A Pact to Live

by OblivionShadow

4: Explanations and Recollections...

Nix was quiet as they reached Canterlot and walked into the semi-crowded streets. Next, to him Gemmed crowded against him as he led the wagons toward the palace grounds. As they walked he could see that the mare with him was liking the crowds even less than he was. His anxiety about the unknown ponies began to show as his eyes scanned the area around him. He breathed out a breath and focused his mind onto his goals.

“Hey. Jump into the wagon. That way they can’t crowd you.” He suggested to her.

“I’m okay.” She said and stayed close to him.

He shrugged and kept going as he checked for signs along the roads. He paused as an apple cart raced toward them and he braced as it looked as though it would ram them and he turned to take the impact on his left side, pushing Gemmed out of the way. He watched as the pony applied the brakes and took off down the next street without even looking at them. He blinked as an annoyed noise escaped him and he got back to the task of pushing forward.

“You okay, Nix?” Gemmed asked him.

“Yeah. You?”

“I’m good. But I think I might take you up on the riding in the wagon offer after that fiasco.” She replied and he paused to allow her to jump to the wagon.

Once she was settled the Unicorn pulled forward and was greeted with the sigh of the packed streets. “Oh screw this.” He said and began to bully his way through the crowds.

“I was about to suggest the same thing.” Kahl said to him. “Will you be all right in this crowd?”

“Yeah. Time to stop being nice.” He replied and pushed forward. “Should be fine. If I focus on my goal I’ll be okay. Otherwise, it’s a bit overwhelming.”

They pressed forward and he could hear the others staying close behind him and yelling back at any rude comments from the city ponies. Ahead of him he could see that some had stopped to stare at the midnight blue Unicorn as he pulled a heavy wagon and showed no sign of stopping. He nearly snarled at the angry looks he got as he neared them and pushed through them. He pushed ahead and when they reached the main gates to the palace he sighed with relief and started through them. A royal Pegasus guard put down his halberd and stopped the Unicorn in his tracks.

“And you are?” He asked.

Nix looked at him, his face a mix of annoyance and anger as the pony stepped back a step at the look from the Unicorn. “Look. I have been pulling this thing for over a day and I am really getting tired of shoving my way through this damned city. All of the ponies behind me are from a village at the edge of the Everfree and it was burned down and destroyed by three very large dragons about three days ago. So we are here to talk to the Princesses and tell them what happened. I would be very appreciative if you would fly up there and tell them why we are here. If you want to stop me from bringing them all in here…Try me.” He snarled at the now wide eyed guard.

Nix shoved past the weapon and led the wagons and ponies into the main courtyard. He glanced back as the guard took to the air and winged his way to the castle. Kahl was chuckling in the back of his mind. “Nicely done.” He finally spoke in praise of the Unicorn.

“Truth be told I thought he would tell me to stuff it up my ass, but he didn’t.”

“It’s hard to argue with a clearly upset Unicorn who happens to be taller then he is.” Kahl replied.

Nix chuckled as the others came into the gates and stopped in a large circle and unbuckled themselves from the wagons. Gemmed jumped from the wagon and came to stand next to him as he removed the traces and set them on the ground.

“That was really impressive, Nix.” She said to him.

“Huh?” He replied to her. “Oh. Well, we needed inside and he was in the way.” He said to her.

“Lies.” Kahl said to him.

“Maybe.” He replied as the mare giggled and he saw her pause as her father approached them.

“Are you ready to go inside?” He asked them both.

“We should probably wait till that guard that I spoke to comes back.” Nix said to him.

“You did what?” Draft questioned him.

“I told him that we were from a village that had been destroyed by a group of dragons and that the Princesses needed to know about it.” He replied, his voice confident as he addressed the other stallion.

“Let me do the talking here Nix.” He replied.

“Nah.” Nix replied. “If you don’t want me to talk then why ask me to speak anyway?”

“I thought that you would be more receptive to helping the village get as much funding as possible to rebuild.” He replied.

“You don’t give a damn about them.” Nix replied hotly. “You want me to lie to help you. Did you even ask them if they want to live there now?”

Draft was silent as the younger stallion back talked him. “You know nothing about politics…”

“I know enough. I was raised here in Canterlot, so I saw more of it than you probably did.” Nix countered, cutting him off.

“You still should be silent and do as you’re told.” Draft sneered at him. “Come Gemmed.”

The mare looked at Nix as he shook his head, anger in his eyes as he stared at the older pony. “Father.”

The stallions both looked at her as she spoke. “You cannot lie to the Princesses. It’s wrong to lie at all. Mother would be ashamed of you. The ponies of the village have lost everything and you’re worried about what you’ll get from this. You told me to lie about Nix and what he did to save the ponies and tell them that he caused the fires.”

Nix’s eyes went wide at her words. “WHAT!?” He nearly shrieked at what the mare had said.

“You want to get enough bits to move to Canterlot and live off what you can take from them.” She went on. “I will tell them the truth about that I saw that day.” She explained. “The whole truth.”

Back Draft was silent as his daughter spoke. He came to stand close to her and raised his hoof to slap her. “Nix!” Kahl shouted and the Unicorn pushed the slim mare back and the slap hit him on the neck and he glared hotly at the elder stallion.

“How dare you!” He roared and reared up, pushing the other back. “You would use them for your own means. I will ruin you for this.” Nix said to him. “I will make it my job to make sure that you get nothing from them. They took you in and treated you as one of their own and you would use their misfortune to advance your own desires?”

Nix advanced on the pony and pushed him back toward a now waiting pair of royal guards. They grabbed the elder stallion and waited as Nix backed up and looked at Gemmed. “Come on. We have a story to tell.” He said to her and she nodded as she fell in behind him as the first guard led them forward. Nix’s breathing was forced as his anger rolled over him.

“Easy.” Kahl said to him.

“I know. But I can’t…I just can’t.” He said back to the dragon.

---

Kahl reached out to the enraged stallion and overlaid his own calm nature over the pony’s mind. Allowing him to gently force the midnight blue Unicorn to calm down. He could feel the anger that brimmed in the pony over what the mare had told him and the fact that he had tried to attack the mare had angered the dragon as well and he would have acted much the same in the pony’s shoes. But for now, he needed to calm down and keep his head on straight.

“Better?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Kahl. Hopefully, I don’t screw this up.” He replied.

i]“You will be fine. Tell them the clipped truth and all will work itself out.” The dragon said to him.

“Here we go.”

“It will be fine.” Kahl said to him as the doors to the throne room opened.

---

Nix breathed in and glanced over to Gemmed who looked just as nervous as he did. She looked at him and he tried to smile for her. “It’ll be okay.” He whispered to her. “We just have to tell the truth.”

“Right.” She whispered back, her voice quivered as she replied to him.

He bumped her with his shoulder and she smiled at him as they were beckoned forward by the guard. The guard led them up the Princesses and Nix could see that both of them were there. He recognized Princess Celestia and the guessed the other Alicorn to be Luna. His breathing quivered as he approached them and stopped when the guard addressed them.

“The representatives of Everstone are ready to speak, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” He spoke aloud.

Nix managed not to gulp audibly as he stepped forward another step. He held his head up as he looked from one Alicorn to the other. Celestia smiled kindly down to them while Luna stared down at them, her expression intense.

“My name is Arisen Phoenix and I have lived in Everstone for a little more than two years and stand before you to tell you what befell the village a mere three days ago. With me is Gemmed, the daughter of the Mayor of Everstone.” He said to them and motioned to Gemmed who bowed her head in silence.

“Welcome to Canterlot. I am glad that you have come before my sister and I and I eagerly await news of the village. Please speak freely to us.” Celestia said to him and looked kindly to her sister who gave a stiff nod to them.

“Not the friendliest is she?” Kahl commented.

Nix gave a slight smile at the dragon’s commentary and nodded to them. “I was not there when it happened. I was driving off a manticore that had gotten to close to the village and had turned back when I saw a cloud of black smoke coming from that direction. When I made it to the hill that is on the outskirts I saw four dragons.” Nix began.

“Dragons?” Luna bellowed.

Nix’s ears pinned at the volume and he leaned back slightly. He screwed one eye shut as his ears rung. He gave a slight shake of his head and nodded. “Yeah. Four of them.”

“Please go on.” Celestia said to him, a wide smile on her lips.

“Right.” He muttered and went on. “I got back to the village and I could see that one of the dragons was fighting the other three.”

“Fighting them?” Luna bellowed once more.

“By the Flames! Tell her to shut it or we will be here all day to get through this.” Kahl snapped.

Nix laughed and looked at the Princess of the Night. “I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you yelling at me?”

Luna went quiet as she looked at her sister, who had a hoof over her mouth and she blinked and sunk down in her chair. “You are using your Royal Canterlot Voice, sister dear.” Celestia advised her.

“Oh.” She whispered and went quiet.

“Thank the Gods.” Kahl sneered.

“Please go on.” Celestia said to him.

“Yeah…uhhh…Right, black dragon. So the biggest of the four of them was a black dragon. He seemed to be fighting with them and trying to protect the village.” Nix went on and he saw Luna's mouth open and he pinned his ears as she put a hoof over her mouth and went quiet. “I went into the village to try to get as many ponies I could out of there and to safety. I don’t remember how many houses I went into but I looked up after a few and I could see that the black was pushing them back and had lifted his tail to be over the houses to avoid knocking them down.”

“He was truly protecting you then?” Celestia said to him and he nodded. “It is out of the ordinary to hear a dragon behave in such a way but I am glad that he was trying to help.”

“I got attacked by the green dragon towards the end and the black got in the way and drove him off. I know the black laid down, but I got knocked out and didn’t see what happened after that.” He finished.

“You missed a few small things, but well done.” Kahl praised from the back of his mind.

“Thanks. I hope I don’t look too terrified.” Nix replied.

“Miss Gemmed?” Celestia said to the scared mare at his side.

Nix looked to her and motioned ahead by tipping his horn and smiled, trying to encourage her. She took a couple of shaky steps forward till her shoulder was level with his and she looked to the two Alicorns above her.

“They attacked the far side of the village first. At first, it was just the three large dragons but a few minutes in the bigger black dragon came from the sky. It didn’t land on the village, but off to the side of it and the others went to him and they roared and growled at each other for a while before they attacked him. The black looked like he was trying to angle the fight away from Everstone. But they pushed him toward it and I saw that he was trying to give the ponies as much time as possible to run away.” She said aloud and tears began to stream down her face as she spoke.

Nix said nothing as she spoke and tried to make sure that she knew that she wasn’t standing up there alone. The mare panted once she finished speaking and sat down to cry. Nix leaned into her a bit to try to make her feel better and Kahl crooned in the back of his mind. He looked to her and a breeze went over him as he looked up to find Princess Celestia in front of them. She looked to the mare and he backed away from the Alicorn as she took the sobbing mare into her forelegs and held her. He looked up and Luna was standing as well and slowly approached her sister and set a hoof on the mare’s mane trying to comfort her as well.

“Do you need to be comforted as well?” Kahl jeered at him.

Nix gave a quiet chuckle and shook his head. “Nah. I think I’m good.” He replied.

“Thank the flames for that.” Kahl replied.

Nix chuckled and silently thanked the dragon. He was pretty sure Kahl was doing it on purpose to alleviate some of the stress on the Unicorn but he didn’t bring it up to the dragon. He looked back and Luna was staring at him. His smile fell away as she didn’t look away from him. He backed up a step from her gaze as her eyes narrowed at him. He could feel fear creeping up his spine at her stare and he felt himself wanting to hide from her. He closed his eyes and when he opened them he chose to not fear her. He squared his shoulders and stared back at her. The mare seemed surprised and a small smile crept to her mouth and she nodded to him. Her eyes went back to the sniveling mare and away from him.

“Holy shit that was scary.” He commented to the dragon.

“It was certainly disconcerting.” Kahl agreed.

“Felt like she could hear you. Or sense you or something.” Nix explained. “That was scary as hell.”

“It was certainly odd to be stared at like that. I don’t think it had anything to do with me thankfully. I think she saw you chuckle and was wondering why.” Kahl replied to him with his own take on the situation.

“Still!” He replied. “Holy shit. How long has she been back? Does she have a chill out mode?”

Kahl laughed as he spoke. “She has been gone for a thousand years. So things are very different now. No doubt that she is still adjusting the change in times.” Kahl explained.

“Oh. Oh shit, that’s right. I forgot. Okay, I’m not mad anymore. That was still scary and weird, but now it makes more sense.” Nix commented.

“Simply give her the chance to adjust and I am sure that she will be fine.” Kahl added.

“Yeah. Your right so I shouldn’t judge her. Though if I am being honest for a second I was thinking I needed to jump out the balcony and hope that I somehow grew wings in the seconds it took to plummet from the castle to our imminent death.”

“Please don’t try that.” Kahl replied. “Besides, an Alicorn has the magic to grab you before you had the chance to jump to fall to our death.”

Nix stood quietly as the mare began to recover and accepted a tissue form the Princess, who backed up a bit to give her room to recover.

“I am so sorry.” Gemmed said to them as she sniffled.

“It’s okay.” Celestia said to her, wiping her tears on a tissue. “It has been a long and stressful time for you all and we will do all that we can to help. I do wonder why your father is not with us. Isn’t he the Mayor of the town?”

Nix gave a derisive snort and both Alicorn’s turned to look at him. The stallion was quiet as they looked to him and he had to try not to simply spout off about the older stallion. Gemmed sniffled and looked at the Alicorns.

“Nix?” She said to him.

“Yeah?”

“Can you explain to them what happened? I don’t think I can without crying.” She said to him.

“Yeah. I got it.” He said to her and came over to the Alicorn’s and stood close to them. “He’s with a couple of your guards last I saw.”

“Oh?” Celestia asked and encouraged him to go on.

“He was trying to get both of us to lie about the dragons and say that the black one did all the damage which was a bold-faced lie.” He sneered at the end and then looked apologetic to Gemmed who nodded to him. “He wanted to have you pay for them to rebuild but he wanted to take a large portion of the money and get a house here and never have to work again and live off that. He never even asked them if they wanted to rebuild there. What if they don’t want to rebuild where their friends and family were killed by three psycho dragons and…” He paused as Kahl made a sound in his mind and he cringed. “Sorry.” He said to them and sat down. “It just made me angry even though I’m not from there either.”

“You have every right to be mad, Nix.” Gemmed said to him. “I’m his daughter and I’m angry about it. You understand them better than anypony in this room.”

“What brought you to them?” Celestia asked him.

“A couple of years ago they took me in when I showed up on their doorstep. I’d been hurt and was in pretty bad shape. I offered to work off the bits it took to help me and they refused so I chose to stay there and do what I could to be useful to them.” He admitted.

“Thou owed a debt?” Luna spoke up.

“Yeah.” He nodded to her as she spoke normally and didn’t shout at him. “They always told me I owed them nothing, but I always felt that I did so I stayed to protect them.”

“Thee have paid them back now. Any remaining feeling of debt has been paid in full to the kindness shown to you that day.” Luna said to him. “Thou saved many lives by endangering thou’s own life in the process. Thou would have fallen to save them. We have no doubt that they died knowing that thee would always stand for them.”

Nix stared at her as she spoke and could only dumbly nod. Gemmed hiccupped as the Moon Princess spoke and the smaller mare blew her nose on an offered tissue. “I told you to give her a chance.” Kahl said softly to him as the Unicorn sat down. He looked to the Princess of the Night and smiled at her. Celestia looked kindly to her sister and nodded to them both.

“You have all been through a great ordeal. You are all welcome to stay here if you wish to.” The Sun Princess said to them both. “I do want to know what the ponies would like to do and assure them that we will support them, right Luna?” She asked her sister who nodded and a smile covered her muzzle.

Nix grimaced and looked to the outside as she spoke. They looked at Gemmed who nodded and stood up. “Should I go get them?” She asked.

“If you would not mind. I have a few more questions and if you think Phoenix can answer them then please do.” Celestia said to her.

“Nix had the best view of what happened. He knows more than I ever will.” She assured the two Alicorn’s who smiled and nodded to her as a guard led her out of the throne room.

“I don’t like this.” Nix said to the dragon.

“Be at ease.” He replied.

“Oh man, if they ask what happened to you what do I do?”

“Tell them the truth. I was gone when you came to.” Kahl replied quickly to him as the throne room doors closed.

Both Princesses looked to him and he tried not to look too nervous. “I’ll try to answer best I can.”

“What happened to the black dragon?” Celestia asked him as she got to her hooves.

“He was gone when I came to.” Nix replied to her.

“Did you see anything specific about him, any markings?” She went on.

Nix was quiet as he thought it over. “Just that he was bigger than they were. By a lot.”

“I have heard of few dragons that are larger than typical dragons. So no markings on his scales?” She asked.

“Nah. Nothing distinguishing. Why?” He pried a bit.

“There is a dragon that is the Lord of Dragons, but he does not often leave his lair. And he is more of a green. Pure black scales.” She whispered aloud.

“Hah! They are recalling Torch.” Kahl chuckled.

“Sister?” Luna finally spoke up and the elder Alicorn looked to her. “Could it have been an Element?”

Nix tried not to jolt and he hoped that they didn’t see the twitch that went through him.

“Easy.” Kahl said to him as the Unicorn panicked.

“Windows looking pretty good right now.” He whispered to the dragon.

“Not needed.” He replied.

“The Elemental Dragons have not been seen since the last time you and I met them, sister. One of them was black if I recall but he was smaller than the others and far more temperamental if I recall.” She said back to her sister.

“I am now the largest and the least temperamental thank you.” Kahl replied.

“That was over a thousand years ago sister.” Luna replied.

“Excuse me!” Nix called out to them and they looked at him. “Hi. What?”

“Pardon us. We have met a large black dragon before but it was many moons ago. Among the dragons, there is the Lord of Dragons and above him are the Elemental Dragons. They are meant to rule the Elements and are well respected and revered among dragon kind. So it is very odd to hear of dragons fighting with one and leads me to think that it is a different dragon.” Celestia explained to him.

“Oh. Yeah, he was big but that was all.” Nix replied. “Nothing major in the way of markings.”

“Thank you for telling us what happened. I have to admit that your name is familiar to me.” Celestia said to him.

“Oh no…No…No.” Nix chanted internally.

“Did you go to my school for gifted Unicorns?” She asked him.

“Shit!” He shouted in his head. “Yes.” He replied.

“I knew you were familiar. You did very well if I recall.”

“I did…okay.” He replied, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt.

“But you did not return for the advanced courses that were open to you. May I know why?” Celestia pressed.

“Kill me now.” He said to the dragon who snorted.

“I do not wish to die so that request is denied.”

“I left home before being admitted to the dorms.” He replied to her.

Celestia looked surprised at his reply. “You were one of the most gifted that came through the school. You and Twilight Sparkle were well loved by the teachers due to your dedication.”

“I’m guessing Twilight kept going?” He replied.

“She did yes. Graduated this last year and came back under my direct tutelage after. You might have been the only one to match her in terms of raw skill.” Celestia praised.

“Thank you for the kind words.” He said to her. “I traveled instead.”

“Oh. I am certain your parents were supportive of that travel and…you are giving me a strange look.” Celestia said to him with a chuckle.

“It’s called an ‘are you stupid?’ look in this case.” Kahl replied.

“My parents were the opposite of supportive and I haven’t spoken to them since.” He replied, his tone clipped.

Celestia looked embarrassedly to her sister who had her hooves over her snout to hide her laughter. “Thou stepped in that one.” She giggled.

“You are right, I did.” She replied and laughed. “Please accept my apologies Phoenix. I did not wish to embarrass and upset you. I am guessing that you have no intention to go to them now that you are back in Canterlot?”

“Yeah, no.” He replied. “They can buck sand.” He replied and put his hoof over his mouth as Kahl howled with laughter. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back and then down as he groaned at his choice of words. The midnight Unicorn opened his eyes and looked to the Princesses who were both holding back their own laughter. “Sorry about that.”

At his words, both snorted a laugh and recovered quickly. “Well if you wish to meet with them at a later date, I would be happy to mediate.” Celestia said to him and he nodded in reply to her. “In the meantime what are your plans? Will you stay with them?”

“I hadn’t had time to think about it so far. I don’t think so though. I love them like family, but it never felt like a real home to me. I know they’ll be safe now and no pony will try to take advantage of them now that Back Draft is toast. But I don’t really have a plan of my own yet.” He admitted.

“Do you wish to pick up your studies?” Celestia asked him.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I think I’m a bit too old for a dorm now. I don’t think I’d be willing to go into a dorm now that I have seen more of the world and have grown past it. I like magic and I understand more of it after being alone and on my own, but I don’t think general study is for me at this point.”

“What about the applied study?” Celestia said to him.

Nix tilted his head at her reply. “In what sense?”

“I have many projects that are in need of a talented Unicorn to apply them. Twilight has her own studies now to attend to so I would ask that you look over them. You would, of course, be allowed to see to your own life and if you wish to travel more than that would be made a part of your tasks as well.”

“I’m surprised you got Twilight to leave Canterlot.” He replied with a chuckle.

“She is in Ponyville and is studying the Magic of Friendship.” Celestia said to him.

“Hah!” Nix barked out a laugh and leaned back as he chuckled. “Twilight with friends? That’s funny. She was even worse than me at making friends and I was horrid at it.”

“She has six new friends and now lives in Ponyville with them and Spike.” Celestia said to him.

Nix stared at her and his expression went from laughing to confused. “How in the hell did you get her to figure out what a friend is?”

Celestia laughed as Luna looked a bit uncomfortable. “She and the others rescued Luna from Nightmare Moon a few months ago.”

“The Elements of Harmony, you dolt.” Kahl tossed him a bone and he scrambled for it.

“The Elements of Harmony.” They nodded as he spoke. “I read about them but I assumed it was a mare’s tale and let it go.”

“You read it as well?” The Sun Princess asked him.

“Sure. Obscure magic? Yes please table for one.” He replied as he pointed to himself.

“You would do well in Ponyville as well I think. Do you have any friends that you wish to visit…you are looking at me funny again.” Celestia said to him.

“Again, I was barely not as bad as Twilight at making friends with other ponies like me.” Nix reminded her. “I simply avoided them and did my work. She mingled a little bit.”

Celestia looked to her sister who nodded in silent agreement. “Would you be interested in the magical projects that I have been unable to figure out?”

Nix’s eyes widened at her words and he frantically shook his head. “Kahl?”

“Magic that she is unable to work with? Certainly, this should prove amusing for both of us.” The dragon agreed.

“Yes.” He replied to her. “So where do I wander off to since I have no desire to stay in Canterlot.” He asked her.

“Ponyville.” She replied.

Nix paused as the thought struck him. “I just got set up, didn’t I?” He asked her.

“In a way, yes. You are in need of a place that feels like home and Ponyville will allow you to make friends of your own and also provide areas that will allow you to test the magic that I will send with you in a safe manner.” She reasoned.

“And provide an area of safety for me to instruct you as well.” Kahl replied. “I have to admit she played you well.”

“Shit. I got played and I walked right into it.” He complained in internally and nodded to the Alicorn. “Okay. You got me. But I am not Twilight’s experiment.” He replied pointedly.

“Oh?” Luna asked.

“Yes. I got used as her science pal once and she nearly killed my sense of smell and turned my coat orange for a week. So I will not be made a project for her to use for her friendship quizzes.” He said.

“Very well. I will let her know that you are coming but you have your own tasks to complete. If she wishes to make a friend of you will you be all right with that?” Celestia asked him.

Nix looked uncertain for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. Can’t hurt worse than the last time.” He replied and the Alicorn nodded to him.

He heard an agreeing grumble from Kahl as the Alicorn came down from her throne to greet the ponies as they came into the room. Nix was quiet as she spoke to them and waited for her to speak to him about his projects and tasks.

“Ideas?” He finally asked the dragon.

“This could be beneficial to us. You need to be taught about the flames that we bear and how to use them without frying yourself. And the use of magic outside of Celestia’s use is intriguing. No doubt that we can use it for our own devices as well. So, in reality, it benefits us more than her.” Kahl reasoned and he silently agreed.

“I agree. The sooner I bail on this city the better.” He replied.

“She seemed quite shocked to hear about the split in your family.” Kahl said back to him.

“Yeah. She remembered me enough to know that I didn’t attend the classes but never asked my parents? Odd. But I wasn’t her personal protégé though so I guess that was that.”

“Still odd.” Kahl added. “One who is involved enough to recognize you despite the current changes and ask about you but not your family is very strange I have to admit.”

“Meh. Whatever. Past is the past and I can’t change it by staying here.”

“Was the fight that bad?” Kahl asked him gently.

“Yeah. It was pretty bad. It lasted three days if memory serves. But it's past and I can’t help but think that they are better off now. They can do whatever they want and so can I. I still love them since they are my parents but I won’t go out of my way to mend something they didn’t care enough to fix either.”

Kahl was quiet as they stopped speaking and watched the group toward the end of the hall. He looked up as Luna walked past him and glanced to him for a moment and then walked past him and toward her sister.

“Still think she sees something weird with me.” Nix said to the dragon.

“It is disconcerting.” Kahl agreed.

Nix looked past them and to the group as they spoke to her. He watched as Strong looked past them and to him. He gave a faint smile back to the blacksmith who gave a sad nod and looked back to the Princess.

“I will miss them.” He admitted.

“And they will miss you.” Kahl replied. “But you have done everything you can for them. You have protected them one last time by stopping Back Draft from using them for his own ends. If nothing they now owe you.”

“They owe me nothing. They helped me recover and taught me a few things as well. But I get what you mean.” He replied to the dragon.

He looked away from them and glanced over his shoulder at the sunlit balcony. He looked past it and out into the world beyond the walls of Canterlot. As he stared out the dragon in his mind spoke quietly to him.

“Now it begins.” Kahl whispered and Nix nodded in reply.

Author's Note:

Here is a new chapter of this one ready to go. I am also working on Overlord Apart so bear with me. It's going to be longer than my normal ones since I'm trying to tie up the current arc and meld it into the next one. On the upside Thunder is feeling better about the story is a bit more upbeat than normal So I am taking that victory and running with it. I have him watching the next few episodes to make sure he had a clue about the personalities of the ponies and how to word things. He's doing pretty well considering. He is getting teased a bit by the other guys about being a closet Brony, but it's all in fun and they are glad to see him upbeat about something and having some fun. So as always thank you for the support and Thank You for reading!