1 - Uninvited

Author's Notes:

As of 14th of march (2021), I'm keeping this authors note at the top of the page in order to let new readers know that the character of Artemis is female. I've been getting a lot of comments telling me that they couldn't picture her as such because I didn't make it explicitly clear from the beginning.

This is on me and my writing, but when I was getting the first few chapters out, I honestly didn't give much consideration on describing her beyond superficial things like her hair, as her gender would be mentioned later on. She was always female in my head when I was thinking up the story, that is, before I started writing it and as such, didn't bother to mention her gender until it came up naturally as the story progressed.

Just something to keep in mind if you decide to read.

This is my first try ever at writing a story. Constructive criticism wanted! (Please be gentle).
I hope you enjoy.

Love and peace,
LadyMaria

I woke up, much to my annoyance, to the sound of ‘wapa-wapa-wapa’ on my front door. “Hello?” came a muffled voice. I looked to my bedside table and to the alarm clock to see that it was still two hours before it was due to go off. It was 6:30AM. Ugh. “Hello?” Came the voice again, a little louder this time. “Look, I know it’s early but this is important! Come on, Artemis, you know I wouldn’t come if that wasn’t the case!”. ‘Wapa-wapa-wapa,’ came the knocking again. The world better be about to explode… I thought.

I stood. The headache slapped me in the face. “Just give me a second!” I yelled to the voice and tried to orient myself in the blurry room. The floor of my cabin was… it was a mess. Bits of parchment with half scrawled notes acted as a pseudo carpet. Boxes of ingredients sat in places with low walking traffic. Equipment, books, scrolls, knick-knacks, bits and bobs and various other things I probably didn’t need, probably, littered the shelves in what some might call a haphazard way. I like to think I have a system. That doesn’t mean I do; I just like to think it. I stretched and cracked my back, then picked up the half-empty bottle at the side of my bed, sniffed at the contents, then promptly downed the remaining liquid.

‘Wapa-wapa-wapa.’ I strode over to the front door and swung it open. “I swear the world better be about to explode…” I said to the mare. She backed up a few steps and looked up at me. I towered over her. Just like I do all the people of this world. I lost all anger when I saw the worry on her face. Lyra Heartstrings, My… friend? Sure, let’s go with friend. Our relationship hasn’t really been defined. She just sort of visits and hangs out while I work and I teach her some things along the way. Her coat was a very light aquamarine. Her short, messy hair was a pale grey, similar to the colour of mine, but had a white streak that careened over her right ear. A cracked horn poked through her fringe.

“It’s not.” She said. I began to close the door. “Wait!” The door hit something as it was about to shut. I looked down. Lyra has stuck her hoof in the entry way. “The world isn’t about to explode, but this is really bad! I think your about to be discovered!” She was starting to hyperventilate.

Oh boy, here we go… “Lyra look at me.” She was breathing faster now. I grabbed her head and forced her to look up at me in the eyes. “Focus on me. Focus on my breathing.” I began to take long, calming breaths. “That’s it. In. Out. In. And out.” She began to calm, she looked exhausted. “Now, tell me what happened.” She took one more deep breath and began.

“I had to get up early this morning to pick up a shipment from the post office for the shop. It was too big for the mail mare to bring it, you see? So, I had to go and get it because I’m trying to work on my levitation, but I didn’t want to because it can hurt my horn, so Bonny was like,” She put on an exaggerated nasally voice. “‘Lyra, if you don’t use your magic, how are you going to get better? I’m only looking out for you! Also, if you don’t help me then no sweets for a week,’ and do you know what that’s like?” She continued, returning to normal. “To live in a sweet shop but not be allowed to eat anything?”

I stared at her. She was silent. Is… Is she expecting an answer? “Oh, um. No. Can’t say I do.”

She looked satisfied with that and nodded her head. “Right, it’s awful let me tell you! Especially when Bonny makes her Lemon drops, they’re so good.” She got a bit angry. “Ooh, I just can’t stand not being able to-”

“Lyra!” I interrupted. “Focus.”

Her face went slightly pink in embarrassment. “Right, Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “So anyway, my path to the post office took me past the Ponyville library. And I overheard voices inside. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop! Honest! It’s just that they were so loud, especially that early in the morning.”

“Details, Lyra. Details.” I prompted.

“Right. So, the librarian is a mare called Twilight Sparkle, we were in the same class together in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and let me tell you, she was a real teacher’s pet. She probably still is. I had to drop out because of my-”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I interrupted.

“I’m getting there, let me finish.” She said with an eye roll. “I heard her talking about how she was given an assignment to survey the beginning two miles of the Everfree around Ponyville and she discovered a void.”

“A void?”

“That’s right. Specifically, a void in the ambient magics?” She prompted. I stared at her. “A void approximately the size of your plot of land?” She waited for me to catch on.

My eyes widened. “Oh… Well… That’s not good.” I turned away from her and rubbed my chin. Placing a magic dead zone around my property was not by choice. I actually placed a perception filter around my property so that it would get ignored if anyone came too close. The void in the ambient magics is just a side effect. I was kinda banking on no one discovering that… If someone does get too close, they start to get a feeling of impending doom which makes them want to run for the hills. It’s a remarkably good deterrent. It even works on the wildlife. That’s right, no pests for me! My tomatoes are safe. Although, there was one pest that managed to get through… I turned back to Lyra. “If she reports on that, then someone will come to investigate and find me.”

She nodded vigorously. “Exactly, as soon as I heard, I came running here to warn you!”

“Relax.” I said. “We’ve got plenty of time before her letter gets to anyone important.” I turned back into the cabin and left the door open, indicating for her to follow me. I started to rummage through boxes. “I’m going to give you a potion. Find some way for her to take it before she sends the letter and she should forget about what she’s discovered.” I found what I was looking for and pulled out a small vial of blue liquid with cork stopper.

She shook her head. “No, no, you don’t understand! She’s currently the number one student to Princess Celestia herself!” Uh oh. “She has a direct line of communication with her. The Princess probably already knows!” Crap. If Celestia suspects I’m here, she’ll come down on this place like a tonne of bricks. What to do…? I pocketed the vial.

“Tea?” I said to Lyra.

“Huh?”

“Tea. Do you want some tea? I’m sure I have some around here somewhere…” I said moving boxes around.

She looked at me as if I’d just told her pizza was a vegetable. “Huh? But, wha- how-” She stomped her hoof. “How are you so calm?!”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not. I’m freaking out right now. Alas, there is nothing I can do. If Celestia discovered this place she could bypass the perception filter no problem. I mean… you got through it…”

“Hey!” She clenched her fists.

I waved my hands in a placating manner. “That’s not to say it was easy to do, you managed to push through by sheer will alone. That’s extremely impressive!” She puffed her chest out. “But what I’m saying is, you’re barely at a novice level thanks to that.” I pointed to her cracked horn. “Not an immortal alicorn that raises the freaking sun every day. If you can do it, she sure as shit can.” I found the kettle and placed it on the stove.

“I guess…” She looked around the room. “If you’re getting visitors soon, you should really clean this place up.” She kicked an empty cider bottle and it rolled across the floor to my feet.

“Oi.” I said leaning down to pick it up. Bad idea, the headache came back. I sighed and rubbed my head. “This place is fine, if whoever she sends doesnt like it, that’s their problem.” I placed the bottle in a box. It’ll probably come in handy later. Probably.

“Also,” she said. “And please don’t take any offense at this, it’s nothing against you personally, I’m just trying to be objective.” I gestured for her to continue, “You stink. Like, really, really bad. It’s like a mixture of alcohol, vomit, and some kind of spice. You probably can’t tell because you live in such a filth-”

“Alright, alright I get it.” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “How could I possibly not take offence at that?” She shrugged. I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be back in a minute. Keep an eye on the kettle, I don’t want this pig sty to burn down. And if you’re so concerned about what others think of your dear old Human, then get started on cleaning.” I waved my hand and the door to the broom closet opened. She grinned in amusement and watched me walk off towards the bathroom.

About half an hour of scrubbing later, I was sat at my vanity mirror. It was covered in various bottles of one kind of intoxicating drink or another like some collection of perverse perfumes. I sighed. I knew this would come back to bite me in the ass. This is just another mistake to add to the list. I don’t know how she’s going to react to seeing me. Can she ever forgive me? Perhaps she has… Oh who am I kidding? Of course, she hasn’t. She’s probably going to be pissed… I stared at myself and sighed again.

My shoulder length, light-grey hair was still wet and I brushed it back behind my ears to reveal a plain face. It was pretty angular. I was never happy with my appearance. Not ugly though. She helped me see that. How could someone like her see anything in me? I turned to the side and looked at my right ear. Covered in holes. Pretty gnarly looking. I reached down to the side of the mirror, picked up my gold and silver ear rings, as well as various studs and small chains and got to work replacing them. When I came to the last one, I stared down at it. It was a tiny, black triangle. I rubbed my fingers over it, then replaced that too.

There was a knock on the door. “Are you done in there yet?” Ugh, this mare…

“Gimme a sec, Lyra.” I called back. “Give a girl some privacy will ya?”

“But they’ll probably be here soon. And the place still isn’t clean. I need your help! What will they think of me?”

“What will they think of me you mean?” I said under my breath. Lyra gets it in her head that she lives here sometimes. When she first discovered me, she thought she was dreaming. Apparently, she read some books about humans in the past, probably written by me or Celestia, and became obsessed. She pestered me day and night about answering various questions she had thought of over the years. I didn’t particularly mind. After being alone for so long, you need the company or you might start talking to a rubber ball. “Just go wait in the living room, I’m still getting ready.” I called back to her. I heard her hoofsteps getting quieter as she walked away.

I went over to my wardrobe and started getting dressed. Black cloth pants, worn leather boots, and a white cotton shirt. Rather comfortable. On the way out of my bedroom I grabbed my grey wool cloak, put it on and checked the inside pocket. My flask was still there. Yep, I’m gonna need this. I opened it, sniffed at the contents, and took a sip.

Back in the living room, Lyra was pacing. I moved past her to sit on the couch. “You’d better not put a hole in my floor.” I commented. I sat down and took another sip from my flask. Lyra snatched it from me.

“I don’t understand how you can be this calm! The entire world is going to know about your existence. They’re going to discover that there was a human living under their noses this entire time. A human! The legendary creature from folklore! They all called me crazy for believing in them. But I was right!” I stood up. My form towering over her. I started at her. She was starting to sweat a bit. I slowly reached for my flask and took it from her hands then put it back inside my cloak pocket and sat back down. She had relief visible on her face. As if I’d do anything to her. It does help to be a bit intimidating when you want silence though.

“First of all, they should have known about humans. We’re in a couple of books. It’s not my fault you’re apparently the only one who believes what’s written down. Plus, Celestia knows that I exist… did exist.” I added sadly. “So, she can calm down the masses. Second of all, I have a saying. ‘When life gives you rotten lemons, you sip the juice to see if they’re salvageable enough to make a decent lemonade’. This is not the optimum outcome-”

“You’re telling me…” Lyra cut in. I ignored her.

“-But there is nothing I can do now. Celestia is going to find out. The best I can do-” she glared at me. “We can do.” I corrected. She nodded. “Is to just get this over with and see where it takes us.” Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my nose started to bleed. Lyra said something to me but I couldn’t make out what. She put a hand on my shoulder to steady me and the room went blurry for a second, then, returned to normal.

“-temis? Artemis?! Are you ok? What happened?” I stood. Someone just broke the perception filter. Not just broke it, but shattered it. It must be her. I looked into Lyra’s eyes.

“They’re here.” Lyra made a pathetic whimpering sound and sat down with a distant expression on her face. She cradled her cup of hot water; I had no tea. “Lyra.” I said. No response. I tried again a little more forcefully. She slowly turned to look at me. Her eyes where shimmering. “Hey.” I placed a gentle hand on her forearm. “It’s going to be ok.” She smiled, turned, and wiped her eyes. She didn’t want me to see the tears fall.

“I know.” She said with a sigh. “I just… I just don’t want you to go away…” her voice wavering. I was silent after that. What could I say? I quietly reached inside my cloak, pulled out my flask, and took a sip.

‘Bang-bang-bang.’ You know someone means business when they ‘wappa-wap’ or ‘bang-bang’ on your door. Lyra whimpered slightly. I gave her arm a squeeze, letting her know I was still there. The voice that came next was very no-nonsense and gruff. “Attention resident! This is the Royal Guard!” Ooh, the do mean business… “Come to the door now, or we will enter the residence by force!” I placed a hand on Lyra’s head as I got up and went to meet my visitor.

The Stallion that stood before me was clad in golden armour and had a white coat. All the Royal Guards did, they were enchanted to all look the same to protect their identity. He stared at me in complete shock. I smiled to him. “Greetings, fine Sir.” I added a small curtsey. “To what do I owe the pleasure if this visit?” I said, batting my eyelashes at him. It doesn’t really work when your over three heads taller than the average Pony and a member of a race who, until now, only existed in stories. To his credit though, he managed to pull himself together with a clear of his throat.

“Ma’am, we were called here becau-”

“Artemis?” He was cut off by a voice that I would recognise anywhere. Oh shit, She’s here. In a bleach-white, Roman- or should I say ‘Roam’ style gown, Bloody Ponies, with a golden rope tied around her waist. Walking out of the forest and into the clearing ahead on brown leather sandals that covered her hooves, the straps of which, criss-crossed up her legs and were held together with golden buckles. She was almost as tall as me. Her hair, the colour of sunlight passing through a droplet of morning due, seemed to billow lazily about her head in an unseen breeze.

Princess Celestia Everfree. The Unconquered Sun. The Dawn-bringer. She walked towards me and the rest of the world seemed to stop. All the guards and even Lyra back inside bowed to her as she approached. “This is not good; this is not good…” I could hear Lyra saying under her breath, over and over again, as she prostrated herself before her goddess.

“Shh, Lyra.” I said quietly. “It’s alright.” Now that Celestia was closer I could make out her expression. Princess Celestia Everfree. The Unconquered Sun. The Dawn-bringer… Was crying. This surprised me. Believe me when I say that I have known her for a while. In all the time I’ve known her, I have seen her cry twice. Just twice. Yet here she was, with tear trails marring her pristine white coat. She stopped in front of me and looked up into my eyes.

“Leave us.” She said. So quietly I almost didn’t hear her. But the guard next to her did.

“Um, Princess are you sure that’s wise? We don’t know what this thing-”

“Now.” She said, as soft as a whisper, yet her tone held absolute authority. At once, all the guards saluted and walked out of the clearing. Creepy.

I turned back to look at Lyra who looked like she was about to have a heart attack or dissolve and disappear below the floorboards. Whichever came first. “Lyra?” I asked, very gently. The trembling minty-mare looked to me. “Would you mind going to put the kettle on to boil?” Lyra looked to the Princess who simply nodded. Taking the hint, Lyra turned and quickly disappeared into the cabin. I stepped out onto the porch and shut the thin wooden door behind me.

I felt a pair of warm hands on my face as I was forced to look at the Solar Sovereign. The clearing was completely silent, save for the occasional birdsong after they returned from the barrier being obliterated, all the while she stared into my eyes with the occasional tear falling to join the rest.

She Hugged me. She held onto me so tight I thought she’d break me. She buried her head into my neck. She was trembling. She wept.

I gingerly wrapped my arms around her back to return the gesture and her breathing hitched. “So, I take it you missed me?” I said with a sheepish expression. You know, all things considered that probably wasn’t the best thing to say. The left side of my face exploded in pain as she brought her hand across it. Ow. I don’t mean to brag but I have a pretty high pain threshold. This Princess can hit. Hard. “Okay, I kind of deserved that.”

She stared at me. A few stray tears still running down her cheeks. Whether they were tears of anger, regret or relief. I wasn’t sure. “How could you?” I felt awful. She was angry. As she had every right to be, hell I was angry at myself. Yet she still didn’t let go of me. I could still feel her trembling. “How could you do that to me?”

“Celly, I-”

Her voice became very cold. “Don’t. Don’t you dare call me that. Not after what you did." She shook her head in disbelief. "I needed you. I needed you more than ever and you… you just left.”

“I had a good reason, I-”

“Did you?”

“Celestia, she was my best friend. To see her turn into that… that… thing. Then to watch you send her away-”

“Damn you, Artemis!” She screamed. “She was my sister! I had no choice but to do that to her! I sent her away. Me. How do you think that made me feel?! Then you just… ran away!” She looked me dead in the eyes and at a disturbingly dead volume said, “You’re a coward.” I flinched at that.

“Celestia, please.” I felt tears of my own forming now. “I was selfish. I know that now. I had time away to think about my actions and come to terms with them.”

Celestia looked at me incredulously. “To think? To think?! To drink you mean?” her words where pouring forth like venom. “I can smell it on you. It’s disgusting. What happened to you, Artemis? Is this what you’ve been doing all this time? Trying to forget? About us?” She looked forlorn. “About… Me?”

“No.” I immediately said. “I could never do that.” I gently gripped her chin and tilted her head up to my eyes. I really hoped Lyra wasn’t listening to this, I’d rather not have some of these details known, but they need to be said now or this could fester and turn rotten. Here ‘goes… “Since I came to this world. You, Luna and my sister where the only ones who ever understood me. The only ones who I could trust completely. Even before I came here, me and Megan both dreamed of a life like you gave us.” She closed her eyes and the tears started flowing again.

“When she…” God, why was this so hard to say...? “When Megan… Died.” I swallowed. “I was lost. But you and your sister where there to get me out of my rut. I lost myself in teaching you. In protecting you. When Luna fell to the parasite, I had failed. Both as a mentor and as a friend. When I couldn’t fix the problem, and you sent her away, I had failed you too.”

Memories came rushing back, like a flood at the forefront of my mind. As if every spoken word was another brick taken from an enormous dam. Fear. Sorrow. Anger. Regret. Not to mention the worst… Helplessness. To see a loved one in so much pain, emotional and physical agony, and yet be unable to help no matter how hard you try… Every being has their breaking points. I guess that was mine. She is so much strong than me…

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I wasn’t there to help pick up the pieces. But I felt as though even being in your presence after that night was a disgrace to the both of you… Not to mention Megan.” She turned away from me and folded her arms. Whether it was because she didn’t want me to see her cry anymore or because she found me repulsive, I did not know.

“You could have been helping me build something great.” She said, longingly.

I gave a warm smile that I hoped was reflected in my voice. “I think you’ve been doing a wonderful job by yourself.” She shivered at that word, as if it where some… repugnant taboo and I couldn’t blame her. That word summarised all of her fears and until now, her reality. Wait a minute… The light of the morning sun caught on something on her left hand. It was a ring. She still had it? Oh, Celly… I continued. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but for a while after I left, I wandered.” Her ears perked up. “But I couldn’t get you out of my head. I couldn’t get my own thoughts out of my head. ‘Failure’ they would say. Over and over again. I started to drink. Anything to get them to just. Shut. Up.” I gripped my head and scrunched my eyes. My own tears where flowing freely now. “I wasn’t your perfect guardian Celestia. I’m only Human after all… But I want you to know that I never blamed you for doing what you did. I… I Lo-”

“Stop.” I did. She turned and wrapped me in a gentle hug. “I needed you.” She whispered. “I needed you more than anything else in the world.” She got very quiet, and after a long moment asked, “You wandered?” I gave a hesitant nod. She was quiet again, digesting this. “All this time, you were walking around the known world… yet you didn’t come back to me?” I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. “Now, to find out that you’ve been alive and well, hiding from me in this- this… forsaken endless forest…” She stared at me angrily. What could I say to that? Nothing. I kept my mouth shut.

She wiped her eyes. “You are going to make this up to me.”

“I’ll do anything. Name it.”

She looked to the front door of the cabin. “How did she find you?”

“Who, Lyra?” She nodded “I honestly have no clue. The deterrent I put up should have kept her away. Curiosity got the better of her I suppose.” I giggled. “Good thing she’s not a cat!” She didn’t react. Just kept staring.

“I noticed she has a crack in her horn.” She shook her head. “She has had a hard road for one so young. To be born and have something taken from you that is your right is a tragic thing.” Where is she going with this? “We both know that between me and Luna, I had the worst magical potential.” She gestured to herself. “Yet look at me now.” She smiled with a twinkle in her eye. She wouldn’t. Her horn lit and the door swung open. “Lyra Heartstrings.” She spoke with authority. Spoke. Yet it was loud as hell… I winced and rubbed my ears.

Lyra came running out from the kitchen and snapped to attention. “How do you know my name?” She asked. We stared at her. “Oh, um, I-I mean, yes your highness?” She added with a bow.

Celestia giggled. It was a melodious sound. “I make it a habit to learn all of my little ponies’ names.” That was a lie. While I don’t doubt that she makes an effort to remember those who introduce themselves to her, a sentient creatures name is written on their soul like a stamp of approval. It carries certain power if you know how to use it. A certain spell can determine a name at a glance. But I won’t tell. Lyra looked too pleased that Celestia knew her. “By royal decree I declare, that from this point forward, the creature known as ‘Artemis’, shall serve as your teacher, your mentor-”

“Celestia wait-” I tried to cut in, but she continued.

“-Your protector, your guide and should you deem it, your friend. You must write reports to her, detailing what you’ve learned. You will meet with my current student, Twilight Sparkle, at the Golden Oaks library in Ponyville once a week in order to forward the reports on to me so I can look them over.”

“Seriously?” Lyra asked. Visibly happy that Celestia made what she was going to try to get me to do anyway, a royal decree.

“Seriously.” Said Celestia with a wry smile.

“Celestia please, don’t do this.” I said. She turned to me. “I don’t know if I can, not after last time.”

“Artemis, I am doing this because of last time. I may drop by here from time to time too. You have forgotten what it means to truly live.” She said sadly. She looked past me and into my home. While Lyra did a commendable job trying to spruce the place up a bit, it was nowhere near enough. Many bottles shared shelves with dusty tomes and scrolls. Pieces of various fabrics and rags where strewn about the floor and on pieces of furniture. Boxes piled high, as they leaned this way and that, some piled so they blocked the windows. And the smell… “It breaks my heart to see you this way.” She gestured to Lyra. “Your new student will help you.” She turned to leave. “Twilight Sparkle will also help you with your alcohol problem, she’s read enough psychology and medical books to become a licenced doctor a few times over.”

I folded my arms and raised a brow. “What are you talking about? I don’t have an alcohol problem.” Lyra snorted. I gave her the side eye. Celestia brushed me off like a mother scolding a child.

“let’s not play that game, I felt the flask through your cloak when you were hugging me and I can see the empty bottles under the couch cushions.” Lyra gave a nervous little laugh. “Not to mention the smell.”

“Hey, I resent that remark!”

“Yet you don’t refute it.”

I looked down at my feet. “No… No, I don’t.”

She looked at me with pity in her eyes. I hate that. “Where did the woman I used to know go?” She stroked my face. “Artemis, please. For me.” She took my hands gently in hers and looked up into my eyes. She was so warm. I got a good look at the ring on her finger. “Get help.”

I looked at her for a good long while until finally I relented. “Okay, Celly. For you.”

A warm smile lit her face like a sunbeam. “Thank you.”

“Celestia…” How to say this? “Are we going to have a conversation about…” I looked to the ring.

She let me go and the world became slightly colder for it. “Another time.” I expected that. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. When she got to the end of the porch she stopped. “Oh, Artemis? One last thing.”

“Yeah?”

She looked at me with an uncharacteristically evil smirk. “I’ll let you explain to Luna why you weren’t there to greet her when she got back.” With that, she left. And the cabin was silent once more. My headache returned.

“Fuck.”

2 - Bombshell

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“What. Was. That!?” Lyra paced. I was rubbing my temples. “Can she do that? I mean, I know she can do that, she’s the Princess. The Princess! That is, not to say that Princess Luna is also not a Princess, but The Princess just told us-”

I took a very long pull from my flask. “Lyra, for the love of everything you hold dear. Stop saying ‘Princess’.” This mare is going to give herself an aneurysm. She stopped and stared at me, biting her fingernails. “I know you have a lot of questions but just give me a second to unpack this.” She nodded and sat. I could feel her eyes boring into my skull. Closing my own eyes, I began to think.

Okay, lets process this. The most important thing right now is that Lyra is to be my official apprentice. I like Lyra, she’s a gem. But after living alone for so long she can be a bit too much sometimes. Not to mention it’s going to be almost impossible to teach her magic with her horn the way it is… I’m going to have to think of something to build her strength beyond basic levitation. I could always just refuse to teach her, but Celestia seems to be on her way to forgiving me. If I just outright refuse, that would be the end of that. That’s not an idea I’m willing to entertain.

I have to meet with Celestia’s current student. This, ‘Twilight Sparkle’. I’ve read about her in the papers when Lyra started bringing new issues with her. She’s supposed to be very powerful. Saved the world a couple of times. Bet she’s never dealt with a Smooze though. Ha! Artemis 1, Twilight 0. Maybe she could help me get a lesson plan together that helps conform to the new way of doing things? No. If that way hasn’t worked for Lyra so far, then it’s not going to take. I’m going to have to teach her the old ways. Okay let’s put a pin in that for now.

I’m going to have to re-weave the barrier around the property. She could have just taken it down; she didn’t have to shatter it… Ugh. That gonna be a pain. Celestia was… Happy? To see me. That’s good. I wanted to have a talk with her about the ring though. Has she told others about me and her? Probably best not to assume she has. I’ll keep it on a need-to-know basis for now. Lyra probably deserves to know. Eventually.

Then, there’s Luna. That prospect terrifies me. What will she say to me? What would I say to her? What could I say to her? I failed her. If she never forgave me, I could understand. It would be hard, but I could accept it. If she did forgive me? I think that would be harder to accept. Will Celestia tell her that I’m alive when she gets back to Canterlot? If so, I should expect a visit soon. Let’s put a pin in that too.

I got up and stood in the middle of the room and looked to Lyra. Her fingernails where practically down to the nub. “Okay Lyra, stand in front of me.” She did. I grabbed her shoulders so that she was directly in front of me and tapped my right arm on both of them, one after the other. “Congratulations young Padawan, you’re my apprentice now.”

She squealed in delight. Then looked confused. I’m going to be seeing that face a lot, aren’t I? “Wait, Padawan?” She asked.

I rolled my eyes and moved past her to the broom closet. “Never mind.” I started to move boxes out of the way, reached to the back, and brought out something I haven’t used in years. My staff. As tall as me. Made from carved elder wood with fluorescent green runes. It gripped a piece of roughly hewn, cloudy white crystal at the top.

“What’s that?” Lyra asked.

I smirked. “This is my horn.”

“But I’ve seen you do magic lots of times without that.” She said in confusion.

“True.” I replied. “But that was just me exerting my will on the environment.”

“Your ‘will’?”

“That’s right. With lots of practice and patience, you can use magic without a medium to guide it, such as a horn. You have only seen me do small things. Levitate an object, light a candle, freeze some water into an ice cube, you know, small things like that.” I lifted my staff. “With this, I can do true magic.” I exerted some of my will into the staff and the green runes started to glow brighter. The cabin started to creak and groan, wind started to pick up out of nowhere, getting stronger and stronger. Blowing my hair in any which way, strong enough that Lyra had to hold onto the couch. The notes that covered the floor flew around the room, scrolls unfurled, some bottles exploded, the water in the kettle started to re-boil… and then everything stopped. The door to my cabin slowly opened. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.” I said, walking outside.

Lyra stared straight ahead, wide-eyed. “You had that the whole time and you never showed me?!” She was not happy.

“I didn’t want your drool all over it.” I teased. “Did you take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks?”

She ignored me and looked around at the mess. “I just cleaned this place…” My references will be completely lost on her, but they amuse me, and that’s all that matters. At least, that’s what I tell myself…

At the edge of my property was a charred black line in the grass, just before the treeline. “Ugh. Why did she have to shatter it? This grass is never going to grow back…” I muttered and took a step over what was once the barrier. It was my first time doing so in years. I felt a childish sense of adventure I hadn’t felt since I travelled the known world.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“To meet my therapist.” The Everfree forest was dark. Unnaturally so. You would expect a forest with a canopy this thick to block out most of the light, but to be left in pitch blackness during the day is a strange thing. I brought the top of my staff up to my face and gently blew onto the crystal. It started to glow with a pale blue light, casting shadows that danced as we walked. I glanced back at Lyra. “How do you manage to make it through here each time you visit?”

She concentrated very hard. Her horn crackled and sparked and a dim light appeared at the tip. She panted in exhaustion. “I can still do basic spells like levitation and lumos, but it hurts after a while.” She said, slightly downcast.

I nodded in acceptance. I don’t want her to get sad. Need to change the subject. “Tell me what you know about Twilight Sparkle.”

She was trying hard to step over various logs, rocks and roots whilst also trying to keep up with my naturally long stride. She was a bit out of breath. “Well, we both went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns together until I had to drop out on account of my accident.” I nodded. “She was at the top of the class, always was. She was getting special treatment from the Princess, so that probably helped. She’s also naturally brilliant, she’s very powerful and her thirst for knowledge is unrivalled. I was actually creeping up on her in terms of grades before I had to leave.” She said with a bit of pride, then she got very quiet. “My parents were so sad. It made me feel like a failure.”

I stopped. So, did she. She was looking down at her hooves. I Grabbed her shoulders. “Look at me Lyra.” She didn’t. I tilted her head up to me, her eyes were looking anywhere but my own “Look at me.” She did. “I want you to listen to me very carefully. You are not a failure. I know failure.” I thought for a moment. “How old are you Lyra?”

“T- Twenty-two.” She sniffed.

“You are still so young. You have many doors in front of you. All waiting to be opened. Just because one door closed on a portion of your life, does not mean that you can’t open another. You did just that a couple of weeks ago when you pushed through my barrier, with your own will I might add. When I said that was impressive, I wasn’t lying. You managed to ignore the perception filter, and then push through a barrier that would have sent anyone else running away in terror. You affected the environment without using your horn, Lyra. Not many can do that.” Her eyes started to light up in realisation. “Trust me when I say I saw great potential in you. If Celestia hadn’t made this apprenticeship official back there, I probably would have done so eventually anyway.” Probably. “You’re my apprentice now. It’s my job to make you better, to shape you into a better version of yourself. I can honestly say that if you do what I tell you, we’ll have you using magic again and more.” She hugged me tight. I returned the gesture with a smile.

“I can also tell that you’re jealous of Twilight Sparkle.” I continued. She didn’t answer. I sighed. “Lyra, comparing yourself to another is one of the worst things you can do to yourself. If you think they are better than you, you will get depressed, and lose the will to try. If you think you are better than them, you will lose humility, and become incapable of growing. Never compare yourself to another, Lyra. Compare yourself to who you choose to be. Ask yourself, ‘am I living up to my own ideals?’.”

She let go of me and smiled. “Thanks, Artemis.”

I winked and kept walking towards the town. “No problem, Grasshopper.”

About fifteen minutes later we arrived at the edge of town. It looked completely devoid of life. There was no one. Not even any animals. Total silence. The windows on the thatch-roofed houses and shops where shuttered closed. “Huh, they all must be out for lunch.” I commented.

“These stupid ponies…” Lyra said with a scoff. “They see something different and they think the world is going to end.” To be honest, if a creature I’d only ever seen in story books that I was two thirds the height of, carrying a big stick came into town, I’d probably run and hide too.

We heard the clip-clop of hoofsteps getting closer from behind and turned around to see a member of the Royal Guard approaching. He stopped in front of us and snapped to a sharp salute. “Ma’am, welcome to Ponyville. I’ve been instructed to escort you to the Golden Oaks Library. If you’d like to follow me?”

Me and Lyra looked at each other, then back to the guard. “Um, at ease soldier?” I said carefully. I hadn’t done this in a while. “Lead on.”

“Of course.” He turned and started walking. Me and my apprentice followed.

The Golden Oaks Library was a tree. An elder tree to be exact. Elder trees have the unusual property of being connected to the heart of the Everfree. Both spiritually and physically. Nobody knows where the heart of the Everfree is, as the forest is simply too big to get that far in and is believed to be endless. If someone wanders past a certain point, it’s considered a suicide. Not only because they run out of supplies, but because the creatures get deadlier and deadlier the further in you get. If anyone has ever seen the heart, they haven’t lived to tell about it. We only know the trees are connected, because all their roots grow in the same direction, towards what is believed to be the centre. Timberwolves are believed to be the heart of the Everfree trying to protect itself. Sort of like white blood cells. They are made from elder wood wrapped around an extremely hard and magically potent crystallised sap. Exactly like my staff. Occasionally, the staff will start to grow buds which I have to prune off. It can be annoying but quite magical in a philosophical and real sense. As long as the wood is connected to the heart, either physically or magically, it will never die.

Now, the library of Ponyville had me worried. Because elder trees are not supposed to be this far out of the forest. They are only found deeper in. It could be the forest trying to expand. I thought. I’ll have to keep my eye on that. We walked up to the front door and the guard knocked. A boyish voice answered. “Who is it?”

“Private Featherweight!” The guard called back. “Reporting with the…” the guard looked at me. “The Human.” It was quiet for a moment. Then there was some whispering coming from the other side. Then there was some shuffling. Then hoofsteps. Then the door jiggled. Then opened.

Standing on the other side was a purple unicorn mare, with large, deep purple eyes. She stood slightly shorter than Lyra and her hair was a dark blue, neatly brushed, with violet streaks that came down around her left shoulder. A horn poked through her fringe. She stared at me. I stared back.

“Ah, hello. You must be Twilight Sparkle. My name is Artemis.” I said giving a small bow. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I held my hand out to her. She stared at me with wide eyes. And kept staring. I turned to Lyra. “Um… is she alri-”. Only to be interrupted.

Twilight grabbed me by the shoulders. “Oh. My. Gosh.” She squealed. “It’s really you! The Princess said you weren’t a pony, but to see it with my own eyes… amazing. I’ve never seen anything like you before!”

“I would hope not.” I said under my breath. Lyra gave me a nudge on my arm to shut me up. It went unnoticed by Twilight as she shouted something back into the library. I didn’t catch what. She then started walking circles around me, inspecting my appearance.

“Hmm, exceedingly tall and pale.” Exceedingly? She used her magic to force me down to her height. “Bald, save for a patch of grey fur on the top of the head.” Hair. She sniffed. “Slight smell of what I assume to be alcohol.” Ugh. She turned my head to the side. “Small rounded ears. One adorned with varying pieces of metal. Possibly a status symbol in their culture.” Is she dictating to someone? Opening my mouth, she peered inside. “Incisors, canines, premolars and molars all present. Hmm, subject is likely omnivorous.” Subject? She let go of me, got down on all fours and inspected my feet. “No hooves, amazing. Subject appears to be plantigrade.” Subject!? “Tendons and ligaments likely built to endure long distance walking and/or running in contrast to the bursts of speed Pony magicka is built for.” Oh, I’m about to run far away in a second. She looked me in the eyes for the first time since our meeting. “The bluest I’ve ever seen…” She commented, seemingly losing her train of thought. Lyra smiled. “Tell me, what species are you?”

“What, Celestia didn’t tell you?” I asked. she continued to stare. “Human.” I replied curtly.

She stroked her chin. “Hmm. No, I don’t think that’s possible. They’re just stories created to scare foals.” Scare foals? What has Celestia been writing about me? I looked to Lyra, she smiled apologetically at me, then turned to twilight and cleared her throat.

“Hello, Twilight.”

Twilight looked to Lyra. “Lyra? What are you doing with this creature?”

“I can see you haven’t changed since school…” She said under her breath. Her back went very straight. “I can assure you; She is a human,” she crossed her arms and tilted her nose up, “and I just so happen to be her apprentice.” She said in a haughty tone.

I nudged her. “Lyra, remember what I told you.”

Twilight looked at Lyra, then to me. “Lyra has never been a liar.” her eyes started to widen. “So that means…”

I smiled. “Hi.”

Twilight looked as though she’d just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She quickly backed off and put her hands behind her back then took a deep breath. She held her hand out to me. I carefully shook it. “I-I’m so sorry, please forgive me. It’s just that I’ve heard a lot about you! The Princess never mentioned that you were a- a-”

“Human?” I asked.

She nodded. “Even though your species is mentioned in story books, there isn’t anything official. Why, I believe you could be classified as an entirely new species!” I raised an eyebrow. Is that so? “Can we start over? I don’t want to get off on the wrong hoof.” Her face went bright red. “I-I mean foot! I’m so sorry, was that offensive?” My headache from earlier was starting to return. I rubbed my eyes and sighed.

“I think starting over sounds good. As I said, my name is Artemis.” I looked to Lyra out of the corner of my eye. “I can’t imagine what the princess has been telling you about me.”

“Oh, nothing much.” Twilight's smile got a little forced and her eye started twitching. “Just that you’re extremely powerful. You were, up until this morning, considered a myth.” Lyra scowled. “Oh, and I’m to be your therapist which, can I just say, I am absolutely thrilled about!” Yay, therapy! She went quiet for a second. “There is one small, teensy-weensy thing that I find even more incredible and exciting.”

I got a little uneasy. “And, what’s that?” I thought I heard the sound of a length of twine breaking.

“That you where, at one point in time, to the Princess, what she is to me.” Great. She knows. “I honestly have no idea how I’ve never heard of you before today! This is- I can’t even-” It seems like Celestia tried to forget about me. Not the other way around. But then why was she still wearing the ring?

I cleared my throat. “Yes, well, It’s complicated. All that business aside, I just came here to meet you and get a feel for your character. Now that I’ve done that, I think I’ll be going.” I turned to leave. And moved past Lyra and the Guard who was wondering if he should leave or not.

“My character?” Twilight asked. I stopped.

“That’s right, your character. I need to know who’s going to be my therapist, don’t I? Now that I know, I’ll be going. I shall see you tomorrow, bright and early.” I turned to leave again.

“Wait!” Ugh. I stopped and turned around with a sigh.

“Yes?” She looked like a child asking her parent to buy her candy.

“I have so many questions! Can you please stay for a bit?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Look, Twilight… It’s been a really long morning. I should be getting back home. I also need to spend some time showing Lyra the ropes.” Twilight's face lit up.

“Can I-?”

“No.” I interrupted holding my hand up. “You are not my student.” Twilight pouted. I turned to leave again. “Come on, Lyra.”

Lyra put her hand on my arm to stop me. “Actually, Artemis.” Double ugh. “I think this will be a great opportunity for you two to get to know each other.” Twilight squealed in delight.

“Who made you my mother?” I said. Her demeanour became exactly that. Like a mother scolding her child.

“You want to better yourself, don’t you? I would like for you be at your peak if you’re going to teach me.” Everything went quiet. Twilight looked between us in confusion.

“So, you are her apprentice?” She said to Lyra who grinned at her.

“That’s right. By royal decree! That means she’s stuck with me.” I rolled my eyes.

“Ooh, I’m so jealous of you!” Twilight said to her. Lyra froze. I smiled. “When I first started out as the Princesses student, I learned very quickly that the most important thing you can do is not try to impress, just listen.” Her face went slightly pink. “I’m still getting that trough my head to this day…” She cleared her throat. “Just take it slow.” She looked to Lyra’s cracked horn. “She’ll help you. I’m sure of it.” Lyra smiled. “Artemis?” Twilight asked.

“Hmm?”

She opened the front door to the library wider “Would you like to come inside?”

“Good luck.” I heard the guard say as the door closed. I forgot he was there...

Now that I was finally inside, I got a good look around. The main room was slightly round in shape with a domed ceiling. Separating the wall and the ceiling looked to be a metal rail. A trap to catch sap that would otherwise ruin the books, but instead was guided away to an unknown place through a small hole in the wall. A staircase lead to an upstairs area and there was a door that lead to a kitchen from what I could tell. The walls below the metal rail that didn’t have windows, were completely covered in bookshelves, which where filled with books that ranged from small scrolls, to tomes that must have weighed a good few pounds.

However, there were more books in the room than there were spaces for them. Piles accumulated in areas of less walking traffic, creating pseudo ‘corridors’ to areas like the staircase, the desk, the door to the kitchen and what I assume to be the door to the bathroom. I glanced at one of the books. ‘Ancient Equestria.’ It must be a nightmare if the one you want is at the bottom of the pile…

“Sorry about the mess.” Twilight said. “I’ve been doing a survey for the Princess on the ambient magic of the Everfree. That’s actually how I discovered the area where-” I was distracted by a scratching sound.

On top of one of the piles sat a small boy. He’d probably come up to my knee if he was standing next to me. He was covered in Blue scales that seemed to catch the light and shimmer slightly. Huge green eyes with slit pupils, stared intently at what he was writing and his face seemed to protrude ever so slightly to form a snout. The scales on the top of his head where bright green and slightly longer than the rest. My eyebrows raised. He’s a Dragon. What’s a dragon doing here?

He was writing something on a piece of parchment. Twilight walked over to him and looked down at his work. “What are you doing? You wrote down our entire conversation!” He stopped writing and gave her a quizzical look.

“Was I not supposed to? You’re the one that said you were going to dictate!”

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, I meant dictate my observations, Spike. Observations.” She took the parchment from him and read it over. “Well, you did get the observations of the subject down.” I’m not a subject damnit. Spike smiled. “But this entire bottom half of the parchment has to go.” Spike frowned. Very reluctantly, Twilight neatly folded the parchment between where her observations of me ended and the rest of the conversation began and winced as she slowly tore the parchment in two. “Stupid Spike, making me waste good parchment…” She grumbled to herself as she reluctantly tore the waste parchment into pieces with her magic and deposited it into a nearby container.

Spike harrumphed and crossed his arms. “Well you should have been more specific with what you wanted me to do.” Twilight ignored him and turned to me.

“Sorry about that.” She said, bashfully. “Allow me to introduce you two.” I walked over to the boy. “This is Spike. He’s my number one assistant!” Spike puffed his chest out at this. “He’s also my little brother. You already know Lyra spike.” Lyra waved; Spike returned the greeting. Twilight gestured to me. “This is Artemis. I’m going to be her therapist because she has an alcohol problem!” Overshare Twilight… We both shook hands.

“How do you do?” I said.

“Nice to meet you.” He replied. At least he didn’t grab me like Twilight did. I like him already.

Twilight cut in. “So now that everyone’s met everyone let’s get down to the questions!” Her horn lit and a scroll materialised in her hand. She unfurled it and it was long enough to reach the floor. Great. “Question one! Where di-”

“Wait!" I cut her off. "Before we start, do you mind if I use the bathroom?” That seemed to take the wind out of her sails.

“Oh, um, sure. It’s through that door over there.” She said, pointing to it.

“Thanks.”

Now that I had a moment of peace, I stared at myself in the mirror thinking about the size of that list of questions. I remembered what Lyra said. ‘Her thirst for knowledge is unrivalled.’ Whilst having a thirst for knowledge is a great thing. A thirst for knowledge when it comes to me is definitely not. I have lived a very long life. In living a long life, you come to know things. Things that can change the way people live, for better or for worse. Things the people of this world can only imagine, things that they couldn’t. Things that, when said aloud the right way, could create things, could destroy things… Could awake things… I reached into my cloak, pulled out my flask and took a long swig. I was going to have to deflect her. A lot. Alright, let’s get this over with.

Upon exiting the bathroom, I saw that Twilight was sat at her desk scribbling something down and Spike was bringing her extra scrolls and quills. She didn’t acknowledge him when he placed the things down next to her, she was too engrossed in her work. He didn’t seem to mind; this was probably normal for him. He just walked away and sat on a pile of books ready to listen. Lyra made herself comfortable on a pile of books too, much to Twilight's vexation. I walked over to Twilight and peered over her shoulder. She was writing a letter to Celestia. About me. She really is a teacher’s pet…

I cleared my throat which startled twilight into knocking over an inkwell, ruining her letter. “Will you two, please, stop making me waste good parchment!?”

I stepped back. “Sorry Twilight. But I’d really like to get this Q and A going.” I took Lyra and Spikes lead and made myself comfortable on a pile of books. Twilight's eye twitched but she didn’t say anything. Her horn lit and she materialised her scroll full of questions again. Here we go.

“Right, that’s probably a good idea.” She said. She unfurled the scroll and looked to Spike to make sure he was ready to write down my answers. He was. She cleared her throat and began. “Now, my first question is a simple one. Where did you come from?” A simple one she says. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Only two people know my true origins and that was two people too many if you ask me. I was going to have to lie to her. Off to a great start. But what should I tell her?

I sighed. “Far away.” Spike stopped writing. Twilight spoke up.

“Um, I’m sorry, ‘far away’? What do you mean? Like, east of Neighpon or below the Everfree?”

“Sure.” Was my simple reply.

“Okay…” She was smart enough not to push. She looked to spike to make sure he was still recording. “At one point in time, you were the Princesses mentor and teacher just like she is to me. While I have a million questions regarding that alone, what I want to know now is, how old are you exactly?” Lyra was listening intently. I thought about that for a second. My age wasn’t exactly a secret, but how to explain?

“I looked like this when Celestia and Luna were born. I can’t tell you the exact number because I don’t remember." I thought for a moment more. "Well that’s actually not true, I’ve lived for so long that the distant years get muddled into a sort of, soup, of images in my head. I’m sure if I meditated for a while on only thinking about my age, it would eventually come to me. But at the moment, I just don’t know.” Twilight looked at me with stars in her eyes.

“The things we could learn from you…” she said wistfully. Spike cleared his throat. “Oh, um, sorry. I’d like to get into talking about magic now if you don’t mind?” Lyra wiggled excitedly.

Yes, questions that aren't about me! Quick, Artemis, roll with it!“I think that’s a good idea. Lyra, you should pay attention too.” I said. Her ears flicked to me but she stayed silent.

“Great!” Twilight skimmed the long parchment to select a question. “I noticed when I was examining you, that you have a large, black equilateral triangle on the back of your cloak. I also noticed that you have the same triangle as decoration in your ear. My question is, what are their significance?”

I raised a brow. “What makes you think they have anything to do with magic?” She got very embarrassed.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure what you know about me. But I’m an avid researcher.” I looked around at the piles of books.

“You don’t say?” She didn’t seem to hear me. Spike snickered. She continued on.

“I’ve come across the shape a few times in some old notes as well as a few books on magic, but it’s never been explained.” So, Celestia didn’t erase everything about me… “It was just sort of assumed that the reader would know what it meant. I have a few ideas, but seeing you wearing it indicates to me that the shape means something personal for you.” Damn this kid is sharp.

I stood up and took off my cloak then laid it down flat on the pile of books so that the triangle was visible. “Well Twilight, your right. I’m impressed.” She beamed. The praise of a teacher must mean a lot to her. “The triangle actually represents a few things.” Both Lyra and Twilight were listening as if there was nothing else in the world. “First of all, the three points of the shape represent the three most important cores of magic itself. Three things that magic needs in order for it to exist. If just one is absent, there can be no magic.” I pointed to the bottom right corner. “Mana. Magic, in this world at least-” They both looked at me strangely. “-is bound by certain laws. I’m sure you both know this, but it’s good to revisit the basics. Especially you Lyra.” She nodded. “Much like the laws of physics, some of these rules cross over, for example, the conservation of matter. Something cannot be created from nothing. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Magic works the same way and uses an energy called Mana. If you want to make a giant gout of fire, mana is the fuel. If you don’t have enough Mana, no gout of fire. Simple as that.” They were staring at the triangle. “Mana is in everything.” I pointed to the bottom left corner. “Nature. As in, everything. The water we drink. The food we eat. The air we breathe. The ground we walk. The plants that grow. The animals that hunt. You get the idea. No nature, no mana.” The sound of Spike writing was deafening in the silent room. I pointed to the top of the triangle. “Will.”

“Will?” Twilight asked.

I looked to her in confusion. “I thought you are Celly- I mean… Princess Celestia’s student. How do you not know what I mean?” That ruffled Twilight a bit and she raised her voice.

“I’ve never had it explained to me like this before!” I stared at her. She went red and covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to shout.” I rolled my eyes.

“It’s alright, just listen and I’ll explain.” I looked at Lyra and asked. “When you want to levitate a book. What’s the first thing you do?” She thought about that.

“Well, first I reach inside for my mana, then I bring it up into the tip of my horn and-”

“No, no, no. That’s not true.” I said, interrupting her. “Think about it. When you want to levitate a book. What’s the first thing you do?”

She looked lost in thought. “I… I reach f-for my mana and…” Seriously? How could this have stumped her? This girl is a serious over-thinker.

“Lyra. Look at me.” She did. She looked very upset that she wasn’t giving the right answer. That’s okay. She’s learning. “What is the first thing you do. When you want to levitate a book?” She thought again. There is a specific moment that teachers live for. A certain light behind a student’s eyes. A light that banishes the darkness and allows them to see clearly, as if seeing for the first time in their lives. I saw that look on Lyra’s face, and smiled. She understood.

“I want.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Exactly. You want. You have to want a spell to happen in order to cast it. You want to lift that book, just like you wanted to push past my barrier, but that’s not enough. There’s a phrase, ‘I want, never gets.’ If you just ‘want’ something to happen, it usually never does. You have to will it to happen. Make it happen. You have to be the change you want to see. Do you understand?”

“I think so.”

I looked at Twilight. “Lyra told me that you are very powerful for your age.” She looked down embarrassed and started fiddling with her fingers. “On a side note, how old are you exactly?”

“Twenty-one.” She replied meekly.

“So, like I said, powerful for your age.”

Spike snorted. “She turned her parents into potted plants when she was young, but the Princess managed to change them back. She also hatched me with her magic on the same day. That’s why I’m her little brother!” He said with pride in his voice. "That’s when she got accepted into Celestia’s school!” Her face went as red as a tomato and she covered her eyes with her hands.

“Impressive.” I said. “That means that you have a lot of mana at your disposal. If you had the right strength of will, I daresay you could change the world.” She looked very nervous. “Don’t worry, teaching you to hone your will, will be part of Celestia’s job. I’ll make sure of it. That way, turning someone into a potted plant won’t happen unless you want it to.”

I ran my hands over the triangle on the back of my cloak and continued with the explanation. “The shape is a triangle, not only for the three points of magic, but because the triangle is the strongest shape in nature, just as magic is the strongest force. It is an equilateral triangle because all three points of magic are equal in their importance and in their dependence on one another.”

“Fascinating…” Twilight said, also running her hands over the shape. “It all makes sense now. But one thing I don’t understand…”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Why is it black?” Lyra asked, taking over where Twilight left off, who nodded and looked to me.

“Well, that’s actually more to do with me than it is for the laws of magic. As I said earlier on, I’m from far away. I’m from so far away that where I’m from has no magic what so ever-”

“But that’s impossible!” Twilight interrupted with a shout. “You said it yourself, mana exists in all things!” I got annoyed.

“Oh, and I suppose you know do you? Yes, very well, you correct the ancient immortal being on what they do and do not know.” She was quiet now, regretting her outburst. I can’t tell her where I’m from. I can’t. I want so badly to forget. “I’m sorry, guys. I know it doesn’t make sense, but you’re just going to have to take my word for it.” I sighed. Spike was still writing. “One of the reasons I’m so powerful is that there is no magic where I’m from. It’s also the reason the triangle is black, so let’s get back to that shall we?” They nodded. “Good. As I was saying, there is no magic where I’m from, so my body doesn’t know how to process it. Even after all these years it still doesn’t know how.” Lyra looked shocked. “But that’s not exactly a bad thing for me. Because my body doesn’t understand mana, it means that I don’t have a mana well - a place to store it. So, my body continually sucks in mana from the environment. All the time. Never stopping. Because there is nothing to fill. Much like the colour black absorbs light, I absorb mana. Thus, the triangle is black.”

Twilight found her voice again. “If you continually absorb mana, but don’t have a mana well, then where does it go?”

I looked her dead in the eyes and said. “I have no idea.” Spike stopped writing and looked at me. For an immortal being as old as I am to tell you that they have no idea is a scary thing. When taking into account the amount of time in the past I’ve sat and thought about the question she asked, yet still come up with the answer, ‘I have no idea’, really shows just how much we don’t know about the universe. It’s humbling in a way. Also, terrifying.

I picked up my cloak and put it back on. “Alright, it’s nearly lunch time and I’m getting hungry, so just one more question and then we need to get some food.”

“Okay, one question has been really bugging me. You can do magic, yet don’t have a horn. How is that possible?”

I laughed. “I do have a horn in a way.” I twirled my staff. She looked confused. I continued. “As for how I can do magic without a horn?” I thought about that. “I have had a long time to learn how to tell the environment what I want it to do. Exerting my will on it. But even after all this time I can only affect it in minuscule ways unless I have a medium like your horn.” I demonstrated by holding my hand above a book and exerted some of my will. The book floated from the pile and into my hand. Twilight was fascinated. I then grabbed my staff, held it up and tapped it down onto the floor. The piles of books started to float, pushing spike off of them with an ‘oof’, and a ‘hey!’ and rearranged themselves into alphabetical order and into neat piles, leaving all parties present to stare in amazement. The room was silent once more. “Now, my stomachs growling, so I need to be going. Come on, Lyra.” I turned to leave. “Twilight? I’ll see you tomorrow bright and ea-”

“Wait!” She said, grabbing my cloak. What is with everyone grabbing me today? “Just one more question! Please?”

“Twilight…”

“It won’t take long I swear!”

I shut my eyes “Ugh. Fine. But after this, no more. Promise?”

She nodded fervently “Yes, I promise!” I leaned against a pile of books.

“Go on then. Ask.” She seemed to be getting her thoughts together. Then she nodded.

“What exactly is the Princess to you?”

“Yeah, I’m curious about that as well.” Spike added, rubbing the bump on his head from when he fell.

I raised an eyebrow. I was not expecting this. “Huh?”

“The Princess.” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia. What is she to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when she was here and she was telling us about you, she seemed to talk about you in an almost revering tone, telling us how amazing you were and how you would do anything to help your friends. She told us how much you meant to her and how you helped her and Princess Luna.” Aww, Celly… “Yet at the same time, she contradicted herself, calling you a good for nothing coward and a loser who likes to drink too much.” Ouch, Celly…

She continued. “Even now as I’m telling you this, you don’t seem particularly bothered by it. In fact, you seem to have great respect for her, even going as far as to give her a nickname. ‘Celly’, I think you called her earlier?” Damn that slip-up. I nodded. “So, what exactly is she to you? Or you to her for that matter? I know you were her teacher but are you also like, her protector, or her friend or her confidant? And how could you let her say those things to you and then go back to being all buddy-buddy with her?”

I smiled. Then started to chuckle. Then started to laugh. Hysterically. Twilight and Spike looked at each other in confusion. “What? What’s so funny?” Spike said. I began to calm down and wiped the tears from my eyes.

“Oh, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Thank you for that.”

“You’re… welcome?” Said Twilight.

I might as well tell them now... “Everything you just listed is exactly what we are and more. As for your question,” I continued. “It would be weird if we didn’t act like that.”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“That’s what Married couples do.”

3 - Apologies

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As it turns out, a ‘thud’, is the sound a Twilight Sparkle makes when it hits the ground. “Ooh,” I winced. “She’s going to feel that when she wakes up.” I walked over to her and picked her up, bridal style. “Come on, let’s get her comfortable.” No response. I turned to face Lyra and Spike. I could see to the back of their throats. I rolled my eyes and set Twilight down on a pile of books. “You should close your mouths or you’ll start to swallow flies.”

“-cess.” I heard Twilight mumble as she started to come to. I leaned down to her face.

“What’s that, Hun?”

“Princess…” She said. I backed off and sighed.

“Yep. Me and Celestia are married. Have been for a while now. Let’s see…” I thought for a moment. “What’s today's date?” I asked, looking at Spike who looked startled that I was addressing him.

“Who, me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, you.”

“It- I mean- Well it’s-”

I cut him off and turned to Lyra who had not moved. “Lyra, what’s today's date?” No response. “Lyra.” Nothing. I poked her cheek. “Lyra?”

“You…” she said with a sort of creak in her voice.

“Me?” I prompted.

“You’re a- a-”

“Princess…” Twilight Mumbled again in her sleep.

I looked around the room. Lyra and Spike were staring at me. “Well… Yes, but actually no.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Asked Spike. “You’re married to Princess Celestia. That would make you royal. In fact,” He scratched his chin with a claw. “Since she’s a princess and she’s married, that would make her, Queen Celestia you, Queen Artemis.”

“Not in Equestria.” I said.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“It was agreed when this country was founded that it shall never be ruled by a King or a Queen. People with titles like those tend to get a bit too big for their britches if you know what I mean.”

“Okay, that’s fine and all but there’s one thing I don’t understand…” Spike said cautiously. I nodded for him to continue. “You said that you looked like that when the Princesses where born?” I nodded. “Yet, you’re married to Princess Celestia.” He stopped to think for a moment, wondering how to put to words what he was thinking. “Isn’t that kind of… I don’t know… Robbing the cradle?” Ha! I like this kid!

“Spike!” Lyra shouted in complete shock. “You can’t say that! It’s totally inappropriate!” I was laughing pretty hard at this point. “Princess, I’m so sorry, please don’t hold it against him! He’s just curious.”

As annoyed as I was at her use of the title, ‘Princess’, I let it slide. “It’s alright Lyra.” I held up my hands in a placating gesture. “He’s just saying what’s on his mind. I can see how it would be a bit weird from an outside perspective.” I walked over to him, and crouched so I was nearly at his level. “Spike, I’m old. I’m so old that nobody else compares. If I were to have a relationship with anyone in this world, I would be, ‘robbing the cradle’, as you put it.”

“I guess…” He said. “It’s still a bit weird.”

I shrugged. “Eh, what can you do? Me and Celly have been together for a couple of thousand years, minus the thousand I was away, I don’t think it’s fair to count that one.” Lyra walked right up to my face.

“But you are a princess though…?”

I broke into a sheepish smile. “I mean… Technically?”

Twilight shot up suddenly with wide eyes, then seemed to calm slightly. “Excuse me for a moment.” We all watched as she got up off of the stack of books and strolled off leisurely towards the bathroom. The door closed with a light 'click'.

Lyra grabbed me by my cloak and looked me in the eyes. “What do you mean technically? You either are or you aren’t. This isn’t some-” Twilight screamed. “-game Artemis! If I’ve been hanging around with an alcoholic Princess for the past few weeks, I want to know!” She came to her senses, let go, and backed off with a scared expression. “Oh my… Please, Princess, I didn’t know! I’m sorry!” She got down into a low bow. We heard a toilet flush and Twilight emerged from the bathroom looking dishevelled and wiping something from her lip.

“I’m a Princess’ Therapist…” She said with a far-away expression. Spike ran up to her, handing over and ice pack for the bump on her head. She took it from him and looked me in the eyes. “I- I… examined you.”

What the fuck is going on…? I need to take control of this situation. “Guys-”

“Lyra,” Twilight interrupted. “I’m going to write a letter to Princess Celestia to tell her what happened. She’ll probably want to talk to you about your experiences with Princess Artemis.”

“No, don't-!” I said a little more forcefully.

“Of course, That’s completely reasonable.” Lyra said, ignoring me. “I mean, I’ve just known that her spouse was alive and well, weeks before she did and have been hanging out with them without a care in the world.” Her eye was twitching. “It’s totally fine.” She started to sway back and forth.

“I wouldn’t worry, Lyra.” Said Spike, encouraging her with a pat on the arm “Princess Celestia wouldn’t do anything to you. If anything, she would-” I brought my thumb and index finger up to my mouth and whistled. Loudly. They covered their ears and stared with wide eyes. Then there was quiet.

“Thank you.” I walked over to a pile of books and calmly sat down, thinking what to say next. “Now, first things first. I want you all to know that I don’t want you to treat me any differently than you have been.”

“But that’s not possible!” Twilight began. “We have to follow royal procedure and-” I made an effort of will towards Twilight's mouth and closed it with an audible click.

“Now you have a time out.” I said to her. “It’s my turn to speak.” There was total silence again. “As I was saying. None of you, and I do mean none of you.” I said giving Twilight a pointed look. “Will be treating me any differently than you already have been.” She looked like she wanted to object. “Don’t you think there’s a reason why I’m currently not in Canterlot sitting on a throne? I love Celestia. I truly do. Always have, always will.” My eyes got a bit sad. "Whether she still feels the same is yet to be seen… But when we confessed our love to each other, it was agreed that I would not take a ruling roll.

I never wanted it. Mind you, neither did Celestia or Luna really, but they didn’t have a choice. They dealt the final blow to discord and stopped his reign of chaos. In doing so, the ponies of this world put them on a pedestal that was simply too high for them to get down from, no matter how much they tried.” Twilight's face gained a look that was close to either shame or contemplation, perhaps both.

“Not to mention, their ability to raise the Sun and Moon.” Lyra interjected.

I nodded. “When I say I didn’t want to rule, I meant that. I may have been named a princess, but I wanted nothing more than to live out my days at my cabin in the woods, with Celly at my side. But she had a duty to the country. And I had a duty to my wife. So, I stayed by her side and protected her. I was damn good at it too.” I looked out the window. Now that I was nowhere in sight, the ponies that where hiding earlier had come out and started to get on with their day. Moving and talking and buying. As if nothing was wrong in the world. A rainbow seemed to streak across the sky. “Then that night happened one thousand years ago. Everything went to shit.” They were looking at me with pity now. I hate that.

I reached into my cloak, pulled out my flask and stared at it. I quickly opened it and took another long pull of the burning liquid. Then I turned to Lyra, smiled, and said. “It’s like I said. I know failure. You are not a failure. Your dear old human is. I want you to remember that going forward.” Lyra, with tears in her eyes quickly moved to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Don’t do that.” She didn’t move. “Lyra, stop.”

“No.” Came the instant reply. I sighed and relented, letting her try to squeeze the life out of me. I knew I didn’t deserve this, but it would be pointless to try and stop her.

“Would you still be doing this if you knew what I had done?” I asked. “Would Celestia even give me a second chance? Would Luna?” I added under my breath. Lyra heard me.

“I don’t care what they do.” She said, as if it was a matter of fact. “You’re my friend. I don’t care if you’ve done horrible things. You’re nice now. And you’re my teacher. If I can give you a second chance so can they.”

“That’s really ignorant of you, Lyra. You have no idea-”

“I don’t care!” She held on tighter. Damn this mare…

I heard a scratching sound. So did Lyra.

“Twilight, Stop!” Yelled Spike. “Now’s not the time for that!”

I looked to twilight and was absolutely shocked to find that she was levitating a quill and parchment and was transcribing the conversation. “W- what do you think you’re doing?” I asked. She quickly stopped. I peeled Lyra from me and took a step towards her. “Give me that.” She rolled the scroll up and gripped it tight.

“I’m going to send it, Prin-” I glared at her. “A- Artemis.” She said with a gulp. She cleared her throat. “The Princess, your wife, needs to know what was said here today. What you feel. That you’ve done something... something bad.” She looked at the letter. “If I send this,” A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes. “Then she’ll know, and you can reconcile and be together again!”

I raised an eyebrow. “She’s not ready to know and I’m not ready to tell her. Aren’t you supposed to be my therapist? What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?”

She looked uneasy. “I s- still think it’s the right-”

“Give me the letter, Twilight.” I said holding my hands out. She held it behind her back. I took another step towards her. “Now…”

She turned to Spike. “You need to send this to-”

“Give me the letter!” I lunged at her, but grabbed thin air. She had teleported to the other side of the room.

“No, Artemis!” Determination clear in her tone. “This is for the best. Spike come here.” I pointed my staff at her.

“Artemis, don’t!” Lyra shouted. Spike looked terrified. I ignored them both.

“Give me the letter. Now.” Twilight was staring at the tip of my staff with wide eyes. Then she looked to Spike. I have to give credit to Celly, she’s a damn good teacher. In about three seconds flat, Twilight Sparkle’s horn erupted in a bright, dark pink flash, teleporting Spike to her. She held the letter out in front of herself and stomped on his foot. Flame belched from Spikes mouth and just like that, the letter was whisked away towards the mountain city. I kept my staff pointed at her, staring in disbelief.

Spike backed up. “I- I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! It’s an involuntary response!”

My hands started trembling, my breathing getting quicker and heavier. “Did Celestia know this would happen?” I asked the room. They were quiet. “Is that why she assigned her own student as my therapist? To keep tabs on me?” No, surely not, she wouldn’t do that… but she could have. What if Celestia actually intended for Twilight to send the letter when I had left and wouldn’t know about it? What if she didn’t, and she wanted me to know that she would be ‘listening in’ on my sessions? The conversation with her back at the cabin indicated that she was on her way to forgiving me, but was it all a lie? Is this a way for her to keep me on a leash? There’s no way she’d forgive me if she knew what I had done while I was ‘dead’.

My eyes lit up in realisation and I looked to Lyra. “You…”

Her eyes went wide. “Me?”

I grabbed her by her shirt collar and lifted her up so she was eye level with me. “You’re in on it with her, aren’t you?!”

Lyra was terrified now. “Wh- what are you talking about?” She choked. I shook her.

“You know damn well what! You’ve been coming to my cabin, asking me questions for weeks, then Celestia randomly shows up and instantly makes you my apprentice? She asked you to send her reports, didn’t she?”

“Artemis, I-” she was struggling to breathe.

“Don’t lie to me!” I shouted. She had tears in her eyes. So did I. “It’s way too much of a coincidence!” My breathing was getting heavier and heavier. I could feel the blood pumping in my ears.

I felt something grab my arm. “Artemis!” Twilight shouted with panic in her voice. “Put her down, you’re hurting her!”

I dropped Lyra who landed with a thud, whirled around, and pressed the tip of my staff to Twilight's neck. Her horn started to glow and I pumped more of my will into the staff, causing the green runes to glow and hum with an ominous light, disrupting her spell. I assume she was trying to teleport away. “You conniving bitch!” I yelled. Twilight was starting to cry now. “How dare you!” My vision started to cone. “I trusted you!” I turned to Lyra who was rubbing her neck. “I trusted both of you! I told you those things in confidence!”

“A- Artemis please!” Twilight said, trying not to think about her impending doom. “It’s not what you think!”

The fact that Celestia still wore the ring indicates that she still has some feelings for me… My legs felt like jelly. Could she still be wearing it to remind her of me after I ‘died’? Is that enough to prove that she still loved me? Or was she still wearing it to remind her of my betrayal towards her? How I left her to wallow in despair. To remind herself never to trust anyone like she trusted me, again? I was breathing so fast, yet it felt like I couldn’t get any oxygen. “She’s never going to want to see me again.” My vision was almost completely black now.

I felt a soft touch on my arm, turned, and saw Lyra looking at me with a smile. She gently pushed my arms down so that the staff wasn’t pointed at anyone. She slowly wrapped her arms around me and gave me the warmest hug I’ve had in years. “It’s alright.” She said. “It’s going to be okay.” I collapsed to the floor. She followed me down.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered.

“I know” She said, simply.

“I’m so sorry, Lyra.” My breathing started to slow. It was only the tears that where running fast now.

“I know.” She held onto me tightly.

The Library was silent apart from the sobs. Twilight couldn’t stop trembling. She had made the right choice... Hadn’t she? “Nice first session, Twilight.” Lyra said to her with a glare, sarcasm dripping from the words. “You really made a breakthrough.”

“I- I’m so sorry.” Twilight said. I could barely hear her she was so quiet. “She… She told me to-”

“To keep her updated right? Not spill everything Artemis said verbatim!” Said Lyra.

“I thought it would be best to-”

“Just stop, Twilight.” The library was quiet again, Lyra holding me on the floor.

“I can’t do this, Lyra.” I whispered to her. “I tried to be strong when she showed up at the cabin, but…” I got close to her ear so that only she would here me. “I’ve done things, Lyra. Terrible things.” Her breath Hitched. “I Didn’t have a choice. I’m not ready to tell her, Lyra. I’m not ready.”

“Yes, you are. I know you are.” She hugged tighter. “You just had a panic attack, but I’m here for you, Artemis. I’m not going anywhere.” I held onto her as if she was the only life raft around, and I was in the middle of a stormy sea. She stroked my head. “You may call yourself a failure, but I know that couldn’t be further from the truth. You were their protector. They are both alive and well. You succeeded in keeping them safe.” I let go of her.

“That doesn’t count for much when they both had to spend one thousand years alone.” I walked towards the front door and started off towards my home. Megan would be ashamed of me too. I’m going to have to visit her soon… When the door to the library closed. The ponies of Ponyville stopped as if someone had just pressed the pause button. They were all staring at me. I waved. “Um… Hi?” Panic. Running. Screaming. Pretty sure I heard someone shout about, ‘The Horror’. Ugh. I ignored them and kept walking.

Before I got to the treeline I was hit, very hard, from behind and sent tumbling face first into the ground. “Hey, what’s the big idea scaring ponies like that?!” A voice said. “What’s a monster like you doing out of the Everfree anyway?”

“What are you-” I tried to get up but was mushed back into the dirt by whatever hit me.

“Don’t move, buster.” The voice said. “We’re gonna stay right here until the guard arrives.” Oh, I don’t think so. In a quick bust of speed, I got my arms under me and pushed up to a standing position. “Wha- whoa!” The weight was pushed off my back and hit the ground with an ‘oof’.

It turns out the thing that hit me was actually the body of a Pegasus mare, and quite a small one at that. She was rubbing her arm after she landed on it. Damn, she must have been really booking it to knock me down like that. The mare was sky-blue, with poly-chromatic hair. She must be who I spotted earlier out the window… I sighed and reached my hand down to help her up. She looked at it warily, then relented and grabbed it.

“Thanks for getting my clothes dirty.” I said, brushing myself off. Now that she finally got a good look at me and was not trying acquaint my face with the ground, she was obviously scared. “What’s the matter?" Silence. I waved my hand in front of her face. "Never seen a Human before?” She continued to stare. I don’t have time for this… without a word I began to walk towards the tree line.

“Artemis!” I stopped and turned to look, running up to us from the town was Lyra.

“Hi, Lyra…” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “Sorry for breaking down like that earlier.”

The blue Pegasus snapped out it, and was looking between us in confusion. “Lyra? You know this monster?”

Lyra growled. Like, actually growled. Which genuinely surprised me. I wouldn’t think she was capable of such a thing. “She’s not a monster, Rainbow dash! Her name is Artemis. Just what do you think your doing, knocking her down like that?! What did she do to you?”

Rainbow got angry. “It was scaring the ponies in town! I wasn’t going to let it get away with that!”

“Her!”

“Whatever!”

“Shut up!” I yelled. “Both of you.” I looked to my apprentice. “Lyra, I appreciate you trying to stick up for me but I’m not a kid, and despite what happened earlier, I’m not as vulnerable as you might think. A little tap to the back of the head isn’t going to keep me down.”

Rainbow folded her arms. “A little tap? Yeah right, I knocked you into the dirt. You’re not that tough.”

“I got back up didn’t I? like I said, its not gonna keep me down.”

“Whatever…” Rainbow grumbled.

“I’m gonna head back home now.” I said as I, once again, turned back towards the treeline. “Lyra if you could come by some time tomorrow, we’ll get started on your real training. As of right now, I kinda wanna be alone, so if you don’t mind.” I turned and started walking… again. That is until a hand grabbed my cloak to stop me. Ugh. I turned around. “For love of… what now!?” Rainbow and Lyra where in a deep bow as Princess Celestia stood, as radiant as ever, with Twilight Sparkle at her side who looked as though she had been scolded by her mother.

Celestia took on a warm smile. “Please rise my little ponies.” They did. “Would you two mind giving the three of us some privacy?” Rainbow and Lyra nodded and started to walk back to town. Celestia turned to me. “Hello, Artemis.”

“Princess.” I greeted. I could see the sting of me using her title evident on her face. I didn’t mean for that to hurt her… per se. But I didn’t know whether she meant for Twilight to send her detailed word-for-word transcripts of secrets and feeling I might divulge to her student – My therapist.

“I read a very interesting letter a few minutes ago…” She said.

So she did read it... “Did you now?” I replied, not taking my eyes off Twilight.

“Indeed.” She looked to her student. “Twilight, is there anything you wish to say?”

Twilight stepped forward with her hands behind her back. She looked like a puppy that had just been kicked. She took a deep breath. “Artemis. I am so, so sorry. This apology doesn’t make up for my behaviour back in the library, but I hope that you can accept it.” Her voice was becoming strained. “I should have listened to your wishes and gave you the letter or destroyed it. If you don’t want me as your Therapist anymore," She gave a sniffle. "Then I completely understand.”

God damn it… how am I supposed to stay mad at that? Ugh. “Well, at least you know why I was upset…” I thought for a moment. “If you promise to respect my boundaries and my wishes regarding correspondence with your mentor.” I looked at Celestia. “Then… Apology accepted. And I guess... I'm sorry for threatening you. If Celestia trusted you enough to assign you as my therapist…” I’m going to hate myself for this… “Then you can stay.” Twilight gave a meek smile.

Celestia Nodded, “Very well.” She looked to Twilight. She addressed her with her no-nonsense ‘Princess’ tone. “Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight looked to Celestia. “I hope you learned a valuable lesson from this. I would like a report detailing exactly what you learned on my desk by the end of the week, do you understand?” Twilight nodded.

“Although you are not a licensed therapist,” Celestia continued, “I placed a great deal of trust in you.” She looked to me, then back to Twilight. “We both did. But you broke that trust. However, it would seem as though Artemis has taken a liking to you-” Don’t speak for me. “-and given you a second chance. If I know her half as well as I think I do, there will not be a third.” Damn right. She turned to me. "And you, I do not appreciate you threatening the life of my student. It will not happen again, will it?"

"No." I simply said. She nodded.

Twilight took a step forward and held out her hand. “Artemis, I just want to say again how sorry I am. Can we start over?” I raised an eyebrow. “…Again?”

I rolled my eyes and shook her hand. I didn’t say anything.

“Twilight, don’t you think you should go get started on that report?” Celestia said to her, dropping an obvious hint that she wanted her to leave.

“Yes, Princess.” Was Twilight's simple reply as she walked off back towards the Golden Oaks.

Me and Celly waited for her to leave before she spoke up. “Artemis, I just want to apologise again for my student’s behaviour. I want you to know that my instructions where for her to ‘Keep me updated’ on your visits. Not give full reports on your sessions with her.” She sighed. “Perhaps I could have been a little more specific. That girl, honestly. She’s so bright and brilliant, but at the same time, so dense.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I replied. I really just wanted to go home.

“I also want you to know that I didn’t read all of the letter.” I cocked an eyebrow. “It's true, honest! Once I saw how detailed the letter was, I burned it in the fireplace.”

“Seriously?”

She laughed. “You may be my wife, but I’m not that controlling.” She closed the distance between us and placed a gentle hand on my arm. God, I’ve missed her touch… “If there’s anything you want to tell me, then I’m sure it will come to light eventually. I trust you, Artemis.” I didn’t say anything. I couldn't. Not now. She looked sad again. God damn it… “Well, I can see that you’re not in the mood to talk right now.” She started to walk away. “I'll let you get back to your-”

“Celly.” I said at a quiet volume. She stopped but didn’t turn. “Why did you keep the ring?” I could see her look down at her hands. Then start to fiddle with the left. She turned and looked to the forest.

“You were so close this entire time, and I had no idea…” I looked down in shame. Of course, she hasn’t forgiven me. Celestia seemed to pull herself together. “Artemis. There’s a reason I assigned that mare as your apprentice. Beyond helping you as a person, I mean.” I gave her a questioning look. “I need your help.” Now this is interesting… feels like old times. “Artemis…” She stepped very close and looked into my eyes. “Do you trust me?”

Even in one thousand years, she hadn’t changed. I could tell she was very worried. She’s been carrying this question for a long time. Longer than I know. Long enough for her to start having doubts about herself. Wondering if she had truly gone crazy from grief. Grief that I’m mostly to blame for... Her eyes where piercing my own. Did I trust her? This is Princess Celestia Sol. The Unconquered Sun. The Dawnbringer. My wife we’re talking about. Did I trust her?

“I do.” Her lip started to tremble. Her eyes where shimmering. She closed them and a single tear dropped to the ground. I could practically see the weight lift from her shoulders. How long had she been carrying that burden of doubt? Did she think that’s why I left?

She looked down at her entwined fingers with a smile. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” She looked around. “Come, let’s sit over here.” We walked over to a tall oak tree and sat in the midday shade. “Artemis, Twilight is a wonderful girl. I think of her as a daughter.” Wow, high praise. Twilight must be something else... When she's not being a moron. “But she is so stunted in her social growth. Of course, she has her friends here in Ponyville, but if she has to talk to a stranger, she looks like a lost puppy. It breaks my heart to see her like that. You on the other hand, pardon my Prench here, don’t give a shit what anybody thinks of you.” Anyone except you. “She will need not only your help, But the help of your apprentice on the road ahead. Just as you will need hers.”

“Where are you going with this?” I asked.

She was silent for a moment, looking at the town ahead. “I had a premonition.” That got my attention. My eyes snapped to her. If it was anyone else talking about a premonition, I’d tell them to keep their crazy to themselves. But anyone else is not an immortal Alicorn like Celestia. She’s had a few before. Maybe three or four times if I remember correctly, all with varying degrees of detail. The thing is though, every time, without fail, all the details in these premonitions of hers have come true.

She continued. “The last one I had, happened three hundred and twenty-three years ago. It told me about Luna's return, and how to prepare the elements of harmony again.”

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

She sighed. “When I sent Luna away. I lost my connection to the elements. That’s part of the reason I sent Twilight here to Ponyville. Her and her friends embody them perfectly. They are the reason Luna was separated from the parasite.”

I stared at her. “Are you telling me, that Equestria was defenceless for one thousand years? well…” I started to pluck some grass. “That makes me feel a million times more guilty for leaving…”

“As it should.” She said without missing a beat. I said nothing. “But that’s not entirely true, we had the guard.”

I resisted the urge to burst out laughing. And instead, opted for a snort. “The guard? Please.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Something you want to say?”

Uh oh, I’ve put my foot in it now. I fidgeted with a blade of grass I plucked. “Look, Celestia. The guard are great for ceremonies and for looking good to the other nations. And usually general peacekeeping. But…” Come on Artemis, think of something. “You’ve… done such a good job of ruling while I was gone, that there was no need for them to be trained to their fullest!” Nailed it.

Her eyebrow did not lower. “Are you offering up your services to the guard? Perhaps as an instructor?”

“No!” I said, a little too quickly. Her eyebrow finally lowered.

“Regardless, we’re getting off topic. Around half a year ago, I had one of the worst fevers of my entire life. I had a fever dream; The dream showed the very stars themselves Blinking from existence. It showed the entire world shrouded in darkness, it showed flora and fauna alike withering and dying. Great sheets of ice, hundreds of metres thick, covering the land.”

“That sounds suspiciously like eternal night. No, not eternal night… eternal darkness.” She was looking at me, waiting for me to finish. I gave her a perplexed look. “I thought Luna was purged from the parasite?”

“She was. Trust me, if it was still there, I would have noticed. I actually started Twilight on the magical survey of the Everfree to try to find some sort of disturbance that might lead to this destiny. But instead, she found you. Quite fortuitous, no? One could almost say it was fate... ”

“Go on.” I prompted.

She took on a more determined expression. “If you truly trust me like you say you do, and like I hope you do. Then you won’t ask questions when I say that I have plans for Twilight Sparkle. Plans that have been years in the making and are in play as we speak. I need you and your apprentice to work together, along with Twilight and the rest of the elements of harmony, to find whatever is seeking to bring this future to pass, and destroy it.

Lyra Heartstrings is strong. I can sense it. Even with her disability, I’m sure you can train her. I ask that from this point on, you will be her guide on the remaining length of path I have set us upon. You, Twilight and Lyra will be an unstoppable force. The protectors of this world. Just like you used to be, my Princess.” My heart fluttered. “I ask that you help me change the future my premonition showed me, and help save this world from everlasting darkness. That is why I need your help.”

Wow. That was a lot to take in. “Celestia, I don’t really know what to say. Is Lyra really that important that you assigned her to me? Can we even change the future? Your premonitions have never been wrong.”

Celestia stood and walked a few steps ahead. In the distance, there where three foals playing together by an apple tree. “You know…” She was twisting the ring on her finger. “I had given up hope of ever seeing you again.” I said nothing. Just listening. “I thought you were dead.” What made this hurt so much, was that when I left, that was my goal, to make her believe I was dead. But seeing her like that only made me realise what a fool I had been.

She continued, not looking at me. “And although I know where your sister is buried.” I swallowed. “I had no idea where you were. Did you find happiness and peace? Or where you dead in a ditch, in some star-forsaken part of the world. That was the worst part. The not-knowing.” I kept silent. “I had given up hope.” She hugged herself. “And back at your cabin…” Her voice was trembling. “I lectured you about giving up on me. I shouted. I… I struck you…” her hands trembled and she covered her face. “How could I do such a thing?” I stood behind her and placed my hand gently on her shoulders. I could feel her tense. “I struck you because you gave up on me, yet I went and did the exact same thing to you. I’m such a hypocrite.”

I pulled her into a hug from behind. “I cannot tell you just how sorry I am... But It doesn’t matter now. I’m here. You’re here. Things worked out! Things will work out. I trust you.”

“I don’t deserve this.”

I held on tight and whispered in her ear. “Tough.” We stayed quiet for a minute, me holding her. She turned around. She was getting closer. Slowly. Painfully. We started into each other’s eyes. I could feel her breath on my skin until finally… our lips touched. Although it was not a kiss of passion, more like a high-schooler's first nervous kiss behind the bleachers, electricity shot up my spine. And I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she still loved me.

It ended. All too soon. “Do you remember our first?” She said in a whisper. Still so close.

“How could I forget?” I said with a chuckle. “How did you know I’d return your feelings back then?”

She stepped back from me, and with a twinkle in her eye said, “I used to be quite the gambler back in the day. Remember?”

I snorted. “Yep. I remember.” I never did get that sword back…

She stepped back further. “I dont know if we can change the future, Artemis. But there's nothing stopping us from trying." She took on her 'Princessly' tone. "I need to meet with you and your apprentice in Canterlot at your earliest convenience.” Back to business, eh?

“That’s fine.” I said. “But I’m tired, and I want to go home.”

“Very well.” She started to walk towards Ponyville. “Come along, there’s a chariot waiting to take us to Canterlot.”

I stayed where I was. “Very funny.” I said, crossing my arms.

She turned and raised an eyebrow. “I’m perfectly serious.”

“So am I. I don’t want anything to do with that marble monstrosity on the mountain.” I looked back towards the treeline. “Although, you could always come back with me to our cabin.”

She snorted. “Please, I don’t want anything to do with distillery in the woods. It may have been ours once, but I can’t stay there.”

I nodded. “Fair enough.”

“One thing I will say though…” she said with a knowing look.

“What?”

She pointed to the pocket with the flask in it and smirked. “I didn’t see you reach for it once when we were talking.”

My eyes lit up in realisation and I patted the cloak pocket, feeling the liquid slosh inside the flask. Then, smirked right back at her. “That’s because you’re just that intoxicating.” Yep, still got it.

She put a hand up to her mouth to stifle her laughter. “Seriously? That was terrible!” I wiggled my eyebrows. “Go!” I turned to leave when she got my attention again. “Artemis?” I turned to look at her. She had a pink tinge to her cheeks. “I’m really glad your back.”

4 - Grass

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Dread.

Futility.

Darkness.

“…Help me…”

Death.

I slowly opened my eyes. A nightmare? I sat up and shivered as the cool air of my unheated cabin drifted across my soaked skin. The clock on the bedside table read ‘4:23AM’. Ugh. I suppose I could squeeze in an extra hour or two of sleep. I got up and laid towels over the sweat patch. Staring down at my bed I remembered the nightmare.

“…Help me…”

On second thought, I think now is a good time to start the day…

I showered and replaced my jewellery, taking time to run a thumb over the obsidian triangle before placing it on my ear. The clock read ‘4:55AM’. On went my clothes. Wonder what time Lyra will come today? On went the boots. Celly wants us at Canterlot ASAP too. I headed towards the kitchen. Replacing that barrier is a priority. I rinsed out my flask in the sink. Then again, I don’t exactly need to hide anymore… I left the cabin and flung on my cloak as the front door closed with a creak.

At the back of my cabin in a decent size shed, is my pride and joy. If Celly heard me say that, I’d get a smack. Used every day for over five hundred years, maintained to a painstaking degree, my distillery. Magic is a wonderful thing. In one end goes anything organic, a couple of hours later and out the other end comes high proof alcohol. Now, while you can use anything organic, its not recommended. Especially if you want halfway palatable alcohol. So, I use grass. Don’t look at me like that. Living in this world for this long, changes a woman. It’s not half bad, I swear!

Oh, who am I kidding… it’s terrible. But it gets the job done and it’s easy to find. “Hello beautiful.” I smiled, Looking up at the machine. “What have you got for me today?” I slowly made my way towards the other end of the room, where the taps are located. Running my fingers over the copper pipes and rivets, inspecting for any damage. “Look at you, not a scratch.” The containers and pipework seemed to rumble and shake in pride.

The needle in the dial above the pipes was in the green. Its ready to go. The green liquid poured into my flask and I took a whiff. Yep, can definitely feel my nose hairs burning. Excellent. “Thanks, Love.” I said as I put the flask inside my cloak pocket and gave the machine a last pat as I left the shed.

It was dawn now. The birds where singing, and although it was relatively light out. The stars where twinkling away. Luna is back. A smile crept onto my face. Luna is back! Excitement was welling up inside me. I had a nightmare. The smile left. Luna is back… and… I had a nightmare? That makes no sense. Did she just, I don’t know, not care? Whatever. It’s not like I don’t deserve it. I brought out my flask and took a sip. The first of the day. It burned so good.

Back inside the cabin the clock read ‘5:36AM’. Having no idea what time Lyra would arrive, I wrote her a note, then left the cabin once more.

“Lyra,

Meet me at the stones. Expect a long day.

~A.”

5 - Breathe

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The clearing in which I take up residence is rather strange. Any who were to look at it from a birds-eye perspective would see a large, perfectly circular bald-patch on the surrounding forest. From the treeline, the ground slopes up towards the centre where my cabin is, like a grassy pimple on the flat expanse of the Everfree’s endless canopy. Except for one part.

Three obsidian stones, or should be more appropriately named boulders given their size, rise up out of a perfectly level platform of basalt stone about half-way down the hill. Appearing to have grown from the earth itself, these stones are arranged at the points of an equilateral triangle and act as a sort of… tap, into the intersection of two ley-lines. Super highway’s of raw magical energy. By standing between the stones, one can amplify their magics to absurd degrees. If you know how. I walked to the centre of the three monoliths, got to my knees, closed my eyes, and waited.

“Hey Artemis!” A cheery voice said. I opened my eyes and saw Lyra approaching. It was quite bright out now, the sun steadily making its way towards noon. “I got your note.”

“I can see that.” I replied, looking her over. She looked particularly animated today. “Excited for your first day of school?”

“You betcha!”

I smiled warmly. “Come here and stand in front of me.” She did. “Kneel.” She did. “Close your eyes.” She did. “Breathe.” Her eyes opened and she raised an eyebrow.

“Wow, thanks for the reminder Artemis." She said with a giggle. "I can’t believe I made it this far without you.”

I shook my head. “You’re not breathing.” I explained. “You’re taking in the necessary oxygen your body requires in order to live.”

“Otherwise known as breathing…” Lyra said, rolling her eyes. I gave her a deadpan look.

I shuffled in place. “Just be quiet and do as I do.” I closed my eyes again and began breathing. Inhale through the nose, as much air as I could take in. Count to three. Exhale through the mouth. Count to three. Repeat. Doing this breathing exercise is actually remarkably loud. Especially outside in a near silent forest, with only a few birds singing somewhere nearby. I kept my ears open, listening to my student breathe.

After about five minutes of this I could hear her getting bored. The rhythmic inhale and exhale of her breath was becoming slightly faster and off tempo with my own. After another two minutes she spoke up. “My knees hurt.” I cracked open an eye to look at her. She was staring right back.

“That’s probably because you have been kneeling on the stone ground for close to ten minutes. Keep your eyes closed.”

“Ten minutes!?” She stood and peered down at me. “It feels like we’ve been doing this for hours!”

“Close to ten minutes.” I corrected. Kneel back down Lyra.” I closed my eye again.

“You haven’t even told me why we're doing this.” I sighed and stood, towering over her like a mother scolding a child.

“You remember the note I wrote to you this morning?” I asked, folding my arms.

“Yes?” she answered warily.

“What did it say?”

“Something like, ‘Lyra, come to the stones, expect a long… day…’” She slowed her speaking and looked to the ground. “Oh...”

“‘Oh.’” I mimicked. “And it said ‘meet me at the stones’, not ‘come to the stones.’” I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her down, until she was sat cross legged on the ground. I sat in front of her, crossing my own. “Lyra, I'm going to teach you all I know. I assume you already have the basics of magical knowledge for the Three Races. Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns. You did go to Princess Celestia’s school for a time, right?” She nodded. “I’m not any of those things, remember? I am a Human. That means I do things slightly differently, which in turn, means that you will do things slightly differently. Unfortunately, this means starting from scratch.”

She looked very worried. “But- but- I can already do magic!” She gripped her cracked horn. “I can still levitate objects and- and produce light!” I held up a hand to stop her.

“Lyra, what I am going to teach you will have you using your horn as little as possible.” Her eyes widened in alarm.

“But the doctors say I have to keep using it for it to heal!”

“This has nothing to do with your horn being broken.” I said gently, trying to calm her. “That doesn’t matter. I could teach my ways to a Pegasus or an Earth Pony, or hell, even a Griffon!” She gave me dubious look. “In fact, your Unicorn heritage will actually make this slightly harder for you, as your natural instinct will make you want to use your horn. You must overcome this.”

“How?”

I smiled and got on my knees again. “Breathe."

6 - Lunchtime

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A while later, Lyra spoke up once again. “I think… I think I’m finally feeling something…”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah… It’s kind of like a pressure in my stomach.”

“In your stomach?”

“Yeah… That’s good right?”

I opened my eyes to see that hers where still closed and her face was contorted in deep concentration. I looked up to the sky and frowned. “Well, it is around lunchtime…” As soon as I said those words, her stomach let off a deep grumble and she gave me a sheepish look. I rolled my eyes and got to my feet. “Come on, Grasshopper.” I helped her to her hooves. “That’s enough of that for today anyway. Let’s go get some grub.”

When we got back to the cabin, she rushed to the kitchen and I swept some papers off of the couch onto the already cluttered floor and plonked myself down. “Sandwiches okay with you?” She called.

“Yeah whatever, I’m not picky.” It’s times like this I really wish Equestria had TV. Or at least radio… I reached down next to the couch to find a nearly finished bottle of… Something? I sniffed at the contents. And immediately recoiled. Vinegar. Bloody hell, how long has this been here? I really need to sort myself out… I took out my flask and sipped at it. A frustrated groan came from the kitchen and a few seconds later, Lyra came stomping in to stand in front of me.

“What?” I asked.

“The only thing you have to eat is mouldy bread.”

“Nice!” I said. “I love mushroom on toast!”

Lyra recoiled. “Artemis! That’s Disgusting!”

“I’m only kidding!” I said, Laughing. She frowned. “Oh, don’t be like that!”

“Surely you must have something else?” She asked, hope in her eyes.

I rubbed the back of my head. “If that’s all you found in there, then that’s all I have. And don’t call me Shirley.”

“Oh, I know!” She said, snapping her fingers and ignoring my genius joke. “We can go into town and grab a bite to eat there!”

“Ugh, but, general populace…”

She took my hand and pulled me off the couch. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” She dragged me towards the door.

“Ugh!” I said, a bit louder that time to try to emphasise my point.

“How old are you again?”

“Don’t ask…”

“Then act your age.”

“…What?”

A walk through the forest later, we arrived on the outskirts of Ponyville. While the townsfolk didn’t run and hide at the sight of me this time, there weren’t many around and the ones that were, didn’t look like they wanted to stick around as they hurried to do their shopping and whatnot. I wasn’t too bothered. Ponies are a skittish race by nature. Can’t fault that, it’s what’s kept them around so long. It’s good to be cautious. Especially in a world like this one.

“So where are we going?” I asked.

“What are you in the mood for?”

“I don’t really get hungry.”

“Of course, explains the bread…” Lyra said, despondently. “Tell you what, I’m gonna go to Sugar Cube Corner and get a pastry. If you want to get something while you’re there, you can, if not then fine.” She started walking.

I grabbed her hand “Woah woah woah.” I said stopping her. “What wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Sure there isn’t.”

She sighed. “Okay fine.” She looked around, trying to piece together what she wanted to say. “It’s just… I thought being your apprentice would mean…”

“Would mean?” I prompted.

“Look, you used to be the Princess’s teacher, right? So, I just thought that being your student would involve more… I don’t know, magic? So far all we’ve been doing is breathing. And you didn’t even fully explain why.” I Blinked at her. “I mean, I get that its supposed to help. But with what?”

“Lyra… It’s the first day.”

“I know that. But I just… I just…”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is this something to do with that?” I pointed to her horn.

She gave a shallow nod. “Something like that.”

“Lyra, when you’re sick and you take medication, does it work right away?”

“…No.”

I patted her shoulder. “One of the things you need to work on is your patience. Everything is always ‘now now now!’ with you. You need to slow down. Everything will work out in the end. Trust me.” I gave a winning smile. She did not look convinced.

“If you say so…”

“I do.” I said, confidently, putting my arm around her shoulder. We started walking towards the centre of town. “How about after lunch we go and find something to blast with magic?” She giggled.

“Sounds good.”

Sugar Cube Corner was an interesting building. Set completely apart from its surrounding building-brethren. Instead of the typical thatched roof of an everyday structure, this had tiles decorated to look like gingerbread… with a cupcake on top. Not my cup of tea, but hey, whatever makes the owners happy.

The door opened with a ‘ding’, and a “welcome!” from someone behind the counter. We walked inside. I immediately felt like I walked into a wall of… Wrong. Just a feeling of… of something that shouldn’t be. My knuckles tightened and I could hear Lyra saying something to me. I narrowed my eyes and looked around, trying to find the source of the feeling. I found it.

“...temis. Artemis? I’m talking to you!” Lyra was tugging on my sleeve. I looked down to her.

“Oh, sorry Lyra. What was that?”

“I asked if you wanted to find a seat while I order. You okay? You’ve gone pale. Well, paler than usual, anyway.”

“Yeah… Sounds good.” I said, absentmindedly and walked off towards an empty corner table.

“Wait.” She called back. “Do you want anything?”

“Yeah… Sounds good.”

“Okay then…” Lyra went to order.

I sat down, squeezing my long legs underneath, and attempted to think on how I would handle this. Why didn’t I bring my staff with me...? I Lamented. Stupid. I took out my flask and took a very long swig. I did not put it back in my cloak and instead, opted to place it within easy reaching distance on the table for future consumption.

A few seconds later, Lyra sat down in front of me. “She’ll be over with our food in a minute. I Just got you the same as me.”

“Yeah… Sounds good.”

“Okay, please stop doing that. You’re freaking me out.”

“Yeah… Sounds-”

Lyra smacked the table. “Hey!”

I smirked. “Okay, I’ll stop.”

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m not even really sure myself. When the food comes, just be quiet and let me handle it.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Oh… Kay…?”

A few minutes later. Our food was placed in front of us, very slowly, by a bright pink mare. She was quite chubby, but not overweight. She had a neutral expression and long, straight pink hair of a darker hue than her coat, that came down to the middle of her back. Lyra smiled at her. The mare did not smile back. Instead, she never took her eyes off of me, as if waiting for something. I matched her neutrality, put on my Princess face and exerted a small amount of will into the surroundings.

When speaking while exerting your will, you can affect the world in small ways. I’m serious, you should try it. I mean, it probably won’t do much for you other that giving you an air of confidence. But hey, even that can affect the people you interact with and make them say “Damn, that person knows what they’re doing.” Works wonders in job interviews. However, when you have magic, exerting your will and speaking can give you authority. Not just in a material sense like, ‘that person is my boss therefore I must listen to them’. I’m talking on a Spiritual level. Lyra was looking between the two of us nervously.

“Are you with him?” I asked with a measured tone. The pink mare slowly nodded once. “Do you know who I am?” She nodded again. Her expression never changing. “Then you know what will happen if I deem you a danger to these people.” That was not a question. Another nod. I nodded too and looked around. There were a few patrons, just sitting and minding their own business, unaware of this conversation or exactly what had served them. I turned back to the mare and looked her in the eyes. “Stay away from us.” She quickly turned and walked through a Staff Only door. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Lyra looked on, mouth moving like a fish out of water. “Okay.” She said. “Explain.”

I took a shaky sip of my flask. “Do I have to?”

“Do you have to explain why you just said those things to Pinkie Pie. The happiest, most fun-loving mare in town? Yes. Yes, you do.”

I sighed. “That thing was not a mare.” I said in a hushed tone. “It isn’t even from this dimension. I mean, it may have been born here, but its true origins are not.”

Lyra stared at me. “Ha! No, sorry, I thought you just said that Pinkie Pie isn’t from our dimension.” I stared at her. “Because… Because that would be silly.” I continued to stare. “Wouldn’t it?”

“No sillier than me…” I said under my breath.

“What was that?” She asked.

“Nothing.” I picked up the pastry in front of me and took a bite. Mmm, Apple. “Haven’t you ever noticed it doing things that you can’t explain? Things that are just easier to write off, rather than try to rationalise?”

She stared at me. “Well, there was that one time when she-”

I cut her off “Stop! On second thought, I don’t want to know.” I looked around the café again. No sign of the pink mare. “Look, if it-”

“She"

"-She hasn’t caused any trouble so far, then just don’t think about it. If something does happen, I’ll take care of it.”

“But I don’t understand” Lyra said, taking a sip of her tea. “What is she?”

“Just don’t worry about it.” I said. “The more you try to explain an entity like her, the more you’ll want your brain removed because it itches so much. Trust me on this.”

“I’ve known her since I moved here…” She said with wide eyes.

“That’s fine. Just go on living your life.”

“Yeah, like I can do that now…” She said taking a bite of her pastry.

I looked out the window. “Sorry…”

She sighed. “It's fine." She was looking around at the café. "I don’t really feel comfortable here anymore.” She looked to her half-eaten pastry. Then to me with wide eyes. “Wait, these are safe to eat right?!”

I finished off the last of mine. “What, don’t like apple?”

“Nevermind…”

As we exited the café, with the sound of “Come again!” from one of the owners, I looked back inside through the window and saw the pink mare staring at us through the window in the Staff Only door. I didn’t do or say anything.

Lyra looked to me. “So, what now boss?”

“What did you have in mind?” I asked, still looking at the pink mare, who was still looking at me.

She thought for a moment. “Well… You did say we could blow something up.”

I looked to Lyra and smiled. “I did say that didn’t I?” She nodded excitedly. I turned back to look at the Staff Only door. The mare was gone. I sighed. “Come on then.” I said and started walking towards the tree line of Everfree Forest. “I kind of feel like doing that too.” Lyra followed behind with a small, “yes!”

7 - Shunted

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In order to ‘blow something up’, I needed my staff. So, it was back to the cabin. Walking back and forth though the Everfree, however small a walk it is, was beginning to be a pain. Especially now that I have a reason to leave the clearing. I made a mental note to create a more permanent solution at a later date. I could hear Lyra behind me, slightly out of breath.

I felt for her, I really did. The poor thing was desperately trying to both keep up with my long stride and avoid the various detritus of the forest floor. Her horn glowed with a soft but dim light. An effort that, with her injured horn, was starting to become too much for her, if her glistening forehead was any indication. Unfortunately, without my staff, it was the only light we had.

Ancient leaf litter that formed an, as of yet, undisturbed blanket covered the magic-rich soil. In doing so,
it also covered hazards that made for navigating even the relatively short distance from Ponyville to the clearing my cabin was in, a serious pain in the rear. Roots as hard as any stone, criss crossed with no warning as to when one would be caught underfoot (or hoof). The small valleys and peaks of the terrain may be laughable and even normal out in an open field, but made for deadly obstacles if you weren’t paying attention to where you put your weight. One wrong move, one stumble on a raised root, you’d fall, hit your head on something and that would be it. Lost in that deep, brown, mouldy, detritivore infested sea of seasons past. Forever becoming a part of the forest’s vast ecosystem.

I stopped so Lyra could catch up with me. Lyra. That mare has made this trip too many times. Without complaint too. Entering the Everfree with backup is dangerous enough. Entering alone… I moved up ‘make a permanent Ponyville-to-clearing solution’ from ‘sometime in the future’ to ‘ASAP’. I owe it to minty mare. She caught up to me, panting, and looked up to meet my eyes. She smiled. Smiled. I smiled back. This mare, I thought. She has absolutely no idea the danger she puts herself in every time she visits me. “Come on”, I said turning to walk again, “not far now.”

“Yeah, I know.” She countered. I smiled again and shook my head. This mare.

Passing over the charred line that was once my home defence system, I looked up to the cabin on the hill. There was a lone figure stood outside my front door. I sighed. Now what? I thought. I squinted my eyes and held up my hand to shield the sun which was beating directly on my retinas. Ugh Celly, just move your pet for a sec. The light glinted off something on the figures body. Armour?

Lyra stumbled out of the tree line, brushing leaves from her mane, and bumped into my back. “Hey!” She said. “I’m walking here!” I glanced at her. She stood pouting with her hands on her hips.

“There’s someone up there.” I said, and turned back to look at the cabin again. She turned to look too.

“You know ‘em?” She asked.

“Can barely see ‘em”

She was silent for bit, and then said. “Well… Let’s go say hello.” Then started towards the wooden building. This mare. Fearless. I followed.

Turns out the glinting was armour. Albeit, very little of the stuff. Upon seeing us, the figure straightened up, then moved to intercept us halfway down the hill, then stopped and snapped into a sharp salute in front of me. The stallion was shorter than Lyra and very slim. He wore a thin bodysuit of light-brown leather with equally thin, shiny pauldrons, kneepads and wrist guards over the top. A narrow, darker brown leather belt crossed over his left shoulder and a small silver pin in the shape of a feather, took position where the belt crossed over his heart.

“Letter for you, Ma’am.” He said. So quick, I nearly had to ask him to repeat himself.

I raised an eyebrow. “I-”

He swung his arm around behind his back then whipped it back out in front of me. Sure enough, he was holding a letter. I took it. Without another word, translucent, cyan wings materialised from the aether and attached themselves to his back. He gave another crisp salute, squatted, then jumped. A gust of air blew both mine and Lyra’s hair back and the stallion was gone.

Lyra whistled and stared into the sky. “That guy could give Rainbow Dash a run for her money.”

I ignored her and stared at the letter. It was sealed with golden wax, the indentation that of an eight-pointed sun. I smiled and broke the seal. In immaculate, flowing script, the letter read:

Dear Artemis,

When I said that I wanted you to come to Canterlot at your earliest convenience, I thought you would take the hint and come right away. Obviously, your ability to deduce what your wife really means, has diminished in your years of isolation. I suppose I cannot fault you for that.

In any case, I really do need to see you in a setting that allows for some strategizing. At least, strategizing where we will not get bitten by mosquitos. I would like to have both yourself and Lyra Heartstrings for dinner today at the palace. I sent my fastest flier to deliver this message to you, so if you don’t show up, I’ll know something has gone wrong! Please do not make me worry, I’ve had quite enough of that these past years.

Take. The. Fastest. Route.

I’ll have someone posted at the exit to escort you the rest of the way.

Your Love, always,

Princess Celestia Everfree.

P.S.

Luna is looking forward to it.

“Cock.” I crumpled the letter, reached into my cloak for my flask and took a sip.

“What? What is it?” Lyra asked, looking at the ball of parchment in my hand.

I sighed “We’ve been invited to dinner at the palace.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Why is that ‘cock’ worthy?”

I furrowed my brow and stuffed my flask away. “Because we’re taking the fastest route.” I walked towards the cabin, Lyra following behind.

“That’s good… Right? We should be there in about five hours providing the trains on time.”

I said nothing, not even entering the cabin properly. I just poked my head in, took a cursory glance around - yep, still a shithole - then grabbed my staff from by the door. “We should be there in about five minutes.” I moved past a stone-still Lyra and around the side of the building towards the back of the cabin.

“Wait, wait, wait. What?!”

I smirked. “Just follow me.”

“I know teleportation’s a thing, but I’ve never-”

“We’re not teleporting.” I said slightly angrier than I meant. Lyra flinched back. “Sorry. I just hate teleportation. It’s a complete waste of energy. I understand the usefulness of blinking, but teleportation is just stupid.”

“What’s the difference?” Lyra asked.

“Well,” I started, “Both should only be used in a pinch, as they require energy that, frankly, is way too costly for what you want to happen. They also both require an extremely skilled caster to pull off. When you want to blink, you hone in on where you want to go, usually only a few metres away at most. Then highlight all the particles in the area you’ll end up, and I do mean every single particle. Then just… swap places with them.” I turned to look at my apprentice. She was still following behind and had a look of deep thought on her face.

“I’ve never heard something so complicated yet so simple.”

“Yeah. I hate blinking just as much as teleportation, but it has its uses. In a fight for example.”

Lyra nodded. “So, what’s so bad about teleportation?”

I grumbled “Teleportation, is the most energy expensive, reality ripping, laziest, flashiest way to get from A to B there is. In order to teleport, you visualise where you want to go. This has to be something ingrained in your memory by the way. If the spot your teleporting to is obstructed, the universe will try to compensate and create… well, let’s not get into that. The point is, it has to be somewhere you’re intimately familiar with. I wouldn’t chance it unless I could see where I was going. Anyway, what you do is, you get where you want to go, then drag it towards you.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, no, seriously. You literally drag space towards you, then use raw magic to punch a hole through the fabric of reality, this hole will be about the size of a pore on your skin, then you use even more magic to stuff yourself though to the other side. Then once you’re on the other side, you have to close the hole quick before it grows. All this happens in a fraction of a fraction of a millisecond. I’ve stitched far too many cracks in space-time created by idiots who where too lazy to just walk to the shops.”

Lyra was staring at me wide eyed. Then looked thoughtful. “But if they can do all that… They’re not really idiots, are they?” I ignored her and continued on.

“Because you’re not swapping places with anything, you create an area of nothing. That’s the literal interpretation of that word by the way. No particles. No space. No time. As I’m sure you know, nature abhors a vacuum. So, reality snaps back like a rubber band that’s stretched too far and creates an almighty crack of sound. It can really hurt people if you do it too close to them. Not subtle.”

“So… No teleporting?” She asked.

I shook my head. “No teleporting.”

“So… Five minutes?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it will be a bit longer now, wont it? I didn’t expect the impromptu teleportation explanation. Ha! Try saying that five times fast!”

“Teleportation explanation, teleportation explanation, tele-”

I waved my hand. “Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

Lyra giggled. It was a nice sound. It’s been too long since I’ve heard laughter. “But seriously, how are we getting there?” She asked.

“We’ll take a ley-line.”

“Please stop talking like I know what you’re saying.”

I smiled. “You know where we were doing the breathing exercises?” She nodded. “That spot sits above two ley-lines. Super highways of raw magic. Essentially the veins of the earth.”

“I know what a ley-line is!” Lyra yelled. “How are we using them to get to the palace?”

I walked between the three obsidian stones behind the property and stood in the middle. I smiled warmly at my apprentice and held out my hand. “Come here.” Lyra looked at me, then at my hand. She gave a demure smile and slowly reached for my hand. See Celly? I can give a motherly smile with the best of them. When her fingers touched mine. I grabbed her hand. Hard.

“H- Hey.” Lyra grunted and tried to pull away. “Let go!” I held tighter. “Stop!” I pulled her close to me and hugged her tight, her face mushed into my chest, the arm carrying my staff wrapped around her back. She tried with all her might to push away from me. I held on all the tighter. Her muffled grunts coming out in breathless gasps.

“Lyra.” I said, very calmly. “Lyra look at me.” With some effort, she managed to drag her head to look up at mine. Her face was cherry red. “Lyra, this is going to hurt.”

“Wh- What?” She asked, her eyes widening.

“This is going to hurt, Lyra. Travelling by ley-line, hurts. I’m going to tell you exactly what’s going to happen, because you deserve to know. So, stop struggling and listen.” She did, but I could feel the muscles in her body, all of them taut like a rope with too much weight. “Ley-lines shred you, Lyra.” Her pupils turned to pin-pricks. “When I activate this spell. We are going to be shredded in millions of magical pieces and be shunted off towards the mountain.” She was whimpering now. “I’m sorry. It will only be for a second but it will feel like nothing you’ve ever felt before.”

“Wa- Wait. Please, don’t. I’m sure the princess won’t mind if we’re a few hours late! We can just take the train.”

“I’m sorry, Lyra. But you would have had to do this eventually. Part of the learning process and all that.”

She went limp in my arms. “Artemis please! Stop!”

“Ready?”

“No please! Wait!”

“Here we go!” I lifted my staff and brought the haft down hard on the basalt rock below.

8 - Doors

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Where sound would normally be absorbed by the surrounding forest, the sharp crack of elder wood on basalt seemed to reverberate around the landscape for miles, then all was silent. Darkness came next, stifling in is completeness. Then came the feeling of falling. Falling and falling with no end in sight. The anticipation of a sudden stop, maddening. And then it came.

A nudge.

Sound came back first. The ringing in my ears as deafening as the silence before it. “-ey” Is that… Someone talking? “Hey.” Another nudge. Lyra? “Hey are you okay?” The sound of someone retching.

Light came next, the afternoon sun beating down on my face, smothering in its intensity. I held up my arm to shield myself from the rays, water dripped onto my face. What the…? I shook my head free of the droplets and sat up. Something that shouldn’t have been as much effort as it was and something that shouldn’t have made a sloshing sound. I was lying a pool of water. No. no, that’s not right. I looked around. A fountain?

“Lyra?” I called.

“I’m… I’m here.” She coughed.

“Come on miss.” The voice from before called. “Get yourself up. I’m under orders to take you to the palace.”

I waved an arm in his general direction “Yeah, yeah. Hold your stinkin’ horses.” I stood up and waded towards Lyra, who was doubled over and breathing heavily. “Lyra? Lyra, are you okay?” I asked, taking her arm in mine and helping her stand upright.

“I… I will be.” She said, still coughing.

“Come on, lets get out of this.” I pulled her to the rim of the fountain, helped her over the edge and onto the gravel path.

I felt tapping on my side and realised, with some amusement, that she was trying to hit me. “You… you… Jerk!” I said nothing. “That was… That was…”

“Fun?” I asked.

“Try one of the worst experiences of my life!”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“Why would you do that to me?” She asked, with tears in her eyes.

“Well, it’s not exactly my preferred method of travel either.”

“If I have my way, I’m never doing that again!”

“And as the great philosopher Jagger once said, ‘You can’t always get what you want.’” She glared at me and went silent.

“Um, excuse me.” The stallion said. “I hate to interrupt, but we really should get going.”

“Where the hell are we?” I asked, walking up to him. He was surprised to see how much smaller than me he was and backed up a step. I towered over him. He had a white coat and gold armour. All the royal guards did. An enchantment to help hide identities.

“You're in the middle of Clyde Park, in Canterlot.”

I looked around. sure enough we appeared to be on a hill, with families playing on the grass and couples, young and old, sitting and enjoying the weather on picnic blankets. All trying their hardest to ignore the freakishly tall, pale skinned drunkard, that apparently just ‘poofed’ into existence in a fountain.

I nodded and looked to Lyra. “Are you good?”

She still looked a bit cross. “…Yeah.”

I nodded again and jumped a few times on the spot, trying to shake the last of the drowsiness from my body. Then something felt off, I looked around. Ugh, I’m such an idiot. Lyra watched with a raised brow as I climbed back over the rim of the fountain, waded back towards the middle, reached down and pulled my staff from the water. Lyra folded her arms, still watching me. I climbed back out of the fountain and gave her a sheepish smile.

“Are you good?” She asked.

“…Yep.” I replied, slightly squeakier than I meant, then started off towards the palace.

Canterlot Palace. Seat of Equestrian royalty. Able to be seen from hundreds of miles around on account of it being situated on the side of a freaking mountain, symbolising Equestria’s mastery over nature. The towers, made from enchanted marble brick, much like the rest of the palace, stretched high into the clouds, slicing them in twain, symbolising Equestria’s ability to go above and beyond any challenges faced. The golden domes sitting atop, shone whether day or night, acting as a beacon of hope, of harmony. That no matter how dark, there will always be a light.

It was kinda gaudy if you ask me.

And wouldn’t you know it, in the middle of the centre tower, was a balcony. On that balcony was a faint, golden light. She’s watching me… The light winked a few times, then went out.

After a good few minutes of walking through narrow cobbled streets, what I assume to be back roads that avoided much of the larger crowds, we finally arrived at a polished brass gate. I kind of expect St. Peter to read off my life story and send me through to Heaven. Or in this case, Hell. “Halt! State your business.” The guard inside the gatehouse said. St. Peter himself I presume?

The guard escorting us saluted. “Sir! One Guard and two guests, returning as ordered, Sir!”

“Understood. Proceed as ordered.” The guard in the gatehouse turned to the side and flipped a switch that was out of view. The gates started to open. Slowly.

I coughed and pointed to the gate. “So… Does this thing have a slow setting?” The gatehouse guard glared at me. Lyra held in a laugh. I looked down to her and winked.

He switched from glaring at me to Lyra. “Just get going. You don’t want to keep her waiting.”

I snapped to the sharpest salute I could muster. “Sir, yes Sir!” and marched forward to my inevitable doom. My apprentice and escort hurrying behind, trying their best to keep pace.

After walking through the main doors to the castle, I gave up on imitating a guard fresh out of boot camp and returned to my normal pace. I was not particularly fond of the stringent regulations that are required of guards when around their superiors. In my opinion, that wasn’t how you gained their respect. You gained their respect by talking with them about their daily lives, their families, drinking with them.

Especially drinking with them.

Not that it mattered to me, I wasn’t one of them. Our escort spoke up. "Um, do you want me to take you both to a guest room so you can get cleaned up?"

Lyra lit up at this suggestion, likely eager to get out of her damp clothes. I didn’t look at him, just continued walking, my staff tapping on the floor every other step. “No, lets just get this over with.”

We finally arrived at an ornate set of large double doors, beset with gold and silver filigree. On one door was a sun made out of some kind of yellow gem. Citrine maybe? With stylised amber corona. On the other door was a moon, half of which was made out of moonstone and the other obsidian. Very fitting.

I heard someone clear their throat. “Excuse me?” I turned to look at the voice. “Are you ready, or are you just here to stare at the doors all day?” The mare who impatiently got my attention had a white shirt with a red ribbon tied around her collar. She held a clipboard under her arm. Pitch-black hair was tied up in a bun with not a strand out of place, and glasses sat on the end of her upturned nose. She looked relatively young, perhaps mid to late twenties.

I straightened up. “Well it is a nice door, very intricate. Wouldn’t you say, Lyra?” The minty-mare smiled and nodded. I leaned in to inspect the door and whistled in appreciation. “The ebony wood was a great choice, really makes the details pop.”

The clipboard-wielding mare stared at me. “Quite.”

Uh oh. I’ve annoyed her. I tried to salvage the situation. “Um, but I didn’t get your name Mrs...?”

“Miss Raven Inkwell.”

Ugh. This mare... “Of course, my apologies. So, are you like, the greeter or the announcer or…?”

“I’m her assistant.”

I gave a slight nod of my head. It was my way of giving a polite bow when I couldn’t be bothered to actually do so. “My name is-”

“Yes, I know who you are. If you’ll excuse me, I shall go see if she’s ready for you.” She moved past me to open the double doors a crack and slipped inside. They closed with a heavy boom. And the hallway was silent.

I opened my grey wool cloak and took out my trusty silver canteen from one of the many inside pockets and took a sip. I stared at the doors again. “Well, that was rude.”

Our escort spoke up “Don’t take it personally Ma'am, she’s just doing her job. She likes to be very efficient.”

The hallway was silent. I put the canteen back in my cloak, crossed my arms and grumbled. A maid walked past; she was staring at me. She looked terrified. I may be a bit different, but I’m not that scary, am I? I mean, I have been away for a bit. But long enough for them to be scared of me? It’s like Ponyville all over again. What the hell has been written about humans? Something to look into later for sure. It's like she thinks I’m going to rip her head off. I glared at her. “What are you looking at?” With a squeak, she jumped a few inches into the air and hurried along until she was out of sight. The hallway was silent once more.

The guard spoke up “Ma'am, was that really necessary? I think you really gave her a fright…”

I looked to him. “I’m so sorry, we’ve been travelling together for a good half an hour now and I never got your name.”

“It’s Steel Shield, Ma’am.”

“Steel Shield? Nice name, you can go away now.”

Steel shuffled uncomfortably from one hoof to the other. “Ma’am, I’m under orders to-”

I held up my hand to cut him off “I don’t care if you’re on a divine quest. We can take it from here. Thank you for your service.”

He looked to Lyra who only shrugged apologetically. He nodded, turned on the spot and walked away.

Lyra put a hand on my arm. “What is wrong with you?” She asked in a hushed voice.

“What?” I asked making no attempt to lower my volume. “We’re here aren’t we? We don’t need someone to show us through the doors we’re literally stood in front of.”

“You could have been a little nicer to him, he was only doing his job.”

I crossed my arms and huffed. “I guess.”

“And that maid, what was that about?”

I huffed and leaned against the doors. “She was staring at me; I don’t like when people stare at me. What was her deal anyway? It’s like she’s never seen a Human before.”

She looked at me like I'd grown an extra arm. “Did that ley-line mess with your head? Of course she hasn’t seen a Human before!”

I stared at her. “Oh… Right.” Lyra smirked at me. “Well… That still doesn’t excuse her staring at me like I’m some freak show.” She sighed and shook her head. I changed the subject so I'd stop looking like a colossal idiot. “She’s doing this on purpose you know?”

“Doing what?”

“Making us wait.”

She scratched the back of her head. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m sure she’s just preparing for us.”

“‘Preparing for us’? She’s the one who summoned us for this dinner. We’re the ones who didn't have any time to 'prepare'. She's had plenty of time to ‘prepare’.” I started tapping my foot. “I mean, why didn't she just let us take the train, why tell us to take a ley-line?” I closed my eyes. “I’d get comfortable if I were you, I’m going to assume well be here a whi-”

The ebony doors creaked open and I jumped back to avoid falling, unfortunately my staff wasn’t so lucky and it clattered to the floor. Miss Raven Inkwell stepped out. “She’ll see you now.”

I leaned down to pick it up and Lyra walked past me and into the room beyond, giving me a smug look as she did. “You were saying?”

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”

9 - Ink

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The throne room of Canterlot palace was big. Longer than it was wide, you’d need binoculars to see the other end clearly. The polished marble floor was divided down the middle by crimson matte tiles that ran from the throne room doors, down to the dais at the other end. Corinthian style columns separated stained glass windows showing important parts of the country’s history. Prismatic light shone through, bathing the room in a glow of every colour from the darkest red to the most vibrant purple, yet somehow did not overwhelm.

Long banners hung from tiered seating held up by the columns that looked down onto the floor below, alternating from a golden sun to a silver moon all the way down to a final banner depicting two alicorns, white and blue, swirling and chasing each other as Yin chases Yang. This hung above a raised dais that held two thrones. Both high-backed, one was gold with red cushions and the other, to the right of the first, was a deep royal blue with black cushions. Both however, where empty.

Instead, on the stairs of the dais, sat Celestia. She looked up as the throne room doors closed with an almighty bang, signalling to all in the room that someone had had just entered, and smiled as she rose to meet us half way. “Artemis.” She said while throwing her arms around me. “I missed you.”

I smiled too, and put my arms around her. “I’ve only been gone a day.”

“Yes.” She said. “A day and a thousand years with change.”

I let go but kept my hands on her waist. “Yeah… Well… I’m here now.” I said with a sheepish smile.

She took on an impish expression. “Yes. You’re here now.” I hate when she has that face. It does not end well for me.

“What does that mean?” I asked warily. She ignored me and turned to my apprentice.

“Miss Heartstrings, how are you?”

Lyra startled at being addressed but recovered quickly. “I’m fine, your highness. Thank you for asking.”

“That’s good to hear. However, you look rather damp. Might I suggest you go and get dry? One of the guards can show you to your room.” She gestured to her side and a guard ran up to her and saluted.

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” The guard started walking and Lyra followed. Celestia called to her. “I’ll have someone sent to guide you down for dinner!” Lyra waved back in acknowledgement.

Celestia turned to me. “And now we’re alone.”

I looked to the many guards stood against the walls. “Yeah… Alone…” She rolled her eyes.

“Come on.” She walked to the back of the dais and pushed on the marble wall. A door that blended in perfectly swung open and she guided me inside. We seemed to be in some sort of waiting room. Two long couches sat in the middle of the room facing each other. A gigantic mirror took up most of the wall on the right and the left wall had two vanity mirrors placed on desks with various bottled of perfume and makeup. Likely for touch-ups before the Princesses faced their adoring public. “Now we’re alone.”

“Yes, we are.” I pulled her close, and very slowly and delicately, pressed our lips together. I was nervous about doing this. I wasn’t sure how she'd feel about me being so affectionate. Especially after I’d been away for so long. My gamble payed off however and she sighed contentedly against me. After a few seconds, she wrapped her arms around my back and the kiss deepened. I was in heaven.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and she slowly pulled back to look up at me, biting her bottom lip. “I can’t tell you how much I missed that.”

“I’m sor-.” She put a finger on my lips.

“Don’t. Not now.” She pulled me close to rest her head on my chest. “Just let me enjoy this.” After a few seconds, she spoke up again. “You need to talk to Luna before dinner.”

I sighed. “I know.”

She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t want to see her?”

“Its not that. I’d love to see her. I’m just…” I paused and looked away.

“What, what is it?”

I sighed again. “I’m just… Scared. Okay?”

“Oh Artemis.” She cupped my cheek in her palm. It was so soft. “What are you afraid of?”

“Does she… Does she hate me for what I did?”

Now it was Celestia’s turn to sigh. “I am not Luna. It is not my place to say what my sister does or does not feel. You will simply have to ask her yourself.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“I shall see if she’s ready for you.” Her horn started to glow and her eyes turned bright white. She started mumbling, like she was talking to herself. It was quite creepy to be honest. After a few very long seconds, her horn dimmed to normal and her eyes took back their vibrant magenta hue. She smiled. “She’s ready.”

I nodded again. “But am I?”

She smiled. “I know you are.”

The guard left without a sound after guiding me to Lunas rooms. This was it. Beyond this door was the best friend whom I failed. Will she tell me that she doesn’t want to see me again? Gods I hope not. Knowing that I failed so badly that Luna would abandon me… That was unthinkable. There’s only one way to find out. I stepped up to the door and knocked.

After a few tense seconds the door creaked open and I tentatively walked inside. Inside was dark. Not only because of lack of light, but the colours too. Dark blues, blacks and silvers where the main tones of the room, the colour seemed to darken the further towards the ceiling. And in the middle stood my best friend. Luna.

She stood slightly shorter than Celestia. Wearing a black dress with a simple silver corded belt around her waist. A perfect mirror of her sisters. Her dark blue fur contrasted with her dark silver eyes. Her dark blue hair billowed lazily about her head, much like her sisters, and where Celestia’s sparkled as if filled with morning dew, Lunas glittered with a million, million stars, comets and nebulae.

“Hi Lu-” I began to say. But she ran across the room and threw herself into my arms. I held tight, and I couldn’t help the smile that began to grow on my face. I probably shouldn’t have been happy that she was sobbing into my chest, but I was just so thankful that she didn’t… Throw me out? Scream at me? Tell me that she never wanted to see me again? I don’t even know. I just held her and stroked her back as she let out over a thousand years of emotions. I could hear her mumbling something.

“We’re sorry, we’re sorry, we’re sorry. Please, don’t hate us.”

My heart broke at that moment. She… She thought I’d hate her? “Luna.” I spoke softly, still holding her. “Luna please listen to me.” She stilled; her sobbing slowed to shaking breaths. “Luna, what happened was in no way, shape or form, your fault.” She pulled back and looked at me. “It’s mine.”

“W- What?”

I nodded. “I was your teacher, Luna. Your mentor. You’re friend. If I had just seen the signs, it never would have happened.” I closed my eyes and shook my head. “That is a failure I will take with me for the rest of my life. That failure… It changed everything.” I opened my eyes to peer into hers. “And it’s all my fault.”

“No, you don’t understand.” She pulled me close again. “We were filled with so much venom. Jealousy towards our sister for getting attention from our subjects and you. Hatred towards the very ponies we sought to protect, all because they wouldn’t acknowledge us. Of course, they didn’t trust us with how we acted.” She finished with a shake of her head.

“But don’t you see? If I hadn’t been so blinded to your struggles, all of this never would have happened. If only I had paid more attention to you, that parasite would have had nothing to latch onto.” Luna looked nervous. “But I can see I’m not convincing you?” She shook her head. “Would you rather me just say what you want me to say?” She nodded. “Fine, but only if you say it too.”

“Together?” She asked.

“Together.”

“Very well.” We broke apart and looked each other in the eye. “On the count of three.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

“I (We) forgive you.”

We both laughed and came together again. “Will you be joining the three of us for dinner?” I asked.

“Of course, we’re looking forward to meeting your new apprentice. we want to see how she stacks up to our might.” She said with a smile, flexing her arms.

I snorted. “I only just started training her.”

“All the more reason to assert dominance now.”

I shook my head. “What are you, a dog?”

“Gods no, I’m a pony.”

There was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Celestia. “So, I take it you both haven’t maimed each other?”

“That’s what you thought would happen?” I asked.

She giggled. “No of course not.” She then went very serious. “But I had to check. You know, obligations and all that.” She looked to Luna. “Do you mind if I borrow my spouse for a while?”

Luna smiled. “Not at all, Sister.”

Celestia smiled and pulled me out into the hall. “I’ll see you at dinner!” I called back in the direction of Lunas room, but I wasn’t sure she heard me. “Where are we going?” I asked as I was pulled.

“We are going to get you cleaned up. I think a nice hot shower would do nicely.”

That did sound nice. “But I haven’t got a change of clothes.”

“Nonsense.” She said. “I’ve had some tailored for you.”

What? “What?”

“Yes, I'd say by this point, your closet is almost as big as mine.”

“But you had no idea if I was coming back.”

Celestia stopped pulling me and simply started walking, albeit a slow pace. “I know. It was… Well let’s just say it gave me hope where there was none. A way to grieve perhaps?”

“Oh Celly…” I reached out to her shoulder but didn’t touch her.

She turned to me and smiled. “Its okay. Its like you said; I’m fine, your fine, so it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re back together now; hopefully for a long time.” She leaned into me as we walked. “I couldn’t be happier.”

I took her hand as we walked.

We arrived at Celestia’s room. A relatively plain door with two Day Guard either side who saluted as we entered. The layout of the interior was very similar to Luna’s, only with the furniture different. I actually liked this one a lot more, but I may be biased. Celestia waisted no time going into the bathroom and turning on the shower. I just stood in the middle of the room; I didn’t want to touch anything before getting clean.

She came back in with a smile. “Well, its ready. You go in and get clean and I'll have some clean clothes brought in.”

I smiled and did just that.

The hot water felt alien as it ran over my pale skin. Back at the cabin, I usually just used cold water. Sure, I could magically heat it, but what was the point? Cold water was quick, easy, and got the job done. I sighed as the steam entered my lungs and I got to work cleaning. “I suppose few luxuries are nice…” I said to no one.

Sure enough, when I exited the shower, clean clothes where folded and waiting for me on the counter next to my jewellery. My normal clothes where gone. I dried, brushed my silver-white hair back and unfolded the outfit. I was surprised to see that it wasn’t overly gaudy. In fact, it was just to my taste. Relatively plain, yet with a few decorative swirls and plain pants. Something that wouldn’t be out of place around high society, but something I would still feel comfortable in.

I got dressed, replaced the jewellery in my ear, and left the bathroom feeling cleaner than I had in centuries.

“My, my.” Celestia said with a wry smile as she looked me up and down. “Is that you Artemis? I could have sworn this is the right room. Must be my mistake…”

“Ha ha.” I deadpanned.

“You look good. You know its been so long I had forgotten what you actually look like.”

I couldn’t help the light blush that came to my cheeks. “Yeah well, you told me to get cleaned up, so, yeah…” I scratched the back of my head.

“I always know best.” She said with a wink. “Its time for dinner, I lowered the sun while you were in the shower-”

Aww, I wanted to see that…

“-and Luna has done most of her work early, so we’re free for the night.”

“Okay, so are we heading down now?”

“If you’re ready.”

“I am.”

She opened the door. “Then let’s go.”

Celestia led me to the personal dining room. Tiny when compared to the grand hall, the place for political dinners and any other such large gatherings. This room was very cosy and intimate. A fireplace crackled close enough to the table to be warm, but not so close as to be uncomfortable. The room was decorated in warm reds and golds and a large window overlooked the palace gardens. When we arrived, Luna and Lyra where already seated next to each other at the round dining table, Luna talking animatedly about one of her previous exploits.

“-And then we had to dive out of the way of her fire blast!” She said laughing all the while. “We swear, we’ve never seen her so ticked off!”

Lyra was listening intently as me and Celestia took our seats. She sat next to Luna, and me next to her. “I can’t even imagine her like that…” Lyra said.

“Oh yes.” Luna nodded. “My sister has quite the temper, especially if you poke and prod for a while. A sleeping mother bear if we’ve ever seen one.” It was at that moment that Lyra noticed the subject of her and the Night Princess’ conversation sat down with an impassive expression.

“P- Princess Celestia!” She exclaimed with a bow of her head. Celestia smiled.

“Please, Lyra.” She said holding up a hand. “There’s no need for that. Not when we are alone.” Lyra nodded in acceptance. “I see you’re both getting along well.”

“Oh yes sister.” Luna said. “Young Lyra Hearstrings is a delightful conversationalist.” She looked to me. “You chose well, Teacher.”

I sighed. “Please don’t call me that. You’re not my student anymore, Lu.” A butler entered the room through a side door and took our orders. The Canterlot kitchens are a marvel. They have staff on call twenty-four-hours a day, ready to take you order at a moments notice. And you can order anything. Celestia ordered a plate of sushi, Luna ordered a mushroom risotto, Lyra ordered a hayburger and fries, and I ordered a cucumber sandwich, and an apple. Luna looked at me like I was crazy.

“That’s all you want? Truly?”

“I don’t really eat much, you know that.”

“Still…”

“Ugh fine.” I called for the butler to come back. “I’ll have what Celestia is having.” He bowed and left. I pulled out my flask and set it on the table.

“Oh no you don’t.” Celestia said. She took the flask and put it in her robes.

“Hey!” I said. “I need that.”

“Not tonight you don’t. I’m going to break you of this habit if it’s the last thing I do.” I slumped down in my chair and huffed. Lyra giggled. “You can have one glass of wine. Then you can have juice or water.”

“If we are partaking in alcohol tonight, then we think we shall have a flagon of ale.” Luna said with determination. She turned to Lyra. “What about you friend, will you partake?” Lyra smiled at being called friend by the princess and nodded.

“Hold it.” Celestia interrupted. “Pardon my rudeness, Miss Heartstrings. But how old are you?”

Lyra suddenly looked nervous, even though she had no need to be. “I- I’m twenty-two your High- I- I mean… Celestia.”

Celestia smiled. “Just making sure, I wouldn’t be a very good princess if I let someone who was underage drink.”

“If they’re having ale then that’s what I’ll have.” I said. “I’m not having that old grape juice.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “So, what where you two talking about before we came in?”

Lunas eyes lit up. “Oh, we were just telling our new friend about the time we would replace sister’s tea leaves with actual leaves, ground up and dried so she wouldn’t notice. Only every other day though.” She turned to lyra conspiratorially. “Otherwise she would expect it.” Luna laughed again. “Although there was that one time when we did it every day. So much so, that she immediately threw out the new box that she got shipped in specially from the far east. Little did she know that we had stopped doing it a week before and she had been throwing out her real tea the entire time.” Luna was laughing hard at this point, as was Lyra.

I smiled. It was really nice to see my best friend and apprentice getting along so well. Truth be told, I was quite nervous about that. Luna can be intense, especially if she doesn’t like you. “Hey Lyra.” I said. “Did you know, that as the country was being founded, we obviously had to create rules.” Lyra nodded, listening. “Well Celly here had the bright idea to try and reform the entire language.”

Celestia put her hands on her face in embarrassment. “Oh no.”

Luna grinned.

“What do you mean?” Lyra asked.

“Well-” I began.

Celestia grabbed my arm. “Artemis, stop! I haven’t even told Twilight this.”

“Nay sister!” Luna said. “Let her tell the story.”

Celestia acquiesced and sighed.

I continued. “She thought that it would be a wonderful idea to change words like ‘people’ to ‘ponies’. Things like ‘everybody’ to ‘everypony’ and so on.” Lyra looked to Celestia with a raised brow. Celestia was red in the face. “I had to explain to her that not only was that extremely racist and non-inclusive to non-pony species, but also fucking stupid.”

“Hey! Come on.” Celestia said, smacking my arm. “Can we please not use that language at the dinner table.”

I snorted and turned to Lyra, bringing my hand up to my face as if to talk in secret. “Yeah, that’s what I said when she brought that idea up.” Lyra and Luna both laughed. Celestia could help but be infected by the good mood and giggled too.

Dinner was relatively quiet after that. We were either caught up in quiet conversation, the princesses refusing to talk about anything to do with their titles or the country, citing ‘no work talk at the dining table,’ or companionable silence. Dinner forks scraping and chopsticks clicking.

When it was over, Luna stood. “Sadly, we must depart now. We are still ‘on the clock’ as they say.” She hugged me. “I shall see you on the morrow?”

“Of course.” I said will a smile.

“Excellent.” She turned to Lyra. “Fare thee well, Lyra Heartstrings. We suppose, if we are to see your teacher on the morrow, then we shall see you as well.”

Lyra nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.” Surprisingly, Luna leaned down to hug her.

“You are very enjoyable to be around, Lyra Heartstrings. We were wondering, would it be alright if we called you… friend?”

Lyra's smile widened. “Of course! Although, you already did at the table.”

Luna looked sheepish as her ears drooped. “We know, we weren’t sure if we had overstepped our bounds… We are sorry.”

Lyra hugged tighter. “Oh, Luna. Don’t be! It made me happy.”

Luna let go and fisted the air triumphantly. “Huzzah! With you and Twilight Sparkle, that makes four! Thank you very much, young Lyra.” Her face became saddened. “Unfortunately, we really do have to go now. Until next time, friend.” She walked off humming a happy tune.

When she was out of sight, Celestia spoke up. “Thank you, Lyra. That was a very nice thing you did.”

“Oh, its nothing, I really do enjoy being around her.”

“All the same, thank you. She doesn’t get out anymore apart from special occasions. She's still recovering from her time away you see.” Lyra nodded in understanding. Celestia turned to me. “And you need to spend more time with her now that you’re back.”

I held up my hands placatingly. “I will, I promise.” She nodded.

“Very good. Lyra, thank you for your wonderful company tonight.” She gestured to a guard. “This fine stallion will show you to your room.”

I caught Lyra’s attention before she turned to walk away. “Hang on, before you go.” I reached into my pocket and gave her a small stone. Just an ordinary rock one would find on a dirt road.

“What’s this for?” She asked.

“Homework. I want you to try to levitate that. But without using your horn. Force of will only.” One of the guards gave me side glance like I was crazy.

“Well… I’ll try. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

“If you think you’ll fail, you will. Don’t be discouraged.” She nodded and followed the guard down the hall.

Celestia sighed wistfully. “I miss that.”

“What, teaching or being taught?”

Celestia’s eyes glittered. “Yes.”

“Don’t you still teach Twilight?”

“She teaches herself these days, She’s not a little filly anymore.”

“No.” I agreed. “She’s neurotic monster.”

She snorted. “Don’t be mean.”

I looked to the guards. “So, which one is showing me to my room?” Celestia grabbed by hand and started leading me down the hall.

“Oh no you don’t, My bed is big enough for both of us.”

I stopped her. “Wait, seriously? I mean… Are you sure?”

She started walking again, still holding my hand. “Artemis, I have been without you at my side for too long.”

“I know. I’m sor-”

“Will you stop saying that? I know you’re sorry. I Know you had your reasons, but frankly, those reasons aren’t good enough.” We entered her room and she closed the door. Her horn lit on she drew the curtains and candles flickered to life. “I told you you’re going to have to make it up to me.” She looked to the bed, then brought her head up and kissed me gently on the corner of my mouth. “I’ll be right back.” She left and went into the bathroom and closed the door.

I stood there like a statue. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Is… Is this really happening? I grabbed my arm and pinched really hard. Ouch. Yep. It’s happening. I took off my new clothes so I was only in my underwear, folded them neatly and put them on the couch. I put my hand up to my mouth, breathed a few times and sniffed. Yeah… I mean, passable. I then sat down in front of the fireplace and waited. I could hear the shower running. I could hear her singing. I couldn’t quite make out the words, but the tune was lovely. She was always talented in that regard, I can sing okay, but Celestia…

I closed my eyes and listened. Before I knew it, I was being tapped on the shoulder. “Hey, sleepy head.”

I opened my eyes and looked to the tapping. My jaw hit the floor. Celestia stood wearing a fluffy bath robe, hair light pink as it wrapped, still slightly damp, around one shoulder. Her skin was practically glowing and she had a smile that was impossible not to imitate. I did just that and said, “Hey yourself.” But I’m pretty sure it came out, “Garbs caflargen.”

Celestia giggled. “Such a way with words.” She gently took my hand and guided me up. “Come on, you. We have a lot to catch up on.” She guided me over to the bed. I took off my underwear slowly and slinked under the covers, my face reddening as her eyes never left me. Its nice to feel beautiful after so long alone. She made sure I was watching her before she undid her robe. Then, she did.

She stood, utterly incandescent in her beauty. It was infuriating how easy she made it look. And then, she had the unmitigated gall to look shy. Her face reddened, she looked away and she crossed her arms under her breasts. “I haven’t… I haven’t… Changed. Have I?” Oh, Celly…

I said nothing and opened the covers, inviting her to climb inside. She did, and we brought our bodies together, sharing in each other’s warmth, both emotional and physical, pent up after a millennia away from each other’s embrace. It was strange. It was like, all of a sudden, a puzzle piece I had been missing for over a thousand years clicked back into place and at that moment, I couldn’t have been happier.

I awoke with something feeling… Off. I wasn’t sure of the time, maybe… three in the morning? The room was pitch black, not even Luna’s moonlight could penetrate the black-out curtains. I turned to the side and felt for my spouse. Sure enough, the beauty was sleeping soundly, her head buried in the pink nest of her mane and pillow, snoring very softly. I smiled and wrapped my arm gently around her mid-section and pulled her close. She mumbled something, and my head joined the nest.

But something was wrong. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I was in a warm, comfy bed, next to the love of my life, in the safest country in the realm. Yet I couldn’t shake that uncomfortable feeling. I pulled away from Celly slightly and looked around the room. It was hard to see anything in the blackness. I could faintly make out the outline of the large fireplace, nothing out of the ordinary there… Then I saw something that made my heart stop and my blood run cold. The kind of feeling where survival instinct takes over and you can do nothing but stay perfectly still. You didn’t have a choice in the matter.

In the corner of the room by the window where Celestia’s desk sat, where two, faintly glowing, floating cyan orbs. I don’t remember anything like that being in the room…

After a minute or two of staring at the unmoving orbs, I managed to pull myself together enough to reach out my hand towards the desk area and sent out a small effort of will along with a snap of my fingers. One of the candles on the desk lit and illuminated the area for me to get a look at what I was seeing.

To my shock, in the candlelight stood one of the ugliest creatures I had ever seen. About the size of a normal pony, completely naked and with oily black skin that seemed to ripple and undulate in the flickering candlelight. It’s face, completely impassive as it stared at me with those cyan orbs. No hair covered its slick looking body, but a blue-ish frill ran from the top of its overly round head, down its spine. Translucent fangs poked out from where the hard, black, oily looking plates on its head stopped to give way to fleshy looking lips.

I did the only thing that I could think of in that moment. I screamed like a little girl.

The creature screamed too, but in a more threatening manner. It came out as a screeching hiss, as the frills on its head and down its back rippled wildly. Of course, all this screaming woke Celestia, who also started screaming. We all stopped and I looked across the room to my staff. The creature looked too. I leapt out of the warm bed and into the cold, unheated mountain air that permeated the room and made for my staff. The creature was quicker. It reached down to Celestia’s desk, picked up an inkwell, and threw it at my face.

It hit me with remarkable accuracy and exploded, blinding me as the ink entered my eyes and I counted my blessings that no glass followed. I was mid dash for my staff at this point but the shock of being hit gave me pause, and I couldn’t quite stop myself as I flew head first into the wall my staff was leaning on.

Now blinded and with a likely concussion, I fumbled around to find my staff, did, and then brought myself to my feet. Celestia lay in bed, covering herself as she was still, wide eyed from shock. She did nothing to stop the creature bending forward slightly to reveal a pair of translucent wings that flickered to life. The creature then leapt out the door and down the hall. I rubbed my eyes enough to be able to see slightly and gave chase.

Outside the room, the two door guards looked on in shock as the strange creature exited the room in hurry, followed by a naked, ink covered human running after it. “Stop!” I shouted.

“Stop!” The guards parroted.

Unfortunately, the creature had a head start and rounded a corner ahead. “Artemis!” I heard from behind me. Celestia probably, but I didn’t stop. I rounded the corner and ran into… Miss Raven Inkwell, knocking us both down. I quickly leapt to my feet and looked around, the creature was gone. What the…

“Ouch…” I heard from the mare.

“Oh, sorry about that.” I said, leaning down to help her up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… I think so…” She said rubbing her head. She looked at me and went bright red as she realised that I was stark naked and promptly looked away.

I ignored her reaction and asked, “You didn’t happen to see an incredibly ugly insectoid creature flitting this way, did you?”

She looked perturbed. “N- No I didn’t. And if I did, it’s not like I would remember with that bump to the head you gave me…” She said still not looking at me.

I laughed sheepishly and rubbed my head. “Right, sorry about that.” Celestia and the guards caught up and she handed me a damp washcloth and a robe which I put on.

“What in Equestria was that thing?” She asked as I rubbed at my face with the cloth to get the worst of the ink off.

“I have absolutely no idea.” I responded. I then got angry and turned to the door guards. “What in the hells is wrong with you two? How did that creature get in the room?”

They both stiffened “We- We’re sorry ma’am, we don’t know. We were there the whole shift; nothing went inside except for you and Princess Celestia.” The other guard nodding fervently.

“Are you absolutely sure?” I asked, they nodded. “It’s very late, are you sure you didn’t nod off or something?” They shook their head. “Great.” I said and started walking back to the room.

“Artemis.” Celestia said as she followed me. “Do you really not know what that thing was?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. And that disturbs me more than looking at the things face did.” I then stopped and thought for a minute. “Oh no…” I said under my breath. Celestia heard me.

“What, what is it?”

I frowned and looked at her. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Just tell me.”

My stomach twisted into a knot. "If those guards were outside the door from when we entered… Then…” I felt sick.

“Artemis, you’re scaring me.”

I stood up straight and looked at her. “Then it was in the room with us the entire time.”

10 - Ice

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It was quiet on the way back to our room. Or perhaps tense would be a better word. The sound of my soft feet barely audible on the cold marble floor. Contrasted by the steady and rhythmic ‘clop, clop, clop’ of Celestia’s hooves and the light jingle of the two guards’ armour. Celestia spoke up. “Alert my sister and prepare for-”

“Belay that.” I interrupted.

“Artemis?”

“Not here.” We were quiet once more.

I opened the door to our room and ushered the three of them inside. “Um… Your majesty, what now?” One of the guards asked while I got dressed in my now clean, plain white shirt and black pants.

I started looking around the room, inspecting the small vents along the picture rail near the ceiling while I waited for Celestia’s answer. Damn. All the grates where still screwed into place. So that rules that out… I walked over to the closet. Celestia still didn’t answer. I looked to her and she was looking at me. “What?” I asked.

She cleared her throat and said, with not a little bit of mirth, “My guard asked you a question.”

What.

Both guards where shuffling nervously from hoof to hoof. “I’m your majesty?” I asked.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Well you are a Princess, are you not?”

I crossed my arms. “Celestia, we agreed-”

“We did.” She said, holding up a hand. “And quite frankly, I’m sick of it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re ‘sick of it’?”

She nodded. “Sick of it.” I shook my head and started rummaging through the closet. Celestia continued. “I’ve alerted the guard and castle staff to you position. No one else knows. We tried it your way, out of the spotlight, protecting the realm from the shadows. But that was a long time ago. Times change, Artemis. Now, we have a more coordinated army-” I scoffed. “-and the elements of harmony for major threats.” Nothing of note in the closet either. Damn.

I stared into the closet with a knitted brow. Where was that thing hiding? I felt two hands on either shoulder. “We are going to tell the public soon and you will take your rightful place as fourth Princess of Equestria.”

I had lots of questions and grievances but said the one thing that came to mind. “Fourth?”

Celestia giggled from behind me. “A question for later.” Okay…

She sighed. “I want you at my side, love. I’ve discussed it with Luna. She would be more than happy to add another chair to the throne room. Ruling together with her sister and best friend? I barely had started to ask before she was jumping up and down like a filly on Hearths Warming.” I said nothing and smiled slightly. It does sound nice… She pulled me backwards slightly until I was locked in a hug from behind. She rested her head on my back. “Please. Come home.”

I turned and wrapped my arms around her. “I’ll think about it.”

She held tighter. “No. No don’t think about it. Just say yes! Please, please just say yes.” She was trembling. “Don’t leave me alone again, Artemis. Please, I’m begging you, don’t leave me alone. I can’t do it again I can’t-”

I cut her off with a kiss. She calmed immediately. I held her head in my hands and used my thumbs to wipe away the tears. “I’m not going anywhere. You hear me? Not again.” I held her close again. “Not again.”

“So… Does that mean you’ll do it?”

“Will it make you happy?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yes, very much so.”

I’m so going to regret this… I closed my eyes in resignation. Celestia squealed and jumped up and down clapping her hands. Before she realised that there where still two guards in the room and immediately stopped, cleared her throat and straightened out her gown. She may act dignified but she couldn’t hide the red tinge on her cheeks. I decided to save her and turned to her guards.

“What are your names?”

“Swift Strike, Princess.” Said the one on the left.

“Cobalt, Princess.” Said the one on the right.

“Swift Strike and Cobalt.” I said, felling the names in my mouth. “Swift Strike and Cobalt. Do I need to tell you what will happen to you if word of this conversation gets out?”

“Ma’am,” Cobalt said. “We are the Princess’ personal guards. We see and hear a lot of things, it’s our job to protect, not spread gossip.” Swift was nodding along.

I smiled. “Good.” I sighed. “Now, back to business. That creature must have been in here a while. I’ve checked the ventilation and the closet but nothings out of place…” Celestia looked to the bed. I facepalmed. “Duh.” I walked over to the bed, got down on all fours and lifted the decorative, velvet trim along the bottom of the bedframe. “Oh hells…”

Celestia backed up a step and her and both guards all got into a fighting stance. “What is it?” Celestia asked. I dropped the velvet trim and joined them, backing up too.

“Nothing good.” I replied. “Help me lift this.”

She nodded, her horn and the large gem on the end of my staff lit. A golden, sparkling aura covered the bed, a sign of Celestia’s magic. The aura mixed with the pale blue, almost white, wisps of my own. I raised my staff and the bed began to lift.

It was a large, solid oak, four poster bed. It was heavy. But it shouldn’t have been that heavy. Almost like it was stuck to the floor. I poured a bit more will into my staff and the bed began to lift with a disgusting squelch. Neon orange… stuff, stretched as the bed was lifted, connecting it to the floor. Like pulling apart a grilled cheese sandwich, the gelatinous orange fibres didn’t break, even as the bed was moved to the side and instead, oozed like a non-Newtonian fluid as the bed was still.

A smell hit then, a smell that made all four of us back up further and cover our nose and mouth. While it did make me want to throw up, it wasn’t because it was a foul stench. It was disgustingly, painfully sweet. Although I don’t eat much and dinner was a while ago, it made me feel instantly full. Like if another thing entered my stomach, even a glass of water, I would have no choice but to vomit.

Swift gave a brief apology before he did just that.

“What in gods name...?” Cobalt asked. I walked hesitantly closer to the patch of sickly-sweet goo and noticed a perfect indentation. One that was exactly proportioned for a bipedal, insectoid monster. The thing had been completely encased in this… Honey?

“Well…” I said. “That solves that mystery…”

Celestia stood next to me. “It was under there while we…” She covered her mouth and I put an arm around her shoulders. “Oh no…”

“Princesses, Look.” Cobalt pointed to where the hooves of the creature would have been. My eyes lit up.

“Good spot Cobalt.” I said and kneeled down to have a closer look. I turned around to look at Swift Strike, he was still wiping his mouth. “Swift, could you go wake my apprentice, fill her in on the details. Don’t alert Princess Luna.” He nodded and quickly left the room. Poor guy.

“Why don’t you want to tell my sister?” Celestia asked.

“Because,” I grunted, standing back up. “If this thing was under your bed, it’s safe to assume there is one under Lunas right now. Waiting for her to sleep, like it did with us.” Celestia’s eyes widened.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Cobalt asked. “Let’s go there now and capture it.” He turned and started towards the door.

“Hold, Cobalt.” Celestia said. “We need a plan of attack before attempting to do… anything with this creature or creatures if that is indeed the case.”

“She’s right.” I said. “From what we saw earlier, this thing is extremely skittish and fast. We only have one shot at this or it will get away.”

Cobalt closed his eyes. “Of course.” He bowed slightly. “Forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” Celestia said with a smile. He looked relieved.

The door opened and Swift walked in with Lyra following behind. Heavy bags under her eyes and one side of her hair sticking straight up. Celestia smiled in amusement and I grinned. She came and stood in front of me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was still asleep. She made no attempt to look me in the eyes, arms dangling limply at her sides. “Goo’ Murnin’” She said.

I smiled wider and used my hand to slick down her half-head cow lick. “Good morning to you too my apprentice.” She grumbled and wobbled as I worked. When she looked half-way presentable, I asked, “Did you have a good sleep?” I got an affirmative grunt in response. “Good. Did Swift fill you in?” Another grunt. “Good. Come and look at this.”

She got closer and the smell woke her up instantly. She recoiled and covered her nose. “Ugh, what in the world is that!? It's like Bon-Bon's shop times a million!”

“Swift told you about the creature?” I asked she nodded. “It seemed to be insectoid in nature. I’m guessing this,” I gestured to the… mess. “Is some kind of honey.” I moved to what Cobalt pointed out earlier. She followed. “What do you make of this?” At the bottom of where one of the creature’s hooves would have been was a channel. As if one of the legs was much longer than the rest. The channel stretched from the hoof imprint to the wall.

“Um…” Lyra scratched her head. She looked to Celestia.

“It’s okay.” I said, regaining her attention. “There are no wrong answers. I just want to know what you think.”

She nodded and got closer. “Well… Swift said you checked all the vents?” I nodded. “Did you check all of them?”

I shrugged. “I assume so.”

She pointed to where the channel lead to where head of the bed would have been. “It leads to the goop on the wall there. Maybe there’s something under it?”

“Are you asking me or are you telling me?”

She looked at me, licked her lips nervously then looked to the wall. After a few seconds, she nodded and said, “I’m telling you.”

I smiled. “Very well. Swift Strike?”

He stepped forward “Yes, Ma’am?”

I held out my hand. “Spear.” He handed me the weapon and I moved to the wall and began scraping. Unlike the rest of the substance, this was brittle and crusty, almost like it had been there a while. I grimaced as it flaked off and the ponies in the room backed up a step. Eventually my scraping revealed something. A shiny, copper grate. Not unlike a shiny copper grate of a vent. I turned to Lyra and smiled. “Well done.”

She smiled and blushed. Celestia gripped her shoulder and smiled too. Her blush deepened. I handed the weapon back to Swift and inspected the vent. “Huh,” I said. “The vent is loose.”

“Great.” Celestia said. “If it uses the vents it could be anywhere in the palace by now.”

I nodded and stood back up away from the vent. “True.” I thought for a moment. “Our top priority right now is finding out if there are more of them. The easiest way to do that is checking under Luna’s bed.”

“Agreed.”

“The only problem with that is, we know they’re fast. They can get into vents quickly going by how fast it disappeared when I turned the corner earlier. So, we need to check without alerting anything under the bed that we’re doing so.”

“Hmm.” Celestia thought for a moment. “I could alert her via telepathy?”

“No don’t do that. Any change in her behaviour could alert it.”

“Then what do you propose?”

I thought for a bit. “Okay…” I thought some more. “I think I have two plans.”

Celestia nodded. “Go on.”

“One is stealthy and one is not.”

“That’s okay,” Celestia said. “I'm sure they’re better than nothing.”

I nodded. “In that case, stealthy plan first: A very small pony creeps though the vents and out under Luna’s bed. This would have to be done very quietly so as to not alert the creature. Then, the pony would sneak up to the creature’s hooves and tickle it so that the creature has to get out from under the bed where we will be waiting with a net to capture it.”

The four ponies in the room looked at me. Looks ranging from shock to complete disappointment. As was my wife’s case. She put her hands on her hips. “What are you, five?”

I looked like it was obvious. “Could a five-year-old do this?” I pulled a stupid face.

Celestia sighed and facepalmed. Lyra laughed. Celestia rubbed her temples. “Please tell me you have an actual plan…”

“You mean another plan?”

“No! I mean a plan that is not completely inane.”

I sighed. “Fine. I do have something, but it has a high margin for error.”

“What is it?”

I knocked on the door to Luna’s room. I relieved both guards standing either side and they left without too much of a fuss. Probably due to them being told I’m a Princess. Woopdy-doo. A small, ‘come in’ from the other side and I entered. Luna was dressed in a thin, conservative night-gown and she was holding a book in one hand. “Artemis!” She smiled. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“Hey, Lu.” I said, slowly closing the door behind me. “Getting ready for bed?”

“Indeed. We have finally finished our paperwork and where just moving on to the third book in the Daring Do series. Are you aware of them?” I shook my head. “Oh, we shall have to let you borrow them sometime. The element of loyalty told me about them some time ago and we must confess, we have become a sort of… What are they called…?” She thought for a moment, “Fan mare?” I shrugged and nodded. She nodded once and continued. “Well, anyway, we think you would really enjoy them. The historical inaccuracies can get a bit-”

I took a wider stance, pointed my staff at her bed, and shouted, “Glacies!”

Words have power in magic. Or rather, in the magic I, and now my apprentice, practice. You can perform a small amount of magic by just exerting your will on the environment. Lighting candles and chilling a drink in the summer is all well and good, but put a medium between your will and an effect, such as my staff, and the magic gets exponentially more powerful.

Adding a word relating to the effect into the mix is like adding a catalyst to a chemical reaction. The magic knows exactly what I want it to do and does it quickly.

With the combination of my will, the medium and the catalyst. Pure, arcane ice flew from the tip of the glowing crystal on my staff and covered the bed, as well as the surrounding wall and floor. Luna leapt back. “Artemis! Just what in Tartarus do you think you’re doing!?”

I wanted to be sure I caught the bugger, so I kept my staff pointed at the bed and shouted, “Glacies!” again. The bed was now coated in an inch-thick layer of hard ice that flowed with the now frozen sheets in thick icicles to the floor. More icicles hung from the curtains and rail of the poster bed, long and thin like so many teeth. It was remarkably beautiful in the flickering candlelight.

“Wha- You- Huh?” Luna tried to speak.

“Sorry, Lu. A lot has happened.”

Celestia and Lyra came running in. “Is it done?” Lyra asked. “Did you get it?”

“Well,” I said. “I froze the bed. But did I get it? I don’t know yet.”

Swift Strike and Cobalt ran inside next and took a battle stance. “We’re ready your highness!”

“Will someone please tell us what is happening!?” Luna shouted.

Celestia walked to her and lead her to Luna’s desk. “Come, sister. I shall fill you in.”

While Celestia was doing that I turned to the other three ponies. “Okay gang, let’s get to work.” They moved towards the bed but I stopped Lyra. “Hey, did you manage that homework?”

She gave a smug smile, reached into her pocked and pulled out the rock. She held it in her hand and concentrated. The stone wiggled, then stilled. Then wiggled some more until finally floating up into the air. “Holy crap, Lyra! You did it!”

“I did it!” She repeated. “That’s probably why I was so tired before. I was up for a while trying to get it to work.” She looked away. “I wanted something to show you.” I hugged her and the stone dropped to the ground.

“I’m proud, Lyra. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting any progress so quickly. Then again, you did get through my barrier in the Everfree.”

“I almost gave up. But then I just stopped thinking about it so hard. I took a deep breath like you’ve been telling me and was like, ‘Just float, you dumb stone!’ and it did!”

I patted her head. “That’s my girl.”

“Princess?” Cobalt said. “Sorry to interrupt, but we could use some help here.”

“Right.” I looked at Lyra. “Care to be of assistance?”

She smiled. “I’d be glad to.”

We walked up to the foot of the bed. “Stand aside boys, prepare to watch professionals at work.” Lyra stood beside me proudly. I gestured with my staff and sent an effort of will though it. I could feel the ethereal energy pulling on the frozen object. I could have pulled it up with an almighty tug, but I wanted Lyra to help.

She put both her hands out in front of herself with her fingers spread and closed her eyes. I felt the ethereal pull become stronger, but it wasn’t quite enough. I looked to Lyra whose face was scrunched in concentration. “Remember the stone, Lyra.” I spoke softly. Her face twitched then relaxed. She took a deep breath, then let it go.

A thunderous crack echoed through the room and shards of ice and frozen wood exploded in all directions as the bed was lifted free of the floor and wall. I raised my staff a little higher as Lyra did the same with her arms. The bed moved off to the left and we set it down gently.

Lyra took a shuddering breath then opened her eyes. She beamed and grabbed me, jumping up and down. “I did it! I did it! I did it!”

“Very well done, friend.” Luna said as her and Celestia joined us. “Let us see if all this trouble was worth it.”

“Oh, it was worth it alright.” Swift said as he pointed to the spot that was once under the bed. Sure enough, in an indentation in the frozen goop lay one of the creatures. Completely frozen solid. Its black chitin looked grey with the layer of frost. Freezing the thing also had the added benefit of preventing that nauseating smell.

“Is it still alive?” Celestia asked. “Will it be able to be thawed out safely?”

“…Yes…?” I said after a while.

Celestia gave me a look. “Are you asking me or are you telling me?”

I looked at her and suddenly felt very small. “…Telling you…”

Lyra snorted. Celestia nodded. “Very well.” She looked to the two guards. “When this thing unfreezes.” She looked at me. “If it’s even alive.” I whistled innocently. “I want it in cuffs and in an interrogation room.”

They both saluted. “Yes, your highness!”

Celestia looked to me, Luna and Lyra. “Come, lets go to my study. I’m calling in the elements.”

Oh goody.

11 - Buddy

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Hours into the day, the four of us were sat in Celestia’s study and Luna was getting annoyed. She was up way past her bedtime and was fussing like a foal. “This is Painful!” She said, bags under her eyes. “These creatures have ruined our precise sleep schedule.” She lay on her back, taking up the entirety of one couch, whilst me and Lyra were sat on the opposite one. Celestia sat at her desk reading through some papers. A grandfather clock was ticking away monotonously in the otherwise quiet room and dispersed birdsong fluttered in from outside.

“Maybe if you sat up straight like a Princess, you wouldn’t be tempted to fall asleep.” I scolded.

Lyra was way out of her element and I felt sorry for her. Most of the time she’s around either princess, she’s very quiet. I can’t blame her though. It was only a few weeks ago she was an excitable, speak-her-mind mare. Now, she’s been thrust into a life that she hadn’t even begun to think about, with friends in very high places. I’m sure she’ll come out of her shell soon. She sat there quietly, hands placed in her lap, trying not to grin as the alcoholic admonished one of the most powerful beings in the realm.

“But we are so bored!” The Princess of the night whined. She slumped further into the, admittedly very comfortable, couch. “Sister, why could you not have taught young Twilight about ley-line travel?”

Celestia scoffed. “Luna please,” She said without looking up from her papers. “No one would be stupid enough to use ley-line travel in this day and age.”

What.

Lyra looked to me worriedly.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I said shaking my head. “Time out. You told me in the letter you sent to ‘take the fastest rout’. Ergo, I used a ley-line with Lyra.” Lyra nodded to Celestia. Luna let out a bark of laughter.

“I know.” Celestia said. “‘Take the fastest rout’. I think the Ponyville to Canterlot train is only four or five hours.” You have got to be kidding me…

Lyra gave a heaving sigh and slumped further into the couch. Her posture now matching the Princess of the night. “That’s what I told her…” She said to no one.

I was so confused. “But… But… You had a guard meet us at the fountain! You knew we would use it!” I said perched on the edge of the couch.

Celestia finally looked up from her papers. “I didn’t know you would use it. Both myself and Luna suspected it. We had a guard waiting at the train station too.” She shook her head. “Honestly, Artemis. What were you thinking? You of all people know what happens to ley-lines over time. Count yourself lucky you didn’t end up in the far east or unexplored west. What would you have done then, hmm?” She went back to looking through the papers. Lyra gulped.

“We are sorry.” Said Luna. “The Canterlot to Ponyville ley-line truly is safe to use, but we want you to be more careful from now on. Don’t go using ley-lines unless we know for certain they are safe. As my sister has said, a lot can change in the time you have been gone. I learned the hard way myself.”

“What happened?” Lyra asked.

Luna sighed and Celestia answered for her. “Let’s just say that the Emperor of Neighpon no longer disputes the fact that my sister has returned.”

I can’t believe they didn’t just tell me… “I know you like your jokes, hun. And I know you like to teach lessons. But that’s just cruel. You know it hurts, right? I had to practically restrain Lyra.”

“You did restrain me!” Lyra shouted.

“I did restrain her!” I corrected.

“Then let this be a lesson that the simplest solution is usually the easiest.” Celestia said.

I folded my arms and slumped into the couch, my posture now matching the other annoyed ponies in the room. “I taught you that…” I grumbled.

About forty-five minuets later, a knock sounded from the door and Cobalt entered. He bowed. “Princesses. The elements of harmony have arrived.”

“Finally…” Luna said quietly, sitting up straight.

Celestia ignored her. “Thank you, corporal. Please show them in.” He nodded and left.

The door opened once more and six ponies entered. I recognised Twilight Sparkle. The Cyan mare with the rainbow mane that tackled me back in Ponyville. Then, there was a pink mare with curly hair who came skipping in, saw me, and stopped dead. We stared at each other.

“You!” I said standing up. She said nothing. I picked up my staff and walked towards her. “What do you think you’re doing here?” The ‘mare’ backed up a step and the cyan one got in my face, aetherised wings glowing on her back.

“Hey back off! What’s your problem?”

I glared at her. “You’d better back down little pony.”

“Or what?”

I stepped a little closer. “Or-”

“Enough.” Said Celestia.

I turned to her. “Did you know you had this,” I pointed to the pink one. “Living in one of your villages?”

Celestia closed her eyes. “Our villages.” She corrected. “And I am aware of Miss Pie’s condition, yes.”

I stepped a bit closer to her. “And what are you doing about it?”

“I am doing nothing about it. Miss Pie happens to be the element of laughter.”

I stopped. “You’re joking.” I turned to Luna. “She’s joking, right?”

Luna sighed. “I had the same reaction as you when I found out. Luckily, Miss Pie and her immediate family have proven to be nothing like their kin.”

I looked dubiously to the pink one and sighed. “You remember what I told you back in the village?” She nodded. I sighed and sat back down on the couch.

“Um… Princess?” Twilight said to Celestia. “What was that about?”

“Nothing Twilight.” Celestia said with a smile, quickly moving the subject along. “Why don’t you introduce your friends?”

“Right.” She stepped to the side and pointed to each mare in turn. “This is Rarity, the element of generosity.”

“Charmed.” Said the ivory white mare with the purple curled mane and tail.

“Applejack, the element of honesty.”

“Howdy.” The orange mare said as she tipped her worn stetson hat.

“And the mare hiding behind Applejack is Fluttershy. You’ll have to forgive her, she’s not too fond of strangers. She represents the element of kindness.” I couldn’t really get a good look at her, but she said something quietly that I assumed to be a greeting. “You already know me, obviously.” She said with a nervous laugh. “Then, the confrontational one here is Rainbow Dash and the ‘pink one’ as you put it is Pinkie Pie. We’re the elements of magic, loyalty and laughter respectively.”

“Girls.” Twilight continued with a small smile. “This is Princess Artemis. Protector of the Realm.” Queue various gasps. Twilight looked to Celestia as if seeking approval. For what, I don’t know. “And Wife of Princess Celestia.” Queue more gasps. “She’s also a ‘Human’.” The shy one, the element of kindness, perked up at this and leaned around the element of honesty to get a better look.

I gave an awkward smile and spoke to Celestia. “Did you tell her to introduce me like that?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She responded.

“So, is that my new title is it? ‘Protector of the Realm’?”

Twilight spoke up. “Technically, it’s ‘Princess Protector of the Realm’.” She folded her arms. “It makes sense if you think about it, Princess Celestia is the Princess of the Sun, Princess Luna is Princess of the Moon, Cadance is the Princess of Love-”

“Cadance?”

“-And you are the Princess Protector of the Realm.”

I turned to Celestia. “Who’s Cadance?”

“Wait, you don’t know who Cadance is?” Twilight asked.

I huffed and looked over my shoulder to her. “Do you have to work at butting in, or is it your special talent?”

Twilight looked down to the ground.

“How rude.” The element of generosity said quietly, as she put an arm around Twilight.

I ignored them and turned back to Celestia, waiting. She cleared her throat. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though she prefers to go by Cadance, is the third princess I was telling you about. She’s currently on a diplomatic mission in the east, so you won’t be able to meet her yet.”

“Huh…” I said, thinking. Celestia shuffled a bit. “There’s more?” I asked.

“She’s… Also…”

“Yes…?”

“She’s… My niece.”

Silence.

“What!?” I spun around to face Luna.

Luna held up her hands. “Adoptive! Adoptive! She is of no relation to us, we swear!”

I didn’t know weather to laugh or cry. I settled for collapsing on the couch. “Luna, If I had missed the birth of your child, I’m not sure I could live with myself.”

Celestia sat on the arm of the couch and held my hand. Luna smiled and sat next to me, taking my other. “Artemis,” she said. “Our dearest friend. If you had missed the birth of our child, we’re not sure we would let you.”

I turned to her. She was looking at me with sympathy. Despite the look on her face, she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth rising. Pretty soon we where both laughing and I gave a weary sigh. Looking to Celestia I said, “Can I please have my flask?”

She smiled. “Yes, I suppose this occasion calls for it.” She reached into her robe and handed it to me. I took a sip. Despite the fact that she’s, sort of… Rationing me, I guess? She had replaced the homemade alcohol I brewed with a top shelf bourbon. I closed my eyes, letting the burning taste with vanilla-caramel notes, wash down my throat and settle happily in my stomach. She’s a good egg, that Celly.

I gave a thankful sigh as the other mares in the room got more comfortable. And we where quiet for a bit. “What’s she like?” I asked, my eyes still closed.

“Cadance?” Celestia asked. I grunted affirmatively. “Well, she was Twilights foal-sitter for the majority of her life until she was accepted to my school. Perhaps she would be better telling you?”

Twilight spoke up. “Oh, Cadance is wonderful. She’s kind, generous, caring. She was my second-best friend growing up, only slightly behind my B.B.B.F.F.”

Celestia whispered in my ear. “Her big brother best friend forever.” I didn’t comment, I simply gave another affirmative grunt and took another small sip.

“So, is she an alicorn or what?” I asked.

“She is.” Celestia confirmed. “She was actually the only pegasus in an all earth pony village. However, the story behind that is not mine to tell. She is a recent addition to royalty. She ascended into an alicorn about…” She thought for a bit. “Eighteen years ago?”

“How’d that happen?” I asked.

Celestia sniffed. “I don’t want to steal her thunder. I’m sure she’d rather tell you herself.”

“Does she know about me?”

“She’s heard the stories. She doesn’t know you’re back though.”

A knock came from the door and Cobalt entered once more. Once again, he bowed and said, “Princesses, the prisoner is ready.”

“Thank you, corporal.” Said Celestia.

Luna stood and stretched. “Ah, the fates are kind after all…”

Celestia looked to the newly arrived mares. “Did Twilight inform you of why you’re all here, or did she keep you in suspense the entire time?” She said with a slight smirk.

The element of honesty stepped forward and in a thick southern accent said, “She told us yer highness. Or at least, ah think she did. Somethin’ about a monster on the loose in the palace?” The element of kindness seemed to draw in on herself more when her friend said this.

Celestia nodded. “That is the gist of it. Follow me and I’ll give you more detail…”

We arrived, after an overly long walk, in the palace dungeons. The walls and floor where a vast contrast to the harsh, oppressive marble of the palace above, that seemed to scream ‘you are important’. Now replaced by a harsh, oppressive granite that seemed to scream ‘you are nothing’.

That oppressiveness stretched further than the environment and invaded the mind. The layout of the place was intended to absorb sound. Small pyramids carved into the rock. Set up to disrupt and disperse soundwaves. They pointed towards the floor in the arching tunnels and only served to increase the feeling that the world was against you.

The architecture, combined with the millions of tonnes of rock above us, cooperated to give one a feeling of… wrongness. So silent that one could hear their inner workings. The rush of blood through the veins. The Gurgling of the digestive system. If one was particularly feeble, the grinding of bone against bone. The only company a prisoner could keep would be their inner monologue, a valued companion or a hateful tormentor, now deafening and unavoidable. Scrying orbs where placed in every corner, keeping watch twenty-four seven. The guards only entered when they had business. Such as adding or removing a ‘resident’. Keeping a guard in these tunnels would be cruel. Hells, even I feel like I’ve done something wrong.

I’m not sure whether to be proud or ashamed to say this was all my design. Either way, it was apparently an excellent crime deterrent. The place was empty and impeccably clean. The steel bars of the jagged cells gleamed in the torchlight. All of the cell doors were open, ready to receive new ‘visitors’, but we passed them all by. The clopping of the ponies’ hooves sounded very odd as their residual reverberation was taken, as if confiscated by an invisible warden, and my breathing was obnoxiously loud in my head.

We arrived at a closed door at the end of our journey. The guard brought out a ring of keys, inserted one into a lock and twisted. The door opened slowly and heavily but made no sound, its hinges greased to perfection and we all stepped inside. The room was a very welcome respite and looked almost normal as sound returned. Padded, comfortable looking chairs where arranged around a knee high – for ponies – coffee table. Stains of residual brews could be seen. Use a coaster, damn it.

A small kitchenette took up one corner and a standing desk took another with various papers and an open file. A candle with a green flame stood tall and proud in a lantern on the desk, the wax immaculate and the wick pure white. Sound wasn’t an issue inside, unlike the twisting corridors before it. The walls where ordinary and were painted a light grey that was calming on the eyes. Various colourful posters dotted the walls, one with a group of ponies flying above a stadium with a roaring crowd.

Another was a poster of Luna. Standing proud and staring into the eye of the artist, aetherised wings flared and horn alight. Behind her were rows and rows of ponies stood at attention wearing dark armour. Beneath her image were the words, ‘The Night Guard Needs You!’ in bold font.

Another poster showed a topless mare from behind. She was a pegasus if her dark, swirling, wing marks were anything to go by. They stretched from the top of her shoulder blades, down her back in swirling patterns and proved to be a lovely contrast to her perspiring light gold coat. They ended just an inch away from her bottom, which was barely covered by light green combat pants, not pulled up enough to cover herself. Her fiery tail was moved to the side, and her head was turned over her shoulder, giving a very suggestive look towards the artist. The words underneath her said, ‘How’s my flying?’ in swirling script.

“Is that regulation?” I asked the guard on duty.

“Damn it…” He said under his breath. “Um… No, ma’am. I don’t think it is.”

“Mm.” I agreed. “I don’t think it is either.” I gestured with my hand and sent a small amount of will through it. The poster featuring the mare was summarily torn from the pins holding it up. I picked it up and rolled it into a tube. “Are you a professional?” I asked.

“Yes ma’am.” He said.

“Were you hired into this good guard service by Their Majesties Princess Luna and Princess Celestia?”

“Yes ma’am!” He said a little louder, sweating a bit.

I wacked him on the head with the rolled-up paper. “Then act like it!” His eyes where scrunched shut. I sighed. “Leave us.” he saluted and quickly left the room. “One can only imagine if the creature is even secured properly.” I said to no one.

After a few seconds of quiet, the element of loyalty spoke up. “Can I have that” She said, pointing to the poster.

“Knock yourself out.” I said, handing it to her. “Now, let’s see what we’ve got.” I walked over to the far wall. It was a long window that looked into the room next door. A one-way mirror. Inside the other room, secured by metal rings on a steel table was the creature. Just as ugly as the one from last night, it looked almost exactly the same. It stared, unblinkingly, dead ahead as if in a trance and I could see its chest rising and falling with each breath.

Surprisingly, the until now quiet element of kindness rushed to the front of our group and peered through the one-way mirror. “Oh my!” She said. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” She turned to me and the princesses. “What do you think it is?”

Caught off guard by the pretty mare suddenly coming to life, it took me a second to respond, so Celestia did instead. “Well, Fluttershy. That’s the problem. We simply don’t know.”

“That is what we are here to find out.” Said Luna.

Celestia nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Someone will go in there and find out what, if anything, it knows.”

“Mmhm.” I hummed. “By someone you mean me, right?”

Celestia looked hesitant. “Artemis… I know your methods and I know they tend to get results. But lets just try without grievous bodily harm first.”

Luna grinned. Likely remembering the long nights that the both of us would partake in, extracting information from would-be assassins and enemy commanders. I know I was; I couldn’t keep the grin from my own face either. The other mares looked nervous.

“Celestia. Sweetheart." I said. "Why bother with other methods?”

Celestia gave me a look. “I want this one alive.”

“It’ll live, Celly. Hells, I’m not a monster…”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Twilight, I want you to go in and make observations. Its behaviour, body language, things like that.” Twilight nodded and began to gather bits of parchment from the desk along with a stick of charcoal. “Applejack, stay on this side and listen to its answers, no offence but you are the closest thing we have to a lie detection spell. I don’t want to use mind magic on it in case something detrimental happens.”

Then Celestia turned to the shy mare. “Fluttershy, do you think you could go in and talk to it?”

The element of kindness looked like a deer in the headlights. She shrunk in on herself. “I… I’m not sure. What would I have to do? I- If you don’t mind me asking?”

Celestia smiled and spoke calmly. “It is as I said. Just talk to it. That’s all. Be kind, perhaps you may be able to get it to open up a little.”

The element of kindness looked conflicted. “Um…”

The white mare with the purple mane took her hand and spoke softly. “It’ll be okay, darling. We’ll all be right out here and Twilight will be with you the entire time. Besides, I think you’ll be perfectly safe with three princesses watching over you.”

“I’m the Protector of the Realm, Kindness.” I said. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

The mare relaxed a bit. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

It was quiet for a moment. “Are we sure?” I asked Celestia.

“We are.” She responded.

One. Hour.

An entire hour of nothing. Well, I suppose that’s not entirely accurate. The soft voice of the element of kindness drifted through the room along with the furious scribbling of charcoal on parchment as our two inquisitors tried to get anything they could out of the creature. Nothing.

It made no noise and the only movement that came from it was its chest rising and falling along with the occasional blink over its soulless, cyan eyes. Poor Kindness ran out of things to ask it and started talking about her own life. How it was her dream to become a licenced veterinarian and how she spends her free time taking care of wild animals that wander close to her cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. Out of all this conversation, the creature never made a peep.

Hopefully twilight has some good info written down.

“That’s it.” I said, and walked towards the interrogation room. “I’m done.”

“Artemis-” Celestia put up a hand to stop me.

“No. We’ve tried this your way. Now its my turn. I am the Princess Protector of the Realm. This thing is an enemy. That means that this falls under my jurisdiction.” Celestia gave me a disappointed look. “It’s happening.”

She sighed and gave in. “Just… Don’t kill it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like I said. I’m not a monster.”

“Would you like some help?” Luna asked.

“Nah it’s okay, Lu. I’ve got this.” She looked a tad disappointed at that.

I opened the door to the room. “Everything okay?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah.” I said. “This is taking too long. It’s my turn now.”

Both mares looked uneasy. “W- What are you going to do?” Kindness asked.

“I just wanna talk to it.”

“We tried that.” Twilight said, exasperatedly.

“You haven’t tried my way.”

“I’m not sure I’m going to like your way.”

“I couldn’t care less if you don’t like it. You don’t have to.”

Twilight huffed and left, with Kindness quickly following behind. The door shut and I was alone in the room with the creature that, for all I know, would have killed Luna If I wasn’t there.

On the left side of the room was the one-way mirror, now reflecting me and the insectoid, making the room look a bit bigger than it was. I sighed and removed my cloak, folded it neatly and put it in the corner by the door. I walked towards the creature. “Hello, hello, hello little buddy. Or should I call you little buggy?” No answer. “Here’s what’s gonna happen.” I said. “I’m going to ask you some questions. You don’t answer, I break something.”

The sound in the room crackled and Celestia’s voice came to life. “Artemis.” There was a pause. Then she spoke again and sounded resigned. “Nothing life-threatening.”

“Relax.” I spoke to the mirror. “Broken things can be fixed.” Most of the time.

I heard her sigh and the crackling of the sound stopped.

I reached down to the creature’s hand and grasped its left pinky finger gently. It felt strange. Like one giant fingernail covered in hard wax. That is, apart from the joints that, instead, felt like ordinary skin. It had short claws where fingernails would be and they were wickedly sharp.

I glanced at the mirror. I hope those elements aren’t watching… I stared into the creature’s eyes and spoke. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going start asking questions. After each question, I’m going to count to three. If I don’t hear an answer, this will happen to the rest of your fingers.” I wrenched hard in the opposite direction of the joint and the finger popped as the skin on the joint split.

The creature shuddered slightly and its left eye twitched. But it made no sound. Interesting. “Let me just remind you, you only have so many fingers. I suggest you cooperate or I’m afraid I’m going to have to move on to more satisfying body parts.” No answer. I shrugged and grasped its left ring finger gently. “Let’s start with something simple. What’s your name?” No answer.

I made sure to speak slowly, giving the thing a chance to answer. “One.” Nothing. “Two.” Nothing. “Three.” I sighed. ‘Twist’. ‘Pop’. Again, the thing shuddered. It clearly felt these breaks, but not a sound was spoken. I moved on to the left middle finger. “Another question perhaps? Maybe you don’t have a name?” I thought for a moment. “What are you, exactly?”

Nothing. Ugh. This is going to get old… Again, I spoke slowly. “One.” Nothing. “Two.” Nothing. I got ready to wrench the finger, putting on a bit of a show like I was putting a lot of effort into it. “Thre-”

“Ch-Changeling!” It spoke. My eyebrows rose and I looked into its eyes. Its was crying. Light green tears made trails down the waxy plates on its face. “Changeling.” It said a bit quieter. Its voice was raspy. Or maybe… Hissy? It sounded like it had been smoking for most of its life.

“Changeling?” I asked. “That’s what you are?” It nodded. “Never heard of you.” It closed its eyes and took a deep breath.

“This one has been given permission to talk to you.” It said.

“And who gave you that permission?” I looked around the room. “I don’t see anyone else here. Do you?”

It swallowed. “This one has been given permission by the hive to answer your questions.” It went quiet for a second. “This one begged.” It looked to its hands. “It hurt.”

I looked to the fingers too. Its pinky finger was bent backwards against its hand. Its ring finger was snapped at the middle joint and bent sideways. I winced. “Yeah… I’d say I’m sorry, but I did tell you how to make me stop. And hey,” I laughed. “It worked.”

“Yes.” It said. “The Hive thanks you for this method.” Fuck.

“Okay… Moving swiftly on.” I cleared my throat. “Do you have a name? Or, at least, something I can call you?”

It looked confused. “This one has no such designation.”

“Okay, whatever. I’m just gonna call you buggy. Are you male or female, buggy?”

“This one is a drone. All drones are female.”

“Really?” I asked looking at its body. “You look pretty androgynous.”

“An- Androgynous?”

“It means you look both male and female. A bit of both.”

“It helps with camouflage.”

“Camouflage?” I asked.

It closed its eyes for a minute. Then opened them. “This one has been given permission.” Green, heatless flame danced across its chitin. Giving the appearance of the creature bursting out of fresh, fallen leaves and I jumped back slightly. Only what emerged from the dancing leaves wasn’t the creature. It was a pony.

Just an ordinary pony. A stallion to be clear. One that I hadn’t seen before. “So… You can… Change?” It clicked. “Changeling. Got it.”

“That’s right.” The stallion said. “We can be anyone, anywhere. It is our greatest advantage.”

I barked out a laugh. “You moron. You just gave away your trump card.”

The stallion smiled. Just an ordinary smile, as if everything was going to be alright. “On the contrary. This one has been given permission to show you, in order to sow paranoia.” Double Fuck. “From this moment on. You will never know if a simple maid will be drooling at the thought of tasting your blood. You will never know if a trusted guard is waiting for the opportunity to stick his spear in your neck.” It stopped for a moment and leaned close to me. As close as its restraints would allow and whispered. “You will never know if your wife is waiting to kill you in your sleep.”

I backhanded the creature. Hard. “Never in my long life have I seen something as vile as you.”

The creature was quiet for a moment, then spoke. Spoke in a voice I thought I would never hear again. Spoke in a voice that was determined, yet gentle. So gentle. “Is that so?” It asked. The creature turned to face me. It had her eyes. Her freckles. Her blonde hair. But it had the creatures’ repulsive smirk. “That’s not a nice thing to say to your own sister.”

Silence. I couldn’t breathe. I saw red. I felt pressure on my hands. I heard shouting. I saw blood. I felt the ground fall away. I felt nothing.

12 - Calm

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The young yellow sun hung low in the sky, threatening to dip below the western horizon of the Unending Ocean. The realm was ablaze with the warmest of colours, as the light reflected off of a blanket of clouds. From gold, to orange, pink and then red. It was the colour of blood. The Sky was bleeding. As the last few drops of colour where exsanguinated from the heavens, an entirely new colour took its place. Blue.

The deepest blue. Blue that gave way to flecks of white that twinkled and shone from billions of miles away. From billions of years ago. Just like her eyes that looked out over the ocean, they twinkled like the heavens. The water lapped as it rushed to meet the sand, only to be pulled back. Forever denied its destination.

“What now?” I asked.

She thought for a while. The only sound, the waves. Desperate to hush us to sleep. “I’m not sure.” She said.

I scoffed and dug my fingers into the sand. It was damp and it clung to me. I didn’t care. “I thought you always had the answers…”

She shook her head and sighed. “Not this time.”

There was quiet once more. The rhythm of the waves was calming and I couldn’t help but match my breaths to them.

“They’re waiting for you back inside.” She said.

“Yeah, well, they’ll be waiting a while.” I replied not taking my eyes off the horizon, wishing for the sun to come back.

“Come on, Arty. I know it sucks, but we can make a real difference here.”

“‘It Sucks'?” I parroted, incredulously. Nodding, I agreed with her. “Yeah… You got that right.”

Quiet again. The sky was darker now.

“I can’t do this, Megan.” I said, matter of factly.

“Yes, you can.” She said, the same cadence hitting her tone.

I shook my head. “I-”

“Listen to me.” She said, getting to her knees to face me. “It’s going to be hard. Some may say impossible. But I’ll be here with you. Every step of the way.”

I gave a slight smile. “Promise?”

She nodded and sat back down, closer now.

“What if I give up?” I asked.

“You won’t. We won’t.”

“Forever is a long time, Sis. Anything that can go wrong…”

She nodded slowly and said. “Murphy can be a bitch. But we’ll just have to beat her at her own game.”

I gave a small laugh. “And how do you propose we do that?”

Quiet again.

Megan looked at me, deep blue eyes twinkling in the starlight and smiled. “We just have to find something to live for.”

My eyes shot open to be met with a field of magenta, my favourite colour. “Artemis!” My wife said as she pulled me into her embrace. Pain lanced through my skull and I must have made some sort of pained whine because she let me back down gently. “Sorry!”

“S’fine.” I said. The room was white. The monitors where beeping. The breeze was blowing through the open window, making the curtains dance lazily. “Water.” I said. A straw was placed to my lips and I drank greedily. The crisp, sweet coldness rushing down my throat and filling my empty stomach. When it was gone, the cup was taken away and I could hear it be refilled. “How long?” I asked.

“Three weeks.” Celestia said.

I quickly sat up. Only to be met with more pain and a gentle hand pushing me back down. “Easy now.”

“What In the hells happened?” I asked.

Celestia sighed. “Well, we’re not entirely sure.” She paused for a moment. “What do you remember?”

I thought back. “We… I… was interrogating the creature.” I shut my eyes. My head was throbbing. “Then… Then just… Red. So much red.” I looked to Celestia; her face framed by the light sneaking in through the widows when the waltz of the curtains took them out of its path. She looked dishevelled. Her normally dew-dropped mane, now pink and ratty. She had heavy bags under her eyes. She was so beautiful… “Then nothing.”

She sighed. “We learned that they call themselves, ‘Changelings’. The creatures, that is. They apparently have a hivemind. Who or what controls them, we don’t know…” She stood and walked to a cabinet. Gone where her flowing robes. She was now garbed in simple, comfortable looking cotton pants and a silky button up shirt. She retrieved a glass, then filled it with water and took a sip sitting back next to me.

“They can shapeshift.” She continued. “They could be anyone. Twilight and Luna have been working on a detection spell.”

“And you?” I asked, my throat feeling like sandpaper.

She smiled. “What do you think?” She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I’ve been here with you, you big goof.”

I smiled. “And Lyra?”

“I’ve been giving her some exercises that I think would suit her… needs. Things you once taught me. Concentration, channelling whilst using her hands rather than her horn. Things like that.”

“Sounds good.” I sighed out.

“Artemis?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you… remember why you’re here?”

I thought back again. I could feel the blood rushing in my ears. Is that a memory, or is that happening now? “I… I can’t…” I sighed and shook my head. “I’m sorry, love. I can’t remember.”

Celestia kissed me again. “That’s okay. We thought that may happen.”

“So…?”

“Well, there’s nothing left of the changeling in the cells. Or rather, there’s nothing left of its head.”

My eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”

“The creature… changed, Artemis. It changed into her.”

White light blasted through my vision and I was suddenly back in the interrogation room. Pressure on the knuckles of my hands. Not a constant pressure. Rhythmic. Like the waves on a beach, my fists descended. Again, and again and again they descended onto the disgusting facsimile of my lost sister. Again, and again and again the crunching of the creature’s chitin sounded, as it gave way to the jelly inside.

I felt no emotion in those moments. None at all. It was like, this was a job that had to be done. Like brushing your teeth or taking a shower. It was work. Maintenance. In front of me was filth. A maggot. And it needed to be removed. So, I did just that.

The door behind me opened and something caught my arm as it descended for the nth time. I could hear shouting of the ponies as they rushed into the room and piled on me. I took one last look at the stain that was once a living thing, to see my sisters face looking at me. Her pale, freckled skin mixing with black chitin. Now, completely caved in. One eye her own, deep, twinkling blue. The other, a ghostly cyan that dangled out of its socket. She was smiling. Her face contorted in a rictus grin. The creature had done its job.

I came back from the memory and looked to my hands. They where bandaged heavily. I started to hyperventilate. My breaths turning from steady, like the waves on a beach, to erratic, like the waves in a typhoon. Celestia enveloped me in her arms as I sobbed uncontrollably. “She… She was…”

“I know, my love. I know.” Celestia was crying too.

“I can’t bare to see her like that, Celly. Her… Her face was…”

“Hush now. Don’t think about it.”

“They… Perverted her.” Celestia was quiet. “They corrupted her image.”

She held tighter and spoke resolutely. “I know.”

It was quiet in the room, the only noise the gentle breeze, the smell of flowers from the side table. Snowdrops. My favourite. “I’ll kill them.” I said. The tears had stopped now and my breathing had calmed. I was telling her like it is. I was reciting a fact.

She didn’t let go. I felt a tear drop on top of my head. “I know.”

13 - Fear

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The day was spent with me and Celly in my bed in the medical wing of the palace. She was grading papers from her school. That’s, ‘Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns'. The one Lyra had to drop out of because of her horn. I spent the day with my head on Celestia’s chest, dozing on and off and giving feedback on some essays whilst I was awake. Although this scenario was brought about by horrible circumstances, I was happy. How could I not be? I had my wife next to me, her breathing and occasional humming acting like a metronome to lull the worries away, and the thoughts of an insectoid race of monsters infiltrating the… Country? Government? Whichever… Was put to the side for a bit.

There was a knock on the door that stirred me from resting my eyes and Celestia said in a musical voice, “Come in!” The door opened slowly to reveal Lyra. She entered just as slowly as she opened the door and turned to close it over but left a crack open. I could see from my position on the bed just how nervous she was as she approached. Her hands trembling as she clutched some papers and her knees practically knocking together. “Hello, Lyra.” Celestia greeted. Although I couldn’t see her face, I could hear the warm smile through her words.

Lyra did her best to mirror the smile but it quickly dissolved. “H-hello, Princess.”

“Please, Lyra. Whilst we are not in public, feel free to call me Celestia.”

Lyra nodded and the atmosphere in the room took a turn for the awkward. The papers in Lyra’s hands rustling. I cleared my throat. “Is everything alright, Lyra?”

Her eyes locked on my face. “Hmm? Oh! Umm…” She shifted her weight from one hoof to the other and looked to Celestia.

“It’s alright.” Celestia said. Giving her the invitation to speak freely. This was strange. It wasn’t like Lyra. She had no problem speaking her mind in the past… So, what changed?

Changeling.

I scrunched my eyes and thought back. The room in the dungeon. Lots of ponies where present for my little breakdown. Lyra was there. I brought my hand up to my head, in an attempt to sooth the pain that came with the memory. “Artemis, are you okay?” Celestia asked.

“Y-yeah.” I replied, convincingly. “Just a headache.” I could feel the waves of disapproval washing over me. “Lyra, it’s okay. Just… Just say what you came here to say.” That came across a little more forceful than what I meant. Lyra shrunk in more on herself. Great.

“W-Well I, I have the reports for you A-Artemis.” She said holding the papers out slightly.

Reports? “Reports?”

“Y-yeah… Um… Y’know, because I’m your student? I was supposed to give you weekly reports on my thoughts and what I learned and… Stuff.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. My head not leaving Celly’s chest. “Lyra, I admire your dedication. But I’ve been out of it for three weeks. I would have let you off writing them. These are extenuating circumstances after all.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. But then Twilight said that… That, um…”

My eyes opened at the name ‘Twilight’, and I looked to Lyra. “That what?”

“T-That it would… I-Impress you.”

I sighed. Louder this time, and sat up. “Honey?” I asked Celestia. “Would you mind giving me and Lyra a few minutes? I could actually use a cup of tea too if you wouldn’t mind.”

Celestia smiled, sat up and kissed the top of my head. “Of course, what kind would you like?”

I smiled back. “Surprise me.” She nodded and stood to leave the room. As she passes Lyra, their eyes met and she gave my student a meaningful look. Lyra gave an almost imperceptible nod. Interesting, what’s going on there?

Changelings.

I smacked my forehead hard. Ouch. “Are you okay?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I tiredly responded. “Just still a bit out of it.” I turned to the side table and poured myself and Lyra a glass of water from the glass pitcher. “You can put the papers here.” I said, motioning to the same table. She approached slowly and leaned forward with just enough reach to put the papers down. The end of them drooping over the side. Very interesting. “Here.” I said holding out the glass of water to her. “Drink.”

She gave a nervous smile. “Um… no. T-That’s okay, I’m not really that thirsty.” I didn’t move. Still holding out the glass of water. Her eyes darted from it to my face repeatedly until finally she relented and took a small step forward and reached for the glass.

I quickly shot to a standing position and took a step towards her. She yelped and stepped back a few paces, her hands glowing with magic ready to be used. Her eyes widened at what she just did. I sighed, nodded and placed the drinks back down on the table. “So, that’s it?” I asked. “You’re scared of me?” She was silent. I looked to the papers on the table. The handwriting was awful, nothing more than chicken-scratch really. But I could see from a glance that the grammar and spelling where perfect. I smiled. It felt good to have a student again. Yes, I’ve had one in Lyra for a few days from my perspective at least, weeks for her. But it doesn’t really hit you until they give you a paper to look over, grade and give feedback on. That’s exactly what I got out of life, bettering others.

What didn’t feel good was the now crying mare stood in the middle of the room. She wasn’t making any noise. These weren’t the tears of grief, nor frustration, nor even pain. These where tears of fear. These where the tears that prey species would shed when faced with a predator. There was no noise, no whimpering, not even any sniffling. Just trembling, the pitter-patter of tears and snot hitting the floor, and the reluctant acceptance that the end was coming, coming faster than you could believe. Then it would be over.

It killed me. My own student, my own… Friend. Terrified of my mere presence. The person I was supposed to protect, now wanted nothing to do with me. Worse, she wanted to get away from me. Far away. Where I couldn’t hurt her. Another failure to add to my growing list. Yes, it killed me.

“Lyra.” I said, my voice hitching. “Speak to me.”

After a few seconds she said, “I-I’m so s-sorry.”

My eyes snapped to her. “W-what? You’re sorry? Lyra… No. I-”

“I’m sorry that I can’t trust you!” That right there. Those words… They hurt. The room was silent again. A slight breeze coming in through the open window that overlooked the palace gardens.

I swallowed and sat on the bed with my legs crossed. “If… If you don’t want to be my apprentice anymore then… then I underst-”

“No!” Lyra shouted. “Of course, I still want to be your student! But… If this is going to work, then I need an explanation. Why? Why did you do that? I’ve never seen anything so… So… Heinous.” I flinched. “You tortured that creature, Artemis. Tortured it. Not only that, you beat it to death! And you wouldn’t stop! It took both princesses to pull you away. You knew we were watching, right? Me and the elements I mean.” I nodded. “They are not happy to say the least. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are furious with you. Rarity passed out. I think Fluttershy was in so much shock that she couldn’t take her eyes away. Goddess knows how she’s ever going to even look at you again.”

My first thought to that was, ‘why should I care what the elements think?’ I quickly moved that thought to the side. “So, again.” Lyra continued. “Explain it to me. Why? Who did it change into? And how can I trust you again?” I was quiet, trying to gather my thoughts. “Please.” She emphasised. “I need to know who’s teaching me. I’m not going to blindly follow you. You are not Princess Celestia and I sure as Tartarus am not Twilight Sparkle.” I smirked slightly at that. I was going to say the exact same thing to her.

She continued. “Hanging out with you at your cabin, just talking, doesn’t matter about what, has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had. Heck, even knowing you exist when you where supposed to be a myth… I don’t want to lose that. I… I look up to you, Artemis. You’ve taught me so much already and I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to think of a murderer when I picture you in my head, so please.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Lyra looked shocked. “Okay?”

Another nod. “Okay.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” I sighed. “You’re completely right, Lyra. To put it charitably, I messed up. And I will tell you why I did what I did, along with other things. Who the creature changed into being among them. But others should be present. It’s important Luna is there.” I took a sip of water and swallowed slowly. “I suppose… If they can stomach being near me… The elements too.” I grumbled.

Lyra smiled slightly and nodded. “Okay. Um… when?”

I stood and she backed away slightly. I pretended I didn’t notice. “Now.”

14 - Gazebo

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Upon exiting the room, we bumped into Celestia. “Oh, hello,” she said. “Perfect timing, as you can see, I didn’t get you any tea. I thought it would be best to have it out in the gardens. You know, get you out of that stuffy room for a while?”

I smiled and acted oblivious to her obvious eavesdropping on mine and Lyra’s conversation. “That sounds wonderful. We um… have a lot to talk about. Me and Lyra, I mean.” Lyra cleared her throat. “And, also the…” I sighed. “The elements. If- If they want, that is. Of course, it would be best if you were there too. Oh, and Luna.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I see.” She nodded. “Very well. I shall go and fetch them. You know the way to the gardens correct?” She asked Lyra who nodded. “You two go and take a seat in the gazebo. We’ll be with you shortly.”

And a short time it was. Not ten minuets after we took a seat did the Princesses show up, along with Twilight and only one of the other five elements. Kindness. A surprise to be sure. I guess I sort of understand why the others wouldn’t want to come. I thought Honesty would come for sure, but Kindness? Twilight and Kindness took a seat around the round table in the middle of the gazebo. It was quite confined but not uncomfortably so. It was a place for intimate conversations and meetings.

The gazebo was an old, off-white thing. The paint chipping in places. Who knows how many meetings have taken place here at this very, weather-rotted table? How many knives have been plunged into the backs of nobles by nobles, who only seconds before, considered themselves life-long friends or business partners? How many cups of tea has Celestia consumed here? How long has she sat at this table, alone, longing for me, for Luna, for anyone? The thought alone brought with it a cloud of anger. And yet, I was the one who condemned her to that fate. The cloud darkened. Off to a great start, Artemis…

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“They didn’t want to come.” Luna said, neutrally. I stood as Luna approached and she embraced me. “Thank goodness you’re alright, we’ve all been so worried.” She let go and we all sat down.

“Ah, you know.” I said, shrugging. “A little blackout isn’t going to keep me down.”

Twilight huffed. I pretended not to hear. Kindness said nothing as both she and Twilight were situated between the Princesses. The surroundings of the gazebo where quite wide open, large flowerbeds surrounded us with a single bee hive in the middle of one. A great deterrent from eavesdroppers as well as being aesthetically pleasing. The open space, I mean. Not the beehive. Its not like the palace has trained bees, waiting for someone to sneak up with flapping ears, right?

A single maid walked towards us from a small side door on a stone annex. The atmosphere was awkward as she approached. No one spoke, so we had no choice but to either watch or listen to her hoofsteps. The faint sound of bees buzzing only seemed to amplify the silence. When she finally arrived, she gave a short bow and asked, “Refreshments?”

“A pitcher of Iced water and a pot of Darjeeling tea.” Celestia said. The maid gave a curt nod then began to leave.

I spoke up. “I’d like a cup of Earl Grey with three teaspoons of honey, a shot of spiced rum and a slice of lemon.”

“Ooh,” Luna said, interested. “That sounds good, I’ll have one of those too.” The maid nodded again, hesitantly this time, then started back towards the annex. The silence returned once more.

I pursed my lips. “So… Nice weather.”

They all ignored me and Celestia spoke in her ‘Princess tone.’ “Most - if not all - of what you will hear from Artemis will likely be regarded as state secrets. While you have not taken any sort of oaths as elements of harmony, nor whilst under myself or Artemis’ tutelage.” She said, looking to Twilight then Lyra. “You are citizens of Equestria. Do you know what that means?”

Lyra spoke without missing a beat. “I’m guessing that means that those spikey rooms we walked through to get to the interrogation room would become our permanent places of residence if we were to repeat what we hear?” Go Lyra. “Princess?” Nice. Kindness shivered and somehow managed to make herself smaller.

Celestia blinked. “Yes… Quite right.” Her Princess mask slipped and she sighed. She looked around at the gardens. There was no one nearby, but she spoke in hushed tones anyway. “Lyra- May I call you Lyra?” My apprentice nodded, surprised that Princess Celestia would talk to her that way. “Lyra, please understand. I’m not saying this to scare you.” I folded my arms. Celestia grinned sheepishly. “…Mostly. I’m saying this for a few reasons. The first is political. Our past, mine, my sisters and Artemis’ is…”

“Dour?” I supplied, trying to be charitable.

Celestia nodded. “Artemis is new to this generation. Not only her species, but her methods too. I want all of our subjects to accept her, just as you have. Freely and without reservation. Though I think you are a unique case in that regard. Ponies fear what they don’t understand. If Artemis is to rule by myself and Lunas side, knowing the past will impede the road to that acceptance.

“The second reason is personal. This is our past. Our private past. And… it is a painful one. Dredging up these memories will be hard, but it has to be done. Not only to gain some of your trust back, but to make you understand. Artemis, although not banished, was in a self-imposed ‘exile’. Whether she likes it or not, she is from a different time, things have changed so much since she left and now it is up to us to guide her.” Celestia looked to the two elements. “Just as we did with Luna.” She then reached over me and grasped Lyra’s hand. “Your help would be invaluable. Not only as her apprentice, but as her friend.”

Lyra looked to me, then to Celestia and with grim determination, nodded.

“Hang on, hang on, hang on.” I said, cutting in. “I don’t need this- this… Intervention! I know that what I do is, well, its awful. I know that. But I have to do it. Apparently, no one else will, and its not my fault that all you ponies have gone soft in the time I was away!”

“Artemis.” Luna said. “Calm yourself.”

“Calm myself?” I barked out a laugh. “Calm myself.” I nodded. “Yes, I’ll just do that. We are in the middle of an invasion. Do you get that? We. Are. Being. Invaded!” Kindness was flinching at my every word, but I continued. They needed to hear this. “We are being invaded by an enemy that could be anyone. We can’t see them, but we know they’re there. Hells, it could be one of you!” They looked to each other.

“Ahem.” The maid was back. Awkward. She set the refreshments down and walked back wherever she came from. I leaned over my tea, inhaling deeply. The citrusy aroma penetrated deep into my lungs and I immediately calmed.

Celestia began pouring everyone else their tea and then poured an additional glass of water for herself. “No one is saying that the situation couldn’t be better.” Why does she always downplay everything...? “But unfortunately, at the moment there is nothing that we can do. We are looking into solutions, magical or physical, whichever comes first, that will help us combat this hidden menace.”

I stared at her. “‘Hidden menace’, ‘Looking into solutions’?” I shook my head. “Unbelievable. You sound like you’re talking to the fucking press.” Twilight and Kindness flinched at the harsh language. “I’m your wife. Moreover, I’m supposed to be a Princess in this… what? Triarchy?” Celestia was staring into her cup. “I want straight answers before I start talking about what action we should take. And yes, the action that we take will be my decision as Princess Protector of the Realm. So, tell me like it is. Tell me like I’m not reading it from a fucking newspaper.”

“We don’t know okay?!” Luna shouted. “We don’t know. It has been three weeks and a few days and the only thing we know is that they can communicate via some sort of hive-mind. That’s it. And that already puts us at a major disadvantage on top of the other major disadvantage of not knowing who in the hells we are fighting.”

“Well… What have you tried?” I asked.

“Oh please, Artemis. If we sat here going over every single thing, we would be here until the sun sets. Tomorrow. You are just going to have to trust us on this, we have tried.”

“You don’t have any ideas?” I said looking to both sisters.

“For now, our trump card is you.” Celestia said. “They know you exist, but they know nothing of your capabilities. You will act as a trap-door spider, lying in wait for them to act, at which time, you will pounce. Arachnids often favour insects for their meals, do they not?”

I nodded and took a sip of the steaming tea. It was hot going down, and the added rum burned all the hotter. “Good plan. Except for the fact they probably do know my capabilities. At least some of them. Let’s not forget who the monster changed into…” Another sip. And then another. “How they knew is an entirely different can of worms.”

“Yes, I’ve thought of that.” Celestia said.

“…And?”

“‘And’?” She spoke. “There is no ‘and’. They knew – Know – who she was. Or… her appearance at least. How? I do not know. We just have to hope that it was some sort of fluke. Some of your… latent or distant memories leaking into their hive-mind due to your stress.”

I smiled, not believing that for a second. “I’m going to choose to believe that because the alternative… No. I’m not entertaining an alternative. Let’s table this discussion for now.” We were all quiet for a few minutes after that. All of us just thinking.

Kindness reached over and refilled her teacup. “Why are you here?” I asked her. She hid behind her pink hair. “Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, why is it only both you and Twilight who came? Out of all the elements, I didn’t expect you.” The butter yellow mare stayed quiet, but I could see she was trembling slightly.

Twilight cleared her throat and spoke up. “The others-”

“I didn’t ask you.” I cut in. Focusing on Kindness, I could see she was trembling more now that I didn’t let Twilight speak. I need to cut this one some slack, she’s done nothing wrong… “Kindness… Fluttershy,” I spoke softly. One of her large cyan eyes peaked out from behind her mane. “Why, out of all of your friends, did you come here? I was told that you were the most affected by what happened. To be honest, I was worried about you.”

She tried to speak, but nothing came out. I didn’t push, just waited. But, once again, Twilight spoke. “If she doesn’t-”

“Twilight,” I said, not taking my eyes off Fluttershy. “I’m not going to explain this to you again. If I’m not talking to you, be quiet, and wait your turn.” Celestia sipped her tea. “Fluttershy?” I prompted, gently.

Once again, Fluttershy’s mouth opened. Then closed. She sipped her tea, then shook herself as if to shake something off her head and then sighed. “Um… Well… It’s true.”

“What’s true, Honey?” I asked. She took a nervous look at the other mares at the table. “It’s okay.” I said. “You’re safe here. You can speak freely.”

“I- I was the most affected. Um… I think, anyway. I can’t really speak for the others.” She finished her cup of tea in a few gulps then refilled the cup again. “What you did, it was… I’m not sure. Or- Or rather, I am sure. It was the most terrible thing I’ve ever seen. But… I couldn’t look away.”

Once again. Twilight spoke. “That’s because you were in shock, which is perfectly understandable because-” And once again, I cut her off. With an effort of will sent towards her mouth it closed with a click and stayed shut.

“And now you get a time out. Five minutes.” I said. She furrowed her brows and tried to say a few words but they only came out as a hum. “Oh, I'm sorry, would you like to go for ten minutes?” I asked. She leaned back in her chair and when she stopped making noise, I looked Fluttershy, “Please continue.”

Fluttershy looked to Twilight. “Um… Twilight. You’re wrong.” Lyra snickered. “I wasn’t in shock.” Twilights brows raised. “Don’t get me wrong. I was shocked. But I wasn’t in shock.” I nodded in understanding.

She was quiet for a few moments longer, gathering her thoughts. “I- I couldn’t bear to look at the creature.” She continued. “Especially with how much pain it was in. Not- Not to mention that I couldn’t do anything about it. But I couldn’t look away from you.” She said, looking at me.

“Me?”

She nodded. “Although you were doing something terrible, I could tell you didn’t want to do it. Your face was blank, and- and it looked like it didn’t bother you, but I could see your eyes. You were so sad. You gave it a chance, but it refused. You didn’t want to do it, you had to.” She said, her delicate and quiet voice hitching. “I don’t know why, but I knew I had to help you. Had to be there for you. And in that moment, I understood why you had to do what you did. You do those things to protect us, and in being so awful to things that want to hurt us… I think… In some twisted way… that makes you very kind. You’re like a mama bear protecting her cubs.”

The silence after that was crystalline.

“May I cut in?” Celestia asked me. I rolled my eyes and nodded. “Fluttershy, I think that you are very brave-” The mare shook her head but said nothing as Celestia continued. “-and I think that you are a credit to your element. If only the others where here to hear your speech, they may have come around. Twilight?” The mare in question was looking at the table, deep in thought. I subtly released my will on her mouth so she could speak again. “Your thoughts?” Celestia asked.

Twilight was quiet for a time, then looked to me and said, “I don’t want to be involved with you anymore.”

“Twilight…?” Celestia asked.

“I mean, we’ve only really had one official meeting and, let’s be honest, it went terribly. I… I messed up. And, I know we’ve moved past that… mostly, but a betrayal of trust is hard to repair.” She looked to Celestia. “I would like to formally resign as Artemis’ therapist.” Celestia looked to me.

I held up my hands. “Don’t look at me, we haven’t even had a session yet!”

Celestia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “If that’s what you want, Twilight, I can’t force you. Honestly, I think we have bigger things going on at the moment than Artemis’ alcoholism.” I took another sip of tea. “But how do you feel about what happened?”

Twilight was quiet again, and then said, “I don’t like you, Artemis.” Lyra growled at this. “You’re rude, and ever since what happened between us at the library, you’ve been pretty horrible to me.”

Lyra slammed her hands on the table. “Well maybe if you weren’t such a sycophantic know-it-all!”

“Lyra!” I shouted. She huffed and crossed her arms.

Twilight recoiled as if Lyra’s remark struck her. She took a deep breath and then said, “Believe what you want. I’ve been bullied for being a ‘know-it-all’ my entire life. Someone else adding to the pile isn’t going to bother me.” She looked to me, resolve in her eyes. “Artemis, I think what you did down there was disgusting and I will not condone your methods, regardless of the results. The ends do not justify the means. But…” She looked to Fluttershy. “I support my friends.” Sadness crossed her features. “Even if they are divided right now.”

Fluttershy hugged Twilight and Celestia reached and grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Lyra?” I asked and the minty mare looked to me. “What do you think?”

“I’m with Fluttershy.” She said, without really thinking.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Yeah. She made some good points. After what happened, I was ready to bolt and cut all ties with you. But… Fluttershy’s right isn’t she? You would never do anything like that to us. You… You love us. Don’t you? All of us I mean. Ponies?”

I laughed a bit. “More like every living thing. I wouldn’t be the Princess Protector of the Realm if I didn’t.” I felt Celestia squeeze my hand and Luna smiled.

Lyra nodded. “When I said I couldn’t trust you back in the room, I meant it more that I couldn’t trust whether you were going to hurt me if you needed something from me… or something.” She looked to the side. “I don’t know… It’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not.” I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “I scared you. All of you. And… And I’m sorry. But now do you understand why I do what I do?” I asked the two elements and Lyra. “It’s my job to be the monster. The monster that the darkness fears. I stand in defence of the weak so that they may live the best life they possibly can. It’s the duty of someone as long-lived as I am. That’s part of the reason Celestia and Luna took up the crown.”

“Hang on, Artemis. We’ll get to that in a minute.” Celestia said. “First, Luna?” Said mare cocked her head. “How do you feel?”

“Hmm?” Luna looked confused. “Oh! Artemis, you know we would follow you to the ends of the realm.” She said waving a hand. “It is not even a question.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Lu. You know I would do the same for you.”

She grinned. “Of course.”

Celestia smiled too. “As for myself,” She said. “It does bother me, what you did. As it bothers all of us. Even Luna, although she doesn’t show it. But that is why I usually left those matters to the two of you.” She said looking to both me and Luna. “I know why you did it, for the good of the country and the realm. We had to know.” She looked into my eyes. “I love you. That’s all there is to it.” Then leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek.

Lyra spoke next. “Um… You said that you where going to explain who it changed in to.”

I furrowed my brow and stared at the table. I felt Celestia’s hand tighten over my own. “I’m going to need something strong for this.” I spoke. Celestia clicked her fingers in what must have been some sort of signal for more drinks. "Let me tell you the tale of how I became the last human.”

15 - Portal

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The maid came back with a tray of six glasses and a crystal decanter with some amber liquid inside. She set the glasses down, then poured some of the liquid into each one. “More,” I said. She poured a bit more into my glass then turned to leave. “Bottle stays.” She turned back and set the decanter down in the middle of the table next to the teapot, tucked the tray under her arm and made her way back to the annex.

I stared at my glass. The granite whiskey stones sat heavily in the bottom, enchanted to keep whatever drink they were in cold. I quickly reached for the glass and downed the contents in three hearty gulps. Not taking a second to savour the, likely extremely expensive, bourbon. I poured another for myself and left the seal of the decanter off, and took a more conservative sip. I let the liquid sit on my tongue. It was strong stuff. It felt like it would only be a matter of time before it burned through, but I let it sit. I definitely wouldn’t be tasting anything for a while.

Luna pulled her glass to herself but didn’t drink, just put it in easy reaching distance. I stared into my tumbler and moved the liquid around some. The stones inside clinking quietly, then felt something warm on my arm. I looked down to find Celestia gripping me, gently moving her thumb back and forth. I smiled and placed my hand over hers, but didn’t meet her eyes. Doing that would surely open the dam.

I finally swallowed the liquid and said, “I don’t know where to start.” My voice coming out shakier than I intended.

Celestia sighed, then reached for her own glass, taking a very small sip. “Perhaps some context?”

I nodded. “Um… You all know the story of how Equestria came to be?” Celestia’s grip on my arm tightened somewhat, then went quite limp. But she didn’t let go.

“Of course!” Twilight said. “The story of Hearths Warming.” She sat up a bit straighter and cleared her throat. “Before the rule of the Princesses, the three tribes of ponies, Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn, where divided by hatred. However, there was a tense peace between them. Earth ponies managed the food, Pegasi the weather and Unicorns raised the Sun and Moon.” She poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher and drank. Then cleared her throat once more and continued.

“A mysterious blizzard appeared during the tense peace talks between the three tribes. The blizzard raged for over a year and with no way to stop it, the three tribes fled the old world to the new one. However, the blizzard followed them. It was discovered that the blizzard was actually a herd of spirits called windigos. Beings of pure malevolence that feed on hatred. The tribes’ distrust for one another made for the perfect meal, and the windigos followed them. All seemed lost as the new world began to freeze over. Six ponies, two of each tribe, were trapped in a cave. As the air around them got colder and colder, they put aside their differences and shared stories as the end seemed near.

“The fires of their friendship formed during those last moments, melting the ice and driving the windigos away, never to return. Three of the six ponies maintained warm relations and decided to share the new world with each other, naming it Equestria. Now we celebrate this at the end of every winter, giving each other gifts and spending time with one another to keep the fires of friendship stoked and to keep the windigos away for another year.” Twilight finished her story then took another gulp of water and sat back in her chair looking quite pleased with herself.

I stared at her. Then slowly turned to look at Celestia. She would not meet my gaze. I’m sure she felt as though it was burning through her. She looked to Luna, perhaps a silent plea for help? When none came, she sighed and looked at me.

“How long did that crock take to think up?” I asked. Twilight spluttered.

“Wait,” Lyra said. “That’s not what happened?”

I continued to stare at Celestia. She was looking down into her glass, not saying anything. “No,” I said. “That’s not what happened.”

“It is okay, sister.” Luna said in an attempt to assuage Celestia’s concerns. “They can be trusted.”

Celestia was quiet for a few moments longer, then downed the rest of her beverage and nodded.

I patted her arm and looked to Lyra. “We were at war.”

“A war between the three tribes?” Twilight asked.

“No,” I said, finishing the rest of my own drink and pouring another. “The army of the dead.”

Dream Valley was in chaos. The rolling, freezing fog was pouring down off of the majestic mountains and glaciers in the west and with it, came the dead. Nobody knew of their origins, only that they came like a wave. A wave that encompassed all it washed over and those that fell to it, only added to its number.

The bells came first. A warning? A battle-cry? Nobody knew that either. They rang for a full day before the fog came. Heavy, tolling things that resonated in your bones and didn’t stop. ‘Bong.’ Silence. ‘Bong.’ Silence. ‘Bong.’ Silence. A full day. The repetition was maddening.

A shaky alliance of the Earth, Pegasi and Unicorn tribes was forged by none other than my sister, Megan Williams. Ever the charismatic diplomat, she had travelled the old world. She saw the destruction left by the undead legions. And she warned us. She saved us. The army that we formed thanks to that alliance was rivalled by only one thing in the known world. And that was our enemy.

“Knock! Draw! Loose!”

“Fire!”

Arrows and boulders covered in flaming tar sailed overhead and disappeared into the silent, freezing fog. Unicorn magi raised their heads and sent spears of piercing light into the mountains. Hoping, praying that this would stem the flow of skeletal, greasy, rotting corpses of every species long enough for our fighters on the ground to have even a chance against them.

They were weak things, the dead. It didn’t take more than a few hits to take one down. But there were so many. They were agile and faster than one would think. An hour of firing blindly into the fog yet we didn’t see a single undead, but we knew they were there, waiting. Whoever gave the order to cease fire doomed us. But the order came and the firing stopped and then the screaming started.

The fog rolled over our vanguard like it had a mind of its own and we could hear them. Our troops I mean, not the dead, they’re silent. Our troops were screaming. I killed a lot of our own that day. If our army wasn’t going to fire into the fog, I would.

Megan was beside me the entire time. She never had my ‘talent’ with magic, so it was up to me. A necessary sacrifice I reasoned. She agreed. The few for the many, we said. The wave had to be stopped. It was quiet after that. Silent. The snow on the ground muffling everything and as the remains of our army retreated behind our defensive barriers, I almost wished for the sound of bells to return. But they didn’t. Only the quiet.

The fog had stopped. Taunting in its rigidity. Then they emerged. Our friends. Our families. Our warriors. The best of us. The front line of the once-living baring the scars of my ‘defence’, showing what I did.

The remains of our army had given up. They wouldn’t fight them, how could they? Hours before they were drinking with them, sharing stories with them, their hopes, their dreams. Now, nothing more than an army of rotten, leathery flesh and bones.

“It’s time to go,” I said.

“Go?” Megan said, despondent. “There’s no where to go. We’re completely surrounded.” She stared at the army before us. Unmoving macabre statues. They knew they had won, now they were conquering our hope.

I turned and grabbed Megan by the shoulders. “Look at me,” I said. She did. “What am I?” Megan said nothing, I shook her. “What am I?” I asked, forcefully, getting in her face.

“Y- You’re my big sister.”

“Damn right, that means it’s my job to protect you, do you understand?” Megan said nothing. I shook her again, “Do you understand me?!”

“Y- Yes!”

“Good. Now I have a job for you. Gather everyone who can be saved and bring them here. They all trust you; they’ll do what you say.”

“Everyone?”

“Everyone!” She gave a shaky nod and ran off deep into the castle to gather those who sheltered behind its monolithic walls. Those watching our exchange on the ramparts were looking at me incredulously. “Celestia, Luna?” I called.

“Yes Ma’am?” said a young, white unicorn mare with pink hair no more than nineteen as she came running up to me. Followed closely by a slightly younger, dark blue unicorn mare with light blue hair.

“Stand close to me,” I said, taking their hands. “I’ll need your help for this.”

“What’s going on, Master?” Luna asked me.

“We’re going to take a shortcut away from here.” I spoke. “Just keep hold of my hands, both of you. I’ll need to borrow your mana for this to work.”

“Will… Will it hurt?”

I gave a shaky smile. “No, my dear apprentice.” She nodded.

I closed my eyes and began to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. I could feel… everything. The breaths of the surrounding guards. The wind as it began to pick up. The ice forming on the metal of my breastplate. I could feel Megan. She was running, panicked, through the castle shouting orders. I could feel the thunderous hoofsteps of the ponies as they sought to carry them out.

The dead below could feel it too. One stepped forward out of the horde. Then another. And another. Then four. Then twenty. And soon they where running. They hit the immense wooden door of the castle over and over again. Shattering themselves upon it. They ran over their own, as their bodies filled the deep moat. They used themselves as steps as they began to ascend the castle walls.

The wind was howling as the freezing fog encroached. Closer and closer it came as the temperature dropped even further. Then Megan appeared. “They’re here!” She yelled over the storm of ice and snow. “We’re all here!”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My mind was elsewhere. I was searching, searching for a safe passage. Where to? Anywhere but here, that’s for damn sure. Then, I found it. My eyes shot open with blinding pale blue light. So did Celestia’s. Then Luna’s.

The wind stopped and all was quiet once more. Save for the untold numbers of bodies clambering over each other. Trying desperately to breach the walls or pile on top of each other so high, that they could simply walk over them.

A single point of light appeared in front of me and my apprentices. Then it grew. It continued to expand until it was the size of a house. Blue light exploded from the sphere bathing the surrounding landscape in light. The sphere tuned black, then an image appeared inside. I moved to the side, creating a path dragging Celestia and Luna with me, sill grasping their hands. “Inside!” I screamed. “Get inside! Now!”

The remains of our army and civilians thundered past us and into the sphere. A few brave or foolish souls stayed behind, poking and prodding at any undead who managed to get over the wall, buying us time. I finally let go of my apprentice’s hands and practically threw them through the portal. I followed quickly behind them. My connection to their mana now lost, the portal began to close.

“Artemis!” I heard.

My stomach dropped. Turning back to the portal, I could see the castle on the other side. And Megan. She was running towards the hole in reality with all her might, she must have double checked that she had found and warned everyone. She was running past the guards that had stayed behind to defend us and kept running, even as they fell. The dead poured over the wall and were gaining on her. The portal was shrinking.

“Megan!” I screamed, and held out my hand, sticking it back through the portal to the other side. The air back in Dream Valley was freezing now. My hand went instantly numb, then the pain started. But I held on, holding my arm out desperately waiting for her to grab it. The gods only know how she managed to reach me before the dead got her, but she did. Her left hand grasped my right and I pulled with all my might.

Then, the portal closed and I fell back. I hit my head on the hard ground and my vision went blurry. We had done it. We had escaped against all odds and I held my sisters hand all the tighter. Someone screamed. Had some of the dead managed to get through? My eyes shot open, the headache forming from my fall forgotten and I looked around, ready to act.

The ponies where all fine. But they were staring at me. No… Not at me. At my sister. I looked to her hand, which I began to notice was not squeezing mine back.

It hung there, grasped in my own as it dangled in my grip. Ending at the elbow in a bloody stump. Megan was gone.

16 - Filly

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The Decanter in the middle of the table was almost empty now. It was mostly drunk by me and the sisters. At one point in my story, Lyra had a small sip too. No one knew what to say. What could they say? These… These… Children. These mere foals. They have no idea what’s out there. They can be told, of course they can. But they’ll never know. Not truly. Not unless they see it for themselves. And I pray to the creator, to whatever god is benevolent enough give our realm a passing glance, that they never have to see.

No. Praying is useless. If it wasn’t, the battle of Dream Valley would have never happened. The dead would not have risen, and our friends and families wouldn’t have joined their numbers. It’s not up to the gods. It’s up to me. It’s my job to shield the people from such cruelty. Such evil. And that is exactly what it is. Evil.

People have argued that there is no such thing as pure evil. That there is a nugget of good in everything. That anyone can be saved. After seeing good people who were laughing and smiling, hugging their children and telling them that it will be okay, now doing everything in their power to snuff out the happiness, the life, that they have created. Who would have the audacity to argue such a thing?

I would.

There is the light. With light, comes shade. It is inevitable. Yin and Yang. A law of the universe. It is our job, my job, to be a beacon. To be a guiding light to those in the shade and show them the way to a peaceful life. One filled with happiness and love and memories that can be looked back on with eyes filled with tears. But these won’t be tears of sadness, these will be tears of happiness because you know that those memories happened. Not only did they happen, but they brought so much light and life into peoples lives that they will take with them for generations to come.

Just because it’s my job, doesn’t mean I can’t get some help along the way.

“Artemis…?” That voice. It may be my job to be the guiding light of the realm, but that voice… That’s my light. I turned to my right.

Her magenta eyes, puffy. The light blush on her pale cheeks, streaked. Her hand on my arm, warm. So warm. “Yeah Cel?”

“Are you o-” She stopped herself. She knew better than to ask that but I knew what she meant. I just put my hand on hers and a gave a smile. It was a hollow smile, but it was a smile.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Um… Sorry but, there’s one thing I don’t understand.” I looked to her, prompting her to continue. “Well, it’s just that, I’ve never heard of Dream Valley before. In all my time studying in the Royal Archives, I’ve never seen it mentioned. Not once.”

Celestia sighed and I looked to her. She met my gaze, then looked away. “Dream valley was stricken from the history books.” She spoke. “It had to be. I mean, look at you all.” She motioned to Twilight, Fluttershy and Lyra. “Could you imagine what people would think knowing that there was a paradise, a place that was as close to a utopia as you could get, and yet it was beaten by an unstoppable wave of death. Literal death.” The three mares were quiet. “People would call us insane. There is no way they would believe it. And then, when they finally opened their eyes to the truth, that the dead are out there. The panic would destroy the country. Then, it would infect the realm and there would be chaos.”

I closed my eyes. “But you didn’t have to wipe every mention if Dream Valley. Of… Of Megan.” I opened them and she was still looking away. “Of me.” Her eyes closed and a fresh tear fell. “Don’t the Archives have a, I don’t know, forbidden section or something?”

“They do.” Lyra said, Coldly.

Celestia’s brows furrowed. “Do you have any idea how painful it was to even think of you when you where gone? When Luna left, I had a permanent reminder of my mistake staring at me every night. One that I had to raise and lower myself. Ever morning a reminder of banishing Luna, then every night, the same. I had to live with that.” She finally looked at me. “With you, I had a means to forget.”

“Sister!” Luna gasped.

“I’m sorry!” Celestia yelled. “I’m sorry.” She held onto my arm, frantic. “I was alone! Alone, running a country by myself were I had to be the pillar people looked to. If I even read a mention of Dream Valley or your sister or you, it would destroy me for a week. I couldn’t let that happen anymore. The Realm is bigger than the three of us and people needed me and on some nights I just couldn’t handle it and Artemis I’m so sorry please-”

I cut her off by wrapping her in a hug. Her voice coming out muffled as she broke down and sobbed into my cloak.

Twilight looked… I don’t think she was expecting the strong role model she’s known since she was a child to be muttering apologies into the shoulder of someone she hates. Lyra, she looked conflicted. She is just as much an avid learner as Twilight, despite her childlike nature. It can’t be sitting well that part of history has been completely omitted from the general population. Fluttershy hadn’t stopped crying since about midway through my story, now, she had. She looked on at Celestia, her kind ruler, with pity.

Luna spoke. “I think it’s time we all went our separate ways for the day. I have some sleep to catch up on.” She stood and left without a second thought or another word. She wasn’t angry. I’ve seen angry Luna. Right now, what she needed more than anything, was to be alone.

“Where… Where is Dream Valley?” Twilight asked.

“Is this really the time to ask that?” Lyra said, not hiding her disdain.

I ignored them both. “Come on, Love.” I whispered and guided Celestia to her hooves. She gave a weak nod and stood. “Lyra, I want to see you later on tonight. Show me what you’ve learned.” She smiled and nodded. Keep that smile, Lyra. The world could use more of them.

On the way back to the palace, me and Celestia walking arm in arm, I stopped and turned back to the gazebo. The three mares hadn’t moved, they likely had a lot to discuss. “West.” I said, loud enough so they could hear. “West. Across the Unending Ocean.” Then I walked Celestia back to our room.

Once we were inside, I closed the door and locked it. Now, I could let myself go. Tears came, fast and unbidden. I slid down the door to my knees and cried. I could do nothing else. I cried for a home, now lost. I cried for friends, now lost. I cried for Megan, now lost. “Please. Please don’t leave me. Please.”

Celestia took me by the shoulders and helped me up. “Come here.” She said, her voice quavering. She was trying to be strong now, but she couldn’t. She helped me over to the bed and we lay next to each other. Holding one another. We cried.

A while later, her hands in mine, I remembered something. “Celestia?”

“Mm.” She responded; her eyes closed. She was probably drifting off to sleep.

“You still have your ring.”

Her eyes opened and looked into mine. She looked down at her hand and brought it up to her face. The plain gold ring was glinting in the sunlight that trickled through the closed-over curtains. “Yes,” She said. “I still have the ring.”

“You said you purged the history to forget me. Does… the ring not remind you of me?”

She smiled. A sad thing that cut through her delicate features. It had no place on her face. She grasped the ring between her thumb and middle finger and twisted. It came off with a bit of effort and she held it up. “Of course it does.” She said. “It’s the only thing I have left from back then.” She looked deep into the gold, contemplating. “This was your moon. Every day I would look at this and be reminded of you, just like the moon for Luna.” I nodded, following along. “It’s hard to explain… Looking at a mention of Dream Valley in a book. Or one of your many exploits… It was difficult to handle. But this ring, it would give me resolve… or hope… or… something, I don’t know.” She slipped the ring back on and snuggled closer to me, I wrapped my arms around her. “It’s my most prized possession.”

I closed my eyes. When they opened, the sheets where a bit ruffled and she was gone. I must have fallen asleep. The clock on the wall told me it was an hour later. I sat up. “Celly?” I called. No answer. I stood and stretched then moved to the bathroom to take care of business. On the sink was a note.

Gone to day-court. If you wake and see this you’re welcome to join.

-Celly

Day-court huh? Well… it’s not like I have anything better to do. I stretched one more time, jumped up and down to get the blood flowing, and brushed the bed-head out of my hair. The walk to the throne room took about five minutes. Guards and maids either ignored me or gave a polite nod, which was nice. I’m glad they’re not running or nervous like that one maid when I first got here. I guess they’ve had time to acclimate to a human running around. Or… lying around. I haven’t done much running, admittedly.

There was a long line outside the large doors. A maid was wandering along, up and down the queue with a trolly of small snacks and beverages. People would be able to take what they want and it appeared to be free of charge. I guess when you decide to come to court, you don’t know how long you’ll be waiting for, so this is a nice addition. When she got close, I stopped her and poured myself a coffee into a small paper cup. The people in line were staring at me.

I took a sip and smiled. “Um… Hello everyone. I hope you’re having a good day.” No answer. “Yeah, mine could be better too.” No answer. Another sip. “Nice weather at least.” No answer. I nodded. “I’m just gonna go now.” I turned from the line of people and towards the heavy double-doors. The guards either side, ever dutiful, pushed them open and with a nod, I walked inside with the confidence of a woman who didn’t just cry herself to sleep in her lover’s arms.

The throne room is big. I could, in the distance, spot Celestia sitting upon her throne. Curiously, both hers and Luna’s thrones been moved slightly to the left, making a space that was suspiciously equal to one of the thrones atop the dais. I continued walking… and walking… until I finally reached her. She was in the middle of talking to someone. Two people in fact. A stallion, who was stood in front of the dais looking up to Celestia and a filly, who was sat on Celestia’s lap with a huge smile on her face.

I finished the coffee and crumpled the cup, putting it in my pocket to throw away later. Litterers are scum. I ascended the dais and the three ponies looked to me. “Artemis!” Celestia said. “I’d like you to meet someone very special,” She said, bouncing the child on her knee, making her giggle. The stallion gave a polite smile but I could see he was worried. I was a complete unknown, and I was about to talk to what I assume to be his daughter.

I absolutely love children. Creatures completely filled with innocence and potential. I ignored the stallion; I had a much more important person to greet. I squatted down to her level, she was so tiny compared to me, considering that I’m taller than Celestia, I could practically fit this little filly in one hand. So cute!

“Hello, little one.” I said with a warm smile. “How are you today?” The filly stared at me with wide eyes and hid slightly behind Celestia’s arm.

Celestia laughed and whispered in the foal’s ear, “It’s okay, Daisy. Artemis is nice, you’ll see.” The filly gave a timid nod.

“Um… I- I’m okay.” She said, quiet enough that I had to strain my ears.

“Well, that’s very good to hear. My name is Artemis. What’s yours?”

“D- Daisy.”

“Daisy?” I said, impressed. “Such pretty name for a pretty filly.” She smiled, blushed and hid behind Celestia’s arm again. We all chuckled at this. I turned to the stallion. “Did you get what you came for today?”

The stallion started a bit at being addressed by me and said, “O- oh yes, um, Ma’am. It’s Daisy’s birthday today and she wanted to meet Princess Celestia.”

I gave an amused smile. “Is that so?” I turned to the filly and squatted down again. “And how old are you today, Daisy?”

Again, she peaked around Celestia’s arm to look at me. “S- Six.”

“Six?” I asked, shock on my face. “My goodness. That means you’re in school, right? Do you like it?” She nodded. “And what’s your favourite thing to learn about?”

She thought hard for a second and then said, “I like learning about all the plants.”

“Really? I like plants too. My favourites are snowdrops, what’s yours?”

She thought hard again. “Um… Tulips!”

“…Really? You know, I would have guessed Daisies.”

Daisy pouted. “People always say that.”

I laughed and bowed my head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to presume.”

“What’s pre- press-?”

“Presume?” I asked, she nodded. “Presume means to think something about someone or something.”

The filly nodded and thought again. She scooted around Celestia’s arm until she was sat on her knee properly and then said. “I’m sorry too. I thought you were scary when I saw you, but you’re nice. I didn’t mean to press- presume.”

I smiled wider. How could I not? “You’re a quick learner, Daisy. I bet your teacher is impressed with you.” She said nothing. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“A Princess!” She shouted.

I gasped. “Really? You know, Princesses are pretty tall, you’re going to have to get used to that. Want to see what it’s like a little early?” She nodded fervently, making grunts of affirmation as she did. I turned to the stallion. “Do you mind if I…?”

His eyebrows raised, “Oh, not at all!”

I took Daisy gently under her arms and hoisted her up and onto my shoulder. Her arm wrapped around my head, keeping her balanced. I’m sure she looked like a parrot what with our height differences. “Wow!” She yelled giggling. “Look Daddy, I’m so tall!”

The stallion laughed with a big smile on his face. “I can see that, Princess!” he yelled up to her.

I whispered into daisy’s ear and her eyebrows shot up. She looked conflicted, but I gave her a nod, telling her it was okay. “You there, guardsman!” She yelled in her squeaky voice and pointed to a guard close to the throne. “Fetch me chocolate cake!”

The guard gave a subtle look to Celestia who gave a subtle nod in return. The guard gave a proud salute to the filly and ran off to fulfil her first order as Princess.

“You know, Princess Daisy,” I said. “There’s a lot more to being a Princess than getting cake when you want it.” She was listening intently. “Can you guess what?”

“Um…” her brow furrowed in concentration. “A Princess… needs… to be… kind!”

“That’s right!” I praised. “Can you think of anything else?”

“Um…” She gave a shy shake of her head.

“That’s okay, you have plenty of time to learn. For now, you should focus on being kind, honest, and know how to have a laugh. Can you do that for me, Daisy?”

“I love to laugh!” She spoke.

“That’s wonderful! I love to laugh too. Do you know what’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?” I asked. The filly on my shoulder looked at me strangely, likely wondering why I changed the subject so drastically. Still, she thought for a bit and then shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “Finding half a worm!”

She was quiet for a second, letting that sink in and then stuck her tongue out and laughed. “Eww! That’s a good one!”

I laughed too. “I’m glad you liked it.” The guard that ran off earlier came back in through a servant’s door wheeling a trolly with a small chocolate cake on it. “Ooh, that looks good! Here, let me put you down before Princess Celestia eats it before you do.” I could feel Celestia roll her eyes at that.

Daisy immediately ran off towards the cake then stopped, turned and ran back towards me. She glomped onto my leg and squeezed tightly. “Thank you, Princess Artemis!”

My eyebrows raised. She called me Princess without being told I was one...I reached down and patted her head. “You’re very welcome, sweetie.”

She then ran to Celestia and did the same. Celestia hugged the filly tightly and whispered something in her ear. The filly nodded and then ran towards the cake. I’ve never felt sorry for cake before but, well…

Celestia stood and hugged me. “That was wonderful to watch.”

I blushed and scratched the back of my head. “Nah, I couldn’t get the little terror away fast enough.”

“Oh yes,” She laughed. “I could tell.”

17 - Optics

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The rest of Day-Court went okay. Honestly, I kind of like it. You meet so many interesting people it’s insane. One conversation you’ll be talking to an old mare about rubbish collection times, the next you’ll be talking to a scientist looking for royal funding.

One conversation took a bit of a darker turn. A middle-aged mare came in to ask – plead, really – for us to change the weather schedule. Weather, at least in the country of Equestria, is made rather than occurring naturally. Factories around the country work day and night to provide the clouds, the wind, the rain and even how cold or hot it is. The sun has no baring over the temperature of the realm. Celestia may raise and lower the thing, but she can’t induce heat waves on anyone but me. Sorry… that was gross.

Anyway, the reason for this mare’s visit was heart-breaking. “But why?” She asked. “Please, it’s only one day. I-It can’t affect things that much!”

Celestia gave a sad frown. “I’m sorry Mrs. Whisk. The weather schedule is determined at the beginning of the year to ensure the optimum climate. Please believe me when I say that I wish I could change it, but this is one of those things that’s out of my hands.”

The poor mare was crying now. “He- He wouldn’t have wanted to have been buried in the rain. Please. He deserves to have the sun on his face one last time.” She moved towards the throne, one hoof on the lowest step. The guards next to it drew their swords half-way out of their sheaths.

“And just what in the bloody hells do you think you’re doing?!” I snapped. Everyone froze in place. The mare looked terrified. This strange being, standing a head taller than her Princess, just exploded at a – frankly – frightening volume. She was trembling on the spot, her knees knocking together. I’m sure she thought I was addressing her, but I wasn’t. “Put those damn things away before you hurt yourselves.” I said to the guards. They looked to each other, then went back to their positions.

“Excuse us, Princess Artemis!” They said with a salute. I ignored them.

Yes, this mare could have been a changeling looking to get close to Celly by tugging on her heartstrings, but if you start thinking that everyone is your enemy, you’ll go mad. You simply can’t afford to think that way.

Celestia gave me a reproachful look. Yeah, I probably could have handled that better. I gave the still trembling mare an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about that,” I said. “Please, continue.”

The mare looked from me to Celestia. “It-It’s just that…” She took a deep breath, held it for a second, then let it out. She wiped her tears on her sleeve. Great… My outburst completely threw her off… She stood up straight and looked Celestia in the eye. You could see she was trying to be strong, to retain some dignity, but her lower lip was still quivering. “I’m truly sorry for wasting the courts time.” She said, her voice hitching at the end. Another deep breath. “Good day.” She then quickly turned and made for the throne room doors.

“Artemis,” Celestia said in a hushed tone. “I think you should go talk to her.”

What? “What?” I asked, turning to face her. “Why? What makes you think she’ll even want to after that?” I turned to look at the mare. The throne room is so big that she was still making her way to the exit. “She looks like she wants to be alone.”

Celestia sighed. “Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it. I feel for the mare. I truly do. But I meant it when I said I can’t change the weather schedule.” She looked from side to side, as if someone was listening and then got a bit closer. “Today has been a day for good optics. You’ve helped with a number of cases, people saw you interacting with that filly, and now, people will see you console a grieving mare.”

I gave her an uneasy look. “Wow… That’s… Pretty devious, Cell.”

She waved her hand. “Oh please, it’s nothing of the sort. Mrs. Whisk is grieving, people get to see you with her, then after, she’ll be feeling a little better. Of course, you can’t erase her loss, but if she goes home today feeling like today wasn’t a total waste of her time, then what’s the harm? It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“I guess…”

“Well, if you’re going to do it, you’ll have to be quick about it.” She motioned to the end of the room. Mrs. Whisk was nearly out the door.

Damn it all… “Wait!” I yelled. Am I really doing this? My voice echoed off the pillars and immensely high ceilings until it finally reached her and she turned. I ran to her, a bit awkwardly since it took a while to get to her, but when I did, panting I asked, “I was wondering if you’d like a cup of tea?”

Her eyebrow raised and she looked around. “T- Tea?”

I nodded. “That’s right. We have every blend you could think of. What’s your favourite?”

“Um… I… I s-suppose I could.”

“Great!” Putting an arm around her shoulders, I began to lead her off and said, “You won’t regret this, I promise.” I’m ashamed to say this, but Celestia was right. I needed the people to see that I wasn’t some scary monster. Especially if I’m going to be re-integrated as one of their Princesses. So, with good optics in mind, I lead her to a private meeting room…walking past the long line of people outside of the throne room.

I know, I know. But my thinking is this; I lead a grieving mare past all these people and take her into a private room. I cheer her up, then, when she leaves, she’ll do so with a smile on her face. People will see this and know that I was the one who helped her in some way.

Gods I’m a terrible person… No, no I’m not. She needs this. She needs someone to talk to… Just as much as I do.

We entered the room after walking past a lot of staring eyes and I closed the door behind us. “So,” I said, “What’s you poison?”

She gave a hint of a smile after moving further into the room. “Oh no poison for me, thanks. Just a cup of tea would be lovely.” I motioned with my hands for her to continue. “Oh! Um… Chamomile?”

I smiled. “Chamomile it is. Feel free to get comfortable, make yourself at home.”

She nodded and sat in front of a long tea table that was between two couches. I opened a servant’s passage and sent for her tea. After that I moved to a decanter filled with… something, and poured myself a glass. “I see you’re having the poison?” She said and looked to the grandfather clock in the corner. “It’s not even five.” I looked to her. “S-Sorry!” She said and shrunk down. “It-It’s not my place to-”

I held up a hand. “Please. It’s fine.” I moved to the couch opposite her and sank unceremoniously into it. “You’re completely right. I don’t exactly make it a secret that I have this terrible habit.” I took a sip. “So, did you have any plans today other than come here?”

She shook her head. “No, I was just going to go straight home. I might do a bit of gardening, though I’m not so sure I’m in the mood anymore.”

I nodded. “Where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, just a small town to the east. Hollow Shades? It’s not too far away.”

“Well, that’s good. I’d hate to think you made a long trip for nothing.” The room was quiet again. An awkwardness that hit me like a sledgehammer. That was the wrong thing to say, I’d just brought up her failure back in Day-Court. Change the subject, Dingbat.

I coughed. “So, what do you do for a living?”

“I work in a little café. It’s okay, it pays the bills.” Despite the aloof answer, I could see the smile forming on her face. Working there was her passion.

I nodded. Another sip. The servants passage opened and a maid came in wheeling a trolley with a teapot and matching cups. She poured and left. Quiet again. We both sipped. Okay, this is terrible, just talk to her about it.

“Look,” I said, wondering how to broach the subject. “I’m really sorry about back there. In Day-Court, I mean. Both for my outburst and that things didn’t go as you’d planned.”

She stared into her cup. “That’s okay. I’m just shocked that those guards thought I was going to do something to the Princess.” Her eyes shot to mine. “W-Wait. That’s not why I’m here now is it? I swear, I’d never to anything to the Princess!”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” I said in a gentle voice. “That’s not at all why you’re here. Those idiots back in the throne room wouldn’t know danger if it came up and shouted, ‘I’m on my way to assassinate the Princess!’” I smiled. “I just wanted to talk, that’s all.”

“T-Talk about what?”

“Well… I don’t know. What do you want to talk about?”

She sipped her tea and looked out of the window. The sun was low in the sky now, but it wasn’t quite setting. “I don’t really feel like talking to be honest.”

I nodded. “That’s okay too. This room is very quiet, soundproofed, don’t you know? I bet a lot of meetings have taken place here. It’s a good place to just sit and think.”

She didn’t respond, just staring out the window. The light reflected off her features. I could see the makings of wrinkles. Crow’s feet beginning to form on the edge of her dark brown eyes. There was no life in them. Deep laugh lines cut through her rosy cheeks. She wasn’t laughing now. Another sip of tea. “Twenty-four.” I didn’t respond. “Twenty-four. My son was Twenty-four years old.” Another sip. This time, from both of us.

“It was his second job. He hated his first, working at our café, he only had that to save money so he could move away to his second. It was his dream.” She snorted, but there was no humour there. “His second wasn’t even really a job. He was an artist. Talented too. He moved further east to Silver Shoals. Always loved the seaside.” She said, wistfully. “He’d live off of commissions from the locals. I was so proud. How could I not be? He was living his dream. Isn’t that what every parent wants from their child?”

I nodded, despite the rhetorical question. She never took her eyes off the window. Her teacup was drooping in her grip. “One day, he went up to the cliffs to paint the sunset,” A single tear rolled down her cheek. “It was his favourite time of day.” The sun outside the window was low in the sky now, painting the room in a golden-orange light that was darkening by the minute. “He was a little too close to the edge. It gave way and he just-”

She dropped the teacup and it cracked on the ground, spilling the rest of its contents. Her hands shot up to her face as if embarrassed and she sobbed. I ran to her and cradled her into my shoulder as she wept. “Oh, Darling.” I said as I rocked her. “I’m here. I’m here.”

The sun finally dipped below the horizon, and the enchanted candles came to life. “I-I just- I can’t bare it. Oh gods. My boy. My son, he’s-”

“I know,” I said. “I know.” What more needed to be said? What more could be said? This mare has gone through a terrible trauma. No parent should outlive their children. But some do.

We stayed like that for a while, me holding her. Until she finally pulled away. She took a deep breath and wiped her face on some napkins that were provided with the tea. Then I saw her eyeing my drink. “Do you mind if I…?” She gestured to it.

“Hmm? Oh, um, go right ahead.” I leaned over and passed her the glass. She gave a wordless nod of thanks then filled it almost to the top with the liquid from the decanter. I watched in shock as she gulped the whole lot down, then reached to refill it again.

My hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She looked at me. “Listen, just…” I could see the pain in her eyes and sighed. I know that feeling. “Just go easy. Yeah?” She didn’t respond, just filled the glass again, halfway this time, and took a small sip. I relaxed a bit and watched her. She was staring into the glass. Yep. I know that exact feeling.

I sat up a bit. “Listen, um… It’s getting dark. Do you want to stay the night? I’m sure you don’t want to be travelling right now.”

She thought for a moment. “Are- Are you sure?”

I smiled. “Absolutely.” I stood and held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s get you settled.” She put her glass down and I helped her stand. Her hand was warm. The line to the throne room was gone now. There was about two hours before Luna would be down to start Night-Court. The hallway was empty, save for a maid replacing a vase of sunflowers with nightshade. So much for optics…

After a couple of minutes of walking, we arrived at a guest room. “This is you.” I spoke. She nodded and opened the door. “If you need anything, just call outside your door and someone will take care of you.” She nodded again and walked into her room, then stopped. She turned and quickly enveloped me in a hug.

“Thank you.” She spoke. Muffled by my cloak.

I hugged her back. “You’re welcome.” She let go and turned to go back into her room but I reached a hand out and stopped her. She gave me a confused look. “Listen,” I said. “I know how you feel. Believe me, I do. I know the world seems grey right now. No, not grey. Dark. Hopeless.” She looked to her hooves. “But people care. I care. Salvation doesn’t lie in bad habits. It especially doesn’t lie in the bottom of a bottle. Please, promise me you won’t try and find it there. I made that mistake. Don’t make the same.”

She said nothing. I pulled her into another hug. “I’m going to make arrangements to send you home with a special candle. It burns with dragon-fire. Whenever you want to talk, doesn’t matter the time of day, write me a letter, think of me, then burn it in the flame. I’ll get it.”

She stared at me, wide eyed. “Are… Are you su-?”

“Ap, ap, ap.” I said and put a finger on her lips. “I’ve made my decision and I’m pretty stubborn, so don’t try and change it.”

She sighed and looked down again, then smiled. “Okay.”

I smiled too. “Go get some rest, Mrs. Whisk.”

“Copper.” She said. “It’s Copper Whisk.”

I smiled again. “Goodnight, Copper.”

“Goodnight, Princess.” Then her door closed.

I sighed and left for Celestia’s room. Optics.

18 - Progress

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Celestia was talking to Miss Raven Inkwell when I got back to her room. I closed the door quietly so as not to disturb them. “So, the preparations are complete?” Celestia asked her.

“Almost, your highness. The only thing left is security, but Shining Armor insisted on handling that part himself.”

“I see,” Celestia responded. “Well, if that’s what he wants then its up to him. He can be so stubborn sometimes...”

“Quite.” Raven said with a smile.

The two mares noticed me. “Well, Raven, I do believe we should stop for today.” Celestia stood to show Raven the door. “And what a productive day it was.”

“Indeed. As always if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Raven looked at me, her face blank. Then she broke into a wide grin. “Good evening, Princess Artemis.”

I smiled back. “And to you.”

When she left, Celestia went back to her desk and slumped in her highbacked leather chair with a sigh. She gave a tired smile. “How was your talk with Mrs. Whisk?”

I sighed. “It went well, I think. She hugged and thanked me at the end, even though I didn’t really do anything…”

“You lent her an ear. I’m sure that’s what she needed in that moment.”

“Maybe.” I sat in one of the chairs facing her desk. “That mare… Her poor son…”

Celestia’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Yes, I heard. Terrible.”

“I gave her a room here for the night.”

She nodded. “I’m sure she appreciated it.” She then looked down at some papers and was occasionally signing her name.

“Sorry, am I interrupting? I can go if you’re still working.”

She tittered. “No, not at all. Just some last-minute things that need signing off for the wedding.”

“Wedding?”

“Between Captain Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. It’s at the end of the week.”

“…Right.”

She looked at me. “Today’s Tuesday.” I nodded. “It’s happening on Sunday.” I nodded again. She facepalmed. “Of course you wouldn’t know, you’ve been in a coma. Sorry, My head’s all over the place.” She shuffled some papers. “Yes, the wedding is taking place at the end of the week, it was supposed to take place later in the year but last minute they insisted on moving it up to the week they come back. They should be here any day now.” She then stood and put some papers in a filing cabinet and took out some new ones to begin signing. “They’re cutting it pretty close, but will they listen? No.”

I nodded and stood and began wandering around her room. “Doesn’t this seem fishy to you?” I asked. She raised an eyebrow. "All this ‘changeling’ stuff going on and then they come back from… Where were they again?”

“Cadance was on a diplomatic mission in Neighpon.” The easternmost vassal state of Equestria, Neighpon serves as a staging ground for exploration further east across the Sunrise Sea. The Sunrise Sea is one of the four ‘Great Barriers’. Those being The Everfree Forrest to the south. The Frozen Wastes to the north. The Unending Ocean to the west and the Sunrise Sea to the east. Of course, the Unending Ocean isn’t actually ‘unending’ as The Continent lies west of that. The actual Unending Ocean is west of The Continent but the general public doesn’t know that.

Celestia continued. “Cadance is our top diplomat. Her being the Princess of Love, she’s the prime candidate for such a thing. Her charisma is unmatched along with her being just a genuinely good person, all the foreign leaders love her.”

“Yeah, she sounds nice.” I said absentmindedly.

"Does it seem fishy?" She asked repeating the question. "I suppose. But I'm not worried. We'll have the best security and some of the most powerful magic users in the realm attending."

I looked through various knick-knacks scattered about the room. Things from ages past. Memories that I wasn't a part of. Nothing I remember seeing before. I guess the ring really is the only thing she has from back then. One wall of the room was just a gigantic bookcase, complete with a small ladder on rails. I began perusing. ‘Holly Hocks complete guide to holistic healing’. ‘A compendium of eateries, A to Z’. ‘How to train your dragon’. Then, there was another book at the very end of the shelf, covered by the small ladder. Hello, what’s this?

I moved the ladder along the rails. It was stiff and it complained with a squeak, but it eventually gave and moved across. I reached for the book – tome, really – and came to see that it was unlike all the rest. Thick, leather-bound backing produced a lovely smell that only leather can produce and made me want to take deep breaths. A strange energy ran from the book through my body like an electrical current and sent the muscles in my forearm twitching. Gold-edged parchment was squeezed tightly together and the whole thing was tied shut with red ribbon. On the front of the tome was a stylised sun, not unlike Celestia’s cutie mark but this was different.

Ponies are the race most pre-disposed to magic in the realm, with Kirins coming in at a close second. Kirins being the offspring of a dragon and a pony. As such, early in life, ponies discover something that they love. Something that they are passionate about. Their special talent. Their latent magic will latch onto this thing and permanently mark the pony’s skin and fur like a tattoo. Their ‘cutie mark’. It could be anything. Celestia’s cutie mark is a stylised sun. Luna’s is a half-moon on a dark splotch.

Me being a human, I don’t have a cutie mark. Despite my talent with magic. I suppose, if I did have a cutie mark, it would probably be a black triangle.

Yes, this symbol on the front of the tome is definitely a cutie mark. Eight flares protruded from the centre circle, half of which were a light amber and the other half a deep crimson. The centre circle was separated like a yin-yang symbol, the yin being a golden amber and the yang the same deep crimson as half of the flares. The entire symbol protruded from the leather backing and was inlaid with thin gold.

I reached for the red ribbon and untied it. Then stopped. What am I thinking…? I mentally chastised. This could be Celestia’s diary. I’m not about to betray her trust like that… I sighed and slowly re-tied the red ribbon and placed the tome back on the shelf, wiping a bit of dust away that a maid must have missed as I did.

There was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Celestia called. Lyra entered. “Hello, Lyra.” Celestia said with a smile. “What can we do for you?”

I spoke up. “Oh, you're probably here for your lesson, aren’t you?”

Lyra nodded. “That’s right.”

“Do you want us to go, Celly?”

Celestia stood. “No, that’s fine. I’m done now anyway.” She filed away some papers she was signing and sat on one of her couches. “I wouldn’t mind sitting in on this if that’s okay with you?”

“Fine with me,” I said. “Lyra?”

“It’s fine.” Said Lyra.

“Okay.” I sat next to Celestia. “I can’t very well teach you if I don’t know what you’ve been learning.”

Lyra sat opposite us. “Well, when you were asleep it was mostly Celestia giving me what she said was some good exercises. Stuff like this.” She scrunched her eyes in concentration and held out her hands like she was cupping some water. Her breathing slowed and she took a few slow, deep breaths. Light began to emanate from her hands. It started small, barely noticeable. But with each breath, the light got brighter. A very light, pale green colour that made me think of mint. Brighter and brighter it became, until the light literally poured out of her hands, like the vapour from dry-ice. It fell slowly to the floor and pooled underneath her and around her hooves.

Then her eyes opened and she closed her hands quickly. The light dissipated like it was blown away in an unseen wind. I clapped. “Well done!” I said, genuinely impressed.

“Indeed,” Celestia said, matching my sentiment. “That was masterfully done.”

Lyra’s face went red and she looked to the side. “It wasn’t that big of a deal,” She looked to Celestia. “You said it was just a party trick.”

“That’s because it was a party trick,” Celestia said. “However, that particular party trick also has the side effect of honing your ability to channel without a medium. Hands only.”

I nodded. “And for only a few weeks of practice, you did very well. That was illusion magic, how are you with other schools?”

Lyra thought for a minute. “I can produce a few sparks out of my fingers if I breathe calmly for long enough. I don’t know what school that’s from though.”

“Is that so? Show me.” I said and folded my arms.

Lyra raised a brow. “Right now? It'll take a while.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “We can wait.” Lyra nodded, closed her eyes, and got to breathing. Celestia got up and retrieved a book from her bed-side table that had a bookmark in it, sat back down next to me and began reading. I closed my eyes and waited.

A few minutes later, Lyra said in a strained voice. “I think I’m ready.” I opened my eyes to see Lyra’s face strained in deep concentration. A few beads of sweat forming on her forehead below her broken horn. She held a hand out in front of herself and pointed up towards the ceiling.

Two sparks flew from her finger with a small ‘pop’ like a pathetic firework and dissipated shortly after. She let go of a breath she’d been holding and panted in exhaustion. Me and Celestia stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Sorry,” Lyra said. “I- It’s the only other thing I’ve learned. Luna was impressed, but I think she was making fun of me.”

I looked to Celestia. “Did you teach her that?” Celestia shook her head.

“She didn’t,” Lyra said. “I just thought it might be cool if I could make a sparkler with just my hands. It’s pretty pathetic though.”

“Lyra,” I said, stopping her. “What you just did, was a fireball spell.”

“Huh?!”

“It’s true.” Celestia chimed in. “If you were to have a medium, you would have produced a perfect fireball. Keep that spell up for long enough, and you would have produced a thick gout of fire.”

“Wha- Bu- I didn’t-”

I stood and hugged Lyra. “That’s my apprentice. I’m so proud!” Lyra smiled and hugged me back tightly. “If you’re that far along already, I dare say you may be ready.”

Lyra looked to me quizzically. “Ready for what?”

I ran to the other side of the room and grabbed my staff. “For your very own medium.” I brought it over to her and held it out. “Here, take it. No spells though.”

She hesitantly put one hand on the Elderwood and the deeply carved runes pulsed once with light. “What was that?” Lyra asked.

“That was your magic surging through the wood.” She looked up to the pale blue crystal that was cradles in the branches of the shaft. And I mean, she really had to look up. The staff was slightly taller than me, I’m taller than Celestia by a head and Celestia is taller than most ponies. So much so that they usually only come up to her chest.

“I think it’s a bit big for me.” Lyra said. “Also, it’s really heavy. It’s hard to keep balanced.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well duh. You won’t be getting one as big as this. You’ll get something more your speed.” I lifted the staff and positioned it so that it would be easier for her to handle. She put both hands on it, close to the crystal. “Now try that same light illusion as before.”

Lyra nodded and closed her eyes.

I put a hand on her shoulder. “Try not to keep your eyes closed. It’s bad practice. Just breathe.”

She nodded again. After a few seconds, deep within the crystal, that same minty-green light began to show. It grew slightly and we all peered into the crystal. The light was actually a glowing cloud. It grew like ink in water, swirling around itself until it dissipated all together.

“Oh…” Lyra said with slumped shoulders. “Well, that sucked.”

“It doesn’t trust you.” Celestia said.

“What?”

“Artemis’ staff doesn’t trust you. Elderwood is alive, Miss Hearstrings.” She said whilst I took my staff back from Lyra. “Not just alive but sentient, to an extent. The tree that this is made from chose Artemis to be its barer willingly. Not you. It doesn’t trust you.”

“She’s right.” I spoke. I held up the staff examining it. Near the top, where the crystal was held, a new leaf was beginning to grow. I smiled. “We’ve been through a lot together.”

Celestia cleared her throat and I snapped to her attention. “I take it you’ll be heading out tomorrow?”

“That’s right,” I sighed and placed the staff against the wall again. “Should only take a day.”

She nodded. “Very well. Lyra, it’s getting late and you apparently have a big day tomorrow. You should get some rest.”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, okay. Goodnight.” She turned to leave.

“Goodnight,” I called. "And well done. Really." She nodded with a grateful smile and left.

When the door closed, Celestia turned to me. “I can never get enough of watching you teach.”

“Huh?” I asked. “I barely did anything. In the time she’s been my apprentice, you’ve taught her a hell of a lot more than I have.”

She shook her head and hugged me, pushing me down onto the bed. “Doesn’t matter.” She kissed me. “It’s wonderful every time.” Another kiss. “Watching you with that filly today, watching you teach Lyra. You’d make a wonderful mother.”

I snorted. “Yeah right, it’s all well and good when I can spoil them, but I’d just want to send them away eventually. You were always the natural mother between us, Cell.”

“Kiss me.”

I grabbed her shoulders and rolled her over so I was on top. I leaned down and pressed our lips together, deeper and deeper I was drawn in, until we had to pull away to breathe. She stared into my eyes and I into hers. An unspoken acknowledgement of what was about to happen occurred. She smirked. Her horn lit. The curtains were drawn quickly and the candles lighting the room went out.

Oh my…

19 - Nightmares

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Dread.

Futility.

“…temis…”

Darkness.

“Artemis…”

Cold.

“…Help me…”

Death.

“Artemis!”

My eyes shot open and I quickly sat up, panting.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Celestia said as she squeezed my shoulder. I looked to her, but could barely see her face through the dark of the room. As I fought to get control of my breathing, Celestia left the bed. The light from the bathroom came on and illuminated the room. The large clock by the bookcase-wall read…very early. She quickly came back with a fluffy towel. “Here,” she said and held it out with both arms. “Stand up and come here, you’re soaked.”

I nodded and stood. She wrapped the towel around me, hugging me as she did. “Nightmare?” she asked.

“Nightmare.” I responded.

We were quiet for a bit, and then she said, “That’s unusual.”

I scoffed. “Gee, ya think?”

“Don’t get smart with me, missy.” She playfully chided. “Here.” She guided me back to the bed and we sat down, her leaning against my arm. “I just mean, you shouldn’t be getting them. Not with Luna around.”

“I know,” I sighed.

“How long have you been getting them?”

“Not for very long.”

We were quiet again. “What are they about?”

I thought for a minute, trying to think of the words to describe them. “…Help me…” I shook my head. “Nothing good.”

Quiet again. “You alright?” She asked.

I nodded. “I will be.”

“Why don’t you take a shower and then we’ll go see Luna?” She looked to the clock. “She should be available right about now.”

I laughed a bit. “As if her ‘availability’ would stop me from seeing her.”

Celestia smirked. “Go on. I’ll get some clothes ready for you.”

The water running down my skin felt wonderful. Nothing makes you feel better than ridding yourself of the days grime. I thought more about the dream, it was impossible not to. So annoying to have something be so vivid in the moment, but looking back on it, only snippets…

Cold…

I shivered and turned the water from hot to blisteringly hot.

Me and Celestia stood outside Luna’s door. I knocked. “Enter,” came Luna’s voice. We did and Luna looked up from her desk. She smiled. “Sister, Artemis! To what do we owe the pleasure of this early morning visit?”

“Hey, Lu.” I spoke. “How are you?”

Luna’s smile warmed slightly and she leaned back in her chair. “Why, we’re doing very well-”

“Language, Luna.” Celestia cut in.

Luna coughed in embarrassment. “Ah, yes. Do excuse us.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Me!” Luna corrected. Celestia smiled. “Yes, do excuse me. We – I’m – still getting used to this way of speaking.”

“Aww,” I said. “I like your way of speaking.”

Celestia hit my arm. “Don’t encourage her! I’m trying to break this habit she has.”

“Anyway.” Luna said. “How can I help you?”

“Oh, we’re just checking in on you.” I said. Celestia hit me again. I looked to her and she gave me the look. You know the one. The one that says, ‘if you don’t tell, I will.’” I hate that look… I scratched the back of my head. “I… I had a nightmare.”

“It wasn’t just a nightmare.” Celestia said to Luna. Then she looked at me. “Artemis, you were screaming.”

The room was quiet. “Sister.” Luna said, very serious. “Are you saying that Artemis had a night terror?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, definitely.”

Luna stared at us like we were playing a prank, both amused and annoyed. “That’s not possible.”

“Are you saying that she was thrashing and screaming and sweating because… what? It’s fun?”

Luna looked to me. “You? Had a nightmare? …You?”

I groaned in frustration. “Yes, damnit. Yes. I had a nightmare, okay?”

“About… About what?”

I thought back to the nightmare. Dread. “Something… Something’s coming…” Futility “We can’t stop it.” Darkness. “There’s no light left.” Cold. “There’s no love left.” “…help me…” “Someone calls to me…” Death. I shook my head. “I don’t make it in time.”

The sisters stared at me with wide eyes. “Well then…” Luna said. “That’s ominous.”

“That’s it?” Celestia asked her. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Luna said, holding up her hands. “I am telling you; it is impossible for Artemis to have a nightmare. I make sure of it myself.”

“But I did have one! No, I’ve had it a few times. Always the same.”

Luna looked me up and down, as if examining a machine that needed to be fixed. “No. ‘tis not a nightmare.”

“Have you not been listening?”

“I have.” Luna nodded. “And it is not a nightmare. It can’t be. Don’t you understand? I personally ward them off every night.” She thought for a moment. “Though… I suppose if one got through…” She looked to me. “How much of it can you remember?”

“I remember the important parts.”

Luna hummed in thought. “Then it may still be in you. Stand over here.” She moved to the balcony and opened the glass doors. I was immediately hit with the frigid, night-time mountain air and I fought not to shiver. The view was spectacular. Not only is Canterlot situated high on the mountain to begin with, but the tower that Luna calls her home is magnitudes higher than that. I could see for miles. The valley that houses the sleepy town of Ponyville stretched off into the distance bathed with moonlight, with rail-road tracks snaking their way north, west and east. But not south.

No, in that direction was the Everfree Forrest. I could see that too, beyond the valley. It started next to Ponyville and grew on and on into the distance with the end being… somewhere.

“Stand still and stop gawking.” Luna spoke. “This is serious.”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Her horn lit and she inclined her head to me. “With my moons help, we shall banish this sneaky nightmare together. Now, stand still, and bathe in its light.”

I didn’t really know what she meant by ‘bathe in its light’, so I just stood still. This seemed to satisfy her. Her magic washed over me, and the moon seemed to glow a tad brighter. A tingling sensation started at the crown of my head and slowly moved down. It was difficult not to fidget as it felt like the pins and needles you get when a body part falls asleep. Except, you know, in your head. It was especially difficult not to move when the magic rolled over my eyes, but I fought through it.

When the sensation got to my neck, it stopped. “Hmm,” Luna said. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?” Celestia asked.

Luna shook her head, “It’s not a nightmare.”

“Then what happened?” I asked.

She closed her eyes. “I know not. I’m sorry friend, but I sensed nothing.” She gestured to the moon. “Even with the help of my charge, together we found nothing of ill intent inside your mind.”

“Great,” I said. “Just great.” I went back inside, Celestia following behind. I sat on one of the dark blue chairs and sighed. Celestia sat next to me. “What now?” I asked.

“For now,” Luna said, closing the glass doors behind her. “I would recommend getting some more sleep. It’s still very early and you should be able to get a few more hours in.”

“I’m not sure I could sleep now even if I wanted too.”

“Why don’t we just try, Artemis?” Celestia asked, her magenta eyes twinkling in the candlelight. “At least lie down until morning. If you don’t sleep, then that’s fine. If you manage to, then all the better.”

I nodded, hesitantly. “Yeah, okay.”

We stood and Luna showed us to the door. “I’m truly sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” She said, morosely.

I sighed. “It’s not your fault, Lu.”

“Nay.” She said, shaking her head. “‘tis my domain, yes? I should have no problem banishing what ails you. Yet again it seems I have failed.”

“Hey.” I cut in, my voice like a knife through her thoughts. “Stop that. Nothing good comes of thinking that way. We both know that.”

“You tried your best, sister.” Celestia said. “Nothing more can be asked of you.”

Luna nodded, not really believing that. She looked at me with determination in her eyes. “Rest assured Artemis, I have a new quest now. I will not fail it.”

I smiled and squeezed her arm then left with Celestia.

Once back in our room, the sheets had been changed, and a fresh set of nightwear had been laid out for the both of us. We changed then slipped beneath the sheets. I rested my head on Cell’s chest, she hummed a gentle tune to me and I closed my eyes. Sleep never came.

20 - Elderwood

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After a restless yet paradoxically relaxing night, breakfast was quiet in those early hours. A plate of pancakes stacked high, a side of burnt bacon and a bucket of coffee to wash it down did little to sooth my worries. But it did help me forget, at least for a few minutes. On the train to Ponyville, I thought more about my predicament. How could I be having nightmares if the Dream Warden herself, Princess Luna, stated without a shadow of a doubt that this was no nightmare.

It’s not a nightmare, that has been confirmed. I don’t think it’s a memory… No, it’s definitely not a memory. Something like that would stay with me, despite the dream having similarities to the battle for Dream Valley. Namely, the feeling of dread and futility. And the cold. So, it’s not a nightmare and it’s not a dream, that just leaves-

“Artemis?” I snapped back to the present to see Lyra looking up at me with concerned eyes. “Are you okay? You’re looking pretty out of it.”

I nodded and rubbed my eyes, the clacking of the train as it trundled along the winding mountain passes making it harder to focus, lulling me into an even drowsier state as would a giant metronome. “Yeah, I’m good. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

She made an affirming grunt. “I heard.”

“You heard?”

She nodded. “Luna told me. She caught me on my way down to breakfast, let me know that you probably won’t be at your best today.”

I gave my eyes another rub. “Okay, first of all. I’m always at my best. I am the definition of ‘peak’.” Lyra snorted. “Second of all,” I gave her an appraising look, “you seem to be spending a lot of time with Luna.”

“…and?”

I looked out the window. “Nothing. Just saying.”

“I am not ‘spending a lot of time’ with her. I just see her every now and then. She’s fun to talk to.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. Luna deserves that, a lot more than that. Maybe I could organise something for us to do. Just me and her, like the old days. “I’m proud of you, you know?” Lyra raised an eyebrow. “I’m just saying, I don’t say it often, but that doesn’t mean I’m not. Proud of you, I mean.”

Lyra was quiet for a moment, looking out of the window as we finally descended the mountain and the rolling hills in the valley began to zoom by. “Thank you.”

The whistle blew shrilly as we stopped at the platform in Ponyville. As it turns out, we were the only ones to get off. Apparently, everyone on the train had better places to be than the sleepy village. “I’m hungry.” Lyra said as we stepped out of the carriage.

“Wanna grab a bite before we go?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I’m in the mood for something sweet.”

I grimaced. “I’m not so sure I wanna go to the café we went to last time. Especially not if the element of laughter is around.”

Lyra’s mouth flattened into a line. “Yeah, I had a feeling you’d say that.” She turned and looked at me conspiratorially. “That’s why we’re going to Bon-Bon’s shop!”

“Bon-Bon…” I thought out loud. “Isn’t that the mare you work for? Or maybe, used to work for? You have been away for a while. Sorry about that.”

“No, no.” Lyra said, shaking her head. “Well, I mean, yes I do work for her. But she’s also my best friend and roommate. She wouldn’t fire me.” She chuckled, “mainly because she pays me in sweets and a place to live.”

“Right.” I said, drawing out the word.

She looked up at me again. “Don’t give me some lame excuse like ‘you hate sweets’ or something…”

I laughed. “No, nothing of the sort, I wouldn’t say I have a sweet tooth or anything, but I do like them.”

“Well good! She’s one of the best confectioners around. You’ll like her, I’m sure of it.”

The building we arrived at was plainer looking than I was expecting. Not too dissimilar from the surrounding houses. A thatched roof and cream-coloured walls with dark oak trim on the supporting beams. The only real differences were the long bay-windows showing off various candy and the large sign above the door which read; “Sweety Drops’ Sweet Shoppe” in bubbly font.

“Who’s Sweety Drops?” I asked.

Lyra facepalmed. “I’m such a dingus. Sweety Drops is Bon-Bon’s real name. But everyone calls her Bon-Bon. Even her letters get sent with the name ‘Bon-Bon’ on them. I’ve told her she should change it and just make it official, but she won’t have it.”

“Huh.”

I had to duck slightly to enter the building and my nose was immediately hit with a saccharine scent that entered my nostrils and clung on for dear life. My mouth instantly started watering as the bell above the door announced our arrival. A cheerful sound, that was completely overridden by Lyra’s ear-piercing “Hey Bonny! I’m Home!” She ran towards the counter and I followed, taking my time to admire the colourful displays of every kind of sugary confection imaginable.

‘Whippoorwills’, ‘Squirrel Nut Zippers’, ‘Whatchamacallit’s’ and ‘Every Flavour Beans’ just to name a few. All crafted in-house by the looks of them. Behind the counter where Lyra waited, a taffy puller was working tirelessly and a chocolate fountain was pouring dark liquid goodness into a pot below.

“Lyra! What have I told you about shouting in the store?” A mare came out of the back room wearing an apron with three wrapped candies on the front. Her blue and pink mane was tied up and out of the way, and she was rubbing her hands on a cloth.

“Not to?” Lyra said, sheepishly.

“Not to.” The mare confirmed. She came around the counter and took Lyra in a warm hug. “I missed you. How have you been?”

“I’ve been great! …Mostly.”

The cream-coloured mare raised an eyebrow and hung the cloth on a hook below the counter. “Mostly?”

“Bob-Bon, this is Princess Artemis.”

The mare, ‘Bon-Bon’ or ‘Sweety Drops’, turned to look at me. Or rather, at my stomach. Her eyes widened and she slowly looked up to my grinning face. I held out my hand. “Miss Drops I presume?”

“Wow.” She said. Lyra laughed and by Miss Drops’ expression, the word she spoke was, in fact, involuntary. I kept my smile, genuinely amused. Miss Drops closed her eyes and shook her head, then slowly reached for my hand and shook it.

“S-Sorry,” She said. “It’s nice to meet you. You can just call me Bon-Bon or Bonny. Everyone does.” Then her eyes went wide and she dipped into a bow.

I put my hand on her shoulders and pulled her up straight. “Okay Bonny, and don’t worry about the whole ‘Princess thing’. Just call me Artemis.”

“Yeah,” She said. “About that whole Princess thing…”

I held up a hand. “Just don’t worry about it for now.”

She nodded and thought for a moment. “Excuse me for asking, I don’t mean to sound rude or anything but... You’re a human, aren’t you?”

“That’s right!” Lyra cut in. “And I’m really, really sorry in advance for this but…” She took a deep breath. “I told you! I told you! I told you! I told you!” She then paused to take another breath and started dancing around us. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”

Bonny was not amused. “Lyra!” She shouted, snapping her out of her revelry.

“Sorry,” Lyra said. “But… I did though…”

Bonny rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes. You were right and I was wrong. Congratulations.”

“Thank you!” Lyra responded. Bonny rolled her eyes again.

“Sorry,” I spoke up. “But what was that about?”

Bonny wrinkled her nose. “Lyra here would leave after her morning chores, disappearing off to visit you. She kept telling me – and everyone else – that you were human but, well, we didn’t believe her.” Her voice went quiet and she leaned a bit closer to me. “And can you really blame us?”

“I hope my humanity isn’t a problem for you?”

She laughed, waving her arm. “Of course not! I don’t care if you’re a human, pony, griffon, have two heads or no head, Lyra likes you and that’s good enough for me.” She then balanced on the tips of her hooves and leaned in closer to me. “But let me make one thing clear, if you hurt her, your species really will become extinct. Do I make myself clear?”

I nodded. “Crystal, ma’am.”

She smiled. “Good! Now, are you just here for a visit or can I get you anything?”

Lyra jumped up and down. “Ooh, ooh, you gotta try Bon-Bons’ bon-bons! They’re really good!”

“Um, sure,” I said. “I’ll take a bag of those.”

“Coming right up,” Bonny said. She filled and weighed a paper bag with the powdered treats and handed them to me. “On the house.”

An hour and a few cups of tea later, Lyra and Bonny had finished their catch-up session, with Lyra going over the last few weeks. Omitting the state-secrets and current invasion of shapeshifting insectoid monsters, of course. Bonny seemed to be simultaneously interested and worried for her friend but calmed down when I assured her that no harm would come to Lyra whilst under my tutorage.

That was a blatant lie of course, I’m sure at some point, Lyra will be hurt in some way and Bonny seemed to know that, but knowing that I would protect her friend was good enough for her.

“Okay, here’s the plan.” I said as we exited the shop. “Back to my cabin, get some stuff, go into the forest, do the thing.”

“Okay…” Lyra said as she popped a jelly bean into her mouth. “Is it worth me asking for details?”

“It would be best to explain as we go along.”

Before entering the treeline on the way to my cabin, I could see a cloud that was lower than usual. Not only that, but there was a rainbow streak attached to it. I made it a point to stare at the cloud and the rainbow streak retreated behind it. “Come on down!” I called. “You’re not fooling anyone!”

The cloud moved slightly and Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, poked her head out and stared down at us. Blue aethereal wings materialised on her back and she flew down to us. She stopped in front of me, a little too close, and her wings disappeared with a few sparks. She stared up at me. Not only stared, scowled. Oh great, here we go…

I smiled. “Hello Loyalty.”

Loyalty growled. “My. Name. Is. Rainbow Dash! And you have a lot of nerve to show your face here after what you pulled in the palace.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, is that so?” She nodded. I crossed my arms. “Then I guess you’re gonna have to make me leave.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds, Lyra was looking between us, nervously. I cleared my throat. “Let me tell you something, Loyalty.” Her scowl deepened. “First of all, I’ll use your name when you gain my respect. Until then, you’re just the towns weather-mare with the added perk of being chosen by a magic rock.” She growled again. “Second of all, I don’t know if you’ve been told, you must have since you have an ‘in’ with the Princesses, but I’m a Princess too. I may not have been coronated in living memory, but its still a fact.” I snorted. “You’d know all this if you hadn’t run away with the rest of the magic rocks, miss Loyalty. Fluttershy was brave enough to face me after what happened.”

Loyalty’s eyes widened at me using Fluttershy’s name. And why wouldn’t I? The element of Kindness has more than earned my respect. I continued, “I admire you wanting to protect people from me, I really do. But those horrible things I did and will likely do, I do them to protect all of you. I’m on your side.”

Lyra stepped in front of me. “It’s true, Rainbow. Artemis is a good person.”

Loyalty’s features softened as she looked at Lyra. They hardened again as her wings flared to life. "No Lyra. She's not. Sooner or later, you'll see that. I want you to know that you can always come to me." Then, she turned to me. “Just stay away from me, Princess.” Then with lightning speed, she was gone.

after a few seconds of silence, I clapped my hands together. “That went well.”

“As well as can be expected.” Lyra said. “I’m just glad it didn’t end in a fight.”

“Oh please, what could she do to me?”

Lyra laughed, humourlessly. “I wasn’t worried about what she would do to you, I was worried about what you would do to her.”

I shook my head. “I would never hurt her. Restrain her maybe, but not hurt. Beside her not doing anything that would warrant it, she’s too important to Equestria to harm. Can you imagine if something happened and she was out of commission? If word got out, it would be like ringing the dinner bell for all of Equestria’s enemies.”

“But we have you now.”

“Yes,” I sighed. “You have me now. But just because I called the elements ‘magic rocks’ doesn’t mean they’re not extremely powerful. If they were gone, it would be like chopping off an arm. Militaristically speaking.” I thought back and my eyebrows dipped. “If we had something like the elements of harmony back in Dream Valley…”

Lyra squeezed my arm, comfortingly. I shook my head, clearing out the ‘should haves’, ‘would haves’ and ‘could haves’. They would do no good now.

A walk through the forest later, we arrive at the clearing that my cabin was in. It was positively swarming with royal guard. Tents had been set up with people going to and fro, patrols were walking the treeline in groups of three and I could hear the grinding of streel on whetstone.

“Hey!” I called as I stomped up the hill, Lyra following close behind. “What in the hells is going on here? Who’s in charge?”

A pony wearing full plate-mail walked quickly up to me and saluted. “That would be me, Ma’am. Lieutenant Bleeding Heart, at your service.”

“At my service eh? Well then I suppose your going to have to listen to me when I tell you all to piss off.”

“Artemis…” Lyra said.

“No! This is my private space. I’ll not have people stomping around on the turf, I come here to get away.”

“I understand, ma’am.” Bleeding Heart said, as stoic look on his face. “You won’t even know we’re here. We’ll be quiet as harvest mice.” I looked around at the tents, the campfires, and the ponies running drills. The stoic look never left him.

I dragged a hand down my face. “Has anyone been in my cabin?”

“No ma’am. We were given strict orders not to enter.”

“Celestia?” I asked. He nodded. “Great. Just great.” I thought for a bit. “I’ll let you stay for now, but if I change my mind, you’ll be gone before I can say ‘get the fuck off my lawn’.” I pushed past him and up to the cabin. Me and Lyra both entered and I just about ran to the cabinet were I pulled out a bottle of amber goodness, taking a few gulps before I took out a glass and filled it.

“Can you believe this?” I asked to Lyra since she was there, but more to the room, really. “Fucking Celestia…”

“You know she means well.” Lyra said, placatingly.

“Oh, I know.” I said, flopping down on the couch. “And that’s the most annoying thing. She’s doing this to protect me. Even though she very well knows I can do that myself. More than that, what she’s doing is keeping tabs on me.”

Lyra sighed and sat next to me. “I think she’s just scared. She doesn’t want to lose you again. Sure, it could be seen as a bit clingy, but - excuse me for saying this - can you really blame her?”

I finished my glass. “No. No I can’t.” We were quiet then. I fiddled with the empty glass then stood. “Lets just get what we came here for and get going.” I moved to the closet, dodging boxes, bottles and books as I went and opened it. After rummaging for a while, I finally found it. I held it up and admired it, the shiny copper metal gleamed in the light. I turned to Lyra and held it out, reverently.

“A tree-tap?” She asked.

I nodded. “You’ll need that. Don’t lose it, it’s the only one I have.”

She took it form me and gripped it tightly. “Come on,” I said, moving past her and grabbing a knife on the way out. “Let’s get this done.”

On the way back to the tree line, I spotted Lieutenant Bleeding Heart and called him over. “Ma’am?” he saluted.

“We’re heading out.” I said, leaning on my staff. “Stay out of my house. Stay out of my shed. And stay off the basalt rocks. Understand?” He saluted again and I stared at him a while longer then stood up straight. “Come on, Lyra.” Lyra gave him an apologetic look before following me to the tree line.

The Everfree Forest was as dark as always. My staff glowed blue and made the shadows around us dance, making it difficult to discern what was a creature and what was just a trick of the light. “We’re heading in deep.” I said to Lyra as I stepped over a large root that she had to pretty much climb over. “That means that there may be trouble. If we do run into trouble, stay close to me and ill take care of it.”

“I can help-”

“No.” I cut her off. “You can’t. You need your strength.”

Deeper and deeper we ventured. Through glens and over streams, some babbling and some raging. Through vegetation so thick and dense one might think they were underground. The thick bark of the surrounding trees dense and rough enough to be mistaken for cave walls. There was no way to tell how long we were walking for, what with the sun hidden, but after a while, all sound receded.

It was an unnerving feeling. I stopped and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I had the distinct feeling that we were being watched. Lyra stopped with me. “What?” She asked.

“Shh.” I looked around and the darkness seemed to be closing in. I pumped a bit more will into my staff and the crystal cradled in its branched glowed slightly brighter. Then, a second light appeared. It was dim, and it was floating in a clearing just ahead. Well, I say clearing, it was more of a narrow corridor of plant matter.

I moved closer to the light. It was a single Lumafly. Hovering just in front of us. The pale blue light it emitted was very similar in colour to the light given off by my staff. I held out my hand. It buzzed slightly and perched on my knuckle. A smile came to my face and held my hand out to Lyra so she could see. It left my hand, buzzed towards Lyra and perched quite happily on her nose.

Her eyes crossed as she looked at it, her features illuminated by its soft blue light. She giggled and blew up towards it. It buzzed as it flew around and around in a circle then left off down the path. “We’re here.” I said, and followed.

A few minutes of following, with the Lumafly occasionally stopping to check if we were still there, we arrived at an open space of short grass with a tiny stream running through it. But that wasn’t the main attraction here. Humongous trees occupied the space, an unnervingly equal distance apart. It looked unnatural, despite the fact that this place was completely ancient. The canopy stretched out far above and the glowing fruits clustered at complete random made it look like we were under the night sky. A Buck with leaves growing from its antlers and a small Doe stared at us, then scampered off into the trees.

Lumaflies danced about between the branches and some came to get a closer look at us. “Lyra. Welcome to The Glade.” She stared as the lights from fly and fruit twinkled in her eyes. “A place of magic, and a nexus for Elderwood trees.”

“I take it that’s them?” She said, pointing to one of the thick trunks.

“That’s right.” I spoke. “Take a look around and come get me when you feel something.” Leaving it at that, I lay down in the grass and closed my eyes.

“Artemis!” I heard Lyra call. I opened my eyes and she was staring at me. I stood and she led me to a tree that wasn’t nearly as tall as the rest.

“You feel something here?” I asked. She nodded. “What do you feel?”

“Um, I’m not really sure. It’s like, I need to be here?”

I smiled and put my hand on the bark. “This is an Elderwood sapling.”

“Is that good?”

“It’s unusual for sure. But if you have that feeling here, then this tree is calling to you.” I patted the trunk. “This will be your focus.”

She smiled, excitedly. “What do I need to do?”

I stepped back and looked up to the canopy. “You need to get a branch.”

Lyra instantly wilted. “If you think I’m going to be able to climb up there, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“The tree chose you. It wants to help you. So, it will be easy to climb. Trust me, just try.” She looked hesitantly to the tree. “Would it help if I said I'll catch you?”

“Just-” She cut me off. “Okay. Okay.” She jumped up and down a few times. “Okay.” She put a hand on the tree and pulled herself up, then used her hooves, then she was climbing the trunk like one would a simple ladder. Lyra stopped. “What. The. Hell.”

“I told you!” I laughed. “The tree chose you. It’s helping you! Now do the same with the branches as you did with the trees at the beginning. When you feel something, you’ll know what to do.”

When she finally scaled back down the tree, she was carrying a large branch. I looked it over. “You happy with this one?”

“Yes?” She asked, unsurely.

I shook my head. “You either are or you aren’t.”

“I am. I felt something from this one, grabbed it, and it came loose as if I had cut it off.”

I nodded and smiled. “The tree gave it to you. It’s yours now.” I pulled out the knife that I grabbed back in the cabin and handed it to her. “Get carving.” I said. “When your happy with the shape, stop. Take your time.” I sat back down in the grass and closed my eyes, listening to the rhythmic scrapes and slices of steel through wood.

I woke up to Lyra shaking my shoulder. “Finished.” She said. She held up the branch. Or, what was left of it. From the metre long, thick, leaf bearing, bark covered offshoot of the young but mighty elderwood tree, was now little more than a stick about as long as my forearm. I took it from her and held it up, inspecting it.

“You’re happy with this?” I asked.

“Well, yes. Something in me just told me to stop.”

Good thing too or you wouldn’t have anything left…

I gave it back to her. “What you have here, Lyra, is the makings of a wand.” She stared at it. “Where as my staff is more suited for brute forcing things. Explosions, destruction, heavy-hitting spells. Your wand will be more suited to delicate endeavours. Things like illusion will be easy for you. A wand is a surgeon’s scalpel. A staff is a builder’s hammer. Both create and destroy. But both do so in different ways.”

She stared at her work. “Do I need to add anything else?”

“Yes. Look at my staff. What’s missing from your wand?”

“Obviously the giant crystal.”

“Very good.” I said, condescendingly. “I knew you were smart.” Lyra rolled her eyes.

“You still have the tap?” She pulled it out and held it up. “Nice. The crystal in my staff is actually hardened elderwood sap. We’re gonna tap the tree and get you the same stuff.” She nodded. “Remember, the tree wants to help you. So, push the tap in. Not too hard.” Lyra did as she was told. Like I said, when she placed the sharp end of the tap to the tree trunk, it moved into the wood like it was made of butter. “Good,” I said. “Now, hold up the end of the wand to the tap.”

She did and light blue liquid poured from the spout. She panicked a bit and struggled to gather it at the end of her wand. “It’s okay.” I said, calmingly. “Just gather as much as you can.” She nodded without looking at me, concentrated on what she was doing. Eventually, the flow subsided and she was left turning her wand back and forth to keep the viscous liquid on the end like a glass blower. “Now, flood the thing with your magic.”

She breathed deeply for a few seconds then grasped it tightly in her hands. The blue liquid glowed a minty-green and hardened into a crystal. She kept the magic flowing and the wood of her wand grew and clutched the now solid material like a hand. She stared at her creation. Just before i grabbed her in a big hug.

“Congratulations!” I said, holding her tightly. “You now have your very own focus.” I put her down. “I’m so proud!” Lyra blushed in embarrassment. “Here,” I said, guiding her away from the tree. “Here, try it out.”

“W-what should I do?” She asked, nervously.

“I dunno. Do something you would have done all the time when your horn wasn’t broken.”

She thought for a minute and then nodded. She walked over to the small stream. “I used to help out Bonny all the time with lifting things around the shop, so…” She held out her wand, exerted some will and the blue, crystalline tree sap glowed with the green light of her magic. A stone on the riverbed floated up and out and hovered in the air in front of us. Then another. And another.

“Lyra, you’re doing it!”

She continued to lift more and more stones. Some big, some tiny. She made them float and dance around us until she gently put them back in the stream with nary a splash.

Before I knew it, she held me tightly and cried into my stomach. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” She mumbled.

I knelt and hugged her back. “You are so very welcome.”

The trip back to the cabin was one made in complete joy. My apprentice finally has a means to cast spells. Now that she’s not using it anymore, her horn may never heal. But that hardly matters now that she has a work-around. She would gush about how happy she was. “Seriously,” she said, “I feel like I just grew my arm back!”

I was so happy for her.

Exiting the forest, the sun was close to setting and the clearing that held my cabin was in complete chaos. Guards were running everywhere and pegasi were taking off towards either Ponyville or the capital. I spotted Bleeding Heart giving orders to a bunch of troops.

“Lieutenant,” I said. “What’s going on?”

He turned to me. “It’s Canterlot, ma’am. Orders have come down that we’re to escort you back there as soon as possible.”

“What. Is. Happening?”

“We’re at security level Alpha.”

Alpha. The second highest security threat level. One above Tempest and one below Omega. The flying carriage took off with me and Lyra as passengers. As we passed the canopy of the clearing, I looked towards Canterlot. The entire city was covered in a giant dome.

21 - Shield

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A hole opened in the shimmering sphere that covered the capital to make way for our carriage. We were quickly intercepted by a group of pegasi who gathered beside us in formation and proceeded to guide us down onto a short landing strip attached to the side of the palace. Most likely a VIP entrance.

“Where are the Princesses?” I asked as I stepped out, Lyra hopping down behind me.

“Both Princesses Celestia and Luna are in the war room,” A guard said as he gave a short and quick bow. “We were told to take you to her, ma’am.”

I nodded and motioned for him to lead the way. The hallways were busier than usual, as I expected. What was unexpected, however, was what everyone was doing. Creating defensive positions? No. Increasing the number of guards? Also no. Setting out vases of large flowers? Yes. Hanging tapestries of large hearts and shields? Also yes.

“Doesn’t this seem strange to you?” Lyra asked as she struggled to keep up with me.

“Yes.” I said, simply and quietly. “No talking.” It may seem harsh, and I’d apologise to her later, but I’d rather not be talking about the danger in front what could very well be that same danger.

We arrived at an unassuming door. The guard escorting us saluted then left to do whatever it is he does. The room beyond matched the aesthetics of the rest of the palace. Marble and gold were the predominant features. It was large and circular with a wide circular table in the middle. In the middle of that, a topographical map of Equestria with the various cities, villages and settlements highlighted with glowing dots.

A few people were sat at different points on the table, some writing stuff, some in hushed conversations with others. Celestia and Luna were stood off to the side close together and looked to be in a hushed conversation with each other too.

I made my way over to them. “Hey.” I spoke. They stopped and looked to me.

Celestia smiled. “Hello. How was your outing?”

I stepped to the side so they could see Lyra. “See for yourself,” I said with pride in my voice.

Lyra reached to her waist and brought up her newly made focus.

“A wand?” Luna asked as she stepped forward. “Interesting. May I?” She held out her hand. Lyra gave it to her. Luna held the pale wood up in front of her eyes, examining it. The crystalized sap glinted as she turned it. “Megan carried a wand…” She handed it back to Lyra. “Granted, she never used it, it was more of a… ‘badge of office’ if you will.”

“She hated the thing,” I said.

Someone cleared their throat behind us. I turned and a stallion in what looked like a red parade uniform with golden tassels on the shoulders spoke. “Ma’am, it’s not wise to have civilians in here.” His gaze was fixed scornfully on Lyra, but his head was turned to Celestia.

“Now, General Pattern,” Celestia said, patiently. “This is Lyra Heartstrings, apprentice to Princess Artemis.”

He grunted and looked to me. I grinned. His gaze lazily moved to Celestia. He cleared his throat and said, “Be that as it may, I really don’t think-”

“General, tell me.” Luna cut in. “If Miss Twilight Sparkle, my sisters very own student was in this room right now, would you have anything to say about that?”

He gave Luna a flat look. “Yes. Yes, I would. Princess, with all due respect, please don’t insinuate that I have any kind of bias against the people I have sworn to protect.” I like this guy…

Luna smiled through gritted teeth. “Yes… Well, be that as it may, please don’t insinuate that I have any kind of bias towards friends of the crown.”

I raised an eyebrow and asked to no-one. “But… if they’re friends of the crown, doesn’t that already imply a bias towards them?”

Luna’s expression didn’t change. “You are supposed to be on my side, Artemis.”

“I’m just saying-”

Celestia cut in and held out her hands, placatingly. “People, people please, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room.” We all looked at each other. “Now, I’m afraid the General does have a point. While Lyra is the apprentice to Princess Artemis, it may be best if she waits outside.”

I groaned. “But that’s pointless. As soon as we get out of here, I’m just going to have to relay everything to her anyway.”

Celestia thought for minute then nodded. “Another good point.” She looked to Pattern. “General, I’m sure an exception can be made, just this once. These are exceptional circumstances after all.”

The General looked to me, then to Lyra and sighed. “Just… Please stay out of the way, miss.” Lyra nodded. He turned and left towards the round table.

Celestia looked apologetically at Lyra. “Sorry about that.”

Lyra smiled slightly, “it’s fine, I get it.”

“So, can we get brought up to speed?” I asked.

The door to the room opened and a few more people filed in. “Quickly,” Luna said. “The meetings about to start.” Then made her way over to the table to greet everyone.

Celestia took a breath. “Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor arrived a few hours ago, just as we received an anonymous tip that the city, and more specifically, their wedding, was going to be the target of a terrorist attack. We took this as the citizenry finally becoming aware of the changelings. Myself and Luna counselled them to postpone the wedding, but they were both adamant that they go through with it as a symbol of defiance against whomever made the threat.”

I folded my arms. “This stinks.” Lyra nodded in agreement. “This stinks like… Like… Something…”

“Stinky?” Lyra supplied.

I snapped my fingers and nodded. “That’s the one.”

“I suppose it does,” Celestia said. “From a certain point of view.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Look, you can’t deny that they have a good reason to keep the wedding on.”

“Actually, I can. It’s a terrible reason.”

She shrugged, “The most powerful magic users in the realm will be there, what could possibly go wrong?”

I couldn’t help it, the noise that came from my throat after she said that was like some unholy bat monster, screeching in defiance of the midday sun. “You did not just say those words.” I turned to Lyra. “Did she just say those words?”

“She did.” Lyra replied with wide eyes.

I brought my hand up to my face. “Are you touched in the head? How could you say such a thing?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow “I-”

“Sister!” Luna called.

Celestia gave me a look that said, ‘Don’t embarrass me,’ and started towards the table, then turned back to look at me again. ‘I mean it.’

I looked to Lyra and said, “You should wait over there.” Then pointed to the wall of the room. She nodded and jogged over, her hooves clacking on the marble floor.

“Hello my little ponies.” Celestia greeted the table, warmly. “I’m sure you all know what’s happening now, so let’s get down to business…”

About an hour and a half later of talking about schedules, guard rotations and general security, the meeting was coming to an end. Celestia finished off; “In conclusion, Captain Shining Armor will keep up the force field to the best of his ability, whilst Princess Mi Amore Cadenza will be making the finalizations to the wedding. Any questions?” She was met with silence. “In that case, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for coming.” Papers rustled and chairs squeaked as the attendees made to gather their things and return to their duties.

Celestia, Luna and myself moved over to Lyra as she was in an out-of-the-way position. “So,” I said. “Captain Shining Armor is maintaining a city-wide force field? By himself?”

“Indeed,” Said Luna.

“That’s extremely impressive. Still, are you sure we can trust the maintenance of the dome to one person?”

“Shining Armor specializes in shielding spells.” Celestia answered. “It earned him the nickname, ‘The Princesses Paladin.’ I myself couldn’t do much better than him.”

“I want to meet him,” I said.

“You will. He should be on one of the walls at the moment, I’m sure someone can guide you to him.”

“I want to meet Princess Cadance too.”

“Yes, I know. Though I’m not sure where she is at the moment. She’s likely running herself ragged trying to get all the preparations in place, the poor dear.”

Luna spoke up. “The last I heard she was in the palace kitchens checking on the food.”

“Okay,” I said. “We’re off then. Come on, Lyra.”

Myself and my apprentice walked towards the door when Celestia called; “Say hello to Twilight for me!”

I stopped for a moment, then waved back in agreement and carried on. God damnit.

A guard in the hallway was kind enough to guide us to where his Captain was. Outside on a wall surrounding the palace, Shining Armor was stood staring up at the dome he created. A tall stallion, with a pristine white coat and two-tone blue mane, he was built like someone who had the genetics to be naturally handsome without really trying. Enough to make even my barn door think twice before swinging. Meow.

“Captain Shining Armor?” I asked with a big smile on my face. He turned his head towards me and gave me a look that said, ‘yeah, what of it?’

Unf.

His expression turned neutral, then to a smile, and it was at that point I noticed his horn was lit. He held up a finger and scrunched his eyes. Then there was a popping sound and the light from his horn accumulated at the tip before shooting off into the sky towards the dome. Said dome flashed and sparkled with light and became brighter from that point on.

He turned towards myself and Lyra, but stopped and winced. He gripped his head and bent over double. I ran over to him and gripped his shoulders, supporting his rock-hard frame. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Y- yeah.” He said through gritted teeth. “Sorry about that, maintaining this barrier is harder than it looks.” He stared up into my eyes.

I’m married. I’m married. I’m married. I’m married.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” I said letting him go and stepping back. I held out my hand. “Princess Artemis Everfree. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

He smiled, took my hand and shook it. “Likewise. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Likewise.” Still shaking.

“Ahem.” Lyra cleared her throat.

I let go of his hand and stepped back even further. “Oh, sorry. Captain, this is my apprentice, Lyra Heartstrings.”

They shook hands. “Pleasure.” “Hello.”

I put my hands in my cloak pockets. “So, Captain. Your big day’s coming up. Nervous?”

“Honestly? I’ve never been more scared in my entire life.”

I waved him off. “Nah, you’ll be fine. You’re only marrying a Princess.”

“You’re married to Princess Celestia aren’t you?” he asked. It’s not like he didn’t know, he was likely just confirming it. I nodded. “You got any advice?”

“You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

“Well… What was your wedding like?”

I thought back to that day.

Me and Celestia had been together for ten years before we decided to finally get hitched. It was also a spur of the moment thing. At the time, we both thought marriage was rather pointless. I loved her, she loved me, everyone knew it, what good would a big kerfuffle and a piece of paper saying so do?

The summer that year was especially hot. When I say ‘especially hot’, I mean that it was so hot the landscape turned into a permanent desert. Back then, the Badlands weren’t always ‘bad,’ they were just an unremarkable part of the landscape. A place we thought would make a good position for the new capital city. ‘The Plateau.’ A vast area of mostly flat ground. An easily defensible position where the enemy couldn’t sneak up on us. Needless to say, we were quite paranoid after Dream Valley.

It was always hot there. Not desert hot like it is now, but it got very warm. The settlement we built there was mostly underground, this would provide natural cooling for all of the people, as well as acting to make supplies last longer. It was a good design. Very good.

So good in fact that when a strange being appeared, claiming to be the ‘God of Chaos,’ the subterranean design served to save our lives.

He appeared out of nowhere, claimed that we had trespassed on his favourite playset, and as punishment for our ignorance, raised the temperature of The Plateau a couple of hundred degrees. Everything outside burst into flames. Needless to say, we were trapped. Months without seeing the sky, supplies were running low and so was morale. Well, not much could be done about the first two, but the last?

The ceremony was conducted with Luna presiding and of course, everyone was invited. Despite the circumstances, it was one of the happiest days of my life.

The supplies were gone. People were starving. The morale boost of a wedding only lasted so long. So, with little choice, we ventured outdoors. The heat was unbearable. Yet, there was no fire. We could survive up there. The landscape of The Plateau had completely changed. Gone were the lush, expansive grassy fields. Now only scorching sand. Gone where the occasional hills, now dunes that would change with the wind.

Gone was the creature claiming to be a ‘God.’

He had doled out his punishment, and we had served our sentence. More people had died. Now all that was left was to find a new home. A place that would be named ‘The Everfree Forrest’. In honour of myself and Celestia’s wedding. The event that kept people going during that hard time. The name ‘Everfree’ became one synonymous with hope. Little did we know, that the forest named for hope would not be our final home either…

“More or less the same as this, believe it or not.” I answered Shining as I looked up to the roof of the dome above our heads.

“So, advice?” he asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.

I answered him with a sigh. “It’s going to be different for you, obviously. But I’m willing to bet that the emotions you’re feeling will be the same as I felt. Mainly fear.” He nodded. “You may be feeling that now, but trust me when I say you’ll be looking back on the moment you see your love enter the room for the first time wearing that dress, and she walks towards you slowly, and Celestia declares you stallion and mare and you feel your lips on hers and… Yeah.” I chuckled. “You’ll be fine. Don’t overthink it. Let your mind go blank and enjoy yourself.”

“Okay,” He said, nodding. “Yeah, yeah I can do that.”

“Good.” I held out my hand again. “It was good to meet you, Captain.”

He shook it. “Likewise, Princess.”

Lyra said her goodbyes too, and then we were off to find the bride-to-be.

22 - Letter

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It was difficult to find Cadance. We got directions to one part of the palace, only to find that the princess had recently moved to a different part. One game of hide and seek later, we arrived at her suite. I cracked the door open a tad and peeked in. She was stood with her back to the door flanked by none other than Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, the barer of the element of generosity.

I cleared my throat as both myself and Lyra entered the room. Generosity noticed me and grimaced, then went back to adjusting Cadance’s dress. Twilight smiled amicably and approached us. “Hello, Artemis. Lyra.”

I nodded my head in greeting. “Twilight.”

“What are you doing here?” She asked. No maliciousness behind her words, just genuine curiosity.

“We came to meet my niece. The bride-to-be."

Rarity looked over in interest and Twilight looked between me and Cadance. “Of course. Wait, Cadance is Princess Celestia’s niece, and she’s getting married to my brother… Then technically… We’ll be related.” She said with wide eyes.

Lyra snickered. I blanched and my mouth turned into a thin line. “Welcome to the family, kiddo.” I walked further into the room and Generosity subtly changed her position around Cadance so that the princess was between us. “Nice to see you again.” I said a bit loudly, conveying that I knew what she was doing. She stopped her work on the dress and peeked around Cadance, her eyes not meeting mine.

“Er, yes. Likewise, dear.”

It was quiet for an awkward second or two until I cleared my throat. “And you must be Princess Cadance. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Cadance was short for an alicorn. Though, that’s to be expected as she only went through her ascension recently. That is, recently on an immortal’s timescale. Only slightly taller than Twilight, she was pink. Very pink. Though not element of laughter pink. This was more subdued, like a little girl’s bedroom wall. Her hair was a light purple with light gold streaks and her doe-like eyes shone in the light – tinted a rosy hue by the city-wide shield outside - that streamed through the window.

She was, by all accounts, a fairy-tale princess. I held out my hand to her, “I’m Artemis. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She stared at me. And stared at me… And stared at me. Then just as I was about to pull my hand back, she placed her hand in mine and shook it, gently. “It’s Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” She said in a factual tone. Despite the coldness of her delivery, her voice was like the ringing of silver bells.

Twilight huffed slightly and the smile went from my face. I tried to paste it back on, as much as my feelings on her comment would allow. “Er… Right…” More seconds of quiet... “Oh, this is Lyra Heartstrings. My student.”

Lyra stepped forward, her hands set demurely in front of her. “H-Hello.”

Cadance – sorry – Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, sneered down her slightly pointed snout at Lyra like she was a dead rat on the side of the street and nodded once. She looked back to me, “was there anything else?” She asked.

“Nope. Just came to wish you luck for your big day.” I smiled and looked her in the eyes. “Break a leg.” Then turned to leave.

Before I got to the door of the room, something tugged on my cloak. I turned to see Twilight looking up at me. “We...” She looked back at Cadance, then to me, her eyes resolute. “We need to talk.”

I looked back at Cadance too, to see that she was stood perfectly still with her back to us, as the element of generosity worked around her. I bent down to Twilight's ear. “Come to Celestia’s room in twenty minutes.” The purple unicorn nodded and walked back towards the princess.

“What do you think's going on?” Lyra asked as she leafed through a book, pulled from one of Celestia’s shelves.

“Nothing good,” I replied as I poured myself a cup of tea. “Sorry, did you want some?” I asked holding up the teapot.

She nodded with a smile. I poured and said, “Twilight thinks something’s wrong. Despite how I feel about the mare, she’s smart.” I carried the cup and saucer over to Lyra and she took it with a hum of thanks. “Not only that, but Cadance has been a friend of her family since she was little. Did you see that look she gave her? Unless they both had a huge falling out, something has changed and I’m willing to bet that the change is with Cadance. Can you honestly see that bitch of a mare being friends with Sparkles family?" I shook my head in disappointment. "And after all that talk of her being charming, charismatic and just downright lovely.”

Lyra’s eyes lit up and she placed the teacup on the table in front of her. She turned to me. “Cadance is a changeling.”

I leaned on Celestia’s desk and folded my arms, waiting for her to continue. She did. “Cadance and Shining Armor were on a diplomatic mission in the east. I don’t know when they were due back, but I do know that their wedding was scheduled for later in the year. Suddenly, they’re both back and they instantly move their wedding up to this week. Right in the middle of all this changeling malarkey and right as an anonymous tip gets sent about a terrorist attack on the city!”

A flash of green light caught my attention and a letter appeared in front of me. Someone contacting me directly? I grabbed the letter out of the air, opened it and read. My eyes widened and I can only assume that the colour drained from my face. Not good…

I opened my mouth to speak but Lyra cut me off, turning away and scratching her chin. “No, wait. Shining Armor can't be a changeling. Both Princesses Celestia and Luna confirmed that he’s the only one capable of making a shield over the city. They called him, ‘The Princesses Paladin’. So, Cadance is the changeling. But what’s Shining Armor?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but, once again, I was cut off. “Holy…" Lyra continued. "They’re using him… They made him put up the shield to stop us escaping! They've penned us in like animals!” She jumped in the air and fist-pumped. “Booyah! That was right off the top of my dome! Am I good or what?”

“Lyra!” I shouted.

She startled slightly and bumped into the table, knocking the teacup over. She rubbed her leg, “um… ouch… Sorry, yes?”

“You remember Copper Whisk, the mare who came to day-court? The one who lost her son?”

“You did tell me about that, yes.” She said, her ears flattening.

“I gave her a dragon-fire candle so that she could always contact me…” I held up the letter I just received. “She has informed me that her son has just walked through her front door.”

23 - Bells

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The town of Hollow Shades was not a bustling metropolis like Manehattan, nor was it a sleepy hamlet like Ponyville. Thoroughly out-of-the-way, nestled in the eastern mountains on the border with the Frozen North, its borough was built into a natural sinkhole. For you see, the name ‘Hollow Shades’ was no accident. A town that spends its time in darkness, save a few hours a few days a year, when the sun manages to just peak through the hollow mountain’s only exit. From the outside, a gaping, ominous maw. From the inside, the residences only window to the blue skies beyond.

The residents didn’t mind. In fact, they preferred it this way. A hearty bunch that put one word above all others. Community. Everyone knew everyone and if you were just visiting, expect the warmest of welcomes from the town of darkness. Visitors always marvelled when they first peered down from the maw of the mountain and see the town for the first time. Comparable to looking up into the sky on a moonless night, the flames from the gas streetlamps flickered along with the hearths of the houses, twinkling away happily in the dark abyss.

Time was hard to tell down there. Citizens relied on the town hall's very strict clocktower, chiming away every hour, on the hour and its four glowing clock faces, which could be seen from any point in the town.

It was at the chime of six o’clock that Copper Whisk awoke. ‘Awoke’ being a relative term. Ever since that day when she got a knock on her door from the guard informing her of the events at Silver Shoals, she had spent her days on auto pilot. On that day, the light had left her life. Copper sighed as she looked out of her bedroom window and into the gloom beyond. The ever-burning gas lamps distorted by the water droplets that rained down from the stalactites above. Today would be the same. One hoof in front of the other, simply biding her time until she could see her child again.

No. No, she mustn't think like that, he wouldn’t want that. She had to try and live her life the best way she could. By being happy. That would be her ultimate revenge on this realm. Spite would keep her going now, and spite forced a smile to appear on her face as she turned towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Fifteen minutes later, she quickly buttered a slice of toast, moved towards her front door and grabbed her keys from a side table that also held a tall candle with a green flame. She smiled at the gift from the strange princess, grabbed an umbrella, left her house, locked the door and briskly walked onward to seize the day, her hooves clacking on the wet cobbles as she went.

Copper Whisk’s café was a small thing, squeezed between two other small businesses that looked positively imposing by comparison. The café had no name. It didn’t need one. Everyone knew it was a café and everyone knew Copper Whisk. The first few days after she got the news about her son, her business was busier than ever. Everyone in the town made time to come and give their condolences. Copper hated that. Usually, she would love to be swamped with work, but not when every customer would take the time to remind her – inadvertently – what she had lost.

Of course, this was not done maliciously. Hollow Shades was saddened to hear of her sons passing, saddened like one would be after losing a distant family member. But Copper didn’t need that. In fact, she couldn’t stand it. How dare they presume to know how she feels? How dare they offer flowers and cards as some meaningless gesture, or as a signalling of ‘look at me, aren’t I compassionate?’

Copper stopped in her tracks, the rain from the cave ceiling pouring off of her umbrella, and she lightly tapped herself on the cheek, kickstarting her smile like a rickety old generator. No. Today is going to be good. I’ll make it good. She thought.

She unlocked the front door to the café and stepped inside to start her morning chores. When the door closed behind her, she was hit with a wall of smells. Baked bread, sweet and savoury pastries, coffee and tea all served to make that plastered on smile turn genuine. The gas lamps flickered to life, ovens lit and water started to boil. She moved towards the counter, setting up tables as she went, then stopped.

Memories came flooding back to her. She looked to a corner table and saw her son sitting quite comfortably doing his homework. Copper smiled, he wasn’t doing his homework, in one hand he had a glass of freshly squeezed juice and in the other, a large slice of blackberry torte, his favourite. Her son’s legs dangled back and forth as he stared at his after-school treat, a wide grin on his face as he wondered which part he would devour next.

Her own smile widened as the memory looked over to her, quickly dropped the food and picked up a pencil. Desperately trying to look busy.

The townhall’s clocktower chimed for seven o’clock and her smile vanished along with the memory. Opening time. She moved behind the counter, flicked on the ‘open’ sign, which illuminated outside, and waited. It wouldn’t be long before the masses came shambling in.

A few hours later, Copper decided she’d had enough. After days of condolences, meaningless gestures and platitudes from both her loyal regulars and even a few tourists who heard of her plight through the gape vine, now was only sad smiles and large tips. She couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t stand them ‘caring’ and she couldn’t stand when they got bored of ‘caring’. Still, she managed to keep the smile on her face and make her customers feel welcome. That was good enough for her. But now, she wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but here.

The machines shut off, the gas lamps dimmed and she locked up early for the day. Now came the hardest part, the walk home. Thanks to the ‘mares in the high tower’ in Canterlot, her son was laid to rest in a dingy hole in the ground, in this dingy hole in the ground. He never would have wanted this. All his life, he wanted to leave this place. Go and live somewhere the sun shined. Now, he was back.

Even his wake, which took place by the seaside in Silver Shoals, was a total bust. Rain, rain and more rain. The realm cried for her son that day, despite her fighting tooth and nail for it not to.

Behind the Hollow Shades town hall was a cemetery. It was only a small thing. Down here, space was tight. Residents who had shifted off their mortal coil were typically cremated, their ashes scattered in a far brighter place. She couldn’t do that to her son.

The thought of turning her sons’ body into nothing more than dust sent shivers down her spine. If she lost the battle of burying him somewhere the sun shined, she would win the war of putting him somewhere she could at least visit. It was a battle through which she had emerged the victor, and now, in a small plot in the corner of the gated cemetery, her son slept peacefully.

Coward. She thought as she stared at the gates. Just go in. He’d want to see you. Since her son was laid to rest, she could not bring herself to visit. She wondered if she had made a mistake, fighting for burial over cremation. Now that all was said and done, she didn’t know which was worse. Her son tuning to dust to be scattered who-knows-where on the wind, or the fact that he was sleeping, right over there, with only a bit of dirt and wood separating them, and naught she could do about it.

She peered through the rusty iron bars of the gate, trying to get a look at the stone that marked her only child, but saw nothing. She focused on the simple latch keeping the gate closed, and noticed that it was open. Someone must be in there… she thought. Copper reached for the gate, intent on opening the thing and stepping inside. Her hands trembled as she got closer, only to fall still as she gripped the bars and pulled the gate shut, the rusted hinges protesting with a loud screech.

“Tomorrow,” she promised, her voice determined yet trembling. She always promised, she always broke it.

Her hooves clacked and splashed down the empty, puddle filled street as she made her way home. Over the downpour from the cave roof, she never heard the screech of the gate’s hinges.

She unlocked the door to her rickety home and stepped inside. When a bird finally flies the nest, it feels empty. But this was different. Knowing that the bird will never return creates a miasma of loneliness that seeps into the very foundations. When the door closed behind her, her smiling façade broke and she collapsed to the floor. She didn’t cry, only sat leaning against the door. Her eyes stared down the dark hallway, lit only by the tall green candle.

Get up. Nothing. Get up, damn you! Movement. Her arm slowly rose and she placed her keys onto the table by the door, then fell limp once again by her side. She sat, staring for a few minutes. Then, finally, managed to pull herself off of the cold, creaky floorboards. She dragged her hooves down the hallway and to the kitchen, where she put a pot on to boil and filled a strainer with tea leaves. She got out two cups, one for her and one for her son- No. No, he’s not here. Silly me. She placed one back and put the other on the table, sat and waited.

Just as the pot began to boil, there was a knock on the door. Three slow thuds. She left her seat at the table and turned the heat down a tad on the stove. Three more thuds. She closed her eyes and sighed. Another well-wisher? “I’m coming!” She called.

When she opened the door, her face paled and her eyes widened.

“Hi mom.” Her son said.

He stood in front of her, tall and handsome, soaked from the rain and wearing the same thing he was buried in. His smartest suit, now incredibly filthy, caked with mud. The flower that was placed in his lapel was still there, or rather, the stem was, the delicate petals had long since vanished. Rotted away. Unlike his fur, which had retained its blue colour. His eyes were glassy, but still darted lively over her features.

She said nothing. She covered her mouth with one hand and collapsed to the floor, catching herself with the other. Her son quickly bent down and grabbed her shoulders to support her. She stared at his hooves. She couldn’t bring herself to look at his face.

“Mom,” he said as he closed his arms around her in a cold embrace. “It’s okay.”

Copper Whisk screamed. She wailed in grief and thankfulness. Her son rocked her back and forth comfortingly. “Shh,” he said, “it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m home now. I’m home.” He pulled her gently inside and closed the door.

“H-how?” She managed to say.

He smiled, sadly. “I’m not sure myself. I remember… falling. And then I suddenly woke up in the cemetery.”

“B-but… You… Son, you’re… you’re…”

“Dead. I know.”

She finally looked him in the eyes. She lifted a hand and cupped his cheek. It was freezing. “I just… I don’t understand.”

He pulled her to her hooves and moved to the kitchen. “I don’t myself. Small miracles, eh?”

They sat down at the table, Copper staring at him with a genuine smile. But, the more they sat, she couldn't stop her traitorous thoughts. This is wrong, they said. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong.

How could it be wrong? My son is back and we can finally be happy again!

The town hall's clock chimed. Wait… that’s not right. Copper stood and peered out of the kitchen window. "It’s… four thirty? The bells only ring on the hour…" Her son grunted and she turned to see he was clutching his head. “Are… are you okay?” Copper asked.

“Yeah…” He spoke. “Just a headache is all.”

The bells kept ringing. This is wrong… “I’ll be right back,” she said. Her son nodded and she moved quickly to the hallway. She opened a small draw in the table and pulled out a piece of parchment. Copper looked at the green candle. She’ll know what to do.

Dear Princess Artemis,

I’m sorry to bother you, but something has happened and I don’t know what to do. It’s my son, Easel. He’s back. Literally. He’s sitting in my kitchen right now. I know I sound crazy, but please believe me. I’m scared. Please help me.

Copper Whisk.

She lifted the page, hesitated, then with determination, held it to the candle. Without much warning the green flame engulfed the parchment and it disappeared in a shower of sparks. The bells were still ringing.

Now I need to buy time… Copper took a deep breath and re-entered the kitchen, only to pause and stare in shock at Easel. He was bent over double, his back to her, clutching his head. It was only now that she could see the injury from his fall. The back of his skull was missing. His head was open, gaping like the maw to Hollow Shades and inside, empty. She covered her mouth and fought down a scream as her son groaned in pain.

“The bells…” He spoke in a low grumble. “The bells… So loud… Please… Please, make them stop…”

Copper could certainly hear them, but they were nowhere near loud enough to cause her physical pain. She swallowed her fear. She had to be there for her son now until the princess could arrive and help him. She moved closer, hesitantly. “It’s... It's going to be okay, son. H-Help, is on the way.” Like a flash he turned on her, grabbing her by the throat. They crashed to the floor, chairs tipping over.

“H-Help?!” He shouted in a voice not entirely his own. "Help is already here for you, my sweet.” His freezing hands tightened around her; tears streamed from her eyes. She reached up towards the boiling water on the stove and grabbed the edge of the pot. She couldn’t scream as the hot metal seared into her hand, his grip on her windpipe was too tight. With her adrenaline pumping she swung the pot with all her might into the side of her son’s head. He let go of her as he was knocked to the side, boiling water flying. It burned her as it landed on her chest and she could finally scream in pain.

As the boiling water landed on her son, it instantly evaporated and quickly condensed into a cold mist which settled on the floor like snow. Copper turned onto her stomach, the ice now on the floor soothed her burned flesh. The bells were ringing louder now, and she started to understand why they caused her son so much pain. Through coughs and with her strength returning to her, she crawled towards the front door. She reached for the handle and felt a weight settle on her back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Her son asked. Once again, she screamed in pain as she felt flat, equine teeth tear into her shoulder. She sobbed as she shook from side to side, trying in vain to get out of his grip. Easel tore her over onto her side and rolled her over onto her back. She stared up into her son’s glassy eyes. Blood, his mothers blood, her blood, dripped from his lips and his mouth was stretched into a wide smile as he wondered which part he would devour next.

“Please…” She managed to eek out, her throat aching with every breath. Her son ignored her as he finally leaned down and bit into her neck.

As the blood drained from her, and as her son took bite after bite, she heard a small ‘pop’ over the bells. A letter floated down from the green candle landing next to her head with two simple words on it.

I’m Coming.

24 - Copper

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“Will you slow down a second?!”

Heavy bootfalls and the rapid staccato ‘Clack, Clack, Clack,’ of hooves echoed down the hallways of Canterlot Palace.

The letter was sent, and now it was time for action. “I can’t, Lyra.” I called back to my apprentice, as she struggled to keep up. “This is my job.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to think first?” Lyra panted.

“Thinking requires time.”

“But-”

I opened the door to Celestia’s office, the guards either side not having enough time to stop me. The Princess in question looked up from her papers, eyebrows raised. “Artemis? What-”

“We have a problem.”

Once again, bootfalls and hoofclacks rang throughout the hallways, this time louder and more determined.

Luna marched beside me, determined fury on her face. Celestia spoke, calm, but I knew the truth. “So, once again, this will be a routine check-up.”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s nothing ‘routine’-”

“You will go in, determine the source of the trouble, and report back.”

“Celestia, I know you just want it to be-”

“It will be, because I can’t- We can’t-”

She stopped speaking, lest she allow her underlying panic to slip through.

Myself, Luna and Lyra stopped. The guards walking with us stopped too, but I waved them on. “Go, get prepared. We’ll meet you in a few minutes.” They saluted, and marched on.

Once they were out of sight, and the four of us were alone, I grasped Celestia by the shoulders. “Listen to me. We don’t know what’s happening yet, but I think we all have a good idea.” Celestia sighed, I continued. “But, hey. You could be right? Perhaps Copper got something wrong? Maybe she’s ill, maybe she’s mistaken, maybe a million other things. But you don’t need to think about that now. What your job is right now, is to be Princess Celestia.

“Your job right now, is to be the rock. The stability the citizens need. We will do our job, you will do yours, and it will all work out.” I shrugged. “It always does.”

Celestia said nothing. Lyra shuffled from hoof to hoof.

Luna stepped forward with a comforting touch to the elder Princess’ arm. “Worry not, sister. We will flush out these ne’er-do-wells and we will be back in time for tea.”

Celestia seemed more comforted by those words than my own.

She grimaced and looked me in the eyes. “If you leave again, I’ll kill you.”

I laughed nervously. “I believe you.”

She was quiet again and nodded. She turned to Lyra. “I can’t say you’re ready, and I know you don’t have much practical experience yet, but I have a feeling you’re about to get some.” She stepped forward, and took the minty mare by her cheeks with both hands, tilting the unicorns head up to meet hers. “Keep your head. And look after these two.” She punctuated with some mirth. Lyra didn’t smile, simply nodded.

I leaned forward and kissed my wife, who returned it with equal measure. We said nothing more as we turned and walked towards the skydock.

The three of us arrived at the large transport carriage, only to meet some resistance. Captain Shining Armor, soon to be Prince Shining armor in only a few hours, was blocking the transport with a bubble shield.

“What the hell is this…?” I muttered as I stormed up to him, Luna not far behind.

“Captain!” I yelled over the arguing. “What, by the World Tree’s branches, do you think you’re doing?”

The arguing stopped, and the white unicorn turned to look at me. “Princess!” He greeted. “How are you? I was just telling sergeant-”

“Telling nothing.” The sergeant in question interrupted. “Captain Shining Armor here is interrupting a direct order from-”

“You ever heard of the ‘chain-of-command’ Sergeant?” Shining interrupted back, “It’s a little thing you learn in boot, it means-”

“I’m well aware,” the sergeant growled. “But the Princess-”

“Princess? What Princess? You mean the ape, running around masquerading as-”

“ENOUGH!” Came Luna’s royal Canterlot voice. The windows of the Palace shook. “Captain Shining Armor. You are impeding a detachment of high priority. Life and death. I suggest you stand aside, or I will remove you myself.”

I said nothing.

Shining Armor scoffed. “I hardly think that’s necess-”

“One.”

“Now, Princess, if you’ll just-”

“TWO.” Came the Royal Canterlot Voice again.

Shining became more panicked. His eyes became greener.

“Princess Cadence specifically-”

And with a loud crack, the shield surrounding the carriage split in two, Shining doubled over, his knees hitting the stone floor, and his hands clutching the base of his horn. Everyone turned to look at me.

The crystal on my staff stopped glowing, and I strode forward. “I have to commend you on the strength of your shields, Captain. But like Princess Luna said, you are in the way.” I ignored him, and the hurtful words he said, and entered the carriage, Lyra following behind.

Luna’s mind-numbing fury turned back into a slight simmer as she too strode past the captain and into the carriage, followed by the rest of the detachment.

The doors closed and I leaned forward in my seat to smack the wall with my fist. “C’mon! We’ve wasted enough time.” And a few seconds later, we were airborne.

I watched out the window as Shining’s form stood, turned to watch us go, then stumble back inside the palace.

“I hope Princess Celestia will be alright.” Lyra murmured.

“Worry not, friend Lyra.” Luna spoke. “My sister has handled millennia alone. She can handle this.”

That was true. She had handled millennia alone. ‘No thanks to me…’ I thought. “She’s not alone.” I spoke, absentmindedly, and thought of her annoying purple shadow.

The briefing was gone over a few times on the way to Hollow Shades. Not that it would do us much good when we were actually there. The fact was, we simply had no idea what we were walking in to. We had ideas, sure. But we didn’t truly know.

We could smell the rot in the air before we even landed. Luna was kind enough to provide us all with a scent charm. The magic covered our noses and mouths, and reminded me of a plague doctors mask from a time long since gone. Once my nose was blanketed by the sweet-smelling herbal mixture, I peered out of the window of the carriage.

Down below, the sinkhole Hollow Shades was situated in was a looming ink-blot on the otherwise green landscape.

There were lights inside. From the gas lamps, I was told, and it looked like I was peering into the night sky through a hole in a green blanket.

The closer we got to the ground, the colder it got. Not bitingly cold. Not even uncomfortably cold. Just… cold. You could feel the air change, like we were descending into an invisible fog.

The carriage landed, the wood creaking with its own weight, and we exited.

The soldiers gathered in formation, and we stood on the precipice of the town.

“It’s really quiet.” Lyra said. And it was. I fought not to cringe from the volume of her voice, despite it being said just above a whisper. There was nothing. No animals. No wind. Not even the creaks of the wooden buildings inside the hole.

“No rain, either.” The sergeant said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking at the blue sky.

“Well, it’s not really rain, but I’ve been here before. You can hear the water dripping from the cave roof even from this far outside.”

I nodded in understanding. “What do you think, Luna?”

“I think something is very wrong.”

We were all silent for a few moments more, the soldiers nervous, Lyra clutching her wand, Luna staring into the town.

I nodded again. “Alright. We’re going in now.” I turned to the soldiers. “Remember the brief. This is a civilian heavy zone. Unicorns, double-check your targets. Everyone, keep your heads on a swivel. Nobody goes anywhere alone.”

They all nodded, and we descended into the darkness.

Celestia had just sat back at her desk, worry clear on her face, when her door opened once again. “Auntie, what’s the meaning of this?” came Princess Cadance’s voice.

Celestia looked up to see her niece; anger clear in her furrowed brows as she stomped forward. It did not suit her soft features. “Meaning of what, my dear?”

Cadance came to a stop in front of her aunt’s desk, fists gripped painfully tight. Her voice was calm. “Shiny just told me that Artemis, Luna and that unicorn took some soldiers out of the protective shield.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes. There seemed to be some trouble to the east. They went to have a look, it’s nothing to worry about.”

Cadance’s nostrils flared. “It’s a protective shield, Auntie.” She said through gritted teeth. “If there’s trouble, it will protect us. That’s why it’s called a protective shield...”

Celestia laughed, genuinely amused. “Of course, but it doesn’t protect the smaller hamlets now, does it? If there’s trouble out there, and we’re safe and secure in here. How does that look to the citizenry?”

“I DON’T CA-” The pink princess stopped herself before she said something she’d regret. Celestia’s eyebrows raised. “What I mean to say is… my wedding is very close now. Surely this little… expedition, could be put off for a few more hours?” She asked, eyelashes batting.

Celestia shook her head, dipped her quill in ink and got back to work. “Cadance, they’ll be back soon. I’m happy to see you’re so worried for them, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

Cadance opened her mouth to retort. Once. Twice. Thrice. Before she bit her lip, eyes scrunched, and turned on her hooves to storm out. Celestia stopped writing gibberish and watched her go.

Once Celestia’s office door was closed, the bride-to-be turned the corner and bumped in to twilight. “O-oh! Cadance.” Twilight got out. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Artemis, have you?”

“Artemis went out for some fresh air.” Cadance explained, shortly.

“Oh… I was supposed to meet her for-”

Cadance said nothing and barged past her. Then stopped. And turned back. “I don’t suppose I can help you with anything?” Her tone sickeningly kind.

Twilights eyes widened. “Who, me? Hah! Nah… I was just… I wanted to talk to her about-”

“About what?” Cadance asked, stepping closer.

“About… um… f-fractals!”

Cadance stopped. “Fractals?”

“Fractals! You see, I wanted to know if natures propensity for fractals factored in to her focusless magic.” Twilight paused. “Actually… that’s pretty good.” She tapped her chin. “Maybe the golden ratio- Eep!”

Cadance slammed her against the wall. “Cease your inane babbling! I know that you know.”

“K-Know what?”

“You know very well what I know you know.”

“H-How can you know w-what I know?” The purple unicorn choked.

“Silence!” Cadance cut off. “It doesn’t matter if I’m right or not. I just need to get you out of the way.” Cadance’s horn lit in a sickly green hue, and Twilight lost consciousness.

The streets of Hollow Shades were uneven and difficult to walk on. Even for someone of the plantigrade variety, with rubber soles on their boots. Yes, walking through cobbled streets like this gives one a new found respect for the ponies who took to it like a duck to water.

Never mind the ice either. The uneven cobbles were covered with a layer of it. A unicorn walked in front, heating the ground as he went, and the water left behind re-freezing behind us.

Coming to the cramped town square, a light whistling noise could be heard, before the sergeant rushed forward and pushed two soldiers out of the way. An enormous icicle fell to the ground and shattered, flinging blocks of ice in all directions. Luna was thinking quickly enough to have erected a shield, preventing the largest pieces hitting anyone.

The sergeant stood and brushed himself off, and the two soldiers he pushed stared back to the spot the once stood in horror, as now, there was a pile of solid ice.

I stared at the ceiling. “Well, now we know what happened to the rain.”

The sergeant was not amused. “Excellent work, my little pony.” Luna said, pleased but focused.

“Thank you, princess.”

I looked around. The storefronts and houses were still. The gas lamps were still burning. And all was quiet. “If a noise like that didn’t alert anything that we’re here, nothing will.” Lyra said. She looked around. “Any idea what could have happened to the citizens?”

There was a moment of silence, nobody daring to speculate. Myself and Luna shared grave, knowing looks.

“I wouldn’t get too comfortable.” The sergeant said.

“He’s right.” I agreed. “Remember your lessons, Lyra.” She clutched her wand and nodded.

“What’s the plan now, Princess?” The sergeant asked.

“Find Copper Whisk. We find her, we find what’s going on.”

He nodded and began issuing orders. “We’ll use this square as a base camp. I want two unicorns watching the ceiling for rogue icicles.” The group of soldiers began splitting off in different directions.

I looked around at the different streets that split off from the square. “Copper said she ran a bakery.” I turned to Luna. “You stay here and help coordinate with the sergeant. Me and Lyra will go help look.”

Luna bit her lip, likely trying to think of an argument, but found none and said, “be careful.”

I held up my staff, “Wand up, Lyra. Let’s go.” And we disappeared down an alley, the blue light of our foci causing the frost on the stone to sparkle.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Lyra spoke up. “A-Artemis. I… I don’t like this.”

“I dunno,” I smirked, trying to lighten the mood. “For a hole in the ground, this is really nice.”

“I’m serious.” She stopped. “I can’t- I don’t think I can do this. I’m not ready.” I turned back to her. She was shivering.

“Hey, hey.” I spoke, gently, and knelt in front of her. “You’re alright. It’s scary, I know. But you’re strong, Lyra.”

Her breathing became heavy, and laboured. Her eyes were wide. “I… I can’t-”

Shit…

“Lyra,” I kept my tone gentle, but forceful. “You’re starting to have a panic attack. I’m going to touch you, okay?”

She nodded, jerkily. I placed my hands on her shoulders. “I want you to tell me five things you can see.”

“Wha-”

“Five things, Lyra. That’s all. Five things.”

“S-Stone. Ice. Glass.” Her eyes scrunched shut.

“Almost there, grasshopper. Just two more.”

Her eyes opened again. “Darkness. Y-You.”

“Nicely done.” I praised. “Now four things you can touch.”

Her breathing failed to level out. “C-Cold. Cotton. Wood, fr-from my-” She looked down to her wand.

“Good, what else?”

“I… I can f-feel your h-hands. And… and I can feel my… my sweat.”

I smiled, gently. “That’s okay. Now, three things you can smell?”

Her hand reached up and poked the solid magic, making up the beak-like mask. “Sage. L-lavender. I know it because the um,” She swallowed, “the flower sisters always have a bunch in the front of their shop in Ponyville.”

I smiled. “Smells good, eh? What else?”

“I can… still smell the um, the rot. A bit.”

I nodded, my mouth a thin line. “Nearly done. Now, two things you can taste?”

She made a face, like she was sucking her teeth. Her breathing became slower. “Syrup. From, my pancakes this morning. And,” she sucked her teeth again. “Bon-Bon’s bon-bons I had on the ride over.”

“You have a big sweet tooth, don’t you?” I giggled.

She smiled. “Y-Yeah…”

“Now, last thing. Don’t even think when I prompt you, just say what comes to mind. A happy memory?”

She sighed, her breathing finally back to normal, her eyes took on a far-away look. “Bonny’s stood in the kitchen. She concentrating on something in a large pot. She stirring and stirring, and she brings up a wooden spoon to my mouth. It smells like the sweetest thing… She’s grinning this… ridiculous grin that she always denies she makes.” She giggled. “And she says, ‘now try this one’.”

Lyra smiles, and shakes her head. “Thank you.”

I shook my head. “That was all you.” Lyra said nothing. “We need to continue on now, okay?” She nodded. “You are strong, Lyra. You are. You don’t have much experience, but I’m not sorry for bringing you here. You’re strong.”

Her fist tightened around the carved wood of her wand, and she nodded.

A few more streets later, we came across one of the groups of soldiers. One of them walked up to us. “Ma’am,” She saluted. “We’ve located a bakery, but we’re unsure if it belongs to Copper Whisk. We’re searching the building now.”

I nodded. “Any sign of civilians?”

She shook her head. “Negative.”

“Mm, nor with us.”

It was silent for a while longer, when a soldier emerged fro the bakery. “Ma’am. We’ve confirmed this is Copper Whisk’s establishment. We’ve found her place of residence too.” He handed me a slip of paper. There was an address at the top.

“Alright, everyone on me.” I called to the group. “Keep your eyes peeled.”

They nodded and we started in the direction of Copper’s house.

Even more icy streets later, with still no sign of anyone, we arrived. I knew just looking at the place that I was too late. I suppose deep down I always knew, but seeing this just confirmed it.

The door to Copper’s house was broken off the hinges. Outward. There was a smell in the air. Different from the usual, icy rot. This was warm and metallic. I knew it well.

“Copper!” I yelled as I used a blast of energy to move the broken door. I started towards the house, turning to call to the soldiers. “Set up a perimeter!” They got to work, and Lyra followed me inside.

The smell in here was terrible. Even the masks provided by Luna didn’t do much to subdue it. More than that, it wasn’t just the smell. It was a feeling. You get the same thing walking into a science laboratory, rats euthanised and ready to be dissected. Or an abattoir, meat freshly hung.

It was death.

The dragonfire candle I had gifted Copper was set up on a side table in the hall, flame snuffed out. Everywhere was clean, despite the age of the house. It was dark inside, paintings and furniture lit by our foci.

Then, we got further in, and what transpired became clear.

Drag marks in the hallway leading towards the kitchen. Black in colour, especially in this light, but I knew what it was. Thicker and thicker as they went, like paintbrush strokes.

Then a creak. And we were still. I could feel Lyra clinging to my back, shivering. I wasn’t doing much better to be honest. Our breath ignited blue, and so very clear in the light of our staff and wand. I was colder in here. Much colder.

Then another creak, and some dust fell from the ceiling. We both looked up. Bare floorboards from the rooms above.

“Grhrnn…”

A rasping voice from the kitchen ahead. If Lyra felt scared before…

I kept my eyes trained on the doorway to the kitchen, and silently knelt, bending forwards slightly. Without being prompted, Lyra clung tighter and jumped up. She wrapped her legs around my stomach, and I used one hand to hold her there by her bum, my other hand still gripping my staff. One of Lyra’s arms wrapped around my neck, and the other held her wand out in front of us.

“I am strong…” She whispered, almost just mouthing the words. Another creak from above. “I am strong,” she whispered again.

“Grahhrgg…”

The voice again.

I stepped forward into the kitchen, and what I saw…

Copper Whisk. Poor, poor Copper Whisk.

“Look away,” I spoke. Lyra whimpered, and I felt her head move.

“‘m strong, I’m strong.” She sobbed.

“You’re strong.” I agreed, my voice neutral, and knelt down to see to my friend.

Copper Whisk lay on the floor of her kitchen and… and she was…

“Groaahhh…”

I looked away, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. She reached out to me, and I stepped back a bit. The smell…

“I’m so sorry.” I spoke. “I wasn’t there. I told…” I swallowed. “I told you I’d be there. I said I was coming.”

Copper’s milky eyes flicked over my face.

“I let you down.” I stood, and Lyra held on, her face sheltered in my neck. I pointed my staff at the pitiful sight. “You can rest now.”

“Artemis!” Lyra yelled in my ear, and I was knocked down by a tremendous force. My head hit the kitchen table, and the already dark room was reduced to a painful, blurry, dark room. I could hear shouting, and movement, and when my vision started to come back, I was greeted with the sight of a blue pony in a filthy suit.

My head pounded, and he fell on top of me. My staff held him at bay as his reddened teeth snapped and his hooves tried to find purchase on the floor.

My head felt completely rattled, and I felt sick. Concussion. His teeth snapped closer and closer to my face, and the masks did nothing to prevent the stench.

Suddenly, heat.

The room lit in oranges and reds, and the rotting pony atop me squealed and shrieked, then, fell limp.

His back was aflame, as was most of the kitchen.

Copper Was bathed in the light of it, and the sight of what state she was in would never leave me. “C’mon!” Lyra shouted, as she tried to pull me up, my weight proving too much. I pushed the pony off me, and moved with her, every rock of my body sending thrums of pain through my skull. I touched my head as I stood and looked at my fingers. Blood.

Great…

“C’mon! C’mon!” Lyra yelled again, pulling me towards the front door.

I stepped with her, my leg stopping when something gripped the cuff of my pants. Coppers hand, claw-like and stiff, held fast to the fabric.

“Gro-” Her scratchy voice was cut off by her own shrieking cries, as the fire caught to her lower half. Only moment’s later, she fell limp.

“I’m sorry-”

“Artemis!” Lyra yelled again. I shut my eyes and let my apprentice lead me out of the burning house.

The Reluctant Protector

by LadyMaria

1 - Uninvited

2 - Bombshell

3 - Apologies

4 - Grass

5 - Breathe

6 - Lunchtime

7 - Shunted

8 - Doors

9 - Ink

10 - Ice

11 - Buddy

12 - Calm

13 - Fear

14 - Gazebo

15 - Portal

16 - Filly

17 - Optics

18 - Progress

19 - Nightmares

20 - Elderwood

21 - Shield

22 - Letter

23 - Bells

24 - Copper