> The Beginning
>  by Nicolasmandias
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> How the apple met the night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


How the apple met the night



“Stand up! You have visitors” said the guard as he entered the cell’s corridor, followed by no other than Applejack.

Her face was a really weird one, changing from worried to perhaps anger and, well, a small cocky grin; right there Big Mac knew she wouldn’t stop teasing him about this whole mess once he was free again.

Free again. Who knew how long it would be for that to happen, he had after all fought Prince Blueblood in the middle of the streets, not just causing civil unrest, but also attacked and equestrian authority. That was at least a long time to serve behind bars. What a lovely weekend it had turned out to be, and he had come to Canterlot only to close a deal with some fancy merchant. A fancy merchant that could be the solution to all their budget problems… a big deal, just gone with one blow of his hooves.

“Ah wanna know what they hay were you thinking” said Applejack after guard had left them alone “Attacking royalty Macintosh… really?”

“He deserved it AJ, he offended yer friend and our family” he answered. He seated on the ground and stared at the wall, trying not to look at his sister. 

“Ah ain’t sayin’ he did not, but yer the first one to say that violence doesn’t solve problems” he said nothing. “Look we all know it was fer a good reason, and Ah know some ponies do deserve some kickin’ from time to time. Ah ani’t even mad, and Rarity is making a fuzz over yer bravery ‘an all, but…”

“Ah still gotta stay here”

“Yup, Twi’s tryin’ to get some help from the Princess but, Ah can’t promise anythin’ big bro” she said looking rather sad “they are still talkin’ bout what yer gonna be charged for and how much the fine will be… that Blueblood guy wants to have yah here fer life…”

“Y’know, he might be a Prince, but he ain’t all that above the law.” He said to her. Applejack smiled. She hadn’t been all that worried about his brother serving a life long sentence, but there still was a little part of her being afraid of the thought. 

They remained silent for a while she looking at him, he staring at the wall. They heard voices outside, perhaps the rest of her friends talking to the guards; at least he heard female voices. Mac began to feel worse, he had ruined this weekend for his sister and her friends; turned what was supposed to be a calm weekend visiting the Princess in to a mess involving fighting a prince in the middle of the street and getting himself arrested. Also there was the fact that he had ruined their chance for making a big deal with the biggest merchant in Canterlot, the whole reason why he had decided to come with them to the darn town in first place, now the chances for sealing the deal were all but gone, no Canterlotian merchant would want to have business with a stallion that had been sent to prison for aggressing a regal prince of Equestria. And so, regret took him, his face changed from his usually stoic expression to a troubled one, he was sad and irritated, against the prince, against the law, against the merchant, but mostly against himself, and that’s what hurt the most.

“Ah screwed up AJ” he said simply. Thinking again about what it truly meant to lose the deal. A fire grew inside of him; a dragon was burning him from within, one fed by anger and regret. “Ah should’ve let you handle everything… would’ve saved ourselves from this whole mess. We could still have that deal in our hooves, now what are we supposed to do? Sell the farm? Ah’m just a brute foolish farmer that should have stayed home, looking after my crops, that’s all Ah’m good at… ”

“nah, you’re a lot of things, but none of that you are sayin’… don’t get sour on me big bro, this was just a chance… we’ll have another” she said, trying to cheer him up “who’s the one that taught me to believe in the window that opens once a door’s been closed?”

His eyes were still fixed on the wall; his face remained sad and grimy “Ah wise pony must’ve said that, sadly he was not ‘ere today…” a sight escaped his lips, he closed his eyes to suppress the anger in his tone, fire still burning his insides “just an useless farm pony… a brute and dumb farm pony, that can’t behave not even for the well being of his family…”

“Ah just don’t think so…” she added playfully, trying to avoid her voice from breaking. He turned his gaze towards her, and she just smiled trying to reassure him, she could feel her eyes were beginning get watery. “’cause Ah remember that this pony also said that ‘even tough one must always be more proud of the fights that one avoids rather than the ones one fights, it’s not…’ uh….”

She motion for him to help her, blushing a little for not being able to complete the phrase. Macintosh just smiled. 

“It’s not a foolish act to stand up for one’s beliefs” he quoted. Turning his face towards his sister, the one he knew all too well, reading her face now as he had read her feelings trough her words. A small smile came to his lips, and the flame became bearable. “But what of mah believes was ah fightin’ for?"

“Yah believe in treating mares with respect and care, yah believe in dignity and equality of all ponies, yah believe in loving yer family and yah believe that family, friends and morals go before money” Applejack smiled at him, and he saw in her eyes that she was proud of him; and his soul rested on those eyes and on that smile. The burden of ruining a good chance for growing the Apple’s business market and of ruining the weekend was lifted of his shoulders. Now, being in the jail seemed more of a fun story, rather than something to be ashamed of. “That’s what yah believe in, right? That’s why you do what you do, what yah did today and everyday… if anything, granny Smith an’ Applebloom will be proud of you, and so am I”

“Shucks, can we leave li’le ‘bloom outta this?” Applejack left out a laugh, one or to tears had escaped her eyes and Macintosh had cleared them out trough the bars before pulling his sister in for a hug. Holding his sister the best he could, the weird feelings that had been nesting on his chest began to disappear, and a comforting smile came to his face.

“Now that’s more like it” Applejack said releasing him. She started to chuckle a bit “Ah still can’t believe the face of the Prince when you bucked him to the ground, on one hit! Just wait till we go back to Ponyville, yer gonna be a town hero!”

“Or at least Lyra will say so…” Their small talk continued for a little, their hearts now feeling a lot lighter about the whole situation, he now looked at it like a good story to share at the canteen, while Applejack was making it sound like an epic tale of sorts.



When the door opened, Twilight Sparkle’s face lighted up, seeing her friends laughing and sharing across bars was a weird but welcoming sight. Behind her entered the same guard that had led Applejack in, and another guard clad in a black armor, the same one that were wearing the guards that had escorted Princess Luna to Ponyville days ago, this new guard looked more serious than the other, and also a little scary.

“Rise, prisoner, this is Tinder, captain of the Lunar guard, he is here to escort you back to the castle dungeons” said the first guard.

“What?” asked Applejack, more to Twilight than the guard. Macintosh remained silent and got on his hooves.

“Yes, Applejack. I was speaking with Princess Celestia and she offered help, then of course Tinder caught up to me saying that Princess Luna had given orders to take your brother back to the castle”

“Princess Luna?” asked Macintosh.

“Yes” spoke the lunar guard, sounding really tough and adding more seriousness to his figure “after Princess Celestia consulted with her, they decided to take you back to the castle, and there you shall be judged by your crime”

“His crime? Mah brother was just… crime? Twi you gotta tell ‘em…” Applejack’s voiced raised a bit, starting to get upset again.

“Applejack calm down, the princess and her court will decide. Everything is going to be fine” said Twilight with a smile, perhaps forgetting that the royal court was integrated mostly by royals, thought Macintosh; but even so, Applejack seemed to calm down. “Now, officer, if you may…”




The trip back to the castle was a long and silent one, Tinder had decided, by petition of Twilight, not to put chains on Macintosh for the trip; saving him from the humiliation and exposure of the subject, but ponies looked still. As it is usual for places like Canterlot news and gossip traveled fast, and the story of a farm pony fighting a prince had moved from mouth to mouth all over Canterlot by the time they had moved out of prison, the little group was stared down by every mare and every colt they encountered with. It was really uncomfortable for the four of them, Macintosh walked with his head down, Applejack tried to hide beneath her hat and Twilight just smiled uncomfortably; the guard remained in his straight position, the only change was little yet notable frown on his face, holding a silent grudge one very pony that looked at them, it was the way guards were supposed to be, stoic and un amused, Macintosh thought, yet this one seemed more serious. 
The guard was around Macintosh’s size and seemed twice as silent, not much about his age could be told, he seemed like a middle aged earth-pony and like all the guards that he had seen wearing that black armor his coat was grey and his mane dark; the only distinct thing about the armor was the helmet, it seemed more imposing than the usual ones, it was a round helmet with small wings on the sides, a pair of little antlers on the front and two little horns on the back, the color of the armor was also different, it looked black and purple like the rest but somehow more shiny, he couldn’t put his hoof on it, but the armor looked as important as the pony wearing it.

“So, you are captain of the guards now?” Asked twilight once they had arrived to the thankfully much more solitary road towards the castle.

“Yes miss, it pretty much came with the armor…” he responded in a monotone voice.

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Princess Luna gave me the title a few months ago; I was nominated by one of the superiors.”

“I… see…” answered twilight, not really wanting to ask much more. “Thanks for getting the hoofcuffs off my friend…” The guard just nodded, and remained silent for the rest of the way, and so did they.


By sunset they were already at the castle, and after reassuring Applejack that her brother would be fine, mares and stallions parted ways, Twilight leading her friend towards their chambers and the guard leading Mac to the dungeons.
The corridors towards the dungeons were completely different to the rest of the place, while the upper part of the castle was colorful, wide and warm; this place was grey and cold, badly lit and very tight. The holding cells of the castle were lodged in the cliff beneath the main structure, so the corridors were going down most of the time, a few doors were lodged on the walls of the corridor and it had a few twist and turns, for the looks of it there was a labyrinth of corridors and rooms beneath the castle, mostly the kitchen and the guards quarters Mac guessed.
After a while they arrived to a small hall that connected with other doors and corridors, once inside the room, looking through a window Mac realized that they were at least three floors beneath the main hall of the castle and a few kilometers to the left side of the cliff. They moved trough one sturdy looking door, one which was mostly designed to hold the prisoners inside the corridor they were now going down trough, because not long after crossing it, they were at the holding cells.


-.-



Night fell through the land, and the small cell got completely dark, lit only by the moon’s light. Mac had been inside the cell for no longer than an hour and he already disliked it, he was completely alone in the dark, no other prisoners in the cages next to him, no guard at the entrance of the dungeon, jut him and the night. At least the small crowded window he had in the cell provided a nice view of the night and the mountains behind Canterlot.

“How in Equestria is this any better than the town prison?” he asked out loud. He expected no response, which brought him to jump a few meters once he got one.

“Do you not like the view?” asked an imposing female voice.

Mac turned around in a fast motion, not sure what to expect from the darkness behind him. A pair of royal sky blue eyes was the first sight that he caught.

“Um, I…” it took him a while to find his voice and properly bow. There in front of him, stood Luna, Princess of the night, imposing and beautiful, her mane and her eyes shining with the moon she had so caringly looked after. “It’s a nice view yer highness…”

“I can handle things from now on Tinder” she said, to the pony that Macintosh had just realized was standing behind her, the same guard that had escorted him down there. “leave us for now”
The guard just nodded and left the room. And Mac remained silent, his nose as close to the ground as he could get it, not sure how long was enough to bow to the Princess, especially since he was in prison. Without moving any other part of his body, Mac took a small glimpse of the Princess, she looked really imposing and the moon casted an aura of light around her making her look regal, noble and magnificent, as he had always thought the night to be. 

“Rise, please, I desire to share a few words with you.” She said in a much softer voice, trying her best to sound friendly. Yet somehow, it made him feel uncomfortable. “Please, I mean no harm”

“um…’course not Princess, ‘am sorry” he said getting on his feet, but still keeping his head down. Not daring to look at her face.

“So, Macintosh Apple is it?” she asked in a calm voice. Giving a few nervous steps in front of his cell “Brother of Applejack Apple, holder of the element of honesty”

“Eeyup”

“Convicted for civil unrest and fighting an Equestrian authority?”

“Eeyup” he said in a quiet note, like expecting a punishment from the Princess “what is my sentence your highness?”

“Nothing yet, I am afraid the high council has taken the matter upon themselves to dictate a sentence” she said in a perhaps worried expression. He raised his head, and for a couple of seconds he dared to look her in the eyes, and she saw expectation and confusion. She started to play a little with her words, trying to explain “you see... Macintosh, the… ‘Stallion’ you fought is related to a few members of the council, and his grandfather preside the high council a few years ago… so basically…”

“They want my blood…” he regretted those words as they came out of his mouth; quickly he lowered his face again hoping the Princess to forgive his audacity. But she had seen the ironic smiled that crept to his mouth as he said those words, and the defiant tone which he had said them.

“Indeed they do” said the Princess among a soft laughter, a sweet laughter that sent shivers down his spine. “That is why I am here for, to prevent that from happening”
And that’s when he finally raised his head and both their eyes met. She saw a hint of hope, expectation, nervousness and also defiance, not against her, she understood that, but against those who wanted him to rot in jail. And he saw in her eyes nervousness as well, but in the same stare he noticed the confidence in her words and the offering she had made him.

“But, Princess, ain’t you not upset by my words?” he asked, not really knowing how those words had come out of his mouth; they meant both a tease and an invitation.

“Upset, for speaking your mind? Nonsense… you took those words from my mouth” she said relaxing a bit too. Something that came as a surprise for her, not really knowing she had been tense. A small smile formed on her face, confidence kicking in. “I want to offer you a bargain, a deal which can save you from the grasp of the council”
A change in his features told her to continue. Slowly she started pacing around in front of his cell.

“What I am offering you is a usually practice amongst royalty, see, whenever an important pony has it’s encounters with the law, they are offered this possibility; instead of being thrown in jail or having to pay their fee, they make a favor to whoever high authority decides to offer it” she said making sure Macintosh was understanding “the excuse is that the prosecuted gets to serve the kingdom as payment for their crime”

“I’ve heard ‘bout that. It’s always offered to royalty or some fancy noble pony… a scam to justice if you ask me…” again he covered his mouth, but the Princess laughed again.

“That is indeed. Back in the day my sister and I used it for helping ponies in need, yet offering this option used to uncommon, fair trials was our pride… of course things have changed, justice now is… well, more unfair… and Celestia’s voice among the council seems to be limp, and…” she just shook her head, it was not time for that talk, yet upon turning around, she noticed that the stallion was listening carefully, understanding her words ‘perhaps even sharing them’ she thought. That brought a smile to her face, apparently she had not made a mistake. She decided to change the subject and move on to the reason of her presence before the stallion “please excuse me… anyway, please tell me, why did you hit my…‘delightful’…nephew?”

“Um…” he was a little taken aback by her question, but the look on her face told him that it was safe to tell the truth. Leaving aside her usually quite nature, Mac decided it would be wise to just let all his thoughts go; he really needed her to understand. “Well…. To begin with, he insulted a friend of mah sister, he was gonna make ‘er cry an’ in front of all those ponies, you see she has a good heart, but the mare cares ‘bout other ponies opinions, specially of the really fancy ones… well, anyways, she was ‘bout to cry an’ tha’s somethin’ yah don’t do to a mare… that’s not how a stallion’s supposed t behave…”

“And that made you interfere?”

“Eeyup, ah was inside a store with this big fish of a merchant me an’ mah sister wanted to seal a deal with, an’ yer nephew…” Luna just smiled at the informal addressing, a little surprised how fast the stallion had loosened his words; she liked to think that he felt as if he was talking to an equal, although for a brief moment. Mac said his apologies and then continued “well, the Prince was making a whole fuss about it, an’ no pony dared to stop him, and Ah guess her friends were in a bit of a shock since none of ‘em jumped in… so Ah did what Ah had to do, stepped in fer a friend… that was the right thing to do I guess…”

“It was” she said reassuring him. He smiled.

“But ah just went in to tell ‘im to stop, got in between him an’ Rarity. I think then Fluttershy went to her side, or some of ‘em did… ah said him a few words ‘bout how a stallion is supposed to treat a mare… and then it got ugly, he started yelling things about me being a dumb colt that dared to speak to a prince, nothing more than a farm pony” he said taking a pause, Luna just looked at him, not really surprised by the attitude of her ‘nephew’ “you see yer highness, ‘am used to be called that… ‘am used to ponies thinking me a fool… and I can tolerate that… but then he messed with more important things… like miss Rarity’s honor, Ponyville and mah family. And if there is anything a stallion should stand for, is for that, family, friends and home… so ah just… well, bucked his face to the ground…”

The princess just laughed. Using her magic she opened the door of the jail “come, sit with me” she said inviting him to a small table nearby “there are important things at hand”

“Thanks yer highness” he said shyly. A little bit reluctantly, he seated next to her, not really knowing what to say or what to do. Slowly he raised her face to look at her, she was staring trough one of the windows.


“This… offering, I am putting before you… may prove to be dangerous, so you will have un till tomorrow night to think about it… besides, by then we shall see what kind of sentence will be dictated for you…”she said still looking through the window. The change in her tone told him she was worried about what was coming.

“What’s the deal ‘bout yer highness?” he asked, perhaps trying to help her. She did look troubled, perhaps choosing her words. What could this deal be about?

“Threats and dangers to our kingdom have been rising lately, more than what it was thought to be usual, have you noticed this?” he did nod a little, something that made her feel more comfortable.

“Ah’ve noticed a few things, like that, what was it… ursa…something, that attacked Ponyville a while ago, or dragons coming near our homes, no to mention that discord fella…” he said; thinking back, it was true, times seemed more agitated than they used to be “hay, even them royals seem more unfair… um… sorry yer highness”

“Do not be, it is true” she said reassuring. Slowly she stood up and began pondering around, while she collected her thought he followed her with his gaze. “There is a balance that must always be kept one way or the other, between harmony and chaos… too much harmony will bring an upraise of chaos, and well, perfect chaos is harmonious on itself… it is a complicated game the one this forces play…”

“Eeyup” he said trying his best to understand her. “so…”

“In which set of this game do you think we are?” she asked simply, thinking that was a question which he would not answer

“as things ‘ve been lately, Ah’d say too much harmony an’ little chaos” he said with a concentrated expression.

“… Indeed!” Luna said happily, he caught up quickly “what are the facts that led you to that conclusion?”

“Hmm… to begin with, discord was supposed to be the ‘lord’ of chaos… so that’s some upraise yeh’ve got right there” Luna nodded “then there are the elements of harmony… an’ Ah remember miss Sparkle sayin’ they had returned, say ‘reincarnated’, after some long time”

“A thousand years… since I was defeated and sent to the moon…” she said sounding still melancholic. 

“Nope, a thousand years since Nightmare-Moon was defeated” he said, adding a slightly emphasis on the name, Princess Luna smiled a little, rising her head to look at him who was still playing with his thoughts “an’ ‘course since those things are the elements of harmony, that means that there is much more, well… harmony, at the same time that happened, yah returned… Ah... Ah mean… yer highness returned…”

“Exactly. And please, you can lose the formality” she smiled but he denied with his head, perhaps he still did not find it proper, she thought “that is important; see, the harmonic way of things for that thousand years would have been to have two princesses on the throne, and for the elements of harmony to be ‘active’. But it was not like that…”

“There was no harmony or a whole o’ chaos, so there was…”

“Balance, yes! Or, well, at least a kind of it” she said smiling, he did understood. 

“But now, there are two princesses, and the elements, so there is a whole lot of harmony…”

“Which brings outbursts of chaos to compensate, outburst that become different problems, some more dangerous than others. From a single broken hoof, to a house burning or even Discord’s awake… Yes, that is exactly it” she said smiling, he smiled back at her. So far so good, she thought. “Now, our issue is that my sister has… failed to see this… change, this evolution, or at least she has failed to see the connection between problems, she just thinks of them as isolated events; Do not get me wrong, she does worry about problems, big and small, trying her best to solve them as they come up, but she is not prepared to face what may come.”

“Ah guess I can understand that, but is she really blind to these things, or is she denying this whole big connection?” asked Big Mac puzzled. Perhaps he thought, stepping in the line of the princess’s trust “uh… ah mean… Princes Celestia does an amazing job, but she has been doin’ it fer so long that… well, when yah do somethin’ fer long time, yah get used to it… and it’s really hard to see a change when it is so, especially when it is somethin’ as delicate as safety fer Equestria… Ah mean, Ah can imagine that…” he rushed his words, getting a little confused when saying them, trying to make his best to tell her his point of view.

“Yes! That is the problem! I believe she is afraid of the idea of a change in her rule, a change in state of peace our kingdom has had for a thousand years” The princess was blazed with excitement, he had understood, in his own way he had come to the same conclusion as her. “Needless to say then that her denial has kept her from taking preventive measurements”

“But… aren’t the guards up for these things? Aren’t they in control of the deputies and fire stations of Equestria?” he said thinking about the all well to known golden clad ponies “as far as Ah’ve know, they are the ones that take care of this things, their institution…”

“Indeed, they do, or at least they are supposed to. But now a day’s… to move guards and send them in for any big situations or even one of their small forces, means for us to ask for permission before the council… it is ridiculously bureaucratic. ” she said a little upset and angry “as I said there is no response team prepared for this dangers; even for us to act or even leave Canterlot, there must be a permission signed by the council…”

“tha’s stupid…” he said bluntly, she smiled.

“It is. So you see, when problems come, there is no way to help, and Celestia gets really stressed by this situations. Lately she has counted on Twilight and her friends for help… but we cannot count on them forever”

“An’ that’s your idea yer highness? Take the weight from yer sister’s shoulders?”

“To make sure that there is always someone ready to help were and whenever it is needed, yes… that is what I ask…”


End of chapter one.


> The Storm Within
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Storm Within



How was she supposed to be feeling? Everything was just so… so… well… she couldn’t put her hoof on it. On one side, the night had been amazing, she had conquered the small theatre; every pony loved her show and while she had been on top of that scenario she had felt great and powerful as she was supposed to feel. This was, after all, the triumph she had been expecting to have in the city that had seen her worst, and it had been… even if it was in only one of the small theaters of Hoofington, she still should feel proud of herself, the Great and Powerful Trixie had returned…
But on the other side, she knew she was none of that, if she was great and powerful as her title mentioned, then she wouldn’t have that old newspaper laying next to her proving her failure. No, if she was as great or as powerful as she made her crowds believe then there would be no crying families on the newspaper, and the graveyard of Prairieville wouldn’t be receiving three new ‘guests’…

Letting an angry grunt escape her mouth, she threw the paper across the small dressing room and took a sit in front of the mirror, suddenly not able to look at the mare sitting just in front of her. 

“Damn it…” she said, feeling a small tear come down her cheek.

It had been two weeks since she had been to Prairieville, and she still wasn’t able to sleep well at night, even now that she was so far away from the small town. Those three lives she had failed to save were still a big black ball pushing her chest, a feeling she hadn’t been able to leave behind; And how could she anyways? It was only fair that she was suffering this much by a mistake she herself had made…

‘No, no… it wasn’t my mistake…’ she thought.

How much of that was true? She didn’t knew, but Princess Luna at least had said so, she had tried her best, run as fast as her hooves allowed her… she had done her best, she knew that, but it still made her feel terrible. In only one night those ponies had lost everything with the fire, and she had also been burnt by it, everything she had regained in these past months seemed to have been turned to ashes…

“How can I bring joy to my audience if I can find it in myself…” she asked out loud. From deep inside of her, came a thought ‘But that is not the heart of the matter, is it?'

And there it was again, that weight on her chest, the feeling she had been trying to name, the feeling that, as she had tried to convince herself, was there for the loss of those lives… yet deep down she knew that didn’t cut it, she knew that it was not the lives lost that weighted on her chest, it was the failure. She was being terribly selfish over such a sensitive matter, and that is what bothered her.
It was truly a fight within herself, her past and her present, what she used to be against what she was trying to become.

She remembered what she used to be like. A selfish obnoxious mare that cared for herself and herself only, a mare that tried to prove everypony worse than her just for the fun of it, a mare that lived on the road, with no family to go to and no place to call home. Sure that was the way of the gypsies, but still. She used to call that life, hungry for applause and greatness, always boasting herself, talking in third person, trying to prove herself better than any other pony. She was arrogant, egocentric, obnoxious, and a jerk; she thought back then that she was a pony to be looked at, a mare that turned every gaze as she walked by, she was the great and powerful Trixie after all, a show stopper… well, that last thought might still be right and well founded. But everything else was a mistake, thinking back to all of that she didn’t really knew how it had happened, Melquiades hadn’t taught her to be like that…

“Melquiades…” she said, perhaps a little too melancholic, and the strange feeling in her gut became heavier.

Had Melquiades seen her like she used to be, the mare she had become after his passing; obnoxious and arrogant, a mare that went from having fame and a name, to being homeless and desperate, living on the streets, steeling food and complaining for a misery she had brought upon herself. She wondered what would have he said if he had seen her in that small cell the Princess had found her in, summed in a pathetic and desperate state. She knew that Melquiades would have been disappointed, heartbroken… because in that moment, when she was living in the streets, she had hit rock bottom… and she was no more the caring little filly he had raised, but instead that disaster of a mare she had built for herself.
She had made of her life a failure back then, in her heart she knew she had insulted everything the old stallion had done for her, back in that cell she knew that she had trashed all the love he had given her… and that feeling overwhelming her heart. Because back in that cell, she realized that she had not repaid him at all, and that in her past life she hadn’t done a thing for him to be proud of her… and it had felt so great to finally be doing something to change that, for that chance only she would always be thankful of the Princess.

She could never say what truly made her accept the princess’s deal, but of what she still felt certain about, was that it had been the best decision she had made so far. Was it just for escaping that dreadful place? Or was it to change her life and do something good with her time on this earth? Perhaps a way to repay the old stallion by following the ideals he had tried to teach her… she didn’t really knew whatever reason made her do it, but she had certainly filled her expectations… it had changed her life, and she truly felt she was repaying him for everything; and she had made sure to put her best on doing so. 

And there something clicked inside of her.

Collecting her thoughts, searching her feelings, Trixie knew what was within herself, and the though made her sick and angry. She thought that these past months of working under the Princess’s guide had changed her, made her a new mare that could do well and perform her art not for the applause but for the smiles she gave… but apparently it wasn’t the case; because what hurt the most about losing those lives, was the failure of her power… sure, she had been overwhelmed for not being able to help those ponies, but deep down she knew that what had really been hurt, was her pride… a characteristic of the mare she had been trying to put behind, and apparently had failed to do so.

In an angry movement she swept the top of the table in front of her, throwing bottles and makeup kits to the floor. 

Was that why she was doing it? To feed the pride of that mare she used to be? It seemed that she had never been able to leave her behind, and this time she really thought she had made a difference, that she had changed… yet that mare still was breathing inside of her…

“Hey Trixie!” came a voice from the other side of her door. She just allowed a small grunt to tell the stallion she was listening “there are these kids outside that want to meet you… and well, their parents are well known here so, yeah, they will be here soon, sorry…”

Just great! Inside the small room was an almost shattered mare and now they were sending in some kids! Slowly and lazily she began to lift the things she had thrown across the room, and started cleaning herself up. She would have to pull a fake face and attitude to receive those little ponies… she looked in the mirror, what a disaster she saw, a mare lost within herself…

“I deserve this…” she said bluntly, if she was still that mare she had tried to leave behind then perhaps she truly deserved everything that was happening. She tried to focus in cleaning herself up; she needed to look good for her admirers. After all perhaps that would be the only thing she would be left with “… I’m not who I want to be, am I? No… I should just stick to the show, that’s what I’m good at… I was fooling myself when I tried to play hero… I should have stayed in that prison…”

And she thought about giving up… not on her shows, but on the only important thing she had done in her life; yet a small cling in her hoof reminded her that she couldn’t, she had a debt with the Princess and that small bracer in her leg was a reminder of that; she couldn’t run away from that duty. 
Ever since that disastrous presentation in Ponyville her life went on a downfall, going from town to town trying to rebuild her act, wasting the last bits she had in a journey that only led her to the streets. When Princess Luna had found her, she was in a small Prison in Hoofington, after being condemned to stay in for a long time, under charges of stealing and assault; it was the end of the line for her, she knew it, but then Princess Luna offered her a chance, to get out of prison and do some good for Equestria helping others and doing things no pony was ready or willing to. It had been a complicated decision, yet she had accepted it, of course, and as the Princess had pointed out, she didn’t had much of a chance; it was staying in prison for years or going out and serve the Princess. It was for these kind of things that she wasn’t sure of her reasons for accepting it, but the over all of it was that she was in it for the change, a change in her life. 
And it had helped her, she felt renewed; even if the responsibility that was put on her shoulders by the Princess was too big for one mare to handle, she still wanted it, and even if right now she was just thinking about giving it up, she didn’t really wanted to. This problem between the heavy responsibilities versus the gaining’s of her new duties was making her even more confused. On one side she had the reasons to give up, it was a task to big for one pony alone, and apparently it was feeding the pride of the mare she was trying to burry… but still she wanted to push forward, to play hero, become the good and not just the ugly… but the same time giving up seemed good, and yet it didn’t… 

“Oh Trixie; whatever will you do with your life...” she sighted, and cleaned her face with one of the towel they had given her, burying her face in it, hitting the table with a loud thud “this is ridiculous! I change from being angry to being sad, from having pity for myself to thinking of the irony and how stupid I am for thinking this! Trixie against dark Trixie against the world that hates me! Oh wait… that was a ridiculous thought… oh come on!”

She banged her head against the table once again, continuing her grunt against the towel, until a knock on the door told her she would need to postpone her angry mumble. At least, she thought, it was a little break from facing her problems.

“Do come in!” she said doing her best to regain her theatricality. Not really knowing what to expect, she just tried to hide away her feelings.

The door opened in a blast, and soon enough Trixie found herself on the ground being restrained by four little hooves. She heard laughter, and even if she couldn’t tell who it was it still sounded welcoming, she also heard older ponies giving apologies. Her head was still spinning after being tackled, while two foals were still holding her in the ground.

“Trixie! You were amazing! Wow that thing you did with the lights and the fireworks!” said one of the foals, and Trixie remembered she knew that voice, and how it used to annoy her. Oh, how had she missed that voice.

“Yes! And when she lifted that Old Stallion and turned him into a bunny! Trixie you are so powerful!” said the other, a little filly, her little filly.

“And great!” said the first one, a colt, no, the one and only little colt. 

The foals released her from their grasp, waiting for her to react, but she didn’t really knew how, having a rush of feelings going through her chest. It took her a minute to realize all that was happening, two foals in the ground in front of her and at the door a Stallion and a Mare that looked familiar. The memories of the little ponies in front of her came rushing to her mind, it was them, the foals that in a way or the other had led her to the place she was now in, it was them who had brought her all these problems, so she did the only thing she felt like doing, she hug and squeezed her little friends like she should have done since she had found them in the streets.

“See, she does remember you sweeties” said the mare that was with them, as the kids returned her embrace.

“Oh my little angels, how glad I am to see you again!” she said holding them closer. After a time that seemed to short for her, they let go and started wondering around the small room. Trixie put her hat on the head of the small pink filly, as her brother, a young blue unicorn, put on her cape “how are you two? It’s been so long since I last saw you, what happened afterwards? Oh wow, you have grown a few inches huh, by the way where are you living now?”

“Please miss, be calm” said the stallion that was with the foals, something in the back of her memory clicked with him, but she could just place him somewhere “I don’t believe we’ve met, I am…”

“Uncle Ono!” interrupted the filly. “And she is Aunt May!”

“Yes Twinkle” said Ono, eyeing her nice “Anyway miss Trixie, we came here to thank you, for taking care of them, and well, for helping in our reunion”

“I… well it was nothing really…” Answered Trixie a little embarrassed as Twinkle hugged her.

“Oh it sure was!” shouted the little colt.

“Wizzle is right miss, if it weren’t for you… well, those streets would’ve taken them away from us, perhaps forever” said the mare, giving a few steps inside the room “for that we will ever be thankful. Oh and don’t worry, they are under our care now. You see, we were able to adopt them, being their family it was easier, besides the adoption lady ended up being a customer at our restaurant…”

“Oh, so that’s where I knew you from… you are that waiter that chased us after we stole things from the kitchen” Said Trixie, putting two and two together, remembering those days when she had resigned to being followed by the foals “sorry about that by the way...”

“Oh yes I remember, I was really shocked after seeing that you were with my nephews. I looked for hours after that, but you were gone.” 

“Good times!” said Wizzle, causing a collective laughter “uncle by the way, why do you work as a waiter if you own the restaurant?"

“I think its fun, besides it gives me a better chance to know our customers, and after you went missing it helped to ask for the two of you…”

“How did that… hey Twinkle don’t do… that” and there was a big stain of powder in the wall that Trixie would have to clean later, the filly just smiled and apologized returning to her wondering around helping her brother investigate one of Trixie’s chest of goodies. Trixie just smiled at the sight, feeling so glad that they everything had turned out right. “Anyway, how did that happen? How did they end up in the streets?”

“well… after my brother and his wife died, these two… well, just went missing… now they say that they were really scared after the house fell to the ground and they just run away” said Ono.

“when we got there after the accident, we only found the ruins of the house, and we feared the worst for these two… it was only until the police found nothing… else… on the ruins that we realized that they were missing, and by then we had lost track… lucky for every pony, you found them and took them under your care…” added May.

The kids hugged Trixie again, and for the first time in a long time, she felt her chest lighter.

“So, Trixie, how long will you be staying in the city?” asked Twinkle.

“’cause we thought that perhaps you could teach us magic!” shouted Wizzle.

“No! We have to take her out! To the restaurant! And a sleepover back home” said Twinkle, grabing hold on one of Trixie’s legs.

“Yes! You have to see our new home! It’s so beautiful, and the food is so yummy!” Said Wizzle jumping around. He then slowly turned around, exchanging glances with his sister, and in an almost quiet voice, as only for her to hear it, he added “and perhaps… you’d like to come with us and see our parents… I’m sure they’d like to meet you; we’ve told them so much about you…”

“I…” she looked down, both foals staring at her wide eyed, she tough her heart was melting, and after sharing a glance with their uncles; she nodded “it would be an honor my little angels…”

“And it will be ours to receive you” said May smiling happily at her and the foals.

“By the way, I thought we were your little demons! That’s what you called us when we raided the city!” Said Twinkle, bouncing around, still wearing her hat.

“Raided the city? We weren’t such criminals… and… well, you see, I’ve been through a lot lately. And you two, well were the turn point in my life, back then you were a burden I had to carry” she said squeezing both their head like she used to, the kids laughed. And holding them closer in a hug she added “but now… now I realize you helped turn my life around… so you are my angels see?”

“Are we now?” asked Wizzle, boasting a little.

“Yes, but the Great and Powerful Trixie also received great help from others, so don’t get cocky” she said. After that, the five of them started talking and laughing and arranging plans for the following days. And Trixie felt again happy and calm inside, she felt her eyes watery and that itchy feeling in her nose, she was truly in debt with these two and with whomever had made sure that the destiny of the little foals had crossed with hers, taking both paths to a brighter future.


-.-


It had been a few hours since she had said goodbye to her friends, and now Trixie was sitting in the small hotel room she had rented in the city, thinking about the day.
Looking at everything from a different point of view, she laughed at the attitude she had been carrying the past days, perhaps it had been a process she needed to go through, perhaps it would prove that all that time she spent questioning herself actually helped her finally moving forward. She needed to put things in perspective, to realize a few things.

To begin with, playing hero and helping the princess make of Equestria a better place. Now she knew what her position in the subject was, and finally found a reason to her decision and her future actions. She would do it for her, for Melquiades and for her little angels; there was no other reason, besides given a hoof back at the Princess for keeping her out of jail. This Knowledge brought her peace, because now she knew what it meant to do what she was doing, helping Equestria to help herself become a better mare, a mare that would deserve friends and a mentor like Melquiades, and she would also fight to make Equestria a safe place for her little angles and many other ponies live happy, yes, that was her motives, helping others to help herself. And those lives that were lost would become her private burden, motivating her to push harder.

On a second note, she learned that her past self, the obnoxious and selfish mare, would have to remain, it was a part of her (it was her past anyway) and she needed to learn how to live with it. On a side note the show stopping ability of that Trixie was a plus for her shows, so she would eventually come to a middle term with herself. Besides in the worst times of her life, she had found compassion in a heart that according to her was cold as it could be, cold and presumptuous, those foals were a prove that hope was there for everypony.

“At last!” she said out loud “calm and tranquility for me! For Trixie! Hahaha. Oh now it’s a perfect time for a bath”

Yet an all too familiar twinkle in the lights of the room told her she would have mail. And sure soon after a few seconds on twinkling lights a blue scroll appear in front of her.

“Oh Princess, you’ve got to be kidding me, it’s four in the morning!” she said a little annoyed, she wasn’t ready to go out and become the hero just yet “sure, nice way of becoming a new mare Trixie… fine, let’s see what this is about… I would just wish that for once I would get help with these duties and… oh!”

Opening the scroll, Trixie found an all too welcoming message from the Princess.


Dear Trixie:

Upon the circumstances of our last talk, it come to my attention the real need that you have for a partner to accompany you on your duties, I would truly wish that I could be the one helping you, for I dislike others to fight my battle, but you know the position I am in, concealed within the walls of the castle. So, I gave myself the task of finding a companion for you, and luckily I have.

His name is Macintosh Apple, from Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville. I know you are familiar with the small town, so perhaps you have met. I am still expecting an answer from him, but I believe that he will help us; you see, from a small talk I had with him a few minutes ago I found out that, like us, he believes that the face of our kingdom needs a few changes and that the balance is at risk. Surprisingly he understood the complex game that chaos and harmony play and how it affects our world (must I say, he understood faster than you did). As you can see he seems like just the candidate that we need, that Equestria needs, oh, and he is in a similar situation like yours, I got him out of jail here in Canterlot, and for fighting my nephew nonetheless! Anyhow Trixie, I hope this turns out all right.

On other note, I really hope that you are doing better; I know you were troubled earlier this week, and that this ghosts hunts you, but please you must get through. These ghosts are parts of us, parts that we like it or not must carry; if we wish to move on we must accept our past and our burdens. I still find it hard to live with my past, for you to see I understand your position, but I, no, we need to move forward, I know you have seen what we are facing, this game oh balance is getting more complex, and now more than ever we need to stand strong. If it helps at all, I need you, and I believe you can do whatever it is you make it your goal.

Yours Truly:
Princess Luna.



> Working the Orchard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Working the orchard



It was only supposed  to be a normal afternoon around the city, and he only meant to go inside a tavern for a drink, to think about the big decision the Princess had put out before him. At least That was what he had told Applejack, to reassure her he’d be fine just having a walk around Canterlot, alone, while she and her friends followed Twilight around the city. But seeing now how the afternoon had progressed, he would have preferred to follow the lavender pony and save himself even more problems with the law, instead of getting into the tavern fight of his life.

Dodging yet another punch, Mac turned on his front legs and bucked the stallion that had just left an opening in his guard, sending him crashing against a table. It was two down three to go. The other stallions readied themselves to attack, closing Mac’s exit, leaving him strained against the wall. one of them charged against him ready to tackle him, Mac moved to the side and lowered his head as quick as his body allowed him to, dodging the plummeting stallion; taking advantage of his position he kicked the stallion behind him against the wall and using that same impulse he tackled the one in front of him. Standing up quickly he tried to avoid the attacks from the last stallion, but one of his punches connected with his face. Losing balance, Mac took a big step back. One of the stallions he had tackled to the ground got up again, two to one, he was getting tired, his side burned, and his head was still a little dizzy.
                All three stallions were breathing heavy, eyes locked on each other. no pony inside the tavern moved a muscle, all expecting to see more of the fight, all surprised on how one single stallion had managed to take on five others at the same time; meanwhile the bartender was watching in awe as his establishment got trashed by the fight, sure, he was used to bar fight every now and then, and also to having those same five stallions starring them for no apparent reason (even though now it seemed like they had been looking for a fight with the red stallion), the only problem the bartender had was that the chairs and tables were brand new. Yet before he or any other could do something or even prevent it, they were at it again.

“Halt!”

“Oh Celestia, thanks! About time you got here!” exclaimed the bartender as three guards came into the establishment.

“Tend those on the floor and cuff this two, can’t believe they are at it again...” said one of the guards, interrupting the fight. He took a look around, the place was a bit more destroyed than last week, he thought; turning to Macintosh, he said “I take it you were in the fight too?”

“Well, he was Sharp, but they provoked him, as usual...” said the bartender

“You know Mr. Barkle, I just don’t understand why’d you still let these five in, a fight almost every week...” said the guard dismissing Mac and helping his partners clean up the mess. Mac was surprised to see how easily his rivals were arrested, almost by routine.

“Well, they pay good money, and have valuable friends so...”

Mac was out of there as soon as they stopped paying him attention, it would not have been good for him to get involved in the prosecution of those five, he could get in even more problems for doing so; so he just decided to leave the scene and try to forget the incident. Just that, of course, his body was kinda hurt, and his nose was bleeding.Since going back to the castle was not an option in those conditions, he started wandering around Canterlot hoping to find a drugstore or a public bathroom. But instead he came upon a tough looking cream stallion, that was staring at him intently from across the small square he found himself in.

“Hey you, Macintosh was it?” asked the stallion, who Mac had been unable to avoid.

“Eeyup” he said trying to sound tough.

“What went on with you? Were you in a fight?” asked him the stallion. He got no answer but a threatening look from Mac “calm down friend, I don't think you want more problems with the law”

“And who are you?” asked Macintosh, that was now sure he had never seen this stallion before, even though his voice did sound familiar.

“We met last night, took you from the jail to see the Princess. My name is Tinder.” he said starting to walk slowly away “Follow me, I don't think you wish to return to the castle like that”

Not having a better option, and also out of curiosity, he followed Tinder out of the small square trough the streets of the city on to the other side of Canterlot, near the skirts of the castle.

“Your voice does sound familiar but...” said Mac as he caught up with the guard.

“I look different? Yes, it’s an effect of the helmet, to make guards look uniformed. Imposes more respect I guess” he said in a monotonic voice.

‘So that’s why they all look alike’ thought Macintosh. It kinda made sense, he thought, because from the stallion in front of him, the only thing that could make you respect him would be his size, and perhaps the balance that he had for a cutie mark; a symbol of justice, he thought.

It was a silent walk, none of them said much, only enough to make an impression of one another; an old tradition between stallions, a quality that Mac’s father had taught him meant trust and honor among stallions. So it wasn’t long before both of them arrived to a conclusion: they were alike, projecting an image of toughness and a good sense of rightness. After that they began to talk, to make sure they impression had been right, it came a bit as a surprise for Mac that they understood each other, old schooled, raised in a farm, a good sense of morality and a quite open mind, which Mac thought was usually weird for a guard. ‘Among all the varied wonders of the universe, there's nothing so firmly clamped shut as the military mind’’ he remembered the Doctor once said.

“Here” said Tinder, as he handed Mac a towel. 

They had arrived to a complex of small houses just below the castle's outer walls. they were home’s for the guards that for one or another reason did not found home inside the castle’s barracks, houses for guards with families or for ones that had earned recognition. This was Tinder’s case, as he had explained his promotion to captain of the “silver armors”, Princess Luna's personal guards, had brought him a few rewards, like the small house and more free hours.

“Thank ya’ kindly” he said, beginning to clean himself. His bleeding had stopped and his sides were a little sore, but besides that he was okay. “Don’t mind me asking, but, last night yah said that the yer promotion came with the armor, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Perhaps the Princess can tell you later” he just said. “Have you thought on what will you do? Will you accept her petition I mean?”

Macintosh remained silent for a while “Eeyup, ah’ve thought all right” he said playing with his thoughts “It ain’t like ah’ve got another chance, yah said that Blueblood Prince plays with the court thanks to his father... so, is either joining the Princess, or some awful time in jail”

“Which you can take because of your sisters...”

“Eeyup”

“... I don’t think you realize what this means... what the Princess is asking you to do.”

“Seemed pretty simple... do what you can’t, the guards ah mean” Tinder nodded.

“But there is more to it; do you see that newspaper on the table?” Mac took a look; the front page was a picture of a town in fire. “There is another pony like you in this moment, owes the kingdom a long time in jail apparently and the princess offered her the same deal”

Mac remained silent reading the article. The cause of the fire was unknown, and many ponies had claimed it had been caused on purpose; the families of the victims were accusing the mayor for not sending proper help, apparently little to no guards had been there for help; and then there was the story of a mysterious pony that had helped, saving lives with incredible skills of magic.

“You see, it’s not cleaning the streets, it is worse than that. In the best case scenario, you will become a vigilante, the spell that is casted once you commit with the princess will have you at her service under any circumstances, and only it will know when your commitment is done.” he took a deep breath; as he walked around the small room. The serious expression on his face told Mac how important all of this was. “There is much that the princess is keeping to herself... for instance, that fire was no accident, the presence of that mare was calculated, a sort of attack had been expected... Princess Luna knew this, but had no one to go to, so she took it to herself and just a few of us”

“Ah remember she saying that this was secret an’ all...”

“It isn’t just a matter of keeping things secret, it’s just that is hard to believe, for anypony, that bigger things are happening... did you believed her when she told you about chaos and harmony?” asked Tinder, his expression showed seriousness and expectation.

“Well... eeyup, ah guess... it’s hard tah believe but... ah’ve seen some crazy things lately... ah’ve always know that things in Equestria are not as bright as they seem to be... those in charge abuse their power” Mac almost bit his tongue for letting that out, Tinder’s expression changed in a blink “ah mean... Princess Celestia is an amazing ruler, but... royalty...”

And right there Mac thought that he would never see sunlight again, talking bad about royalty in front of a royal guard was something to be hanged for, especially since it was royalty that held the high ranks in the army. But Tinder just smiled, much to his relief, he had judge him well.

“Big things are happening, things to which we are not prepared for. Even though the princess wants to help, she can’t do it without the help from the council and her sister” said Tinder, and smiling at him he said “and we both know that is not happening. The truth is that Equestria need all the help it can get. Even if the only ones ready are two ponies and Princess Luna. I don’t still know what is happening, or what is to come, but...”

“Ah understand. Ah want tah help Princess Luna”

“You said that before, and I ask again, Do you know what that truly means?”

“Well...” said Mac handing him the newspaper “I don’t’ really know about all this great and bad things that are supposed to be happening, but if I can help ponies like this mare right here, and stay outta jail... then ah’m ready. Besides it’s time ah do something, mah little sis been saving Equestria two times now... if i can help to avoid her being in that situation again...”

“I understand” said Tinder with a solemn smile “well, let’s see, Princess Luna is one for formalities and ritualism, and this spell that will seal your ‘covenant’ is one casted by words, we can work on that...”


-------------------------


Night at Canterlot castle. Macintosh was in a small corridor, looking through a window that led to a balcony. He had been thinking all day about what was soon to come, what Tinder had told him and meeting with the princess to discuss about his future; he had come to a decision earlier, but it still made him nervous. So he was just standing there, alone in the dark, waiting for the princess to present herself, recalling the day events.


They had been summoned to the dining room before sunset; apparently for Princess Celestia it was easier to lower the sun with a full stomach. There it was announced that there had been an agreement on Mac’s sentence, he was meant to do some community service in Canterlot whenever it was needed until his debt was paid. Mac saw his sister and her friends cheer with the news as Princess Celestia reassured them with a smile that everything had turned out right; he was the only one that noticed Princess Luna’s reaction; A secret thought and worried expression crossed her face for a few seconds before her sister looked back at her, then she just smiled like the rest, yet Mac could tell she was hiding behind that smile. 
After that the subject was dropped, Mac remained silent the rest of the dinner, as did Princess Luna who only responded when she was asked; their silence went unnoticed as the six mares and the ruler of the sun exchanged joyful stories. For that he was thankful, the last thing he wanted was to be bombarded with questions about what would happened, specially because, if anything, he would have had to lie, and even though he had made the decision to hide from his family whatever his agreement with the princess would come to, he still felt bad about lying to them.

He wondered where his life would go now. How was this going to change his days at the farm? Would he eventually tell Applejack about it all? as Tinder made it sound, he would be putting his life in danger, his sisters could be left alone, brotherless... yet something inside of his head told him that it was better to put his own life in the line instead of having Applejack do the same... then again he didn't knew what kind of dangers he would go through, guess he should ask the princess about that. Speaking of which, how was he supposed to talk to her? Was she looking for him or should he visit her quarters?


He felt his mind was rushing way ahead of the current events, thinking about the princess, about his imminent future, about his sister, the farm, his own life. All those thoughts just rushing through his mind, meanwhile his eyes were locked on the moon and the stars...

“Macintosh?” A voice he used to know so well brought him back to earth “may I have a word with you?”

He just nodded. The room was only illuminated by the moonlight coming through the big windows. There in front of him stood Rarity, it had been years since she had been this close to him, even more since they had been alone. Her coat was glowing under the silver light, and her mane was dancing softly with her every move.

“I... um, it’s quite dark in here” he nodded again, this time turning back to the stars, only to avoid looking at her face. “You always had a thing for them, the stars I mean. Not quite like Applejack...”

“Eeyup” he said, still looking at the stars, she moved closer to him. “Yah said yah wanted tah talk to me miss Rarity?”

“Yes... well, yesterday’s afternoon, I never got the chance to...”

“Yah don’t have to. Just did what was right...” he said, trying harder to concentrate on the moon, yet not hard enough for her to notice. He didn’t know how to react, or what else to say, so they remained in silence; he hoped that that would be enough, but with her it was never that easy. “Others would have done the same…”
She shook her head. Trying perhaps to catch his attention, but he just kept staring at the night.

“Macintosh” she said, carefully putting a hoof on his shoulder, sending shivers down his back, “it was crowded with ponies, with stallions that dress with the colors of chivalry and honor, and none of them did anything, not even my friends. I can assure you, I have only know of one stallion that would have done what you did…”

“Magnum?” he said, now turning slightly to face her, yet she was looking at the stars.

“No... I love my father, and I know he would have stood up for me...” she turned to face him, and he met those eyes he had been avoiding, shining as ever beneath the moon. “But like you did, no one would have Macintosh, no one... I run out of words in that moment, it was just quite a lot to take, you heard what he said, the lies he made up in the street… I stood frozen, everyone else did, of course, no pony is brave enough to face a ‘prince’, and… when I heard your voice, I… ”

He knew she was speaking from her heart, her eyes told him so; her sweet voice had let him speechless. And now Macintosh was feeling uncomfortable, he was sure he could feel her peaceful breath again his neck. Before green met blue, Mac was able to look back at the stars.
Rarity just smiled, knowingly.

“it’s… getting late I think… so, I just… well, thank you Macintosh” and with a quick move, she kissed his cheek slowly “Have a good night”

She walked away from him, towards the door; he followed her moves with the rear of his eyes, perhaps lost in that distracting swing. Before she reached for the door, a question struck him, and bluntly, but without moving his sight from the window, he asked her:

“Who’s the other one?... that stallion yah said...” he said trying to calm his own tone. In his minds he replayed the moment that had just been; he felt his back getting hotter and his head itching.

“Oh” she said, perhaps too flirty. Minding her words, after noticing him being uneasy, she added “It’s an old friend of mine, this little colt I used to know, back then when I was just a filly... but...”

“But things have changed” he said, sounding perhaps a little harsh, because he meant it as a reminder to himself.

“Actually...” she said, knowing she had arrived to her last card. Opening the door Rarity turned her head towards him, catching him off guard; and there, after a long time, blue met green “Not at all...”

And so, Mac was alone again, her eyes and her words running through his mind. ‘Why did she do that? What was that supposed to mean?... her eyes, those eyes, they were not lying... darn it...’

His mind was on a rush, his heart suddenly beating fast, it was anger what he was feeling right? As a warm feeling spread through his chest, memories of past times and meant to be forgotten days came back to him; how could she say that nothing had changed when he knew that was not right? ‘yet here eyes...’ everything had changed, they were not foals anymore, the roads had drifted long ago, things were different, and he was okay with that, right?

A flutter of wings and a small cough brought him back from his turmoil.

“I hope I am not interrupting anything”

Mac lifted his eyes from the same spot he had been staring at for who knows how long. Standing gracefully in the ledge of the balcony, Princess Luna ruler of the night, invited him onto the balcony. She was one sight to see, he thought; strong, imposing and beautiful, most like the nights she created that had inspired his every dream. She smiled at him, and he bowed to her.

“Please” she said getting off the ledge with a hop. It was weird for Mac to have her so close, not having a table between them. “I heard you run into a little adventure downtown?”

“Uh... Eeyup” he said a little astonished, the princess smiled lightly, and then her face returned to that she wore at the table for a brief moment.

“I have come with bad news I’m afraid” she said “I am sorry to be this abrupt but this cannot wait”

He nodded.

“Well... it seems like the council has arrived to an early resolution... a much worse one that what we had expected” she waited for him to say something, but his stoic expression gave nothing away. “Those stallions that you fought in the bar had good connections, and were also paid to be there. It was all a trick of sorts, yet there is no way to prove it. You see, the bartender that told the guards that you had not been looking for a fight, will testify against you as well, alongside Blueblood and those stallions, who are friends of my ‘nephew’ and have relatives in the council...”

He nodded again, smiling ironically and trying to hold a snort

“All of this means that if you decide to accept my offer, it will last longer, will require more effort and bigger sacrifices...” she was now worried and reluctant  “I cannot ask you to accept this deal, it means too much...”

“Ah’m sorry yer highness, but Ah made my decision” his abrupt interruption left her a little startled “ah don’t really know about this danger that may come, ah don’t know how this fight for balance can affect our world... but if joining you means to help ponies and make our kingdom a lot safer... then Ah’ve made my decision”

They remained silent, eyes locked on each other. It was something about her presence that made him dare do this things, stare attentively at her eyes, interrupt her, even speak to hear for that matter. She was the princess of the night, a pony everypony respected, if not feared, and yet here he was talking to her, like he had done last night. They broke eye contact; the princess walked towards the edge of the balcony and looked at the landscape below

“How long has it been since the last war? five hundred years perhaps?” she said in an odd tone “my sister has done a terrific job on keeping peace among our kingdom; so great indeed that ponies have forgotten how to be strong, not even our elite warriors could do much against discord, or myself. The inconvenient truth is that, we are weak”

“Eeyup” he said simply, not really sure what else to say, Apparently she wanted for him to speak, give his insights on the matter; but he couldn’t say something else, still feeling reluctant. She was a princess after all and he had done enough by interrupting her before.

“Why do you do that?” she asked out of the blue, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

“What?” he answered puzzled and surprised.

“You speak to me like and equal, you stare and interrupt, confident on yourself and trusting me” she said turning to him “but then you change, you do not look at me nor talk, and when you do, you it with fear. Like today during dinner, as usual I was mostly ignored, even when you were there... perhaps I am asking for much... it was just last night it seemed like... well, it does not matter”

He just looked at her, in her face he saw disappointment, and something sprung back to him, he was no longer in presence of the princess, he was with Luna. Perhaps it was psychological, but something in her had changed, something in her eyes, something in the air, something in the stars too. He was used to treating with mares, he had done so all his life; he knew their ways, yet not their reasons, sometimes he felt that he had been given the gift of the words (perhaps that was why he said so little) and right now something inside of him was urging him to speak.

“Luna...” he said, either out of bravery or stupidity “It’s just as strange for me... yah see yer high...”

Something in his face told him that the formality would not be well received, since her eyes had become softer with the mention of her name.

“Um... Luna... it’s just that, last night, Ah spoke as mah heart beats.  Ah can't explain it... usually Ah’m your quiet stallion that is willing to listen more than he is to speak. Yet last night... like now... Ah felt, comfortable...” he said, trying to decipher his feeling as he spoke. He noticed how she was staring at him, expectantly, and realized that he had not been looking at her face, but at her man, and it hit him “It because of this, the night. Ah’ve always lost myself with the stars... been looking at them all mah life, there is hardly a moment of the day that Ah feel more comfortable than when Ah'm looking at the stars. My mind is free... so Ah guess that’s what it is with you...”

She said nothing, a surprised look on her face.

“But then again you are the princess of the night, an’ Ah’m just a farm pony. Ah don’t really know how to behave in this case...” he said, smiling “And, um, Ah just want to say that ever since you returned... well the sky has changed. No means to offend Princess Celestia, but... ah think you are an artist with ‘em, the stars”

“You… you think?” she said, both turning their eyes on the skies above them.

“Eeyup... Ah remember that first night after that black alicorn had been defeated, the sky was just amazing, like Ah had never seen it before... watched from beginning to end, of course next day AJ was a pain, bugging me for staying overnight, but Ah thought it worth it...” he took a deep breath, he could hardly believe what he was doing, talking so open hearted with the Princess. From the rear of his eyes he saw her curl up a small smile, yet her eyes told a different story, he could see regret, fear and insecurity; he understood what may have been going on through her heart, so he just followed his instincts, he wanted to see her smile. “It was that same night that Ah realized something... it could never have been you that Nightmare-Moon everypony was speaking of. She was all about using the night and her power for fear, meanwhile the first thing you did after you returned was create a work of art.”

“Thank you” she said facing him again. a grateful smile on her face, and a single tear running through her cheek. “I just... thank you, really...”

With a nod and a smile of his own he responded her, turning his sight towards the landscape, trying to leave her out of his eyesight, for a matter of privacy. Silence fell again, but this time it was well received. It took awhile for the princess to calm down and dry her eyes, she looked at him, feeling surprised of herself for how fond she felt for the stallion and for how well he had been able to read her mind so far; she also wondered how much had he understood just in this moment of silence.

“Your highness...” he said slowly.

“By now ,I think, you more than no other have right to call me by my name” she said with a smile.

“That’ll be hard to get used to if you excuse me, but Ah’d like it better Ah call yah by yer title” he turned to her smiling “Anyway, Luna, Ah think that um... we, have some things to sort out...”

“Yes, we do have some things to sort out” she said, mocking him.

“Ah’m sorry this is weird...” he said, letting a nervous laugh escape him, being joined by the princess helped him a little. So far it had been one unique night.

“Macintosh... would I be right if I said that you already understand my motives?”

“Eeyup. But Ah don’t think that yah owe ‘em nothing” he said simply.

“I am not sure about that... I feel that I must do something, besides if I do not, then who will?” she said, her tone getting more serious, and Mac knew the time had arrived. “I must ask you to please trust me. I know you said you had made your decision, but do you comprehend what it means?

“Kinda”

“Well, to begin with you will be in a debt with me in virtue of a spell, which means that you will be free only when it decides so, once your actions have repaid the debt you have with Equestria. Even though this debt is unfair, the spell will run based on the sentence and will respond according to equity”

“One of the principles of law” he said thoughtfully “so this thing responds to the spirit of the legislation or something like that”

“Um... I suppose it does, to be sincere I never delve into it.” she said a little startled, clearing her throat she added “Now, since I shall be the one that will cast the spell, you will respond to me, and my commands will become your obligation, ignoring them would result in a range of ‘unpleasant’ consequences... understood?”

“Eeyup”

“I wish to know, do you really believe me when I told you about the perils the future holds for Equestria? That of chaos and harmony?”

Mac looked at her attentively. He had been asking himself the same question; for some ponies this would be hard to believe or even understand, Tinder had said it. A constant battle between forces of chaos and harmony... somehow it made sense to him, so he nodded making the princess smile once again.

“Thanks. I understand it is hard, there is a lot in risk and all of this sounds like an old mare’s tale...”

“But then again so was Nightmare-moon and Discord…”

“Yes. Now, that same forces that brought Discord and myself back to bring chaos upon our land will keep trying to break the peace Equestria is used to live in. And as I said before, I want you to help me protect that peace...” she restrained herself from something Mac noticed that.

“Luna... I was thinking... is there something more to all of this right?” he asked “That fire and that pony that was conveniently ready for such a thing... it was your planing right?”

“Yes. I understand you talked with Tinder...”

“Eeyup. Ah just want to know if you already know of that bigger threat that may rise?”

“I believe I do.... I cannot be sure, but....” she paused “it's just how things work. I know that something bad will happen again, and I have the feeling that this time it will be much worse... I fear that something will occur, perhaps an enemy that will make this land tremble, and enemy no pony is ready to fight. I fear for the end of our kingdom...”

“And yah’ve got a hunch that this enemy has presented itself already?”

“A ‘hunch’?” she asked a little perplexed

“A feeling that this enemy has shown himself already”

“Yes, yes I do. But I have no proof. Isolated problems in different parts of Equestria, places no pony cares about anymore. Yet there is still a connection, same unorthodox creatures, same modus operandi, the list goes on...” she paused for a bit. Macintosh was listening intently, and she knew he believed her. It came as a relief for her. “So what I want to do for now, is look for clues and try to stop all of this.”

“But if we stop this, wouldn’t it cause yet another uprising of chaos some time else?” he asked looking so serious that the princess felt bad for smiling and laughing at his questions.

“I am surprised by you, so quiet by speak but with a loud mind. Yes you are right, it would bring that problem, so we must find ways of bringing balance without putting in danger all our kingdom” he smiled at her response, both understood that even though that was an important matter it would have to wait. she had something to say “I was talking to Tinder, and some remarks you made to him along with the ones you said last night. There is a Stallion I want you to meet; you will find that he is quite the character. Francys Pantaleon is his name; he is related to royalty, but only in blood. You will see once you meet him. Also, he is quite the merchant, I am sure you will come into good terms”

Mac just nodded not really sure if meeting a royal would be such a good idea, even though it would be good to meet a merchant after being recommended by the princess.

“It seems this is everything there is, the dangers we will face, and what our goal would be...” she hesitated for a moment, and Mac noticed something there was tiny red spot in one of the princess lips, and he realized that Luna had been biting her lip all this time, there was more in her mind than what she had let out. Suddenly the princes turned around and started walking around the balcony; he could see guilt in her face. “No, no, no, I can’t ask you to do this... your family, your farm, you sisters... I would put your life in the line; if you die they would not know what you were fighting for. And then there is that, you would be lying to them... no, I cannot ask you to do this... I am sorry... for bringing all this to you and dragging you in...”

“Luna... Ah’m actually kind of glad yah just said that... cause is means you are acting as Luna, friend of Macintosh” he said simply. She calmed down and looked at him. He had called her a friend, the first one to do that in just so long time “But now Ah want to talk to mah princess, the ruler of the night, that so desperately wants to save our kingdom. Because Ah Macintosh Apple, hereby put mah life at yer service; for the greater good, until my debt is paid, my will shall become that of yours”

“Macintosh... I... thank you” she said smiling warmly. And as sudden as she had lost her composure, she returned to that regal impersonation of the night. Her horn began to glow, Macintosh bowed before her as laces of lighting blue energy surrounded them, and Mac felt the energy carefully caressing his right front leg. “Macintosh Apple. I Princess Luna of Equestria, ruler of the night and the vault above, accept your humble offer, let the chain in your wrist become the bond that seal this covenant. for the greater good, until your debt is paid your will becomes that of mine”

The energy running around them came to a stop, the first thing Mac noticed was the chain around his leg, it looked like and innocent bracelet, lightning blue in color and barely noticeable weight. It was done now, no turn back, he knew it and oddly enough it seemed exciting.

“Macintosh Apple, right hoof of the night, protector of peace and harmony. A vigilante like no other I am afraid... I cannot cease to tell you how much grateful I am... for days I have seen a dark future over our land... but now there is a light that is getting stronger. I just know that” she said smiling to him “is there something I can do to thank you for doing this?”

“Nah, what is a favor between friends right?” he shrugged, but he did thought of something though “just make good art...”

“I will try... friend” surprisingly for her, the word came naturally to her lips.




End of chapter three.