12/31/1580 ~ The mountains of the Crystal Empire

A strong gust of wind blows some snow into a cave, where it promptly melts at the hooves of a cloaked pony. Poking out of the cloak is a black tail and a pair of bat wings.

“1580. A lot has changed in that period,” The pony says gruffly. “Some would argue that too much has changed.”

Over the 1560 year period, Equestria and the Crystal Empire has gone through several kings and a few princesses. Celestia has had the task of raising and lowering the sun for several centuries, and the stress behind that caused her to pass some undesired laws. Naturally, this caused a chunk of the population to leave the country. They were received well with the crystal ponies that lived in the Crystal Empire.

The pony recalls a rather distressing period of time where a rogue family of unicorns were steadily raising dead ponies back to life and used them to make attacks against Canterlot. The pony also seen whole civilizations rise and fall. One such civilization resonated well with him. A shadowy ball appears on his hoof, and he throws it outside where it fades away. Shadow magic wasn't as controversial as its darker counterpart. The common pony understood how illegal dark magic was, but they never understood the grey areas revolving around shadow magic. The pony also understood that other ponies feared chaos magic as well. Discord did not help the fear one bit. He wagers that the civilization he liked also didn't help with the general population’s understanding of shadow magic.

When the pony takes a look around the cave, his eyes fall onto a lone light blue egg just sitting on the cave floor. The egg is around a foot tall and 3 inches wide at its widest point. He sticks a hoof out towards it, feeling the heat of a developing dragon. He runs a hoof over the scaled shell.

A dragon's egg is valuable. They go for thousands of bits. I could get rich off of it, He tilts his head and chuckles at that thought.But what's the point? He opens up a pouch strapped to his side and sticks his hoof in. He only feels a few bits. The stallion did not need the money. His gaze turns to the outside of the cave.

Where did the parents go? He thinks, getting somewhat disturbed by the notion of an egg sitting there with no parents. What happened to them? He trots out of the cave and kneels in the snow. When he scans the ground for tracks, he realizes that he finds none. After a grunt of annoyance, he trots back in the cave.

Sitting back down at the egg, he looks around at his surroundings. Upon closer inspection, he sees that the walls have scratches that run deep. He also notices that the dust around the egg is thinner than the dust everywhere else.

So they were here. How long though? There is dust, but that does not bode well. If… if there wasn't, then I would have an annoyed dragon couple to deal with. Were… were they hunted down? He shakes his head, remembering that it was legal to hunt dragons. The scales were often used as an insulator. With them, drinks can stay warm for ages. Bastards. Don't they know that they're fucking endangered now? If they die out, then the ponies deserve whatever Manticore attacks that come. I hope all the hunters fucking die off. Nopony fucks with the natural order. The batpony shivers in rage.

“Nopony.” He says bluntly. He groans and spreads out his wings. He flaps them and bites his lip. His wings were stiff with the lack of use. He glares at the egg, half angry at the ponies, and half angry at the situation that caused the hunting. The dragons didn't know any better. He remembered ponies going into the Dragonlands and taking their resources for their own gain.

“If the egg hatches, then the baby dies if it isn't protected,” He grunts, laying down by the egg. “That shit doesn’t sit right with me. If I won’t do it, nobody will.” Feeling obligated to take care of the egg, he gently wraps his hooves around it and cuddles close to it.

“You're gonna grow up to be good and strong,” He strokes the egg. “You're gonna survive. I like survivors. I feel like I'm gonna like you. Now… how long have you been here?” He sniffs it. “The dust implies that you’ve been here at least a few weeks. It's a fucking miracle that you weren’t taken away.” The unnamed stallion wraps a wing around it. The heat seeps through the wing and circulates through his body.

A dragon needs a name that will be spoken for years after he dies. If… if he dies under my watch though, I won't forgive myself. His gaze softens as his hoof drifts to his pouch. He winces and looks at it. Even now, I still take the blame. Where did I go wrong? Ruby… where did I fail you? I should have died there. Yet… yet you did the right thing. I love you. The stallion finishes off his train of thought by circling his chest with his hoof. May you rest well.

He turns his attention to the entrance to the cave. “The Crystal Empire will be sympathetic to my cause.” His hoof shimmers and he touches the egg. The shimmer transfers to the egg and causes it to blend in with its surroundings, effectively turning it invisible.

“Be back in a bit… Kazara,” The pony looks back fondly at the egg. He never imagined that he would name someone, much less do it in his native tongue. You're the light in the shadows, my friend. The light… in the shadows. He departs the cave, confident that his concealment would work.

Once he sticks his hoof in the snow, it sinks down to the middle of his foreleg. Immediately, he shivers in the cold it brings him. He forms a set of snowshoes, then uses them to slowly make his way through the snow. The stallion navigates down the gentle slope that makes up the very base of the mountain the cave runs through.

The yaks are nice, he thinks casually. The yaks up north were generally kind to him. Even though there were a few exceptions, they did not detract from the good time he had there. Comparing the yaks to the ponies didn't make sense to him. One species had different traditions than the other, and both species were kind to him. At this point, he wasn't sure if they all liked him because of how he carried himself, how he treated them, or how they viewed him. He made a good effort to be kind to them. The crystal ponies treated him well too.

“The queen knows me,” He says. “The queen will be sympathetic to me. She has a kind heart.” The crystal ponies in general have kind hearts. They treated him kinder than the yaks and the Equestrian ponies.

Through the blowing snow, he sees shiny buildings in the distance. Eager to get to the Crystal Empire, he picks up the pace. He shakes the snow off his cloak grunting as a cold breeze hits him in the face.

The gates to the Crystal Empire are wide open. He trots through the open walkway and gazes at the street. Cobblestone lines the street, and warm street lamps cast white light on them. His gaze turns toward the castle in the center of the city. It looks warm and inviting to him, yet it doesn't really interest him too much. He finds his immediate surroundings much more interesting though.

Despite the cold air, ponies are happily outside conversing with one another and carrying a variety of goods. The smell of hot chocolate fills the air as he passes by a cafe. He looks into the window, seeing ten ponies enjoying coffee, hot chocolate, and different flavors of pastries. His stomach growls and he sighs heavily. He hasn't eaten in a few days and he is just now feeling the hunger.

Focus on the objective. I can feed later. As he heads closer to the castle, there is a noticeable increase in guard presence. He glances at the crystal armor seeing the reflection from the lights and wondering how impressive it would be when the sun shines on it. Though it looks heavy, the guards have no trouble moving around when it is on. The cloaked stallion wishes that he felt comfortable in it. His temporary job at Canterlot merely reminded him that a suit of light armor frustrated him quite a bit.

One of the guards looks at him and waves. “Hello there Mercury. Long time no see!” The cloaked pony scowls and ignores the guard even though the guard knew his name. He considers himself lucky that he was on a first name basis with at least a few guards. Mercury motions to a guard further down the path and asks him to open the door to the castle. He thanks the guard and trots into the grand hall.

The red carpet, though soft on his hooves, contrasted with the nice heat he felt in the air. He hated it when his hooves get cold. He steps into a sizable circular room. Wrapping around it is two sets of stairs. They stop at the second floor, which appears to be the throne room. At the back of the room is a set of stairs going down. He chooses to head up.

Facing him is a large set of double doors. The knobs were made out of diamond. The clear gems in the door catch the light and refracts it. He looks at the various reds, greens, and purples that result from the refraction. Mercury knocks on the door, and he opens it up when he is told to enter.

On the throne is the princess of the Crystal Empire. She peers at Mercury with her blue eyes and smiles softly at him. The pink coated mare trots away from her throne to greet Mercury.

“Greetings, Mercury,” she says with a nod. “I trust Celestia has treated you well?”

“Yes Princess,” Mercury bows, losing his formality when he hugs her. “How goes it?”

“Celestia’s policies have caused quite the economic boom here. It is true that what doesn't benefit one ultimately benefits the other. We have also sent envoys to the Dragonlands with messages of peace. They don't like ponies anymore. I am betting that the hate will fade eventually.” The princess smiles warmly at him. “Are you staying here for the celebration of a new year?”

Upon hearing the question, his face shifts into one of conflict. “Ah… about that. I have a little… uh… issue.”

“An issue? Do tell, Mercury.” The princess sits down.

“You have a dragon egg in your land,” Mercury says bluntly. The princess's eyes widen at that revelation. She tenses up and looks at the guards in the throne room.

“Guards! Leave the room. We have sensitive details to discuss!” She spreads a wing, wrapping it around Mercury and leading him to her throne. She sits on it and nods at him to sit down. As he does, she takes one last look around the room.

“I really hope you aren't lying. Take me there.” She says. Her gaze is surprisingly steely. A portal forms behind Merc.

“As you wish.” He stands, nods, then leads her through the portal. They arrive right next to the egg. With a whisper, the egg uncloaks. To keep it warmer than usual, Mercury curls up around it.

“That is very interesting,” The mare admits. “I admit that I was skeptical at first. A dragon egg in these troubled times is a genuine rarity. Catching them in the act can be even rarer.”

Mercury blinks and shakes his head. The imagery she gave him makes him uncomfortable. He coughs. “I would imagine so. Uh… what do I do? This is your jurisdiction and I will defer to your judgment.”

“Where are the parents?” Her gaze turns to the egg.

“Gone. I presume they are dead,” Merc says quickly.

“So we have an orphan,” She mutters. “Great… just great. Right… uh… that is a problem. Next question. How long has it been here?”

“At least a week or more,” He admits. “The parents were gone for that long. The dust and the lack of tracks. I doubt they fly in and out of the cave. The egg is four feet from the damn entrance. I assume they cared enough to land outside the cave. See claw marks on the walls? They are way deeper than usual. Normally, they’d scratch it lightly to sharpen their claws. This shows a sign of conflict.”

“Yet the hunters would have tranquilized them,” She softly quips. “Probably got magic to take them out of the cave too. Perhaps that was some conflict between the husband and wife. Perhaps their last. That might explain how deep the scratches go. Look… Merc,” She places a hoof on his back.

Mercury is shaking. He really did not need someone to tell him the methods of hunting them. That only pissed him off.

“Merc, what have you done thus far?” She asks him flatly. “I would like to go through official channels.”

“The moment I saw the egg, I attempted to search for the parents. That failed miserably and so I gave up with that. I then returned and thought about selling it. That thought kinda repulsed me. That shit was thrown right out. I searched for tracks and the front of the cave for signs of anything. After that? I… made a choice. I'm taking care of it.”

“Officially?” She asks.

“Officially. I am aware that I will be listed as the birth father. The dragon will imprint to me anyway,” He grunts.

“Indeed. Now… uh.” She licks her lips. “We might need to find parents for the dragon. Did you name it?”

“It's a male. Kazara,” Mercury says. “Finding parents who will take care of him will be impossible. Territoriality is a bitch, plus most the families have babies anyway. I don't know if there is a way I can help him get parents.”

“Create them,” She says coolly. “Even if he might not see them as parents, he will need hard scales to bite into.”

“Isn't that wrong?” Mercury asks.

“What will you do for the survival of a species we don't know about? Do you want to do this or not? Parenting is a series of hard decisions with nebulous outcomes. Foals can find parents. Ponies have empathy. Dragons? I fear that the empathy was stripped due to those fucks that crossed their borders.” The mare explains. “Dragons are all about family. The baby will defend you to the ends of the earth.”

“Do I want to do this? Yeah but-”

“No buts! Yes, or no?”

“I…” Mercury then sighs. “I do. Ever since the… the incident, I want to protect those who can't protect themselves.”

“The… incident?” She asks, tilting her head.

“I lost my best friend. Wasn't just my best friend too. We were partners. Red dragon named Ruby. She leapt in the the way of a magical ray and was promptly destroyed.” Mercury explains, sighing heavily and looking at the floor. He continues with a lowered voice. “Mages are s-something else. I still wake up sweating and crying. Didn't think something could get so cold. Fuck. I needed her.”

“O-oh…” The princess says. “Oh god, I'm so sorry.” She pulls him into a tight hug. “It must be… hard to wake up.”

“It is. It is very hard to wake up some mornings.” Mercury admits. “This… this will help me. Seeing a baby dragon pop out of that egg will set things right with the world. One death and one birth. Perfect balance and harmony. I think we are done here. What are you going to do?”

“I am going to need to register you both in the logs. I have your names. I am going to need a place you all are going to stay. Also, I need the names of the dragons you will create,” The princess smiles before trotting through the portal. Mercury gives the egg another stroke before cloaking it and following her.

With a small burst of wind, Mercury closes the portal. He watches as the princess trots out of the throne room. With her gone, he can now focus on the room around him. Mercury begins to wander around the throne room.

A painting of the princess leaning against a castle wall catches his eye. She looked younger back then. She looks at Mercury with a soft foal-like gaze. The mare dons a gold crown that doesn't really fit her head. Mercury winces as he notices that the crown is rubbing against her horn. Surely she took it off after the painting was finished. I like the warm colors on this one. Huh. It's a shame I go here under cloud cover. Moving along the wall, his gaze falls upon an ariel painting of the city. All the roads lead to the castle. It looks a lot smaller than it does now. The shopping district is more compact, and upon very close inspection, the cobble looks much rougher. A date and the subject is scrawled on the bottom of the painting.

6/12/1201 The 250th anniversary of the Crystal Empire.

Hm… so not much growth has occurred since then. He muses, looking at the next picture. It depicts a slightly larger Crystal Empire 250 years later. The roads themselves look slightly nicer, but not much has changed overall. Damn Tia. He growls. Or am I just blaming someone for the lack of growth over that period? I really like this place.

Once Mercury hears hoofsteps, he snaps out of his thoughts and turns to the mare that made them. She drops two papers on the floor in front of them. Everything was filled out on them except for the name of the father, the location of the home, and the names of everyone who will live there. She offers him an already inked up quill. Mercury. Good, I know my name. The cave is to the north, and the names? Frostwing and Gladys. He writes down all the required information, copies it for the second sheet, then gives both to the mare. She takes it and giggles.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Why thank you,” She says. “I will give this to the archivist. Welcome to the Crystal Empire!”

“I never got your name,” Mercury quips.

“Princess Melody,” She smiles. “My husband is away, and my kid is in her crib.”

“Next princess?” He asks her. Melody answers with a nod. “Thank you for your time! I finally feel like I'm going to make a difference.”

“You most definitely will. I will dispatch guards to your cave,” She says. “They will be out of sight and out of mind. Peace.” She hugs him and trots out of the room. Mercury teleports back to the cave.

Teleportation and flight was always a limited thing for him. He only kept a certain amount of locations in his mind, and that only worsened when Ruby died. Mercury did not want to touch the sky since she died either. It made him feel sick to his stomach and worsened his nightmares. He just hoped that Kazara would help him through this.

Mercury picks up the egg and uncloaks it. He holds it close and sighs softly. “I need you here,” He whispers. His hoof trails towards the top of the egg. It felt thinner up there. Mercury quickly discards the thought of magically speeding it up. That's unnatural, He shakes his head. So very unnatural. I want him to be good. Mercury whispers more soft things to the egg. He tilts his head when he senses movement inside it. After detecting that the dragon moved closer to his hooves, his heart flutters in excitement.

“Oh my god, it's really happening. H-he knows I'm here,” Merc sniffles and holds the egg closer. “H-hello there, little guy. H-hi!” He relaxes when he shuts his eyes. “Y-you are alive. Stay alive for me o-okay?”

Mercury’s mind soon turns to other things. Estimating the amount of time for a dragon egg to hatch is very difficult. It all depends on the amount of heat the egg receives, how protected it is, and the mood of the baby inside it. The more time it spends in favorable conditions, the more it wants to break free. Occasionally, one would hatch in unfavourable conditions if its life is on the line. The dragon inside him touches a claw to the softer inner shell where Mercury's hoof is. He is well aware of his presence, as he was dimly aware of his long gone birth parents. The hatchling is warm in Mercury's hooves. It shifts again somewhat strongly. The urge to break through the shell starts to grow.

“Relax… relax little hatchling. The sun will soon shine in your eyes,” He coos. “Gain your strength, so you won't tire yourself. I may be no dragon, but I see how beautiful they can be. It's a fierce beauty. My kind of beauty, to be fair.” He rests his head very softly on the egg and sighs. “Always has been.” The stallion feels a pang of drowsiness, but shakes it off with a shake of his head. Sleep comes at the worst times for him. It wasn’t about to take him today. Dark smoke begins to gather outside, and he watches as two dragons are slowly formed. Unlike the dragons from the Dragonlands, these dragons are quadrupeds. They look essentially identical, with only scale and eye colors as differences. The male is purple scaled with blue eyes, and the female is blue scaled with purple eyes.

“Now,” Mercury says. “I would definitely like you two to watch over this little dragon. This little dragon is going to grow up to be strong and kind. You will be his parents, as I fear the worst for his biological parents.” He looks towards the egg and rubs it gently. The two dragons nod and move closer to him. Mercury rests his head on the egg. Uncle Merc is going to take good care of you, and so are your parents. He thinks, before yawning and slowly drifting off to sleep.

Mercury shifts a bit when he feels the paw of Gladys, the dragoness, on his back. Gladys shifts Mercury over to her, and with him, the egg. She lays next to him and Frostwing, the male, lays on the other side of him. He drapes his tail over Mercury’s back and purrs ever so softly. The stallion curls up slightly, groaning softly. When he settles down, he smiles softly and sleep manages to come faster for him. Gladys and Frostwing keep a close eye on Mercury as he sleeps.

As the day turns into night, a thin film of smoke pools on the ground. It starts to build up, slowly creating an outline of an earth pony. Seeing the smoke, the dragons lift their heads and growl right at it. Frostwing stands and glares right at the smoke, seemingly ready to strike at any moment. When the smoke clears, a dark purple stallion shakes his head and grunts. He swiftly recovers and looks at the dragons. He flashes a smile right at the dragons and it’s as if all the tension in the air goes away. Something in that gaze causes Frostwing to stand down and go back to laying with Gladys and Mercury.

The stallion chuckles and trots over to Frostwing. I am certainly surprised he recognized me. He shivers gently as his gaze turns to the egg. He carefully navigates around the two dragons, Mercury, and the egg, only to sit down behind the egg. He runs a hoof over it and gasps softly, shuddering and closing his eyes.

“Yes,” The stallion softly sighs. Gently, he extends a mental probe towards the egg and uses it to get a read on the being inside. He eyes Mercury and shivers as the information comes through.

Strength… strength and what else? Longing? Ooh yes… the longing, He licks his lips in glee. A tingle runs through his body and he grunts. The gentle shift in magic was barely sensable by him. It made him happy all the same though. His attention turns to Mercury after he hears a soft groan. He withdraws his hoof from the egg and watches the batpony wake up. A quick probe into his mind shows that he too detected the magic shift.

Mercury’s eyes widen as he sees the stallion. “A-Atraxa?” He quickly sits up. The earth pony raises his hoof and Mercury says nothing more. A gentle cracking sound fills the air. With a gentle gasp, Mercury turns his gaze to the egg and notices that a small crack an inch long runs down starting from the top of it. A single black claw pokes through the shell. This is followed by a second one poking in next to the one that just came out. Mercury glances at Atraxa.

“This will take a while,” Atraxa remarks.

Mercury blinks when he leans back, then sighs. “Right… forgot, sorry. Got my hopes up.” His ears flatten a bit. “What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be watching over a-anyone else that might have survived?”

“I’ve been doing that,” Atraxa says. A silver colored key appears in front of Atraxa’s forelegs. He nudges it over to Mercury. Mercury takes the key only to stare at it and tuck it away. He already knew why Atraxa was giving the key to him. He makes a note to take care of whatever Atraxa wishes to do once the dragon is born. Atraxa then hugs Mercury and nestles his head under the batpony’s chin.

“I know you haven’t been getting much support after your partner died,” Atraxa whispers. “I know I’ve been silent about it. Depressingly watching my creations slowly eliminates my will to socialize. To be honest, I don’t know how they’ll get out of this. I can’t find a way for them to survive. You tried your hardest, and I admire that.” Mercury gently rubs at Atraxa’s mane and cheek. A few more cracking sounds pierce the air. “I… admire that. You needed someone to fill the gap for so long.”

Atraxa breaks the hug, allowing Mercury to get close to the egg. There are a few more cracks at the top of the egg and another one running down the side opposite to the first cracks. Oh my god, is it happening? His thoughts come fast and irrationally. He dispels the thoughts with a swift shake of the head and tells himself that it would still take time for the egg to hatch. Again, he holds down the urge to speed it up.

C’mon Merc, you’re better than this. You are way better than this. Mercury growls. He then calms himself when Atraxa rubs his mane gently.

“You’re excited. I thought you would have learned to tone down such things,” Mercury’s creator says with a sigh. He then shakes his head and chuckles. “Guess not.”

“I cannot stop comparing him to her,” Mercury says. “I cannot, even if I try my hardest.”

“He isn’t even born yet. He hasn’t looked at the world around him. Mercury, he won’t be Ruby.”

With a sigh, Mercury rolls his eyes. “Yeah, no shit. I… I’m painfully aware of that, thank you very much.” Atraxa shifts away from Mercury a bit as he detects Mercury’s mood darkening.

Atraxa looks down at his forelegs. “Look I… I’m sorry. I know you’re defensive over this. I know how you-”

“You don’t, so don’t try and pull that shit with me,” Mercury shivers. “Do you even know how it feels to lose someone that was a part of you? Not in the figurative sense, but literal.” Atraxa’s gaze snaps right to Mercury. Initially, it’s unreadable when Mercury looks into his eyes. As it softens, Mercury shifts a bit uncomfortably.

“You… you’re all a part of me. Whenever anyone dies, or gets hurt, a part of me get harmed with it. Yes, yes I know how it feels.” Atraxa sighs, feeling as if he overstayed his welcome. When he shifts away, Mercury’s ears flatten slightly.

“Then I must apologize. You know how I get sometimes. It’s no excuse, I know,” Mercury says softly. “I never thought about it in-”

“Shh, don’t continue with that,” Atraxa shakes his head. “Please? Focus on the bigger things. Turn it away from me, and especially away from yourself.” He indicates to the egg. A louder cracking noise is heard as the dragon inside works on the cracks he previously made. A moment later, a small and blue scaled dragon head smashes out from the top of the egg. His eyes are closed, but the expression on his face shows that he is winded.

Gladys lifts and tilts her head as she watches the newborn work on widening the new hole on the top. With a squeak, his head disappears into the egg. Gladys taps at the egg and the head pps back out. He looks at the dragoness and tries to move to her, but he ends up toppling over. Gladys snorts in amusement and Frostwing rolls his eyes. He nudges the egg with his snout.

Determined to break free from his egg prison, the hatchling widens the hole enough so that he slowly wiggles out of it. Immediately, everyone but Atraxa notices that the hatchling is bipedal just from the movements. The hatchling has blue scales everywhere on his body save for the underside of his tail and his lower chest, where the color is a light green. Grey spikes run from the topside of his tail to his upper back. Kazara tries to stand, only to collapse and grunt. He looks over at Gladys and extends an arm over to her.

Gladys shifts onto her side and grabs Kazara. She pulls him close and gives his cheek a gentle nuzzle. Frostwing watches the two carefully. Gently, he nudges Mercury with the tip of his tail and nods at him. Mercury shifts close to the pair and looks at Kazara closely. Staring back is a gaze full of childlike purity. Seeing the gaze sends a chill down Mercury's spine.

That gaze, He thinks. He closes his eyes as visions of a much younger Ruby flash through his head. Back then, they were pure. Mercury distinctly remembers thinking that there really wasn't anything wrong with the world he grew up in. His small bubble was just him and Ruby, and that was sacred to him. It won't last forever, the thought is sobering to him. He gently runs a hoof down Kazara's wing. Compared to his parents and Mercury himself, Kazara's wings take up a much smaller portion of his body.

Will he even be able to fly? Mercury thinks. A-A dragon would need flight. It's wrong if he doesn't have flight. The thoughts were almost too much to bear for him. Atraxa looks at Mercury when he detects that Mercury isn't well. Atraxa hugs Mercury gently.

"I love him all the same," Mercury whispers.

"As you should." Atraxa pats Mercury's back before breaking the hug and stepping back. "Look, I need to go. I want you to spent time with the hatchling, okay? He's more important than I am. At this moment, you three are his world and his life. Farewell, my friend. I will see you eventually." With a bow, smoke billows around him and he lets the shadows take them where he needs to go.

When all traces of Atraxa are gone, Mercury closes his eyes. Saying goodbye to him was always the hardest part, and he knew it was one of the few things that were reciprocated. He wonders where all his good friends are, or if they are even alive. He didn't often think about all that. When he opens his eyes, he sees Kazara nuzzling at his mother's chest. For just a moment, he felt as if everything was alright. It was as if the world finally granted something that was eluding him for years: peace. TIme seems to slow as all his worries fade away.

Mercury takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He taps into the power reserves in mind and reserves just a bit of magic. Any shadows in the room are drawn to him and he grimaces as he lets their energies sink into him. It was never a pleasant experience for him. The shadows feel tingly against him, as if most of his body is mostly covered in bugs. The unpleasantness of it nearly forces him out of that state. His eyes flutter open for a split second, catching a glimpse of Frostwing’s wing shifting over him. He manages to shut his eyes a few moments before the shadows take his mind away.

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A howl and a very loud crack in the Everfree forest breaks the stillness of the cool night air. A dark purple crack appears in the air in the center of a small village and widens to accommodate the width of a rather young pony. Mercury slowly steps out of the portal and collapses when his hooves hit the packed dirt. He is panting heavily. The few ponies that were out and about stop and stare at the newcomer. A pegasus and a unicorn trot up to him and look at him closely. The unicorn’s horn lights up and scans his body for any injuries, ignoring the bag that is strapped to his back. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, the unicorn is forced to step back to give Mercury space. She signals for the pegasus to step back and he does.

By the time Mercury responds, a small crowd has gathered around him. Mercury groans and sits up. He shakes his head, groaning softly.

“It is seven months since the new year,” An earth pony near the front of the crowd says. “We are in the 350th year. Who and what are you, outsider?”

Mercury flinches at the voice. “My name is Mercury, and I…” His ears flatten. “I’m nobody. I shouldn’t even be here, god dammit.” There’s a bitter edge to his voice that causes the crowd to step back a bit.

“Step aside, everyone,” A voice at the back says. The crowd splits and a mare trots toward Mercury. She is garbed in a tattered cloak. Her orange eyes lock onto Mercury. “He speaks the truth. If we are to remember our founding principles, we should do so now. Starshield, take him to your house and clean him up. I would like him to speak with me in an hour.”

“By you wishes, Elder,” A young pegasus says. He bows toward the mare before turning to Mercury and beckoning him to follow. Mercury shakily stands, tries to take a step, then collapses from the effort. A gentle glow surrounds him and lifts him off of the ground. The unicorn that approached him earlier guides Mercury to the hut Starshield lives in. Mercury hits the wooden floor with a grunt when he drops out of the unicorn’s line of sight.

“I am going to need you to sit in this chair,” Starshield says. His tail flicks towards a chair sitting by a table in the center of the small living room. The stallion gets a brush off of a nearby wall and walks over to the chair. After a few deep breaths, Mercury stands up. He shakily makes his way over to the chair, sitting down in it and slumping tiredly.

“O-Ow,” Mercury winces when Starshield starts to comb his mane. He ignores the protesting stallion as he works out all the knots and kinks in Mercury’s mane.

“Hey look, this is going to take a while,” Starshield says. “There’s a lot of shit in you mane.” Starshield pulls out a twig and tosses it to the side. “How in the hell did you get this dirty?”

“Long fucking story, and I don’t want to talk about it yet,” Mercury growls. Gently, Starshield gets back to brushing. Mercury closes his eyes, feeling every movement the brush is making. The pain and discomfort slowly goes away. The minutes pass by without a single thought in Mercury’s head. He doesn’t know where he is, or how he got here. He expects that the conversation with the elder would clear the murkiness in his head. Deep down, he didn’t know why he was so dirty. He didn’t know why his mane was so messy. He could feel that knowledge just beyond his reach, and that no amount of reaching would get him closer. The outsider would just have to be patient.

Thirty minutes of brushing and gentle mental probing pass by swiftly for the outsider. He snaps out of his mental daze when Starshield steps back and announces that he is done. Mercury slowly sides off of the chair and onto his hooves. “I need that mare’s house. Take me there,” Mercury says gruffly. Starshield hesitates, prompting Mercury to stare at him. “Now.”

“R-Right away,” Starshield trots out of the hut and heads to the centermost hut. Along the way, Mercury takes a deep breath and shuts down the anger that bubbled up inside him. Starshield knocks on the door and steps aside. The village elder opens the door and peers at Starshield. Her gaze flicks to Mercury and she nods at him. Mercury trots into the hut before the elder closes the door. Mercury takes a seat by a nearby table, watching as the elder sits across from him.

“So nice of you to join me,” The mare smiles. “Especially as early as this. I half expected you to draft up answers.”

Mercury rolls his eyes. “Yeah, there’s no way I can predict what you are going to ask me.”

“We’re going to jump right in, okay?” Seeing an affirming nod, the elder frowns. “Now, what was all that portalling about?”

“I have no idea.”

“You’re clearly a foreigner. You have that look in your eye and the scent of many different worlds. Surely, there is a way you navigate to them?”

“Ah yes, the interdimensional rifts? Yes, that is how I navigate to the other worlds you speak of.”

The mare tilts her head. “Explain.”

“Certainly. They are… were usually random occurrences in the worlds I went to. I won’t bore you with the details. Let’s just say that they appear and lead to other places, mmkay?” He winces, his heart fluttering a beat, followed by a wave of sadness.

The mare rubs her chin in thought. “How long does it take for them to show up?”

“Average time is three weeks. Why are you so interested in this?”

The mare looks out a window and sighs. “I guarantee you that your arrival was felt. By whom? Their intentions? I do not know. You do not simply rip a hole in space and step through it and not attract attention.”

“It was not me that opened the rift. Normally, the world around me-”

“Normally. What makes this time different?”

“I do not know, elder. I...” The formality makes the elder smile a bit despite how serious she is taking this. “I just… remembered… kinda. I was walking through a field, my head felt as if it was being crushed, and I felt… compelled to go somewhere. I don’t know where. My… my mind blanked out and I snapped back to consciousness sweating with a crowd of ponies surrounding me. P-Ponies with marks on their ass. Is this a dream?” He takes a deep breath, shaking away the pangs of uncertainty. He knows he needs to have confidence here.

“No, this is real,” The elder says. “You really aren’t from around here, are you? Do you have proof of citizenship in this empire?”

“Nope. I have nothing of that sort.”

“Then you’ll fit right in,” The mare perks up, losing her serious tone slightly. “Are there any valuable services you can provide?”

Mercury looks thoughtful for a moment, then nods. “Let me check first, okay?” He closes his eyes and starts to focus on the room around him. He extends his mind to the shadow that the table casts on the ground and probes it. He draws it to him, but growls when he hits a mental barrier. The elder watches as the table shadow moves toward him and wraps around him. The shadow moves back under the table a split second later. Mercury opens his eyes and stares at the ground. His shoulders slump in defeat.

“N-No… no… no no no,” He mutters. He takes off the bag and shakily goes through it. His movements become more desperate over time, his breathing quickening in panic. “Nono fuck. Fuck fuck. S-she’s gone. She’s gone. Why is she-” Mercury falls silent and his eyes widen. “W-what the… f-fuck.” Mercury lays down and curls up tightly.

The elder looks at him in concern and steps toward him. She really isn’t sure what to do here, so she only watches as Mercury slowly breaks down. First, he starts to shake. Words that she does not understand come out of his mouth. He buries his face in his forelegs and shakes harder. The elder trots over to him and sits down. Mercury breaks out of his position and hugs the elder very tightly. He nestles his head into her neck and bursts into tears.

“T-this is all my fault! I-I failed to p-protect her. I… I a-always fail.” He opens his mouth to say something else, but only a whimper manages to escape before devolving back into sobbing.

The elder rubs at Mercury’s mane gently. The comforting words she whispers reach deaf years. The sorrow and shock is just too much for Mercury. “I know it hurts,” She says, not caring if he hears or not now. “I know. I lose others, and every time it happens, I blame myself. Every… time.” Her ears flatten. She nuzzles at his mane and tightens the hug.

Slowly, the initial shock and horror of suddenly losing his lifelong partner fades away. The claws of emotion slowly lets his consciousness and senses go, and he finally becomes aware of his surroundings. He feels his face being smothered by something soft. He feels forelegs wrapping around his side. He hears a voice whisper words that he can barely parse. Mercury sniffs and looks up at the earth pony’s chin.

“T-thank you,” He says softly. He takes a deep breath and rests his head against her chest. “J-just… thank you.” He sniffs. “I-I’m sorry for all this.”

“It’s fine,” The elder says with a sigh. “Do you want to vent about it at all?”

“N-not particularly. It… it just hurts,” Mercury says with an audible quiver in his voice.

“Hurts to lose the ones you love,” The elder says. “Even from old age. It’s something you can’t prevent.” Surprisingly, this elicits a chuckle from Mercury.

“You would be surprised at the things you discover,” Mercury says, turning to look back out the window. “You… would.”

Gently, even through the mindscape Mercury is experiencing, he can feel a small dragon body being placed on his back, and a small pair of arms softly wrapping around his neck in an embrace. It slowly lulls him into the peaceful sleep that he has desired for many, many years.