How Moonstruck Got Her Groove Back
Finite Sledgehammer
Disclaimer: Hasbro's toybox, I'm just playing in it.
Aside from being awoken by Glenda to eat something around dinnertime, Moonstruck slept solidly until the next morning. Joseph roused her for breakfast – curiously he used the same method that Windwake often did the odd times she was needed urgently while sleeping; he hopped up on the bed and bounced until she woke up. Of course, Windwake never chanted Glenda says you need to eat when he did it.
She dragged herself out of her room a few minutes later, no longer in pain, but still incredibly tired. She selected a bowl of porridge off the tray, then plopped herself down at the coffee table before carefully pouring herself a cup of tea.
"This came for you last night." Joseph grunted around a prickly pear. He handed her an envelope with the queens seal on it.
Moonstruck very cautiously used magic to open it and unfold the message inside. It only caused minor pain to fare up. This was a good sign. She flicked her eyes over the letter, then set it aside. "The solstice party has been rescheduled to tonight."
The others grunted. Things had gone back to normal late yesterday. Moonstruck had only been awake around six for about an hour, but by that point the sun was where it should be, and it seemed to have risen today on schedule.
Originally the party was going to start at midnight, and go until dawn this morning, with festivals going on all day out in the city; but with the split sky no one was sure what in blazes the next few days would be like. Things going back to normal relatively quickly meant the only thing that was thrown off was the nighttime royal party.
She'd skip the party if she could, but she knew the queen expected her to be there no matter what. Thankfully she should be up to at least making an appearance. With luck she could spend most of the day asleep, or just puttering around the apartment.
She was most of the way through her porridge when Joseph suddenly jerked his head up.
"Oh yeah, Lindsey told us something kinda interesting last night."
"Lindsey?"
"The unicorn."
"Ah. Never got her name."
"Right. Anyway..." He told her about the duds, the magicless unicorns. When he finished, Moonstruck was staring wide eyed into space as several things clicked in her head.
"Of course!" She hissed, getting up to pace back and forth some of the fatigue burning away as she did so. "Of course it's the shield! That explains so much! The missing and scrambled cutie marks, the lax security, my wings, the drought, pegasus ponies in general..."
"What about pegasus ponies?" Glenda asked warningly.
"You don't look like pegasus ponies outside the shield." Moonstruck paused to look at her. "In fact, you're quite different. The shape of your head is different, your wings are much, much larger, and you eat meat. Pegasus out there look, well no different from unicorns or earth ponies, aside from their wings. And they're all herbivores like every other pony. And I think I know why, now."
"What's wrong with the way we look!?"
"Nothing! It's actually pretty amazing!" Moonstruck shook her head. "You've simply adapted to a low magic environment – and in a pretty small time frame. Usually changes like this would take thousands - if not millions of years!"
"I think you might want to start from the beginning there." Joseph sighed.
"Right, you guys aren't in here." She pointed at her own head with one hoof, then went back to pacing. "Basically, it's all the shield – there's probably something wrong with the spell. Usually shield spells are meant to physically keep something in or out, and reflect or absorb magical attacks. But this shield isn't doing that, you can walk through it."
"Once you figure out how." Joseph added.
"Getting to that." Moonstruck nodded. "They're also very temporary. All shields need a power source. It can be a single pony, or a group working together. All unicorns have a personal reserve of magic, which they use to fuel their spells, and shields are no different. If they run out, the spells will fail, and they can't cast any more until they've had time to recharge. Magic is everywhere, it's what makes the world work, we all absorb it naturally from the environment."
"Okay, but how does that explain the missing cutie marks, and duds and all that?" Joseph asked.
"And what about pegasus and earth ponies? We don't use magic." Glenda furrowed her brow.
"Ah! You don't. Or you don't use very much, but pegasus on the outside do. Their bodies are too heavy, and their wings are too small to fly without magic!" Moonstruck grinned. "An earth ponies strength is magical in nature as well. They're both innate abilities. A unicorns innate ability is magic manipulation."
She stopped again to stare out the windows at the distant, hazy silhouette of the western mountains. "Anyway, the shield over Roanamia is weird for two reasons. One: it isn't physically keeping anypony out. It's just so huge, and so powerful that it warps time and space around it – which is why everything is so screwed up in the areas immediately around where the edges of the shield fall. It doesn't really need to keep ponies from coming or going because the distortion accomplishes the same goal, for the most part."
Moonstruck turned back to the others. "Two: it's impossible for a single alicorn to keep a shield this size going for any amount of time, much less a thousand years. It must have a separate power source, and I'd bet bits to donuts that it's drawing magic out of Roanamia itself."
"You said the crystals down in the mine were leeching power off of you..." Joseph murmured, eyes wide.
"Yep. I bet the edge of the shield falls right across there. It's probably why we lost our powers for a while."
"Okay, so with less magic ponies have to adapt." Joseph leaned back a little and crossed his arms over his chest... throat... region. "Pegasus grow larger wings. Unicorns lose some abilities, and earth ponies?"
"Have probably been effected too." Moonstruck nodded.
"You said... we have adapted to a low magic environment..." Glenda said hesitantly.
"Yes. As your inherent pegasus magic was drained away, your bodies had to adapt to flying with less and less magic, and as a response, each generation of pegasus born under the shield had larger and larger wings. There's probably a bunch of other anatomical stuff that's different that you can't tell just by looking." Moonstruck vaguely recalled that Sarahs medical report noted she had hollow bones.
"Cutie marks started to disappear too. Or rather, failed to manifest. Cutie mark magic isn't well understood, but it's pretty powerful – that probably took a long time to siphon off. The only younger pony I've seen with a cutie mark of any sort is Eira. The rest are middle aged at the youngest, and all of them are unicorns."
"The drought is a side effect." Joseph blurted. She could practically see him put pieces together. "As magic drains away, they have to rely on naturally occurring storms, but with air and ocean currents all screwed up by the magical distortion at the edges of the shield, storms would become less and less frequent."
"With the waning magic, pegasus ponies would be less and less able to control the weather." Moonstruck added. "And Lucena might even have barred them from doing it while they still could since she seems to have some sort of vendetta against them."
"Right."
"And they use fossil fuels here, which pollute a ton."
"Which makes it hotter."
"Basically, at this rate Roanamia probably won't last another ten years – if that." Moonstruck concluded.
"Pegasus ponies on the outside can control the weather?" Glenda gaped at her.
"Yes, of course!" Moonstruck chuckled. "It's your other innate ability!"
Glenda opened and closed her mouth several times, apparently unable to formulate a response.
"Hmm, I bet Sarah's well enough to fly by now. I wonder if they have her kickin' clouds." Moonstruck mused. "That must be a blast, getting to do that for the first time when you didn't know you could."
"If she can at all." Joseph pointed out.
"We'll find out." Moonstruck shrugged. "Anyway, I figure security is so lax because whatever spells they cast on things just aren't working anymore. Either nopony realizes they don't work, or they're afraid of what Lucena might do if she finds out they're not working, so they just pretend they're enchanting whatever needs to be enchanted."
"Wait, Lucena cast the spell, and has been here the entire time, shouldn't she be out of power?" Joseph lifted his head a little.
"I... don't know." Moonstruck frowned. "Theoretically she should be getting low at the very least. Alicorns have very deep wellsprings of personal reserves, but we still need to recharge like anypony else. And she's been under the shield, probably using that stupid transformation spell – which I'm sure is a costly spell to maintain."
"And what about you? Using too much magic hurts you, and your wings have grown so much... does that mean your body is adapting?" Glenda frowned as well.
"I think the headaches are because I can't recharge externally, but I should be alright." Moonstruck shook her head. "I haven't been under the shield long enough to put a significant dent in my personal reserves, and we're getting out of here soon. They'll probably stop once we're out."
"The wings are weird." She admitted, looking back at them. The spell she'd cast back in the crystal mines was a temporary magical extension. There wasn't anything about it that could cause this, unless her loss of control, or the crystals siphoning off her power triggered her body to go into some sort of rapid adaptation mode.
There was a knock at the door. Glenda started then bolted off the sofa and to the door, as Moonstruck scrambled over to sit on the sofa. She hastily shook her mane out as the pegasus opened the door a crack.
"Yes?" Glenda asked demurely.
"A message for Her Grace." Said the staffer on the other side of the door. Thankfully she made no effort to look in the room. "Her Royal Majesty Queen Lucena requests the Duchesses presence at lunch. We will send someone to collect her at noon."
"Thank you, I will inform her." Glenda nodded humbly. She shut the door as the messenger left.
"Oh goodie." Moonstruck groaned, slipping into a deep slouch.
"Didn't think you'd be able to escape for long." Joseph chuckled and picked up his cup of tea-like product.
"Was hoping she'd forget about me for a while." She grumbled.
"That was probably yesterday afternoon." Glenda snorted, sauntering back to the sofa.
"Probably." Moonstruck agreed sourly. She reluctantly slid off the sofa. "Guess I should go take a bath and stuff."
She had plenty of time to get ready, as it was only just after seven, but she wanted to give herself enough time to dry as she could, and limit her use of magic for as long as possible. Unlike last time, she didn't have the luxury of a somewhat leisurely recovery; she'd need to be back at it before noon.
So she took a long soak in the tub to mull over the shield business, then she lounged on the terrace to dry in the warm morning air, and tried not to sleep too deeply. Around eleven she cast her drying spell to finish everything off before getting ready. A single spell here and there caused a little pain, but the array of spells she used to control the puppet brought a steady downpour of discomfort.
It was going to be a long day.
"Well, it's about time you showed up!" The queen huffed as Moonstruck stepped into the solar. Eira was already there, her expression mostly neutral, though there was a bit of strain showing around her eyes.
Moonstruck hesitated. "Am I late?"
"By twenty minutes!" Lucena clucked her tongue reproachfully.
Moonstruck was pretty sure her escort came for her at precisely noon, which was presumably when Lucena had said to fetch her, so it was impossible to be twenty minutes late. Unless this was some sort of strange game, or the elevator had a pocket dimension with a time distortion in it.
"Am I? Oh dear, I am so sorry, Your Majesty! Perhaps I'm still thrown off from yesterday, what with the sun and moon being so off course." She continued into the solar, ducking the puppet head sheepishly.
Lucenas expression softened. "It was rather disorienting, wasn't it?"
"Quite. What were the results of the thaumic readings?" Moonstruck sensed she was in the clear for now.
Lucena pulled her ears back and stared sourly at the wall. "Inconclusive. Took all day to get that reading."
"It's a small price to pay for our safety, I suppose." Eira frowned and shook her head. "At least things seemed to have been resolved."
"Yes." Lucena muttered.
Moonstruck sat down at the empty third space and scanned the table in front of her. Looked like lunch hadn't been served yet. Eira poured her a cup of tea-like-product and slid it over.
"I'm glad to see you're feeling better." She said.
"Thank you, and thank you." Moonstruck made the puppet smile as she accepted the cup, wrapping the puppet hands around it as if to warm them.
"I still haven't seen Maximus. He disappeared immediately after the divination." Lucena growled. "I don't know what to do with that colt."
"Did he not have affairs to attend to?" Eira asked hesitantly.
"I suppose. There was a bit of panic in other regions, he probably went to deal with that." Lucena snorted, waving a hand dismissively. "He'd better show up for the party tonight."
"He will. He never misses the solstice parties." Eira nodded enthusiastically. "Solstice parties are the best parties.
"They are aren't they?" Lucena grinned.
Lunch was brought in. An array of roasted root vegetables and salad greens were placed on the table along with bowls of lentil soup, and oat bread. This time the food was pretty good, though everything had a thin, watery flavor to it that Moonstruck suspected had to do with the prolonged drought. They were probably exhausting their soil as well as their water supply, and the air pollution probably wasn't helping either. She wasn't sure how magical depletion would effect plants, since most of the things they ate weren't magical in nature.
"Oh! I just remembered! Angelina, you can read tarot cards!" Lucena blurted after a few minutes of idle chatter and munching.
"Would you like another reading?" Moonstruck chuckled.
"I would!" Lucena beamed. "Perhaps your mastery of the cards can do something our divination cannot."
"Oooo! Me too!" Eira giggled. "I haven't had my fortune told in eons!"
Moonstruck giggled as well. "Okay!"
"After lunch, of course." Lucena dipped her head.
"Of course." Moonstruck and Eira echoed.
"We're really in a bind here without any oracles." Lucena sighed. "Is House Chronos still cloistered away on Mt. Everhoof?"
Moonstruck was a little taken aback by the question. She was very glad she was hidden under a poofy dress, as she'd lost her poker face for a moment – at least, on her actual face. She honestly didn't know where most of House Chronos was; they still maintained their shrine on Mt. Everhoof, but all of the alicorns in the family had dropped off the map some time ago. Her mother was likely the last active oracle in Equestria, and she'd disappeared as well.
"Last I knew. They only pop out every once and a while to warn us of some large natural disaster or something."
"Hmph."
After they finished lunch, and had it cleared from the table, Lucena retrieved her deck of tarot cards from one of the many book shelves lining the walls that were not tinted glass. Moonstruck gave them a quick shuffle before handing them back to Lucena to shuffle more thoroughly.
"Now, remember, I can't read anything that isn't directly connected to you." Moonstruck said, adjusting the way she was sitting. Eira sipped her tea-like product and watched with great interest. "I shall start with a simple three card spread, then we can change it up to glean more insight."
Lucena nodded. She finished shuffling, then handed the deck back to Moonstruck. She pulled the first three cards off the top of the deck and laid them out face down in between she and Lucena.
"Which would you like to see first?"
"This one." Lucena tapped the center card.
Moonstruck flipped it over. The center card was a rather fascinating card, all things considered.
"The Tree of Life, inverted, in the present space." Moonstruck mused aloud. "In this orientation it signifies that something is dramatically out of balance."
Lucena nodded egarly, then tapped the card to the right of center. "Now this one."
Moonstruck flipped it over, and paused, unsure if she should give an accurate answer or not.
"Death!?" Lucena recoiled, leaning away from the table.
"Death usually means change, or transformation." Moonstruck quickly reassured. "With things in turmoil, Death could signify a new balance, or era. After all, an old era must end before a new may start."
Lucena nodded, but eyed the cards suspiciously.
"We will draw more cards to get some clarification, but first lets see what the past has to tell us." Moonstruck flipped over the third card.
"The Forest, inverted." Moonstruck scowled down at the cards. She was not a tarot expert, but this seemed to be the most clear and concise reading she'd ever seen.
"Well?"
"When inverted the Forest is a sign of decay. I think we shall need more cards." She placed a card above the center card face up, mind whirling. This could be about what had happened yesterday, and it could be about Lucena specifically.
"The Scales. Judgment to be passed."
She selected another card, and placed it below the present space. "The Hero; the harbinger of change."
"Yes, yes, things are out of balance. What about the future!?"
Moonstruck selected another card and laid it on top of the third space face up. The Prince of Crows. She swallowed hard. She knew this was all a bunch of malarkey but things were shaping up a bit ominously now. And she was going to have to get a little creative about the Prince of Crows for, within the context of the rest of the cards, it very strongly implied that Lucenas era was the one that was ending. Which it was, but she didn't want the cards to ruin the surprise.
"Ah, this is more positive." She nodded, going with a more obscure reading of the card. "The Prince of Crows usually signifies something gained – like finding a lost treasure, or a good harvest."
The queen leaned back, apparently satisfied. "So, there has been great turmoil in the world, but we will come out on top."
"It looks that way, yes." Moonstruck made the puppet smile sweetly.
"My turn! My turn!" Eira bounced in her seat a little.
Moonstruck gathered up the deck into a neat stack, then slid it over to Eira to shuffle. She did so with great enthusiasm, and fairly skilled telekenisis. Once she was satisfied, she slid it back.
Moonstruck pulled the first three cards off the deck and laid them between she and Eira. The frosty mare scowled down at them.
"Lets go in order this time."
Moonstruck nodded and flipped over the first card, which represented the past. "The Cider Barrel, inverted. In this position it speaks of an emptiness."
"Go on." Eira urged, biting her lip a little.
"The lovers, inverted. Hmmm, internal conflict and contradiction." Moonstruck flipped the third card over. "The Queen of Diamonds." She'll beat you if she's able, Moonstruck added silently to herself. "Power, ambition."
"Well, that's rather disjointed!" Eira laughed nervously.
"What are you planning up there, Eira?" The queen asked. She was grinning, but it didn't reach her eyes - not that her smiles ever did.
"No worries, there are always more cards!" Moonstruck chirped. She placed a card face up above the present space. "The Gilded Cups. Wealth, prosperity, and prestige."
She drew another card, wondering what strange phenomenon was causing tarot to actually be fairly accurate. "The brace of daggers, inverted. Deception and cunning."
"So... nothing about finding love, then?" Eira squeaked.
"Well, you could read it that way, I suppose." Moonstruck chuckled. "It really depends on what question you asked. Though sometimes the cards like to hit you with something you need to deal with instead of answering your question."
"Maybe that's enough for now." Eira gently pushed the cards back towards Moonstruck. "Maybe you should go next."
"Oh! Yes, I'd love to see what the cards have in store for you!" Lucena grinned that disturbing grin again. It was absolutely predatory, even without sharp teeth. Moonstruck marveled at how Lucena could make herself more intimidating than Joseph, who was an actual predator.
"Alright!" She beamed, and pulled the cards towards her. She shuffled them quickly but thoroughly, cut the deck, then pulled three cards off the top of, placing them in front of herself face down. She did not have a question in mind. She flipped over the "past" card.
"The Tree of Life, inverted." She flipped over the "present" card. "Death."
Moonstruck stared hard at the cards. She had told Lucena the usual meaning of a right-side up Death, but the queens card had actually been inverted, which meant she was resisting a change. Not to mention it had been in the future spot, not the present. The Death that was staring back at her was right side up, which was the transformative meaning.
"How interesting! You have two of the same cards as Lucy!" Eira mused.
"Yes, very." Lucena said cooly.
Moonstruck swallowed hard and flipped over the last card. "Discord?"
They all stared at the card. Of all the tarot cards, Discord was the most straightforward: chaos, no matter the orientation. It was also the newest in the traditional Tarot deck, bringing the total number of cards up to 74. Naturally it was added after Discord was defeated, as his effect on the world was so profound it was deemed appropriate to add him to the major arcana.
"So... your world was out of balance, but you're undergoing a transformation, and your future is... chaos?" Eira hazarded.
"Apparently!" Moonstruck scratched the back of the puppets head with one hand. "I think I'm going to need more cards!"
The others chuckled as she drew another card, and placed it face up above the center position. "The Wizard. Power, skill, magic, resourcefulness."
She drew another card. "The Queen of Hearts." Is always your best friend. "Friendship, effort and victory."
She drew one more card and dropped it face up partially on top of Discord. "The Shadow, inverted. Freedom, reclaimed power."
"I have no idea what to make of those future cards." Moonstruck said after a brief silence.
"Chaos, freedom and reclaimed power." Eira repeated.
"Very strange." Lucena agreed. "Perhaps the cards are tired?"
"Likely so. They do have limits." Moonstruck gave her an innocent smile and gathered up the cards. She handed them to Lucena, who placed them aside.
They moved along to regular playing cards for a few rounds of poker. After about an hour Lucena summoned Kyrenai up so that they could play bridge. Moonstruck had never seen a pony so quietly enraged to be dragged into a card game, though she assumed the wizard had been busy with something important.
Thankfully Lucena was much better at bridge than poker, so the game was fairly entertaining. They ended up playing until half past four, when Lucena declared sullenly that she needed to finish final preparations for the party and sent them all away. It was hard to tell who was the most relieved; Moonstruck or Kyrenai.
An escort was waiting for Moonstruck as she stepped out the solar door. Kyrenai brushed past her and stomped off down the corridor in the opposite direction of the elevators without looking back.
Although her headache didn't increase the few hours she was with the queen, it did not improve either. Moonstruck was all too happy to down a bit of willow bark tea and crash for a while once she was back in her suite. Joseph and Glenda were both out as well – probably off hunting – leaving the little apartment quiet and calm. While she certainly enjoyed having their friendly presence in the other room, it was also nice to have the place to herself for a little while.
Glenda hadn't felt this excited, nor conflicted, in quite some time. On the one hoof she was finally, finally in the air again, winging invisibly after Joseph as they made their way out of the city for a hunt. All of the little aches and pains, and strains of being cooped up in a cramped apartment all of this time were an oddly welcome array of sensations after so much lazing around. On the other hoof, it was completely nerve wracking to be out in the open in broad daylight. She knew no one could see her but the dragon, but it was hard to fight the instinct to seek cover among the buildings below, out of sight of the Eye, and any patrols buzzing around.
A third hoof was to be considered as well; seeing the city from the air in full sun was heartbreaking. Somehow she'd always pictured Bridle-Dur to be a dark and twisted tangle of evil, full of cruel unicorns and their pegasus and earth pony slaves toiling away in a dark cloud of misery. Not this sprawling, overgrown and rundown warren of tired desperation. Moonstruck was not exaggerating when she'd said much of the city was like the neighborhoods they have been exploring at night.
There were complex machinations at work here, Glenda knew. An evil that somehow managed to be more sinister than the queen in her lofty tower and more devastating than her most powerful spells. It was... how did Moonstruck describe it? Plain old greed and corruption. Neither of those were exactly plain for Glenda, but she understood what the alicorn meant. It was ponies not caring for one another. Life in the mountains was brutal, territories and resources were fiercely defended, but there were certain lines that no one would cross, things they simply wouldn't do to one another no matter how desperate the situation. There was no such honor here. Not among the ruling unicorns.
She was very glad to leave the city behind and cross over into the rolling hills outside town. She had a vague, passing temptation to fly away, but she knew she wouldn't last three days in the mountains in her current state. There really wasn't any going back – even if she had a clan to go back to. She couldn't stomach the thought of them all dying of thirst or starvation, but she knew the clan would disband if they couldn't find enough food and water for everyone. Moving in smaller bands was usually a better strategy when conditions were this bad, and they'd likely scattered far and wide.
"I wonder if the clan ever decided to go up into the distorted areas." She mused aloud as she drifted closer to Joseph. The heavy patrols around the edge of the city were far behind them now; only the eye could still see Joseph – if it saw anything at all. Glenda was unconvinced the eye was useless, as Moonstruck suspected.
"No tellin'. I certainly haven't seen any pegasus out here the few weeks I've been hunting." Joseph said, slowing slightly to allow her to fall into formation beside and a little behind him.
"No one's hunted down here for years. It's too dry, and the sheep are watched too closely." Or at least, they were, last she knew.
"Ah."
"Back when the prince was hunting us he'd leave troughs of water out as well. No one was ever sure if it was for the sheep, or to give us more incentive to come down out of the higher mountains." Glenda wrinkled her snout.
"Ick."
"Although... I think he wasn't as bad as the ones before." Glenda furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "They were just as likely to kill us as capture us. And the new one is no better. I'm still amazed Moonstruck was able to talk her way out of that."
"Being an alicorn has its perks, apparently." Joseph quipped.
Glenda grinned.
They fell silent as they crossed over what would have been a shallow river valley, if the river was still running. Now it was just a few scraggly pale green bushes growing along a track of stone and sand. Nothing moved in the dead and dying trees down below, but Joseph swept into a shallow dive anyway. Glenda followed him down, more than a little curious to see what he was up to.
Landing on a boulder that would have overlooked the water, he folded his wings and stared at the bushes around him.
"I'm surprised you've been able to find much of anything out here." Glenda commented as she settled behind him.
He grunted before hopping off the boulder and padding across the sand to the bushes on the opposite side of the bed. Glenda followed him, her curiosity piqued as he began sniffing around the roots of the bushes. Amazingly there were tracks in the shade, although they were not fresh. He couldn't possibly be able to smell the sheep still, could he?
The dragon stretched tall and inspected the branches of the bushes. Glenda shifted her gaze upwards as well. Sure enough, she could see where the sheep had nibbled. There was no new growth, so it was difficult to discern how long ago they were here.
"Trails cold, but there's a cave system about ten miles up river." Joseph muttered after a few minutes of climbing around the dying shrubbery. "It's pretty shallow, but there might be water in there."
Glenda blinked a few times, taken aback. "The sheep are in the caves?"
"No. At least, not often. It's the only possible water source I've found, and the sheep seem to forage in one place for two or three days at a time." He gestured upwards at the nibbled on branches.
"These bushes haven't put any new growth out, and the only greenery left is out of reach for them. The tracks are maybe four days old. I bet they moved up river, towards the caves."
"You're making me feel like a filly out on her first hunt." She grumbled.
Joseph grinned. "From a species standpoint, your kind hasn't been hunting for as long as mine."
Glenda chuckled and rolled her eyes. He was right, of course. But she wasn't about to let him know that.
"Watch it, youngster"
"Youngster? I'm older than you!" He teased, grinning as he padded back out into the center of the riverbed.
"But I've lived more than you." Glenda eyed him sharply, fighting back a smile.
"Hmmm, you might have me on that one. Don't get that many wrinkles without some hard living – ack!"
He lunged into the air as Glenda chomped at his tail, barking laughter. She took wing a few moments later with a hop, skip, and finally a jump. Take-off and landing were the most difficult parts for her, but she was confident she'd be back up to speed soon.
They cruised along above the riverbed, following it higher into the hills, and more rugged terrain. If the river were running this area would be largely inaccessible to land-bound animals. She had vague memories of venturing down through these narrow canyons in her youth in search of fish, or the strange little ducks that liked to live in these fast moving waters. She never had much luck with the ducks, but fish were easy to snatch out of the air during their fall spawning runs. From the portal of the present she was a little amazed that she'd been so reckless to venture so close to Bridle-Dur when hunting and foraging was still fairly good deeper in the mountains.
It made her feel old. She didn't generally like feeling old. Wise was one thing; old was just... old. Tired. Or maybe being tired made her feel old. Reflecting on her reckless youth certainly made her feel tired. So much wasted energy. Energy she should have been using to try to find a way out. She'd long suspected there was a way out. She'd seen Josephs kind before, though not Joseph himself, she was fairly certain. Those few who had seen the strange little dragons that occasionally turned up at the lower edges of the distorted areas suspected they could come and go from Roanamia, but no one had ever thought to follow one to find out. It was entirely too risky; if they were wrong they could easily become impossibly lost up in the highest reaches of the range. If the dragon noticed them they might well become dinner.
At least she was following one now.
Joseph dipped down again a few miles upstream to investigate another tangle of dying bushes. Here he grumbled softly to himself as he sniffed around in the patchy shade. Even without his powerful nose, Glenda could see the plants hadn't been disturbed in some time, and there were no tracks in the sun baked earth. Indeed, the bushes looked as though they would dry out completely soon, and were almost bare of leaves.
It was lonely without the river. The wind moaned softly through the canyon, kicking up a little sand, and rustling the parched branches of the few shrubs that still clung to life. It brought no coolness, only seemed to snatch away what little moisture still lingered. She watched a few dry leaves tumble lazily past as Joseph finished up his investigation.
They were off again a few moments later, on to the next tangle of bushes. The higher they went, the drier it got. Glenda knew this river hadn't had water in it since before the winter rains tapered off. It was one of the first victims of the drought, even though it had been one of the more dangerous rivers long ago. She wondered if it would ever run again.
They landed again near what she recalled had been a steep waterfall, and here was where the caves had once lain hidden beneath the crashing water.
"This explains quite a bit!" Glenda whispered even though any potential sheep could not hear her as she was still wearing her enchantments.
"Oh?" Joseph asked as he sniffed around the sharp rocks at the base of the cliff face, and below the caves.
"There used to be deep pools above that even the river ducks wouldn't fish in." Glenda inclined her snout to the cliff above. "We'd always assumed the current was too strong and unpredictable, but if these connect to the pools above, it was because the water was going into the caves, as well as over the cliffs."
"Yeah, that woulda been a rough ride for a little bird." Joseph agreed. "They've been here recently, but they're not in there now."
Glenda sighed. This was the sort of hunting she was all too used to; endless searching with little to show for it. They took flight again, fluttering up the cliff face, and then soaring low over the deep well that formed the formerly deceptive pools above the waterfall. There were indeed gaps in the rock that led down into the caves, several of them just large enough to drag an unsuspecting pony to its doom, if ever anyone had ever been foolish enough to go for a swim here. Now, she suspected, the sheep used them as a way to reach the upper portion of the riverbed.
Although the canyon walls remained steep and foreboding, the canyon itself began to widen, leaving space on either side of the river for stands of dead trees. She remembered this had been a particularly dense stretch of forest, where branches stretched across the riverbed to all but hide it from view.
As they rounded a bend in the canyon, Joseph swore and dipped into a steep dive. Glenda stooped after him, fear coursing through her veins as she did her best to mach his speed. The dragon landed in a clearing in the dead forest and waited for her to swoop in behind him before trotting off the way they'd been flying.
"What did you see!?" She hissed, scrambling to catch up.
"Pegasus, I think. Looks like they got a sheep." He muttered.
Glenda paused, alarmed by the thought of anyone coming down so far to hunt. Shaking herself, she cantered after him, then clambered up a jumble of boulders the dragon was scaling effortlessly. He slowed as he neared the top, and carefully edged his head beyond the last boulder to take a look. Glenda was a tad annoyed that she was too short to get a good view, then remembered she was invisible at the moment. She hopped onto an adjacent boulder and squinted into the near distance.
There were four pegasus in the woods beyond, two mares, and two painfully small foals. The mares were ravenously devouring a slain sheep, while the foals nipped at scraps and chased each other through the dust. While they were large enough to toddle around, Glenda knew they were still too small to eat most plants, much less meat. The mares were too thin to be lactating anymore.
She closed her eyes and swore softly. She'd seen this scene play out far too many times before; the sheep was probably too little too late. Unless the mares could find a steady food source within a few days, they'd have to abandon their foals.
"Three foals." She said softly to herself, turning around and opening her eyes again to climb back down the rocks.
"I count two." Joseph grunted.
"No. Three foals I had to abandon to the summer sun." Glenda sighed.
Joseph jerked his head back in shock, then peeked over the rock again.
"Right." He grunted after a moment, catching on.
Glenda waited at the bottom for the dragon to climb down. He seemed reluctant to leave, even though there was nothing he could do. He finally joined her after a few minutes.
"Sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for. You know how the wild world works. You've likely gained a meal off that very act." Glenda shook her head. "We've had to live by natures law for a thousand years. If nothing else, we're tougher for it."
He nodded grimly. "Probably shouldn't tell Mooney about that."
"No, she needs to focus on the mission." Glenda agreed. "Once we can get outside help, this -" she flicked a wing indicating the sad scene behind them - "will be a thing of the past."
"Good to see you have your eye on the prize." Joseph grunted as they took wing once more, heading back the way they'd come.
She shrugged. "It's like I said, we've been living by natures law for a thousand years. Sacrifices have to be made. None of us would have survived for very long if we'd let sentimentality rule our decision making. Not all foals are going to make it. That's it. Plain as day."
She shook her head. "If I want as many foals as possible to survive, that cursed shield must come down. I never would have imagined it before you two showed up but now..."
"Glenda: clan elder, mother, grandmother and freedom fighter." Joseph grinned at her.
"Clan leader once, as well." She snorted.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. I'm retired now, of course. Are we heading back?"
"Yeah. If they got a sheep the rest of the herd is long gone. Maybe scattered. Might try again in a few days." Joseph shrugged. "Sorry you didn't get a fresh meal."
"It's alright, it feels good to be flying again. And I'm more concerned with you, since you don't normally eat many plants." She poked at him with a front hoof, though he was well out of reach.
"Eh, I'll be alright. I had some rabbit a few days ago."
Moonstruck dragged herself across the great hall as the sun set, wearily avoiding party-goers but greeting them warmly whenever they stopped her to say hello. Although sleeping through most of the afternoon had helped, being back in the puppet again so soon was already taking its toll. Or maybe it was the thought that'd she'd have to keep this up all night that was making her head throb. Or maybe it was the stress of the previous days events that made these parties – and this one in particular – simply nauseating to attend.
Despite the festive atmosphere, it was a joyless affair. Ponies mingled as they normally would, but there was a nervous undertone to everything; even Bridle-Durs elite couldn't quite ignore what had happened yesterday and carry on as if nothing was wrong. They gathered in small clusters between the flowing red and orange silks hung on spindly wrought iron frames, talking softly among themselves, or whispering in corners. Smiles were forced, and there were many furtive glances at groups on opposite sides of the room, or towards the entrance, where the queen would eventually appear.
Lucena could pop the roof off the great hall, apparently, and she had done so for the solstice celebration, leaving the hall exposed to the balmy night air, and open to the night sky, though most of the stars were not visible due to the city glow and thick air pollution. To compensate there were little lights on wires scattered above the hall – every now and then one of the wires would catch the light, and shatter the illusion of starlight. She would have done better to just hang lanterns.
Moonstruck wanted nothing more than to be home, up on the bay-side terrace of the Evergreen Room watching fireworks with her friends and sipping hot summer cider. It somehow always managed to be cold the shortest night of the year in Trot, although they always scheduled a clear day and night for the event.
The Summer Sun celebration in Trot was always a blast. The day started out with the Sunrise Ceremony which she attended as an official. Afterwords she'd usually slip off with her friends to raid the various street fairs and events happening around Trot City. One of the rare uses of her status was to make Summer Sun reservations at the Evergreen Room – something even she had to book months in advance. It was one of the best saloons in the city, and it sat out on the corner of the cliff that overlooked both the fjord and the bay. Fireworks were always launched from the bay, so the bay side deck was a prime location during big events. Breezy and Patch had probably been there last night, if celebrations hadn't been postponed the way they were here. Even without her there they were on the guest list, as was Windwake, though he was likely still in Stirrup Springs.
This party was nothing like the city wide-celebrations she was used to, or even the more stuffy formal events at the castle. Nopony was truly happy, for one thing. The food was bland and tasteless, the night was too warm and stifling, the city beyond the tower was quiet and tired, and the company was simply abysmal. She couldn't even spend it with Joseph and Glenda, both of whom would likely get a kick out of a proper Trot Summer Sun celebration. Or a big Canterlot party, or – well, anywhere but here.
Nice going Lucena, you managed to get me to hate parties. She thought sourly to herself.
"Your Grace?"
Moonstruck blinked and turned. She'd drifted through the crowd to one of the windows, which was now completely devoid of glass so that she could lean on the sill and stare out over the darkened city unhindered. Lucena hadn't come down yet, and for once there was no VIP area she had to lurk in, so she was free to hide out in whatever corner she chose. And yet, for some reason, the Prince – whom generally ignored her as much as he could – had chosen to come over and talk to her.
"Yes?"
He hesitated, shuffled a little awkwardly. "I... I'm sorry you seemed a bit lost."
Moonstruck was simply too tired to act much. "I suppose I am. Normally I'd be up on one of the larger terraces of the palace watching Solstice fireworks with my friends."
"Ah. Of course." He nodded, shifted again. "I forget, sometimes, that you had a life outside here."
Moonstruck wasn't sure if she should be suspicious or not. The prince was usually so aloof. She'd never seen him fidget, nor heard his voice so, well conversational and plain. Almost soft. He had shown her a bit of kindness from time to time in a distant, detached sort of way, but this was quite odd.
"Yes, it seems ages ago." She sighed, then stared out over the city once more. The stillness of the sprawling metropolis was especially unsettling, for some reason.
"Do the common ponies not celebrate the solstice here?"
He was quiet for a long moment. "No."
"They do back home. It's a grand festival, with street fairs, and music, and games, and fireworks..." she trailed off as more than a little homesickness caused tears to well up in her actual eyes. She fought to keep the puppet from tearing up as well.
The prince seemed about to speak several times, but couldn't seem to decide on what exactly to say. The decision was taken from him, as Eira wandered up while he was grappling with whatever he was trying to articulate.
"Ah, we're loitering over here, this evening?"
"Your Grace." The prince spun, and sketched a short, respectful bow. His voice once again grave, serious and official. "I think Duchess Angelina needs some time alone."
Moonstruck started slightly but kept the puppet still, only flicking an ear back.
"Er..." Eira hesitated as the prince placed a hand on her back to steer her away.
"She's still distraught from yesterday." The prince continued.
"Oh. Ah, yes, are you sure you -"
"Why don't you tell me about that trade agreement you were working out with the Umbridge family."
"Oh that! Well, it's simple, the Umbridges need more water, and I have a need for good quality lapis lazuli for dyes and..."
Eiras voice faded into the din of the crowd as the pair of them walked away.
Moonstruck scowled. What just happened? Did the prince just... Eira-block for her? And what in blazes could he have wanted to talk to her about? They barely spoke as it was, and usually she did most of the talking - at times incessantly to distract him from whatever reconnaissance she was in the middle of. Now that she thought about it, Eira did the same from what she'd seen of their interaction, although Moonstruck was fairly convinced the frosty mare genuinely thought that the prince found whatever she was talking about interesting. Or at least hoped he did.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a wave of trepidation rippled around the great hall, heralding the arrival of the queen. She was not announced, for the solstice party was a somewhat more casual event, but ponies were quick to drop into low, respectful bows all the same. Moonstruck took this as a cute to move towards where the queen was headed.
Once formalities were finished, they settled into the usual routine. Eira and Lucena chatted enthusiastically; Lucena would at some point find something to criticize the prince over (in this case, his disappearing act post-sacrifice); Eira would at times reinforce the queen, and at other times attempt to very gently diffuse her. Moonstruck was largely out of the conversation, but expected to be paying attention, though occasionally some baron or another would decide to stop by for a chat that was usually at least as tedious as whatever the queen and Eira were going on about. The prince would drink his potato spirits, defend himself when needed, but otherwise check-out for most of the evening, only speaking when spoken to. Eventually the queen would decide that Kyrenai needed to join them, and the wizard would be dragged in from whatever dark corner she was haunting and forced to sit between Lucena and Eira for the remainder of the party as they mostly talked around her.
Moonstruck had yet to figure out why Lucena would insist on dragging Kyrenai into the conversation when she clearly had no intention of actually talking to the mare. Well, aside from just to be annoying. Kyrenai made no attempt to hide the fact this was the absolute last place she wanted to be. She was probably the only pony in all of Roanamia who could be perpetually cranky in the queens presence. She wondered what Kyrenai had done to earn that privilege.
"Well well, I'm surprised you decided to show your face, Admiral."
Moonstruck flicked an ear to the left then turned the puppets head. Admiral Desmond was bowing deeply a respectful distance from the queen. She hadn't seen him since he'd first escorted them into the tower many weeks ago.
"You've somehow managed to bring in even fewer ponies than Maximus did when he had your job, it's a new record." Lucena grinned sardonically, and leaned back in her chair.
The admiral scowled. "There do not seem to be many pegasus left in the mountains, your Majesty. I fear those few that remain are too scattered to be able to round up effectively."
The queen rolled her eyes. "I've heard these excuses before, Admiral."
"Conditions are... harsh. Out there." The admiral said hesitantly. "Between the landscape itself, and my forces... unless they have dared to move into the distorted areas, there's no place for them to go."
"So check the distorted areas! Duchess Angelina managed to find her way through!" The queen gestured at Moonstruck.
"Quite by accident!" Moonstruck chuckled nervously. "And we were lost for weeks!"
"We already lost three airships that way – including a brand new cruiser!" Desmonds jaw dropped open. "You were very annoyed when they went missing!"
"Yes, yes. Colossal waste of money." Lucena huffed, and waved a hand flippantly. "I remember what I said!"
"And General Ursula!"
"She was rather talented." Lucena frowned. "Well, they might make it back eventually. Angelina managed it with just two servants."
Moonstruck quietly facehoofed beneath the fluffy dress. She did not want to be used as an example in this context.
"It was... rather foolish of them to pursue a single pony for such a long time in such unstable territory." Eira said very carefully. "If nothing else it wasted fuel."
"Exactly!" Admiral Desmond piped.
"I suppose." The queen grumbled sourly and slumped in her chair. "That pegasus is probably dead, anyhow."
Moonstruck smirked to herself. It's fun to know things other ponies don't know.
"More than likely. Which adds to the wastefulness of it all." The admiral nodded.
Lucena grumbled more loudly and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her ears back. "Yes, well, we're all acquainted with wasteful things now. What else do you have?"
"That – ah... is it." The admiral grimaced. "Unless you wanted to know how the western mining operation is going."
Lucena wrinkled her nose. "I can read the reports later."
Thankfully the admiral took that as his cue to scurry off. Moonstruck sighed softly and wished time would move faster.
It did not.
While most of Lucenas parties wrapped up around two, this one dragged on, and on and on. Nopony dared go to leave until daybreak, and even then everypony had to pretend that they never wanted the party to end. It was a good hour past dawn by the time Moonstruck was finally, finally able to fall into bed.
A/N: Took some liberties with the tarot reading 'cause I figured ponies might have different priorities and symbolism and stuff.