Chapter 1 : Awakening

The Roman Empire.

We, citizens, just call it “Empire”, as our enemies do, although they mention it with dread in their hearts when there is only pride in ours. I personally feel disgust and anger, but then again most citizens are not in my position. I’ve studied the sordid history that our cultural guardians strive to cover up, I’ve seen what lies below the gold coated temples and I’ve personally felt the rampant injustice in our society.

It started from a crazy idea put in the mind of a power angry Caesar. He had dreamt of a world ruled by our ways, a world where his face was know by all. Little by little Roman territory had expanded under his command, using silver tongued diplomats and an unstoppable knack for battle tactics. Using either quills and parchment or shields and glavius, the Caesar’s forces marched over the lands bordering what we now call the Roman sea. From the tip of the Iberian Peninsula to the scalding deserts where the great river Nile is born, the Empire has conquered all with ease.

All? Not all. One particular set of people held against the invader with particular tenacity. The Roman Legion, previously unmatched, was scattered by a handful of warriors. These warriors did not yield any steel, nor were they organized in battle formations... They were sorcerers, the blood of the pharaohs granting unique Power to the Egyptians.

Most of the population was hardy and could coax any soil to bear plentiful harvest, they insured that the pharaohs’ army was well supplied. They were farmers, artisans and hard workers in general.

Some were attuned to the elements, they could bring a downpour in an instant and cause a drought in the other, they sank any attempt to attack by sea and were able to bring in the full wrath of the Nile. From the ranks of these elementalists came artists, philosophers and merchants.

The last group was few in numbers, but mighty in Power. In times of peace they used their gifts for healing, teaching and served the Pharaoh in many religious events, they were the disciples of Ra, embodiment of the sun and provider of life. They were respected peacekeepers, loved teachers and tenants of the Egyptian culture.

But when the Empire came they took a new mantle: they descended upon the Legion like Jupiter himself and unleashed death in the name Ammit, the goddess that even Egyptians feared above all. The only mercy you could hope for was a quick death, for they believed that every soul departing the battlefield would be devoured eternally by Ammit, a fate much more horrible than any pain they could inflict to the living.

The Egyptians held for years, the strength of the Empire waisted against Ammit’s children, it wasn’t long before hordes of barbarians, sensing weakness, started to attack our borders. This could have been the end of our reign, and if we are still here today, it is not thanks to our Legion, it is not thanks to our strength in battle...

The quill won the war. Spies and diplomats were able to acquire the allegiance of a few Egyptians. They were part of the most powerful caste of sorcerers, but were unhappy with their role as soldiers, and our gold was very tempting. They were avaricious, coward or simply lazy, but they were still very powerful. To buy their place in the Empire they created a spell so cruel, so unnatural and devious that they received the only name that could describe them: Damned.

The spell worked in two phases: first the Damned would enchant another sorcerer, putting a stigma on their body. Each stigma was personal to the Damned performing the ritual, it could be a letter, a sign or a symbol, it would be carved into the flesh of the sorcerer. Once the stigma was in place, they would begin the branding procedure. The branding replaced the stigma with a new image, most of the time that image would be the family crest of a Roman noble House. Once branded, a sorcerer was bond to a House, he would be unable to resist any order coming from the family that his brand represented.

Little by little the Branded grew in numbers. First they were farmers and elementalists, but before long even the third kind of sorcerers joined the ranks of the most powerful slave army the Empire could hope for. The children of Ammit could not bring themselves to send their brethrens into the maws of their crocodile headed goddess; a few were captured, but most chose eternal torment over enslavement. Thus the Egyptian lands were conquered, the pharaoh branded to the Emperor’s house and the barbarians slaughtered. The Branded became a commodity, a caste below common slaves. The most powerful were weeded out for safety measures or brought into the House of the Damned, the rest were used to solidify the Empire’s strength.

The Branded have been a part of Roman society for generations, bred like cattle and forbidden to enter anything close to a friendly relationship with a citizen, under threat of death for both party. Which brings me to my story.

My name is Aurora. Fate has decided to take me away from my loved ones, so I will do my best to leave a piece of my being behind. This is my life, the story of Aurora the travelling merchant.

I was born in a low class family residing in one of the most foul smelling districts Rome had to offer. Rome is known for its complex sewage system, so how bad can it be you ask? Well my home was situated in the western outskirts of the majestic city, bordering the Tiberis, a river where all the human waste is expelled. Upstream in the richer districts the water is still clean, of course. Only the poor have to deal with the city’s dejections.

Most children with my background were looking at a life in binding as becoming a servant in a good House was the best they could hope for. A House of course represents a noble family, a rank obtained via blood or money. Some are known for their kindness towards servants. Most are not. That would have been my destiny if not for my incredible brain.

For one, I had the ability to memorize a map of the Empire before losing my first milk tooth: I could name every provinces bordering mare nostrum and point out any important towns without fail. I could recite all the information I had gathered about some of its populations too: the philosophical Greeks, the rebellious Gauls, the mysterious Iberians and perhaps most importantly, the mystical Egyptians.

That gift gave me the opportunity to be employed by a merchant before reaching womanhood, my parents received enough sesterces in the deal to consider my childhood expenses paid off. There were no tearful goodbyes, I was happy enough to leave my home without any debt towards them.

I was free to devour an astonishing amount of knowledge through the books and scrolls coming in and out of the store i was bound to, while still proving myself useful enough to earn pay and citizenship by the time I was old enough to be a bride. There I learned the craft of trading, I became a source of knowledge. I also understood the art of duplicity.

Becoming business partners with my former owner, I chose the life of a traveling merchant, observing trends on merchandise fluctuations, bringing goods where they were most needed, where they could be sold at the highest price.

I could have been rich, but most of my wealth was spent away on priceless handwritten tomes that I could never bring myself to sell when finished.

Without my uncommon brain I could never have had such a good run at life, for that I am grateful.

But it seems that it its now time to taste the bitter price for such a good recognition, for the memories assailing me bring me closer and closer to the abyss.

My name is Aurora, and this is my story.

---ΩΩΩ---

A flicker of consciousness, just enough to set the rusted gears in her head in motion. Her first thought was to check her senses.

“Darkness, silence and confusion, that is all I can feel.”

Life as a traveling merchant teaches you to always keep a cool head, those who do not learn do not last long. Her self-control got her through the horrible last months, it would not waver because of something so trivial as total sensory deprivation. She calmly began to form a mental check list.

“Item one, I'm alive.

Item two, I can’t feel my… everything.

...

Item three, I think I might be dead.”

She shredded the imaginary parchment to pieces, obviously her brain couldn’t be trusted with such an important task at the moment.

“Relax, first take care of confusion, then move on to the next step, be rational. Lets see, the last thing I remember." she cleared her mind and permitted unrestricted thoughts to appear, trying to sort them out in a list.

"Hiding, shadows, anger and fear. Well that’s a start, let's improve on that basis." With a proper course of action established, she felt more confident.

"Hiding... I was hiding ... Running from other citizens...” Memories flashed in her mind: the image of an angry mob breaking down a door, the smell of burning torches, shouts of anger and a feeling... the feeling of grabbing something, someone... she could feel herself dragging someone away from the ravenous pack, she remembered the straining in her arms, until her strength failed. Other images appeared: she could see someone’s back as he charged the attackers, then bright flashes as if the room was suddenly engulfed in green fire.

”I was not alone”

The realisation gave her a jolt similar to static shock, confirming her life status. Only the living could feel anything. Or at least that was the consensus established by most greek philosophers... Although Diogène would argue that... No no no no focus.

“My husband was at my sides” the face a of man appeared, his skin tanned by Egyptian sun, emerald eyes surrounded by a permanent scowl, his bald head sign of a rebellious slave, the faint glow behind his irises giving his mystical origins away. Egyptian sorcerers are a dying race, the power to control natural energy becoming more and more scarce amongst the Branded blood-line. It is said that the ancient pharaohs were capable of controlling the river Nile’s tides on their own, but this was long ago. Now mystics are weakened by the Empire’s controlled breeding, shaping them into useful but inoffensive slaves. However, there were exceptions.

“Mès... That was his name... He kept finding his way through the deepest nights, shadows meant safety for us.” She sighed internally. Mès was the most caring man she had ever met, he could be gentle and kind, but if he perceived any threat upon their little family he was capable of the worst violence, making use of his powers in the most horrific ways.

“So many times he had to resort to violence." Images she wished could disappear danced in the darkness, scenes of unforgivable brutality. The breeders that owned him as a child always suspected that Mès had the aptitude of a true Ammit soldier, and he had proved them right time and time again since his escape.

"I know he hated it, but he wrapped himself in anger out of necessity. He had to leave his pity and remorse behind... For us, to protect me, to protect...” Something was missing, something vitally important had slipped her mind, and she was struggling to grasp it again.

“Don't panic, remember the list. Fear... Fear is the key. I was not afraid for him, nor for myself, I was afraid for...”

If recalling the existence of her companion was a shock, what happened with this new memory was nothing less than a bolt of raw lightning.She was suddenly aware of her body, she felt the painful energy pulsing through her arms making her fingertips burn, her eyes flew open seeing nothing, she felt the starvation in her lungs and ache in her joints as she rose in a panic.

But those informations were only barely registered : this was not a time to be rational.

With a sickening sense of dread she reached out for her stomach.

There it was, the being that kept her away from despair, the wonderful angel for whom her husband had killed for, safe and sound in her round belly. The overwhelming relief almost made her lose consciousness again. She steeled herself, regained control over her clouded brain and only then did she allow her lungs to fill with a ragged breath of air.

“I am happy to see you have recovered some strength, but I must ask you to refrain from moving so suddenly again. You must lie down my dear.”

The brutal awakening had left her heart racing, yet hearing that voice coming from the darkness all but stopped it from beating. Aurora turned her head trying to see anything, without success. She called upon her other senses.

Whoever had spoken was standing very close to her, voice coming from a considerable height, she could make out gentle breathing, and a scent reminiscent of a sunny day in summer.

“Definitely female. Tall, maybe strong. Perfume indicates wealth. She can see me and I can’t, not good.”

She had to make sure that she was not mistaken, there was still a chance that her interlocutor was not an enemy.

“I’m sorry”, she lied as she obeyed the stranger’s request. She relaxed and found that she was resting on an impossibly soft bed. “I was just afraid for my child.” To put emphasis on that statement she cradled her round stomach and kept her hands there, it was the only measure of protection she could think of. After a moment of silence she tempted her luck with another lie.

“I am Caecilia by the way, may I enquire the name of my benefactor?” Aurora waited for a her response, the slight hesitation before her companion answered clawing at her nerves.

“You may indeed" her voice was confident yet subdued, a sign of natural authority. "My name is Celestia “short pause “ of Equestria”

That was the last proof she needed. The fugitive merchant’s mind went almost into full panic mode.

“High class name, belongs to this Equestria House... A horse breeder? Have we been captured? Where is Mès? Does she know? What does she want… No... It can’t be..." The realisation sent her over the edge. If her conclusions were correct, there was only one reason for a citizen to care for her health. "I know what she desires, I won't let her!” Aurora tightened her grip around her belly. The only reason for a female noble to keep a pregnant fugitive alive was obvious. ”If she is alone I have a chance to knock her down and escape. Save my child.”

A fierce resolution had settled in her heart while her mind was rushed by waves of panicked thoughts brought forth by a wild maternal instinct. The last remnants of her sanity tried to appease her mind.

“What if I can’t run? I'm too heavy, she will catch up to me...

You are strong, your legs will carry you without fault.

What if she screams? She could sound the alarm right away!

Knock her out, you have learned to strike in the dark.

What if she wakes up too quickly? I can’t outrun pursuers in my state!

KILL HER.”

The decision taken, Aurora started to visualise a map representing the space between her and Celestia, making plans for any obstacle or type of terrain she could find in her way, gauging the approximate distance to cross and the noblewoman’s reaction time. Taking into account that her internal dialogue had taken less than two heart beats, Celestia could not have been too suspicious.

She flexed her fingers, ready to snare them around Celestia’s neck.

She prepared her stomach for the hardship ahead.

She quickly sat up using her elbows.

It was now or never.

She commanded her legs to clear the bed and propel her body forward.

Only to find that her lower extremities were not responding, they were not even giving any sign of life.

“Wha.. What...” Aurora didn’t even realize that she had spoken out loud.

“I am very sorry, but you must realize the extent of your injuries, do not try anything rash” Celestia’s voice was calm and compassionate, a small part of Aurora’s mind registered that it sounded genuine, almost motherly.

“My legs, why... Why can’t I feel them?”

The bookworm merchant had read about severe traumas to the back causing the loss of mobility, was this the case? Now that she needed them the most, were her legs cold and forever unmoving? The desire for knowledge overpowering fear, she reached out with a trembling hand; she was terrified to touch this flesh that was not hers anymore, like touching a corpse. Aurora instructed her hand to rest on her knee.

There was nothing to rest on.

Her legs were not paralyzed.

They were gone.

The next moments were a blur of terror and revulsion for Aurora: her discovery made her wonder what else she could be missing and it’s in morbid fascination that she probed her body, finding that her legs only went as far as her tights, that her blindness would most definitely never recede and that most of her torso was... missing. Her chest was hollow. The crippled woman was past terror.

Shock having dissolved the rampage in her mind, she remembered that she was not alone. The one called Celestia had kept a respectful silence while she explored her ravaged body; if Aurora was to have any answers, they would have to come from her, and the most important and perhaps basic question she had could not wait.

“How ... How am I still alive?”

Chapter 2 : Aurora

View Online

Darkness had mercifully fallen on the land of the Gauls. The creatures of the night cries filled the forest, the sounds echoing on the slopes of the nearby mountain. Hidden from view by rocks and trees, a dark cave was welcoming two unusual guests, compared to the usual bears and wolves.

“We’re safe for now, you can rest easy for a while”

The gentle lie was spoken with the best sentiments in mind. The fact that the man behind it abhorred lying, or any kind of deception, only made it sweeter.

“We’ll probably reach the Iberian lands by tomorrow, should be easy enough.”

“You must be really worried about me.” As a seasoned merchant, the woman sitting on the hard ground was capable of perceiving even the slightest truth bending, and anyone could see that the situation was hopeless. “For you to utter such nonsense…” She sighed, just to toy with him like old times, when they were only courting each other : he used to become flustered, make some endearing noises and finally blurt out something asinine. But now, he looked over from the cave entrance with a scowl on his face, his eyebrows pointed towards his nose, the look of mild annoyance never leaving his face as he responded.

“You know Aurora, you could pretend to be meek and weak from time to time, maybe people would recognise you as female more often.” The falcon-faced man tried to put as much acid in his words as he was capable of, which in the end, was not much.

“Maybe you are right …” Aurora ran her left hand through her chestnut short-hair, putting on a face of dismay and chagrin. “If i had been more feminine I surely would not have been stuck with such a poor excuse for a husband” She gave an enormous sigh, letting her dark eyes fill with fake tears, bringing her right hand to her mouth, the picture of a lady in distress. “Fate is such a.cruel.THING.” She then proceeded to sprawl on the ground theatrically, with a good measure of thrashing and sobs.

“Have you no shame woman?” The man was beaten, like he always was when confronting his soul mate : in his green eyes she looked graceful even while rolling around in the dirt. The playful banter seemed far from appropriate considering the situation, but Mès could not help but enjoy this throwback to old times.

The light smile that had spread across his lips suddenly disappeared when a chill ran down his spine.

“They are getting closer now” His voice was hushed, ears and eyes searching the night outside. “The dogs must have found our trail once more.”

“How long before they are upon us?” The dirt covered lady was immediately serious again : if Aurora was skilled in mind tricks, she knew to trust her companion’s unmatched instinct for sensing when danger was close.

“Not long enough. They have also grown in numbers, I would say at least another five Branded.” The scowl had returned, and had brought with him a close to feral gleam in his eyes. Whenever the bald man had to fight another one of his kind, another slave to the imperials, he had to delve deeper into madness. He had to stop his feelings of pity from slowing him down : even if they were raised for obedience, bred to diminish their Power, branded like cattle and had no choice when ordered to hunt down a fugitive slave and his traitor of a wife, he could not give them a chance to harm his family.

“Mès, you can’t fight them all, you know that.” Aurora was now standing by his side. “Even if you are more powerful they will overwhelm you with numbers, so don’t go berserk and charge them like an idiot” Mès grunted in response. “I would hate having to raise this child alone.”

“That’s a low blow” Mès growled more than he spoke.

“Desperate times, there is no room to be considerate. Now calm down”

"Now is not the time for your nagging."

"Should I follow you into stupidity then?"

"Do what you want, just follow me by going away"

"That doesn't even make any sense."

“They are almost here, there is no time to flee, stand back, NOW” The green aura around Mès eyes was reaching an alarming level of brightness, his powers taking hold of the energy emanating from the ground, building it up inside his veins.

“Mès of Alexandria, you will power down THIS INSTANT!” They were both yelling now.

“OR WHAT?” The berserker was now fully powered, ready for anything... Except...

“OR I WILL KICK YOU IN THE CÕLEÏ SO HARD THAT YOU WON’T EVER CONCEIVE A CHILD AGAIN!”

Some threats are so powerful that even the bravest men can’t help but cower in fear... And in this case hold their crotch for protection.

“Then what do we do?” Only Aurora had the power to calm Mès down so quickly. Still protecting his manhood he turned to face his beloved, hoping to save himself from the very powerful kick he had experienced more than once.

“You already know what i want.” Mès sighed in disapproval. “You know this is the only way. Do you really think that we will be able to cross the mountains into the Iberian lands? Then finding a vessel strong enough to endure the great sea? Not to mention surviving the trip?”

“I can reinforce the boat with enough spells to make it withstand anything!”

“What about food? Water? I’ve lived half of my life on boats, but you don’t know the first thing when it comes to sailing. Why do you think we wrecked our boat in this barbarian land to begin with?”

“... Men were made to stay on dry land... Where the ground is stable...”

“Well think about the months we would have to endure. The tales depicting the land beyond Atlas sea are very vague, we would never make it that way. We have to make a jump.”

“I only succeeded once... By accident! And when i reappeared everything around me caught fire! I don’t even know if I could bring you with me, the distance will make it impossible to be precise and we’ll probably end up inside a rock or something. Oh and we will be on fire too.”

“That’s because you never tried. If you could travel instantaneously from one side of Alexandria to the other when you were young i’m sure by now you have enough power to get us to the New World.”

“Alive?”

“Let’s hope so. My books said that Ammit’s children were capable of blinking in and out of existence when they fought the Legion, they used that spell pretty often according to official records. For once you can use the power you collected for something else than slaughter. I know that brings you out of your comfort zone.” That hurt him, and she knew it. But she needed him to concentrate and do it fast. She could not afford to show any hesitation, even faced with his expression of betrayal.

Without another word Mès sat down and joined his knuckles. Aurora joined him and sat with her back against his. Soon even she was able to feel the power building around them, the tickling sensation surrounding their bodies. The couple remained in this position for several minutes.

“Found it.”

Aurora wished to say something to her beloved. She didn’t know what but if this failed, she didn’t want to be separated from him with angry words being her last.

Before she could say the three words they exchanged so rarely, they were encased in green energy. Mès and Aurora, the Empire most wanted fugitives, vanished from the human world forever.

---ΩΩΩ---

The immortal alicorn looked upon the injuries marking her guest’s body, illuminated by the rising sun. It had been mercifully unconscious when it had appeared seemingly out of nowhere above Canterlot. Luckily pegasi guards were dissipating the remnants of the dragon smoke clouds at that time, close enough to catch it. They had brought the beast to her immediately.

Celestia shuddered at the thought of the creature being aware at that moment : it had taken all of her energy to stop the bleeding and stabilize its condition before the worst could happen.

The tricky thing was that the body of her current patient seemed to reject magic, any attempt at regrowth spells unsuccessful. All she had managed to do was stop any further loss of blood and magically connect the most important organs : having lived for countless eons, she knew the anatomy of all the species found in the world.

Using this knowledge on the unknown being she managed to recognise all of her innards, guessing which ones should have been connected and which ones were missing.

The princess theorized that she belonged to a species closely related to apes, and she went on to ponder how she could have never seen her kind.

Were they hidden? Could they be underground dwellers? The ruined clothes she had disposed off suggested a somewhat advanced civilization, that could be a clue.

It had been some time since Celestia had seen anything new, and this animal was a very appealing mystery. She admonished herself for such selfish thoughts, but she wished her patient would wake up before it was too late.

As if the one lying in the bed had heard those thoughts, it suddenly jolted upright, opening its mangled eye lids to reveal void orbits. Celestia had let escape a very unregal “squeak” of surprise but the creature didn’t seem to ear or care about it.

The alicorn watched as its burned hands caressed her miraculously intact stomach.

When she seemed to relax, Celestia, out of a habit she had picked up while caring for all kinds of animals, addressed her without much though.

“I am happy to see you have recovered some strength, but I must ask you to refrain from moving so suddenly again. You must lie down my dear.”

The creature tensed up, she was clearly terrified. Celestia could almost hear the gears furiously turning in its head. Could it understand what she had said?

“I’m sorry, I was just afraid for my child.” She could talk too? And as Celestia had though, the strange being was pregnant, her body’s magic rejection had prevented her from making sure of it.

“I am Caecilia by the way, may I enquire the name of my benefactor?” A lie? The ageless alicorn had lived long enough to be able to see through lies, even if the girl was obviously very good at it. Why would she feel the need to lie about her name? And why could Celestia sense so much fear emanating from this “Caecilia”? The princess realized that she had yet to answer the question.

“You may indeed, my name is Celestia “ The girl didn’t react to her name... Just how isolated could these people be? “ Of Equestria” THAT steered a reaction from her, but not one that Celestia had hoped for. The princess was waiting for a sign of recognition, not a reaction of pure terror. She could read the emotion on the girl’s face even she sought to hide it. Very few kingdoms had a reason to fear the Equestrian name, this didn’t make any sense!

The fear quickly turned into anger, as Celestia expected. Most animals reacted that way when they were in danger, especially mothers protecting a child. The girl stood up so fast that the Alicorn was surprised once again. Caecilia clearly wanted to attack or flee, but she was going nowhere in her state.

“Wha.. What...” The poor thing had not realized its condition? That almost broke Celestia’s heart, but at least the pain medication were working.

“I am very sorry, but you must realize the extent of your injuries, do not try anything rash” The princess was far from a faint of heart, but seeing any creature suffer was always hard for her.

Seeing Caecilia analyse her wounds was also a trying experience, especially when she found the hole where her ribcage had been torn out.

“How … How I am still alive?” Despite the look on her face, the question was asked in a calm tone, almost more curious than frightened.

“I have done my best to save you” Celestia considered lying, but she deserved better. “But I am afraid that my magic can’t heal you, I was barely able to stabilize your condition.” She was about to ask if Caecilia’s people had the power to heal such wounds when she noticed the look of surprise on the girl’s face.

“Magic? Do you mean mystical powers? You are able to use them?” Suddenly hope flared in her heart. “Where are we? Are we still inside the Empire? Did we make it across the great Atlas sea?” She tried to stand completely upright, a feat made possible by her missing legs, trying to reach out for Celestia. The monarch gently pushed her down with her magic as she responded.

“This land is called Equestria, I do not know any Empire nor this sea you speak of.” Celestia pondered about the location of this Empire, the closest large body of water bordered Manehatan, yet she was familiar with the lands across it. “But of one thing you can be assured : you are safe here, you can rest easy.”

The look of relief returned to Aurora’s features, her limbs finally relaxing. If she could, she would have cried out of happiness as she held her stomach and whispered to herself.

“We made it … My child is safe … we are safe. “At that moment she remembered the last person who had told her to “rest easy”. She addressed Celestia once more.

“What about my husband? We made the jump together …” Caecilia could imagine the reaction Mès would have when arriving in a foreign land, his wife mangled by his own powers and surrounded by an unknown population. Thankfully he would be too drained to do anything dangerous for some time. Doing anything stupid was another thing entirely.

“I’m sorry, but we only found you” Celestia expected another fit of worry, but Aurora’s expression only reflected annoyance, of all things. “I will send search parties at once, he maybe hurt as well.”

“How long have i been asleep?” the girl pouted, deep in contemplation.

“Two days days now” the alicorn was really beginning to feel unnerved by the lack of concern in Caecilia’s features. Maybe she couldn’t read the facial expressions on this species as well as she thought?

“Good, it will be at least another moon cycle until he is able to use any of his powers” The confused silence from her counterpart demanded an explanation. “He is the one that casted the spell that brought us here, it should have drained him completely. If he reappeared in a different location than I did, you can be sure that he is going crazy right now. You don’t want him to be able to use his -what did you call it, magic?- until he knows I am safe.”

“Is he dangerous?” Understanding dawning on Celestia, it was her turn to be worried for her subjects : from what she could gather this Mès had successfully teleported himself and his mate across half of the world. If the wielder of such powerful magic was unstable, she would have to take immediate action to find him and bring him to Caecilia, before anyone got hurt.

“Not as much as he is stupid.” she responded with a little grin. “But in all seriousness he has to be made aware of my well being … or that I am alive at least. It is not in his nature to hurt anyone on purpose, but he can be such a clumsy fool when worried.”

“Understood. Guards!” Celestia turned and called towards the double door, promptly opened to make way for two white pegasi, adorned with the traditional Canterlot royal gold armor. They bowed and stood at attention. “You will organize a search party for a creature resembling this one” She said pointing to Caecilia with her wing. “You will tell him that his wife Caecilia is well and that she is waiting for him at Canterlot Cas....” Interrupted by a soft cough, the surprised alicorn faced the bed, finding a contrite looking girl with a hint of red around her cheeks.

“About that” She began, with the attitude of a cheeky girl caught red handed after a prank. “You may want to tell him that it’s Aurora who is waiting for him” Admitting a lie was never easy for a merchant, especially when dealing with someone to whom she was in debt. She had to regain some credit. “You can’t miss him: he is bald and has darker skin than I do, his eyes are green, his nose crooked and his feet are freakishly large. But don’t tease him about them, he will go crazy, trust me. Oh and if his eyes start to glow you better run. Now come on, off you go!”

The guards, mouth hanging in a silent gasp, looked upon the strange creature that dared to not only give orders to a pair of royal guards but also interrupt the highest figure of authority in the kingdom, after lying to her no less. Full of indecision they looked upon Celestia for directions, the later giving them a quick nod while trying her best to hide a little smirk. When the duo closed the massive door behind them she allowed a huge grin to stretch across her face. Facing the bed once more she engaged a playful conversation.

“So, Miss Aurora was it?” Celestia did not have the occasion to use this teasing tone very often. “Can I expect you to be more truthful from now on or do I have to doubt everything you tell me?”

The trapped fox contemplated her choices, chose the course she found the most pleasing and sprang into action.

“OH WOE IS ME” The princess had expected some bashfulness, but she was yet again surprised when the merchant broke into seemingly genuine tears, wrapping herself in her covers and wailing to the wind. “Trapped in a foreign land, separated from my companion, horribly disfigured and now having lost the TRUST of my benefactor, what will become of poor Aurora!” She then broke into heart wrenching sobs.

Said benefactor found herself dumbfounded for a few seconds, a state she rarely experienced.

“A little over dramatic don’t you think?” Celestia said with one raised eyebrow. Thinking the girl would continue her cries she approached the bed, magically pulling the covers to reveal a thoughtful expression on Aurora’s tearful face.

“Hmm, no, I think it was just the right amount.” As if sensing the slight frown on the alicorn’s face she added, in a very pleased tone. “Gotcha!”

As the ruler of Equestria, Celestia could not engage in such a playful banter with her subjects, nor could she hope for such lively teasing from her overly serious sister whom she had just got back : Luna was still locked away in her tower, trying to catch up with everything she missed and day after day growing in size. Soon she would be as tall as she once was.

As she engaged in a battle of wits with Aurora, Celestia wondered how Luna would react if confronted with such a volatile girl. She could imagine the foal -or what looked like one- losing her patience in a matter of seconds.

While she pictured a flustered foal Luna boiling with anger she went on with her discussion, realising why she enjoyed it so much : this was the first time in a thousand years that she could speak with someone without the weight of social status setting them apart, a simple discussion between equals, and maybe friends.

---ΩΩΩ---

“Oh my, does cõlei mean …”

“Yes it means exactly what you are thinking about. Every male’s weak point. Or weak points if you want to be specific”

“So, did he comply? Did he calm down?”

“Well I taught him that this threat was not one to be ignored over the years we have known each other. He even unconsciously crossed his legs as I said it!”

Celestia and Aurora shared a girlish laugh, the former having completely discarded her regal attitude. The day had flew by, the princess having simply dismissed any royal duties, the merchant demanding that a supply of pastries would be available at any time and the two of them generally acting like spoiled teenage girls, pony or human alike.

They both needed such a day of carelessness.

As dusk approached, the two females had started to speak of the events that brought them together, Celestia quickly summarizing Aurora’s sudden appearance, how her magic would not work and her less than satisfying nursing. She still hid the fact that she thought that this was caused by the difference in species, the blind girl didn’t need anything more to worry about. In fact, the more Celestia heard about the Empire, the more she was convinced that they were not even from the same world.

For example the fact that the breed capable of using magic was enslaved since birth, receiving a brand on their palms when bought, was a concept entirely alien to the ageless alicorn. Such an advanced species, yet so cruel to one another. The fact that the magical brand was inflicted by other mystics to ensure obedience was even worse. It reminded Celestia of a spell she had outlawed at the start of her reign.

“So then he teleported the both of you?”

“I don’t know about the term teleport, maybe it’s accurate for the way you use mystical powers, but as far as I know, he performed a spell that has been long lost, we call it a jump.” Aurora took the time to take a bite from the carrot cake she was hoarding before proceeding, mouth half full. “As far as the theory goes if the concentration of power is large enough, matter can be launched through space instantaneously. The tricky part is setting the landing zone and making sure that no mass is lost during the trip. We have learned of this land when travelers returned half crazed from what we though was the end of the world, they had been lost at sea for months when they beached here." Engrossed in her storytelling, she didn't notice that she was littering Celestia's bed with crumbs, the later seated in a long chair alongside. "They reported that the land was fertile and the indigenous population was friendly. I guess they were right. Anyway I had been trying to convince Mès about the jump theory for days. When we got trapped and we had no other choice he conceded.”

“What happened then?” The princess prompted herself up interested.

“He concentrated for what felt like hours, trying to reach to this land with his powers, to feel it. To make a connection between energies. When he established the link he released his pent up power and I blacked out. Next thing I know I woke up here.”

“That’s all?” Celestia was disappointed, she had hoped for a little more details around the teleportation process, trying to understand how Aurora had managed to jump from one world to another. The woman's ability to briefly summarize information was quite handy as a merchant, but as a storyteller...

“Hey! Excuse me princess, but I was only holding the map in this trip” Aurora retorted. “If you want more details you will have to ask the one holding the helm”

Celestia smiled, the only times her new friend had called her by title were in a jeering or sarcastic manner. She had teased Celestia to no end when the pony bringing the trays of cakes had used the honorific for the first time.

“Do you remember anything else?”

“Only one thing, I don’t know if it is a dream or if it was real, but i remember hearing someone after the green fire surrounded me: it was a female voice, young, it talked of strange things like elements of harmony, friendship and other things. I distinctly remember her saying “it creates the sixth element, the element of magic”. Then a scream, another female I think. Really sounds like a strange dream don’t you think?”

Celestia kept silent for a few seconds, absorbing the information. She had witnessed the events that Aurora had heard just a few weeks ago. She needed to think about the pieces of the puzzle some more but she guessed that she found what had brought Aurora and Mès to Equestria.

“Then I will ask him about the spell. I sure hope we get along, we will have to talk for days about this” Celestia decided to tease her a little, just a little revenge. “maybe even nights” in a very suggestive tone. At least it will get at least a reaction out of her.

“I would not joke about this if i were you.” Aurora looked serious. “That man is a sucker for strong women and once I am gone he will jump you like a lion jumps on a gazelle.”

“Aurora …” How could she joke about her own fate in such an easy way, Celestia couldn’t fathom, but at least she could try to play along. “I really don’t think I am his type”

“Powerful, tall and judging by your voice, beautiful. And plus a little detail, a princess. Not his type at all” Her smile was infectious. "But will you like him I wonder? Judging by the way you described me to those guards earlier, we must look so very different from each other.” As Celestia opened her mouth to change the subject Aurora interjected. “No don’t tell me! It will be funnier if I am told by Mès : he is so very bad with words” She giggled lightly before suppressing a yawn.

“Every time you speak of your husband you make him sound like such an oaf.” The amused tone hid real curiosity. “Were you not happy with him? Does your culture not offer a choice when choosing a mate?”

“All the things I say about him are true.” Aurora was suddenly lost in thoughts, recalling the time they had met. “But I did choose him. Despite all of his quirks, I chose him.” Suddenly exhausted she carefully laid down from her sitting position. With a weak voice she added. “I could not for the life of me tell you why.” Celestia respectfully turned away from the exhausted girl falling asleep, choosing to gaze through the window as her kingdom embraced Luna's night.

As a peaceful silence dawned between the two friends, miles away from Canterlot, Ponyville began its slumber under the rising moon. In the tree-library of the quiet town, two emerald eyes looked over the unconscious body of a purple unicorn, plotting for revenge.

Chapter 3 : Landing

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“Dear Princess Celestia.

I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend Fluttershy who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends : they can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.

Always your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike finished re-reading his note out loud. Looking up from the parchment, he eyed his unicorn housemate sarcastically. Living inside a tree library in a quiet country town was not as peaceful as one would expect.

“There, happy?” The tiny purple dragon had known the mare all his life, sharing housing and meals for years like they were hatched from the same clutch. They even shared the strongest link a younger brother and older sister commonly exhibited: Twilight often drove her assistant crazy.

“Oh, c’mon Spike.” The had a soft blush just visible under her light lavender coat. “I was interrupted when I finished dictating, so I forgot to double check my words for any mistakes.” Spike brought a claw to his face “I can’t send a letter to my mentor if it is riddled with grammatical errors! You know I double-check everything I tell you to write as I finish, then triple-check before I agree for you to send it!” She was starting to get agitated, speaking faster with every word and eyes going wild. “But the girls distracted me; I was not a hundred percent sure of what I told you, so I was not able to check my memory like i usually do. You understand that I had to act before you sent the letter ... Right?” Her hopeful look was lost against the glare she received.

“You could have told me, but instead you tackled me into a shelf.” Spike pointed to one of the walls of the library.

“You were about to send it!”

“Now there are books everywhere.” He pointed to the wooden floor, littered with heavy tomes and loose pages.

“... I had no choice…”

“And now I have a bump on my head.” The infant reptile brought a claw through the soft green scales adorning his cranium, indicating where he had collided with the wall before being buried under an avalanche of books.

“ … Sorry.” Twilight stared at the ground, letting her striped mane cover the shame on her face.

“Humph, about time.” Enjoying one of his rare victories in sibling rivalry, Spike brought the letter to his face and ignited it with a breath of fire. Instead of turning the paper to ashes, the jade colored flames transformed it into a cloud of glittering smoke that sped away through an open window.

As he prepared to tease the dejected unicorn some more, a high pitched voice made it’s way inside.

“Twitchy twitch! TWITCHY TWITCH, my tail is twitchy twitching!”

“Oh horse-apples!” The new voice had a very pronounced accent and a panicked tone that the pair inside the library couldn’t explain. "Find cover y’all!"

“What is Applejack panicking about?” Twilight stared out the high window. “And what in the wide wide world of Equestria is a twitchy twi …”

Something sailed right past the opening, falling to the ground, interrupting the unicorn’s thoughts. Almost immediately the loud thud of an impacting object was heard, as well as a pathetic yelp of terror and a different voice calling “DRAGON!” Quickly forgetting about her unanswered questions, Twilight dashed for the door while Spike kept listening to what was happening outside, the cry of two fainting goats making him scratch his head.

The scene outside was chaotic.

A pink pony with cotton candy hair was hiding under a tiny cocktail umbrella she was holding with trembling hooves, eyes tightly shut.

An orange pony adorned with a beautiful cowpony hat was sprawled under a nearby bench, both hooves on her head.

Two pegasi were lying on their backs, legs rigid and eyes widened with fear.

An unicorn sporting a snow-white coat and stylized violet mane was gaping, jaw dropped, at the unknown fallen object.

And finally, the object in question.

Twilight approached it cautiously, avoiding the petrified ponies, her scientific curiosity pushing her towards the smoking wreck. She flinched when she realized that the sizzling UFO was actually a living being, members spread by the fall in an almost comical manner.

As Twilight tried to figure how a wingless creature had fallen from the sky to land face-first in the midst of her friends, her eyes analyzed it’s body, noting the slight singeing over most of it’s bare skin, giving her an idea about the way it had found itself above her home : teleportation.

But who would use such magic on the poor thing without protective gear? Was he a test subject? Maybe it had lost all of it’s fur in the process. If he belonged to the family of mammals like the scholar in Twilight though he should at least have some fur or hair...

“Fluttershy!” Answers would have to wait; they had to take care of the injured animal first. “Snap out of it, it’s alive and it may be hurt.”

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh …” Instantly alert, the caring yellow pegasus rushed to Twilight’s side, and without hesitation began to prod the creature, looking for obvious lesions and hidden internal injuries.

“What the heck is that thing?” Having evacuated her improvised bunker, Applejack stared from a distance while trying to rouse the still paralyzed rainbow-maned pegasus.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen one of his kind, not even in the Everfree forest.” Fluttershy answered with a worried tone, almost whispering.

“Never read about something similar either.”

“He looks funny!” Bubbly as ever, the pink pony had discarded her tiny shield and was now standing next to a thoughtful Twilight. “It must feel weird to walk around without any fur, do you think he gets cold when it’s windy? Ooooh maybe he digs around like a mole, or like an earth worm! Do you think he eats dirt too? What about cupcakes? Did I tell you about the time I ate earth worm cupcakes?”

“Yes Pinkie darling, about a hundred times.” Completing the square of friends surrounding the crash zone, the white unicorn had a look of mild repulsion on her face. “Were dragon’s not enough for today? Now we have this ugly furless creature falling on us.” She eyed critically the bald skin before turning her head away and adding. “Disgusting!” Applejack rolled her eyes at the diva attitude while she helped the rehabilitated Rainbow Dash up.

“Ugly or not we have to help him.” the canary pegasus was now fussing over the creature’s right arm, which had sustained the most severe burns. “Twilight, do you know any spells to heal him? I’m afraid that these burns here” She pointed to it’s right hand. “Might leave a nasty scar if we don’t treat them soon, and I don’t have anything with me.” Fluttershy, being a pegasus, had not brought any saddlebags with her on the dragon expedition. All of her medical equipment had remained home.

“Alright, stand back.” the white unicorn, pink earth pony and yellow pegasus took a single cautious step back, watching as Twilight’s horn was surrounded with a deep red magical aura. “I’m not very good at healing spells.” The girls took several hurried steps further. “But regenerating skin tissues should not be very hard.”

Confident in her own spell casting knowledge, Twilight closed her eyes and unleashed the magical power stored in her horn, weaving it through the charred skin, cleansing the wound and gently pushing the skin cells to renew themselves faster than was natural. Regeneration was the most basic form of healing, so the lavender unicorn went through the process without worries.

That is until something unexpected happened with the magic flow: instead of remaining subdued, like a gentle stream of power, it suddenly turned into a raging torrent of raw energy, seeming to blend with the creature’s flesh. For a brief but intense moment, Twilight felt that she was somehow connected to the wounded beast, yet she didn’t recognise the nature of the spell that produced such a link, it felt almost… foreign to her, non unicorn at least. She tried to stop it, revoke the spell or at least control it, but her efforts were vain. She was locked in place by unicorn magic and a power she didn’t understand.

As quickly as it had begun, the magical surge was completely halted, like a book closing itself shut. Panting from the emotional rush, Twilight opened her eyelids to find that almost all of her friends had evacuated the near vicinities: both pegasi were poking their heads out of the leaves covering the tree-library while Applejack and Rarity had retreated inside the house. Only Pinkie Pie had apparently decided to stay a few steps away, her derpy expression and lolling tongue making it clear that the show of magical force was not only internal.

“What was that! Were you trying to blow us up or what!” Rainbow Dash exploded out of the leaf covers, landing in front of her exhausted friend, an aggravated expression on her blue coated face. “Was that a simple spell to heal him or one to send him to the moon? You didn’t even use this much power when the Ursa Minor showed up last week!” The pegasus took a look at the freshly healed creature, calming down a little. “Well at least it worked, but did you have to sign your work?”

“What? I didn’t sign anything!” Perplexed, Twilight examined the former wound, before crying out in surprise at the symbol that had appeared on the hand she had healed: a violet starburst, her cutie mark, was now embedded on its palm.

“Well then, what is your cutie mark doing on it’s claw? Or paw… whatever it is?” Rainbow Dash looked quizzically at the frozen unicorn. “Helloooo? Anybody home?” She waved her hooves in front of Twilight’s muzzle, trying to get a reaction. Rarity and Applejack made their way out of the Tree-library.

With a sigh, the cowpony headed towards Pinkie Pie, whose mouth had started foaming a lot while Rarity approached the unconscious beast. When the elegant unicorn saw the cutie mark etched on the mysterious being’s palm she gasped, a look of confusion appearing as she turned to her lavender friend.

“Oh my stars, Twilight, what have you done! How could you use a Familiar Binding spell? On an unknown creature no less!” The mention of the forbidden spell broke the accused unicorn out of her state of shock.

“I didn’t … I didn’t want to!” Twilight was beginning to shake, her eyes starting to shine with a hint of madness. “The spell somehow triggered itself! There was something magical in this thing that made me do it! I would never break Celestia’s laws…” When thinking about her mentor’s reaction, the crazed unicorn’s mane started to stick out in random directions. “I’m a good student, a good pony... I’M INNOCENT!”

“It’s okay Twilight.” Finally having exited her hiding spot, Fluttershy was hovering above her friend, trying to get her to calm down with a soothing voice. “We believe you.”

“But what if Celestia doesn’t believe me? What if she thinks that i wanted a familiar to slack off on my studies?”

“Darling, the princess would never believe that. I really think you should tell her about that weird magic you found inside of him.” Rarity gestured to the creature.

“What if she makes me take a test?”

“A test? Why the hay would she do that?” Rainbow Dash was looking at Twilight with an exasperated expression.

“What if i fail!”

“Heloooo! RainbowDash to Twilight, do you copy?”

“She will send me back to….”

“Okay, we’ve lost her.” Leaving Twilight to rant on her own, Rainbow Dash huddled with the others around Pinkie Pie, who was now passed out on the floor, a silly grin stretched across her muzzle. “So what’s so important about that familiarity spell?” She asked, mainly to the only other unicorn in the group.

“It is a very ancient spell used by the unicorns before the three tribes were united.” Seeing the confused look on Rainbow’s face she added in a frustrated tone. “You should really study up on equestrian history my dear. Anyway, before Equestria was founded, the unicorn tribe had created a spell that could be used on any animal, making him into what was called a familiar.”

“I’ve heard of that spell …” The ever timid yellow pegasus quickly hid behind her pink mane when her friends turned to her in surprise. She pressed on, barely above a whisper. “When learning how to care for woodland creatures I ran across it. The book said that it was a spell that took away any free will, effectively turning the familiar into a…” She gulped hard. “ Slave.”

The heavy silence that followed was only disturbed by the frantic lavender unicorn unrelenting monologue. When Spike exited the library and slowly approached the unicorn having a breakdown, the girls huddled closely together, almost in a conspiratorial fashion.

“A familiar was not a slave!” Rarity seemed hurt by the accusation against unicorns standards. “It is nothing like the way griffins treat defeated enemies. A familiar would be treated more like a pet, only it would receive some magical abilities from the spell, and enough brains to understand basic commands. They were a magician’s assistant, like Spike is to Twilight.” She finished by waving her hoof in a dismissing fashion.

“But Spike has the choice to disobey direct orders.” Fluttershy was, for once, looking somewhat assertive; she was a little angry to say the least.

“Yes, that’s true…”

“He doesn’t need Twilight’s permission to leave the house.”

“Well of course but…”

“And he can be away from her without being stricken by lightning.” Finding that Rarity was mute she went on, eyes narrowing. “And finally Spike can sleep anywhere he wants, he is not obliged by some curse to sleep near Twilight’s bed like a guard dog.” This was the second time today that the shy pegasus felt anger.

“Were you talking about me?” Spike popped his head inside the enclosed group, making all the mares, especially Fluttershy, jump in surprise. “I don’t want to interrupt your little secret session but, can you tell me why Twilight...” He pointed one talon towards the purple mare, currently rolling around wailing about a naughty stool. “... is going crazy over there? I’ve seen her stressed before, but never like this!”

“I’m not CRAZY!” Somehow Twilight had overheard the muted conversation over her manic rant, snapping herself out of her waking nightmare. “I just have to hide this thing until I figure out how to undo this spell…” She grabbed the creature’s legs with her front hooves and started to drag it towards her home, still muttering to herself. “Books, must have books on the matter, books never fail me, books will help, always!”

“Don’t ya think we should tell princess Celestia about this?” Applejack called without much confidence.

“NO! This is NOT a friendship problem, no need for a letter! Don’t tell her!” Getting back to her dragging, Twilight resumed her muttering. “No need for a letter… What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her… I’m a good pony… Books are my friends too...” After she and her prey had disappeared into the natural building, the door was brutally closed with magic, as were most of the shutters and curtains.

The elements of harmony watched with apprehension as the library turned into a wooden prison, most of them thinking about the poor defenceless animal stuck inside with what they could only call a deranged pony. Well, one was dreaming about a freshly baked cherry cupcake but that’s besides the point. None of them could imagine that Twilight was the one trapping herself with a potentially dangerous creature. At the same time the last shutter was shut, a long distance away in Canterlot, a second creature appeared in the sky, a female this time. Aurora had appeared only moments after her husband, but miles away from him.

---ΩΩΩ---

Mès had been going in and out of consciousness for some time now, never able to open his eyes. He was awful when dealing with his own thoughts, so they easily overpowered him, sending him back into a deep sleep. Memories of his youth, his childhood, his teenage... The rest of his life was obscured. Trying to uncover the hidden information would always bring him back to sleep, so he attempted to focus, with mild success, on what he was hearing: female voices, there was a lot of them, about four he estimated. Then he could hear only one of them. Was she talking to him? He listened closely and made out the phrase: “magic kinder-garden in a dungeon on the moon.”

Thoroughly confused the man slipped into darkness once more. When he resurfaced he felt that he was being dragged by his legs, the voice still muttering insane nonsense. Maybe the breeders had had enough of his rebellious attitude, so they had sent him into an insane asylum? His abnormal connection to mystical powers made him a freak of nature, but surely not one that had its place into the house of the lost minds? He was about to slip away once more when the racket of wood doors suddenly closing gave him a jolt. He could feel the ground beneath him, the wood planks against his face... No, against his whole body. He tentatively wiggled his fingers and toes, breathed in the musty air and focused his hearing.

After resting for some time, he felt ready for whatever fate had brought upon him; gently he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the gloom, he tensed his members to be ready to react to anything. He expected to find himself in a prison cell or at least a dark corridor leading to one, however he was once again confused when his vision was filled with nothing but books: books on the floor, books on the wall... He couldn’t see it but he was sure that the ceiling was full of the wretched things. He sat up and began to wonder where he had been sent.

His fried brain could come up with only one explanation: he must have been dragged into the great library of Alexandria, home to the Order of the Damned. His presence could only mean that he was about to be branded into the Order; They were the sorcerers trained to perform the spells necessary for the Branding, they were the ones who took a citizen’s signature and branded it on a slave’s flesh. The brand would carry a spell that made any request by the owner into an inescapable order. Enchanters would cast spells on all children mystics to prepare them for the future branding, that way there was no way to escape the procedure. Mès was no exception. But he would rather die than become an Enchanter, brand or no brand.

Mès took a quick look at his hand, mostly by reflex, before clenching it and scrutinizing the walls for an exit. Just as he was about stand, his body froze, an awful chill creeping up his spine. Slowly, oh so slowly, he brought his fist before his eyes, then strained to open his fingers, the digits being frozen by dread.

---ΩΩΩ---

After closing all possible entries to her library-bunker, Twilight had surrounded herself with a fortress of books, its walls supporting titles ranging from the subject of undoing enchantments to the removal of unwanted tattoos, anything susceptible of helping her deal with her familiar problem. More than anything, she could not bear the thought of disappointing Celestia, the fear of being arrested for an illegal act was only secondary. Her mind, usually so organized, could not accept what she had done. The brutal reality had made her retreat into a state of denial and craziness.

She was now levitating a couple of tomes in front of her, flipping magically through them in a frenzy. When a blood chilling howl filled the library, her nerves, already on an air trigger, snapped. The scream was filled with anguish and sorrow, but the crazed unicorn registered only one thing: someone had found a way inside her forbidden perimeter. Using her horned head she rammed a hole in her book fort, intent on turning the trespasser into a potted plant. But she was not ready for what she found: her newly appointed familiar, standing on two legs, yelling at the top of his lungs, his eyes locked on his right hand. Twilight couldn’t hold a yelp of surprise when she heard words inside the screaming; this thing was intelligent. The bipedal creature tore his green gaze away from the brand -his nightmares come true- his eyes locating the origin of the noise.

After a heart-beat of silence it bellowed even harder, eyelids impossibly stretched by a mixture of surprise, fear and sorrow, making Twilight’s previous yelp turn into a ear piercing shriek, to which it responded with a baritone clamor.

The pair of pony and human continued their screaming duet, their responses gradually reaching the highest octaves for one and the lowest for the second.

Outside of the former library -first turned into a bunker and now into an opera house- the group of mares had long since disbanded, everyone getting to the conclusion that Twilight needed her space.

Fluttershy was guiding her critters back to her home, staying with Spike as a babysitter had really annoyed Angel the bunny rabbit.

Applejack was helping a still dazzled Pinkie Pie to Sugarcube Corner, the strong farm mare had no problem carrying the pink pony.

Rarity was bringing Spike to her Carrousel boutique, pretending that she needed help in some chores, hiding that she was just worried about Spike being left alone.

As for Rainbow Dash, she joined with the other weather pegasi, dissipating the last draconian clouds of smoke filling the sky. The weather would be off for a few days, the scheduled rain would have to wait for another two days, with meant that a good downpour would be in order.

********************************************************

I would like to thank Zobeid for proofreading and giving needed lessons about my grammatical errors and foreigner punctuation nonsense. I encourage you to read his story, “The Last Parade”, it will blow your socks off.

Chapter 4 : Mès

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I don’t know how it happened. I did not mean to do it, but, despite the punishment, I do not regret it. At least now I have a great view; I can even see the great lighthouse when there are no ships in the way. The gigantic structure has always fascinated me, you cannot see it from the slave district, the quarters I share with other young sorcerers is dark and enclosed, a basement where the sun doesn’t shine. I have a feeling that today will be a good day.

Like a curious beast brought from a faraway land, I’ve been chained to a mooring post at the entrance of Alexandria’s great harbor. This will be my fate for the next couple of days, left to bake under the merciless sun...

At the thought of baking under the sun I look at the fisher’s stands near the walls. They all have a large quantity of fishes on display, hanged with hooks to dry under the sun. Just like me. I prefer to compare myself to those fishes, most of the beats chained in the port are feral and mean looking. Fishes are cowardly and funny looking. I suddenly wonder what life as a fish would be for me. I imagine all the adventures I would embark upon, the dangers of such a life. Then it hits me: I would most probably end up on one of those fisherman’s hook. I can’t help but grin at the scenario. Then my imagination goes crazy with other outcomes.

The busy port is quickly filled with my laughter. The locals have grown used to my weird behavior, so they just go on with their business, saying to one another: “It’s just Mès being Mès.” On the other hand, the merchants, travellers and soldiers just arriving in the city stop to stare at me, wondering how a young slave could be so happy while sitting under the sun on the burning stones, resting against a splintered wooden post. The truth is, I’m not truly happy, but I just love to laugh, to smile and find joy in the littlest things! That’s why my masters couldn’t break me, that’s why I don’t care about the sweat constantly stinging my eyes, why I don’t mind the enchanted chains binding my wrists. I even find beauty in the runes etched on my iron restraints, courtesy a fellow sorcerer: they may be there to suppress my powers but I can’t help but admire their colors, shapes and glow. As my giggles subside, someone breaks from the crowd of onlookers, getting closer with a quick and graceful pace. My blurry eyes have no time to focus on its face before the figure is standing right above me, features hidden by the midday sun.

“I’ve never seen a slave laughing so much.” Surprised, I realize it’s a girl, wearing a merchant’s gown, her voice is full of curiosity. “Did the sun fry your brain, I wonder? With all that dirty black hair, I’m sure it must be cooking up in there.” She pats my head like she’s addressing a child. From what I can see, she seems just a couple of years away from being fully grown, so really we are about the same age. “Maybe you’re just a simpleton?” Her cheeky tone somehow triggers a sense of indignity that I never thought I had in me. I open my mouth to retort. Retort what? I have no idea, but I feel compelled to respond. Before any sound crosses my lips she continues, “Or maybe...” She lowers her voice and starts to kneel down. “...you are just happy about breaking into that house and setting it on fire, hmmm?”

Her face is right in front of mine now, and I can’t tear my gaze away: a delicate nose, soft brow, rosy cheeks contrasting with her pale complexion, cute dimples and sharp jawline, all surrounded by a shower of shoulder length chestnut hairs. She is beautiful. And her eyes... Unlike the clear-sky blue eyes I’m used to seeing, hers remind me of night sky just before the dawn, the dark azure reminiscing of the purest sapphires. I would not be surprised if stars began to shine in those irises.

She cocks her head to the side, waiting for my response, but I am completely under her spell, frozen by awe as if Osiris himself had stepped in front of me. The time goes by, the crowd of onlookers starts to disperse. Losing interest, the goddess shrugs and starts to rise, maybe thinking that it is best to leave the clearly deranged slave to his own designs. Not wanting to see her go, I react without thinking, instinctively grabbing her wrist with my bound hands. She stops and locks her gorgeous eyes with mine; they show no fear, just the same curiosity as before. I try not to fall in the depths of her gaze as I sputter the only thing I have in mind.

“What... What is your name?” I feel like a starving peasant asking the pharaoh’s daughter to share a sacred meal.

“My name is Aurora.” She doesn't hesitate at all. I let go of her, both ashamed of my actions and exhilarated by her response. Aurora. I engrave that name in my memory, determined to never forget it. She looks at me for a few more heartbeats before turning away and walking towards the city. Before being engulfed in the tide of passersby she calls one last time. “We will see each other again, Mès Fire Starter.” I don’t even care about the snide comment about the incident that got me into these chains; I just feel unprecedented happiness that she knows my name. Nothing could ruin this moment. Then...

“I mean, it’s not like it will be easy to avoid you and your huge feet, right?” With that she plunges into the sea of people, leaving my shocked face behind. She snakes between the compact mob like a cat, rapidly finding a way through -- but not quickly enough to escape the barrage of angry insults I throw at her. Now the locals turn to me, astonished: they know me as the calmest among the peaceful, after all. And here I am, cussing up a storm, tugging at my chains like a mad guard dog.

In the moments that followed I felt like a complete fool for yelling at her, thinking I must have hurt her feelings. That thought was a worse torture than the sun and chains combined. But now I’ve had years to know her better, and I can tell that when she disappeared into that crowd she was smiling or outright laughing at my reaction. This is one of my most precious memories, and the gods know how bad I am at keeping them.

---ΩΩΩ---

Silence had fallen in the gloomy, hollowed tree, the voices of both pony and human having respectively reached the peaks of the highest and lowest octaves. They were now staring at each other with open mouths.

Twilight was lost in thought, the implications of turning an animal capable of speech into a familiar were staggering. Woodland critters and other wild beasts were said to benefit from the Familiar Binding, so, even if forbidden, the spell could be understandable and maybe even forgivable. However, applying it to any talking creatures, ranging from sheep, cows even up to dragons... ponies... It was unthinkable, unethical and, worst of all, cruel.

Mès’s thoughts were totally blank. Out of all the strange creatures he had seen in Alexandria, like the striped great cats brought from Asia, the wolves from Galia, or even a rare white bear from the distant frozen lands, none of them compared to what he was seeing now. At first glance he had thought it was a little horse painted into a color he had never seen before (some people like to dye their horses after all) but then he noticed the horn (was this some sort of gazelle?), the huge intelligent eyes and the other features that were strangely human-like. He had screamed out of surprise when he had realized that the thing’s horn was glowing slightly, before properly bawling out of fright when the thing had started to give a definitely human female squeal.

He was now looking at the strange creature’s head, trying to imagine what the rest of its body, concealed by a pile of books, looked like. The setting they were in made his imagination fly. Could there be a lion’s body hidden from view? Maybe even a pair of wings? That thought almost made him despair.

“Oh gods...” The unicorn almost jumped out of her fur when the human whisper broke the silence. “I am truly awful at answering riddles!” He looked scared beyond his wits, almost as if he feared Twilight was about to devour him. She was compelled to find what he was babbling about, her internal debate on magical ethics momentarily forgotten.

“What are you...” As soon as she had opened her mouth, the frightened man closed his eyes and placed both of his hand over his ears, apparently too afraid to hear what she was about to say. “Hey! I’m talking to you!” It’s amazing what indignation -- and a little madness -- can do against fear. Twilight focused on the man that had decided to sit down and rudely turn his back to her. “I know you understand me, so don’t you ignore...”

“Talk all you want, sphinx! If I don’t listen to your question, I don’t have to answer it.” Mès was resolute to best the mythical being by all means. He had heard rumors about strange creatures roaming the depths of Alexandria’s great library, but never had given them any value. At least he had heard of this tactic to beat a sphinx from... from... He couldn’t remember who had told him. He could recall that this person had been mocking him about his lack of thinking. He (or she?) had suggested that going deaf was the only way Mès could beat any riddle. Mès could remember the advice but not the one who gave it.

The bald man concentrated, trying to fill the blank in his mind. In all of his recent memories there was a missing piece, like a mosaic partially covered in sand. He persisted, doing his best to blow the sand away, staying in his meditating pose for a short while. He would have gone longer if a very aggravated unicorn had not teleported out of her book fort, reappeared in front of him and forcibly removed his hands from his ears with surprising strength. Feeling the hooves on his arms, Mès’s eyes shot open, only to find Twilight's amethyst irises inches away. She was about to lecture the rude creature into submission when it uttered the most pathetic plea she had ever heard.

“Don’t eat me...” Mès’s voice cracked mid sentence, this could be his last instants on earth after-all.

This was too much for Twilight. Drained by the misuse of magic, exhausted by mental collapse and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, she couldn’t resist the absurdity of seeing such a muscular creature so afraid of her that he would feel the need to beg for his life. She tried to hold it in, her cheeks about to burst, then she sputtered, her body starting to shake heavily, before finally surrendering to the most powerful fit of laughter she had ever experienced. All the accumulated tension was expelled in seconds, leaving the lavender mare with every burst of laughter and every tear, exhausting all of her strength.

Mès was more bewildered than ever. When the supposed sphinx had moved her head away, he was able to take in the rest of her body, discovering that it was devoid of any lion’s paw or eagle’s wings. The proportions were unlike any other horses he had ever seen, but it was familiar enough. She then started to shake and make raspberry noises with her mouth before exploding into a furry ball of hilarity. Mès couldn’t comprehend most of what had happened since he had awakened, so he welcomed the laughter, comforting himself in the familiar sound; after all, he had been an expert on the subject, long, long ago.

However, he quickly felt that the mad cackling coming from the painted horse was not a joyous sound; it made Mès shiver, chills constantly running up his spine. Suddenly his ears twitched. The man had learnt to read his body’s reactions, so he instinctively reached out for the laughing equine, just in time to catch her as she lost consciousness. Holding her as gently as he could, Mès carefully laid Twilight on the ground, resting her head on his forearm. She barely opened her eyes and, once more, unicorn and human locked gazes. He didn’t know why, but Mès had a sensation of déjà vu, as if he was reliving a dream. The words came out of his mouth without his permission.

“What is your name?” Mès suddenly felt nervous, as if the answer was truly important.

“My name... is... Twilight... S...” She looked about to add something, but passed out before she could. It made no difference to Mès, but he could not understand why he felt so disappointed by her response. It was like he was expecting something... Something he held dear to his heart.

Still holding the passed out unicorn, the man took time to examine the room more carefully, locating a flight of stairs and, on the opposite side, a door. Judging by the rays of light around it, the gateway led outside. Freedom. The thought was exhilarating. Mès was, by nature, a kind man, but living as a fugitive for the last months had beaten an exacerbated sense of self-preservation into him, even if he couldn’t remember most of it. That instinct was now screaming for him to run, to get away as fast as he could. He would have bolted out if not for the strange female creature he was carefully cradling, handling her as if she was made out of glass.

This care went beyond the compassion his old self would have shown anyone, let alone an unknown living being. He tried to convince himself that he was doing this because she apparently was very young, only a foal in the eyes of a man used to the great dark horses of his land.

Battling against the strange bond pulling him towards the unicorn, he rested her head on a book and approached the wooden door, opening it just enough to spy through without being seen. The sight he discovered through the crack was far from the Alexandria he expected, or the clay villages from his home, or even the roman stone cities; the houses were tall, up to three floors, and were entirely made out of wood. Strangely, they were not unfamiliar to the Egyptian man.

“I have seen buildings resembling these ones before... But where?” Mès tried his hardest to remember, knowing his location was vital information. He started to recover some pieces of memories. “A journey by boat... Long treks through endless forests... On the other side of the Roman sea... Galia?” How could he remember a country he had never been to? Had he been to these barbarian-filled lands? Why? He remembered with a start that he was now a fugitive. Mès tried to clear his murky thoughts to find out why he had chosen to go north and not east to flee the empire. Was he following someone else's lead?

Anyway, the architecture was certainly reminiscent of the villages he had seen in Galia, but still different; here everything was more colorful. Even in the setting sun he could tell that the few houses in sight were colored in various shades. If he had been moving west of Galia then Mès had an idea where he was. The Iberian peninsula was known to host a peculiar population that loved to produce different dyes and paints. Apart from that, not much was known of them, the empire having conquered the region through diplomacy. Only the coastal regions had been properly occupied. Protected by several mountain ranges, the Iberians were said to hold many secrets, and the talking horse behind him could be one of those mysteries.

Mès didn't want to find out how the locals dealt with strangers uncovering what they were hiding, so he readied himself for a sprint. The dying sun was a perfect setting for an escape; most people were getting home, and the guards were not yet on night patrol. Hopefully those rules applied to these northern barbarians’ land, Mès could be easily mistaken.

Though they were not sympathetic to the empire, there was no way to know what they would do with a fugitive slave: one that had seen too much, at that. Mès turned one last time towards Twilight, still curious about such an extraordinary being. The fading light coming through the crack in the door made her coat shine, highlighting the mark she bore on her flank.

Mès recognised the mark instantly. He was dumbfounded for a moment, but the surprise he felt was quickly replaced by a familiar feeling: hatred. His face turning to cold fury, the man quietly closed the door, plunging the library in darkness; leaving was now a second thought. He had something, or someone, to deal with first.

---ΩΩΩ---

The golden chariot was zooming through the beautiful azure sky, two strong white pegasi pulling it towards an unknown destination. Twilight enjoyed the fresh air blowing through her mane; she couldn’t enjoy this feeling of freedom often. She turned to her right, marveling at the sight of the regal alicorn sitting at her side: Princess Celestia was looking confidently ahead, a gentle smile dancing on her lips. The lavender unicorn then turned to her left, watching over Spike as he clung to the golden carriage. Her heart soared. The two beings she loved most, her second family, were with her on this ride. She couldn’t be happier.

However, something was wrong. As she lovingly watched over her adoptive brother, she realized the little dragon was scared, gripping the golden rails as if he was afraid to fall. Looking for an explanation, Twilight turned to Celestia only to find that the immortal was glaring at her, her eyes blazing with unmistakable anger.

Confused, the unicorn twirled around to ask her brother what was wrong, but Spike was gone. In his place was standing a strange bipedal creature. With a shiver of terror, she remembered that he was her familiar. He wore the same worried expression. When a wave of guilt hit Twilight, the chariot was suddenly jerked by a strong turbulence... No, not turbulence, Twilight realized as she looked around. The carriage no longer soared through the sky; it was now rolling on a desolate arid landscape, the wheels bumping on the rough terrain as it was pulled by two dark furred earth ponies.

She heard a yell. Looking to her left, she realized that her familiar was no longer at her side, a glance back revealing that it had fallen from the ride. Remembering one the rules binding a familiar to his master, Twilight tried to tell the earth ponies to stop, but no one was pulling the cart anymore. The terrorized face of her familiar was quickly disappearing in the distance. On last resort, Twilight faced her mentor to ask for help, but Celestia was no more. The unicorn now faced her mother, the older mare bearing a look of sadness and disappointment, her greyed mane flat with shame. Twilight couldn’t bear to look at her, so she turned her gaze one last time towards her familiar, just in time to see a rainbow colored lightning bolt striking the distant figure -- figure that strangely resembled a baby dragon before being pulverized. Tears flowing, Twilight tried to embrace her mother to escape the grief, but she only grasped at air. With an overwhelming sense of despair Twilight realized the golden chariot speeding through the void was empty. She was alone, forever.

---ΩΩΩ---

Twilight awoke with a yelp of fright, eyes streaming with tears and breath ragged from crying.

She took a few moments to compose herself. There was no chariot, she was resting in her bed, no lightning, the morning sun assured a gorgeous day, and there was definitely no dead baby dragon. At that last thought, Twilight hurriedly blew the covers off and took a look at the foot of her bed; Spike was there, sleeping in his basket, safe. Unable to contain her relief, she sighed and quietly kissed the top of his scaly head. The tender moment was cut short when the door of the room Twilight and Spike shared creaked open, the silhouette in the threshold reminding Twilight that not everything in her nightmare was a dream.

“I thought I heard noises. Glad you’ve awoken little one.” Mès was covered in a white sheet he had folded into a toga. “I guess that lizard is some kind of pet? Good thing I didn’t hurt him when he got into the house then. Never was one for guard duty, anyway.” Seeing the incomprehension in her eyes he elaborated, “I stood guard all night waiting for your... our master to come home, guess it was in vain.” Mès entered the room and climbed the stairs leading to Twilight’s bed.

“Did you...” The proximity of the cause of her nightmare was unnerving. “Did you carry me up here? Last thing I remember, I was downstairs in the main hall.” He was right next to the bed now, and she could even smell his strange, musky scent.

“Well, at first I looked for a cot of hay or something along those lines, but when I found this bed I knew it was yours.” Mès brought his hand to Twilight’s forehead, as if taking her temperature before murmuring, “Doesn’t work on animals I guess...”

“I am fine.” She pushed the hand aside carefully. “How did you know this bed was mine? Yesterday you acted as if I was a wild beast, not a civilized being.” As a matter of fact, he was acting strangely familiar, as if doting on her.

“I just used my nose,” Mès responded matter-of-factly.

“What do you mean, your nose?” Twilight was almost afraid to ask.

“This bed smelled like you, so I thought...”

“WHAT?” She exclaimed, outraged. “

“Then lifting such a little foal like you was no...” Mès had to jump back to avoid her hoof.

“Hey, hey what did I say?”

“You dare insult a lady and then wonder what you said?” Twilight had brought her voice down when Spike had mumbled something about trash cans in his sleep. She stepped out of her bed and advanced on the offender. “I will give you one chance to apologize!”

Cornered in the side of the mezzanine, Mès looked dumbly at the fuming unicorn. It seemed that his lack of tact would always get him in trouble with females, human or not. Wanting to express that thought, he added: “How could I know that you were a lady when I am dealing with a horse? It’s not like if I said that you stank or someth...”

Being a scholar, Twilight was not as strong as Applejack or Rainbow Dash. Nevertheless, the buck she delivered to Mès’s stomach was powerful enough to send him crashing onto the lowest part of her room. Her interactions with males, pony or not, were rare and far between, so having her neatness put in question by one was doubly hurtful.

The crash had almost woken up the now thrashing baby dragon, so Twilight approached the flight of stairs on the tip of her hooves and proceeded to stand over the man lying on his back.

“Please follow me downstairs, I don’t want you to wake Spike with your nonsense.”

Looking up at Twilight’s face as it was obscured by the morning sun shining through the window, Mès couldn’t help but feel the same sensation of déjà vu. However, this time he controlled his words and only said, “You lead, I follow,” instead of all the insults his memories brought to him.

Refastening the sheet on his shoulder, Mès started to follow the lavender unicorn, trying to decide if his wish to push her down the stairs was really directed at Twilight, or if his memories were confusing him once again. Anyway, the thought brought a genuine smile to his face. It felt good, as if he was welcoming an old friend he had not seen for a long time.

********************************************************

Big thank you to Zobeid for proofreading and pointers, without him this story would be a real mess.

Chapter 5 : Prime Directive

View Online

The search party was bearing down on the fugitives, and Melkor the Damned could not be happier. The chase had lasted months but finally, Mès and Aurora would be apprehended.

They would be brought before the Emperor , publicly humiliated and executed in an arena, possibly with the help of a lion or two. Maybe even a tiger. Everything was better with tigers.

The trail of destruction those two had left in their wake had quickly transformed them into living legends: this should have been just another story of a citizen falling in love with a slave, dishonoring herself and all of her family, but noooo. This was Mès we were talking about, the first true son of Ammit to be born in a long, long time. It had been Melkor’s job to carve his stigma on the infant Mès, if only he had known then what a nightmare the little shit would become, he would have smothered him in his filthy crib.

Now someone sporting his stigma was carving a path of chaos through the Empire. First in Alexandria, where some incompetent law enforcer had riled up a crowd to take down the illegitimate couple instead of forming a battalion with soldiers and some Branded. Madness. Everyone knew that Mès was powerful, if he had not been scheduled for admission in the Order of the Damned he would have been killed long ago.

And what a good addition to the Order he would have been... Melkor had protected the young sorcerer since the first signs of his unusual powers. He could not wait to have Mès for himself once the young slave was just ripe enough. If Mès was unwilling he would have been branded with Melkor’s mark, his first order making him swear allegiance to all other Damned. Such a good toy he could have been, the old Damned could only lick his lips at the thought.

But now, with half of the city ablaze and even a wing of the great library turned to ashes, that could never happen. The great library of Alexandria, destroyed by fire? Unthinkable. Thankfully the Damned managed to control the fire before the damage spread too far. It was their base of opérations after all.

The duo had then avoided detection until they were spotted in the port of Leptis Magna, stocking up a small vessel with as much provisions as they could fit inside. Of course, the military didn’t wait for Melkor and his acolytes and had engaged Mès without any Damned or Branded backup. The Romans were helplessly stuck with the idea that sorcerers were good for nothing. Well maybe with half of the port’s fleet sunk or burned beyond repair they would change their minds. When Melkor had arrived the day after the fight, the green flames were still burning, taunting him. Mès and Aurora, of course, were long gone.

Melkor and two other Damned commandeered a birene and set off in pursuit, catching up to the smaller ship in no time. The chase on the sea was short lived as the couple shipwrecked themselves trying to avoid capture. He still laughed out loud whenever he remembered the scene: Aurora bravely keeping hold of the helm while Mès threw up everywhere on the deck. Glorious.

The land of the Gauls provided those two with some good cover and shelter. But he had cornered them once near a village. Just the memory of that fight gave him shivers. It had been a long time since any Damned had to show his full power, and Melkor and his two brethren gave it their all. And it had still not been enough. The forest surrounding the village had been burned down and the hamlet itself partially blown away. Explosions were always Melkor’s forte.

The next fight would be decisive, so Melkor had requested a few more Branded and some legionaries with dogs. Now the hounds were running towards the side of a mountain, closer inspection revealing a cave hidden from view. Romans and Branded carrying torches rushed the entrance while the three Damned lazily followed. If Mès was still inside, they wanted to enjoy the firework from a distance.

“Where are they?” Someone shouted. “The dogs lost their trail here!” The soldiers leashed their confused dogs, trying to get them to find a trace, the three Damned catching up to them in the mouth of the cavern.

“You, Branded, search the cave” Melkor loved commanding, even more when he could give orders to roman citizens. “And you, legionaries, try to get their scent around the side of the mountain.”

Oh how they all hated taking orders from him, that made it even more enjoyable. He could feel the soldiers’ hatred when they dispersed into the wilderness, hopefully they would run into a roaming bear or two.

“What do you think? Did they fly away?” One of the other Damned was looking at the sky, smirking. “Wouldn’t surprise me coming from that crazy kid.”

“Truly remarkable specimen.” The second Damned chimed in. “Makes you proud to be a sorcerer.” He then bursted out in derisive laughter. “Ain’t that right monkeys?” He shouted after the Branded examining the bottom of the cave.

“Shut up you two” Melkor had a little smile on his face, but still wanted to concentrate. “Can’t you feel it?”

“What, you mean the lingering aftertaste in the air?” The Damned started to converge towards an invisible marker. “The one that tells us that a pretty powerful spell was used in this cave very recently? Nah I don’t feel it at all!”

“Taste like mint to me.” The trio of Damned began to circle the spot where moments before Mès and Aurora had sat before vanishing.

“With a hint of cinnamon.” Melkor added.

“Oooh you have some refined taste brother! I smell lemons with the mint.”

“You two have no taste, a mint leaf is all you need.”

The Three Damned looked at each other with bored expressions.

“So.”

“Yes.”

“Quite”

Then all three said at the same time.

“Blink spell.”

“Pretty well executed at that” Said the lemon Damned.

“But why this much energy? Was he trying to reach the moon?”

“No matter where he was trying to go, distance is irrelevant.” Melkor kneeled down, took some chalk from his belt and started to draw complicated symbols on the ground. “No matter where he ended up, we’ll follow. We just need time.”

“Guess we will need backup to open a walkway. I’m gonna send a message to the Order.” The mint Damned walked to the exit, scribbling on a scroll. “Shall I tell our loyal dog handlers that they can call off the search?”

Melkor paused in his ritualistic drawings. After a moment of amused silence three voices answered in the dark.

“Naaaah!”

With a sudden burst of blue flames the scroll was consumed, its ashes speeding away in the night.

---ΩΩΩ---

The library’s windows were still obscured by the magically sealed shutters, the rising sun barely making its way inside. The few rays of light were just enough to illuminate the chaos that reigned in the main hall: documents had been thrown on the ground, the shelves were in disarray, the book fort had collapsed.... The scene only aggravated Twilight’s foul mood, she didn’t need to be reminded of her mental breakdown; the memory of her behavior towards her friends was enough punishment.

”Is it really?” The unicorn turned to look at her guest. He was following her down the staircase, still covered in a white sheet fashioned into a toga. Furless, tall, standing on two legs and capable of speech, this truly was a strange creature. Usually Twilight would have been anxious to study the unknown being, she would have performed some harmless experiments and asked him a few hundred questions before sending a letter exposing her discoveries to her mentor, princess Celestia.

But now... Not only had she performed a forbidden spell but she had done it on an intelligent creature, and to make it worse she tried to hide her deed making her into a criminal and not the victim of a magical mishap; maybe she had not been punished nearly enough.

Twilight shook her head, trying to chase the thoughts away. Her efforts were in vain: the nightmare, the brutal awakening and the unexpected insult against her cleanliness --not to mention being mistaken for a foal-- had left her mind in a turmoil.

As Mès reached the main hall, Twilight opened all the windows, letting light and fresh air rush inside. The man observed the display of magic with curious wonder, watching closely as the shutters were surrounded by the same aura he had seen on the purple unicorn’s horn. She noticed his interest, this was an occasion to ask him what he knew about magic, maybe he could explain why a healing spell had turned into a familiar binding spell.

“Look, I’m sorry for kicking you, let’s start over, shall we?” Twilight extended a hoof. “My name is Twi...”

“Twilight, yes I know.” Mès interrupted as he eyed the hoof with a raised eyebrow.

“... Sparkle. How do you...” Before Twilight could finish her question the man interrupted yet again.

“Strange name. Mine, is Mès, means child back in my home.” The man was oblivious to the unicorn’s growing frustration. ” Speaking of home, yours is very peculiar, must be weird to live in a tree, has to be crawling with bugs all the time.” She didn’t even have the time to show her indignation as he went on.

“I remember the time when I found a black scorpion in my bed, but I guess you don’t have those here.” Mès eyed the ground thoughtfully, as if he expected to see one crawling over the books. Quickly losing interest he started to pace around the room.

“Ever been to Egypt? Alexandria? It’s great there, well except for the Imperials, rotten like a month old apple the lot of them. That reminds me, I’m pretty hungry.”

Mès started to sniff like a dog and headed straight for the library's kitchen, leaving an open mouthed Twilight behind. She had thought that Mès was either dense or rude, but now she knew: he was crazy.

”There is a lunatic hungry creature in my kitchen.” The thought sprang Twilight into action. She rushed after Mès, half expecting him to have tinkered with the oven, setting the room on fire.

To her relief she found that Mès had just taken a seat at the table and was munching on an apple with gusto.

“Now listen here you...” The angry words died in Twilight’s mouth. She wanted to lecture Mès for his rude behavior but she stopped when her eyes caught something: Mès’s teeth were clearly visible as he bit into a new apple, and a particular pair drew her attention. Canines. Whatever Mès was, his species was not exclusively herbivore. Furthermore his eyes were angled to face forward, while ponies, cows and other herbivores looked to the sides. This was telltale sign of a hunter’s morphology. The prospect of being a potential prey had not crossed Twilight’s mind, but as the predator sitting at her table devoured a third apple she realised in how much danger she was in. The smile Mès gave her in that instant didn’t comfort the unicorn: he could have been thinking about a succulent pony meal to go with his fruits after all.

Taking care of moving slowly and carefully, Twilight sat in front of the potentially lethal creature. Books on lions and other predator advised to never run from one when cornered, now was not the time to test that theory, as tempting as it was. She looked upon her familiar: he seemed harmless enough as he was now, choking on a piece of his fourth apple, spurting juice and saliva everywhere... But looks could be deceiving.

“Want some?” Totally oblivious to Twilight’s fears, Mès extended hand covered in juice across the table, offering the basket of fruits he was pillaging.

“You do realise that those are mine, right?” Twilight sighed deeply. Her table companion had not shown any sign of aggressive behavior. Just a tendency to annoy her. She levitated the apple from his hand, magically removing the liquids covering it. But before she could take a bite into it Mès left his seat and was standing right next to her in an instant. Twilight froze. He could move faster than she had imagined.

To her relief Mès didn’t pounce on her, instead he started to examine the floating apple, moving his hands under and over it, as if looking for a hidden wire. Finding none the man turned towards the unicorns horn, poking it with his fingers repeatedly.

“Are you quite finished?” Twilight didn’t like the way her horn reacted to his touch, in more ways than one.

“I thought that only egyptian mystics could use such powers. And you are even able to levitate objects! Such precise control over the energy flow...” Mès crossed his arms, as if looking at something incredible.

“Well thanks, I think.” Twilight didn’t know if he was being serious or if he was mocking her.

“You are an amazing child! For such a young horse, this is really impre...” Mès’s praise was cut short when the apple he had given Twilight was suddenly thrown against his face, exploding on impact. The man fell to the ground, only seeing stars and apple sauce.

---ΩΩΩ---

The apple to the head had the benefit of making Mès shuttin up and focus on Twilight. Once he had cleaned his face with his improvised clothing he returned to his seat and his eyes didn’t leave the unicorn, apparently ready to dodge any more projectiles. He listened intently when she explained that she was not, in fact, a young horse filly but and adult pony. When she learned that the man had never heard of ponies, Twilight was somewhat remorseful. Everything about the man’s behavior annoyed her, but it seemed that it was not by design, he was just naturally irritating. After the explanations an awkward silence descended upon the kitchen. As Mès remained mute and starring, Twilight decided to break the silence.

“So you never heard of ponies, don’t know about unicorn magic and resemble nothing I’ve ever read about.” She scratched her chin and eyed the man scientifically. “Can you tell me where you are from exactly?”

“I’m from Alexandria.”

“... Is it a city?”

“Yes.”

“Sooo, where is it located?”

“Egypt, I told you already.”

“... Well WHERE is this Egypt?”

“In the Empire.”

“WHAT EMPIRE?”

“The Roman Empire”

“WHAT IS A ROMAN!!”

“A miserable little pile of secrets. And lies. And wine. And honey. And...”

Mès expertly dodged the second apple, the projectile breaking the window behind him.

“Hey hey, if you break anything else you are going into trouble with our master when he comes home.” He said jokingly.

“What are you talking about?!” Twilight huffed, another apple in her telekinetic grip, ready to fire.

“Don’t worry though, I don’t plan on staying here too long, I have it all planned out for when he comes home.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’m going to kill him.”

The apple fell to the floor. Twilight could not understand how a creature that seemed so joyful could speak of the demise of another living thing so easily. She reminded herself that this was a predator, like griffins and dragons. He would have a different way of thinking than herbivorous beings whose attitudes towards violence only extended as far as flinging pie at one another.

“Don’t say such things...” Twilight was a little afraid but she had to clear this out. “I think you may have misunderstood the situation here, why don’t you explain to me what you mean by master?”

“Well...” Mès looked a little puzzled. “I mean the one that this mark belongs to of course.” He showed his palm, Twilight’s cutie mark etched on it. “I guess I was branded while i was asleep, but until the one that this mark belongs to gives me his first order the Branding procedure won’t be completed. I am still free to do as I please: I’m not his slave yet so I can still hurt him. When he comes back I’ll kill him and free us both.” He concluded while pointing at Twilight’s flanks, where the same mark was visible. “It must be pretty terrible for you to obey him, am I right? And the bond is made for life, only death can break it. There is no other way.”

“Oh...” Maybe he hadn’t misunderstood that much. The branding he described was very similar to the familiar spell, except for the ‘first order’ rule and the slave part. Twilight gulped, steeling herself. “So the reason you didn’t run away...”

“I could not abandon you. We are brother and sister in binding, I just could not leave you.”

“So you felt a bond towards me... Making you care for me?”

“Yes. I... It’s a fraternity thing, I guess. It was a little weird but...”

“You felt obliged to help me...” Twilight looked into Mès’s eyes, trying to make him understand. “You felt like you... had to serve... me?”

“No, I... You... You?” Mès stared at the unicorn he had cared for all night, the creature he knew nothing about, yet had bonded with almost instantly, the mare that had his brand, etched on her flanks... The same mark... HER mark.

“Mès? Are you...” Twilight never finished her phrase.

It happened in an instant. Not one for great internal debates and careful pondering, the dangerous man sprang into action before the unicorn could even register his mouvement. In the blink of an eye he did the only thing he could conceive in that instant, only thinking of saving his freedom. This was the only way.

Mès jumped like a tiger from his chair, almost flew over the table and in one powerful leap... And started running like never before. When Twilight’s brain processed this information Mès was already out of sight, having left the kitchen and bolting for the front door. Remembering her dream the unicorn panicked and shouted after him.

“WAIT! DON’T GO!”

She fell from her chair and galloped towards the main hall, fully prepared to find the front door open, the man running towards his doom. But instead she found Mès standing just inches away from the exit, his body frozen in the act of flight. He had heard her, and apparently was willing to give her a chance to explain.

“I’m glad you stayed, I have to explain some things about the ways you are bound to me.” Mès didn’t respond, he just stood there in his uncomfortable pose. “Right... so the first thing you should know is that you can’t get too far from me, or you’ll be struck by magical lightning.” That did not stir the reaction she had expected. Instead Mès slowly righted his balanced, and even more carefully turned his head to face her.

“Okay, you are listening, the second thing you... should...” Twilight stopped, confronted with the expression on his face. Long gone was the smile she had seen there. Mès’s colors had been drained away, his eyes were opened to the extreme and his jaw was tightly shut. He was clearly terrified of her. It took the unicorn a few painful heartbeats to understand why.

In her moment of panic, Twilight had given Mès his first order, taking away his freedom and completing the Branding spell once and for all. The slave stared at his master, and the master gazed into her familiar’s eyes.

Chapter 6 : Welcome

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Voices broke the silence, disturbing the dragon’s slumber. Twilight was having an argument with someone, but Spike didn’t recognize the masculine voice... It wasn’t Shining Armor, maybe his father Night Light? The little dragon wished he could see what was happening, but first he would have to escape the giant ice cream tub he had fallen into.

When he finally escaped the delicious death trap he realized that it really was Night Light, though he was arguing with his wife Velvet and not Twilight. They were having a row over a pile of dirty dishes: it had grown so high that the roof needed to be removed. Velvet suddenly decided to take a plate from the bottom, and it turned out that the house was relying on it for its structural integrity: the whole thing came down on top of them. Once the dust settled the two ponies started yelling again, except it was Celestia and Pony Joe, bickering about what was better between cakes and doughnuts. While Spike wondered idly how he could have mistaken the pink alicorn for his mother the princess shouted a mighty battle cry and summoned a giant tidal wave of whipped cream topped with frosting.

Next thing he knew Spike was surfing on the sugary wave. He suddenly realized he was near to a jewel covered beach where he could see Rarity cheering for him. Next to her he could see his parents, Celestia and Pony joe, Twilight and a weird furless creature... And they were all making out.

Gross.

Thinking about ways to impress the white unicorn and to escape the nightmarish sight, Spike suddenly did a backflip, launched himself in the air and flew into outer space, his red cape blowing in the wind. It was pretty cool up there, he had to admit, maybe he could go to the moon next? Too bad he had not brought any sunglasses though... The sun was unbearably bright from up close. Wait was it getting closer?

Spike slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the glare of the morning sun shining directly on his face. He thought about what he had just experienced.

“Well, that was stupid.”

The little dragon stretched his tired muscles: evenings with Rarity were always pretty awesome, except for all the chores she asked him to do. But he was glad to help, he always was.

“Twilight?” Spike looked at his sister’s bed, the covers in total disarray. She had woken up before him, never a good sign: the unicorn was not a morning pony, her crabby demeanor in the early hours of the day were legendary in the family, result of her nocturnal studies. He sighed and went into ‘dragon assistant’ mode, cleaning up the mess.

After a short while everything was neat and clean, next task would be to go downstairs: Spike expected to find Twilight collapsed on the kitchen floor waiting for him to make a good pot of coffee. He was then surprised to find her in the middle of a standoff in the main hall. It was like a game of pony wrestling: in the middle of the ring, a purple unicorn, and in front of the door, backed against the ropes, the goofy creature from his dream. He remembered that he had seen him the day before, except now he was covered in a white sheet spotted with what looked like apple sauce stains. At least Spike hoped those were applesauce... Was this thing even toilet trained? Neither one of them gave him any attention, so Spike crept to the kitchen without a word.

“What the heck!” The back room was a mess: chairs overturned, apple bits everywhere and a smashed window to boot. Full of indignation Spike stomped his little feet backwards and faced the culprits.

“Hey, if you think I’m going to clean all of that, then you’ve got another thing coming!”

Both pony and human turned towards him. One of them with an astonished expression.

“A talking lizard...” Mès eyed the newcomer with a hint of superstitious awe.

“You can talk? And what do you mean lizard? Name’s Spike, I am a proud dragon!” Spike puffed his chest for dramatic effect.

“Dragon, like a draco ? Sorry but you don’t really look like one.” Forgetting momentarily about his predicament, Mès’s mind went back to all of the legends about dracos, terrible snake like creatures, the most notorious one coming from a greek myth: Ladon, supposed to guard the apples Hercules was tasked to retrieve. He even had a constellation named after him. Meeting such a creature would have been an honor, if only this particular dragon looked less like an overgrown salamander and more like the mythical reptile. “Are all real dragons as pathetic looking as you? You are kinda breaking my heart here.”

“What?! Do you live under a rock or something? I’m just a baby you dummy! Dragons are the most powerful creatures there is!”

“Gonna take a lot to convince me.” The man scratched his bald head. This sure was a weird place, where animals could talk and even use mystical powers. Which reminded him...

“Seems like the Iberians have a lot of things to hide.” Mès turned back towards Twilight. “Dragons, talking horses...” He ignored Twilight’s weak protest. “And animal sorcerers... No wonder the Empire could never truly break this land.” The man took a brief look at his palm before clenching his fist and staring at the unicorn. “So tell me master, have you taken this one’s freedom too?”

“No!”

“You, dragon, what is your role in this household?”

“Eh? Do you mean what I do? Well I do the dishes, the cleaning, I look out for supplies, that kind of stuff.”

“Mès, this isn’t what it looks like...”

“Then why don’t you explain yourself.”

“Well...”

“Did you feel that having one servant was not enough?”

“Hey, I’m an assistant!”

“Spike, not helping!” Twilight was clenching her teeth in frustration.

“You found me sleeping and thought that you could do with a replacement for your little lizard?”

“What? Are you trying to replace me?”

“NO, don’t be silly!”

“It’s true isn’t it! You told me that I was slacking off yesterday, and now you are going to throw me out!” The little dragon accused.

“She is. Probably needed someone with my physical abilities.”

“No, I would never...”

“Physical? Oh, now I understand.” Spike looked at Mès, as if judging him. “Sheesh I knew it would happen sooner or later, but not like this. You could just tell me that you want to have the house for yourself to do dirty things with him whenever you want, no need to hide it.” ‘Just like in my dream.’ He thought.

“What?!” Both Twilight and Mès exclaimed, the latter looking at the unicorn in a whole new way, making her blush furiously.

“I know when I’m not wanted, I’ll go get my things.” Spike started to climb the stairs, already planning on ways to get one of his friends to let him move in temporarily. If Twilight just wanted a new assistant, then he would have fought to keep his place, but if she wanted to do some mushy stuff, then he was out of there. “Don’t worry, Shining Armor warned me about this, I’ll be out of your hair for a while.”

“What did he tell you? Spike come back here!” Twilight broke eye contact with Mès, the horrified man taking that opportunity to open the door and bolt outside. He had been instructed to wait and listen to her, and he had. Now was the time to run for the hills before she forbade him to escape.

“NO!” Twilight tenetichaly grabbed Mès’s ankles, making him fall flat on his face.

“HELP!” Several ponies turned towards the unidentified creature caught in Twilight’s magic. “SHE WANTS ME TO BE HER SEX SLAVE PLEASE HELP ME!” Like an insect caught by a blushing purple spider, Mès was quickly dragged inside. Soon only the deep grooves left by his hands were left, and the library door slammed shut. Most ponies looked at each other before simply shrugging off and going on about their day. Ponyvilians always heard rumors about the eccentricities of Canterlot ponies, and it seemed that the new addition to the town was no exception. Best not to interfere on whatever role play this was.

Inside the library Twilight and Mès wrestled furiously, one wanting silence and the other trying to escape. After a few tiring moments the unicorn’s patience ran out.

“Okay, that’s IT, you asked for this. BE QUIET!” The order instantly sealed Mès’s mouth shut, which did not prevent him from squirming around even harder.

“Oh for pony sake... Look listen to me, please. You can’t...”

“Hmmhmmhm!”

“If you go out of shouting distance from me you’ll be...”

“HMMM!”

“I am trying to warn you...”

“HRMMMMMMMM!”

“... You are really irritating, you know that?”

“Hmmm?”

“Stop making sounds, stop moving and STOP BEING ANNOYING!”

Mès instantly went completely rigid and silent in an instant, resting on his back like a plank of wood. He looked resentfully at the unicorn on top of him.

“Sorry, but you brought this upon yourself.” Exhausted by their little scuffle Twilight sat down onto Mès’s belly. His defiant expression clearly stated ‘Do your worst, but I’ll get you in the end.’

“Look, Mès, please listen to me. Please, please pleeeease! Give me a chance to explain.” This time she had asked, not ordered him. Mès caught that fact and looked puzzled for an instant. Twilight took advantage of his confusion to continue hastily.

“I did not, in any way, want this to happen. When you got here you were hurt, I only tried to heal you, but something went wrong.” She pointed to his right palm with a hoof. “Something in your paw reacted to my magic, and the spell triggered itself.” A look of realization crossed his eyes. “I don’t know how but you are now bound to me by not only what you called Branding, but a unicorn spell too.” Mès raised an eyebrow in question. “Oh right, I told you that I was a pony, but I’m also what we call a unicorn, see?” She pointed to her horn. He rolled his eyes, if he wanted to say ‘fair enough’ or ‘whatever’ she couldn’t tell.

“When it happened I felt the Branding curse, but also the Familiar Binding spell,so we have to play by the rules of both. And a condition of the unicorn spell states that if you should try to run away...” Mès sighed, indicating that he had understood. He vaguely remembered a mention of magical lightning, he didn’t need a picture. ‘Now do you understand why I had to stop you?” He blinked slowly in response.

“I am truly sorry.”They stayed in that awkward pose looking at each other, lost in their own thoughts until...

“Eeeew, wait for me to get away, why don’t you!” Spike was looking at them from the top of the stairs, his improvised luggage on his shoulder. He hadn’t decided if he should have been disgusted or amused by the situation.

Twilight jumped from her compromising position and sent Spike to his room to unpack his little bundle on a stick. After taking a moment or two to compose herself she looked at the paralyzed man on the ground.

“You can move and speak.”

“What about being annoying?” Mès picked himself up and was promptly standing over Twilight, the unicorn’s eyes level with his belly button. She was so little compared to him... “Am I still forbidden to do that?”

“It’s in your nature, no spell can take that away from you.” She smirked at him, happy to receive a little contrite smile in return.

---ΩΩΩ---

After some sulking, Spike had finally consented to listen to Twilight’s explanations, and he had believed the part where he was not being evicted in any way, although he still looked suspiciously at Mès from time to time. He agreed to clean the kitchen in exchange for a trip to Sugarcube Corner to get whatever he wanted.

“With a little luck he will be satisfied before he ruins my budget for the year.” Twilight relaxed on a long chair while Mès took a seat next to her; he was busy examining his surroundings. He noted that the basement was illuminated by a series of lamps hanging from the walls, the roots of the old tree sticking out everywhere.

“Maybe next time you’ll think twice before throwing fruits at me.” He poked one of the many scientific equipment littering the underground room. “Or is this how your people usually treat newcomers?”

“Well, I am not really used to the whole ‘social interaction’ thing yet, still working on it.”

“No kidding. I saw others of your kind out there, so what’s your excuse? Do you live in this tree all year long?”

“For your information, I moved in this town not long ago. And I never was one for making friends before, I was kinda obsessed with books.”

“I noticed.” Mès pointed to the ceiling where the library stood. “Like a bird making its nest. You don’t have a pair of wings hidden under your fur, have you?” She reflexively shifted away from his outreached hand. He retracted it, looking at her with an amused smile. “Are you scared of me?”

“No.” She sighed. “And yes, just a little. I don’t really know anything about you yet, and I have given you enough reasons for you to hurt me. But you did not. Not when I cornered you yesterday, not when I pelted you with apples and not even when you realized that I was the one responsible for your branding.” Twilight looked intently in his eyes. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because I didn’t want to kill you. Or anyone else for that matter”

“But you had planned to.”

“Only because I thought you were in my situation, I am no bloodthirsty warrior. That night, the night I woke up here, I was about to run away when I saw the mark on your flanks. I thought that you had been branded just like me. I decided to stay because of you, to free you.”

“The Familiar spell! It was turning you loyal and protective of me...”

“I think that something was definitely making me care for you more than it was natural at first, like you were really important to me.” Mès noticed she was uncomfortable with this information. “Don’t worry, it didn’t last long: I left your side to prepare my escape eventually.”

“An intelligent being could very well be resistant to the feelings of servitude.” Twilight was frowning at the thought. Had the spell been off limits on superior species only for this reason, before the whole process was banned altogether? She had hoped that the taboo stemmed from a morality issue, not an inconvenience. “Then you would have ran if you had not mistaken my cutie mark for a brand...”

“And I would have been struck by lightning moments after. Yes.”

“And this morning?”

“If you think a couple of soft juicy apples to the face is the worst kind of abuse I suffered...”

“Not that.”

Mès considered before answering, knowing that he truth would not alleviate the unicorn’s uneasiness. But he also believed that lying always brought more pain than anything else.

“Actually I think I almost did attack you.” Mès thought about what had happened inside his head that morning. He felt a shiver run down his spine. “And that scared me. That feeling of hatred and anger... ” Twilight was taken aback by his eyes: she could catch a glimpse of the same terror she had seen in his gaze after the first order incident, when he had fled to the front door. “The reflex of throwing myself at you, to hurt you, to... I can’t stand that feeling.” Mès shook just enough for Twilight to notice. She put a hoof on his joined hands in a soothing gesture.

“So you were not scared of me? You ran because you didn’t want to hurt me?”

“You frightened me just enough to stir a violent reaction from me. But I never used to react like that... Something happened to me, changed me. I don’t remember how I got here, I don’t even remember why I ran away or who I was with.” He subconsciously took her hoof between his hands. “And I am afraid to remember.”

“There might be something important you are missing, I’m sure I could jog your memories with a spell.”

“And what if I remember that I did something horrid. What if I ran from my home because I murdered someone in cold blood. Maybe I was running with an accomplice. Who knows, maybe I disposed of him too!”

“You don’t know that.”

“Twilight...” Mès’s eyes had a slightly unhinged glean to them. “Here is what I know: I know that I am a fugitive, I know that a large force has been tasked with my capture, I know that I overused my powers like never before, and I know that my hands reek of blood.” She compulsively drew her hoof back, earning a pained look from him. She recollected herself quickly enough.

“I still believe that you should try remembering. I will give you a few days, but sooner or later we will have to face the consequences for what we did.”

“We?”

“The familiar binding spell is forbidden here. If I had reported your arrival maybe I could have been forgiven, it was an accident after all. But I chose to hide you, tried to deal with it on my own, like I haven’t learned anything from my friendship lessons.” Twilight looked very grieved by that realization, Mès had no idea why. “The longer we wait, the worst it will be for us; especially for me to be honest. If there is one pony that can break this curse, it is princess Celestia, and she will want to know the truth about you. The whole truth. Then who knows, maybe you will be set free.”

“What about you?”

Twilight didn’t respond, she just watched him sadly. The silence stretched uncomfortably, so Mès chose to change the subject.

“What about this Celestia, what is she a princess of?”

“She is the leader of this land, Equestria. Have you never heard of her?” This really was an astonishing fact. The name of the immortal alicorn was known all over the world, by every race and ethnicity; the respect the name carried varied but still, Mès should have heard of her. “You mentioned Iberians, Romans, an Empire... I have never heard of those either. Nor have I ever read about anything like you.”

“Well talking animals such as yourself and your little lizard brat are stuff of legends in my home.”

Twilight considered all that information, she could only see one explanation.

“When you arrived, you were slightly scorched, like spike was the first time I teleported the both of us. Can you do anything like that?”

“What do you mean, ‘teleported’?”

“Disappearing from one place and reappearing in another. It is a very rare piece of magical talent to have, one that requires long studies, concentration and a lot of spare energy.”

“Oh yeah, I did that once when I was younger.”

“Did you reappear in one piece? Some say that if the unicorn lacks focus some parts can be... left behind.” She wondered if Mès had been covered in fur once.

“I returned whole, but I kinda blew a hole in the house I got into.”

“That is quite impressive...”

“And everything was on fire too.”

“Fire?”

“Yeah, green fire is kinda my thing. Used to happen whenever I lost control.”

“... I have a fire starter in my tree house...”

“Weird, I could swear someone called me that before.”

“I can’t imagine why.” She face-hoofed. Mès had a definite airhead side to him. Combined with the raw magical abilities he described, he could very well be classified as a dangerous specimen.

“Okay I think I have an idea about the way you got here, but first I need more information. Mès, can you tell me everything you know about the Empire, and for my sake, please please please try to stay on topic this time, with a cherry on top?”

---ΩΩΩ---

Mès had graciously agreed to keep his anecdotes to a minimum and Twilight had gathered an impressive stack of notes: amassing knowledge on another culture, or another world as she now suspected, was a tremendous honor. She would have been ecstatic at the prospect of publishing her findings if not for the head splitting migraine: Mès’s rambling, even at a minimum level, was more than she could handle in large doses. Thankfully they had taken a break for lunch, and were now in the restored kitchen.

Many facts pushed the unicorn to believe that Mès was native from another world entirely. First of all, no territory as large as the one he had described could be hidden from the rest of the world. Secondly, humans, as Mès had called his species, were the only known intelligent species there, except for myths and legends. Twilight had listened in a horrified stupor when Mès had described the equines of his world; she was strongly thinking about wiping her mind clean of a particular set of raunchy stories. Furthermore the level of technology the humans possessed was clearly milleniums behind Equestria or other nations.

Even now, Mès displayed amazement and awe when Spike turned on the stove, took eggs from the fridge or ran a piece of salad under the faucet. He was now playing with it, turning it from cold to hot while giving the water a series of flicks to test the temperature. Twilight had seen Rarity’s cat doing the exact same thing before, she had to admit it was pretty cute. She added some observation on the scroll she had with her, along with other notes on his behavior.

“You really don’t have any plumbing where you come from?”

“Well I know that some roman cities have sewers and very sophisticated bath houses, but nothing like this!” Mès left the tap running and turned to the fridge. “And nothing even close to this ice box. You persist in telling me that this doesn’t work with sorcery?” He opened the door and stuck his face inside.

“No.” Twilight magically turned the tap off and closed the fridge door. “It works with electricity, science. It’s not free so please stop turning everything on.”

“Science, peh!” Mès had a mixer in his hands, pushing every button. “Sounds like sorcery to me. And this thing is broken.”

“You have to plug it in. That little cord, put it into the hole there.”

“Hmm...” Mès looked at the power plug with interest.

“And don’t put your fingers in it!”

“Damnit. Well at least I can try to make this thing work.” He looked a the mixer and concentrated. “Maybe if I could just apply the right amount of power... Oh yeah, forgot I’m completely out.”

“Maybe your magic simply does not work in this world.” Mès discarded the appliance and stared at his hands. “Did this ever happen to you before?”

“Never. This is the first time I can’t get my power to go up.”

“Happens to the best of us brother.” Spike said with a smile. “Lunch is served.”

“Nice work little one, smells delicious.” Mès sat next to Twilight while Spike brought the pan to the table. The man eyed suspiciously at the food, sniffing a bowl of what looked like fried grass, made a face at a plate of seasoned salad and finally grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs from the frying pan.

“You could at least use a plate...” Twilight added a few scribbles to her report.

“Ha, you sound just like... like... like someone I know.”

“Still can’t remember much?”

“Nope. Can’t shake the feeling that I’m in trouble either. I still don’t know why I ran away, or who I was with, but I do remember who was chasing me.” Mès pointed to his egg covered palm. “Bastard that put his stigma on me. He was always creeping around me since I was little. Maybe he tried to enroll me as a fellow Damned and I refused?”

“Stigma, you mean the sign that transforms itself into a Brand right?” Twilight flipped through her notes. “And the Damned usually put the stigma on sorcerers when they are just babies, correct?”

“Yep”

“That sure complicates things, if you had just received my mark it would be easier to find a way to remove it, but if you have been prepared to accept it your whole life...”

“That’s the idea. It’s impossible to remove, becomes a part of me.”

“What about cutting your arm off?” Spike said jokingly while munching on a bunch of hay fries, barely listening to the conversation.

“Wouldn’t work either, the spell would replace the brand on another part of the body. Amputation is pretty common when you work as a slave, so that would be too easy.”

An awkward silence followed Mès’s statement. He felt the mood shift and gazed around the table where Spike avoided his eyes and Twilight had pushed her salad away, apparently not hungry anymore. ‘Well this is going to be fun...’

The meal went on wordlessly, the only noise being the human’s gulping, the dagon’s crunching and the unicorn writing.

“Okay.” Twilight took her notes while Spike gathered the dishes. “Time to do some tests.” She and Mès headed towards the basement. “Let’s start with some scientific data.”

---ΩΩΩ---

“Mès! Please stop moving around or this won’t work!”

“Nooo! Get that thing away from me!”

“I swear it won’t hurt, don’t be such a baby.”

“Stop using your magic on me! Let go of my toga! Spike was right about you!”

“It’s just a probe, it’s a scientific tool to gather information about your body.”

“NOOOO”

---ΩΩΩ---

“Okay, the probe is out of the question, I’ll have to make do with a thermometer and some blood samples. For now lets analyse your brain waves.”

“Do I have to be strapped into this thing? And what’s with this weird helmet? Why are there so many lights on it? What are those rope thingies coming out of it? And why are they going into that big closet? Is that a scroll coming out of it? Is it supposed to be on fire? I’m getting a ‘something is about to blow up’ vibe... Oooh what’s that green bubbly thiiiAAAAAH!”

---ΩΩΩ---

“Sorry about your brain analyser thingy...”

“No... No matter... I guess I’ll just have to get a new one.”

“All these contraptions are really amazing! What’s this one?”

“It’s an experimental tesla coil, I use it to no wait don’t PUSH THAT BUTTON!”

---ΩΩΩ---

“Hey Twilight, Fluttershy is here to see you.” Spike poked his head inside the basement, discovering a very disheveled Twilight, fur sticking out from static shock. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing. Tell Fluttershy that I’m sorry but I am very busy right now.”

“Okay.” Spike noticed that Mès was standing in a corner of the room, slightly bent over. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.” Mès shifted his toga slightly.

“Right, just a friendly advice, don’t mess with Twilight’s equipment, she can get a little scary when she’s angry.”

“Yeah I noticed.” He shot an accusing glare at the purple unicorn.

“Don’t give me that look, I said please, so it wasn’t an order. And I advise you not to move around too much or the probe won’t work properly.”

---ΩΩΩ---

“Time for some magical experimenting. This should be easier.”

“Very well. Tell me when you want me to start throwing fireballs at you.”

“Maybe later, for now I would like to see how you react to various types of spells, all of them completely harmless of course.”

“Like the healing spell that got me in this mess?”

“That was special, you don’t have any more cursed runes on you now, do you? And I would rather see what happens in a controlled environment, not in the middle of the streets.”

“Let’s get this over with then. What are you going to start with? Electricity? Fire? Ice?”

“Nope. Mustache.”

---ΩΩΩ---

It turned out that Mès was receptive to all of Twilight’s spells, proving that he was fully compatible with Equestrian magic. This meant that his lack of magical faculties where only a result of his cross dimensional teleportation, his powers would be operational after a long period of rest.

“I want to try something, but I will only do it if you agree.”

“As long as it doesn’t involve my backside...”

“I want to see what kind of benefits the familiar spells have given you, and how much we can bend its rules. Because of the Branding, it’s clear that you can’t disobey my commands, but you managed to fight the allegiance aspect of the Familiar spell, and you also crossed the threshold of this house without my permission. That’s two rules you’ve broken so far, that leaves us with two more.”

“Sleeping near you, like a guard dog and...”

“The lightning. Twilight’s horn ignited. “I’m going to simulate the mechanism that triggers the lightning bolt, it should not provoke the full reaction.”

“Okay, do it.” Twilight released her spell. “Wait... ‘Should not’?” Mès’s last words never reached the unicorn, he heard his voice echo as if a vast chasm separated them. Yet he could still see her right in front of him. He was about to yell something to test the magical abyss when a tiny lightning bolt appeared above him, giving him a slight jolt.

“No such luck...” The magical void disappeared in an instant, Twilight’s voice reaching Mès without interference. “That’s one rule we won’t be able to bend.”

“Guess I’m going to have to stick around you for a while.”

“Sorry.” She hung her head, defeated. Mès was free to do as he pleased, but only when she was near. She was his ball and chain. The thought was truly too much to bear. Twilight was considering ways to make it up to him when she felt a hand on her head. Looking up she realized that Mès was kneeling down, putting their heads at the same height. He had a sad smile on his lips, but his eyes were understanding.

“It’s not your fault.” He patted her head carefully, the motion so gentle that she began to lean into it. “If we are to be joined by this unholy bound, I think we should at least try to get to know each other.” He rose up and lead the unicorn to the stairs. “I’ve told you a lot about my life, now why don’t you tell me something about yours?” Mès wanted to cheer her up, but he also had to admit that the mare intrigued him: she was well read, intelligent and very stubborn, and he usually couldn't stand such people. But she was an exception. A small part of his mind danced with the idea that as far as slaves were concerned, Twilight’s mark was not the worst Brand to bear, far from it. The rest of him was wondering how to free himself as quickly as possible. If Celestia could not do it, sadly he would have only one option.

---ΩΩΩ---

The evening had been nice. The sun had disappeared behind the distant mountains, its last rays shining against Canterlot highest tower. As the first stars began to appear Twilight wondered what Celestia could be doing at this hour. If her mentor could see her right now, longing on her balcony with Mès sprawled on the floor alongside, how would she react?

“The stars are different.” Mès was looking at the darkening sky with an expression full of wonder. He and Twilight had spent a good few hours talking about everything he could see from this spot, but the vision of this unknown celestial tapestry was what finally made him accept the truth: he was not on his earth anymore. He pointed excitedly at a shadow cutting across the stars. “Look! Another one!”

“I hope that sooner or later you’ll get used to seeing pegasi fly around.”

“Never. Winged horses are the only roman legends that really appealed to me spiritually. They say that the sun God rode in a chariot pulled by four pegasuses. I always pictured Ra, guiding the sun along the sky behind those mighty steeds.” He breathed in, basking in the fresh air. The scents in this world were truly wonderful, he could not have imagined so many different fragrances before. By concentrating just a little bit, he could feel the gentle flow of power under his body, even if he had no access to it just yet.

“So this is what peace feels like.” He looked at his confused companion. “Not having to be fearful, no iron restraints, food that doesn’t taste like manure...”

“I guess you’ve gained some things from all of this.” She winced at his analogy, she was not quite used to his choice of words yet.

“And lost some others.” He glanced at his right palm, but it was not enough to ruin his good mood. “A friend once told me that everything has to be balanced somehow, can’t have too much good without some bad to make it feel even better.” He grinned at her, Twilight responding with her own smile.

They laid in a comfortable silence for some time, Mès on his back attempting to take in the new constellations, Twilight comfortably stretched on her side, thinking about the near future. Now that she knew Mès would not spontaneously combust whenever a unicorn used a spell near him, she could introduce the man to her friends. The only danger would come from his reactions.

“Speaking of friends, I happen to be very close to two pegasi, and one of them can be easily startled.” Twilight began.

“Which one? Plinkie Pie? Applejar?”

“No, they are earth ponies and Rarity is a unicorn like me. I’m talking about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.”

“Your names are really strange. At least Celestia’s is normal. I mean common, Shining Armor, really? Might as well name him Oiled Breastplate.”

“I would advise you not to call him that to his face...” Mès gave her a grin indicating that he had every intention to. “But I guess you’ll have to learn the hard way.”

“If he’s as little as you then I don’t really see a problem.”

Twilight gave him a mock punch to the head, Mès taking that opportunity to grab her fore-hoof and nibble at it like a dog with a bone. He had been very amused by her questions about his carnivorous diet and was delighted by her reactions whenever he mentioned any predatory habits. Spike chose that moment to appear at the balcony door, finding her sister giggling as her ticklish hoof was thoroughly devoured.

“Hrmm” He cleared his throat, attracting their attention. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything?” He waggled his eyebrows, making Twilight blush once again. She tried to free her hoof but the amused human clung to it, growling like a wolf. “Dinner is on the table, I’m going to start ahead, join me when you’re finished.” Spike left the scene shaking his head. “You were right bro, I should have bailed when I had the chance.”

---ΩΩΩ---

The atmosphere at the table was much more lively than it had been at lunch: Spike and Mès had argued about everything and anything they could think of, from the need to clean the improvised toga, to the benefits of a bipedal stance over quadrupeds. They were now talking about their favorite foods.

“Not to insult your cooking, but nothing beats a good roasted pig.” Mès proclaimed while examining the vegetarian pie in his hands. He picked at it, selecting a slice of carrot and showing it to his audience. “See this? Replace it with a good portion of pork fat and then we will talk.”

“Mès, I already told you, no meat.” Twilight frowned at the bit of carrot Mès was dangling in front of her. “You will have to make do with substitutes: omnivores can get the proteins they need from eggs or fishes.”

“Why? You are not going to tell me that pigs can talk too?”

“Not in the literal sense, no...”

“It’s settled then. Tomorrow I’ll go find a good fat pig and show Spike how to roast it. Dragons eat meat right?” Mès’s big smile made it obvious that he was joking, he knew better than going against the local morals. When in Rome...

“I think I might be up to it.” Spike was not in the least interested in eating meat, but it was always fun to make fun of his sister.

“That will ruin your diet Spike.” Twilight grinned, getting into the game. “And think of poor Applejack, how will she win prizes if her best pigs get eaten by a meat crazed human? Mès, don’t even think about touching them.”

Mès did not respond like she anticipated. He looked stricken, shocked, and it took a few instants for the unicorn to understand why.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”

“What? What’s up with Dummy?” Spike considered Twilight’s words. “Wait, was that an order? It didn’t count right?”

Mès slowly put his squashed slice of pie down: his hand had convulsed when Twilight had inadvertently forbidden him the very thought of hunting or eating a pig. Receiving orders was not a pleasant sensation, this time it had actually hurt.

“That was... not enjoyable.”

“Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I’m such an idiot!” She hanged her head down, remorse overwhelming her. “If only I had never tried to heal you, if I had been more careful...”

“What’s done is done. Just do me a favor and be more careful in the future, yes?”

Twilight shot an apologetic gaze at Mès, who was busy licking his hands clean, slobbering all over them. She was about to apologize for the umpteenh time when he spotted her expression and cut her off.

“I already told you, there was no way of knowing what would happen at that time, you were just trying to help me out.” She smiled bashfully. Despite his rough exterior, Mès could be very kind when he wanted. “Besides, I much prefer to have your mark than the stigma from that crazy Melkor, much prettier!” He then started to pet her mane, a gesture that would have been sweet if Mès’s hand was not covered in spit. An evil grin spread to his lips.

Spike burst in a fit of laughter when he saw her disgusted expression, doubling over when she almost fell from her chair trying to get away from his sticky fingers. Incapable of resisting, Mès started to run after the unicorn like a game of tag, stalking her while she fled out of the kitchen and up the stairs with a big carnivorous smile. As Twilight’s squeals echoed in the library Spike cheered loud enough for Mès to hear.

“Welcome to the family!” His smile faded somewhat when he saw the state of the table and floor where the man had eaten.

---ΩΩΩ---

Silence had returned in the library, Spike was already asleep in his basket, snoring quietly. A shadow loomed over him.

“He’s an adorable little dragon when he’s asleep, ain’t he. Too bad he’s such brat when he’s awake.”

“Because you are one to talk?” Twilight was sitting on her bed, still trying to dry her mane completely. “That was disgusting!”

“Maybe, but you have to admit that it was funny.”

“No.”

“Aw c'mon, you bathed didn’t you? Ain’t no harm done.”

Seeing that Twilight was ignoring him, Mès made for the bed across the room, stripping from his toga and burying himself under the covers. Now that was a bed. He had not slept for more than a day, and within moments he was snoring, much more loudly than Spike.

Twilight sighed at the sight of him: he had already managed to dislodge all of his covers, on one side of the bed an arm was dangling and on the other she could see a foot sticking out. She magicked all of the lights off and slid under the covers. She was about to fall asleep when a rustling of fabric took her attention. She heard something walk around the mezzanine, the sound coming to a stop right by the side of her bed.

“Mès? Is that you?”

Her horn lit up, but there was nothing there. She craned her neck to look at the floor, and discovered that Mès was sleeping on the ground, wrapped in a blanket he had dragged with him. The light rose the man, and he looked up at the unicorn in confusion.

“The heck am I doing here?”

“I think it’s the Familiar Spell, telling you to sleep by my sides...”

“Oh... Okay.” Mès rose up, grabbed one of Twilight’s pillows and laid down on his cover once more.

“Wait, don’t you want to... You know? It would be more comfortable if...” She couldn’t bear to say the words ‘sleep with me’, there was too many ways to misunderstand that statement.

“The ground is fine, I usually don’t even get a blanket you know? Tomorrow we’ll think of something.” Mès cocooned himself up, closing the argument. Twilight extinguished her horn, plunging the room in darkness once more. After a few moments of silence Mès spoke again.

“And I can’t stand the smell of that perfume of yours.”

“It’s just shampoo.” She mumbled.

“Well it stinks.” He yawned hugely.

Twilight quickly fell asleep, exhausted by the tiring day, Mès following suit just moments after, barely registering his last thoughts, drowned by exhaustion.

’Can’t sleep in another’s bed, she would skin me alive.’

Mès’s mind was lost to his subconscious, and a whisper escaped his lips, heard by no one, including him.

”Aurora...”

Chapter 7 : Hunted Pegasus

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The sun was barely rising above the horizon when three shadows crossed the square leading to the town’s library. Whispering in a clandestine fashion, they reached the front door and waited there, as if preparing something.

“This is it darling, you know what to do.”

“Actually I have no idea. You two just came to my cloud and basically ponynapped me.”

“I’m sorry for waking you up, but this is an emergency. An animal could be in danger; you can sleep when we are finished. If that’s okay with you...”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I still don’t understand what we are doing at Twilight’s house this early in the morning.”

“I already told you: we are here to make sure that the disgusting creature that crash landed two days ago is okay. I personally care more about Twilight’s state of mind but...”

“I came to see it yesterday, but Twilight would not even meet me! Spike went to the basement and told me that she was busy. I really don’t like the idea of that poor thing trapped down there, just to be experimented upon.” ‘Squee’ “Not that Twilight would ever do that of course.”

“I actually heard a very interesting piece of gossip yesterday.”

“Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Shush. Some of my clients told me that Twilight caused quite a scene in the morning, apparently she was involved in a very risqué type of... Shall we say erotic role playing, with the creature in question.”

“Wow... No no no I don’t believe you. Twilight would never take advantage of some poor animal like that. She is the queen of dork, she plays by the rules and everything!”

“Well, my dear Rainbow Dash, that’s what we are here to make sure of now, aren’t we? If Fluttershy’s fears can be put to rest, isn’t that worth a few minutes of sleep?”

“Well if you put it that way...”

“Marvelous. Shall we begin? First off, we need to make sure that Twilight is still asleep. Dash, you will fly to her room to verify, and also look for any sign of our mystery guest.”

“Why can’t we just ask her?” Rainbow Dash was really reluctant to spy on her friend, it didn’t feel right, even for a good reason.

“You saw how she was two days ago, and after what happened yesterday... I’m really worried about the poor little thing...” Fluttershy was peering through the front windows, as if hoping to see the object of her worries walking around inside the library’s main hall.

“Okay okay I’ll do it. But you owe me one, Rarity.”

The cyan pegasus took flight, landing soundlessly on the balcony leading to Twilight’s bedroom. The room was dark but she could still see inside: a flight of stairs going down that led to the common hall, stairs going up leading to Twilight’s study where she kept her telescopes, and the mezzanine, slightly elevated, where she slept. A whisper came from down below.

“Make sure it is not sleeping beside or under her bed.’

She opened the door noiselessly, creeping silently towards the mezzanine. With the agility of a cat, Rainbow Dash cleared the steps in a graceful leap, approaching the bed.

Outside, Rarity and Fluttershy pricked their ears, ready to charge inside if anything went wrong. They didn’t have to wait long before Rainbow Dash returned, bearing a slightly shocked expression.

“So, did you find it?” Fluttershy didn’t like the look on her face. “It’s not hurt is it?”

“Uhhh no? Not Really? I don’t know.”

“Did you see it or not?” Rarity had little patience, she too had given up on her beauty sleep for this. “What has Twilight done to it?”

“Nothing bad... I think... Is it hot out here?”

“Wait, why are you blushing?” The white unicorn looked suspiciously at her pegasus friend.

“Who’s blushing? I’m not blushing!”

“That’s it! I’m going in.” Fluttershy spread her wings and was about to fly to the balcony, but the other pegasus intervened.

“No wait! I really think we should ring the doorbell.”

“But, what about...”

“Trust me on this one.”

---ΩΩΩ---

Someone was ringing the doorbell.

Someone was ringing the doorbell again.

Someone was ringing the doorbell and was about to be transformed into a skunk.

Twilight slowly woke up, it was definitely too early for anyone to visit the library, too early for a friendly visit, and much much too early for anyone to be disrupting her slumber. She could hear Spike mumbling and stirring to answer the call, so maybe she could return to sleep. She tried to turn, but found that she could not. In her mind fogged by lethargy, she thought that maybe the covers had snared themselves around her, so she wiggled a bit to get free. The mass holding her didn’t budge, it even tightened its grip, grunting like a bear. Her brain could not process that information, blankets and grunting didn’t add up.

“That’s it, I can’t take it anymore: I’m going back to Canterlot right now.”

It took her a few seconds to recognize Spike’s voice, and a lot more time to focus on the blurry face of her little brother, standing right in front of her besides the bed.

“You have your fun, I’m moving back with Night Light and Velvet for a while. Don’t worry, I won’t tell them anything about... This. ‘Urk’” Spike shouldered his trademark bundle on a stick and started to climb down from the mezzanine. Twilight heard him grumble under his breath, muttering something about “impressionable children”, “crazy human” and “hormones”. He closed the door behind him as he exited the room.

Very slowly her brain began to function again. Something was definitely holding her, she could feel a warm object pressing against her back, like she was sleeping leaning on a furnace. She felt drowsiness building up again, her body falling prey to the comfortable warmth, her eyelids closing and opening more and more slowly.

Blink, she could see the rising sun shining through the window.

Blink, the door leading to the main hall opened.

Blink, a white unicorn’s head popped up from the lower ground of the room, climbing the steps to the mezzanine.

Blink, three ponies were watching her, one with a very embarrassed look partially hidden behind a waterfall of pink hairs, another with a blushing blue face and eyes avoiding her gaze and the last, holding a white hoof in front of her mouth, barely concealing a huge conspiratorial grin.

‘Whatever.’

Twilight gave up and was about to sink into merciful oblivion when a voice sounded just behind her ear.

“Gnnn... Pork chop sandwiches...”

That voice, what it had said and the drool flowing onto the back of her head snapped her right out of it faster than the bitterest blackest bitter-black coffee. She realized that the thing that was holding her was in fact a pair of arms, slid under her forelegs and crossed over her chest.Which meant that what was snoozing right behind her was...

“Mès! Please wake up!”

“Nuuuuuh...”

“Don’t worry about us darling, Spike let us in but we will wait for you to be --how should I put it? Presentable?-- outside.”

With a stifled giggle Rarity led both pegasi to the door.

“No! I’m not... This is not...” The trio disappeared from view, leaving a frazzled Twilight and an awakening Mès. The man yawned, sniffed unhappily at the hairs covering his nose and took some time to analyse the situation.

“Why are you in my bed?”

“You are the one in mine!”

“Oh... And why are you in my arms?”

“You tell me! Did you take me for your teddy bear or something?”

“I don’t know... Was that some of your friends I heard just now?”

“YES!”

“Was one of them a pegasus?”

“Two of them actu... Wait why do you want to kno...”

Taking less time that it took to say ‘Don’t you dare’, Mès disengaged himself from his bedmate, threw the blankets covering his and Twilight’s legs away and jumped from the bed directly to the floor under the mezzanine, dragging one of her white sheets along with him. In just a few seconds he had left the room and was flying down the staircase after the three ponies.

---ΩΩΩ---

“Told you we should have waited downstairs.” Dash looked apprehensively at the front door they had just closed, giving Twilight some space.

“I didn’t think it would be so... Sensual.” Rarity crooned. “I didn’t take Twilight for the spooning kind of girl.”

“Eeep” Fluttershy tried to bury her face deeper under her long mane.

“Did you hear him speak?” Rainbow Dash wanted to steer the conversation into safer territory, if only to respect Twilight’s privacy. “He said something about sandwiches.”

“Well, males do tend to crave some restoration after that kind of physical activity.” She noticed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash staring at her. “What? I read about it in a magazine.”

“Yeah right. So why are we still here anyway? I have a lot of work ahead of me today.” The cyan pegasus was fidgety, flexing her wings and stamping her hooves.

“I... I still want to make sure he’s okay...”

“Okay? He’s more than just okay. Did you see him drooling?”

“I assure you dear, he looked quite happy to be where he was.”

Fluttershy was about to respond when a noisy cavalcade thundered inside the library. It sounded like someone was rushing down the stairs, the big stompy footsteps coming to a stop just behind the front door. Suddenly a second set of hurried hoofsteps followed the first, ending with a resounding crash. They all pricked their ears to listen to what was going on inside.

”Aouch...”

“You okay there?”

“No, I just missed a step...”

“Didn’t anyone tell you never to run down a flight of stairs?”

“Well when I see a big stupid human running after my friends I tend to get a little worried.”

“I just want to see the pegasuses!”

“Only see them?”

“Well, maybe ask them a few questions...”

“And...”

“... Tickle them?” They heard a big feminine sigh.

“Mès, remember when I told that I had a friend that was easily startled? She is out there right now, and I would like you not to freak her out, if that’s not too much to ask.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll behave myself.”

“Right...”

The door unlocked, revealing a bed-maned Twilight, with a sour complexion and bags under her eyes. She didn’t invite them in, and her expression was less than welcoming. Morning Twilight was not the best Twilight on normal days, and this one was already pretty disastrous.

“Hi girls. What brings you to my little slice of Tartarus?”

“Well...” began Fluttershy.

“We wanted to make sure that the thingy was okay and now that we saw that you took care of his thingy... Uuuh I mean him we’ll be on our way ‘kay bye.” Rainbow Dash tried to fly off at top speed, but an azure magic aura pinned her wings against her body.

“What Rainbow Dash is trying to say is that we came to check if the creature who appeared two days ago was healthy. Fluttershy came to visit him yesterday, and your refusal gave us the false idea that you could have been... Mistreating it. We can now see that this wasn’t the case.” The white unicorn leaned in closely and whispered only to her counterpart. “Unless he likes it that way, of course.”

“What... No... I...” Twilight was having a hard time finding her words. Trying to buy some time she looked around, until her eyes rested upon the window next to the front door. “GAAAH!”

The other mares followed her gaze, finding that the creature in question, eyes bloodshot and wide open, had pressed his forehead against the glass and was observing them like an owl. The moment he realized his position was compromised, Mès quickly ducked out of sight.

“Let’s get this over with... Please come inside.”

The mares silently entered the room, finding themselves face to face with the human inside. Mès had fashioned himself a new toga from Twilight’s bedsheet, making a knot over his shoulder.

“Ladies, this is Mès.” The man bowed his head in a quick courtesy, she droned on with a tired voice. “He is a human, a being from another world. He will be my guest for the foreseeable future. I hope you can get along.” The three ponies greeted him with varying enthusiasm. Twilight noted that both pegasi were somewhat panicky, whereas Rarity was very analytical, eying his choice of clothing skeptically.

“He is not dangerous in any way.” She yawned. “Just don’t let him pet your mane.”

---ΩΩΩ---

The introductions had been brief, Mès having heard about Twilight’s friends the day before. The mood was definitely awkward as they all sat around Twilight’s study, a tray of biscuits, tea and strong coffee between them. The room was at the top of the tree, a floor higher than the bedroom, the walls bearing a few select books and some equipment for star gazing and charting the night sky. The fire place was bare, all the guests looking at it to avoid encountering Mès’s inquisitive gaze. All except one.

“So, Mès is it?” Rarity locked eyes with the human. He looked away quickly as he had before, as if something was bothering him. “You seem to be very interested in our pegasi friends.” Rainbow Dash shifted in her seat and Fluttershy whimpered just a little. “Why is that?”

“Wings.” Mès pointed to Fluttershy’s wings, making her shake from the attention. “Winged equines have always been something of a dream to me. Seeing a pegasus, a real one... I just can’t believe it.”

“Oh?” Rainbow Dash looked less alarmed. She realized that he was not acting like a crazy pony, he was just like another fan of hers. This was a territory where she was comfortable. “Have you never seen a pegasus from up close before?” Mès shook his head. “Well then take a load of this!” She extended her wings and jumped into the air, sending papers flying around the room. “Pretty awesome uh?”

Mès was looking at the display with interest, but not the adulation she was hoping for. He turned to Fluttershy.

“Why don’t you show me your wings like your camarade?”

“I... I guess I can... If you want me to.” She stretched her trembling wings. “Is that enough?”

Mès turned towards Twilight with a grin and pointed to the canary pegasus.

“I like that one!”

“Hey, what about me!”

“I don’t really like loud mouths that blow their own horn.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I have a lot of better things to do than stay here with some creep that doesn’t recognise awesomeness when he sees it, I’m out of here!” With that she bolted out of an open window.

“Rainbow Dash, wait for me!” Fluttershy called meekly after the cyan pegasus. The human was obviously healthy, well treated, and his constant staring reminded her of a cat watching a mouse. She wasn’t sure if it was polite to follow Dash, and the longer she thought about it the less she felt her excuse would make sense. Rainbow Dash was most probably miles away already. She finally had decided to leave anyway when Mès spoke to her in a pleasant tone.

“You are not going to leave, are you?”

“Hmm actually...”

“Your friend is still here.” He pointed to Rarity. “It would not be nice of you to leave her alone, now would it?” His voice was now dripping with honey, the sugary words trapping the poor pegasus.

“Well... I guess not...”

“So you will stay?”

“Y... yes?”

“Good.”

Having cared for animals almost all her life, Fluttershy could read a lot in just a little bit of body language. And the way Mès was shifting his weight screamed of a predator about to pounce on its prey. She let escape a mighty ‘Meeep.” before dodging completely by instinct, avoiding being snatched up just in time. Mès crashed into her long chair, but in the same fluid movement rolled towards the pegasus, following her as she escaped towards the lower floors.

“Come back here! Your squeaks only make me want to rub your belly more!”

As the man gave chase, the two unicorn left in the room looked at each other, one with a questioning look and the other with a tired expression.

“Shouldn’t we stop him?” Rarity had understood that Mès had no foul intent, but he still was an imposing figure.

“Don’t worry, he just wants to tickle her.” Twilight’s nonchalant words were proven true when the screams from downstairs transformed themselves into laughter. “Oh, looks like he caught her.”

“He certainly has his own ways to charm a mare...” Rarity sipped her tea, keeping an eye on Twilight’s reaction. The purple unicorn was adding sugar cubes to her coffee mug, a lot of them. “So, did the Familiar Spell make him get into your bed?”

“Yes.” She answered looking at her friend resentfully. “And you knew it from the start, didn’t you?”

“Of course, your reaction was quite amusing, but not one that I would expect from somepony caught in the middle of...”

“Don’t say it...” Twilight gulped down her coffee, basking in the tingling sensation spreading through her body, brought by the caffeine.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be able to clear up all misunderstanding with the townsfolk. You made quite a scene yesterday.” Twilight groaned at the memory. “As for Rainbow Dash...”

“She did react very strongly to Mès’s words, didn’t she?” Twilight served herself a second helping of the bitter beverage. The brew was not very good, she usually trusted Spike to make her coffee palatable.

“I think she was not ready to find someone she qualifies as a --let’s say-- scholar, in your position. She didn’t want to be here in the first place, so she just took that opportunity to flee. I didn’t know her ego was so fragile when it comes to carnal relations.”

“Great... That’s just great.” Twilight slurped noisily, making a face. “Blerg, how does Spike manage to make it taste good? I followed the instructions to the letter!”

“Spikey Wikey has his own talents. In a few years he will make a very decent bachelor.” Rarity put her empty cup down, relaxing on her long chair. “The little dear told us that he had some business to attend to in Canterlot, and that he intended to stay there for some time, is that a problem?”

“I can’t blame him. Mès and I have been giving him some mixed signals, and after this morning...”

“And how are you dealing with your impromptu guest?” The two unicorns listened to the scuffle coming from the lower grounds: if the happy ‘squees’ were any indication, it seemed that both pony and human were kicking it off. “He doesn’t strike me as the thinking type, he seems more like a brash...”

“Idiot, infuriating, slobbering disaster of an alien being.” Twilight huffed.

“I’ve never seen you react this way before. “ Rarity observed her companion with a calculating look. “It is quite... interesting.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight looked curiously at her friend. “If you had seen all the things he did... He blew up half of my laboratory, almost destroyed all of my cooking equipment and got his saliva in my hair! Twice now! And that’s just for starters! He ridiculed me in front of the whole town, drove me crazy with his stories about donkeys, gave my leg a hickey...”

“What was that?”

“... Nothing?”

Rarity smiled and gave Twilight an odd look, making the purple unicorn uncomfortable, her eyes not meeting the white unicorn’s. After a few moments Rarity relented and changed the subject.

“Never mind that, let’s talk about what you are going to do.” Rarity’s expression was now serious. “Am I correct in assuming that you did not intend to put a Familiar Spell on him?”

“Yes!” Twilight gathered herself and looked gratefully at her friend. “I did some research, and it seems that Mès had a cursed rune on his right hand, and when my magic touched it the Familiar Spell triggered itself, as well as a human spell.”

“Human spell? Mès’s species is gifted with such magic?” Rarity was extremely surprised. Ponies were not the only species that could control the world’s natural magic flow, but those who could express it in spells and incantations were very rare indeed. “So you were serious about him being from another world... How did he get here?”

“Failed teleportation from what I can gather.” Twilight frowned. “I think he was trying to teleport himself and another human across a long distance, and on the way there the energy transfer was intercepted by our world. It must have been a very powerful signal for this to happen...”

“Do you realize what this means?” A thought had just occurred to Rarity. “Mès is the first ambassador from another species, coming from another world or dimension... And for all intents and purposes the first thing we did was to we enslave him!”

“I didn’t think of it this way...” Twilight considered this unsettling idea. “But Mès was already a slave in his world so... That doesn’t make it any better, don’t take me wrong!” She exclaimed when Rarity looked shocked at her words.

“Nevertheless, I think you should report this to Celestia right away. You are not making your case any better by waiting for so long.”

“I know. Trust me, I realize in how much trouble I am.” Twilight’s ears dropped. “I’m just giving Mès some time: I think there is something in his past that he is afraid to face, the least I can do is making it easier for him.”

“That is quite noble, but think of your position, your studies, your family! What will they think?”

“Don’t know. I guess first they will have to accept Mès as part of our life from now on. I don’t know where he will fit between my parents, Spike, Shining Armor... And Celestia.”

“You realize how much she cares for you, don’t you? The princess would never punish you for something you had no control over...”

“What about hiding the truth? You were all there when it happened, and what did I do? Did I ask for your help? Did I trust my friends enough to help me?”

“You were distraught, not thinking straight...”

“I don’t make excuses for myself.” She exhaled, bracing herself. “As soon as Mès is ready, I will confess to Celestia.”

The two unicorns stayed in thoughtful silence, thinking about what the future could hold. When the distant bell tower sounded seven times, Rarity and Twilight both stood up, the unicorns levitating the tray and silverware to the staircase.

“Is Shining Armor your brother?” Rarity asked curiously when they reached Twilight’s room.

“Yes, did I never speak of him before?” the purple unicorn looked confused. She took the door leading to the lower floor.

“No never. Why is that?”

“I guess the subject never came up...”

“Most people tell their friends about their families, you know that don’t you?”

Twilight didn’t respond: they had reached the main hall, and they had found Mès and Fluttershy.

“Hi there.” Mès was sitting cross legged on the ground with a big smile. He didn’t stop petting the reddening pegasus curled on his lap as the unicorns passed in front of them, taking the dishes to the kitchen. They were both giggling. “What? What’s so funny?”

Fluttershy squeaked, she really had to learn to say ‘no’ when animals wanted something from her. But at the same time she could hardly stop herself from purring when Mès scratched her ears with one hand and brushed her coat with another. As far as crazy maniacal feral creatures went, Mès was pretty gentle and kind. She decided to forget about her worries and enjoy the cuddling a bit more.

Chapter 8 : Storm and Memories

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The day had started just like another peaceful morning in Ponyville, the roosters crowing and the cats meowing in response. The noises coming from the tree library sure were unusual though. It sounded like a dog was abusing a squeaky toy. Most ponies chose to ignore the yelping and squeaking, electing instead to take advantage of the early bright light.

The town’s activity peaked when the bell tower announced midday, the market resounding with the calls coming from ponies selling their wares and the occasional giggling of younglings running around. The general hubbub grew quiet when a small explosion was heard coming from the library, but the maniacal laughter that followed robbed everypony of any fear: the new custodian was probably just in the middle of another experiment. A new rumor had quickly spread concerning Twilight and her guest, originating from a mysterious white unicorn that wished to remain anonymous. Word was, the creature sighed the day before was part of a species hailing from a faraway land, and the purple unicorn was acting as a diplomat in behalf of the princess. The whispers came with a warning not to get too close to the library until negotiations were over, giving both unicorn and human the space they needed.

The nice weather had endured well into the afternoon, but soon the sky began to fill with pegasi pushing clouds in place, and gloom started to creep upon the small town. The sun was quickly hidden behind an ashen veil of fog, taking with him the carefree atmosphere of the day; the laughter of foals was replaced by the howling of wind, a warning heard by all residents. The townsfolk gathered their goods and the streets began to empty, and just as the slowest ponies hurried to get home the grey sky shifted, evolving into an impressive dark vortex.

The zealous weather teams had outdone themselves to make up for the lack of rain in the last few days, the scheduled sprinkles canceled because of the draconian smoke, and Ponyville was now hidden from all light by several layers of dark clouds, a torrential rainfall drenching the dry soil in instants. Wind, clouds and thunder, the mixing of all the ingredients for the perfect storm had been carefully planned and beautifully executed, a fact that gave all pegasi great pride.

A sentiment that a certain unicorn did not share.

“This is unacceptable!” Rarity zigzagged under the downpour, trying to protect her head, crying out whenever a drop managed to hit her.

“I told ya not to be all prissy and neat about it. We didn’t even finish the job!” Applejack shot her an accusing glare from under the bench she had selected as a shelter. She had spent a good portion of her afternoon with the unicorn, the diva’s attitude slowly eating away at her patience.

“If the weather pegasi had not decided to turn this a beautiful day into such a disaster then none of this would have happened!” She tried to cast a spell to create a magical umbrella, but she failed miserably. She was a seamstress, not a conjurer. “My mane is going to be ruined!”

“Then stop being fancy and get under here. It’s nice and dry... sorta.”

“Don’t be silly, I might as well roll around in one of your pigsty.”

“You are such a... Hey, is that Twilight over there?”

Rarity turned towards the tree library. How could she have forgotten, the square she had been asked to clean up was next to Twilight’s house, they could just take refuge inside while waiting for the tempest to subside. Looking through the rain she distinguished the purple unicorn standing in her open doorway. She seemed to be yelling something, but the wind made it impossible to distinguish her words.

“We will have to take advantage of Twilight’s hospitality if we don’t want to be soaked to the bone. Unless you prefer to stay in the mud?”

“Freezing under a bench or trapped in a building with you? I’m weighing my options.”

“Fine, be that way.” Rarity trotted hastily towards the massive tree, Applejack catching up to her in an instant. “Made your choice then?”

“I’m already regretting it. Besides, is inside a tree really the best place to be in a lightning storm?”

“Do you really think Twilight, of all ponies, would let something like that up to chance?”

“I reckon you’re right...”

Both ponies came up within hearing distance from the library, Twilight’s exasperated words finally reaching them.

“Mès! I swear to Celestia if you don’t come back inside this instant you will only have carrots to eat and nothing else!” No response. “For a week!” The purple unicorn spotted her approaching friends and beckoned them inside. “Rarity, Applejack! Come in, come in! What are you doing outside?”

“We were pruning the loose branches on the town square, but someone decided to make leaf sculptures instead.” Applejack tried to cross the library's threshold, but a white hoof stopped her.

“What? Do you want me to take off my hat or something?”

“That would be nice, but first.” Rarity pointed to the farm pony's hooves. “Why don’t you go wash off all of that mud before you drag it all around the floor.”

The white unicorn scrubbed her wet pristine hooves on the welcome matt and closed the door, leaving Applejack outside. The orange mare grumbled and went to grab a nearby hose, at least the overhead branches were stopping most of the rain from reaching her... But they were doing nothing against the bitter wind. Twilight’s voice could be heard coming from inside.

“Some storm uh? I observed the cloud patterns used by the pegasi to get it underway, it’s really fascinating. From my calculation it should last until tomorrow morning!” From the window Applejack saw Twilight summoning a towel from a drawer, giving it to the other unicorn. “I hope you and Applejack don’t have any problem getting home.”

Outside of the comfortable and warm library, Applejack was having a hard time with the hose: it had not been modified to suit earth ponies, it was clearly made with unicorns in mind. She grabbed it with her teeth, turned it on and did her best to point the blast at her hooves, barely managing to clean a single one. Suddenly the rubber slipped in her mouth and she received a face-full of cold water, making her stetson fly away.

“Darn it!” Applejack spitted the hose out and whipped her head around looking desperately for her hat. She saw it fluttering in the air, already too far away to reach. The wind quickly picked it up, she was about to lose her precious memento. She almost cried out, but before it could fly away a tall creature appeared out of nowhere, catching it deftly with one hand.

At first Applejack thought that a beast had wandered into the town using the storm as cover, but as it turned to face her she recognized it. The rain was colliding with his bald head, water running along his mostly hairless body making his tanned skin shine in the dark. The farm mare couldn’t believe she had failed to notice him until he had jumped out of the shadows to catch her stetson, his movements were much too quiet for something his size. That kind of feline furtivity was definitely unnerving.

He gave her a small smile as he approached.

“Applejack, right?” Mès handed the mare her hat back, carefully setting it on her head. She was everything he expected from the description he had been given. Right down to the freckles. He extended a hand like Fluttershy had thought him. The gesture was usually reserved for merchants closing a deal in his world.

“Yep, pleasure to make your acquaintance. You are the critter that fell from the sky, ain’t you?” She shook his hand with the one hoof she had managed to clean. She eyed the man, noting his strong grip, muscled arms, squared shoulders and imposing chest.

“Crashed and burned like never before.” Mès grinned widely at her, then gestured to her muddy hooves. “I’ll give you a hand with this.” Mès bent over to grab the hose, fidgeting with it until he understood the mechanism. “Twilight told me you had a farm, is that right?” He appraised this new pony, sensing that she was unlike the ones he had met until now.

“Eyup, Sweet Apple Acres.” She presented her other hooves, Mès washing them down carefully one by one. “Best production of apples in all of Equestria. Thank you kindly partner.”

“My pleasure.” Mès put the hose away, still considering her curiously. “Maybe someday I could visit it?” He grinned innocently. “I hear you have some pigs there, I would like to help you care for them."

“Interested in being a farm hand? I did think you had the body of a hard worker.” Applejack had a good sense when it came to judging ponies, and she could tell that Mès was hiding something. She felt that his interest in her farm was not entirely pure. “Do you have a lot of experience in dealing with pigs?” She watched his reaction suspiciously.

“Lots of it actually, I really enjoy the company of a good fat pig, I know some good ways to accommodate them...”

“Those ways wouldn’t happen to involve a roasting spit and a fire, now would it?” She had noted his sharp teeth, that added to his silent approached reminded her of the many predators she had to deal with, when they roamed out of the Everfree Forest into her farm. A lesser pony would have cowered, but instead Applejack took a step closer to the creature towering above her, looking him straight in the eyes.

Mès did not respond. Instead he scratched his chin, deep in thought. This pony was definitely special. He crouched slowly, brought his face to her level and started to analyse her: he looked intently at her mane, plucking a couple of twigs and leaves from it, he sniffed her coat on several spots and gently booped her nose with his index finger. Mès repeated his testing a couple of times, then he gave her a big toothy smile, apparently satisfied.

“What in tarnation are you doing?” Applejack did not flinch at his proximity, neither did she blush at his inspection. She was reminded of the way Winona, the family dog, would often greet a newcomer. “You are not going to start licking me, are ya?”

“We’ll see...” Mès rose up, and without another word went to the door. He opened it without knocking and peeked inside carefully, as if trying to sneak-in unnoticed. Applejack followed with a puzzled expression, trailing after him as he entered the library.

“There you are!” Twilight bore down on Mès as soon she saw him enter. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? With all of those lightnings out there... If you went too far... I wouldn’t even know!” She bore a resentful expression, her horn sparkling ominously.

“Sorry Tali.” Mès raised his hands,trying to appease her. “I just love this kind of weather! I’m so used to the burning sun, the permanent boring blue sky... But this, this is just beautiful!” He gestured to the chaos outside, clearly exhilarated by it. “I just needed to feel the water on my skin, the wind, the cold!” Mès ran his hand across his soaked bald head. He could perceive the first signs of his hair growing back. “Besides, your warning spell works wonders: your brand flashed whenever I got too close to the distance limit, no need to be concerned.”

“I gave you that spell as a precaution, to be sure you were safe, not so you could dance around the boundaries separating you from death while I worry about you.” She levitated a fresh towel, drying his body as best she could. “You’ll be lucky if you don’t catch a cold from this.”

“Don’t worry, I’m very resilient.” He let the unicorn’s magic run the cloth all over his body, clearly enjoying the attention.

“You will sing a different tune when you are stuck in bed with a running nose and a fever.” Twilight gave Mès a worried look as her magic scrubbed him dry.

“I have never been sick before, and I didn’t work in the best conditions, so stop worrying so much.” He saw the mare frowning, and he knew instantly what it meant.

She was about to lecture him. Time to change the subject.

“I met Applejack out there.” He grabbed the towel and walked towards the kitchen, Twilight fell in besides him matching his quick pace. “I think I like her too.”

“Are you going to put her on your lap and pet her?” Twilight was amused by the thought of the prideful mare in such a position.

“Not really, I have a feeling that it would not be good for my health. She is strong, that one.”

“That one? What do you mean ‘that one’?”

“I felt a lot of power coming from her, it was really surprising. Fluttershy is cute, but very weak, and you...”

“What about me?”

Mès and Twilight’s happy bickering subsided as they entered the kitchen, leaving a flabbergasted Applejack, still in the doorway. It seemed that the purple unicorn had not even noticed her friend standing there, right behind the human. She was brought down to earth when Rarity threw a towel in her face.

“Here you go darling, dry yourself up.” She giggled at the stunned expression under the cowpony hat. “Don’t expect me to do it for you.”

“What in the hay is up with them?!” Applejack carefully hanged her stetson on a hat stand, passing the towel through her mane and coat. “They’ve know each other for what? Three days? How come they are so close?”

“There are some experiences that can create deep bounds very quickly, we of all ponies should know that. Didn’t we all become good friends with Twilight overnight?”

“That was special! Elements of Harmony and all that. They are acting like...”

“Like a couple?” Rarity grinned widely at the idea.

“... Like siblings.” Applejack frowned at her unicorn friend. “You read too many of them mushy romantic novels for your own good.”

“Is that right?” Her smile disappeared, a scowl replacing it.

“Don’t forget that Twi is very motherly, with Spike in her charge for all this time. I’m just surprised at how fast they hit it off. Did you hear him call her Tali?”

“Ah yes, Mès started doing that this morning during breakfast, after we had tea.” The unicorn good humor was back. “Apparently he thought that ‘Twilight’ was a very strange name, so he gave her another one.” Rarity laughed at the memory. “She instantly got annoyed by it, so of course he adopted the new nickname.”

“You had breakfast with Twilight?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “ Is that why you came to see me? Big Mac told me you and Fluttershy were at my farm this morning, but I was already working.”

“We came to ask for your help, Fluttershy was very worried. The poor dear came to see me very early, she wanted to make sure that Mès was alright after his brutal arrival. I planned for all of us to go, but we could only get Rainbow Dash to come with us.”

“What about Pinks?”

“Sugar crash...”

“Not surprising.” Finally dry, Applejack threw her towel on top of Rarity’s, which was folded neatly in a corner to be dried, it landed in a heap. The unicorn ‘tsked’ at the messy display. “I bet RD and Mès got along? He seems like the kinda guy she would like.”

“Well if you must know, Mès outright said he did not like her, and Dash called him a creep before flying off to hide. If you call that getting along, then sure.” Rarity smirked at the earth pony.

“That bad uh? At least I hope he didn’t scare Shy..”. Anyone that could bring Rainbow Dash to run away was probably too much for the sensitive pegasus to handle. “He didn’t make her cry, did he?”

“Not exactly. When we both said goodbye after breakfast she and Mès rubbed their noses together as a farewell gesture.” Rarity shrugged at Applejacks inquisitive look. “She told me that it was the way bears do it. He is very taken with her, and she considers him like another one of her big furry creatures.”

“... He’s a strange fellow all right... What about you?”

“He spent the majority of our time together avoiding me, or at least avoid looking into my eyes, I still don’t understand why.” Rarity tried to focus on the babble coming from the kitchen, they were still arguing over something. “Twilight told me he is suffering from amnesia, so maybe I remind him of something he forgot, even someone? It could be painful memories so I didn’t try to press it. He is such a dear when he is flustered.”

“And what do you really think about him? Reckon he is completely trustworthy?”

Rarity thought about Applejack’s question. For all of her flaws, she still had to admit that the farm pony could be insightful when she wanted.

“There is something that I don’t like about him, but I just can’t put my hoof on it yet. I take it you felt it too?”

“Something is off, that’s for sure, I could see it in his eyes. Maybe when he recovers his memories we’ll have our answer.”

“I just hope we don’t regret it.”

Mès and Twilight chose that instant to come back, still in the middle of a dispute. The man was now covered in what looked like a yellow tablecloth, making Rarity groan in frustration.

“Are you telling me she smells bad?” Twilight looked accusingly at her companion. “That’s not a very kind thing to say.”

“No! I’m talking about what she tastes like.”

“Tastes? Mès don’t tell me you...” The purple unicorn turned towards her earth pony friend. “Applejack, he didn’t lick you or anything, did he?”

“Eeer...”

“I’m talking about her aura, not her physical scent!” Mès shot an annoyed look at Twilight. “I thought you told me you could sense power too...”

“Yes, but not taste it! How does that even work?”

“Well you tell me, miss ‘I’m a scientist so let me play with your ass’.” Both of them ignored Applejack’s surprised sputtering and Rarity’s giggle. “All I know is that Applejack is very powerful, and her aura tastes like freshly tilled earth and damp tree moss; Fluttershy has a faint sweet aftertaste; Rainbow Dash is metallic, like when you hide a silver coin in your mouth... Don’t really like it.”

“And what about me?” Rarity tilted her head curiously. “Do you dislike mine too?” Was that why Mès constantly avoided her? She noted that Applejack was trying to hide a mocking smile.

“... I don’t dislike it.” Mès could not look into her eyes for longer than a few seconds. “Your’s is like an expensive piece of fabric, smooth and warm, it’s really nice actually.” He smiled at the ground, his cheeks reddening just a little. He chose not to tell her that the perfume she wore made his nose itch and his mouth retch.

“I’m glad to hear that.” The white unicorn looked smugly at the earth pony. The orange mare took the bait.

“And what’s your favorite one? Gotta be tilled earth, right?”

“Don’t start girls...” Twilight’s plea was ignored by the two rivals.

“Of course he would prefer mine over yours.”

“Who would choose dusty old cloths?”

“Someone with taste.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Actually...” Mès interrupted the escalating argument. “I prefer the taste of an aged noble wine over the both of you.” He gently put his hand on Twilight’s head. “That’s definitely my favorite.”

“Are you saying that I taste funky and old?” Twilight eyed him with a smile. Mès’s teasing was starting to feel natural, it had been awhile since he had managed to make her blush.

“Nope, I’m saying that you taste delicious.” He laughed, then cried out when Twilight’s magic twisted his hand out of her mane.

“Okay that’s it, off with you.” She led him to the staircase, Mès offering little resistance. “Please go take a hot bath while I talk with my friends, I’ll order you if I have to. I can feel you shivering.”

“Only because you are breaking my wrist!”

“Nonsense.” She released him and pointed to a door carved in the staircase halfway between the main floor and her room. “You know how to use a faucet, please don’t make too much of a mess.”

---ΩΩΩ---

Mès went up the stairs without a fuss. Twilight was right, he really was shivering from cold, but he would not admit it to her face. Once he reached the bathroom he looked back, seeing the purple unicorn chatting with her friends. He smiled as he got in and closed the door, not wanting to spy on their conversation. The bathroom was not very big, with a pony sized bathtub, a toilet and a sink all jammed in the cramped space. He sniffed unhappily at the smell of shampoo still lingering inside.

He eyed the tub carefully, remembering all the water it could hold. He had seen the unicorn taking a bath inside it the day before, until she had thrown a lump of soap at his face for peeking. He still didn’t fully understand what was considered indecent in Equestria: no one seemed to wear clothes, yet Twilight insisted that looking at her while she bathed was perverted, and she had turned away when he had put his new toga on. If only the climate was warmer, he could dispense with clothing all together, that’s how he usually did it when he was in the slave district.

A sudden sneeze reminded him why he was there. He plugged the drain and began to pour hot water inside, still marveling at this simple act. He then stripped off his tablecloth and got in, just as his nose began to run. The feeling was divine, the warmth healing his gripped body. Once the water level was high enough he relaxed, leaning back as much as he could in the small tub. The last few days had been very stressful for him, even if he did his best to hide it from the others, especially Twilight. His constant foolish behavior seemed to have fooled her for the most part, but he still was hurting. Once again he brought his palm before his eyes.

Receiving a brand should have marked the end of the somewhat content life he led until now, turning it into a daily toll of servitude and misery. Instead he now found himself a guest of another world, bound to a magical creature he very much liked, free of his usual fear of the tomorrow. Yet something was off, something was missing from his life and he could not remember what, it relentlessly nagged at the back of his head.

Whenever he tried to think of the past, images would assault him, memories he did not welcome. He would see the faces of many strangers, full of anger and fear, before they were all consumed by a familiar green fire. In one of these flashbacks he had recognized Melkor, the Damned whose stima he bore before, he realized that his old foe had been on his trail. For such a high ranked member of the Order to be after him... Mès did not want to know what he had done to deserve such an honor.

He suddenly thought of Twilight, the unicorn was waiting for him to make up his mind before confessing to her mentor, and he found that he could not bear to delay the truth any further. If only for her sake, he had to accept to face his memories.

A new resolve filling his heart, Mès quickly got out of the tub, dried himself thoroughly and went to find her. He would tell the unicorn that he was ready, that she could put a memory spell on him and be done with it.

“Tali...” Mès got to the main floor, ready to face his fears, but what he found there made him completely forget about his plans. “... Why are you covered in green gunk?”

---ΩΩΩ---

“Are you sure about this?” Twilight looked skeptically at the bottle in Mès’s arms.

“I’m telling you, olive oil is great for the skin! Romans and greeks use it as a part of their bath routine. I used to help in the furnace of a thermae before, I saw them.”

“But will it work on fur?” Rarity was not convinced: if the spa did not offer this treatment, it was unlikely.

“They use it on their hair too. It’s pretty much the same.”

“You sure they were using olive oil made for eating? There are different types of oil you know...” Applejack did not want to smell like salad topping for a week.

“Hey! I let you put mud all over me, now how about you trust me a little?” Mès pointed to the clay covering his face, faking outrage.

“I trusted you with the furnace earlier, remember what happened?”

“You’re still mad about that? You only got a little singed, I told you it was cute!”

“And I lost the bedsheet you were wearing.” Twilight sighed, she didn’t know how Mès had managed to create a fireball out of her stove, and she knew that he would not let it go unless she relented. “All right, try it on me then, lets get this over with.”

“That’s the spirit!” Mès sat next to her and happily started to pour oil on her.

“Just don’t spill any on the ground.” They were all lying on beach towels, their legs tucked beneath them while the medicinal clay worked its wonder. The oil was warm, Mès having preheated it with hot water, and she left escape a contended groan as his dexterous hands massaged her, making her close her eyes as she relaxed. She heard a giggle coming from Rarity. “What?” The white unicorn was positively giddy, hiding her mouth behind a hoof.

“Nothing, you just look very comfortable.” The fashionista replied innocently.

“So Mès...” Applejack glared at the white unicorn, changing the subject. “Have you done this before? You look mighty skilful with those hands of yours.”

“Slaves are taught to please their masters in many ways, massages are one of them.” Mès worked on a tense spot near Twilight’s shoulders, eliciting another sigh from her. “The basics seem to work on ponies too.” To prove his point Mès pressed his hands harder, making the purple unicorn positively melt on the ground.

“Have you done it with oil before?”

“No, but I saw how they do it: when they are finished they scrape the excess oil with a blunt knife, washing away any dirt with it. The skin gets all clean and scented.”

“I don’t reckon that would work on fur. How are you going to get it out?”

Mès paused in his work, ignoring Twilight’s weak protests, and slowly turned towards the earth pony. The look on his face made it very clear that he had not thought that much ahead. Applejack face-hoofed and Rarity dissolved into a fit of hilarity as a very greasy looking purple unicorn rolled around on the floor, trying to find grip with her sleek hooves to grab Mès, and probably strangle him.

---ΩΩΩ---

“I’m not sick!”

“Who said you were darling?”

“Then why are you trying to give me medicine?”

“This ain’t no medicine, they are marshmallows.”

“Back home we call these lu’q, and they are definitely medicine.” Mès pocked one of the sugary delicacy with a finger, making it roll around on the table they were sitting at.

“Stop being stubborn and try one.” Twilight was wearing a scowl while she prepared a perfectly measured s'more. Her coat was definitely shinier, but it was not worth the smell that came with it.

“NO!”

“I swear I’ll go get the probe...”

“... Fine.” Mès grabbed a handful of marshmallows and stuffed his mouth with them to appease the fuming unicorn.

“So, do you like them?” Rarity leaned in close to him, putting her hooves on his thighs. To her great pleasure he began to blush and choke a little on his excessive mouthful. “Marshmallows can be very enjoyable, if only you let them.” She whispered her last words, trying her best to sound flirty.

“Oh for pete’s sake, will you stop that?” Applejack threw an annoyed look at the fashionista. “Can’t you see you’re making him uncomfortable?”

“I’m just having a little fun, no harm done.” She looked at the orange mare. “You have a knack for ruining other’s enjoyment, you know that?”

“It’s not fun when it’s at the expense of another.”

“You take things much too seriously darling.”

Applejack and Rarity lost themselves in petty insults while Mès finished his marshmallows.

“You know what, those are pretty good!” Mès licked his lips as Twilight frowned, she was looking at her friends bickering, trying to think of a way to stop the fighting.

“I don’t get it, why can’t they get along?” Her ears flattened on her head as the argument grew louder.

“Don't know, maybe we should tell scary stories again?”

“What, so you can terrorize them with your stories about angry gods again? No, thank you.”

As Twilight got up and tried to stand between her quarreling friends, Mès discreetly grabbed the bag of marshmallows left unattended and started to eat again. One more couldn't hurt. Or another two. Or three. Or ten...

---ΩΩΩ---

The three royal guards had braved the tempest in the middle of the night, their powerful wings strong enough to beat the winds and their eyes sharp enough to see through the darkness. Princess Celestia had made it clear that finding the creature known as ‘Mès’ was imperative, and that he had to be brought back to his mate as soon as possible. They had been warned about the possible danger he represented. His description had been given to the fastest pegasi in the regiment, and the teams had scattered all over equestria to give his description to local authorities.

They had come to Ponyville thinking of dropping the message and going to the next town as they had done through the afternoon, but the local law enforcement had given them an astonishing information: a creature matching Mès’s details had been sighted in the village, and it was Celestia’s personal pupil that had it under her custody. The fact that Twilight Sparkle could be in danger made them rush to the tree library, there was no time to wait for reinforcements.

---ΩΩΩ---

The tree library was quiet, the storm still raging outside. A few holes in the layer of clouds occasionally permitted the rising moon to shine through, illuminating Twilight’s room. In those few moments a pair of emerald eyes could be seen in the gloom, watching over the unconscious body of a purple unicorn, plotting for revenge. Mès could not believe how much he hated the game of truth or dare he had been subjected to. He had been coerced by Twilight to choose dare, and the unicorn had fully taken advantage of his blunder. He could have taken revenge on her with his own dare or an embarrassing truth, but Applejack and Rarity had ended the game with an impressive pillow war. The two mares had fought with little regard for the two civilians stuck in the crossfire, and a few stray projectiles had buried Twilight alive and sent Mès flying in the air. He still had a bump on his head from his rough landing.

They were now all sleeping in the mezzanine, or at least Twilight was. Mès could hear Applejack and Rarity bickering on the other side of the room, where they shared a bed. The man eyed the mare sleeping less than a couple of feet away: he had been given his own bed, placed side by side with hers, if he rolled in his sleep he would fall in the hole separating their two mattresses. He sniffed, his nose a little congested, smelling the remnants of the oil in her mane. The results of his experiment was mixed: on one side her fur was luscious and soft to the touch, but on the other it had taken a long, long time to get it out. She had been a little resentful after that... Even more so after he had terrified the three ponies with scary stories about Ammit and Anubis. Eating all of the marshmallows could not have helped either.

Rarity and Applejack had laughed at his antics, the farm pony warming up to him very quickly. She had a side to her that reminded Mès of his home, she was much more down to earth and reasonable than the unicorns, she was a merchant after all. Rarity was more difficult for him to get close to; he simply could not hold her gaze, that deep blue stare made his heart race and his stomach do backflips. And whenever she teased him he could only respond with strangled sounds and blushing. It was quite uncomfortable.

He closed his eyes, and sleep soon found him. His dreams were not peaceful, but neither were they about shadowy figures bursting into flames for once. He dreamed of the three pony he had shared an afternoon with, they whirled around in his thoughts. He saw Rarity, her teasing nature, her deep blue eyes, he saw Applejack, her strength, her spirit, and he saw Twilight, her intelligence and her kindness. Slowly the three ponies melted away, their individualities beginning to be merged together. He remembered a voice, teasing him like Rarity, comforting him like Applejack, a voice he loved... He remembered a face, a human, and at first he did not recognize the woman. He had her name on the tip of his tongue. He clung on to the memory for what felt like an eternity, until he finally won over his mind block. The name came unbidden, loud as if someone had shouted it in his mind.

Aurora.

Suddenly a rush of memories crashed on top of him, he felt like he was about to be crushed under the weight of all the knowledge but he held on, sorting his thoughts. Aurora, he had met her a few years ago. They had courted each other for some time, exchanging playful jibes, talking of freedom and travels and generally playing a dangerous game of hide and seek with the authorities. Then one night she had taken him as his man, and she had given herself to him in return. She was his companion, his wife, his everything. With all the love he felt for her returned a terrible determination to protect her, and he suddenly realized that he had lost her. His panic was short lived, as a thunderous noise woke him up, the cries of the three ponies almost alien to him. Long gone was his enjoyment with the presence of those he had considered as friends not minutes ago, in his mind they were only obstacles, preventing him from finding what mattered most: Aurora.

---ΩΩΩ---

Twilight Sparkle awoke in panic when the lightning bolt ravaged a nearby tree, she had not been the only one to cry out. With a flick of her magic a lantern came to life, casting a weak light around the room. Both Applejack and Rarity were hugging each other in fear, and Mès was starting to open his eyes. She was about to ask if everyone was alright when she noticed something in his eyes: they were glowing with an eerie green sheen, and they were getting brighter by the second.

“Mès... What is...” She never finished her phrase. Fast as a snake, the man leaped on top of her and muzzled her with one hand. Her heart stopped as she felt how strong he really was, and how roughly he had silenced her. She looked into his eyes, searching for answers, but she could not find his irises: his glare was now entirely made of green fire, shining much too brightly to hold his gaze for long.

With a sickening eruption of fear she realized that Mès was looking at her with infinite loathing and hatred, she had never seen such a terrifying expression on anyone’s face, not even on Nightmare Moon or the dragon she had encountered. The happy and kind man she knew had been replaced by a bloodthirsty creature straight out of her darkest nightmares. In that moment she believed that if a powerful spell was not stopping him from killing her, Mès would have sank his teeth into her jugular; his bared canines were clearly ready for the kill. In her terror she tried to use her magic against him, but the spell never left her horn... She tried to scream when she realized that the crazed human was siphoning her magic before she could use it. The Familiar Spell was made to provide the familiar with some of his master’s magic, but Mès was taking it all, leeching everything out of her by the strength of his will alone.

“What the hay is going on?!” Applejack was looking at them both with alarmed eyes. She saw Twilight’s tears and her bruised gagged mouth. “I knew it, Mès! Let go of her!”

Twilight tried to convey to her friend how dangerous the man was, but she could only watch as the earth pony charged him with all of her might. Mès watched her approach, he was now fully powered and could turn the orange mare to ashes in seconds, and Twilight felt him prepare a spell. It was not like unicorn magic, which stemmed from concentration and carefully weaving energy in their horns. It was brutal, raw and came from his emotions. She could feel the power building inside the body pressed against hers, she felt the primal power and she wept, for the will inside that power only promised pain and sorrow. As Applejack got closer Twilight saw the first signs of a magical spell shimmering around her friend, and she closed her eyes, knowing what would happen.

“NO!” Rarity’s voice cut through Twilight’s fears, she opened her eyes and saw that the magic aura that had grabbed the earth pony was blue, and not green.

Rarity’s magic stopped Applejack in mid air and yanked her out of harm’s way, leaving a clear path for Mès. The man jumped from the bed like a lion, still holding on to Twilight’s muzzle with one hand, his other arm twisting around her midriff. He was holding onto her like he had carried many animals before, most of them he had brought to slaughter. Faster than she thought possible, Mès crossed the room and blasted through the door, flying down the stairs. Twilight caught a last glimpse of her friends as she was carried off, Rarity was holding on to Applejack like a mother would her child, her face was blank with shock. The nightmarish situation would have made Twilight faint, if not for the sharp pain she felt in her mouth.

---ΩΩΩ---

Once they had reached the main hall Mès stopped and sniffed the air, like a hound trying to find a trail.

“Where are you... Where are you...” His prayers punctuated his sniffing, but his searching was brought to an end when three figures appeared outside the library windows, loud knocks making the front door shake. Mès glared at the door, seeing the plumed helmets through the window. A snarl escaped his cruel maw. “Imperials!”

Mès crouched low, prowling towards the kitchen silently, clearly hoping to escape through a window. His plan was cut short when a scream echoed from upstairs, one of the mares was calling for help, her voice amplified by magic. The shadows outside responded instantly, the wooden door exploded inwards, revealing three pegasi royal guards. The combat trained ponies zeroed on Mès instantly, noting his hostage and his hostile expression, in another heartbeat they had surrounded the man, cutting off any escape route.

“Release her!” One of them shouted.

“Mès, we know who you are.” Another one said.

“We have your mate.” The last one declared, this was not the right choice. Before he could add that they would bring him to her he was knocked out from his hooves by a shockwave of energy.

“AURORA!” Mès immediately reacted to these words, his power exploding out of his restraints. “What have you done to her!”

The crazed man sent two pegasi flying against the walls, brutally slamming them onto the shelves. The last one he brought to him, dragging him effortlessly with his magic. He stood over the pegasus, his eyes burning with anguish.

“Where is she?” Mès shook the guard violently, but the energy in his spells had taken all the wind from the pegasus’s lungs. “WHERE!” He prepared to release the fire that burned inside him, he had to make him talk. He readied his spell and aimed for the downed pegasus, thinking of inflicting pain to loosen his tongue.

A soft noise broke his concentration: it was the smallest of whimpers, the sound coming from his arms.

Suddenly remembering that he was holding Twilight, Mès loosened his grip, letting her go. In his fury he had all but choked the poor unicorn, obstructing both her mouth and nose. The sight of her tears, the sound of her ragged breath but above all the smell of blood coming from her cut lip made Mès’s mind spin. In his moment of confusion he didn’t know who he was... Was he Mès the peaceful slave, or was he Mès the fire spewing killer. The memories of his good time with the purple mare clashed with his need to find his wife, and the faces of Twilight and Aurora began to flash before his eyes, blinding him.

“Mès...” The hurt in the small voice pierced him, guilt overpowering anger in an instant. “I order you to stand down.”

Mès’s eyes went wide, his free will smashed by the Brand in his palm. He fell to his knees, his arms floping uselessly to his sides. The pain coming with the order unlocked the last of his hidden memories, and as the remnants of his backed up power left him, he remembered how he had arrived in Equestria.

He remembered how his power had consumed them both, how they had travelled over distances unknown and how at some point his energy had been sidetracked by a tremendous power taking the form of a huge rainbow. Their bodies had been yanked towards the source of the energy, and he remembered what had happened right before he had lost consciousness: he saw again how Aurora’s body was torn apart by the unstable power flux, he witnessed in utter terror when his own magic ripped her legs and mangled her body, and he was reminded of a crucial fact when he saw her round belly.

She was pregnant with his child.

And he had probably killed them both.

Mès’s howl of despair mingled with the dying storm outside, his will and body broken by sorrow.

---ΩΩΩ---

Melkor watched over the mountain side. A couple of days ago the place was undisturbed and wild. But now, now tents had been erected all round the cave, a hundred Branded milling around under the direction of a dozen Damned. And more were coming everyday. There were no Romans, that was part of the plan: the emperor could not be made aware of what they had discovered, or it would be taken away from them. He approached his brothers, seated around the mouth of the cavern. The ground was marked with many sigils of power, painted or drawn with chalk.

“So, any progress?” He spoke nonchalantly, he was in no hurry. No Damned ever was.

“The walkway isn’t stable, seems like we’ll need a lot more raw power.” An elder Damned spoke, stroking his white beard lazily as he responded. “More Branded, and many more of us. Can’t rush it though, we don’t want to attract any attention to ourselves. It could take a long time brother.”

“Did you manage to look at the other side?” Melkor took a seat in the circle of sorcerers.

“Only for a few seconds. The power coming from that place was amazing.” The old Damned sighed at the memory.

“Not of this earth.” Another Damned spoke, others taking his lead.

“Definitely from another realm.”

“A land ripe for the taking.”

“No emperors.”

“No Romans.”

“Just us.” Melkor concluded.

He didn’t know where Mès had managed to go, but the trail he had left behind had lead them to a very interesting location, where energy was pure and powerful, and where the Damned could use their power without restrictions. From the glimpses they had managed to get, they were sure to be unstoppable if they managed to tap into that new power source, and if they got a foothold into this new land, they could be conquerors of their own, unmatched, unchallenged. The circle of Damned eyed each other with amusement, and as if acting by an unseen signal they raised their arms in a salute, and chanted with one voice.

“Hail Mès, may that fool bring us riches and power beyond our dreams.”

They all bursted laughing, the portal to Equestria shimmering weakly between them.

Chapter 9 : Reunions

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Where am I? What are these creatures? What happened to my wife? If they did anything to her... Wait, what is that orange horse doing?

‘Her name is Applejack, she’s a pony and it looks like she is about to tie you up.’

Who said that? Get out of my head!

‘Why did you do that? Why did you hurt them?’

They were in my way, they said they had Aurora as a hostage. I had to bring them down.

‘I don’t know who Aurora is, but you have no excuse for what you have done. Violence is never the answer.’

Silence coward! I don’t know who you are, but stand in my way and I’ll turn you to ashes, like everyone else. As soon as I have control over my body I’ll kill them all, and I’ll roast the purple one’s tongue.

‘Don’t you dare touch her!’

Or what?

‘Or I will... I will kill you!’

Big words for such a little voice. Can you do it? I doubt it, you sound so green and foolish.

‘I would. I planned to hurt someone before, the one that put his brand on me.’

Did you go through with your plans?

‘No. I just couldn’t.’

You are just a sheep, I’ll show you how it’s done. I can’t kill the purple one, but I sure can incapacitate her. Unless you can stop me. Tell me weakling, how are you going to protect her?

‘Please, please just don’t hurt her...’

You can’t even threaten me properly? How can you hope to keep anyone safe if you stay so gutless? Think brutality is above you? What will you do when you can’t save her with just words?

‘...’

Don’t have an answer? Good, because there is none. When you have something dear to you, sacrifices are needed. You need to be strong. You need to be ready to do anything. You can’t stay a child forever.

‘...’

Don’t judge me. I am what I need to be to protect my family. I never enjoyed it, I did it out of necessity. And now it’s the only thing I know, it’s the only thing I have left. I don’t even remember how to be anything else than a murderer, I don’t remember what is was like to be happy. This is not what I wanted to be. But how could I ever change back after what I have done?

‘...’

Answer me dammit! Don’t leave me alone!

‘...’

Help me.

---ΩΩΩ---

The woman stirred quietly, stretching like a cat. She felt rested and at peace, the ground beneath her soft as a cloud; had she fallen asleep on a mossy forest soil? She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face, so she guessed that morning had come for them. Time to move out and search for cover. Instinctively she reached out to her sides, trying to find her husband. The absence of his snoring meant he was already awake, probably gazing at her like he sometimes did, blushing when she caught him in the act.

She found no-one, but her hands did close onto soft pieces of cloths, and she realized that she was lying on a bed, clothed in a stranger’s robes. In the next instant she had fully awakened, her eyelids fluttering to disperse the last of her drowsiness. The young girl cried out as she woke, the total darkness confusing her. It took Aurora a few moments to remember why she could not see a thing, the memory of her body’s condition returning little by little.

Her legs were gone, her eyes hollow, her chest carved out. She had never been vain or conceited about her beauty, but the loss of her womanly attributes still shook her. She had tried not to think about it the day before, but now she could not help but wonder: how would Mès react to her disfigurement? She knew the man could stare at her eyes for hours, and even if she teased him about it she still enjoyed this rare sign of affection. The man was usually too shy to show his true emotions. And she had lost those eyes, so precious to him. She laughed out loud.

“Well, someone is on a good mood.” The voice was familiar, and Aurora welcomed it.

“Good morning Celestia.” She had a smile as she turned towards the princess, sensing her presence a few paces away from her bed. “Or is it afternoon already?”

“The sun has just started rising, I take you had pleasant dreams?“

“I’m afraid my sleep was dreamless.” Aurora sat as best she could, leaning on her elbows until she was upright. “I was actually laughing at myself.”

“Do explain.” She heard Celestia moving closer, her footsteps muted by a thick rug.

“I just imagined how my husband was going to react when he finds out I don’t have any breasts for him to fondle anymore.” Aurora chortled again, breathing in Celestia’s scent. It was the same perfume as yesterday, fragrant and natural. “Can you imagine? Here I am, crippled and blind, and the only thing I can think about is worrying if a boy will find me pretty. Didn’t know I could be such a girl.”

“There is nothing wrong with being a little silly my dear.”

Aurora felt a wall of pillows building up behind her, yet Celestia hadn’t moved closer. Perking up her ears she perceived a faint crackling sound coming from the princess and the pillows behind her, she concluded that Celestia must have been using her powers, and not her hands. Something she did more often than not. Curious.

“I have never been one to pamper myself or dye my hair, like most citizen girls.” Aurora made herself comfortable, shifting her robes to accommodate the stumps she had for legs. “I actually find that attitude very ridiculous. I never knew I had it in me to be like one of them.”

“Oh, is that all?” Celestia tried to hide a giggle, a sound Aurora had grown to love coming from her. “You are quite prideful, aren’t you? Where does this superiority complex come from I wonder.”

“I don’t know, princess” She put as much sarcasm as she could in her last word, which was a lot. “Maybe it comes from the fact that I am smarter than most of these girls? And more well learned. More knowledgeable, more logical, stronger, independent...”

“And don’t forget a very big head for a matching ego.” Celestia sighed in fake disapproval. Aurora heard her move about, then she perceived a clicking metallic sound, not unlike the wheels of her wagon. Then the princess spoke again. “I had a wheelchair brought to my room while you were sleeping, I modified it to match your needs.”

“A chair on wheels? Really?” Aurora tried to imagine what the contraption could be like. She crawled on her hands, taking care not to strain her distended belly, until she found the side of Celestia’s bed. She then extended her arms, trying to find it until Celestia pushed the chair towards her.

“It is very safe, and it will permit you to move on your own.” Aurora grasped the object in question while Celestia explained how it worked.

She felt the metal structure, supported by two lean wheels with soft material on their edges. The material in question felt strange, malleable yet firm at the same time; it was no wood nor leather, and Aurora could not determine what it was. Celestia told her it was rubber, something she knew nothing about. The part where she would sit was made of cloth, it was tough and cushiony. One strip of fabric would support her bottom while she could lean back against another, it seemed that the material was made to be flexible. After some trepidation she managed to sit in it without help: she had to carefully transfer her weight from the bed to the chair by the strength of her arms alone. It was a good thing she was no frail city girl.

“Are you comfortable?” Celestia had proposed her help, and had remained quiet after Aurora had politely declined.

“The bottom is soft enough, I can reach the wheels easily.” Aurora spun experimentally the metallic wheels a couple of times, getting a feel for the directions. She revolved, went forward and backwards bumping against the bed until she understood how far each stroke got her. She finally tried her balance by stopping abruptly. Her body rocked slightly but she remained seated. “This metal is astonishingly light, yet it feels sturdy, the balance is nice too. I don’t think there is a risk of me falling off, except...” The girl turned her chair towards Celestia, having already perfectly grasped the way to control it. “Do you have any stairs in your house?”

“This is a castle, do you know what that is?” Aurora shook her head, the word foreign to her. “Imagine a stone house...”

“Like a roman house then.”

“Only it is very large...”

“Like a domus?”

“And very high. Canterlot is more than a dozen stories in height, and we are in one of its tallest towers.”

“Oh.” Aurora made a face. “Well I better get started if I want to get down before night time then.” She rolled her wheelchair forward, making a beeline for the exit. She had mapped the room at best she could the day before, relying on her audition above all. She knew precisely when to stop, just in time not to collide with the heavy double doors. She turned once more towards the princess, who was observing her silently. “Are you coming or do I have to throw myself down the stairs?”

“You are a very surprising girl, did you know that?” Celestia’s crystal laughter rang out like a shime, eliciting a satisfied smile from Aurora. “And don’t fret about stairs, I enchanted your wheelchair to stop whenever you get too close to one, or any hazard for that matter.”

“Magic again? You sure do rely on it a lot.” The woman patted the contraption, as if expecting it to purr. “Can you make it move by itself too?”

“I could. I thought about a ‘come to life spell’, but they can be unreliable, and in this case dangerous, so I prefer not to use one.” Celestia joined Aurora and the merchant heard the doors being magicked open, the joints giving away only the slightest groan. As she crossed the threshold she perceived the presence of two people guarding the entrance to Celestia’s door: the sentries shuffled as they passed, no doubt saluting their princess. “Anyway if you want we could go get breakfast in the royal dining room, it is on a floor directly beneath my tower. The only pon... The only ones that have access to it are myself, my sister, guards and retainers.” Aurora noted Celestia’s slip up, but could not understand it just yet, she started working on an explanation. “I will arrange a room for you in the same floor, that way you won’t have to deal with stairs or unwanted attention. Does this seem fair to you?”

Aurora nodded solemnly, knowing that she was being given a great honor, and she decided to show some proper etiquette as gratitude.

---ΩΩΩ---

“Wheeeee!” Aurora excited squee came to a stop when Celestia released her telekinetic grasp on her wheelchair. She had carried the sitting woman down the long flight of stairs, and Aurora had apparently greatly enjoyed the sensation of levitation. Her expression was now positively childish, the big goofy grin a contrast with her usual calculated one. “Again again again!”

“Maybe later, let us eat fist.” Celestia could not hold back another fit of giggles when she saw Aurora’s clear disappointment, her sulking expression adorable. This girl could be as clever and mature as an elder matriarch, then in the next instant she could transform into a babbling little filly. The princess was reminded of a certain purple unicorn she had taken under her wing many years ago. The difference was that with Aurora she could permit herself to act with familiarity, her regal attitude slipping away more and more, whereas with Twilight there would always be a wall separating mentor and pupil -- until the unicorn reached her full potential, that is: something that seemed unbearably faraway to the lonely alicorn. “Come, I will present you my sister, Luna. She should be having super right now.” That got Aurora’s attention.

“I’d love to!” She followed Celestia’s voice and was soon rolling at her sides, the princess sometimes correcting her path with magic. “Did you say super? Not breakfast?” The two friends went along a corridor lined with beautiful stained glass windows, doors leading off to other parts of the castle punctuating the walls.

“Luna’s daily schedule is not the same as ours. She is, what you could call, a creature of the night.” The merchant nodded, putting her questions aside for the night princess.

Before long Celestia noted that Aurora was turning her head at every sound she heard: whenever they passed a window she would turn to listen to the singing of birds, when they passed a small fountain she gave attention to the sound of rushing water and whenever a guard saluted them she would always perceive his movement. She stared at them with her blind eyes until even the most well trained soldier would shift uncomfortably, and when the ground was no longer padded with a soft red carpet she aimed her ears at the sound of Celestia’s hoofsteps, analysing the clops with raised eyebrows. The princess feared the inevitable question, but Aurora only nodded to herself before turning towards another guard, giving him a death glare until he squirmed. Celestia knew that soon she would have to tell Aurora about her equine nature, but she dreaded her reaction; her body didn’t need any more stress.

“How are you dealing with your blindness?” Celestia asked with concern. “Did you rely on your eyes a lot? You seem to be a little overwhelmed.”

“I won’t deny that blindness is something I don’t welcome. Our species does not possess sensitive noses like pigs, or the heightened hearing of a fenek.” Aurora pricked her ears towards her friend. “Or even the sight of horses.” Celestia tensed involuntarily, and the woman perceived it, her ears wiggling. She turned towards the alicorn with a triumphant look. “Got you again. I should start keeping score.” The princess realized with a start that Aurora was waiting for such a reaction from her. “We humans have our own way of coping with the loss of a sense or two, don’t we?”

Celestia didn’t answer right away, Aurora’s attitude was definitely not to her taste. Before she could admonish the woman for her nasty behavior, Aurora’s boastful expression turned into a terrible mockery of a smile, full of scorn and pride. The alicorn had not seen the merchant make that kind of smirk yet, almost a sneer, and she found that this expression coupled with the empty eyes were surprisingly unnerving, almost frightening. That face full of contempt would bring anypony to avert their eyes, shamed, but the princess’s eyes never wavered. She only saw a reflection of another smile she had known: Celestia only needed to imagine Nightmare Moon’s slitted eyes filling those void orbits, and the likeness was remarkable. The memory sent a pang of melancholy into her. They marched and rolled in silence for a few heartbeats, locked into a blind staring contest.

“I’m sorry.” The woman’s smile softened, becoming meek and regretful. Somehow it seemed that Aurora had felt Celestia’s mood change. “I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” She paused in her strokes. Her wheelchair lost speed before stopping completely. She stared blindly at where her knees should have been.

“You could just ask me, you don’t need to be so devious.” Celestia said, a little coldly. She stopped and faced the human. “Why must you make so many efforts to seem unlikable?”

“It’s the traveling merchant way.” She declared sadly. “When dealing with customers we are all smiles and jokes, but when we are faced with someone who has knowledge or goods we don’t possess, we are relentless. We unsettle people, we push them to their limits and get better deals. Or we try to get information out of them, doing our best to get the better of them. At any cost. My first years on the road alone were rough. I learned the hard way.” Aurora shuddered under her robes, her arms closing around herself. “I became what you see, hopelessly spiteful. Can’t say it helped me make friends until now. I always scared away the few people I got to know for longer than a few days.” Her face was showing real anguish, she seemed so fragile at that instant that Celestia felt her heart break. “I usually move so much anyway, I never see them again. Life as a traveling merchant is a very lonely.” A silent sob rocked her body.

Without a second thought Celestia acted instantly, seeing the woman’s emotional distress. She slowly brought her muzzle to Aurora’s face and gave her a gentle nudge, transmitting her understanding. Aurora brought her arms to Celestia’s head, and her hands began to lightly trace the outline of her equine features, a genuine smile warming up her face. Her sorrow had departed as fast as it had appeared. Much too quickly for the alicorn’s taste.

“You tricked me.” Celestia accused, mostly amused.

“Only a little.” Aurora continued to caress the princess's body, one hand wandering along her neck and the other losing itself among her magical mane. “Everything I told you is true, I just added some spice to the delivery. A good merchant is always a good comedian.” She brushed the hairs in Celestia’s mane, marveling in their incorporeal texture, breathing in the perfume she loved so much. “Is this your natural scent? It reminds me of a summer day on the road; I can practically see the fields all around me...” She squeaked with surprise when she found the alicorn horn, and she stroked it curiously, testing its point, before going on with her prodding.

“I should have told you, but I thought you would be frightened.” The princess did not mind her exploration, she was rather relieved about Aurora’s acceptance of her appearance.

“How could I.” The young girl grinned like a child again, she finally had a proper mental picture of her friend’s face. “You are so beautiful!”

“But why are you not surprised?” Celestia was astonished, and she let escape a small yelp when Aurora put both her hands behind her neck, bringing their foreheads together, her horn resting on the top of the girl’s head.

“I read too much. I worked in a store full of books once, they were full of fables, they told the tales of mystical creatures and other myths. Since I was little I loved to lose myself in those stories, escape the tedium of my life. That’s why I decided to become a travelling merchant, and not a librarian. I travelled all around the empire looking for monsters, nymphs, searching for my fantasy... but all I found was my freak of a husband.” The loving tone robbed all insult from her words. She let go of Celestia but kept one hand on the side of the alicorn’s face. “I always hoped that this place would be different, I prayed that the dark water had protected those legendary beings from humans. And I was right. Mès brought us to the land of my dreams. I just wish I could see you.” There was genuine sadness in her words, but she kept her smile nethertheless. “And I’m sorry for being dishonest with you, you deserve better.”

Celestia had no words to respond, she was transfixed by the powerful emotions coming from Aurora. This girl was really full of surprises. And she had one more in store for her; stunned as she was, Celestia did not react when Aurora took her head, one hand over each of her cheeks, and brought it to hers. She did not comprehend when Aurora closed her empty eyes and puckered her lips. So she had no time to prepare herself when the merchant planted a firm kiss on her muzzle.

“What in mother’s name art thou doing, sister dearest!” Celestia’s eyes widened and darted to the side, discovering that Luna had peeked out of the royal dining room, not ten feet away, to see what the commotion was about. The princess was minuscule: just a week ago she had shed her pale pony sized body, leaving behind the form she had inhabited for months after being released from Nightmare Moon. Her mane and coat had changed, the pale colors of the clear sky giving way to the deep blue of the night, her mane starting to become ethereal. In a few months she would be as tall as her old self, but right now she was as little as a foal. The poor filly’s eyes were round with surprise. “To partake in such lecherous activities in public!” She eyed the guards patrolling the corridor, none of them had seen them yet. Acting on impulse Luna grabbed both alicorn and human, still joined at their lips, and magically lifted them inside the room, locking the door. “Explain thyselves!”

Celestia had no idea how to respond, partly because Aurora still had to release her. Finally, the woman let go of her with an audible ‘smack’ before licking her lips. There was no shame in the girls expression, only satisfaction.

“Now that was something worth all the wares in the world.” Aurora was ecstatic, she turned her head only when Luna cleared her throat, signaling her presence. She rolled towards the startled shrunken princess, stopping in front of her. “You would be Luna, am I correct?” Aurora’s hands found her head, and she exclaimed happily. “ You are so little!” She swooped Luna up in her arms, proving again that she was no weakling.

“Release us!” Luna commanded, struggling to get free. “You shalt show proper respect for the princess of the night!”

“Let me kiss you first!”

“Keep your accursed lips away from us!”

“You are so cuuuuuute!”

“NAY! Sister, I need thine assistance!”

Celestia closed her eyes to try and sort her feelings out, ignoring her sister’s pleas. She decided to follow an hypothesis that a certain unicorn had postulated one morning: ‘there is no life before coffee’. To Luna’s distress, the grown alicorn abandoned the little filly to her captor and seated herself at the table encumbered with various dishes ranging from a great platter of roasted vegetables to a large assortment of cakes. She calmly served herself a good measure of strong coffee, savouring the blend that had been carefully ground and infused by a Canterlot chef. She nursed her cup while doing her best to shut out the high pitched shouts filling the room.

In the end the little princess's efforts were in vain, for she was thoroughly cuddled and brushed without mercy, while Celestia watched with a blank expression. If a consensus had to be reached at that moment, the two alicorns would have agreed that, without a doubt, humans were the scariest creatures they had ever encountered.

---ΩΩΩ---

He was the scariest creature she had ever encountered.

Twilight tried to reject the thought but she could not put aside what had happened just hours ago. She could not forget the way Mès had overpowered her, carrying her like she was nothing but a small filly. She still felt his hands around her muzzle, the pain from her bruised lips and the sensation of suffocation that almost took her consciousness. Thinking about it was enough to send shivers racing along her spine. Once again she saw his expression: it was beyond anger, he had looked cruel and merciless. A terrifying monster that had fed on her very magic, using it against three royal guards who were ridiculously outmatched. In that instant she had been sure that Mès would kill them all, she had felt a terrible spell ready to be casted as she was about to faint.

Yet, no spell had been cast. She had been released, and Mès’s expression had softened when he had looked at her, reason coming back to him. Maybe he would have been peaceful after that, but she had been much too scared to take any chances, so she had taken his freedom away. What had happened after the man had collapsed was a blur of screams and tears, as the royal guards had regained awareness and Rarity and Applejack had rushed down the stairs, the white unicorn yielding a heavy telescope as a club with her magic. She had never seen the fashionista with such a fierce expression on her face. Her relief at seeing Twilight relatively unhurt had sent her into a fit of joyous tears. They had hugged and cried together as Applejack helped the guards to their hooves, before taking a rope to Mès and bidding him tightly, the man giving no resistance or protest.

The pegasi had hauled him outside, groaning with their injuries, the least damaged hurrying off to find a transport and ask for backup. The tempest was dying down, but she still had to shout over the screams of the wind to make them understand that she needed to come with Mès. She confessed to the familiar spell, not bothering to mention that it was an accident, and she insisted she be taken prisoner alongside him. They had been surprised, but not angry like she had expected. When a new team of fresh pegasi had arrived, Twilight was sitting next to Mès on the carriage glaring daggers, the guards had refused to shackle her as she demanded. Weather pegasi had cleared a portion of the sky, and another team of royal guards took them to Canterlot, leaving Rarity and Applejack looking at them from the library’s windows. She did not remember the journey, they had flow high above the clouds and before she knew it they had arrived at her native city, the sun rising above the horizon. They had brought Mès to a dungeon beneath the palace, taking care to put magic nullifying bracelets around his wrists and enchanted chains around his chest, binding his arms to his body and leaving only his elbows free to move. They proposed to give Twilight a bed in the guards restroom, just outside the prison, saying that she should rest. But she had demanded stubbornly to be put into a cell like Mès, and this is where she was now.

She looked through the bars, trying to discern his face in the shadows; he had kept his head down, never speaking or acknowledging the questions from the guards, only mumbling to himself. He was curled into a tight ball in the corner of his cage, just besides the one Twilight was in. She knew how ridiculous she must have seemed, asking to be shackled and thrown in jail, but she had broken the law. Rules were rules: when criminals were caught, they should be locked up awaiting judgment, and that was that. She guessed that the guards thought that she was just suffering from shock. Maybe she was. A healer had seen to her minor injuries, had asked her how she felt and proposed a relaxant, before he had tried to tend to Mès. The human had roared like a tiger as soon as he had taken a step inside his cell, sending the medical unicorn running out of the prison. He had secured the magical seal locking the deranged creature before dashing in front of Twilight’s open cell-door, the guards having refused to lock her in. However at that moment she was grateful not to be in the same cell as him. The echo of his outburst was beginning to fade when the purple unicorn found her voice.

“Mès?” She tentatively called for him, receiving no response. The silence stretched, and still he did not stir.

“Please talk to me.” She tried to keep the chagrin from her voice, wondering if he was listening to her at all.

“What happened back there?” He was taking care of ignoring her completely. “You really scared me...”

Mès’s body jerked ever so slightly. She saw his movement and pressed her luck.

“You terrified Rarity and Applejack too.” No reaction. “They thought you had gone crazy, Rarity was crying.” Nothing. “And the way you knocked out those pegasi guards... You injured them pretty badly.” Still nothing, he definitely didn’t care about them.

“Mès, you hurt me too.” His face whipped around, finding hers.

His expression was a mix of guilt and confusion, and for an instant Twilight hoped that her old Mès was back, but the next moment his face hardened, becoming a mask of anger.

“Don’t try to manipulate me.” His voice was rough, his eyes cold. Twilight had the impression that a total stranger had taken Mès’s place. “Blame is a poison that women use as weapon too often. Aurora loved to make me dance to its tune, now it has no effect on me.”

He resumed his brooding, leaving an awkward silence stretch between them.

“That name, Aurora, the guards mentioned her, they said she was here, safe.” Twilight found that her next question got stuck in her throat, she gulped hard before asking. “Is she your sister or...”

“My wife.” Mès eyed her curiously, and a look of confusion crossed his face. “I mean, I had forgotten about her. So you... I... It’s not like I knew...” Very briefly Twilight recognized her Mès behind the green irises, but then he shook his head, his mean expression returning. “No matter. I know what I saw before losing her. She can’t be just fine. If these feathered donkeys think they can lie to me, they are wrong.” He stood up, straining against the chains strapped around his shoulders. He eyed the pegasus guard just beyond his cell-door and spat at him, the filth splashing just at his hooves.

“Hey!” Twilight got close to the bars separating them. “That’s not fair, he did nothing to you!”

“I’m sorry...” Mès looked shocked. Those words had escaped his lips, they were not his. Or were they? “Stop that!” He turned angrily towards the unicorn.

“Stop what?”

“Whatever you are doing! Get out of my head, all of you!” He stalked towards her until they were virtually touching.

“I am not doing anything.” She did not back down, she just looked up at him, frowning. Did he say ‘all of you’? Was he hearing voices? “What happened to you?”

“I got my memories back, that’s all.”

“No, it can’t be just that.” She replied evenly. “This isn’t like you.” She racked her head for an explanation, mentally going over the books she had read on illnesses of the mind, searching for something that fitted his symptoms.

“You don’t know anything about me.” Mès replied stubbornly.

“I thought I did.” To the unicorn scholar, it seemed that the man was suffering from post traumatic disorder, the shock from recovering all his memories triggering a violent episode. She just needed to find the source of his trauma. “The Mès I know would not have done that. Please think about it, try to remember who you really are. You are not a savage bloodthirsty beast, you would never hurt anyone on purpose, I’m sure of it. You are far too kind for that.”

“Stop it, please...” Her words cut deep, shame spreading into him like poison.

“No, you have to listen! You told me about the few memories you had, the ones where you were hurting people. Were you in a war? Did they make you fight? That’s why you were running away, isn’t it.” She was sure of it now, Mès had been a soldier, and his gentle nature had forced him to flee the battlefield and lock those memories away. The people pursuing him were hunting a deserter, not a criminal.

“I am no soldier.” No, that would be more honorable than what he really was.

“I understand that remembering all of it is hard, but don’t let it change you!” She stomped hard, frustrated by his response. “You are looking at me like you want to hurt me, but I know you don’t.”

“Shut up.”

“ I know you don’t want to be like this! I know you would never kill anyone willfully.”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Every word she fired pierced him, much more painfully than any arrow. They all reminded him of all the things he had done, and no amount of regret could make up for his deeds. Mès’s hand shot at her through the bars, his body contorting to muzzle her once more.

The guard shifted, ready to pounce on him, but he didn’t need to. No matter what Mès had intended to do at first, his palm found Twilight’s cheek and gently caressed it. She leaned into it with a content sigh and looked into his eyes. There was confusion there, much of it, but there was also recognition and another emotion she had seen on her Mès before. Once again his gaze grew cold, his brow furrowing. He took his hand away like he had been electrocuted.

“What did you do to me?” Mès the Fire-Caster stared at her, astonished by his body's reactions, trying to understand what he felt.

“Did you forget everything that happened to you since you arrived?” Twilight tried to reach for him but he jumped back. She wished those bars weren’t there now.

“That wasn’t me. I didn’t remember who I really was.” What was this feeling? It was so nostalgic.

“But you were still Mès...”

“No... not anymore.” Mès’s eyes focused on a faraway place, seeing the young slave sitting under the sun, chained to a mooring post. He was friendly, trusting and good natured in all aspects. He would not hurt a fly, because he had nothing of value in his life, nothing to protect. That had all changed when the girl approached him, giving him her name. A name that shaped his very nature into the man he now was.

“Then who did I find three days ago?” Twilight was beginning to panic, feeling that she was losing him. Why was he so calm all of the sudden? Was the conflict in his mind over? Then why wasn’t her Mès back? She had half a mind to teleport inside his cell to shake him. Or rip the cell bars apart. “Who was it that blew half of my home when he was fooling around, who watched the star rise with me, who did I share my meals with, who did I share a bed with!” She did not care that her choice of words was poor and that a guard was looking at them with wide eyes. All she cared about was bringing her friend back to her.

“He’s gone.” Mès stared at her, unblinking. The innocence of his youth was gone, that was true enough, taken from him by those who had tried to hurt his family. That night, when they had broken down his door, bearing torches and murder in their hearts. It was the first time he had ever used his fire on purpose, and what a terrible purpose it had been. They had robbed him of any choice, there had been no way to reason with them. That night he had lost himself completely.

“Where did he go?” Fear froze her body, the finality in Mès words filling Twilight with ice. “What happened to my Mès?”

“He died a long time ago.” His mind cleared. He was the man who had spread chaos to protect what he loved, the sorcerer that had selfishly abused his powers. But he was also the young slave who loved to smile, only there had been no reason to this past few months. He had grown, but he didn’t have to reject who he was. He felt whole again, he felt alive. “Now there is only me.”

“No...” She saw Mès’s eyes were telling the truth. “He was my friend...” Her eyes stung, then tears began to appear. Twilight realised that she was being overpowered by a terrible sensation of loss; she had never felt something so powerful, grief was new to the young unicorn. “Give him back to me.” She closed her eyes, trying to stop the flood. “Give him back.” She cried silently, mourning a friend for the first time in her life. She did not hear him approach until she felt his hand wipe her cheeks.

“Tali, don’t cry...” Her heart jumped in her throat, the tone of his voice had changed to his old. “You look better when you smile.”

Twilight looked at his face hopefully, sure that she would see the Mès she knew. But his expression was definitely not happy and childish like she expected, it was still hardened and sullen. But now there was kindness in his cold green eyes.

“He is not coming back, is he?” She gazed into those familiar green orbs, hoping for the first time to be proven wrong.

“No.” Mès tried to be as kind as possible, but he would not hide the truth. He never would. “The man you knew had no memory of all the things I have gone through. He was just a young peaceful slave that loved to laugh above anything else. I am a worthless criminal who sent countless souls to the abyss knowingly, just to protect what he loves above all. My wife. We are worlds apart he and I.”

Mès’s words were absolute, and Twilight dropped her head in defeat. She was about to turn away when he put his hand beneath her chin, making her look at him.

“But that doesn’t mean that I have to forget what happened between us.” He smirked, his smile crooked and more cynical than the one she remembered, but still a smile. “The last few days seem to have happened to someone else, but you are right: the memories are still mine. And I remember we were friends.”

“Were? Not anymore?” Twilight saw him reflect on her question before he kneeled before her.

“I told you before: if we are to stay bound together, might as well not hate each other completely.”

“I prefer the way you said it before.” She tried to smile, with mild success.

“Get used to it.” His brow furrowed once more. “And don’t expect me to be as infantile as I was before. Quite frankly I don’t know if I deserve your friendship.”

“You won’t play with Fluttershy anymore then?” Twilight said innocently.

“Gnnn!” She had touched a nerve. His scowl spasmed and Twilight recognized the ghost of his old toothy smile. “Even a grown man can indulge in some foolishness... From time to time.”

She laughed, and the man smiled his crooked smirk. They did not hear when the door to the dungeon opened, nor when the alicorn approached their cells.

---ΩΩΩ---

Celestia had been chatting alone with Aurora when the royal guard had come for her. Luna had fled to her tower as soon as the travelling merchant had released her, only minutes before. She had bid them farewell with as much regal countenance as she could muster, with her clear blue hair in tatters and her fur spiked by excessive hugging.

The unicorn guard had announced that Mès had been found, eliciting a joyous shout from Aurora. Celestia had rejoiced, while she tried to dodge the pieces of cake flying out of the human’s mouth, but as the unicorn requested to continue his summary in private she felt that something was wrong. Celestia had asked for an escort to bring Aurora to a garden situated in the same floor, promising to bring Mès to her as soon as she could. The girl had accepted, and as she challenged the guards to a race Celestia followed the white unicorn, listening to his full report.

She had feared worst, but what he said still shook her: three pegasi had been hurt, one of them with a dislocated wing and some broken bones, and her pupil claimed to be guilty of a very severe crime. It did not surprise the alicorn that Twilight would have requested to be put behind bars if it was true, the mare had a distinct taste for melodrama when it came to breaking rules. If only Shining Armor had been there to put some sense into her. The case of the human worried her more: the pegasi were being healed in Ponyville’s hospital, their injuries a sign of his ferocity, and he had been allowed to stay with her protegee. The alicorn had only one though as she dismissed the unicorn guard: Twilight was stuck in a cage with a dangerous animal.

Celestia hurried to the dungeons, barely restraining herself from running there or teleporting. She could not let her subjects see how anxious she was. She didn’t know in what state she would find the unicorn, but she sure was not expecting to find her laughing with Mès, one of his hands cupped under her head. The guard saw her, saluted and exited the dungeon. It was a dark cellar that was very rarely used, lined with cells that offered everything one needed. They were all empty except for the unicorn and the human. She stepped silently towards their cages, noting that Twilight’s was open, and she entered her cell. The purple unicorn did not hear her as she got close, but Mès saw her, and as soon as he did he was on his feet, backing away.

“My dear faithful Twilight.” The unicorn yelped and turned, her face lighting up as she saw who had spoken.

“Princess!” Overjoyed, Twilight leaped towards the alicorn, warming up in the loving embrace she received. I took her some time to realize how casual she was being with her teacher, and she ducked under Celestia’s neck and took some distance. She put on her most formal expression and declared. “Princess Celestia, I have failed you. I didn’t learn from my lessons, I acted foolishly, broke your law, and knowingly tried to hide my deed. I deserve whatever punishment you give me.”

Twilight closed her eyes and puffed her chest, ready to be declared a criminal and sentenced. She wondered with detached curiosity what kind of condemnation the use of the Familiar Spell would yield in present times, it had been so long since the last case that there was no jurisprudence to be found. Her conjectures were cut short when she felt Celestia muzzling her again, bringing her back into her embrace.

“I was so worried about you, and all you ask for is punishment?” The alicorn sighed into the unicorn’s mane. “You can be so very silly sometimes.” She ignored Twilight’s embarrassed mumbling and turned towards Mès. The man was leaning against the opposing side of his cell, as if trying to pass through the bars. She opened her mouth but the man cut her off.

“What in the name of Ammit are you?” Mès was looking a the alicorn with wide eyes, his body tensed to run or attack. “Get away from her, run!” He gave Twilight an urgent nod, signaling the open door of her cell.

“Curious that you should care for her safety, when you cared so little for the guards you maimed.” Celestia stared at him, half reproachful and half intrigued. “You could have killed them.”

“A pox on those weaklings.” Mès barked. He had no way to escape, so he took courage in anger. “I could have made bonfires out of them easily enough, but I didn’t.”

“Why did you not?” Celestia caught the way his eyes flickered towards the unicorn at her side, before quickly returning to her. “Ah, I see.”

Mès growled fiercely at her, his chains and bracelets glowing as they strained to keep him from powering up. Twilight jumped between them.

“Princess, forgive him, he had no idea what he was doing.” She pleaded, then turned towards the snarling human. “Mès, stop that please! This is princess Celestia, I told you about her, remember?”

“I remember you telling me she was kind and beautiful.” He paid no mind to Twilight’s flustered gasp and stomped towards the alicorn. “But you can’t fool me, monster.”

“I gather that my mane does not agree with you?” Celestia joked, but the human’s eyes were unsettling, they seemed to see more than she liked.

“It’s not what I see, but what I feel.” He grumbled mysteriously. He was close now, his hands taking hold of the bars separating them. “You can’t hide your true nature from me.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight shot at Mès, trying to understand.

He glared at Celestia, unblinking, before spitting his words live venom. “I can taste the ashes in your filthy aura.” He shook the bars as if trying to uproot them. “I can feel your power on my skin, stinging my flesh. No natural being can possibly be that strong.” He hissed at her, his restraints glowing brighter and brighter. “I can taste it burning, demon.”

Celestia took his words in, understanding what they meant: Mès had the ability to feel magical aura, and hers was so powerful that it seemed to almost hurt him. And he somehow felt her connection to the sun, mistaking it for hurtful flames. She gazed into his eyes, looking past the anger, finding how afraid he really was. She also felt how strong he was. His raw magical abilities were astonishing, she wondered how the enchanted chains had held for so long.

As if reading her mind his bindings burst open, the chain combusting into nothingness. Since he had absorbed Twilight’s energy, Mès had been able to use his powers again, feeding on Equestria’s magic, much more potent than the Empire’s. In the next instant the bars had melted away, the molten metal flowing on his skin like water. Twilight was thrown out of the cell like a ragdoll, the emerald aura enveloping the unicorn holding her before she smashed into the opposing cells. If not, Celestia was ready to intervene, but it seemed that Mès was trying to protect the purple unicorn above all, as he placed himself in front of the exit, between Celestia and Twilight. The alicorn kept her cool, this wasn’t the first time that a powerful beast had menaced her. She had thought foes much more powerful than him, and she felt more at ease dealing with his hostility than Aurora’s mischievous ways. Plus he was busy bickering with the mare he was trying to save anyway.

“What are you doing you crazy ape!” Twilight revolved in the air, shouting at Mès. She tried to cancel the levitation spell, but to no avail.

“I’m protecting you.” He never looked away from Celestia, ready to attack or defend himself.

“I can take care of myself!” She said indignantly. “And what are you protecting me from exactly?”

“From that.” He said, pointing to Celestia.

“She is my teacher, she has cared for me since I was little!”

“You don’t know how she tastes like.” He said with a shiver. “It’s like the whole world is burning, she is dangerous.”

“I taste like wine, but that doesn’t mean I’m a drunk!”

“The aura’s taste indicates your affinities, not what you are.” He shot back, exasperated. “A spell’s taste will indicate its nature too. I remember explaining that. Don’t you ever listen to me?”

“Because you do? Remember what I said about our princesses?”

“Maybe?”

“Celestia is the princess of the day.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“She controls the sun you idiot!”

Mès blinked, before turning to look at the spinning unicorn. “The sun? Really?” The amount of power coming from the alicorn helped him believe her. He could now visualise the massive fire ball behind her power, and not a burning planet. He felt the benevolent warmth her had mistaken for demon fire. “How could I have known! Did you forget to tell me this minor detail?”

“But I told you so!”

“I thought you were joking!”

“Then what was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know... Insist?”

“And here I thought I had lost the Mès I knew and loved. I’m glad to see that your head is as thick as before!”

Mès started to swell like a bullfrog at that sarcastic comment, but before they could argue any further Celestia cleared her throat, making Mès twirl around.

“As my student informed you, my duty as the day princess lies in the control of the sun, while my sister controls the moon.” She took a careful step closer to him, but he did not flinch nor attack. “To do so we are constantly aligned with our celestial body, hence my burning aura. Do you wish me to keep my magical flow down?”

“Don’t bother.” Mès responded abruptly, earning himself a kick when Twilight floated close to his head.

“As you wish.” Celestia exited the cell, Mès leaving a wide space between them. She noted that he still eyed her suspiciously, and that he had kept Twilight to his back. “Now, shall we go see Aurora?” The aura around the unicorn disappeared instantly, and Celestia had to catch the unicorn before she crashed into the ground. The alicorn had acted so fast that Twilight had not even felt the change of magic.

“She truly lives?” Mès was incredulous, but hopeful. “Bring me to her... please.”

“That I shall.” The princess set Twilight on the ground, the mare running up to her and babbling apologies before Celestia cut her off. “You know where to find the Sunrise Garden?” The unicorn nodded. “Then lead the way.”

Twilight looked quizzically at her mentor, then exited the dungeon. Celestia followed some paces behind, signaling politely for Mès to come with her. She refused an escort as they passed the royal guards.

Once they had taken enough distance from the guards, Celestia whispered to Mès, taking care not to be heard by Twilight. “Don’t think I will forget what you have done, crimes must be repaid, for you and Twilight alike.” She didn’t put any threat in her words, only a fair reminder. “Those pegasi you injured had friends, families, and you could have taken them from their loved ones.” She eyed the man, she needed to know how dangerous he was. “Do you regret what you did?”

Mès refused to look at her, but he still answered. “What is done is done. If you must judge me for what I did, then so be it. I won’t grovel at your feet, or hooves.” He then gazed at her defiantly, before his eyes shifted towards Twilight, who was trotting up ahead, and he deflated. “But I do regret hurting her, I would never be able to do it again. That little lady changed me, I cared for her when I had forgotten about Aurora. And I still do, no matter how much I wish not to.”

“What about my guards?” She noted his regrets only extended to the unicorn.

The man hesitated, wanting to tell the truth, but he wanted to know something first. “They mean nothing to me.” His expression hardened again. “They were in my way, they are lucky to be ali...” Mès stopped talking, for he could feel the blazing fury coming from the alicorn at his sides. Her face showed some irritation, but he knew that behind her self control burned a fiery anger, boiling just beneath the surface. He smiled, taking in the heat. This was one of the few times that he permitted himself to lie, and it had paid off. “Now, that’s better. Would you show me your true face if I pushed you a little further?”

“Don’t tempt me human.” Celestia’s voice was grave, the power coming from her whisper seemed to make her grow in size. Her words choked the very light around them, leaving only her as a bright beacon. “I will give you a chance on behalf of the respect I have for Aurora, but be warned.” Surrounded by darkness she spoke in a terrible undertone. “Know that I will do anything to protect my subjects.” Flames flickered in her pale irises. “If you prove to be a danger to them, or if you should endanger Twilight ever again...”

“Did somepony say my name?” The unicorn looked back, finding Mès and Celestia practically nose to nose. The princess's wings were flared menacingly, Mès’s eyes glowing slightly. She stopped with some agitation. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Mès drew back, giving her his crooked smile. “Your princess was just promising me her hospitality, in her own way.” He marched and went ahead of them, patting Twilight’s head as he passed her. “By the way, I should tell you that I never enjoyed hurting people, and never will. I was only leading you on.” He turned his head to look at the princess. “I just wanted to look at the real you, and I got what I wanted: I still don’t trust you Celestia.” Mès began to put some distance between him and the fuming alicorn, wondering why he felt so guilty. Twilight and Celestia huddled together as they followed.

“What did he say, your highness?” The young mare could see that her mentor was troubled.

“We talked about the incident, I found his regret... lacking.” Celestia took a bracing breath, evacuating her anger. “I am not very good at reading his species’s facial expressions, it would seem.”

“Don’t believe what he tells you, he was already very stubborn before, and now he is prideful. But last night when he stopped, I saw his eyes, I saw him look at what he did and I can assure you he was pained by it. He was confused, lost. His amnesia sent him into a fit of rage. He’s not like that. He’s...”

“He’s made quite an impression on you.” Celestia noted. She was not very happy by what she heard, and by what she could see beyond the words. She then instructed Mès to take the next staircase up.

“Well he didn’t use to be so brutal and pig headed. Sure he was irritating, clumsy, and a little foolish.“ Twilight sighed, looking back at the time she had spent with him. “But he was still a friend. I can’t abandon a friend.”

“That is very kind, but I have to know if I can trust him.” Celestia insisted, looking gravely at her student. “I need to know him, the whole truth. Can you tell me what happened between you too, starting with his arrival?”

---ΩΩΩ---

Aurora’s senses were overloaded. The guards had taken her to what they had called the Sunrise Garden, and she had felt her wheels roll on soft soil, heard the grass crunch beneath her. She had felt the morning sun warming her body, a warm breeze making her robes flutter: the garden must have been open to the elements. She imagined a piece of greenery, suspended high above the ground on the castle’s side, it was like a dream. She had asked to be pushed around by one of her escort, she didn’t want to smash any flowers, for she could smell their presence. The fragrance of so many different types of plants was difficult to deal with at first, but as she was lead around the circular terrace she started to tell them apart. The sun was sometimes obscured, so she guessed that there were trees too. She could hear that they were revolving around a fountain, the rushing sound of water giving the place a peaceful quality.

She spoke a lot with her guards, asking their names, what they did for Celestia, and she requested permission to ‘look’ at their bodies. They had agreed with some reticence, but Aurora was not known for accepting no for an answer. She had cried out happily when she had found wings on one of them, quickly overwhelming him with questions about pegasi, and she had teased her unicorn guard to no end when she had touched his horn, his reaction strange to say the least.

She was now sitting in front of the fountain, listening calmly to the songs of various birds, savouring the perfume of a hundred flowers, basking in the heat of the rising sun. She heard her guards being called off, and she turned, thinking she would follow them, but a voice rang out, full of joy.

“Aurora!”

She heard him running to her, she recognized those clumsy feet paddling on the grass and she opened her arms wide, ready to welcome her husband home. He gently crashed into her, softly crushing her with a fearsome hug. She closed her arms around him, feeling his tears on her shoulder, kissing his bald forehead. His growing hair tickled her lips as he rocked her back and forth. He kept repeating her name, like he was afraid to lose her again. She felt two pair of eyes on them, and she could guess to whom one of those belonged to.

“Thank you for bringing him back to me.” She tried to keep control over her voice, but her will broke and a sob escaped her lips. She didn’t want Celestia to see her completely break down.

“You are very welcome.” Celestia replied. Aurora heard a strange ring in her friend’s voice, was it sadness? Anger? “We will give you some privacy.” She heard her friend moving away, until she stopped and called. “Twilight, are you coming? We won’t get too far away, I know about the distance limit.” Aurora wondered who this Twilight was, and why she could still feel her gaze on them. The woman wished she would hurry, she wanted to let go of her self control, her throat was burning. Celestia’s voice got louder, and also sadder. “Twilight. Twilight!” Finally she heard another body move, much smaller than Celestia judging by her hoofsteps. Aurora would have some questions to ask about that, but not right now.

Right now all she wanted to do was embrace her husband, to enjoy their love for one another. She let her restraint go, her body shaking with tearless sobs as Mès laid her down gently on the grass. For the first time they could share a moment of peace, without fear of pursuit or concern about staying quiet. They were finally free. No amount of blindness would take away from her happiness as they laughed and cried together. She forgot all about her worries as they kissed, their hands joined across her round belly, promise of a wonderful future.

Chapter 10 : A Woman's Wrath

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The Sunrise Garden had been built to offer peace and privacy to the Princesses, the circular outcropping suspended high above Canterlot. From this secluded terrace you could behold all of Equestria in all its grandeur, from the arid lands of Appleloosa to the metropolitan city of Manehattan and the great ocean beyond. You could also glimpse the fanged mountain ranges, a natural border separating Equestria from dragon territories. Twilight had explained her word’s geography to Mès, and the man was now doing his best to accurately describe all he could see to his blind wife. Aurora enjoyed this new knowledge almost as much as the morning spent fooling around with her husband.

“And all of this is Celestia’s to rule?” Aurora had wondered what kind of land the princess had under her control, she had not expected the alicorn to be responsible for an entire continent, in a different world altogether. “I owe my life to a very important figure, it would seem.”

Mès grumbled, unhappy to be reminded of the debt he owed the sun goddess. He shot an irritated glance at the fiery orb above them; it had risen steadily while him and Aurora had rolled on the grass, heating their bodies as much as love warmed their hearts. It looked like it was nearing its apogee, soon it would be time to eat lunch, but the man didn’t want to move from his comfortable position. He was sitting, leaning against the fountain, while his wife lounged to his right, her head on his thighs. His left hand was combing her short singed hair, while his right hand rested on her swollen stomach. Aurora toyed with his fingers, as if trying to memorise their shape.

“What is it?” She squeezed his palm, right on his brand. When they had started their relationship, she had often done this to alleviate his fears, brought forth by the stigma that used to be there. She now did it out of habit whenever she felt Mès was uncomfortable. Plus the possessive woman hated to see someone’s signature on her husband, she liked to think that each stroke dimmed the stigma, until it would be completely erased. It was Twilight’s mark she was now crushing, but she didn’t know it yet. “You’ve been really jumpy every time I mentioned Celestia. Why is that?”

“No reason.” Mès muttered, feeling his cheeks burn with guilt. He guessed that Aurora losing her sight would not improve his chances of fooling her, and when she faced him with an exasperated expression he knew he was right.

“What did you do. Out with it.” Mès mumbled something indistinct. “Just please tell me you didn’t threaten her.” His silence spoke volume. “You damn fool. Well at least you didn’t have your powers, so you didn’t do any damage...” Mès shivered, and Aurora’s singed eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her mouth made an ‘o’ of outrage as her void eyes stared at her husband.

Mès shifted under the empty glare, unnerved. He opened his mouth to explain, but he didn’t know what he could possibly say. The truth would bring him no reprieve, and lying would earn him Aurora’s infamous kick to the privates. Just as he reflected on the fact that she could no longer do it, the furious woman’s right hand shot to his crotch, her iron grip finding its targets.

“Now tell me my dear...” Her voice was dangerously sweet, her smile a fearful sight to behold. “What exactly did you do while I was asleep?” Her grip tightened, making the man draw a quick breath. Mès considered his situation, before smiling a crooked smile, and a mad laughter escaped his lips.

“My sweet sweet Aurora, you take the expression ‘holding a man by his balls’ too seriously.” He barked his strange laugh, he would have to work on it. Aurora’s hold wavered, surprised by his reaction.

“That’s not funny.” She fondled her prizes, thoughtful. If he had been in this situation before they had fled, Mès would have whimpered and confessed everything. A few days ago, he would have started to argue with her. She smiled warmly. “It has been a long time since I heard you laugh. I missed that sound, I can’t even begin to tell you how much.”

“Haven’t been a lot of occasions to celebrate lately.” Mès lovingly caressed Aurora’s ruined face. He still saw her as the greatest beauty he had ever seen, despite her disfigurement. “And a lot of things happened since we got separated.”

“I’m glad to have my happy fool of a husband back, but tell me, what happened to you? You were so violent these past weeks, I feared I had lost you to madness.” She propped herself on her free elbow, sitting facing Mès to bring their faces closer. “But since you came back to me, you sound like a changed man. Does it have anything to do with what happened with Celestia? You were with her for less than an hour.”

“She and I had... words.” Mès sighed as Aurora squeezed him unhappily. “I know you feel strongly for her, but I still won’t give her my trust.” He declared resolutely, frowning. “She is more powerful than any creature has the right to be, and she hides her true face behind deceit. I don’t feel she deserves her power. She is dangerous, you won’t make me think otherwise.”

Aurora reflected on his words, lips pouting. “You are less fun to argue with than before.” She accused. “It’s not as satisfying as when you were shy, or even when you were violent. But I do like this new you better than both.” She brought her lips to his, awkwardly bumping noses before finding her mark, giggling all the while.

“My old self would be deeply disappointed.” Mès said, grinning. He felt that they had not kissed nearly enough: they had to make up for the last months afterall. He threw his arms around her, but before he could embrace the woman, Aurora held him back, her expression suspicious.

“But if not Celestia, what changed you?”

“Lots of things combined I would say.” He said carefully. “I had time to think about who I am, I met interesting new people, got to experience this new world... And I was taken in by someone very clever, I relied heavily on that someone this past couple of days. I owe that person a lot.”

“That ‘person’, is a pony too, like Celestia?” Aurora heard Mès grunt affirmatively, somewhat reserved; she felt that he was holding something back. She sharpened her senses, ready to catch any slip up from her husband. “Her name wouldn’t happen to be Twilight by any chance?”

Aurora was ready to catch any little tell from Mès, a slight shiver, an intake of air... But what she got sent an electric current of fear down her spine: at the mention of that name, her husband literally jumped in surprise, like every part of his body had reacted at once. Every. Single. Part. Her empty eye sockets opened wide with shock, a multitude of scenarios playing out in her mind.

“Mès...” Her voice was calm. Too calm. “Who is Twilight?” She asked nicely, her words dripping with poison.

“She... She’s the one that found me when I crash landed.” The man shivered as though all the heat had been absorbed out of him. “She helped me a lot since... I... arrived...” He trailed off, faced with the most terrifying glare he had ever seen. He wondered widely if this was how facing a gorgon felt like.

“Mès... Hypothetically, if I told you to never go close to this Twilight again, would you do it?”

“N... No, I can’t!” The petrified man’s brain was frozen, his words escaping his mouth without his permission. “You don’t understand, we are bound together by something very strong and magical...”

“Mès...” Her whisper shut him up better than any shout. Aurora could not believe what she was hearing. Mès was hers. HERS. “Do you like her? Are you cheating on me?” The words felt strange in her mouth, they tasted like bile. They were the words of some vapid city girl, not those of a proud merchant. She wondered if she would have been crying, if she still had eyes. She put her left hand on his chest, covering his wild beating heart.

“I... I... Twilight... She...” Deep inside, Mès was yelling ‘NO’, but his body simply would not respond. The memories of the ‘other Mès’ -- as he liked to call him -- contradicted with his thoughts, making the gears in his head clash together.

“Mès... Tell me you did not lay with her! Say it!” She still had this hope at least, it had only been three days after all. “Say it, and I may forgive you...”

The shocking idea made Mès regain control over his flapping mouths, but just as he was about to answer truthfully, a new memory came to him, unbidden and terrible. He was in bed, waking up to the sound of his name, spoken in urgent tone. He had opened his eyes, seeing only deep purple, his arms wrapped around a warm body. A soft lavender body that tasted like the finest of wines.

Aurora felt his body tense up, his chest covering itself with cold sweat. His heart stopped beating long enough to tell her what she wanted to know.

She took her left hand away, slowly bringing it to cover her mouth. “Mès... How could you?”

Before the man could even begin to answer, her right hand began squeezing.

Hard.

---ΩΩΩ---

The silence was uncomfortable, the alicorn shifting restlessly on her divan. Celestia had brought her favourite pupil to a study, not too far away from the Sunrise Garden. It was a peaceful room with soft sofas and burdened bookshelves covering the walls. Soft blue curtains gave the chamber a relaxing atmosphere; the princess used this room whenever she needed to relax. She had hoped to share a private discussion with the unicorn, but as soon as they had crossed the door, Twilight had chosen to grab a random book and laid down on a couch, hiding her face behind the heavy tome. Celestia knew that her student only wanted to avoid talking to her mentor, as it took the frazzled unicorn some time to realize that she was holding her book upside down.

Celestia decided to act, Twilight not giving her any openings. Looking for a distraction, the princess of the day sent a telepathic message for her night counterpart, asking for her assistance. Luna answered her sister’s call immediately, descending from her tower to find out why the white alicorn needed her so urgently. The little princess pushed the door quietly, flinching when she tasted the very awkward aura in the room. She had always been more attuned to other’s feelings, often overreacting to what she felt coming from her subjects. Celestia hoped Luna’s abilities would help her with Twilight’s... predicament.

“Art thou all right sister?” Luna whispered uncertainly. She then realized that they were not alone in the room. “Twilight Sparkle?” The Royal Canterlot Voice boomed out, making the lavender unicorn jump out of her fur, the book on royal mane grooming flying out of her telekinetic grasp.

“GAAAH” Twilight fell from her couch, landing on her back. She searched warily for the source of the shout, finding the upside down image of the little princess. It took her a few seconds to realize who the little filly was. “Princess Luna?” She got to her hooves and eyed the princess curiously.

Last time she had seen the princess of the night, Luna had been a few inches taller than her, the alicorn’s coat a light shade of blue, her mane azure and pale. The princess was now smaller than Applebloom, her coat a deep sapphire blue, her mane shining like the night sky. Even her cutie mark was darker.

Twilight approached the little alicorn with reverence, giving her a respectful bow. “Pardon my curiosity, Princess, but what happened to you, why are you so small?” She asked, her head tilting to the side.

“We have undergone a transformation to ensure that... What is it sister?” Luna looked at Celestia, the white alicorn signaling her to stop talking.

“I should have warned you.” Celestia sighed, there was so many things her sister needed to be briefed on. “We do not use the Royal Canterlot voice anymore, or the Royal ‘We’.” She pointed to the lavender unicorn, her mane blown backwards by the power of Luna’s voice, eyes widened. “I felt that the side effects were... not conductive to a good relationship with our subjects.”

“Oh, I mean oh.” Luna cleared her throat, embarrassed. “That would explain why our servants cower before us... me.” She eyed her sister reproachfully before inclining her head towards the unicorn. “My apologies. We... I haft... I have been locked away for a thousand years, I am still learning the ways of this day and age.”

“I understand.” Twilight shook her head, dispersing the ringing noise in her ears.

Luna’s wing buzzed, bringing the little alicorn to her favorite spot in the room, a soft bean chair that could swallow an unexpecting pony whole. She nestled herself in it while Celestia brought her chair closer, setting Twilight’s couch between them both. The triangle of alicorns and unicorn settled in, and Celestia chose to break the silence.

“As my sister was telling you, her appearance is the result of a very particular form of moulting.” The great alicorn smiled as her pupil went into full student mode instantly, standing at attention.

“Is this part of the alicorn life cycle?” Twilight asked eagerly. Alicorn biology was something she knew next to nothing about, despite being brought up by one. She was much too polite to ask personal questions, but this was an unprecedented occasion.

“It is a rare occurrence, but we do use it when we need it.” Celestia replied. “I personally only used it once, a thousand years ago. My mane used to be bright pink back then.” She smiled at Twilight’s astounded expression.

“But what happens? Do you moult like mammals, only losing fur? Or is it like insects, shedding an external shell?” Twilight wished she had taken a pen and some parchment with her. “Does it hurt? Do you become more powerful? Is this how you stay immortal, like phoenixes?”

“The process is painless, and very similar to the Eternal Fire Birds.” Luna turned towards Celestia inquisitively. “Thou... You still have that bird of yours, do you not?”

“Philomena, yes.” Celestia nodded. “Twilight hasn’t got the chance to see her rebirth yet, although it should happen very soon, she started losing her feathers recently.” She chuckled. “I doubt you would even recognise her.” She said to the unicorn.

“So, do you burst into flames too?” Twilight asked eagerly.

“I did, but that was part of my affinity for the sun.” Celestia answered, grinning at the memory. “Luna is attuned to the night, her body was consumed by darkness.”

“This is the second time I had to use that power.” Luna added evenly. “This time to replenish my powers.”

“And the first time?” Twilight asked, before regretting opening her mouth. She could guess when it had happened as Luna’s expression became sad and regretful, the look strange in the face of this little filly.

“Nightmare Moon was an unfortunate side effect of a moulting born of negative emotions.” Celestia explained, trying to spare the unicorn. “My first moulting came after the battle with my transformed sister. I was completely exhausted, like Luna, after you delivered her from her nightmare, months ago.”

“Stripping away my dark powers left me completely drained, the pony you saw then was only a pale reflection of my former self.” Luna explained, sighing heavily. “I needed to be reborn, start anew. My old body was lost to the nightmare anyway. But fear not, in a matter of a few lunar cycles, this body will be fully grown and my powers restored.”

“I’m glad you will recover.” Twilight sounded relieved. “After the party ended I didn’t know what happened to you, princess.”

“Please, call me Luna.” The little princess smiled warmly. “I was afraid to show myself while in this reduced from, but I had planned to visit your town in the future, to thank them for their welcome.” The dark filly inclined her head towards the unicorn. “I owe a great deal to you and your friends, I won’t forget your deed.”

“Don’t... Don’t mention it.” Twilight blushed furiously, the show of gratitude unexpected. “Without the elements of Harmony we would have been useless.”

“My sister already told me a great deal of your magical abilities, no use in trying to hide your merits.” Luna relaxed in her bean bag, sinking into its depths. “For such a young unicorn to be able to teleport, you must be very gifted indeed. Tell me, what kind of magic have you studied until now?”

Celestia watched as Twilight and Luna spoke of various magic spells, casually trading their experiences and interests. The white alicorn could not help but feel envious of her sister, she had easily breached the social barrier separating them. Was it Luna’s tiny body that helped Twilight feel at ease? No. Celestia knew that it was more than that. As the little alicorn and unicorn went on with their friendly conversation, Celestia realized just how much they had in common: they were both socially awkward, they shared a distinct passion for obscure magical incantations and they had very similar tastes in general. Twilight’s love for stargazing only made them grow closer. They talked for hours, their conversation natural and animated. Celestia felt lonelier than ever, as her sister and her student became closer friends in the span of a morning than she had ever been with Twilight in a decade. She realized that the same could be said of her and Aurora, and a grim smile crossed her lips.

“Birds of a feather...”

“Did you say something princess?” Twilight asked, a little surprised. Maybe she had forgotten she was there to begin with, they had been immersed in the story about the things Mès had done to bring him to the jail below. Celestia wondered how the unicorn would react if she asked her to call her by her name, and not title, just like Luna had.

Luna watched her sister, her gaze piercing Celestia’s calm exterior, seeing the sadness filling the alicorn. “I think my sister may be hungry, what say you we go forth to the dining room, the chefs will have finished setting the table.” Their eyes met, the princesses exchanging their feelings without words.

Twilight looked from Luna to Celestia, and back again, feeling that a quiet conversation as taking place without her. Before she could ask what was going on, a horrible scream shattered the silence. The unicorn’s heart seemed to jump to her throat, she recognized the voice behind the screech.

“Mès!” Twilight shouted, afraid for the man; his pain obvious. She bolted to her hooves, Luna’s round eyes following the unicorn as she rushed out of the room without a glance backwards.

Once the unicorn’s panicked hoofsteps disappeared, the princess of the night turned slowly towards her sister. “Funny that such a logical mind would react in this manner... Must be nerves...”

“Luna.” Celestia frowned, making her little sister avoid her eyes. “I know you can see through anypony’s hidden feelings. Even mine.” The white alicorn steeled herself, leaning towards the small filly. “Twilight, is she...”

“I won’t betray her secrets.” Luna interrupted stubbornly. “If she won’t tell you, don’t think I will spy on her for you.” She stared accusingly at Celestia. “Besides, you don’t need to be a medium to see the truth.” The little princess stretched, extricating herself from the bean bag. “We should follow her, see what the screaming is about.”

“Don’t worry, I think I know what happened. You’ve met Aurora.”

“Yes, I’d say that creature came straight out of Tartarus. But that wasn’t her.”

“No, but she has a husband. I just gave him back to her, that was his voice. I guess he must have angered her.” Celestia tried to hide her amusement.

“Oh...” Luna toyed around with this new information. “So this Mès is Aurora’s husband...”

“Yes.”

“And Twilight...”

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

“Hmmm” Luna pouted. “Don’t you think we should intervene quickly then?”

“Why is that?” Celestia tilted her head, not seeing why she should care if Mès suffered his wife’s wrath.

“Well, by now I am guessing that Twilight has ran head first into Aurora. I wonder what would happen if she got the wrong idea about our unicorn, with her feelings so transparent.”

Celestia froze up, before scrambling to the door, throwing it open without restraints. Luna sighed, following slowly.

“Worry about your own feelings, dear sister, before worrying about other’s.” She said to herself.

---ΩΩΩ---

Aurora had just managed to climb into her wheelchair when Twilight arrived on the scene, panting from her mad dash. The unicorn analyzed the situation: Mès was kneeling down, face planted on the ground. She could hear him moaning as he clutched his... nether regions. Just as she realized what he was clutching the man turned towards her, and the agony etched on his face made the unicorn run towards him.

“Mès, are you allri...”

Twilight was cut off, both in her sentence and in her movement, as Aurora blocked her path. The unicorn had not paid close attention to the female human before, but now she could not tear her eyes away from the woman. The first thing she noticed were her eyes, void behind her bruised eyelids. Her face was burnt in several places, one particular serious scar running across her nose. She could see her hands were also burnt, her arms blackened and blistered where they were not bandaged. She could not see the rest of her body as it was hidden beneath a canary colored gown, but as the bottom of her dress fluttered, she guessed that the woman had no legs. Mès had been right in saying that she could not have been unhurt.

The crippled woman rolled towards the unicorn, making Twilight take a step back. “Now, who might you be, I wonder? To come running to the rescue of my dear husband.” Aurora was smiling as she spoke, but Twilight felt cold as she gazed into the darkness of her eyes. Once again the woman pushed her wheelchair forward, but the unicorn stood her ground.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you.” She declared, valiantly trying to sound friendly. If Aurora knew her name, she didn’t let anything transpire. “Mès is my friend.”

“Indeed.” Aurora’s hands crept towards her face, the unicorn doing her best not to flinch. She let the burned fingers trace her features, caressing her mane carefully, brushing lightly against her horn, before they ended cupped under her jaw. “Tell me, little Twilight.” Aurora said sweetly. “Are you considered a beauty in your species?”

The question caught her off guard. “I... I don’t think so...” She was far from vain or concerned with her appearance. Some colts had offered her some compliments, but her antisocial ways had always kept most of them away.

“Mès.” The woman called, a groan answering her. “Would you say that Twilight is beautiful?”

“Ask me again when I find my balls.” He shot back. His voice was high pitched, and Twilight was glad to hear humor in his tone. “My gods woman, how will I offer you any more children if you keep doing that?” Mès rose behind Aurora, still clutching his crotch, but with a crooked smile reaching his ears.

“What makes you think I would accept your gifts?” Aurora tried to keep her poker face, but her lips twitched nonetheless, a smile fighting to appear. Her husband was not a shameless man, no matter how much he had changed. The lack of remorse in his voice meant she had been wrong about the situation.

“Because you are too smart for your own good.” He laid his left hand on her head, patting her condescently. The three of them were now linked together. “Twilight, may I present to you the reason for all of my troubles, the most possessive woman the earth has ever bore.” He laughed, and Aurora smiled bashfully.

“I may have overreacted.” The woman fought to keep a blush away. “I should have known better than to suspect you.”

“Yes, you should.” Mès chuckled. “And to answer your question, yes, Twilight is very cute.”

He barked his strange laugh, throwing his head in the air. He missed the way the unicorn reacted to his words, but Aurora didn’t. The merchant’s hands felt as Twilight gulped hard, her neck burning as she became flushed, and she could almost feel the satisfaction radiating from the unicorn. Aurora’s smile vanished in an instant, her grip on the unicorn becoming viselike, making Twilight wince, before softening into a gentle caress.

She brought her lips to Twilight’s ears, whispering in a kind tone. “That is a very unwise reaction, Twilight Sparkle. You took care of Mès for me, and for that you have my thanks. But you won’t have him, he is mine until I die. After that it’s up to him.” Before the unicorn could comprehend her words, Aurora held her head in place and planted a gentle kiss on her muzzle.

Twilight’s mind went into overdrive, trying to analyze the situation. She looked at Mès, hoping he would help her, but she found only an angry scowl. The man acted with blinding speed, jumping around Aurora, positioning himself behind the unicorn in the blink of an eye. Twilight wondered if he was going to drag her away from his wife, but soon she heard the canter of hooves that had made him react.

“Stay back!” he ordered. Twilight realized that he had placed himself between both females and an unseen danger. The clops of hooves came closer, stopping at the entrance of the garden. She tried to turn, but Aurora held her in place, grumbling as if to say ‘I’m not done yet.’

“I should have known.” Celestia’s voice made Twilight jump. The alicorn chuckled behind her. “Your wife seems to be adept at kissing people she just met.”

“It’s her way to offer her friendship.” Twilight heard Mès shift as he answered. “It’s a gift she won’t offer to just anyone, and I know she holds you in great esteem.” Aurora finally released her, obviously curious about what Mès was doing. Twilight turned, discovering that Mès had inclined his head in a very small bow. His hands were clenched into fists as he bent lower, his spine curving towards the surprised alicorn. “You saved her life, and for that I am forever in your debt. You have my gratitude.”

“But not your trust.” Celestia spoke matter of factly, not bothering to ask.

“Not yet.” Mès straightened up, and Twilight realized that his eyes were level with the princess’s.

“For how long do you intend to look at me like an enemy?” Celestia asked, her sadness showing.

“The sun has always been my enemy.” Mès’s eyes glared daggers at the alicorn, until a small form appeared at Celestia’s side.

“If you want my advice, just send this one to a dungeon until he learns some respect, and be done with it.” Luna declared, visibly not happy with the treatment her sister was getting. The two feet tall filly advanced on Mès, eyes sparkling with fury. “Tell me, young one, do I need to teach you respect for the powers of the alicorn sisters?”

Twilight wandered to the man’s side, worried about his reaction. Aurora did the same, placing herself on his other side. The unicorn saw Mès inspect the small princess, she heard him sniff like a dog, his tongue rolling on his lips, tasting the air.

“So much power in such a little body.” Mès whispered, astonished. “Tell me, who are you?”

“I am Luna, princess of the night and co-ruler of Equestria.” The dark filly declared solemnly. “Know that I am aware of the guards you have attacked, and now you have insulted my sister. I am not as forgiving as her, how are you going to repay your offense?”

Twilight felt Mès shift in his stance. She was prepared to tackled him to the ground if he acted crazy again, but she didn’t need to, as the man kneeled down on his own. Resting on both of his knees, his hands on his thighs, Mès bowed once more, this time much more respectfully, his brow touching the grass.

Luna eyed the display with an even expression. “Rise.” She commanded. Mès obeyed, sitting on his heels. “You offered your gratitude to my sister.” She spoke slowly, her voice regal and powerful. “What do you offer me, young Mès?”

Mès was strangely serious as he answered. “I swore never to bow to any man, or god, if I had the choice. But today I bow freely to you, Luna, and recognize you as a true goddess.” Twilight shot an inquisitive glance at Aurora, but she woman seemed as lost as she was. The merchant seemed to feel the unicorns gaze, as she turned her head towards Twilight and shrugged, shaking her head in wonder.

The little princess got closer, almost touching him. “Why would you act with such reverence for me, and not my sister?”

“The sun has never been but a burden on my life, burning my skin as I worked, revealing my traces as I ran, taking what I held dear...” Mès shot an angry glance at Celestia, before returning his gaze to the small alicorn in front of him. “The night was ever my ally, the moon illuminating my path, giving me respite. Your namesake always brought happiness to my heart, I can see the stars I love so much in your hair, I can taste the fresh night in your aura, and your great power fills me with joy, not dread. I gladly accept you as the Princess of the Night, the only princess I will follow. I offer you my service as repayment for my crimes”

Everyone around the garden was astonished, everyone but Mès and Luna. The little princess eyed the man critically, before smiling and spreading her tiny wings. “I acknowledge your pledge. Do you swear to never harm any of my subjects again, unless I command you to?”

“I do.” Mès’s eyes began to glow, his powers responding to his elated emotions.

“Do you swear loyalty to me, your friends, and all of Equestria?”

“Yes.”

“Do you swear to protect the realm against its enemies?”

“Without fail.”

“Do you swear to love thy princess and carry her colors?”

“Always.”

“Do you swear to love my sister as much as you love me?”

“No.”

Luna bursted out laughing, the solemn atmosphere broken. Twilight realized she was holding her breath. As the unicorn exhaled she noticed that Aurora was wearing an unhappy pout, her hands cradling her round belly. ‘Mès’s child’ Twilight thought with a jolt.

“At least swear to respect her.”

“No.”

“How about not hating her.”

“No.”

“Never to hurt her?”

Mès hesitated for just a second, before answering bluntly. “Deal.”

Luna smiled warmly. “Very well. I now pronounce you a Knight of the Night’s Watch. It was time for me to reform the ranks of my personal guard anyway.” The tiny princess turned to her stunned sister. “You see, the old ways still have some uses.” She said jokingly. “Now let us go forth to the dining room, I am famished.”

The two alicorns went together, Celestia and Luna whispering to each other, while Mès, Aurora and Twilight followed. The man grabbed the handles behind his wife’s chair, pushing it despite the woman’s protest.

“I know you can move by yourself, just give me this pleasure.” Mès pleaded, intrigued by the wheelchair.

“Fine, just don’t try to push me off a cliff, it won’t work anyway. So what was that about? I thought you didn’t want to recognize anyone’s authority over you.”

“That little one is different, her aura is unbelievable. I will gladly follow her rule.” Mès said, completely serious. “Besides, if we are to stay in Equestria, I would prefer to be under the charge of Luna, not Celestia.”

“And what of your promise to fight for Equestria?”

“Ponies wage war with cakes and pies, I won’t have to hurt anyone.”

“All right, but don’t forget to whom you have pledged eternal fidelity first: me.”

“Yes, yes, I won’t forget.” Mès sighed, if only he didn’t love the possessive side of his wife so much.

Twilight trotted to his side. “I hope you won’t take your words lightly. Luna has given you a great honor: being the first Knight of the Night Watch in a thousand years means you will have to hold to a lot of regulations, etiquette, uniform, restrictions...”

“Yeah, yeah. Stop nagging me you two,” the man said in an exasperated tone.

When they got close to the dining room, Mès turned towards Twilight, his face scrunched in deep thought.

“Hey, Tali?” Mès called.

“Yes?”

“Oh, you have nicknames for each other too?” Aurora accused, feigning outrage. “I should have crushed your nuts harder.”

“Sush, you.” Mès patted Aurora’s head lovingly before turning to the unicorn once more. “Can you tell me something?”

“Sure.” She wondered what kind of question the crazy human could have after all he had done.

“What the heck is a knight exactly?”

---ΩΩΩ---

The royal dining room had never seen such a chaotic meal.

The two alicorns had taken the far ends of the great table, as they always did, while Aurora and Mès sat side by side in its center. Twilight chose a spot across the couple. The dishes on the table were numerous and varied, but the absence of sugary pastries had led Aurora to whine loudly. The wailing had persisted until Mès had stuffed a soufflé down her throat. The woman had then retaliated with the first dish she could get her hands onto, and Mès had been covered in spaghetti and tomato sauce for the rest of the day. The man himself had made a scene when he had demanded to have meat, even proclaiming that he would go to the kitchens to scavenge if he had to. He could not fathom having such a feast without meat, every high born in the empire gorged themselves on the stuff, and he could not wait to take advantage of his new position as a free man. He had looked at Twilight like she had punched him when she reminded him that he would not find meat on the menu of any equestrian household. Mès had then gone into a serious tirade about the tastiness of a juicy piece of meat, Aurora shouting ‘hear hear!’ whenever he stopped to take a breath. Dishes had started to fly down the table when Celestia had tried to explain why he didn’t need meat in his diet, the man outraged, the woman happy to spread some chaos. The white alicorn had ducked for cover, while Twilight tried to appease the humans, Luna dozing off at the other end of the table. When order had been finally restored, food plastered the walls, Celestia’s mane was covered in pickles, Luna was snoring lightly and Twilight was trying to get most of the vinaigrette out of her face. The unicorn didn’t know how Aurora could be so accurate despite her blindness: she didn’t have time to dodge when the woman had grabbed a handful of salad, throwing it to her face with expert precision. The humans had abandoned hostilities when Celestia and Twilight started stopping projectiles with magic.

Mès was now trying to fetch any dish he could find to give Aurora a taste of everything. He had even scraped some of them from the walls. He had just brought her a cheese cake plucked from the ground when Luna woke up with an adorable snort. The little princess looked at the disaster area with an uncertain expression.

“What did I miss?” She asked, not sure if she was still dreaming or not.

“Not much.” Twilight answered, a napkin scrubbing her face. “Just a chance to observe human behavior at the table.”

“We’ll have to do that again when we get home, that’ll be fun.” Mès said happily to Twilight.

“Spike will be thrilled.” The unicorn answered, laughing. She stopped when Aurora looked at her, eyebrows raised, mouth full of cheese cake.

The woman gulped down, putting down her leftovers. “What do you mean ‘home’?” She inquired, suspicious. She turned to Mès. “You don’t intend to go back to her house , do you?” She grabbed his right hand, rubbing his brand with her thumb. “I thought we would find a home for ourselves, we don’t want to be a burden, do we?” She asked nicely, her grip slowly crushing his hand.

“You didn’t tell her?” Twilight said, staring at Mès.

“Tell me what?”

“I didn’t want to ruin the mood...” Mès mumbled.

“Tell me what!”

“Because getting your testicles smashed is a good mood for you?” Twilight asked, disbelieving.

“Tell me WHAT!”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. It has been a while since I could relax with my loving wiiiiifffAAAAAH!”

Mès cried out as Aurora expertly crushed a pressure point in his wrist, making his body twist and fall from his chair. As the muscled man fell to the floor like a stringless puppet, the furious merchant glared blindly at Twilight.

“I won’t have you two ignore me.” She hissed, obviously besides herself. “What happened between you and Mès? No more games.”

Twilight took a bracing breath before answering. “The first thing you should know is that when I found Mès, he was hurt. Not as much as you, but he did have some minor burns all over his body.”

“You healed him.” Aurora guessed. Mès skin had been smooth to her touch. “So your magic works on him, Celestia’s didn’t work on me.”

“Mès told me that not all humans can use magic, I would think that you are completely insensitive to magical spells.” Twilight hesitated, she was close to the sensitive issue. “He also told me that humans that can use magic, sorcerers, are hunted for slavery in your world, with a curse to control them.”

“Branding, yes.” Aurora said curtly, her patience gone. “You are not teaching me anything.”

“In my world, we have a spell very similar to Branding. We call it the Familiar Spell.”

“What does this have to do with Mès!”

“That spell makes the victim very dependent on its master, the familiar has to stay close to the one that casted the spell, there is a distance limit for him not to cross or....”

“Stop wasting my time and... wait.” Aurora froze, remembering Celestia’s words when she had delivered Mès to her. ‘I know about the distance limit.’ and ‘We won’t get far. A terrible suspicion gripped the woman. “What did you do to him?”

“It was an accident!” Twilight pleaded. The woman had a scary expression, and the knife beside her plate seemed very sharp at that instant. “The Familiar Spell went off without my permission, I didn’t know the Branding curse would trigger itself...”

“You BRANDED my HUSBAND?!” Aurora yelled, horror stricken.

“Aurora, please be reasonable.” Celestia intervened, standing besides her student protectively. “Twilight could not have known.”

“SHE BRANDED HIM!” Aurora screamed, pure rage filling her usually calm mind. Her hand found the knife in a swift movement, and she brought her arm back, ready to fling it. The merchant knew there was only one way to free her husband. She tried to throw the knife at Twilight’s head, aiming for her voice, but her arm was gripped by a strong force, stopping her. She struggled, cursing. “Let got of me Celestia, neither your magic nor your friendship will stop me!”

“No. I can’t let you do that.” Mès said firmly, still holding onto her arm. “I won’t let you hurt her.”

Aurora sat baffled, staring with her dead eyes at her husband. “Is she controlling you?” She whispered, mad with grief. She turned towards Twilight, half crazed. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!” She tried futilely to free her right arm, her left hand searching madly for another weapon, but Mès moved in, kneeling to embrace her, immobilizing her completely. “How dare you...” She whispered, suddenly losing her strength. “We were finally free...” She slumped into her husband’s arms, apparently too shocked to cry.

Twilight got to her hooves, ignored Celestia’s warning glance and came to Aurora’s side of the table. She walked slowly until she was next to the bound woman, then put a hoof on Mès shoulders. The man eyed her warily, then released his soul mate. Twilight got closer, putting herself in Aurora’s reach, less than a foot to her left wheel.

“I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am.” The unicorn spoke slowly, remorsefully. “If there was anything I could do to undo that spell...”

“There is something.” Aurora hissed. She tightened her grasp on the knife, Mès moving nearer as a precaution.

“Would you do it?” Twilight gently asked. “Could you kill me just to free Mès?”

“Yes.” Aurora responded without hesitation.

“I believe you. I believe you because Mès wanted to do the same for me once.” Twilight approached, putting her head on Aurora’s left arm. She was completely vulnerable, betting on Aurora’s compassion. This was the only way to make peace. She heard the man move in, no doubt to drag her away. “Mès, don’t intervene.” He grunted, paralyzed by the order.

“He protected you?” Aurora said, unbelieving. She turned to her husband. “Mès, do you care for her?”

“Tell the truth Mès.” Twilight ordered, her heart racing.

“Yes, she is dear to me.” Mès didn’t try to stop the flow of words, the order was absolute. “I would never forgive you if you hurt her.”

“I see.” Aurora toyed with the knife, her left arm could feel the strong pulse in the unicorns neck, sign of her wild heartbeat. She knew exactly where to strike. “You do realize, Twilight Sparkle, that this only makes me want to kill you more?” She felt Twilight gulping, no doubt regretting her order. They stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity, until a little voice broke the silence.

“If you guys are through with this melodrama, I would like to go back to my tower, my bed awaits.” Luna declared, stifling a yawn.

“Luna!” Celestia shot an alarmed glare at her sister, trying to shush her.

“Stop worrying sister.” Luna said nonchalantly as she fluttered towards the door. “Aurora has made her mind already, she is just torturing your student for pettiness sake.” She opened the door, and shot a last glance at the assembly. “Mès, you will come to me before departing for Ponyville, I will give you your armor and instruct you in your duties. Twilight, please keep in touch, I will wait for your letters eagerly. Aurora, please don’t come near me ever again.”

The little princess exited the room, leaving behind a shocked Celestia, two angry Mès and Twilight, and a grinning Aurora.

“I hate it when you do that.” Mès declared.

“Is he still obliged to tell the truth?” Aurora asked, highly amused.

“Yes, I would think so.” Twilight answered, ticked off. She took a step away from the merchant, trying to resist the urge of headbutting her. “When did you decide to spare me?”

“When Mès gave me a hug.” She said, grinning. “If you were truly controlling him he would not have been so gentle, a branded under orders is like a machine. I could never hurt someone he cares for enough to defy me.”

“So everything afterwards...”

“Was a way to get some information.” Aurora turned her wheelchair, facing her husband. “I won’t forget what you said, you’ll pay dearly for this. And you!” She added, pointing to Twilight. “Stay away from my husband.” Aurora huffed and rolled towards the exit, calling to Celestia as she went on. “Coming, Tia? You still have to show me around your castle. I can’t get downstairs without you.”

Celestia sighed before following the woman. “Do you take joy in chaos?” She asked as she joined her side.

“Yes I do. And I am sure you do too. Order is very boring on its own, don’t you think?”

“I knew someone just like you.” The alicorn smiled at the memory. “If you took away the fact that he loved to spread discord everywhere he went, he was a very good friend.”

“What happened to him?”

“He was too dangerous. I had to turn him into stone.” Celestia said darkly, shooting a warning glance at Mès as they crossed the door.

“Sounds neat. Can you show me to his statue?”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

As Celestia and Aurora’s voices grew fainter, the pony and human left inside the room looked at each other.

“Your wife is scary.” Twilight said, matter of factly.

“Meh, she was tame this time, I’ve seen worse.” Mès scratched his chin distractedly.

“Worse than this? How?”

“Well...” Mès eyed the unicorn with a smile. “She didn’t stab you, did she?”

He laughed out loud at Twilight’s face, putting his hand on her head and leading her to the door.

“You mean... she could have...”

“Oh yes, by all means. I was sure she was going to do it. But I guess she likes you too.” Mès saw Twilight briefly looking up at him, before she avoided his gaze. “Which reminds me...” He slapped her head playfully, Twilight crying out in surprise. “Don’t ever use your orders on me like that, especially with Aurora around.”

They started bickering as they exited the room, leaving the disaster area behind. If the room could talk, it would have screamed in relief. Truly, the royal dining room had never seen such a chaotic meal.

---ΩΩΩ---

“Do we have to do this?” Mès grumbled as he eyed his surroundings unhappily. “This city reminds me too much of the big Empire towns... I don’t like it.” He spat on the paved ground, making the onlooking ponies gasp.

“I was born in Canterlot, can you please stop bad mouthing my home?” Twilight didn’t care about the whispers coming from the posh ponies surrounding them, but the way Mès was acting irked her. He stared at every building like it had personally insulted him, growling whenever they crossed a statue. Especially the ones representing Celestia.

“I don’t like the way the air smells in here.” He sniffed at a passing couple of noble ponies, retching and spitting once more as they hurried away. “The people here stink of arrogance. And why are they all clothed?”

“It’s the Canterlot way.” Twilight answered, urging Mès along as he stopped to glower at a statue of Celestia. “Most ponies only dress for formal occasions, but here, every day is formal.”

“They look ridiculous.” Mès declared, oblivious to how his table cloth toga looked on him, the red food stains completing his uncouth ensemble. They entered a small deserted alley, Twilight knowing every shortcut between the castle and her old house. “I feel like the walls are closing in around me...” Mès grumbled, tapping the stone walls surrounding them.

“Just please bear with it just a little longer, my old house is just ahead.” Twilight was eager to see her parents again, as it had been months since she had moved to Ponyville. “My parents will be home at this hour.” The afternoon was about to turn into night, dusk less than an hour away.

“What do you want to tell them about us.” He sighed when Twilight looked back at him with wide eyes. “About this.” He showed his right palm, Twilight’s cutie mark clear even in the alley gloom.

“Oh, that. I think the truth would be best. I’m done hiding my mistakes like a little filly.”

“As you like.” Mès and Twilight went along the corridor silently, until the man saw the unicorn shivering. He patted her head gently, before adding in a friendly tone. “I’ll be there, they will understand that you didn’t want to do this.”

“Even so.” Twilight took comfort in his contact. “Using the Familiar Spell is a big deal for unicorns. I don’t even know how Celestia will punish me for it.”

“If you were not so insistent on having a real sentence, she would have just given you a warning.”

“I can’t let my position influence her judgment.” The unicorn explained stubbornly. “On the contrary: my case is setting up a precedent for the modern use of this awful spell. I can’t let the jurisprudence on this case be lenient!”

“Gods you are such a self-righteous woman, aren’t you.”

“It’s ‘mare’, and thank you.” She said happily, not hearing the insult. They exited the small alley, finding themselves in a calm street, the houses smaller than in the higher districts.

Mès stared at her with an incredulous expression. “I wish Aurora was here, she would know how to put some sense into you.” The merchant had declined the polite if forced invitation to visit Twilight’s old house. She had instead selected to follow Celestia to her personal library, where the princess had promised to find a way for her to read books, despite her blindness.

“Too late now. We are here.” She stopped in front of a quaint two story house made out of timber and clay, a curiosity for Canterlot. Twilight shot a curious glance at Mès, finding the man smiling at the construction, visibly pleased.

“Now this, this I like.” Mès ran a hand on the rough walls, grinning with satisfaction.

Twilight tried to hide her pleasure at Mès’s reaction. The house was definitely apart from the other Canterlot buildings. For one, it was not made of stone, the roof made of plain wood and not polished and painted slate, the windows were simple and inviting. It was a common house in a city full of frenzied grandeur. She was proud of this simplicity.

She pressed the doorbell, perking up when the familiar tune sounded. She turned to Mès, the man standing to her side. “Now please be good, don’t do anything to scare them off.”

“What do you mean, I’m an example of well behavior.” He gave her crooked smile, revealing his frightful canines. Twilight was now used to his predatory grins, but she wondered how her parents would react.

Just on cue, the door opened slowly, her father peeking to see who might call at this hour. Night Light looked at Mès with alarm, the man smiling his biggest carnivorous smile. He was about to close the door and bolt the securities when he saw his daughter, small in comparison to the scary creature.

“Twilight!” He threw the door wide open and embraced his daughter. “You should have warned us, we would have thrown a party for your return! Velvet! Guess who it is?”

Mès stood by as Twilight was ushered inside, leaving him alone on the doorstep. He wondered if he should close the door and find a soft spot to wait, but the azure older unicorn called over his shoulder.

“Are you going to to just stand there? Come in, come in!” Night Light said happily.

The man shook his head, angry at himself. Canterlot was definitely messing with his head. For an instant he had forgotten he was no longer a slave in the Roman Empire, where branded were expected to wait for their master outside at social visits. The stone city made him uneasy, he could not wait to return to Ponyville. He realized with humor that he considered the tree library as his home, but it was not surprising: it was the first place he had ever felt welcome.

The house was as inviting on the inside than on the outside. Mès sniffed with satisfaction, looking everywhere: the corridor behind the entrance was lit by soft amber lamps, a couple of doors to each side, and he could also spy the foot of a staircase at its end. The parquet floor was spotted with soft rugs, photographs covering the flowered wallpaper. Mès tried to look at all of them, he still marveled at the pictures, even after Twilight had explained how they worked. Most seemed to represent the family; he could recognize Spike, Twilight and her father amongst the unicorns in the frames. One particular photo attracted his attention, and he had to call upon all of his self control not to ‘daaaaw’. The little purple filly was unbearably cute, asleep in her bed, clutching a strange doll.

A female voice made him jump. “Sweetie!” Mès looked around. Twilight and her father had entered a door ahead, he hurried to catch up to them, not wanting to be caught snooping around. He entered a brightly lit lounge, low long chairs surrounding small round tables. There was no sign of luxury anywhere, the furniture spartan but comfortable. Mès decided that he loved this house.

In the middle of the room Twilight was being hugged by a light grey unicorn, her mane striped purple and white. The older mare tilted her head when she saw him enter, and Mès decided to make an effort to be polite.

“Greetings, I am Mès of Alexandria.” He smiled, doing his best not to reveal his teeth. He knew they made ponies uncomfortable, and something about Velvet appealed to him. “If I may be so bold, you have a lovely home, I thank you for letting me intrude.” The words were not in his usual vocabulary, and he hoped he had used them well enough. He had heard Aurora speaking fancy many times after all.

“Why, hello.” Velvet eyed him critically, and Mès remembered that his toga was covered in crimson stains. No wonder Night Light had looked so frightened. The older mare looked from him to Twilight, before adding. “This is the first time Twilight has ever brought a male home, now I know why. She always was one for unusual tastes after all.” She released her daughter, taking a seat in one of the long chairs.

The lavender unicorn went redder than his toga, but Mès knew when someone was teasing him, courtesy of his life with Aurora. He decided to play her game. “I should say so, your daughter has a very open mind.” He followed Velvet with a smile, making himself comfortable next to the grey unicorn. As he had expected, the chairs were not overly soft, but rather firm and agreeable as he laid on his side. “She is not afraid of experimenting. Shall I tell you about the things she did to me in her basement?” Twilight stared at him, before leaping on top of the grinning man to silence him before he could say anymore. “See what I mean?” He added, laughing as the lavender unicorn tried covered his mouth.

“Traitor!” Twilight shot, trying not to laugh. Being home with her parents made her feel like a filly once more, this was the one place she could afford to be silly. “You promised to behave!” She started to jab him in the ribs playfully.

The doorbell rang, Night Light left to get it as Velvet chuckled at them. “Glad to see you are making friends, sweetie,” she said, beaming. She bursted laughing when Mès started to tickle Twilight into submission. “What about you Mès?” Velvet added, as her daughter giggled, Mès trapping her in his arms. “You seem to be very close with my dear daughter.”

Mès immobilized the unicorn with a bear hug, it felt good to let loose and have fun. “Well, I do live with her, so...”

“You WHAT?” A voice rang from the door leading to the corridor, and Mès glanced at the new comer. The white unicorn had a two toned blue mane, his body broader than the usual pony. Mès noticed that he was obviously muscled, his heavy chest huffing as he stared at the human holding his little sister in his arms.

Mès remembered him from the photographs, and a name came to him. “Hi,” he said politely, tightening his grasp as Twilight tried to escape. “You are Oiled Breastplate, right?”

The big unicorn seemed to swell with anger, and a small laugh came behind him. Spike made his way around the outraged stallion, cackling, but as he saw Twilight and Mès he gagged, looking away. “Not again!” The little dragon protested.

“AGAIN?!” Shining Armor shouted, ready to explode.

“Yeah, I can’t even begin to tell you all the gross things they were doing back in Ponyville.” Spike shook his head, trying to get the images out of his head. “I’m too young for this...”

“Shining, this isn’t what it looks like!” Twilight reflected that she had said that phrase more often in the last few days than in her whole life. She blushed even more as her father peaked curiously around her brother’s shoulders.

“Explain what’s going on then!” The captain of Celestia’s royal guard pawed at the ground, furious at the way Mès was smiling. The man was enjoying the situation way too much for his taste. “What going on between you two?”

“I’m curious too, actually.” Velvet exchanged a collusive glance with Mès, grinning all the way to her ears. “Are you two just friends or...”

The man winked at the grey mare, before ruffling Twilight’s mane. “C’mon Tali.” Shining Armor seemed to grow angrier as he heard the nickname. “Tell them the truth!”

Mane sticking out at random places, Twilight looked from Mès to her mother, hiding a smile behind a hoof, from Velvet to her brother, who seemed about to burst into flames, and from Shining Armor to the man holding her, wearing a satisfied expression. Panic impaired her usual quick mind, and no words came to her. She looked for help in her father, but Night Light seemed to be very interested in a speck on the ceiling, and Spike was looking accusingly at her. There was no escape.

She shuddered as Mès whispered in her ear, the warm breath tickling her. “Not very nice to be forced to reveal your feelings, is it.” The man squeezed her to him, she could feel his heartbeat on her back. “I like my vengeance served cold, with a nice glass of wine.” He murmured.

Mès’s words jolted her, outrage replacing panic. Her mind settled, and the calm analytical unicorn realized she had one way to exit the situation, and take Mès down a peg at the same time. She grabbed the arms surrounding her, preparing her spell. The man felt the power building, but it was too late for him to release the unicorn. Just before casting her spell, Twilight heard Mès whisper urgently. “Don’t you dare...” She grinned at the uneasiness in his voice, selected her destination and casted her spell. In a blinding flash of light, both unicorn and human disappeared, leaving a very startled family behind.

“Well, that was fun.” Velvet declared, very pleased. No one in the room shared her sentiment, but they were not about to contradict the mistress of the house.

---ΩΩΩ---

“This is all your fault...”

“My fault? You are the one who made the jump! I didn’t ask to be brought here!”

“I miscalculated, okay? It’s pretty hard to concentrate with you breathing down my neck.”

“I’m glad we didn’t end up inside a boulder at least. And we are not on fire, that’s a plus too.”

“This roof is pretty narrow though... I hope the wind doesn't pick up.”

“I could try to blink us to the ground.”

“And set my native city on fire? No, thank you. We’ll just have to wait for my magic to come back, I should be rested enough in just a bit. Then I’ll teleport us both back to my parent’s.”

“Or we’ll end up on the moon. Why don’t we ask for help?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, we are too high for anypony to hear us.”

“I could make some signals...”

“NO FIRE!”

Night settled over Canterlot, the peaceful silence disturbed as the two figures stranded on a tower argued loudly, bickering until the stars shone overhead. Their quarrel only stopped when they disappeared in a bright flash, leaving the city finally at peace.

Chapter 11 : Duty and Fidelity

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The sun was rising above Canterlot castle when an anxious looking white unicorn crossed the front gates, his purple and gold armor gleaming superbly. Shining Armor hesitated between walking calmly, as was expected of a pony in his position, or running wildly, as his frustration demanded. Morning had found him sleepless, nerves rubbed raw after such a nightmarish evening. He had been in high spirits as he returned from Spike’s favorite doughnut shop, even if his excursion had been a failure. He had invited the little dragon to a brotherly outing, hoping to get him to talk. Shining Armor knew Spike was hiding something; anytime he asked about Twilight’s well being the dragon changed the subject abruptly, never wanting to breach the matter. Many scenarios had played in his mind: maybe an experimentation gone bad, a dispute with one of her friends or, the most likely explanation, a book emergency. When his father had told him that his sister was home with a friend, he had cantered happily to the living room, but the things he heard behind the door almost made him slam head first into a wall. “Well, I do live with her, so...”

The unicorn had barged into the room, ready to confront the sleazeball of a stallion that dared to move in with his little sis without his approval. He had not been ready to find Twilight lying in the arms of a strange creature, the embrace much too close for his taste. The creature, as it turned out, was infuriating. He had to control himself not to charge him, if only to wipe his smug smile as he held his precious sister. If Twilight had not teleported them both, he may have done just that; he would never know for sure.

What he did know was that after her departure, his mother had declared that a proper supper was in order. She had sent Night Light to the kitchen, requested Spike to set the table for six in the dining room, and she had asked him to fetch a good vintage wine from their cave. He had not protested -- only a fool would contradict Velvet -- but her insistence on preparing a feast for Twilight’s friend made him grit his teeth. “When they come back, I want them to find the house ready to celebrate her return and her special friend,” she had decreed.

Shining armor had browsed through the wide family reserve and selected a very fine bottle. He wanted to give the creature named Mès the worst cheap wine they had, usually reserved for unwanted guests, but he knew better. Even if she would not drink it, Twilight could spot a bad wine just by looking at the coloration; it was one of her secret talents. She often compared the science behind bottling and aging wine to the act of magic casting. Personally Shining didn’t see the link, but his sister represented magic itself, so what did he know?

The table had been prepped and the food ready for some time before Twilight had reappeared in the same spot she had disappeared from, and at first she had been too distracted to see the whole family staring at her. She and Mès were locked in a fierce debate over the usefulness of offensive spells against defensive spells. They did not even break sentence as they reappeared, the man holding her hoof. To Shining’s great displeasure it seemed that the two of them got along very well, for he knew only good friends could yell at each other in such a manner without hating each other. And the way they joked when everyone sat down to eat made it clear they enjoyed the other’s company. Despite Twilight’s assurance that they were just friends, Shining Armor could not help but be suspicious about their ostensible fondness.

To his dismay, Mès engaged in very easy banter with Velvet, the man seeming to be comfortable with her abrasive personality. He even joked around with his father, and Spike seemed to already like him. From what the little dragon said, it seemed that Mès had changed drastically since he had last seen him, and the white unicorn felt his fur stick out as the man explained that he owed his change to Twilight.

During the meal, Velvet had remarked a strange tattoo on Mès’s right paw. The man had hesitated, then showed the emblem clearly. At first the unicorn family had been merely surprised to recognize Twilight’s cutie mark, and Velvet had even joked around asking if this was some sort of betrothal ritual in his species, but Twilight had been quick to explain. She had told the truth urgently, stammering as the gazes of her parents became shocked. After she had finished they had been too stunned to speak, Mès filling the void by explaining how the spell had been triggered, although he stayed quite unclear as to why he carried a curse for enslavement.

Now Shining knew what Spike’s secret had been, and the seriousness of the situation had dawned on him: Twilight was bound to Mès for life, the thought making his fur crawl. The meal had been awkward after that revelation, and even Velvet had been quiet. She had only spoken again when saying goodnight to Twilight. The older mare had assured her daughter that she was still proud of her, that she still loved her. She only needed some time to accept what had happened. Night Light didn’t speak at all; he just hugged his daughter fiercely before retreating upstairs, visibly shaken. Shining Armor knew how serious the Familiar Spell was, but, contrary to his parents, he was more worried about Mès than his sister’s crime.

That worry had increased dramatically as he got in touch with his subordinates earlier this morning, hearing the reports of Mès’s violent attack on three royal guards, the way he had overpowered them so easily. Shining Armor knew the three guards, knew they were well trained and very strong, but the man had knocked them out with a single surge of magic. The stallion was angry at his little sister for hiding these facts: the attack, the man’s magical capabilities, his apparent madness. The stallion resolved to go into a gallop to discharge his anger.

His powerful limbs brought him to the throne room quicker than he liked, but his frustration evaporated when he found his little sister waiting to the side of the massive golden door. She had a book in her telekinetic grasp, and she had not seen him yet. Her concentration was much too deep to hear his hooves. Shining wiped his head around, trying to locate the subject of his concerns, but Mès was nowhere to be seen. He could not be very far, but the stallion was glad to be free of the man for now. He approached the lavender unicorn, eying the book she was reading: The Night Guard: Historical Account of the Lost Order.

“Hi sis.” he called. Twilight looked up with a smile. She put her book down and moved in to give her brother a hug. “You are here to congratulate the new captain of the Night’s Watch?” He asked, pointing to the book cover.

“Well, sort of.” she answered, biting her lip. “Why did you come? The ceremony is private.”

“I am the captain of Celestia’s guards, I wish to pay my respect to the captain of Luna’s guards.” He explained. “It would be good to start with a good relationship, I don’t want to renew with the old rivalry between the two orders. I hope I can be friends with the other captain.”

“I hope that too.” Twilight whispered, looking at him sadly. “I don’t want you two to hate each other.”

“Do you know the new captain?” Shining asked, surprised. “Who is it? A mare or a stallion? Or is it a griffon? I heard princess Luna liked to choose very peculiar captains for her personal guard, even a minotaur once. I wonder if it’s true?”

“It is, he was one of the last captains before... her fall.” Twilight said, shuffling the pages in her book. “Apparently Luna always prefered a captain with a lot of ferocity. Her Guard was always more combat prone.”

“For all the good it did them.” Shining said darkly. “But that’s in the past. So tell me, who is this new captain? Do you know him from Ponyville?”

“Hmmm, not exactly.”

Something in her shifting gaze made Shining suspicious. “Then how...” Something occurred to him, but the thought was too crazy to be true. “No... It can’t be. Not him.”

Just as he uttered those words the great double door opened, and Mès stood before him, clad in the ceremonial armor of the Night’s Watch. The armor pieces had been refitted for his body, and he had to admit that he looked very imposing in his uniform. His body was covered in a thick shirt, the sleeves going almost to his elbows, his legs garbed in a legging full of utility pockets. The cloth was black as night, and Shining realized with a start that they were made of real leather, but he could not tell from which beast it came. His greaves were made of the same material, polished and slick.

On top of his leather garments the armor of the Night’s Watch shone, deep blue with silver edges. Mès had two armored shoulder pads, a light helmet that covered only the sides of his face, bracers protected his forearms, his shins covered in the same way. The final piece of his armor was a short breastplate, covering only his chest. The design seemed to follow his rib cage. The light reflected on his uniform, catching Luna’s cutie mark on his plastron. As the pieces of armor sparkled as the night sky, the white unicorn realized what they were made of: dragon scale.

“You dare...” Shining Armor spluttered, unable to contain his shock. “The material you are wearing is highly illegal...”

“I am the one who made his clothes, are you going to arrest us?” Luna asked, appearing behind Mès. She was looking very satisfied with herself. The little princess grinned at Celestia’s captain. “Don’t fret, my young champion of the sun! I only used the leftover stock from my old personal armory. My sister warned me that real leather and dragon skin is considered contraband in Equestria now, this was the occasion to get rid of what little I had left.” She circled around Mès, eyeing her work. “As a result, the armor is quite light, but it seems that my new captain prefers it that way.” She looked up at Mès, tilting her head. “Are you sure you don’t want to put on your cape?”

“No, I look ridiculous with it.” Mès responded, adjusting his bracers. He saw Luna frowning at him and added quickly. “But I will wear it whenever I am on royal duty, my princess. I just don’t like the idea of looking like a centurion too much.”

“Very well.” Luna levitated a black piece of fabric rolled into a bundle, and Shining armor recognized a dark pelt. He didn’t want to know what animal it came from. “I am sure you will find use for it: winter is coming. You’ll find some spare shirts and leggings in this pack.”

Shining knew that in Luna’s time, the trade of these materials was permitted, if not commonplace. He could not blame the little princess, even if the idea of wearing dead skin disgusted him. Instead he focused on Mès, standing as tall as he could but still not able to be level with his eyes. “Don’t think that this honorary position changes anything!” he said, trying to stay calm and failing. “You attacked my subordinates, I won’t forget that.”

Mès was taken aback by the comment, he had not given this white stallion much attention the previous day, but now he saw the dislike in his eyes. That glare stirred something dark inside him, and a voice started whispering in his ears. Before he knew it he heard himself respond with anger. “So you are responsible for those fools? It must take a very special kind of incompetence, to train your men so badly.” He tried to stop himself, but the voice had taken control.

Shining Armor snorted steam and advanced on the human. “Don’t insult them!” he warned. Mès didn’t back down, instead he took a step forward, smiling.

Twilight jumped between them, trying to bring peace between them. “Please stop! You don’t have to do this! Mès, you told wanted to be friends with my brother, remember? Shining, what happened to your wish for peace between the orders?” Her words seemed not to reach them.

“I didn’t even have to break a sweat to bring them down.” Mès hissed nastily. With a start Twilight recognised the hateful tone Mès had used in the prison, when he was still consumed by anger.

“Wearin the fallen princess’s colors won’t protect you,” Shining Armor replied, anger blinding him.

“That is quite enough,” Luna said sternly. She was looking from Mès to Shining Armor sadly, thinking that once again history repeated itself. She had hoped that having Twilight as a link would bridge the gap between the two orders. She could feel the white unicorn’s emotions quite clearly, and knew that he was beyond reason at that point. She was aware of his sentiment of betrayal, his fear for his sister, his distrust for Mès — and his burning jealousy. “Mès has already paid for his crimes by swearing loyalty to Equestria. He is under my command, questioning his colors is insulting your princess...”

“You are not my princess,” Shining Armor interrupted abruptly the little alicorn. As soon as the words had crossed his lips he regretted them. Luna had nothing to do with his quarrel with Mès, and he owed her his respect. He felt ashamed for his conduct, but before he could apologize he was hit by a wave of power, making him stagger backwards. He looked at the source of the magical outburst.

Mès’s eyes were lit with green energy, his nasty smile gone, replaced by a frightful grimace of rage. A terrible sound came from his fanged mouth, it sounded like an incantation in an unknown language mixed with a snarl. Shining Armor prepared to fight for his life, but Twilight called the man’s name, her voice tight with anguish. He seemed to hear her, and blinked with confusion. Slowly, his expression softened, turning into a mere scowl. He took a shaky breath before addressing the stallion. “I don’t want to hurt Twilight’s brother, but you are making it very hard for me.” He spoke slowly, each words seemed to pain him. He shot a glance at the lavender unicorn in front of him. “I am not totally in control Tali...” His face twitched, the wicked expression appearing for an instant.

Shining Armor righted himself, looking at the shaking man with alarm. “You really are unstable,” he whispered, before addressing his sister. “How can you hope that I would be his friend? He puts your life in danger just by being near you! You have to use your orders on him.”

“I won’t,” Twilight answered. To her brother’s dismay, she inched closer to the man, Mès’s body radiating power now. She grabbed his hand and brought it slowly to her mane. His hand spasmed, before relaxing and brushing her head gently.

Little by little his power leaked out, his eyes losing their brightness. Shining Armor looked on astonished as Mès’s fury was extinguished, the contact with Twilight bringing his sanity back. The stallion heard movement to his side, and he discovered that Luna was beside him, looking at the display.

“You need not worry, I was ready to intervene anytime. Mès’s powers are nothing compared to mine.” She smiled when Mès lost strength in his legs, Twilight having to support him to prevent his fall. “Not that I needed to. Trust your sister, Sir Armor, she knows what she is doing.”

“Your majesty, please forgive my words, I spoke without thinking.” Shining Armor saw the nod from the little princess, but he felt she would not forget what he had said. “I was just sick with fear for my sister your grace, you have to agree that Mès is dangerous...”

“I would never hurt her.” Mès interjected, his legs still uncertain, his hand resting on Twilight’s head.

“You already did.” Shining contradicted, speaking in a measured tone. “My subordinates told me she had to be healed when they arrested you.”

“I regret that, but a cut lip is not what I would call a serious injury.” The man stood upright, his face grim.

“How can you say that?” the stallion asked, unbelieving. “She was bleeding, they told me so!”

“I forgot I was in a world where pricking your skin with a needle is considered like the worst thing ever.” Mès joked, there was contempt in his voice.

“I won’t let you make light of her wound!”

“You don’t know anything about real pain.”

“And you don’t know how a brother feels for his sister!” Shining Armor barked, voice shaking with restrained anger. “You don’t know how it feels to be helpless, to see your family under threat, and being unable to do anything about it.”

Mès expression became dark, and there was sadness in his voice as he spoke. “You are wrong. I know that sensation very well.” His eyes became haunted as he went on. “When I was little I had a sister, she was older than me, she raised me when we were separated from our parents.” He declared, his voice low and rumbling.

“Why were you separated from your parents?” Shining Armor asked, intrigued despite his dislike for the man.

“In my world, people like me are treated like livestock. My parents were bought right after my birth, their master was not interested in their offspring. We were left behind.” His casual tone was more disturbing than his words. “My sister was proud, her spirit hard to break. She protected me, fed me, tried to teach me how to control my powers once they appeared. She was the only thing I had, and I loved her more than my life. She did not accept to be treated like a slave, and on my seventh birthday she struck an imperial for touching her body. Do you know what happens to unruly cattle in my world?” He asked, his eyes clouded.

Shining Armor gulped hard. “Was she punished?”

The man stared hard at the stallion, the weight of his memories crushing him. “She was left to die, chained on top of a roof top. They made me watch day after day, as the sun burned her skin, the heat made her delirious.” Mès tried to ignore Twilight’s gasp. He had to gulp down hard to continue talking. “On the last day she cried out to me, her voice broken by thirst, and all I could do is curse the sun that was roasting her alive. I begged, ‘Please don’t hurt her, please don’t hurt her...’, but no sun god ever heard my pleas. After that I was completely broken, I became the most peaceful slave there was, completely docile.” Mès seemed disgusted by his old self. “Don’t try to give me lessons on fearing for your sister’s life. You are the one who doesn’t know what it feels like to lose her.” His voice broke, and the mask of casualness he had tried to maintain began to crack, showing his distress.

“Oh Mès...” Twilight approached the man and nuzzled his tights. He understood the message and knelt, accepting her hug.

He hid his face in her mane, so Shining Armor could not tell if he had shed tears as they stayed together, Twilight rubbing his back.

“So this is why you won’t let Celestia get close to your friends without gritting your teeth?” Luna asked after giving the man time to collect himself. “You are afraid she will hurt those you care for?”

Mès straightened, looking ashamed by his display of weakness. “In part, yes. After what happened to my sister, I could not help but become overprotective of the things I love. I had nothing until I met my beloved, and now I am fearful. I know Celestia doesn’t deserve my grudge...”

“But some scars run deeper than reason.” Luna completed wisely.

He gave her a small crooked smile, before turning to Shining Armor. The stallion didn’t know what to say after this revelation, but he was cut short as Mès took several quick paces towards him, stopping at arms length. “You have my word, I will never hurt Twilight in any way.” He said seriously, holding the unicorn’s gaze. “I hope you can forgive me for what I have done.” Mès held out his hand, wondering if the stallion would take it.

Shining Armor was conflicted. He still thought that he was a danger to his sister’s life, but he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, if only to spare Twilight a constant feud between her brother and her special somepony. The stallion’s suspicions had been confirmed as Mès had just called her his beloved, or at least that’s what he had heard. “I will hold you to your word.” He announced, shaking his hand with a firm hoof. “And If you do hurt my sister, I will hunt you down and wear your skin on my back,” he added, half joking.

Mès laughed out loud, slapping Shining Armor’s shoulder with his other hand. “I like you, you can stay.” He declared with a toothy crooked grin. “But I hope you can fight better than your pegasi, I am a nasty beast to slay.”

“I am captain of Celestia’s royal guard, I would bring you down in a flash.” Mès’s rough attitude and cockyness reminded the unicorn of the way guards talked between themselves, he was comfortable with this type of banter.

“Big talk coming from a guy who almost falls just from me powering up.”

“Do you want to talk about your feelings once more? Maybe you need another shoulder to cry on?”

“Be careful, I could tell your mother about this. She could send you to your room.”

“You’ll be hard pressed to talk at all, with all of your teeth knocked out.”

“I see you have a saddle in your uniform, does that mean I can ride you? Your sister was happy enough to let me...”

“You son of a...!”

Luna rolled her eyes as the two males began to exchange increasingly vulgar insults. She trotted next to Twilight and spoke in a hushed tone. “Your sentencing will take place this afternoon, and I must warn you: once the trial begins, I will be obliged by tradition to see you as any other criminal. You won’t find any mercy in me if you are found guilty.” The unicorn gulped, but the princess’s gaze was kind as she continued. “For now the courtroom will resume its usual schedule. I would go upstairs if I were you, this place will be filled with ponies bringing their supplications to Celestia in no time.”

Twilight nodded, then looked at her brother and her friend. One was gesticulating and the other rearing in the air. “Will they be okay?”

“Have no fear, if there is one thing that hasn’t changed in all these years, it’s the way males will jump at each other throat one minute, before sharing a drink in the other. Especially those in the military.” She yawned, her tiny eyes filling with tears. “Now please excuse me, but I must go to sleep. I spent the afternoon, night and morning smithing Mès’s armor; I am exhausted. Good day, Twilight Sparkle.”

---ΩΩΩ---

Aurora sneezed, holding the book on top of her head to protect it from being sullied. Celestia’s personal library was not used by many, and, despite regular cleaning, some books were full of dust, the particles making her nose itch. The princess had left the merchant to deal with her royal duties for the day, but Aurora didn’t mind. As far as she was concerned she was in heaven.

No matter where she rolled her wheelchair, she would find a bookshelf; she could only imagine how many books were contained in the secluded room. She had first moved around the chamber, mapping the area with her touch. Every so often she would pass her hand on the spine of a book or two, just to have an idea of the way the library was organized. This way she knew roughly what each section contained, all thanks to Celestia’s invention. She had spent the previous afternoon training with the alicorn, trying on the magical glove the princess had made for her. Aurora’s eyes were irremediably lost, Celestia speaking of damaged nerves and destroyed synapses. The woman knew nothing about such things, so the first book she had tried to read was a tome on Equestrian medicine.

The glove was made to circumvent her insensitivity to magic: every time she brushed her gloved hand on a page, she could feel the words on her finger tips, the glove’s internal structure changing with each line. The letters were translated in a code made out of bumps, their disposition corresponding to letters in the alphabet. Some letters she didn’t know, as it seemed that Equestrian alphabet was composed of 26 letters, contrary to the one she knew that only had 23. She had discussed at length with the alicorn on the subject of their common tongue, Aurora insisting that they were speaking Latin and Celestia saying that it was Equestrian. Aurora didn’t like to leave such an amazing mystery unexplained, but the more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. At some point Celestia had told her with alarm that her nose had started bleeding. After that incident they had dropped the subject, the similarities and discrepancies between the two different worlds’ idioms confusing and inexplicable.

She had learned to associate the bumps to the right letters very quickly, the new letters only giving her some minor problems. Even now she still thought that ‘J’, ‘W’ and ‘U’ were strange superfluous letters, but at least she could understand the words. It was strangely relaxing to be able to read in complete darkness, the words forming images in her mind each time she read something interesting, it was like there was nothing in the world but her and the book she was reading.

There were enough bookcases for her not to worry about running out of books to read, even if she could only get to the lower shelves, but she still felt lonely after some time. She knew that a couple of unicorn guards were posted outside of the library, ready to help her get anywhere she needed, but the thing she wanted they could not provide. She wished Mès was here with her. As if answering her prayer, she heard the library door open, the voice of her husband echoing in the vast chamber.

“I’m telling you, having fingers is much more practical than your magic,” the man said, his stubborn voice making Aurora’s heart soar with happiness.

“My magic can make anything happen,” a voice responded. It was male; the merchant had not heard it before. “You rely too much on your hands, and your magical capabilities suffer from it.”

“I have to agree,” a third voice said. Aurora grumbled. Twilight, of course.

The unicorn was always with her husband. The woman knew that they could not be separated because of a spell, but still her constant proximity was grating. The worst thing was that she truly appreciated the mare: she knew Twilight was smart and kind. The few times she had spoken to the unicorn Aurora had felt attracted to her cleverness, in other circumstances the merchant would have loved nothing more than to befriend the unicorn. Celestia’s stories about her student had cemented that opinion. She truly liked Twilight. But knowing that Mès liked her too made her stomach twist with jealousy. She knew she was often overly possessive, so she had done her best not to appear too aggressive with the unicorn.

She had been hard pressed to obey her resolution the previous night; she had been informed that Mès and Twilight had to share a room, almost a bed, because of the damned spell. Nonetheless she had smiled, assuring the unicorn that her repeated apologies were not necessary. She trusted her husband; she would endure the thought of sleeping less than two feet away from another female, their beds only separated by a shallow divide. During the night she had been awakened by a sharp pain in her stomach, and she had discovered that Mès was gone. She had found the mattress they shared empty and heard his light snoring coming from Twilight’s cot. Her husband had rolled towards the unicorn, choosing her warmth over his wife’s. Aurora had tried not to roar too loudly, but Twilight had been terrified nonetheless.

“From what you told me you can’t even use levitation spells easily,” the unicorn went on. “You have a lot of power, but you lack focus. The spells you can use are only centered around weaving energy around objects, giving them a tougher structural integrity, flinging them or setting them on fire. If you want I can teach you to control your powers, I’m sure you can be a very respectable magician after we are done. You could be my personal student!”

Aurora had heard enough. She emerged from the aisle she was hiding in, rolling towards the three of them. She heard Twilight squeak and the unknown stallion take a sharp breath, no doubt surprised by her appearance. No matter how much her husband told her she was still beautiful, Aurora knew her skin was dreadfully scarred. She could feel the uneasiness of every pony that came close to her, expect Celestia. It hurt her more than she liked to admit.

“There you are, Aurora,” Mès called. He walked towards her, and Aurora realized he sounded different.

“Are you wearing shoes?” she asked. His steps were sharp, maybe he was wearing sandals? “Come here, let me see what Luna’s armor looks like!” She was surprised not to hear the clinking of metal, as armors were usually noisy. Mès bent over to give her a kiss, then stood before her, ready to be scrutinized. Aurora’s hands ran along his body, finding the tunic covering his torso and the trousers on his legs, made from the same leather. It felt supple and strong, comfortable but resistant. His feet were clad with hardened leather, the toe caps solid as rock. She marveled at the touch of his armor pieces; they were light but felt hard as iron, smooth and warm. It was no metal. “What is this material?” She asked, gently caressing Mès’s breastplate.

“Dunno, but apparently it’s illegal,” Mès responded with humor. “Hey Shiny, what is this armor made of?”

“Dragon scale,” the unknown voice answered, sounding uneasy. She heard his heavy hoofsteps coming closer. He sounded huge. “My name is Shining Armor, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, lady Aurora.”

The merchant tilted her head curiously. “‘Lady’? No one ever called me lady. Mès, you might want to take lessons in gallantry from this fine stallion. Twilight’s dream of becoming a teacher can wait.”

“Why not both?” Mès joked, knowing that his wife would tease the unicorn endlessly if Aurora had her way.

“Mès, I’m sorry to ask, but I thought your sister had died from her burns?” Shining Armor questioned, sounding confused.

“You told them about your sister?” Aurora was astonished. It had taken her a lot of patience for Mès to open up about his past.

“I didn’t tell them everything,” the man mumbled. He cleared his throat and addressed the stallion. “Shiny...”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Nope. As I was saying. Shiny, this is my wife, she was injured in the trip that brought us to Equestria.”

“Wife? But... then...” Shining Armor stammered.

Aurora heard his hooves shuffling, like he had turned away. She heard Twilight mumble incoherently, and the merchant guessed that the stallion was probably staring at the young female unicorn.

“It seems you had the wrong idea about Mès and Twilight,” Aurora said nicely, hiding her resentment.

“Apparently so,” the stallion said uncertainly. “They seemed so close that I assumed...”

“Yes, Mès can be very expressive with his affections,” the woman interrupted with a smile, while screaming curses in her mind. She decided that she needed to make things clear with the unicorn. “Mès, why don’t you stay here with Shining Armor, I want to show something to my dear friend Twilight,” she said sweetly, her tone excluding any refusal. She pushed her wheelchair towards the heart of the library, where she had found a private study that would be perfect to hold a personal discussion with the unicorn. As she advanced in the row of shelves, she heard the canter of hooves announcing that Twilight was following her, alone.

They trotted and rolled in silence, until they got to the study. Aurora gestured for Twilight to enter, and she closed the door behind her as she followed the unicorn. The woman could feel that she was tense, maybe afraid, so she decided to stay calm. She didn’t want to spook the young mare any more than was necessary.

“So,” she began, reclining against her chair. “This Shining Armor, he seems to know you very well.”

“He is my brother,” Twilight said with a small voice. She still had some trepidation when looking at Aurora’s ruined body, and the woman was intimidating.

“Oh, now I understand,” the merchant said, snapping her fingers. “He and Mès met yesterday, when you went to your parent’s house, am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.” Aurora nodded, feigning deep reflection. “Very interesting.”

“What is it?” Twilight could not help but ask, she was unnerved by the merchant’s calm demeanor.

“It’s interesting that you and Mès would spend an evening with Shining Armor, but never mention me at all.” Her voice grew cold, her frustration seeping out. “And now it seems that your brother had the crazy idea that you and my husband were together. I wonder how he got that impression.”

Twilight steeled herself. “I didn’t do anything with your husband, if that’s what you are implying.” She found courage in her innocence. “He is my friend, and nothing else. Shining Armor would not have thought otherwise if Mès had not decided to tease me in front of my family. You have nothing to worry about.”

“But I do, I really do.” Aurora advanced slowly, cornering Twilight as she spoke. “You don’t understand. If you were only trying to seduce him, I would have nothing to fear, I trust my husband. But what I do fear is the way he acts around you; I have no problems believing you when you tell me that you were not the one to act out of bounds yesterday. I know that Mès will often show his affections at the least opportune moments.” The woman had backed the unicorn against a wall, she stopped in front of her and brought her hands to Twilight’s face, caressing her cheeks. “Don’t you see? I’m not afraid that you are trying to seduce him. I’m afraid because you already succeeded.” She strained to keep the anguish from her words, but her voice still broke when she confessed her fears. “I… I was so sure that Mès could never love another while he had me.”

Aurora knew she was being petty and selfish, but in the end, Mès was the only treasure she had left. She had chosen him over all the wealth she had accumulated over the years. She had abandoned her life as a traveling merchant, sold all of her books and liquidated her merchandise stocks to try and start a secret life with him. She had never regretted her investment, until now. Now she was afraid because of this small unicorn she held in her hands; she was afraid that she did not know her husband as well as she thought. She shuddered, and Twilight must have felt it, as the mare got closer and nuzzled her scarred face. For the first time she had initiated contact with Aurora, and the merchant felt instantly calmer.

Aurora sighed and embraced the unicorn. “You are the first pony to willingly touch my face. My injuries scare you, don’t they?”

“Not anymore,” Twilight said in her ear. Aurora let go of her but kept one hand on the side of her face. “I should have told you everything as soon as I met you, but I was afraid.”

“Understandable, after what I did to Mès. And the way I attacked you.”

“I have to ask,” the unicorn said with a touch of humor. “Would you have really stabbed me?”

“If you were any other female, messing around with my husband, then yes,” Aurora chuckled. “But Mès chose to protect you, I would not risk losing his love for this. He obviously likes you a lot, now I just want to understand how much, and how you managed to gain his affections so quickly.” She smiled and ruffled Twilight’s mane. “And I swear I won’t get angry at you.”

“What about Mès?” the unicorn asked, giggling.

“I’ll deal with him depending on what you tell me.” Aurora mimicked the act of crushing something in her fist, and they both shared a relaxed laughter.

In the next moments Twilight explained how Mès had lost his memories, how he didn’t remember his life with Aurora, how he had grown closer to the unicorn in the same way he had attached himself to the woman years before. They talked about the way he acted, and Aurora remembered with nostalgia the way he was before all the killing started. For the first time the woman and the unicorn spoke like friends, sharing their experiences with the shy peaceful slave that had been Mès, a boy they had both lost to the hardened man he was now. They laughed and mourned, and before long they were both comfortable with each other’s company, enough to speak of their hidden feelings. Merchant and librarian decided to call a truce, with Mès hanging on the balance.

“Thank you for telling me all this, Twilight,” Aurora murmured, holding a hand on the unicorns shoulder. They were facing the only window in the study; she could feel the sunlight on her gown. Morning was coming to an end. “I know it was not easy for you, losing the man you knew, seeing the monster he became.”

“You experienced it too.” Twilight responded earnestly.

“I had months to get used to his increasing violent temper; you on the other hand got blindsided by his transformation. Quite literally.”

“It was scary,” she admitted. “But now he’s himself again.”

“I don’t really know what ‘himself’ means. I’m not even sure even Mès know it. He’s changed so much in such a small amount of time...”

“He is still Mès, and he has us.” She sighed, she knew what she had to do to bring peace between her and the merchant. “I won’t let my feelings for him bring discord into your couple. I will let him go.” She had not read many books on romance, but one theme was generally accepted: time healed these types of wounds. She hoped that was true, as her decision seemed to pierce her heart. “If anything happens, we’ll always be there to help him. You as his wife, and me as a friend.” Twilight said resolutely.

“Always... that could be a problem.” Aurora whispered, almost more to herself than to Twilight.

Before the unicorn could ask what the merchant meant, the door shook. Mès’s voice rang behind it.

“Hey, are you alright in there? It’s been two hours.” He listened to the stunned silence. “Twilight, squeak three times if you are held hostage!”

Aurora chuckled and withdrew her hand from Twilight’s shoulder. “Stop being silly, I could never hurt my dear friend.” She said, meaning every word.

Mès caught on to her tone, and the man’s voice became preoccupied. “Okay, now I’m really worried...”

“What’s going on?” Shining’s voice joined him, muffled by the door.

“I think my wife might have killed your sister,” Mès declared seriously.

“WHAT!”

“Yeah. You should have seen what she did to that one girl who grabbed my ass once. There was blood everywhe...”

The door burst open with a wood splintering ‘bang’, and Aurora guessed that Shining Armor had rammed the door down. She heard Twilight's cry out, outraged by the damage.

“This is Celestia’s private library!” the unicorn hissed.

“Twily, you’re okay!”

“Twily? Are you copying my nickname?” Mès asked, sounding a little mad. “It’s Tali. Ta-li.”

“That sounds stupid. Twily is better.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Twilight asked tiredly.

“NO.” Both stallion and man responded at the same time, before arguing once more.

Aurora bursted laughing, patting the unicorn’s head. “Seems like you lose this one, but you will get your chance another time.” She meant more than Twilight could guess, but for now Aurora was content in sharing everyone’s good humor. Her eventual demise could wait.

She did not even mind when Mès loaded Twilight on her lap and pushed her wheelchair at top speed, yelling that Shining Armor had gone mental and was destroying the library. The woman didn’t know if the guards standing at the door believed him, but the stallion didn’t catch up to them, to Mès’s great delight. They kept running, Twilight hugging Aurora tightly, begging Mès to slow down. Both humans laughed together, wreaking havoc in the corridors of the castle.

---ΩΩΩ---

Hours later, Twilight shuffled uneasily, awaiting her sentencing. The day had gone faster than she thought was theoretically possible. First she had endured an endless cavalcade of doom. Mès had pushed her and Aurora around the castle until a squad of royal guards had chased them down, led by a furious Shining Armor. History would remember that the first captain of the Night’s Watch after Luna’s return had spent his first day in active duty destroying half of the castle's decorations, ruining the rugs, breaking vases and running over unsuspecting royal guards. Really, in comparison to the previous Night’s Watch captains, Mès seemed almost tame.

She then had brought Aurora to meet her parents for lunch, and the way the woman and her mother instantly became best friends should have been a reason to celebrate.... if you forgot about the fact that together, the two female formed the most fearsome duo of wicked tricksters Equestria had ever seen. Night Light, Mès and Shining Armor would remember that meal for the rest of their life. ‘I’ve never felt so emasculated.’ Mès had commented afterwards. At least her parents had been as inviting as ever, their uneasiness about the familiar spell forgotten. Even Shining Armor seemed more accepting of her human friend. It had been a fun morning, and the time had flown by.

She and the man were now waiting before the great double doors of the throne room, the usual lines of ponies dispersed for the solemn occasion. Twilight had insisted in receiving her judgment in the most official way possible, so a full tribunal had been called. The thought made her stomach twist with fear. The type of trial she had asked for was ancient, and the accused had no right to a lawyer like modern tribunals. The judges would examine all sides to the story, deliberate then decide on a sentence once a consensus was reached. This type of tribunal was perfect since she wanted to serve as an example, but it was also known for being less forgiving than popular juries. The Royal Tribunal had not been gathered for centuries, and it had exiled the last pony to be judged. Once again she resumed pacing around.

“Will you stop that?” Mès shot at her, annoyed. He was sitting, leaning against the far wall in the corridor. The black cape on his back was thick enough to be comfortable.

“I can’t help it.” she said, panicking. “What’s taking them so long?”

“Princess Luna and Celestia are debating your punishment, and since you wanted the full jury, all the matriarchs in your government are going to participate.” Mès sniffed unhappily. He still felt weird about the fact that the equivalent of a consul in this world was female. In the Empire, consuls were clever men who spoke directly to the Caesar, influenced all his decisions and were the second most powerful men in the world. Equestria had matriarchs instead: old mares reputed for being the wisest of all. They advised the princesses for the rest of their lives.

“What if they choose to banish me?” Twilight whispered, revolving around the corridor.

“Princess Luna won’t let them do that,” Mès answered with confidence.

“What if they want to lock me up forever?” she said, her pacing bringing her closer to the man.

“Celestia already broke you out once, she could do it again,” he joked, trying to calm her down.

“But what if...”

Mès suddenly leaped on top of her as she paced in front of him, his cloak flapping wildly. She squeaked in surprise but he was too quick for her to avoid. The man dragged her towards his resting spot like a trapdoor spider bringing its prey to its lair. He snared his arms around her chest and sat cross legged, placing the unicorn between his thighs.

“There.” he said in her ear. The armor was warm against her back; she wished she could feel his calm heartbeat like before. “You stay put and try to calm down. If you even think about moving I’ll bite your neck.”

Twilight shuddered at the thought, but she started to relax. The armor didn’t have any sharp edges, so she was nestled snugly in his arms. Soon enough Mès’s calm breathing lulled her into a sense of serenity. They stayed in a comfortable silence, the man cradling her like a foal. She was even about to nod off when the double doors opened, a fully armored Shining Armor stepping out to call them in. He stared at them without a word, and only signaled for them to enter. Fear gripping her throat, Twilight disengaged herself from her cozy resting place. Mès followed her as he readjusted his dark cape. They crossed the great doors together.

It was like stepping into a furnace. The red curtains had been drawn down, giving the room a fiery aura that made her shiver. She could feel the eyes of the dozens of old mares piercing her as she passed in front of them. The matriarchs were seated in rows of soft benches, their frail bodies a contrast with their intense gazes. Their ancient wrinkled faces reflected mostly curiosity, some were sad and a few were openly hostile. Twilight tried not to look at them, instead she stared ahead. At the end of the throne room sat Celestia and Luna, side by side in great chairs of white marble for one and black obsidian for the other. The thrones were elevated on a platform, the marble steps leading to the princesses covered in a red carpet. Twilight trotted uncertainly towards the two alicorns, their faces were unreadable. Her legs felt heavy and sluggish. She was glad Shining Armor and Mès were not at her sides, and she drew strength from their proximity. That was one of the perks for choosing the Royal Tribunal: the sentence was always carried out by the captains from the two orders of royal guard.

Finally the three of them reached the steps leading to the thrones, and Twilight sat down on the carpet, keeping her head high to look at the princesses. Mès and Shining Armor stood at attention just behind her. She was ready to receive her judgment.

A feverish tension descended upon the assembly. The matriarchs seemed to be holding their breaths, and by an unseen signal the two alicorns stood up, their wings flaring out in perfect synchronization.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna began, her voice grave and powerful despite her little body. “You have been brought before this tribunal to answer for your crimes.”

“You stand accused of using the Familiar Spell...” Celestia continued, her voice softer than her sister’s, “and hiding your deeds, which resulted in the injury of three royal guards.”

Twilight heard Mès shifting behind her, no doubt about to protest that it wasn’t her fault, but an imperial stare from Luna shut him up. “After careful deliberation, it is the judgment of this tribunal that you are guilty of all crimes and must face the consequences for your acts.”

“Do you have anything to say before we announce your sentence?” Celestia asked gently.

“No.” Twilight answered simply. She was ready. She wanted to be done with it.

“It is the decision of this assembly that the punishment for using the Familiar Spell must teach unicorns to be mindful of their misuse of magic,” the night princess explained. She stared coldly at the lavender mare.

“We cannot risk anypony to think that the use of this spell will be tolerated,” the princess of the day added.

“To this effect, we decree that the sentence will be most severe: the offending unicorn’s magic will be taken away, the criminal will be stripped of any powers.” Luna’s voice filled Twilight with ice. Her heart stopped beating. “The sentenced with be forbidden to use magic. Forever.”

A hole seemed to open under her hooves, and Twilight was falling, falling, falling to depths unknown. Magic was everything to her, what would she do without it? The throne room dissolved, darkness filling her vision. From the deep pits of despair, she barely heard Celestia talking.

“But in this case you used the spell unknowingly; we have proof that your familiar carried a curse that triggered the spell.” Twilight stared at her mentor, not daring to hope. The white alicorn gave her a motherly smile. “Furthermore, Equestria owes you a great debt for what you did for my sister. For these reasons we have agreed to grant you leniency.”

“Regardless, you will have to carry a magic nullifying ring for a short period of time,” Luna interjected gravely. “You will have to learn to depend on your friends until your magic is released.”

“Know that we wished we could absolve you completely...” Celestia began sadly.

“But we cannot let you go unpunished, that would not be fair,” Luna completed darkly. Her horn lit up, and she levitated a small box from her side. She set the case before Twilight, and commanded imperiously to the two captains. “Sirs, you know your duty.”

Shining Armor and Mès advanced. The stallion levitated the lid open, the golden ring inside sparkling with energy. He hesitated, took a feeble step forward, but then hung his head. Even for a limited time, removing a unicorn’s magic was a terrible thing to do, and he could not bring himself to subject his own sister to this fate. Twilight looked at Mès. The man was gazing at Shining’s lack of resolve with disgust. He took several deliberate steps towards the box, grabbed the ring with a quick jab and turned towards the unicorn he cared-for so much, his face grim and determined. The man would not allow her ordeal to last any longer. Luna stared at her captain’s back with pride, and in that instant Twilight understood why the princess of the night had always chosen ferocious champions for her guard. Even in times of peace you needed someone to carry the burden of executing a sentence, and most ponies, if not all, were too soft hearted for such a task. Especially when you considered that in her time, Luna had dispensed far more severe punishments.

Mès stood in front of Twilight, looking fearsome with his dark armor. He held the ring out in his palm, the gold contrasting with his brand. They locked eyes, and in their gazes they shared all their emotions; there was nothing that needed to be said. Twilight inclined her head towards the man, presenting her horn. He could not have been gentler as he put the ring on her, the golden metal shining brightly as soon as it reached the base of her horn. The magic nullifying spell was triggered instantly, Twilight’s powers locked away.

She gasped as a great part of herself vanished. It felt like she a limb had been torn away, and even if it didn’t hurt the loss terrified her. Without magic, she felt naked and vulnerable, even her physical strength seemed impaired. She shivered, the shock making her eyes start to tear up. Her legs started to shake, and she realized she was about to lose consciousness. The ring had taken too much out of her. Before she could break down entirely Mès knelt before her and grabbed her shoulders bracingly. She could see the concern in his eyes as he leaned towards her, and in the next moment he began to hug her.

Then, it happened.

She did not know how, she could not explain why, and she didn’t care. Without warning, Mès’s lips found hers, the kiss surprising them both. Maybe he was aiming for her cheek but had missed, maybe Twilight’s exhausted body had jerked at the most inopportune moment, maybe there had been an earthquake and she had not felt it. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the fact that Mès did not take his lips away, but rather pressed further after a few seconds of shock. Twilight had neither the strength, nor the will to push him away. The last thing she remembered before she fainted was thinking about Aurora, and the pang of guilt sent her over the edge.

Branded by Friendship

by redstone

Chapter 1 : Awakening

Chapter 2 : Aurora

Chapter 3 : Landing

Chapter 4 : Mès

Chapter 5 : Prime Directive

Chapter 6 : Welcome

Chapter 7 : Hunted Pegasus

Chapter 8 : Storm and Memories

Chapter 9 : Reunions

Chapter 10 : A Woman's Wrath

Chapter 11 : Duty and Fidelity