FiO: Even the Strongest Heart

by Shaslan

Chapter 3: Into the Lion’s Den

Heart thundering in my ears, I scrambled down the stairs as quickly as I could, clutching the bright pink box tightly in both hands.

Laughter rang out behind me, and I heard them mocking me. “She scurries like a mouse, doesn’t she? A freaky little mouse.”

Cheeks burning, I upped my pace and skidded round the first corner of the stairwell. I jumped down the last couple of steps and turned the next corner, and the next. Only when I could no longer hear his mocking laughter did I slow down. My breathing came hard, but the box in my hands was proof of my victory. I had done it._[5]

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<sub>[5] Luca’s cousin Jésus had turned out to be a beast of a man, an enormous shape straining at the seams of his stained black clothing, who seemed exhausted by the effort of lumbering even to the door and back. His vast height only added to his bulk, and to me he appeared practically a giant.

“It’s a kid, Cadence,” he had said, irritably, as he opened the door and looked over my head at nothing in particular. “What’s a fricking kid doing here?”

It hadn’t seemed like he was addressing me, but I nervously squeaked out my story about Luca and the ponypads, and he finally grunted at me to stop.

“Another one after the bleeding ponypads, Cady. I swear you’ve turned me into some sort of dealer.”

“Oh come on, Nighthawk,” a female voice replied from further inside the apartment, making me jump. “Remember how important it is—”

“—To be kind and spread the love,” Jésus finished, rolling his eyes, a slight smile on his stubbled face. “I’d struggle to forget, with how often you go on about it.” Finally, he turned to me. “I suppose you’d better come in.”

I swallowed hard. But he didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and stumped his way back inside. The interior was darkened and more than a little frightening, but I thought of that tantalising glimpse I had caught of Luca’s adventure — the sky, so blue and clear of smog, the sea glittering like diamonds — the way he was free to go anywhere — and the decision was made. I followed Jésus inside. I wanted that ponypad.

“Don’t be worried,” the female voice said softly, echoing oddly through the apartment. “Nighthawk can be a bit gruff, but he’s a real softy underneath that tough exterior.”

“Cadence!” growled Jésus, but there was a playful tone to his voice now. “You’ll ruin my rep.”

“Over here, little one,” the voice — Cadence — called, and I followed the sound this time, up to a speaker on the wall. I emerged into the living room, where sporadic pink light flickered over the darkened carpet, and stared up at the huge television screen, where a pink pony smiled down at me. “Nice to meet you, little one,” she said gently. “What’s your name?”

I gaped. She was every inch as real as the creatures on Luca’s ponypad had looked, but instead of just going about a few background tasks, she was looking at me. Talking to me. I could see her chest rising and falling with every breath. I could see the moisture glinting in her eyes. I could see every hair in her candy-striped mane.

This was a whole other level.

“Um — Maggie,” I stuttered, giving the usual name I gave to people here in the city. Only on the rez had I been really free to be Lozen. To be myself.

“Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Maggie,” chirped Cadence, hammering it home once again this wasn’t just some sort of fluke — she could really see and hear me. She was really here. “Nighthawk and I have a few ponypads lying around, and we’d be happy to let you have one of them. Equestria welcomes everypony.” She beamed as she said it, and looked so happy that it somehow didn’t seem polite to point out that I wasn’t a pony.

I shot an anxious glance over at Jésus, who was rooting around in some boxes behind the couch. He wasn’t saying much, but Cadence seemed more than happy to carry the conversation.

“You’ve never been to Equestria before, right, Maggie?”

“Uh, no,” I whispered, more than a little freaked out. Beautiful graphics and limitless exploration was one thing, but characters able to talk back to me was a lot more than I had expected.

Cadence spread her wings as though she wanted to be able to give me a hug. “Well, all you’ll need to do is turn on the ponypad, sweetheart, and then Princess Celestia will be there to talk you through all of it. It’s not as intimidating as it seems, I promise.”

“Princess Celestia?” That was the same name Matteo had taunted Luca with. The makeover princess.

“Yes!” Cadence fluttered her feathers in delight. “She’s my aunt, and the princess of all of Equestria! She looks after everypony, and she loves welcoming new people in.”

I nodded mutely. This was all getting a little too weird.

Finally, Jésus burst up from behind the couch, a small box held in his fingers. “Got it!”

“Brilliant work, Nighthawk!” Cadence cheered and applauded like he’d just performed some amazing feat.

Moving slowly, Jésus advanced towards me, the pink box held in one hand. “Alright, kid, this is gonna cost you.”

I bit my lip. Luca had said it would only be a few bucks! “I — I’m sorry, I haven’t got—”

“Nighthawk, you’re scaring her.” Cadence’s tone was reproving now. “It's okay, Maggie. Just a token amount will be fine.”

Jésus rolled his eyes again, but he smirked as he flopped back into his armchair. “You’ll bankrupt me, girl. Bits are all well and good but I need to survive out here, too.”

“Oh, hush,” Cadence flipped a dismissive wing at him. “You know full well bits are a widely accepted cryptocurrency. I’ll cover the cost of Maggie’s ponypad.”

Silently, I offered the pocket money I had brought from home. Two crumpled five dollar bills and three quarters. Jésus sighed heavily, but reached out his hairy paw and scooped them off my hand. Cadence cheered again and clapped her hooves.

“All you need to do is push the button to turn it on, Maggie,” she called, as I started to back away. “And Princess Celestia will be there to help you with everything else.”

Jésus began to laugh at my fearful expression, and it was all finally too much to bear. My prize safe in my hands, I turned and bolted, his bellowing laughter ringing out behind me.</sub>
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With trembling fingers, I pressed the button at the bottom of the pad.

And then the screen flickered into life.

The scene before me was a throne room, with tapestries and flags hanging on every wall. Stained glass windows threw rainbow-hued patterns across the floor, and a small stream bubbled down a marble-tiled channel from the raised dais. A red carpet led all the way up the hall to the platform, where two thrones waited. The darker throne bore a moon, and was empty, but the golden sun throne was occupied.

Princess Celestia. Who else could it be?

A creamy-coated unicorn, with wings as wide and regal as Cadence’s had been, and a mane that flowed and glittered like a river of light.

Without me pressing any button, the camera began to move forward, lurching a little as it approached her, like a person walking.

“Welcome, Maggie,” Celestia said, a beatific smile spreading across her muzzle. “Welcome to Equestria.”

The walking motion stopped. I chewed on my lip. “How do you…know my name?” If I was going to play this game more — and being honest, what else was there to do this summer? — I wasn’t sure I wanted to go by Maggie any more. I got enough of that in the real world. For years, I had been Lozen every summer. Why couldn’t that continue here?

Her horn sparkled yellow, and a scroll of paper floated up into the air. _[6] “My niece Cadence sent me a letter and told me all about her meeting with you. You made quite the impression.” She chuckled slightly.

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_{[6] It had taken me less than half an hour to find a quiet corner in one of the disused janitor’s closets, but a fast postal service was hardly the least believable thing I had seen about Equestria. It was still mind-boggling that I was here, having a conversation, with a game.}
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I took a breath, and made a decision. I missed my summer self — this was just a game, but it would be…nice to hear someone call me that again. Like Nana was still here, in a way.

“Actually, my name’s Lozen,” I said, bravely. Perhaps it was the absence of another human, or perhaps it was Celestia’s gentle, understanding gaze, but I felt somehow freer with her than I had with Cadence and Jésus.

“Lozen? What a lovely name.” Celestia wasn’t phased in the least. “She was a warrior princess, wasn’t she? She fought for her people so bravely.”

A thrill shot through me. “You know the story?”

“Of course,” she smiled again. “Everypony loves the stories of heroes from the human world. Heroes like Lozen and Victorio.”

An answering smile spread across my own face. “No one I talk to here has ever heard of Lozen. Which isn’t right — because she’s so brave, and cool.”

“Things are different here in Equestria,” she replied. “We’re…unique. Like you, Lozen. Special. I think you’ll like it here.”

“I want to see it,” I said with a touch of impatience. “I want to go on adventures, like Luca and Carolina.” I swiped a finger across the screen, hoping to move the viewpoint, and the camera obediently followed the gesture. The windows were coloured so strongly I couldn’t make out anything beyond them, and the doors at both ends of the throne room were sealed.

“I know you’re eager to get started,” Celestia said gently. “But there are just a few more things to take care of first.”

“Like what?”

“Well, first of all you’ll need a pony name.”

Pick a new name? That was easy. “Lozen!”

She chuckled at my immediate answer and shook her head slightly from side to side. The motion sent little ripples flowing down her lustrous mane, all the way offscreen. It looked so real. “I don’t think that would work, little one — pony names have to say something about who you are.”

I began to pout. “Lozen is who I am.”

“I think something a little bit different would suit you better,” replied Celestia. “After all, the meaning of the name is ‘horse thief’, which I don’t think would work too well in Equestria, do you?” She gave a small, ladylike giggle at her own joke.

Reluctantly, I agreed.

“I have a suggestion, though,” Celestia proposed. “I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I’m certain I’ve found the right Equestrian name for you, Lozen. Would you like to hear it?”

I didn’t see how she could have spent any length of time thinking about it, given that we’d only just started the discussion, but I nodded. It couldn’t be any worse than Horse Thief, could it?

Celestia steepled her hooves together and smiled down at me, somehow managing to give an impression of height despite the fact she was on a 2d screen. “Lozen’s brother said she was his strong right hand, a shield to her people. You’re as brave as the original Lozen was, I can see that. And I know you’re a member of the Kalth Tindé people, the cedar tribe. So what if your Equestrian name were Cedar Shield? Would you like that?”

“Cedar Shield.” I rolled the name around my tongue, and a smile crossed my face. Somehow, Celestia knew and understood more about my tribe and the stories of the original Lozen than anyone I’d yet met in the city. I didn’t know how she knew, but the name felt…right. “Yes. I…I really like it.”

She beamed. “That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you like it, Cedar Shield.” Her expression melted back into a more serious one. “Now, the next thing we need to do is give you a body.”

My eyebrows rose sharply. “I have one!”

She burst into delighted laughter, as though I’d said something genuinely hilarious. “No, no, Cedar. An Equestrian body.” She clopped her forehooves together, and the camera pulled back, away from her, to reveal more of her throne, her vast white wings, and a small, ill-defined shape standing in front of her.

“Oh, right,” I echoed, a little doubtfully. “I…do I have to be a pony?”

My Nana had a neighbour on the rez who had horses, and the big, stamping creatures had always intimidated me a little. The bipedal cats I had seen on Luca’s ship were far cuter — maybe I could be one of those instead. All that fluffy fur and whiskers.

As soon as I asked the question, the blurred shape began to clarify itself.

“Not in the least,” Celestia said genially. “Most of the visitors to Equestria take the shape of ponies, but I have many other creatures under my care. For you, I think this would be more appropriate.”

She flicked a wing, and the creature in front of the throne solidified at last. Brown, fluffy fur, curling close to the body, with a mop of black hair on the head that matched my own. A long, flicking tail, with another tuft of black hair right on the end. Two big, floppy ears, and two eyes as dark as my own. I knew these creatures, too, from the rez. They wandered out on the commons, the only bit of open plains land left to the tribe. Nana and I used to watch them sometimes — always from a safe distance, of course.

A buffalo.

As I stared, reaching out a finger to touch the screen, she mirrored my motion perfectly, raising her own left hoof toward the camera, tilting her head like I did.

I smiled, and a grin split her muzzle. Cedar Shield. I was pretty sure I was going to like it here.

“Now, Cedar, you’re ready.” Celestia’s voice broke into my thoughts, and as I looked back to her my avatar did the same.

“I can go explore now?” The buffalo calf on the screen danced from hoof to hoof in excitement.

“Yes, anywhere you like.”

That necessitated a pause to think. “Well, I could go to the pirate ships near…uh…Cl—Cloobtown?” Maybe there I would bump into Luca and the others, and join up with them, and maybe we’d all become friends—

“Klugetown?” Celestia corrected. “No, I don’t think the high seas are quite the right place for you. I have another idea.”

“Oh.” I pouted. “Where then?”

Her horn flared into golden-yellow light again, and she beamed down at me. “I think you’ll do well in Appleoosa.”

“Apple-wha—?” But before the word was even out of my mouth the screen flashed white and the palace dissolved away into nothing.