moonwhisper replied. “It’s not a subject I’m inclined to pry into, but from what I’ve gathered there was some friction between the two of them over his decision to join the guard.” Moonwhisper took a sip of the drink he had been nursing. “Frankly I can sympathize with his discomfort.”

Braeburn regarded Moonwhisper for a moment before speaking up. “Hey listen, Ah didn’t really wanna make a fuss about this in front of everypony else, but it’s been buggin’ me all night. Do Ah know y’ from someplace? Ah’ve had this weird feelin’ that Ah’ve met y’ before, but fer the life of me Ah can’t figure out where.”

Moonwhisper seemed to visibly relax as he listened to Braeburn’s question. “To tell the truth I’ve been wanting to ask you the very same thing. And, given that we’re both having the same reaction I’d say it’s quite likely we actually have met previously. The only question is, where?”

“Well, Ah’m guessin’ it weren’t too recent,” Braeburn replied, “least not unless y’ve had a chance to visit Appleloosa. Ah haven’t had much of a chance to go anyplace else since we founded the town. Managin’ the orchards fer the town’s a big responsibility an’ all.” Braeburn added with a note of pride.

“To be frank, I suspect we could safely eliminate the last several years as realistic possibilities. Prior to Tirek’s rampage I was stationed in a remote facility in northern Equestria, so if we’ve met previously it would have to have been before then.” Moonwhisper rubbed his chin with a forehoof as he pondered where the two may have met. “Let’s see, have you ever lived in the Fillydelphia area? Perhaps in one of the towns nearby to the south such as Hoofington?”

“Well, Ah did spend a few months livin’ in a Hoofington, but it weren’t anywhere near Fillydelphia,” Braeburn responded.

“That was probably West Hoofington, then,” Moonwhisper said with a snort.

“So Ah’m guessin’ the place yer talkin’ about was East Hoofington then.”

“Precisely, though frankly I’ve never understood why they couldn’t have named one of those towns something else. I don’t suppose you’ve ever lived in Manehatten?”

“Ah’ve got some family who live there, but Ah don’t really see ‘em outside of the family reunion at Sweet Apple Acres.”

Moonwhisper closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. “I’m starting to run out of ideas. I’m guessing you were never enlisted in the guard, so unless you spent time in Trotsylvania as a foal I can’t imagine where we might have met.”

At Moonwhisper’s mention of Trotsylvania, however, Braeburn’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Actually, Ah think Ah just might have spent some time in Trotsylvania back when Ah was a young’un. Mah family wasn’t there fer very long, and to tell the truth Ah didn’t even remember it ‘til y’ mentioned it. Say, are y’ alright? Y’ look a might pale all of a sudden.”

“What? No, I – I’m fine, really.” Despite his assurances, Moonwhisper appeared to have broken out in a cold sweat. “So, you say your family lived in Trotsylvania when you were younger?”

“Sure did. That was back before mah family had land of our own, so we’d travel from place to place workin’ fer other ponies who had more land than they could tend to on their own.” Braeburn paused as he tried to recall what he could about that particular time of his life. “Best Ah can remember, mah family didn’t really stick around in Trotsylvania all that long. A reckon Ah was too young fer anypony to care to tell me why we had to move all of a sudden, but fer some reason Ah remember bein’ real upset by it.”

“Well, given how long ago that must have been it’s certainly understandable if you can’t remember the details –“

“Actually, now that Ah think about it it’s startin’ to come back to me,” Braeburn assured Moonwhisper. “The reason Ah was upset that we moved away was Ah actually had just managed to make a friend with a colt mah age.” Braeburn suddenly looked up at Moonwhisper as a sudden realization dawned on him. “Sweet Celestia, that must be it! Y’ must’ve been that colt! Ah just can’t believe the two of us wound up runnin’ into each other like this.” Braeburn let out a laugh of delight at having finally solved the mystery of where they met. “So, y’ wound up joinin’ the guard and made Captain, Ah guess things worked out pretty well fer – are y’ alright?”

Moonwhisper had lowered his gaze to the table and was visibly trembling at Braeburn’s realization. “Braeburn, there’s something that I need to tell you, it’s about the reason your family was suddenly forced to move.”

“Yeah, what about it?” Braeburn asked cautiously.

For a brief moment Moonwhisper hesitated to reply as if doing would be physically painful. “It was my fault!” Moonwhisper finally managed to blurt. “My father found out that we were playing together and he had your family evicted in order to put a stop to it.”

“Yer pa had mah family kicked out ‘cause we were playin’ together?” Braeburn asked in shock.

“My father…has rather severe prejudices against non-unicorns, earth ponies in particular. He couldn’t stand the idea of a member of his family associating with an earth pony, so he…” Moonwhisper found himself unable to continue.

“Well, that’s…honestly Ah don’t even know what to say to that,” Braeburn replied. “But, y’ can’t really blame yerself fer all that, can y’? Ah mean, y’ were just a foal makin’ a friend, there’s nothin’ wrong with that.” Braeburn let out a sad sigh. “Leastways there shouldn’t be. Your pa really had us kicked off his land just to keep y’ from makin’ friends with an earth pony.” Moonwhisper silently nodded his head in affirmation. “If it makes y’ fell any better,” Braeburn said, “gettin’ forced off probably wound up bein’ the best thing that could have happened to us.” Seeing Moonwhisper’s puzzled expression Braeburn elaborated. “Y’ see, after we left Trotsylvania we lucked into a plot of land where we were able to settle down for the next few years and really get back on our hooves. Celestia only knows how long it would have taken to find a place of our own if we had stayed in Trotsylvania.”

Hearing Braeburn’s assessment left Moonwhisper looking visibly relieved. “You can’t imagine how happy it makes me to hear you say that.”

“Ah just can’t believe y’d actually think Ah’d blame y’ fer what happened,” Braeburn replied. “So, now Ah’ve gotta ask, just how much of what that Sharpshooter was spoutin’ actually happened?”

The two stallions spent the next several minutes laughing and sharing stories about where their respective lives had taken them until now. As they talked Moonwhisper found himself increasingly at ease as he finally let go of a painful part of his past. Moonwhisper was so engrossed in his conversation with Braeburn that he didn’t notice Twilight and Applejack enter the tavern until they made their way to the table.

“Moonwhisper! I’m glad I found you, I think I may have some really exciting new about – Braeburn!” Twilight exclaimed as she finally noticed who Moonwhisper was seated across from. “I didn’t notice you there.”

“Well howdy, your highness!” Braeburn cheerfully greeted Twilight. “Yer not gonna believe this, but it turns out me and Moonwhisper here know each other from way back when we were foals. Now don’t that just beat all?”

Twilight started to open her mouth to respond, but before she could she found herself cut off by angry yelling coming from the bar. “WHAT IN TARNATION DO Y’ALL THINK YER DOIN’?” The sounds of Applejack’s outrage were quickly followed by a series of yelps and crashes, as though several ponies had just collapsed to the floor. Moonwhisper, Braeburn and Twilight swiftly made their way towards the source of the commotion, Moonwhisper muttering under his breath that this was all likely Sharpshooter’s fault. Upon reaching the bar the three found a crowd of ponies surrounding a rather dazed Big Macintosh lying flat out on his stomach with a pair of unfamiliar mares collapsed on either side. Standing over the three ponies was a thoroughly scandalized Applejack, who was too busy glowering at her older brother to notice she had attracted an audience.

As soon as he and the others reached the scene of the commotion, Moonwhisper quickly scanned the crowd until he picked out Sharpshooter. Moonwhisper immediately surged forward towards the one-eyed unicorn, who appeared to almost instantly sober up at the sight of his commanding officer. “Lieutenant Sharpshooter. Explain,” Moonwhisper demanded with a jerk of his head back towards the Apple siblings.

“Sir, well y’ see Ah thought it looked like y’ needed some time t’ sort things out Macintosh’s cousin, so Ah decided t’ take Macintosh and mahself and make ourselves scarce fer a spell. Anyhow, while we were waitin’ at the bar Big Macintosh and Ah got t’ talkin’, and the next thing y’ know the big guy’s showin’ off his strength by doin’ one-hoofed pushups with a few mares sittin’ on his back.”

Moonwhisper took a deep breath. “I’m guessing alcohol played a not inconsiderable role that decision.” Moonwhisper glanced back at Applejack and Big Macintosh before turning back to Sharpshooter. “We’ll discuss this further tomorrow. For now, I would advise you to make yourself scarce before Miss Applejack notices you.” Sharpshooter shot a quick glance over towards Applejack, who was still lambasting her brother over his behavior, before nodding and scuttling out the door. With that taken care of, Moonwhisper turned his attention back towards Applejack and Big Macintosh.

“And what the hay would y’all do if Apple Bloom catches wind of how y’all were carryin’ on?” Applejack said as she herded her brother towards the exit. “Y’all just better hope Granny Smith doesn’t hear about this, ‘cause be both know the sort of earful she’ll give y’all if she does.”

As the two siblings disappeared from view, Moonwhisper turned back to Twilight. “Well, that was…certainly a thing that happened. So, what precisely was it that came here to tell me about, anyway?”

*********

“Anyway, Braeburn and I have agreed to keep in touch by writing one another,” Moonwhisper said as he and Twilight finished their dinner back at the castle. “I have to admit I’m glad that I’ve been given the opportunity to reconnect with him.”

“This is so great!” Twilight replied. “Reconnecting with an old friend is an excellent start to your friendship lessons. It’s too bad I didn’t get to use my friendship rekindling checklist, but the important part is that you were able to find a friend of your own.”

“Wait, what exactly do you mean by ‘starting my friendship lessons’?” Moonwhisper asked with a mixture of bemusement and trepidation.

“Well, as the Princess of Friendship it’s my duty to help spread the magic friendship whenever the need presents itself, and you need help with friendship even more than most ponies. Besides,” Twilight added a little sheepishly, “now that Starlight Glimmer has graduated from needing my lessons I’ve had a lot more time on my hooves.”

Moonwhisper raised an eyebrow at Twilight’s remark. “Does this mean I should start submitting briefings regarding my personal findings on the subject of friendship?”

“What? No,” Twilight sputtered in surprise, “I mean, you could if you wanted to, but I wasn’t suggesting that you had to…” Twilight’s voice trailed off as she looked at Moonwhisper, who was struggling to keep from bursting out laughing. “Alright, you got me, very funny. I’m serious about the friendship lessons, though, I really do think you’ll be happier the more you open yourself up to having friends.”

Moonwhisper thought for a moment before responding. “You know, Twilight, I think, as usual, you’re absolutely right. Reconnecting with Braeburn made me feel…I’m not sure how to put it exactly but I suppose relieved would come closest. And, if you really think more ‘friendship lessons’ would help me further then who am I to argue with the Princess of Friendship.”

Twilight’s wings flared out in delight upon hearing Moonwhisper’s acquiescence. “You’re really going to let me teach you about friendship? This is incredible, I can’t wait to get started!” As she spoke, Twilight practically flew out of her seat in unrestrained glee. “I’ll have to go through all of the friendship lessons I had planned for Starlight to see which ones would be applicable; maybe I’ll start by sorting them from the most basic to the most advanced.” As Twilight giddily went over her plans for her new student, Moonwhisper quietly backed out of the room. As odd as it was to see Twilight so overjoyed, Moonwhisper had to wonder what he had just gotten himself into. Little did Moonwhisper realize, however, Twilight was already planning his first lesson. “If Moonwhisper’s finally ready to put his past behind him then maybe it’s time we paid a visit to Cadance and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire.”