A Disparate Bond

by the7Saviors

An Old Thestral's Wish

Complete silence reigned through the room for a long moment. The other Elders stared openly at Dusk, most of their expressions a mix of shock, confusion and disbelief. Dying Flame however, eyed the smiling stallion with a look of intrigue and wariness.

"You would have my grandson accompany these foals to the surface?" he asked, furrowing his brow, "why? What purpose would that serve exactly?"

"I believe it would serve as a fine substitute to the Trial he was originally to undertake, among other things," Dusk replied evenly. He nodded towards Twilight and Starlight, "aside from that, he seems to have taken quite a shine to these two young fillies."

"This is ridiculous," Sanguine Oak huffed indignantly, "only those who've proven themselves worthy warriors and exceptional survivalists are free to roam about beyond the Hall of Trials. Rarely are full grown stallions and mares given the honor, let alone a mere whelp like Firebrand!" he turned to Dying Flame with a scowl, "surely you're not considering such an absurd proposal, Elder Dying Flame? Surely you have more sense than that?"

Dying Flame opened his mouth to reply, but Jade Rose spoke first.

"Why don't we at least hear what Elder Dusk has to say for himself before we dismiss him outright?" Jade Rose suggested. Sanguine Oak gave the mare a vicious sneer, but she only smiled back sweetly and continued on, "I for one think it's an interesting idea."

"No one asked you!" Sanguine Oak snarled, "just the thought of sending a colt out there is... it's madness is what it is!"

"And yet nopony sees a problem with sending foals off to fend for themselves against a giant killer manticore?" Starlight muttered in Twilight's ear, "I really, really hate this place, Twilight. Seriously the sooner we leave, the better."

Twilight sighed and gave a helpless shrug, not really having anything else to say about it. She didn't hate Nightshade like Starlight seemed to—neither of them had even really seen it, but she could certainly see where the other filly was coming from.

"I understand your concerns, Elder Sanguine Oak and yes, you bring up a very good point," Fallen Snow interjected. She turned to Dusk, "we can't simply send one so young and untested out into the world, not without a very good reason anyhow," she nodded towards Dying Flame, "but he is your grandson, Elder Dying Flame, so I move to leave the decision up to you."

"Seconded," Jade Rose added, speaking over Sanguine Oak's outraged objections, "and I'm sure Elder Dying Flame would like to have some say over his own grandson's fate?"

"That I would," Dying Flame replied with a nod. He turned to Dusk, "very well then. You have my curiosity at the very least, so I will hear what you have to say, Elder Dusk."

Dusk inclined his head gratefully, but before he could explain himself, Sanguine Oak shot to his hooves, his expression a mask of fury and his tone one of utter contempt and disgust.

"Preposterous!" he growled, stepping off his cushion and backing away from the others, "this entire meeting has been one outrage after another and I refuse to tolerate it any longer!"

"Oh?" Jade Rose replied, looking back at him with a small smirk of amusement, "do you mean to abandon your sworn duty as a senior member of the Council, Elder Sanguine Oak?"

"Not on your life, Elder Jade Rose," Sanguine Oak hissed with all the bite and venom of a snake. He snapped his icy gaze over to Dying Flame, "it seems clear to me however, that both my opinion and vote hold no weight here. You are free to do what you will, Elder Dying Flame, but that is my last vote in this particular Council meeting and I believe this was the last order of business as it was. May the Moon bless you all."

And with that, Sanguine Oak turned and stormed off into the darkness at the back of the ,vanishing from Twilight and Starlight's sight. They waited for a moment, and the bitter old stallion's echoing hoofsteps eventually disappeared. Twilight's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

Evidently there'd been a corridor in the back of the room neither filly had seen when they'd first arrived. It was almost impossible to see anything after a certain point in the distance so the filly realized it shouldn't have been quite that surprising that they missed it.

"Good riddance," Starlight grumbled under her breath, "crazy old stallion."

Jade Rose chuckled lightly and turned back to the remaining Elders.

"Well, I suppose that settles it then," she remarked, "Elder Dusk, you have the floor. Please, enlighten us won't you?"

"Gladly," Dusk replied. He cleared his throat, turned to Dying Flame and began to explain, "as I said before, I believe this may be a fine opportunity for your son to gain some much needed hooves on experience in lieu of the Trial of the Waxing Moon. I think in fact, that he would do far better out there than he would in the actual Trial."

"What makes you say that, Elder Dusk?" Fallen Snow asked curiously, "from what I know of young Firebrand, he is... somewhat..." she cast a worried glance in Dying Flame's direction, but the stallion only waited for her to finish speaking. She sighed, "Firebrand has proven himself a surprisingly capable fighter, but when it comes to survival skills, he is somewhat... lacking."

"He's also a coward," Jade Rose chimed in, "and while cowardice in an of itself is not an entirely unwelcome trait to have when it comes to survival, it does him no credit if he can't utilize that cowardice as an effective tool of survival," she gave Dying Flame an innocent smile, "am I wrong, Elder Dying Flame?"

"You are... not wrong," Dying Flame replied with a hint of reluctance in his voice, "the colt has inherited his mother's skill in combat, both armed and unarmed, but has his father's softness and soft-headedness," he shook his head and looked over to Dusk, "he still has much to learn, Elder Dusk."

"Indeed he does, and that's one of the reasons I propose we send him to the surface with the two fillies," Dusk replied, "if you want my honest, humble opinion, I did not for a moment believe he would or will survive the Trial of the Waxing Moon, and I think you feel the same, do you not, Elder Dying Flame?"

The stallion in question didn't reply, but his expression said it all. He felt exactly the same, no matter how much he hated to admit it. Dusk nodded grimly and turned his attention towards Twilight and Starlight, a mysterious smile playing across his face.

"I don't believe it was mere coincidence that brought you two here this day," Dusk continued, "nor do I think it was chance that you met Firebrand and slew Tenebris either," he leaned forward towards the two bemused fillies, "even our illustrious Night Mother has taken an interest in you. No, you two are no ordinary ponies... I can feel it."

Twilight and Starlight glanced nervously at each other, both remembering what they'd seen in the crystal ball back in the library. They had certainly been extraordinary then, but in all the wrong ways. Twilight had been sure she could steer herself away from the possible future she saw for herself and Starlight, but after what she'd done to the manticore, and how she'd felt about it... she wasn't so sure anymore.

"I don't really know if that's a good idea," Twilight tried, taking a hesitant step forward, "I'm... pretty sure we might not be as great as you think we are."

"No, you both are meant for great things, I am sure of it," Dusk argued, his smokey grey eyes glinting brightly in the low light of the dark room, "from what I understand, Aeon intends to have you two become Hunters, correct?"

Both fillies eyebrows raised in surprise, and they weren't the only ones. Each of the other Council members stared at Dusk with stunned, bemused, and—in Fallen Snow's case—suspicious expressions.

"Well... she hasn't even started training us yet, but yeah we think so," Starlight replied warily, "how did you know that? Did Aeon tell you?"

"That is something I'd like to know as well, Elder Dusk," Fallen Snow added, "Aeon has not paid a visit to our city in quite some time, and we—rather, the rest of us, have heard nothing of these fillies; not until Moonlight's divination revealed them to us."

"Sadly I cannot reveal details, but suffice it to say I have eyes and ears above," Dusk replied with another incline of his head, "I apologize for the secrecy, but if you wish to discuss such matters, I beg you all to hold off until our business here is complete."

The other members looked at each other, a silent conversation playing out between them all. After a long tense moment, Dying Flame spoke up.

"Very well, Elder Dusk," he exclaimed, "we will discuss this at a later time, but there must and will be an explanation for why the rest of us have remained in the dark about these 'eyes and ears' of yours."

"I promise to tell you what I can, but back to the topic at hoof," Dusk cleared his throat, "I have several reasons for this proposal, but first and foremost of which is that I wish for the younger generation of thestrals to thrive and grow among the other races that dwell on the surface."

Surprised gasps and sharp intakes of breath from the others followed Dusk's statement.

"Well, now I'm doubly glad Elder Sanguine Oak decided to leave when he did," Jade Rose muttered, "that stallion would've had a heart attack if he'd heard what you're suggesting. Sending thestral foals to live on the surface..." her frown vanished and her lips curled upward into an amused smile, "a bold proposal indeed, but an interesting one."

"What you're suggesting," Fallen Snow added with a grave look towards Dusk, "it is no small thing, Elder Dusk. You're effectively asking us to forgo centuries of tradition. There are certain teachings and trades that take years to learn and master—teachings and trades that do not exist outside of Nightshade."

"There is a reason we as a race have chosen to live below the surface," Dying Flame said, his frown hard, "there is a reason we only send the most elite of us to live above. Thestrals number only in the hundreds, and in such a hostile environment we cannot afford to expand our population any further than that."

"And that brings me to yet another reason for this proposal," Dusk countered with a knowing smile, "you see, it has recently come to my attention that there is a high chance that other thestrals are living elsewhere beyond the Celestial Barrier—entire communities of them in fact, various others that fled to different parts of Equestria and perhaps even further than that during the purge of our race so many years ago."

That gave the others pause, but Dying Flame recovered quickly.

"I take it this information comes from these 'eyes and ears' of yours?"

"Indeed," Dusk replied with a nod, "we've always known it was a possibility, but have been far too cautious to confirm said possibility for ourselves. On occasion, Hunters may travel beyond the Celestial Barrier in secret for various undercover missions. Most thestrals that work on the surface take jobs as Defenders rather than Hunters, and even those rare few Hunters have never taken missions that send them past the Barrier."

"Wait," Jade Rose cut in, her eyes wide with realization and surprise, "do you mean to have Firebrand train to become a Hunter alongside these two fillies?"

"Precisely," Dusk replied easily, "Hunters are given plenty of opportunities to travel and it is my hope that in his travels, Firebrand will stumble upon our lost brothers and sisters."

"We cannot simply uproot centuries of tradition based on rumors and hearsay, Elder Dusk," Fallen Snow argued, "unless you have some sort of proof of this claim—"

"Very well then," Dying Flame interjected, much to Fallen Snow's surprise, "I will allow you to send my grandson with Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer to the surface."

"Elder Dying Flame!" Fallen Snow gasped, whipping around to stare at the stallion in shock, "this... you approve of Elder Dusk's proposal?" she gaped opened mouthed at Dying Flame as he nodded, his eyes never leaving Dusk's. Fallen Snow quickly regained her composure and frowned heavily, "e-even so, now that we know what Dusk's ultimate goal is in this venture, there are other factors to consider—"

"I also approve of Elder Dusk's proposal," Jade Rose added with a small smirk, "I want to see where this goes," at Fallen Snow's glare, she elaborated further, "let's think of it as... testing the waters, shall we? We will send Firebrand with the fillies to live on the surface, and if all goes well, if he does thrive, if he learns to become a better survivor, if he does indeed find evidence of other surviving thestrals out there in the world... then we can call Elder Dusk's crazy scheme a success," she shrugged, "If not..."

Jade Rose trailed off and Fallen Snow worked her mouth, flapping her lips silently for a long moment. Eventually she closed her mouth altogether and frowned in contemplation. All the while Starlight frowned right along with her, not liking the idea of taking Firebrand with them one bit.

"Um, excuse me?" Starlight exclaimed, taking a step forward and drawing every eye of the Council. She flinched and Twilight watched her worriedly, but didn't back down, "don't we have a say in this?"

The Council members continued to stare at her and Twilight began to shift nervously, looking back and forth between her friend and the elderly thestrals.

"Starlight," she muttered, "it's pretty obvious we don't have any power here. If they wanna send Firebrand with us back to the Fortress, there's not much we can really do about it."

"But the way they're talking, it's like they want him to... to live with us or something!" Starlight retorted angrily before snapping her gaze back to the Council, "If you wanna send that colt to the Fortress that's fine and all, but you can't just... drop him on us like that! Why can't you just have him do his own thing?"

There was another beat of silence in which Starlight held each and every one of the Elder's gazes, then it passed as Jade Rose tittered into her hoof. Dying Flame and Fallen Snow frowned while Dusk only raised an eyebrow and gave an amused smile of his own.

"Oh?" the grey eyed stallion said with a hint of playful mirth in his tone, "worried over a little competition are we? Afraid the colt will outshine the two of you academically?"

"Wha—no!" Starlight cried indignantly, "I just don't want him hanging out with us all the time! He's annoying, and on top of that I didn't ask for it! He can have his stupid lessons if he wants, but leave us out of it!"

"Speaking of which," Twilight chimed in tentatively. She didn't really care one way or the other if Firebrand joined them or not, but there were other questions bothering her, and she decided to voice them, "is Aeon even gonna allow him to train and study under her? Even if she does, what about his parents? Won't they be—"

"My daughter... Firebrand's mother is dead," Dying Flame said suddenly, his face hard as stone, "his father went missing years ago and is presumed dead. I am his guardian and I have already given my blessing on this matter."

"Oh," Twilight muttered, shrinking back from Dying Flame's intense gaze, "I'm sorry..."

Dusk glanced sideways at Dying Flame for a moment, his expression inscrutable. He gave a small, nearly inaudible sigh before addressing Twilight.

"As for Aeon, you need not worry about her," he explained, "nor do you need to concern yourselves with having to..." he raised an eyebrow at Starlight, "...tolerate his company. He will not be trained by Aeon personally like the two of you, but he will be nearby, trained by another of Aeon's... associates. You may see him fairly often but he will not hinder your own studies, I can assure you of at least that much."

Starlight huffed quietly and moved to stand back next to Twilight, the pale pink filly mollified for the time being. Twilight gave her a half irritated, half quizzical frown, but the other filly ignored her as Fallen Snow spoke.

"So you've already made arrangements then?" she inquired, her frown growing ever deeper as she eyed Dusk, "just how long have you been planning to set this plan in motion, Elder Dusk?"

"I admit, I've given it quite a bit of thought over the past few years," Dusk conceded, "though I've only begun making preparations the last year or so. Nothing concrete, just a few measures put into place here and there in case I was ever given a chance to put my plans to action," he gave her a small smile, "and speaking of which, it seems you've been outvoted, Elder Snow."

"Though I am somewhat reluctant to go along with this—especially considering the circumstances and your intentions—I have yet to vote one way or the other," Fallen Snow closed her eyes and sighed deeply, "...that said, it seems this will happen whether I disagree or not."

She opened her eyes and scowled at Dusk.

"I still have many questions about your... dealings, Elder Dusk," she continued, "but I will also allow Firebrand to accompany the ponies back to the surface. As Jade Rose suggested, it will be a test to see whether or not your ideals have any merit," she turned to Dying Flame, "it is decided, but I do wonder why you've agreed so readily, Elder Dying Flame. I would've thought out of all of us—aside from maybe Elder Sanguine Oak, you'd be the most against this. Especially considering—"

"I have my reasons, Elder Fallen Snow," Dying Flame replied curtly, "let us leave it at that for now."

Fallen Snow watched him for a moment, then sighed.

"Very well then," she replied quietly before addressing the two fillies, "I suppose that finally concludes this... rather surprising trial. You two are free to go," she looked past the fillies and spoke in a louder, more commanding voice, "Iron Hide, I want you to fetch Firebrand and bring him here so that we may explain the situation."

"As you command, Elder!"

Twilight and Starlight whipped around to find the two guards from earlier standing behind them just a few strides away. Both the mare and stallion stood stock still, the armored stallion frozen in a crisp salute. They'd been so quiet up until now the fillies had forgotten they were even there.

After a second, Iron Hide turned and vanished down the darkened stone corridor Twilight presumed to be the exit. Silence fell over the chamber for a moment as everyone watched the stallion leave, the sound of his clanking armor getting quieter as he moved further away into the darkness.

"Night Runner," Fallen Snow continued once it was quiet again. She nodded towards the armored mare, "I'd like you to bring these foals back to the mouth of Starlight Cave. Iron Hide and Firebrand will meet you there and together the two of you will lead them all back to the surface."

"As you wish so shall it be, Elder," the mare replied smoothly. She turned, "on my honor I'll see that it gets done."

"Very good," Fallen Snow replied, "we of the Council still have some..." she frowned over at Dusk, who continued to look straight ahead at Night Runner and the fillies, "...lingering issues to discuss here," she turned back to guard and waved a dismissive hoof, "you may go, the lot of you."

"Ugh, finally!" Starlight groaned, already making her way towards the dark corridor, "glad that's over. Now we can get these stupid horn rings off and get the bu—"

"A moment... please."

Starlight stopped in her tracks and turned back around with a dark scowl. Twilight and Night Runner, who'd both been about to follow after her followed suit. The scolding Twilight was about to give her friend died in her throat when she saw that Dying Flame was staring at her—at both of them with an earnest look.

Once he had their attention, the old thestral stallion made to speak, but he paused, seeming to have trouble with his words. He turned to Dusk as if to ask for help, and the other stallion merely nodded with a warm smile. At that, Dying Flame took a deep, tired breath and frowned at both fillies.

"This... may be a selfish request given what we've put you through here today," he began hesitantly, "but I'd like the two of you to... watch out for Firebrand," he eyed Twilight, "though you've only met briefly he thinks rather highly of you. He tried to speak on your behalf before we brought you here, something he would've never done before," he smiled a small, almost imperceptible smile, "I think the two of you may be just what that colt needs to become a stronger thestral."

Twilight stared at him for a moment, then looked over to see Starlight looking back at Dying Flame with a thoughtful frown.

"Wait... so he actually did try to get us out of trouble?" Starlight asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice, "he didn't just... run off and hide or something?"

Dying Flame slowly shook his head.

"He met with me privately and begged me to let the two of you go," he explained, "I could not oblige him of course, not at the time, but things have changed. Now I can only wish him luck in his future endeavors and entreat the two of you to look after him when you can."

"Of course we will," Twilight replied with a reassuring smile. She nudged the other filly and frowned, "right, Starlight?"

Starlight frowned back, but sighed a second later and gave Dying Flame a single nod.

"Yeah," she replied with much less enthusiasm than Twilight, "we'll keep an eye on Firebrand for you. I mean we're gonna be super busy and probably won't see him very often but," she shrugged, "we'll find a way... I guess."

An invisible weight seemed to lift from Dying Flame's shoulders and he sagged slightly.

"That is all I can ask," Dying Flame replied with another small smile, "thank you... both of you."

The other members of the Council watched the exchange silently, Jade Rose with an odd grin and Fallen Snow with the same kind of nigh imperceptible smile as Dying Flame. Dusk had closed his eyes and once again looked the part of a stallion completely at peace with the world. Twilight went to reply to Dying Flame, but Starlight cut her off, an impatient scowl forming on her face.

"Yeah, no problem, now can we please just get out of here already?"

Author's Note:

One more chapter and we'll be out of Nightshade and back to the Fortress. I haven't forgotten about a certain meeting that's suppose to take place with a certain mare. We'll get to that soon enough.

Comments

[The Cynical One]

Bureaucracy! After all that tradition, voting, debate, and shock twists we’re out of court and on to the fortress! Hope all these elders make a reappearance... they were just too fun to read all their debates and internal rivalries. Hopefully we’ll get some training on Twilight’s dark magic because so far, it’s unrefined (but effective!). Starlight really should’ve gotten into trouble a little bit more but ah well... with that kind of personality she’s going to get into a real pinch eventually. What a great story to read, so much build-up and detail! Pacing is a bit slow, but deliberate to make the story the best it can be. I can’t wait for our trio to get into some proper training .

[mishun]

"Preposterous!" he growled, stepping off his cushion and backing away from the others, "this entire meeting has been one outrage after another and I refuse to tolerate it any longer!"

I'm a bit confused: that guy was just told to fuck off metaphorically and he proceeds to fuck off literally to... Make them all feel bad, I guess?

"Wait... so he actually did try to get us out of trouble?" she asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice, "he didn't just... run off and hide or something?"

Was that Twilight or Starlight who said that?

[the7Saviors]

9594748
Starlight, sorry, thought it was clear from the context but apparently not.