Ask Blacklin

   Lyra blinked in confusion. She’d only seen Minuette like this a few times in the past. Each time being when Lyra had accidentally broken something of hers. This time she was sure she’d done nothing like that. She was about to ask what was wrong when her sister stopped her.

   “Not here,” Minuette stated, turning and motioning for Lyra to follow as she began walking. Lyra biting her lower lip before quickly following. 

   “Minnie, what’s going on? What did I do?”

   “Do?” Minuette laughed and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m not mad at you. It’s just we have to talk about our gryphon interest.”

  Lyra’s head tilted. Gryphon interest? What did she mean by. . . Her eyes went wide and she nearly tumbled over her own hooves in surprise. 

  “You?! Did you?!”

  Minuette slowed down to let her sister catch up, a wry smirk on her features. “That should be my question,” she says. “When did things change? There was never anything between you two and suddenly you spend days secretly leaving flowers and gems for him? With Berry’s help no less!” 

  She stopped and turned to face Lyra. Her smile softening to sisterly affection. 

  “And yes, I did. Finally. Roseluck was confused, but she accepted that I was going through with it and Blacklin took my gem in understanding.” She gave Lyra’s nose a boop with her hoof. “Just like he would have accepted yours if you had been more direct.”

  Lyra blinked and blushed, looking down at the ground, rubbing a foreleg against the other. Being reprimanded like that left her feeling silly, like a young filly caught taking something that was already hers. 

   “I told him you weren’t going to give up,” Minuette went on. “Warned him, really. Given how excitable you were when we parted.” She sighed and shook her head, starting to walk once more. “So did you find what you were looking for?”

   That question brought Lyra back to her senses. She blinked and then nodded, following once more after Minuette. “Yeah. There something in Shetlearn that I think will be perfect. I’m just hoping I can find it.”

  “Shetlearn?” The older mare looked over her shoulder at Lyra. “That’s where Black ran off to, right? What would be there he’d want that he couldn’t have gotten then?”

  Lyra grinned, eyes lighting up. “Well, you’ll just have to wait until I get back to find out!” She giggled, feeling better. “I’m going to leave tomorrow morning. I still have to talk to Bon Bon about and let her know I won’t be around for at least a few days, probably more.”

  Minuette stopped and sighed. The pair had reached the house she shared with Berry and Ruby. She looked at her sister, eyes filled with concern. “I won’t tell you not to go, but I will ask that you please be careful. Don’t do anything foolhardy, okay? Promise me that.”

  “I can promise that I’ll be careful,” Lyra assured. “Look, I’m not going to be jumping down pits and getting shot up by arrows. At most it’ll just be poking around some old ruins, safe as can be.”

  Minuette snorted. “I’m going to hold you to that, little sister,” she stated. “And look, I’m not going to stop my courtship because of this. Are you okay with that?”

  Lyra was quiet for a few moments as she thought it over. More than anyone else, she knew how her sister felt about Blacklin. In a way, maybe that’s why she had let herself be ignorant of her own feelings. A subconscious want to not get in the way. Still, Minuette may have been surprised by this sudden revelation, but she wasn’t asking her to stop. She was even encouraging her and helping!

   There was no way Lyra could get in the way of that or even ask her sister to stop. 

   “Yeah. Keep him grounded with Pinkie and Roseluck until I get back. Then we can all give him the biggest group hug possible. Let him see how lucky he is to have us all.”

   Minuette smirked and ruffled Lyra’s hair. “Got that right. Now you get going. Got packing to do, right?”

   Lyra nodded. “Yeah. Will do that right after I get back home from Bon’s.”

   Minuette nodded as well, pulling her sister into a hug before going inside and letting Lyra be on her way.

----

  Bon Bon. It was only fair that she let probably her closest friend in Ponyville know where she was headed off to. 

   “You are the silliest damn mare I’ve ever met, Ly,” she had stated after Lyra had explained things, a knowing smirk on her face. “Most impulsive too. Seriously, over the course of what? A month? You’ve gone from ‘I have no feelings besides friendship for this gryphon’ to 'I have to go on a possibly fruitless journey to prove to him how much I love him!’ And we used to think Pinkie was the most unpredictable pony in town!”

  She gave a sharp laugh before shaking her head.

 “Emotions are really weird, aren’t they?” she went on. “Well, whatever. I’m not going to stop you. Tartarus pits, not like I’d be able to anyways!”

 “Bons…” Lyra started, but was cut off when the earth pony raised a hoof.

 “Nuh uh, no sappiness,” Bon Bon stated. “You’re doing this cause you gotta, I get that. I support that. Fuck, wish I had the courage to do something like that for a stallion I wanted!”

  Her smirk turned to full grin.

 “You better not come home empty handed, you got that?” she finished. “Even if you don’t find that whatever the heck it was, you better get souvenirs for us all!”

 Lyra laughed and nodded at her friend’s outburst.

 “Of course I will,” she says. “Something for all of you. I’ll make sure you love it!”

 “Oh, I’m sure I’ll like what you bring back, but the only way I’ll love it is if you bring back a hunk,” The earth pony teases. She followed up with a quick hug before settling back down behind her shop’s counter. “So when you leaving?”

 “Tomorrow morning, if possible” Lyra replied. “Gonna pack once I get home and head straight to the train station first thing in the morning. Hop on the first train out.”

  She gave her friend a playful smirk. “And I’ll be sure to bring back the sexiest gryphon I can find there,” she teased.

  Bon Bon blushed deeply at that before quickly pushing Lyra out of the store. Lyra couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction. Bon Bon was good at handing out teasing, but never had been able to take it.

  After leaving, she followed through with the plans she’d mentioned: packing up and heading to the train station the next morning.

  Though she’d set her saddlebag aside, her eyes constantly fell upon it as she packed her more traditional bags. The question of if anyone had looked in it filled her mind, though given how Minuette had acted, it was doubtful. Did that bring her joy and relief? No, not really. Yet it didn’t make her apprehensive either. Her original plans had been shot to hell and back, yet that failure had lead to something better. At least, she figured it’d be something better.

  This statue. That would be icing to her cake. That’s what would make up for her violent actions beforehand, her yelling, her making a fool of herself. That would be what fully showed her devotion to him. And maybe, even better, she would have a tale to regale all of them with.

  She shook her head and gathered her bags. That would be for later. Now, she had a train to catch.

  And catch it she did. There’d been no problem with getting a ticket, even costing less than she’d thought. Once on board, she’d settled in for a long trip and started drifting off.

   Despite herself, her mind did end up drifting towards the possibilities. Ancient relics , unfound gems of great power, fancy jeweled wing decorations! As long as it showed her dedication, that's what was important, right? He'd recognize that effort and accept her, right?

   She paused, stumbling briefly. Her heart sinking as her mind casted itself back to not twenty minutes prior. Accept her. Would he? Should he. After what she had done. What she had said. She'd be lucky if he even wanted to talk to her again after that display.

    She slammed a hoof down and shook her head. No. That was exactly why she had to go big. This wasn't just about courtship. Not anymore. This was about apologizing to him. That is why she wanted acceptance. That is why this had become so important to her.

    Resolve restored, heart calmed, she took note of her surroundings finally. Lost in her thoughts as she had been, the mare hadn't realized that she'd already reached her destination: Golden Oaks Library. Surely Twilight would know of something that was exactly what Lyra needed. The know-it-all, well, knew it all. She could magic something up that other unicorns could only dream of.

   She pushed open the door and called out for Twilight as loud as she could.

   "TWILIGHT! WHERE ARE YOU?! I NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

     There was no answer. Lyra frowned as looked around. This wasn't normal. Twilight was always around. It just was how it was.

   "Twi? For the love of Celestia, where are you?"

     She took a few steps farther in and looked around once more. Once more, she was about to call out when the mare found herself interrupted.

   "Twilight isn't here at the moment." The cultured and smooth female voice caught Lyra off guard and she stumbled back a few steps almost falling on her rear. A quick glance revealed a familiar light blue pegasus with pink mane and tail coming down the stairs.

     "She's currently out on a date and asked not to be disturbed at all," the pegasus continued. "And please stop yelling. Bright Eyes and Scootaloo are downstairs studying currently, Miss Heartstrings."

   Lyra blushed lightly and looked down. "Oh, Wind Whistler, I'm sorry." She gave a nervous chuckle and sighed. The one time she had really needed Twilight and she wasn't around. Fate must have really been having a laugh at her expense today. Her friend off on a-

   "Wait, did you say date?" Her head jerked up and she stared at Whistler in sudden shock. "Who is she-" No, wait. That wasn't important. As curious as she was, delving into Twilight's love life was not the purpose of her visit. That was something she could wait on. Now was the time to focus on herself.

   "No, never mind," she waves the previous train of thought away with a hoof, moving on. "Okay, she's not here. Fine. Maybe you can help me then."

   Whistler raised a brow, a very subtle hint of a smile playing on the pegasus' lips. Still, she remained quiet, simply encouraging Lyra to continue on with a silent nod of her head.

    Lyra nodded back and took a breath. "Do you know of any kind of gems or gem related things that are specific to the Griffon Kingdom? Like, relics or something. Important gem types and things like that."

   "That is quite the question, Miss Heartstrings," the pegasus commented, brow raising once more as her head tilted slightly.

   The unicorn mare gave a nervous chuckle, cheeks flushing once more. That had to sound beyond odd and probably pretty suspicious. She just really didn't want to have to explain herself, not now.

   "Okay, yeah, I know that sounds really weird. I promise I have a really good reason for asking though! I just, y'know, don't wanna go into why. It's really embarrassing and long, okay?"

   The silence that followed her comment caused Lyra to begin pacing in place. Her heart starting to speed up once more as anxiety crept up on her. Whistler was going to press the topic, she knew it and wouldn't blame her for it. If someone had pressed her with that same question, she'd do the same. She would have to. She just hoped that she was wrong. Worry filled her eyes as she bit her lower lip and watched the pegasus.

   Whistler closed her eyes. A deep breath was taken and slowly released. Slowly she opened her eyes and turned towards the shelves, looking over them. Lyra found herself releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her head tilted slightly as she watched the pegasus walk over slowly to a far shelf. Her hoof hovering over the spines before taking a book and tucking it in her wing.

   The other mare looked back towards Lyra and motioned for Lyra to join her as she moved to a podium, setting the book she'd taken and setting it down.

   "You are in luck, Miss Heartstrings," Whistler says as she opened the book. "We had recently gotten a few books on the history of the border towns not long ago thanks to the efforts of our newest town residents. Miss Gilda was insistent we carried books on them."

   Lyra tilted her head as she watched Wind Whistler flip through the pages. The pegasus soon stopped and pointed to the page she ended on. Curious, the unicorn mare stepped next to her and looked at the book. Her eyes grew wide at what she saw.

  Perfection wasn't the word she would use, but it was certainly close. The book depicted a statue of a gryphon made of gold embracing a unicorn made of silver. Both were encrusted with topaz, amethyst and sapphires. The gryphon's eyes made of emerald and the unicorn's made of ruby.

   "It's called The Divine Lovers," Whistler says. "And according to legend, it was created as a gift to the first governor of Shetlearn nearly a thousand years ago. It's said to bring it's owner prosperity and true love."

   She looks at Lyra, giving the unicorn a concerned look. "Though I must remind you that this is just a legend. It's very existence is something that has been debated for decades. And no one even knows if this is what it even looks like."

   Lyra couldn't take her eyes off the image. It was exactly what she had been looking for. Though something about the location made her tilt her head a bit in confusion.

     "It's supposed to be in Shetlearn?" She asked. "Why does that sound familiar?"

   "If you will recall, that is where Blacklin had gone when he took his sabbatical a year ago," Whistler stated. "Though, I should say that today's Shetlearn is far different from the one referenced in that book. Old Shetlearn is what it's called now. A few miles on the outskirts of town on the Griffon Kingdom side. If it's anywhere, it'd be in those ruins."

   "Right, right." Lyra was barely paying attention at that point. Her mind going over what she remembered of Blacklin's return. He said he had come straight from where he'd gone to Canterlot via train and then back to Ponyville. If that was the case, it would be simple to retrace that exact trip back. Though, would she be able to get a ticket to Shetlearn from Ponyville? No, more than likely she'd have to go to Canterlot first and then get a ticket to Shetlearn from there.

     A sigh and a wry smile came to her. How she wished she had wings. It'd make a trip like that so much easier. No need to worry about train tickets or schedules. Just take to the air fly directly there, resting on clouds when needed.

     She shook her head and gave Whistler a tight hug, smiling genuinely for the first time all day. "Thank you, Wind Whistler. This is a great help. Even if that thing doesn't exist, I'm sure I'll find exactly what I need there. I need to go pack now!"

     Still smiling, she let the pegasus go and hurried off. Plans needed to be made and ponies informed of them. She might be in a hurry, but she wasn't like the object of her affection. There would be no running off without informing others. Minuette and Bon Bon especially needed to know. They'd be the ones to worry most about her, after all. They'd also be able to inform her other friends quickly as well.

  It took a few moments for Minuette to untangle herself from the other mare and get back to her feet. When she did, though, she was greeted by the sight of a very distraught Lyra. The teal colored mare looked at her with bloodshot topaz eyes, tears streaking down her cheeks and breath coming in ragged gasps. Her mane was a mess from running and Minuette could actually feel magic still radiating from the other's horn.

  She pulled the younger mare into a tight embrace and started stroking Lyra's mane lightly as the other mare returned the embrace.

 "Shhh, take deep breaths, lil' sis," she says softly. "What's got you worked up so badly? What happened?"

  Lyra took a few deep breaths and sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her foreleg as she pushed away from Minuette. She sat back on her haunches and glanced back towards the direction she had been running from.

 "It's Blacklin," she says softly, breathing finally calming down. "That dumbass gave the topazes I'd been leaving him to Spike. Didn't even give it all a second thought." She huffed and looks back at Minuette, her bloodshot eyes hard despite the tears that still formed in them. "He knows what gems left for him means! Roseluck knows what that means! Yet both played the fool when I confronted him about it! What do I have to do to get through to that idiot? I could kiss him on the beak and he still wouldn't get how I feel!" Her voice growing shrill as she continued talking.

   The confession was surprising, yet in a way, it wasn’t. A small sigh escaped Minuette’s throat as she sat back on her own haunches, briefly looking at the ground before returning her attention to Lyra. The question of when her sister had developed feelings for Blacklin came to mind and why hadn’t she seen it?

  She gave a short laugh, covered by a cough. Maybe it was only recently that Lyra herself had realized them. She never showed more interest in him besides friends until now. But topazes? Flowers? When. . 

  ‘Oh that sneaky witch.’ Berry, of course. She had known her friend was playing matchmaker. She had seen her do it many times before, but this time had been different and now she knew why.

  A small sigh escaped her lips as she stood up.

 "He's slow on the uptake with these things, Lyra," she says finally. "You know that. You also know that he didn't really mean to cause any harm. Get another gem, approach him again and really let him know how you feel. That'll go better, yeah? Definitely more than trying to play secret admirer, right?"

  Lyra took a deep breath once more and nodded slowly, though her eyes remained hard. It was if behind them was the hint of betrayal. It caused Minuette to give another soft sigh. The fool of a gryphon really had fucked up this time and it was going to take a lot of work to get things on track again.

  That hint thankfully didn’t last long. Those topaz eyes began to flicker back and forth in thought. Lyra wiped the remaining tears away with the back of her hoof and stood up.

 "Yeah, of course simple gems wouldn't get his attention," she says, almost feverishly. "I have to go bigger than that. Something that'd really leave an impact!" She gives Minuette a tight hug and started to run off towards the library.

 "Thanks, Minnie!" She shouts over her shoulder. "I know what to do now!"

 Minuette could only stare at her sister as she ran off, her head tilting to one side in confusion. The older mare now afraid as to what her sibling had in mind and half torn to follow after her or to continue on her way to where Blacklin was.

  In the end, it was the desire to play damage control that won out. Her own feelings not withstanding, she knew how her sister could get when angered and that fool of a gryphon had awoken the sleeping beast in his ignorance. She just hoped that the damage wasn’t too bad or beyond repair.

  She sighed and dusted herself off, looking sadly at the trampled flower on the ground before her. It must have fallen off when Lyra ran into her. The poor cornflower was now beyond saving. A shame, she thought Blacklin would have loved it. If not him, than Roseluck could have appreciated it.

  There was no time to mourn, however. One last deep breath taken and she hurried to the flower shop.

  The scene that greeted her when she arrived was a far calmer one than she had been expecting. Blacklin sat next to the counter, wings up around his face holding an ice pack to both his cheeks. Roseluck stood nearby, Lyra's saddle bag on her back. Both looked at Minuette as she entered in confusion.

   Minuette gave both a small smile before fully entering. She made her over to Blacklin, giving the gryphon a comforting and affectionate nuzzle before sitting next to him. He leaned against her, old habits apparently taking over for a brief moment. Once he realized what he was doing, he quickly sat back up in a neutral position, already red cheeks deepening in hue. Roseluck blinked and tilted her head in understandable confusion.

  "I had a run in with Lyra on my here," she says softly, looking at both gryphon and mare. "I've known her for a long time and I've never seen her as hurt as she looked."

 Blacklin winced at her words and his head started to turn, but the second wince told her that his cheeks were still pretty tender from whatever it was that Lyra had done. Minuette sighed and once more nuzzled him lightly before pushing him playfully with a hoof.

 "Those gems you gave Spike were from her, you know." she goes on. “Meant a lot to her too. She didn’t say it, but you could tell. How you couldn’t tell is beyond me and I’m sure there’s a reason behind it but a little bit more thought on your parts certainly wouldn’t have hurt.”

  She shrugged a bit and smiled once more, looking between Blacklin and Roseluck. Both were looking down a bit and Blacklin looked as if he'd been hit in the gut. The look he had, it told her that he knew just much he'd fucked up with those gems.

   She took the sapphire she had brought with her and looked it over. What to say and how to present to him had swirled in her mind as she had ran to the shop along with fixing the damage Lyra had done. Seeing things calmer than she had feared had helped calm her mind and settle herself. Despite the awkwardness of it all, she felt she had to move forward with her own courtship.

 "You know, my mother told me once when I was still a filly that the reason gems are used in a unicorn courtship is to show the one whose herd we wished to join that we are willing to, as her great grandmother had said once, 'dirty our hooves like an earth pony' for them," she says softly. "How flowers got involved, I have no idea."

  She tossed the sapphire up in the air with her magic and caught it in her hoof,  holding it for a few moments before offering it Blacklin.

  "I don’t know if you still have the feelings for me you used to all those years ago or if I’m anywhere near important as Rose or Pinkie are to you, but I still want you to have this.” She looks up at the gryphon, an almost sad smile on her face now. “Consider it from both me and Lyra, because as angry as she may have been, she hasn’t given up on you. Even now, she’s being foolhardy and looking for something big to give you.”

   She turned her attention to Roseluck, the sad smile becoming apologetic. “I know this has got to be insanely confusing to you,” she says. “Black and I, well we have a history together too from when he first moved here. I’ll let him explain it to you if he hasn’t already. I’m sorry for not bringing it up with you earlier like I should have. Just, I ask that you make this doofus hang on to the gem this time and not give it away.”

  Her smile had become playful at the last part, a way to ease some of the tension that had begun to form. The sudden and soft laughter from Roseluck at her jest letting her know it had worked. The earth mare nodding before looking at Blacklin to see what his next move would be.

 Blacklin reaches out and gingerly accepts the gem from her, looking it over slowly. He didn’t speak, simply inclining his head slightly. An unspoken acknowledgement. For what, she wasn’t sure, but she chose to believe that it was an understanding and acceptance of her explanation and courtship.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” Roseluck says after a few moments of silence had hung in the air. “Both he and I as well as you and I, Minuette. I trust you but there are just somethings I want to hear directly from you. But not now.” 

  She went silent for a bit, glancing towards the door then at Blacklin before once more settling her eyes on Minuette. “Do you know. . .”

  "When things changed for Lyra?" she finishes, getting a nod in response.  "No, sorry. I actually only found out about when she told me what happened."

  Her eyes fall to the saddlebag on Roseluck's back. "I can take that back to her for you. I know where she ran off to after we talked. Probably better that I do it than you right now anyways."

  There was a bit of hesitation from Roseluck, but she relents and nods, slipping the bag off and nudging it over to Minuette. The unicorn mare nods and smiles, picking it up with her magic and settling it on her back.

  “Thanks.” She nuzzled Blacklin once more before standing up and stretching out, adjusting Lyra’s bag once more. She then walked over to Roseluck and nuzzled her affectionately as well before starting towards the door, giggling a bit at the blush that had begun to spread across the earth mare’s cheeks.

  “I’ll get out of your mane now so you can talk kinda in private.” She smiled. “And sorry for making an awkward situation even more awkward.”

  Before I start, I suppose it'll help if I mention something about myself that I never had before. Actually, it's something that very few really know about me, even Roseluck didn't know this for the longest time. Heck, I didn't even know this about myself until my first night in Ponyville.

  I don't handle being alone very well at night. Well, to be more exact, I don't handle being by myself in a building very well. It's something I never actually experienced before. Growing up, I never had the house to myself for any extended period of time. Even after I left home, I stayed at inns or hotels and there's always lots of others there. Same for once Vale took me in. He was always around at night and during the day, I was rarely home.

  So once I moved to Ponyville, I found myself alone for the first time in my life. Completely and utterly alone. It was a new experience, one that I didn't like. There was a silence I never knew could be there. All alone with just my thoughts. It’s uncomfortable if you’re not used to it. 

  Needless to say, my first week and some days after I first moved were filled with many a lonely night.

  I met Minuette proper a few days after Pinkie's welcoming party. She was one of the few who tried to say hello to me when Scootaloo was dragging me around to meet her mother. I always felt that it was a shame that we didn't get a chance to talk during the party, yet at the same time it was probably a good thing.

  Like Lyra and Bon Bon, Minuette turned out to be a Canterlot native as well. The funny thing to learn about her was that she had moved to Ponyville the year after Lyra had done so and that Lyra had done so the year after Bon Bon had. It was like some kind of moving conga line. As a side note, Minuette moved to Ponyville the month before I arrived in Canterlot. Wild.

  When I asked her why she'd moved, her reply surprised me.

  "I moved so I could be with my friends and family."

  I don't think I'd heard anyone use that as an explanation for moving before (usually it was the opposite when it came to family), but knowing her the way I do now, I can understand it. Especially given that Lyra’s her sister (which was a shock and surprise to learn as well!).

 Minuette's talent might be singing and timing, but I personally that it's being able to perceive others well. It's the only reason I can think of to why she's such good friends with Berry Punch. It's hard to imagine what it's like living with someone who seems perpetually drunk and hitting on anything that moves (okay, I suppose the last part would be like living with Evening). Obviously there has to be something there that others aren't seeing.

  She was the first one, the only one actually, to catch on that there was something wrong with me. She was the one who approached me each day to see how I was doing when I passed by her in town. And this is despite my best efforts to keep any signs that I was having trouble sleeping hidden. She saw right through it all.

  When I finally told her what was going, she offered to help. That's how our friendship started. She would spend evenings with me, often until I fell asleep. Thanks to her, adjusting to living by myself for the first time was easier than it could have been. That alone makes her special to me.

  Well, that and because eventually things did happen between us. First time I've ever mentioned that to anyone. She was the only one to somehow breakhrough the “Fleetfoot blinders” I had been wearing during that period of time. 

  It's funny now that I really think about it, actually. As close of friends as we are and were, no one ever once said anything about it. We never got teased like Rose and I did. I suppose it probably was because we never did anything to draw attention to it. Any time she spent with me was in the evening hours when there were few ponies out and about, same for when she went home, it was often in the early morning. When we passed each other in town, we never talked for more than a few moments (cause we often had talked before going our separate ways earlier). Just a check up on how we both were doing.

  She sighed and shook her head, looking down at the items before her: A chain of silver, clear and tempered crystal that had been hollowed out, and a few strands of her own mane. It had been almost as hard to gather them as it had been to get the topaz (save for the mane strands, of course). Silver chains were easy to get, but the crystal vial had taken her two days to get a hold of.

  A small smile played on her lips. Time and money that would be well spent, so she believed. She never thought that she would end up courting anyone, especially after the fallout from Princess Cadance's wedding. Yet here she was now, taking  a chance.

  The gems had been kept and now it was time to move to the next step: filling the vial with her magic.

  It wasn't the easiest of steps, any unicorn would tell you that. It took a lot of concentration, intense focus and the use of something personal. This is what the strands of her mane had been for. They were something of her's to focus the magic on.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gathering up the aether around the few strands of hair and slipping them into the vial. Once they were inside, she increased the amount of aether she'd been using, causing the hair to melt and become one with the magical energy.

  The next step was important. The resulting mixture needing to be condensed and frozen, solidifying and fusing with the crystal container’s insides. Each second of concentration caused stain on her body and it was all she could do to keep her breathing steady. One misstep and the gathered magic would backfire and explode, causing not only harm to herself (again) but to her home and likely the nearby houses as well. There was a reason many unicorns did this step of the ritual in a secluded area outside. 

    Only once the magic had solidified and stabilized did she finally allow herself to fully relax. Sweat dripped from her forehead and flanks and she smiled softly to herself, picking up the carefully threaded top.

 "Finally, this should be perfect!"

  She screwed the top on and slipped the vial into her saddle bag before checking the time.  Early afternoon, good. She had plenty of time to catch the gryphon and present him with her gift.

  Her body shuddered with nervousness as she adjusted her mane in the mirror. There were no guarantees that would accept the small necklace, she knew that. When he learned that the topazes had been from her, he may very well shun them. Oh, he'd do so gently, she knew that. If there was anything that she had learned about the gryphon over the last three years it was that he never intentionally meant to hurt anyone. He was just tactless at times. Idiotic at others.

 Satisfied with her mane, she smiled once more. That was all part of his charm she guessed. In a way, the gryphon seemed like an overgrown child. That might be why he got along so well with Apple Bloom and her friends when they met.

  After double checking to make sure the vial was secure inside her saddlebag, she picked it up and settled it securely on her back. There was no point in delaying things any longer. Besides, if she waited she might start to question herself again and that was something she didn't want.

  Now the main problem normally would be tracking Blacklin down, but that was something she already took care of. Thanks to Roseluck, she knew what the gryphon's schedule for the day would be. It was just a matter of finding the right spot to, well, ambush him at.

  She went over his route in her head as she slowly walked through town. There were the normal stops he had planned: Flower shop, Sugarcube, Carrot's Top and the Apple's fruit stall at the market. There were also a few unusual stops he was making too: one to Filthy Rich's place and another to Vinyl's club outside of town.

  That last part was confusing to the unicorn. He normally avoided clubs, even during their down times. If Roseluck hadn't said that he was going there at the request of Pinkie, she might not had believed it.

  With everything in mind, going to The Carrot's Top was her best option. In addition to Berry already knowing what was going on, there'd be the least amount of ponies there. Unlike the market for certain.

  She nodded to herself, plan in mind, and started towards the bar. She didn't get far, however, before running across Spike. Something the teen dragon was holding caught her attention and forced her to stop. Time seemed to slow down for the unicorn as she watched Spike move what seemed like a small gem and plop it into his mouth, chomping down happily on it.

  No, it wasn’t just any gem, it was a yellow gem. A topaz. There were two more in his hands and Lyra desperately wanted to brush it off as mere coincidence. A treat the young dragon had gotten from Rarity most likely. It was the easiest explanation and the one she wanted to deeply believe.

  He tossed up another topaz into the air and Lyra found herself following the gem's trajectory in spite of herself. A hint of blue caaught her eye and her chest grew tight. No, it couldn't be. There was no way, right? She was just seeing things. That had to be the answer.

 One step was taken, then a second and third and soon she ran over to the dragon, fixing him with almost a death glare.

 "Where did you get those gems!" Her shaky voice far more harsh and demanding than she had intended.

  Spike gave a yelp of surprise and ended up taking a few steps backwards, the gem he had tossed bouncing off his muzzle and falling to the ground.

 "Lyra? I got them from Blacklin, why?" he asks. "He said he had been finding them and didn't have a use for them."

  The tightness her chest grew and her whole body started to shake, stomach bottoming out. Her teeth began to grind and breathing became harsh. No use? He had no use for them? Even if he didn't catch on who they were from, he should have realized what they meant. No use indeed!

  She spun on her back legs and ran towards The Carrot's Top. Anger and sadness began to rule over her mind, vision blurring and turning red. To be dragged along like that was unforgivable. As she began to approach the bar, she came to a quick halt. 

  No, he wouldn't be there. Not yet. The time wasn't right. This was the time he'd be at the Flower Shoppe. If luck was on her side, that is where that bastard of a gryphon would be now.

 Spinning once more on her heels, she changed direction yet again and ran towards the flower shop. She was more than aware of the looks her mad dash was garnering and she didn't care. The gryphon had done more than enough to deserve her quickly building wrath. He had screwed up big time.

  As she approached the Flower Shoppe, Lyra spotted the cart Blacklin used for most his deliveries. It had been set up just to the side of the building, out of the way of anyone wishing to enter. Her eyes narrow and she uses her magic to force open the door before barreling inside.

  She's greeted by the sight of Blacklin and Roseluck in front of the counter, both earth mare and gryphon looking at her in confusion and mild fear from the door being nearly taken off its hinges.

 "Lyra?" Blacklin started. She didn't let him finish.

   Every once of rage that had been built up exploded at that moment. Her left hoof shot out and slapped the gryphon with every bit of her physical strength. At that same time, her magic lashed out and clocked him upside from the other side. If she hadn't been so angry, she would have found it to be comical. Blacklin barely had time to react the physical slap before getting hit by the magical one.

 "What in the name of Tartarus do you think you're doing?!" she shoutted, almost pressing her nose to his beak. "Just giving those gems to Spike like that? Are you completely idiotic or just plain stupid? Don't you know what those are for?"

   She placed her hooves on the gryphon's shoulder and pulled herself up to nearly standing on her hind legs, causing the saddle bag to slide off.

 "Those were courting gems you featherhead! Didn't that cross your mind? You hang on to them like that for all those days and getting my hopes up only to discard them to Spike without a second thought?! How can you be so heartless!?"

    By now tears had started to well up in her eyes and it was all she could do to keep from breaking down right there in front of them.

 "What do you think-" Roseluck starts.

 "SHUT UP!" Lyra's teary glare turned to the earth mare. "You're no better now! You should have realized what those gems were! You should have said something to him!"

  She pushed off the gryphon and takes a few steps back. "You're both damn fools! Complete and utter idiots!"

  A groan of disappointment escaped Lyra's throat as she padded up to the Carousel Boutique. Her efforts at the marketplace had been all for naught, though that didn't surprise her in the least.

  Unlike Canterlot, gems weren't in large demand in Ponyville. In fact, only two beings in the whole town had a use for them in the first place: Spike and Rarity. Spike only used them to eat and he got his gems from the spares that Rarity didn't use in her more extravagant outfits.

  The question of where Berry had been getting her topazes had been bugging Lyra for a while now. When the answer finally dawned on the unicorn, she had been overcome with a feeling of, well, being completely stupid.

  If one couldn't buy gems in town and needed them, go to the one who tended to have a ready supply on hoof to begin with. That realization had been the cause of her groan as she approached the Boutique's door and knocked, not looking forward to dealing with the owner.

  The door opens and Lyra finds herself greeted by Rarity. The fasionista mare blinks a few times in surprise, obviously not expecting to see her at all. Not really all that surprising since she rarely had any reason to visit Rarity. If there was a high class event that she had to attend, well she had a nice collection of dresses that she had brought with her when she moved from Canterlot.

 "Lyra, what a pleasant surprise," Rarity said, a half truth at best. Over the course of five years, they had shared perhaps two hours worth of actual conversation and most of that happened when Blacklin had run off two years ago.

 Regardless, Lyra knew to keep a pleasant expression. She smiled and inclined her head.

  "Sorry for suddenly stopping by," she said, "There was something I wanted to ask you. I'm not interrupting anything major, am I?"

  Rarity was silent for a few moments before shaking her head and taking a few steps back to allow Lyra to enter.

 "Not at all, darling," she claimed. "Nothing that can't be put off for a few moments in any case."

  A casual phrase, but the underlying tone was there: "Whatever it was you need, make it quick." Oh, she was certain that Rarity meant no insult and probably hadn't even realized that she had started to pick up some Canterlot mannerisms. Sadly, it seemed as if it were all the negative ones she had been adopting.

  That was all right though. Lyra didn't want to be long in the boutique anyways. Once she asked her question, she needed to leave before Rarity asked too many of her own.

  There lied the problem though. Lyra knew what she wanted to ask, but how to go about it? Would more suspicion be raised by flat out asking? No, probably not. The more she hesitated, the more likely it would end up being that Rarity would ask more questions. Questions that Lyra truly didn't want to answer.

  "I was wondering if you had any topazes," she finally says.

 "Is that all?" Rarity asked. She gives Lyra an apologetic smile and shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear. I gave my last one to Berry yesterday and simply haven't had time to go and collect more."

 "All right." Despite her best effort, she was unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Her options had become severely limited and the prospect of traveling to Canterlot simply to pick up a few topaz gems was more than unappealing.

 Rarity's expression went from apologetic to confused to understanding. She smiled and then padded off quickly upstairs. Before Lyra could ask her what was going on, the fashion pony returned. Next to her floated a small jeweled mirror.

 "Here you go darling," she says, floating the mirror over to Lyra. "I enchanted this mirror to help find gems long ago. It's not perfect, but it should help. When you get close to a group of hidden gems, it'll glow."

 Questions ran through Lyra's mind. How long had she had that mirror? Who was it really for? When did she learn to enchant items (not something that was easy to do)? None of them were given voice though, she was in no position to question a gift.

 Instead, she graciously accepted the enchanted mirror, bowing her head a bit. She gave her thanks and then left, promising to return the item when she was done.

----

  Hours later found Lyra far from Ponyville. The unicorn's hooves covered in dirt and all around her were piles of earth and holes filled with rubies, sapphires and amethyst. She panted harshly and threw up her hooves in disgust after finishing digging another hole.

  Like so many times, her digging had only resulted in red, purple and blue gems. So often had this happened that she was close to giving up. She slumped down to her knees and panted softly, tears starting to form in her eyes.

  So much work for nothing. Was all this really worth it now? Maybe it would have been better to go to Canterlot after all. Sure it would have cost more bits than she'd like to spend, but at least she would have the topaz.

  She poked the uncovered gems in disgust. A part of her debated if she should gather up what had been found and leave them with Rarity. That thought was quickly shot down. It was probably what the fashion pony had been expecting. It might have been petty, but no, she would get no gems. At the rate things had been going, no one would get any gems.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the mirror glowing slightly. Another hidden cache of gems, none of which would likely be the topaz she sought most. Still, she knew she should at least see what was hidden. It would be the last hole she dug.

  Her whole body ached from all the digging and each failure left her more and more emotionally drained. One last hole was all that would be able to do.

  It only took her a few moments to dig down to where the gems. First glance caused her heart to sink: more rubies with a few sapphires sprinkled in. She poked them a bit in disgust when something caught her eye. A faint glimmer of yellow peeked out as a few rubies shifted.

  A few more pokes caused her sinking heart to soar as more glimmers of yellow showed. Topazes! Easily five of the yellow gems were hidden underneath the pile. Satisfaction filled her body as she collected the gems and the mirror. Yes, it was only small amount, but that tiny collection made it all worth while.

   She shook her head and smiled a bit. Times had changed indeed. Two, nearly a full three, years ago she had been (ironically) teasing Blacklin about how much time he spent with Roseluck. Now? Now she was enduring playful teasing herself from one source about her and Blacklin.

  A small sigh of exasperation came from her as she finished applying her makeup. The unicorn mare looked herself over in the mirror, the scar now hidden and the bags no where near as bad looking as they had been.

   Her eyes fell upon a small necklace that rested on the corner of her mirror. It wasn't anything special to look at, a simple yellow tinted rock that had been smoothed down and carved into the shape of a lyre before it was attached to a silver chain. It meant a lot to her though.

   It had been a gift from Blacklin, something he had picked up in Shetlearn. A trinket among many that he'd gotten for his friends as attempt to apologize for his behavior and running away. Incentive too, so she personally believed, to come back home.

   When he had given it to her, Lyra's heart skipped a few beats and those first few days she wore it constantly. She had been ecstatic about being remembered and having some sort of proof that she hadn't messed up with her attempts to cheer him up.

   Why had she stopped wearing it? A small frown came to features as she realized that she that she couldn’t answer that question. The most she could say is that maybe the novelty of the necklace started to wear off. Though, perhaps it was more that seeing Roseluck wearing the rock pearl rose necklace Blacklin had gotten the earth mare turned her off from wearing her own.

   Once more she shook her head. Stupid and petty jealousy had kept her from wearing something she genuinely liked. How idiotic had she been? Did others see her like that as well?

   No, they probably didn't. They didn't know her thoughts. At most, others would have thought that she just began to forget to wear it or that she got too busy to put it on.

   Well that's something she decided to change right then. Gingerly, she removed the necklace from it's place on the mirror and slipped it on. Giving her reflection one more quick once over, she smiled and nods.

   As she started to the door, an all too familiar voice cut through the silence.

   "Up and at 'em, Lyra!" Berry called out. "This is your wake up call for the day! Get that sexy flank out here so we can see it!"

   Lyra found herself only able to stare at her bedroom door as a low groan came from her throat. There was the reason why staying in bed was not an option. Even if she were to try, Berry would come and drag her out. Undoubtedly by the tail at that!

   She mentally rubbed her temples before opening the door and padding into her living room.

   Berry Punch stood at the front door, a cheerful grin on her face as greeted the unicorn mare.

   "Ha! Knew that'd get you out!" she said. "And I was doubted."

   The earth pony gave a sniff of indignation and shook her head, expression turning from jovial to hurt in almost an instant. Hoof went to face as if wiping a tear away.

   "And Bon thought that I couldn't do it," Berry went on. "Can you believe that? Such doubt!" She shrugged and tilted her head to the side. "But that is in the past. Now! We have things to do! Flowers! Gems! Dance lessons! All must be gotten!"

   Lyra stopped in her tracks and looked at Berry in confusion and disbelief. Flowers and gems she could understand, but dance lessons? What in the blazes did she need dance lessons for? She already knew how to. It wasn't exactly like she was going to go in and just waltz the gryphon off his paws or anything. Or that she would take him to some fancy ballroom party either. Far as she knew, Blacklin didn't even know how to dance himself.

   She felt the color drain from her face and took a few steps back. Oh, no. No. No. No. No. That crazy earth mare was not thinking what she thought she was thinking. No way.

   "No dance lessons!" she exclaimed, perhaps a bit more forcefully than intended. "He doesn't dance! He doesn't need to learn! Leave him out of all this!"

   Berry blinked a few times and then grinned. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed. "Good to know you were actually listening." The grin goes more sly. "Though learning to properly shake your tail for him. . ."

   Lyra's cheek heated up at the implications of Berry's words. She shook her head violently before pushing Berry out the now open door.

   "Enough you tipsy maniac!" She shouted. "Just leave me be for the day!"

   The earth mare laughed before shrugging. "Just something to keep in mind," she teased. "But all right. Already dropped off the flowers today anyways. Remember, you said you'd leave him another gem today!"

   "I know!" Lyra stated firmly. "And I will. Just give me some peace. Please!"

   Berry stopped and looks at Lyra, magenta eyes looking abnormally clear and all traces of her normal flirtatious and tipsiness seeming to melt away. She was quiet for a few moments, eyes glancing to her the unicorn's neck and the rock lyre that rested there.

   "If you don't do anything, those feelings are going to just swirl inside of you," she said. "All that will happen is you'll feel anxious and empty inside. I don't want to see you go through that, all right? You're a friend and loyal patron. I wanna see you happy, not regretful. Court the featherhead, at least then you'll know."

   After the day he had, Blacklin was finding simple solitude in his own room. As he glanced around it, a small smile plays on his beak. Over the three years he'd been in Ponyville, that one room had changed so much.

   It had gone from a simple, near bare room with just his bed and writing desk to having countless pictures on the walls, memorabilia from Canterlot Castle, signed pictures from Spitfire and Firefly, framed music sheet from the Royal Canterlot Orchestra (which he had finally gotten the pleasure of seeing when he went with Roseluck and Pinkie to take Princess Luna up on her offer a year ago).

   He remembered the periods of loneliness he had felt during the first year. Sure he'd made quick friends when he moved: Lyra, Firefly, Scootaloo, Applejack, Berry Punch and Minuette; but he had to admit a bit of homesickness had set in at first. That was why he was grateful for the friends he'd made, Minuette and Lyra especially (not to discount the insanity that the CMC would often bring along). Those two stopped by some nights, along with Roseluck after they'd become friends, and their company had done wonders to ease that feeling away over the years.

   Still, it was never a dull moment, especially when the orb activated, even if the messages conveyed were sometimes horribly embarrassing. Even if the messages to others would end up causing him trouble at times!

   He reached over and touched it gently, causing it to flicker and then shift turning into an almost three-dimensional window. Once more, the gryphon recognized the scarred features of his friend Viola.

   The unicorn mare could be seen pacing and muttering to herself. Her cheeks still held a blush that had been there during her last communication. It would not be surprising if she had been like this since then.

   Finally she seemed to realize that her recording was going and she looks straight at Blacklin and glares.

   "Gah! First Pinkie Pie and now you!" she exclaimed. "Y'all need to stop making assumptions about me already!"

   She muttered a bit more and then takes a breath, looking back towards Blacklin.

   "I'm going to turn this back at you," she stated matter-of-factly. "You've mentioned 'the herd' before and I want some clarification on courting and how that works." There's a short pause before she gave a sly grin. ". . .and if the lot of you are so bent on getting nosy, I shall ask if you and Applejack ever cleared the air from earlier."

   Her outburst caused the gryphon some confusion until he realized that she had probably meant to have it sent, or at least have it received, earlier than it did.

   The questions asked left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth. He thought he had gone over this topic before in the past, but he could only guess that either Viola never saw it, had forgotten about it, or had been left confused by it.  Those were the only things that made sense to him anyways.

   He sighed a bit and then shruged. It wouldn't hurt to try to clarify things a little. Though, it was probably best to answer that last question first.

   "I'm guessing that you want to know about what's happened since she and I decided to take a wait and see approach," he said, receiving a nod in response.

    "That's what I thought." He gave another soft sigh and settled in on his bed, thinking over how exactly to respond. "It's been a month or so since then. We've had a lot of time to think it over since then and really, it hasn't come back up since."

   He gave another shrug. It wasn't the best of answers and he knew that, but it was the truth. Since they had that talk, both he and Applejack hadn't really brought it up. Of course, that may have been due to his own work picking up and the added work of making sure that Moonlight didn't over strain herself.

   On top of that, Applejack had started spending more and more time with Rarity lately. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but the unsaid thought was there. Honestly, it was cute to watch. There was no jealousy, no bitterness. If that's where things were headed for AJ, he was happy for her and wished her the best.

   "She's been doing her own thing since then," he says aloud.

   He noted the look of disbelief on Viola's face and he responds with a sheepish smile. "Look, it's not my place to talk about what may be going on in her personal life, okay?" He clarified.

   He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. Now he had to tackle the bigger question.

   "About the herd thing," the gryphon says slowly, "that's a bit complicated to go on about. I'll try to do my best to explain it, but forgive me if it comes out odd.

   "I stated before, I think, that Equestrian ponies are pretty much polygamous," he begins. "Mainly because of the skewed gender ratios. I think last count had it near three to one, mare to stallion."

   He slid off the bed and began to pace.

   "A 'herd', as you can guess, is what a stallion's set of mates is called.  A herd usually will consist of three to five mares, but I've heard stories of some stallions in places like Manehatten having a herd with up to eight to ten mares in it." He shakes his head. "I don't know how anyone could handle something like that personally. Three or four would be my limit at best.

   "Now this isn't all ways the case, there are exceptions to the case like myself and Big Mac, but a herd will usually consist of just one race of pony. You know, like all pegasi or all unicorn.

   "Now, because of this, it isn't unusual for siblings or cousins to end up as part of the same herd. Especially if they happen to be close and have the same taste in stallions."

   He stopped pacing and laughs before looking back at Viola.

   "So it wouldn't be odd, by pony standards anyways, if say one of Pinkie's sisters were to join my 'herd'."

   He gave another soft laugh and continued on.

   "Each herd often has an 'alpha mare'. The best way to describe it would be that they're the first mare of the herd. Sort of the main mare a stallion wants to be with. They're the one who gives the okay about any other mares who want to join a stallion's herd."

   A smile crossed Blacklin's beak. He could already see the question forming up in Viola's mind through the glint in her eyes.

   "And how does a mare show they want to join a herd, you might ask?" he went on. "Well, some take the very direct approach and flat out ask. Some join with the alpha mare. Others have, well, the best way to describe it would be a 'mating ritual'."

   He chuckled softly.

   "Now, I've never seen any, but I've heard stories of some," he explained. "Each race kinda has their own ritual that they use.

   "Pegasi are like gryphons in a way. You've seen the feathers that I've given to Roseluck and Pinkie and the significance of those. Pegasi are the same way. They'll present the stallion with one of their feathers, sometimes it's plucked form their wings and sometimes it's one that's fallen out. Another thing that they'll do is to present a stallion with a personalized cloud."

   He notes Viola chuckling a bit and smiled. It was a bit odd, he admitted, but would be interesting to see at some point. Personally, he pictured Dash trying to make this giant cloud statue of herself to give to a stallion when he had heard that part.

   "And unicorns have their own, rather interesting, ritual." He hopped back on his bed as he continued on. "Unicorns will give a gem that matches the color of their eyes to the stallion they like. After so many gems have been accepted, they will do something that I never thought was even possible: create a vial that will contain their magic. Honestly, if I hadn't seen such a vial with my own eyes, I never would have believed it.

   "I don't know how they pull it off, but I'd love to see it some day."

   Once more he noted the look in Viola's eyes. The question that was forming was an easy one to guess: He'd mentioned Pegasi and Unicorn ponies so far, but had been absent about Earth ponies. The truth of the matter was that he didn't know about their rituals.

   "Kinda funny given that my two marefriends are earth ponies, but I really don't know much about their own ritual," he admits. "I hazarded a few guesses before but those were things that ended up being true for all races, not just them.

   "You see, a common ritual between all three races is to give the stallion a bouquet of flowers that match the color of the stallion’s coat. Granted, that's not always the case. Sometimes there isn't a flower that'll match their coat. I don't know what they do in that case."

   He tilted his head in thought and tapped his beak, going over all he had just said.; wondering if there was anything he'd missed. Rituals themselves, what a herd was considered, alpha mares. . .  He blinked a few times and snapped his talons.

   "Ah! Almost forgot something! I mentioned alpha mares earlier, but there was something about them that I had forgotten about. You see, while it's usually the first mare to be a stallion's partner, that's not always the case. There are times when it'll change. An alpha mare is the one who means the most to a stallion. There have been a few times when two mares mean equally as much to stallion, but that's incredibly rare."

   He smiled at Viola. "I'm sorry about all the teasing you've gotten about your relationship with your version of myself," he says. "I do know exactly how that feels. You'll recall that Roseluck and I received the same kind of treatment from our friends at first as well. While, yeah, we ended up together in the end, it may not happen for you and him."

   His smile grew larger. "Though, it's pretty easy to see that you're a close friend to him. If he's like me and he's offering to teach you to fight or simply just really opening up, it means he trusts you deeply, even if he doesn't say it out loud. You're a friend and we're loyal to those we care about."

    The pegasus mare looked up at Blacklin, eyes narrowing slightly. Her tail swished behind her and a soft huff escaped her throat.

   It was a harshness that Blacklin didn't expect. Did the past really haunt her so much that any questions about it caused her to lash out? Maybe that wasn't it. Perhaps the more correct answer was that he may have sounded like he was questioning if she truly belonged or was skilled enough for the responsibility. It hadn’t been his intention, but it wasn’t hard to understand how she could view it that way.

   The best course of action, then, was to clarify his statement.

   "What I mean is how did you end up with Nightingale," he amended. " You said you had been under Nightingale's care for the last three years, how did that come about?"

   "She is my second," the bat pony stated, cutting off any harsh comment that could be made from Dust. The statement caught the pegasus off guard and she was visibly shaken from it. Enough so that Blacklin mentally questioned if that was the truth or if she was placating a hurt ego.

   "Ma'am," she started, but is cut off once more by Nightingale.

   "If I may," the bat pony says. "I met Lightning Dust during her try outs at the Wonderbolt Academy. Quite a display she put on there as well."

   The pegasus blushed, seemingly unsure if that was a compliment or backhanded insult.

   "Talented in flying, but far too great an ego," Nightingale continued. "Similar to a certain rainbow maned recruit there as well. Far be it for me to question Captain Spitfire, but it's my opinion that it was a mistake to pair them up. I understand a bit to her reasoning, however."

   She gave a slight shrug, a silent confession that it was not her place to say. Her gaze turned to Twilight briefly before turning back to Blacklin, cerulean eyes half lidded, giving her an almost bored expression.

   "Given your connections, I am certain that you know what happened," she went on. "And the end result of it all was that Lightning Dust was dismissed from the Academy."

   She glanced at Dust and smiles slightly.

   "However, she did impress me," she then stated. "And that is not something easy to do. I saw potential in this young one. Potential that could come out if her rashness and ego could be tempered."

   The slight smile grew into a wistful one as Nightingale slipped into memories.

   "It was a challenge," she added. "Lightning Dust still has a strong rebellious streak in her and it has taken much patience over these last three years to reign it in check. An incident with a group of hippogriffs near Neighlons did wonders to humble her though."

   Dust's cheeks grew a deep red and neither she nor Nightingale elaborated on the incident. In Blacklin thoughts, it was more than likely that Dust was too ashamed of what had happened and that Nightingale was not looking to embarrass her, for lack of a better word, student.

   "Needless to say that it was a lesson well learned," the bat pony concluded. "That was about a year ago. Since then she has done well in following orders and respecting authority. If she can help it, she no longer risks the well fare of others in pursuit of personal glory."

   Her voice contained a hint of pride as she finished. "I personally requested that she be a part of the Ponyville squad. I want to show those she wronged the most that she has learned and is apologetic for her actions three years ago."

   "Well, it seems that she's already gotten forgiveness from one," Blacklin stated, looking at Twilight. To his surprise, the unicorn mare shook her head.

   "I appreciate Nightingale's efforts," she said slowly, "but I am not completely ready to forgive reckless actions like that. The danger to me and my friends was too great to simply wash away. I'm sorry."

   "Yeah, and I wouldn't doubt that Dash and Applejack won't be the same way," Gilda adds. "They're both pretty stubborn."

   Blacklin nodded in understanding. He suspected that Rarity wouldn't be so quick to forgive either. Fluttershy and Pinkie on the other hand. . . Well, Pinkie easily forgave  and Fluttershy tended to as well.

   The one he was most unsure about was Firefly. Chances were that she could forgive the pegasus, especially if she was given assurances by Nightingale. However, would Nightingale's endorsement be enough to sway the former Wonderbolt captain? He supposed that only time will tell.

   As for himself, well he was satisfied with Nightingale's explanation. Sure there were things that seemed out of place or at least seemed like they were only half-truths. Nothing that he wished to press on, however. Besides, matters of a more important nature had come to mind.

   The hour had become late and thoughts of heading home entered his mind. While those thoughts began to fill his head, a realization that Moonlight had gone from simple houseguest to full on housemate struck.

   He gave a small bow to those gathered and presented them with a rueful smile.

   "This has been interesting to learn," he said, "but you'll have to forgive me. Think it's time for me to be getting home. A lot to think about now." He glanced at his sister and motions for her to follow. "And a lot to talk to my sister about," he added.

   Moonlight tilted her head in confusion, but followed after Blacklin, out of curiosity more than anything.

   Once they had left the library, Blacklin turned to the hippogriff. "We have to sort out living conditions for you," he stated. "I mean, I was okay with you staying for a month, but permanently? I dunno. . ."

   Moonlight blinked and then laughed.

   "Oh, that all?" She said flippantly, "It'll only be a few months more at tops. Things have already been settled. Princess Celestia is having a contractor from Canterlot come in a few days to start work on what'll be our barracks. Once that's done, Gilda and I will be out of your feathers and you can get back to your private time with your mares."

   The gryphon felt his cheeks grow hot with her insinuation and he was about to protest when they were interrupted by a small buzzing from his orb. Never had he been more happy for an interruption than at that moment.

   Once tapped, the orb flared open in its normal window, revealing a very excited looking Viola.

   "Oh, Blacklin!" she exclaimed. "I just found out something interesting about the native you! The you from my world." She nearly seemed to bounce in pure giddiness at sharing her news.

   "Apparently he knows combat skills thanks to his grandfather- an earth pony, right?" Her excitement tempered slightly as her head tilted to the side, a few strands of her brown hair falling into her eyes. "Is. . this the same for you? Care to elaborate?"

   There's a pause while she waited for an answer, but before one can be given she perks up once more.

   "Oh dear, I almost forgot," she added, excitement completely tempered away now. "Is he the reason your sister went into the military as well? I'm sure she learned much from him."

   Blacklin's body completely tensed up at hearing this news. There was truth in what his friend had said. On his mother's side, their grandfather was indeed an Earth Pony. A former member of both the Equestrian Royal Guard (until he had met their grandmother) and then briefly a member of His Royal Majesty's Guard (until their mother had been born).

   Had he learned anything from his grandfather before running away? A little, yes. Enough that if it came to it he could defend himself at the very least. it wasn't something he readily let known though. Fighting was not something he ever wanted to do.

   "Seems there's a lot in common between her version of you and yourself," Moonlight noted, tapping her beak lightly. She smiled and inclined her head to Viola. "Yes, a lot of that's true, Miss Viola," she said. "Our grandfather was military in both Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom."

   She looked at Blacklin and shook her head a bit. "But he's not why I joined the military. Like I told the doufus when I finally found him in Shetlearn almost a year ago... Was it a year ago? Might have been a bit longer. Anyways, like I told him then, I joined the military and specifically went into the Border Patrol in an effort to track his behind down."

   She gave an embarrassed smile. "Though, I won't deny that my grandfather is part of why I was able to get that position in the first place and why I busted my butt off once I got in."

   "You know, now that I look at you two, I'm kinda glad that you've never met face to face," she added. The look of confusion on both Viola's face and Blacklin's causing her to laugh. "Well, you get along so well that I fear you'd end up as part of Black's herd. Best watch yourself over there so you don't get completely swept up by your version of my brother!"

   It was silly, she knew that, especially given how Equestrian relationships went. They were polygamous by nature, often a stallion would have three or four partners. This wasn't unusual. Still, gryphons were different. At least, she had thought so from her talks with Blacklin. After he came back from Shetlearn (she thought that was where he'd gone to) she was no longer sure.

   "Hold up," came Berry's voice, snapping Lyra from her thoughts. The earth mare sat a glass down in front of Lyra and from the smell she could tell that it was a sour apple and grape mixture.

   "Who was right about what?" Berry asked. She crossed her forehooves and looked at Lyra, a worried expression on her face. "And why are you looking like someone just stole your favorite toy?"

   As if in response to Berry's question, a small orb that glowed pink materialized between them. It hovers for a few seconds, as if making sure that it wasn't interrupting anything, before opening up into a window. The figure that can be seen causes Lyra's cheeks to flush and eyes narrow slightly.

   Viola was not the pony she had wished to see at that moment. She was not in the mood for gloating.

   "Congratulations, Lyra, for figuring out how you feel about him," Vi stated, leaning back her chair as she regarded the other unicorn. "I won't say I told you so, just will say that I'm happy you'll stop beating around the bush and enjoy more of your life really being with him." She paused for a moment before giving an apologetic smile. "I do apologize for bantering too personally with you before."

   Berry blinked at that response before giving Lyra a quizzical look. The aquamarine unicorn stayed silent for a moment. Anger had begun to well up inside her and she did not trust herself to speak.

   How dare Viola come out and say that. Not say 'I told you so'? She went and did just that in the most backhanded way possible!

   "Okay, wait, who's this 'he' she's talking about, Ly?" Berry asks. "Never figured you to be one to fancy anyone either so share the gossip."

   The unicorn took a moment to collect herself. A deep breath was taken before looking at Viola’s image.

   "You," Lyra stated, her voice low as she pointed a hoof at Viola's image, "do not get to say anything! You're the cause of all this! You may be right but you do not get to be smug about it at all."

   She huffed before swatting at the image, causing it to shimmer and then shift back into the orb it started out as.

   "Still waiting on some kind of an explanation here," Berry said, voice starting to show hints of impatience. "Take a sip of that first though. Calm you right down. I don't need you trying to bite my head off when I just wanna know what's wrong with one of my friends."

   Lyra blinked and looked down at the cup she'd been given. Berry was right, she did need to calm down.  She nodded and smiled a bit before taking a sip of her drink. She had been expecting a bitter sourness from the drink, but was surprised by sweetness. Though the smell of sour apple was there, none of the sourness was. A warmth flowed through her body it felt as if it pooled where the heaviness had been, lifting the weight up.

   "How?" She started to ask and then stopped, noting the grin on Berry's face and glint in her eyes. An explanation to her secrets would not be coming, that much was certain from the earth mare's expression.

   Lyra smiled and shakes her head, feeling much better thanks to the drink and deep breaths. She took another breath, releasing it slowly before explaining to Berry about what had happened between herself and Viola earlier in the day.

   When she had finished, Berry leaned back and blinked a few times before breaking out into loud laughter.

   "And you just up and slapped him with your magic?" She claimed. "Just like that? His expression must have been priceless!"

   She laughed more as Lyra blushed and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. Hearing someone else say made her realize just how dumb her actions had been. It was uncalled for, no matter how justified she might have felt at the time.

   "Ah, that was a good laugh," Berry said, calming down. "Thanks for that." She leaned on the counter top and gives Lyra a sly grin. "So, when are you going to confess to the gryphon, hmm?"

   The question caught Lyra by surprise. Confess? The thought hadn't crossed her mind. No, it was best not to say anything to him. He had his hands full with Roseluck and Pinkie as it was. Not only that, but with his sister still in town and the stress from that, he certainly didn't need another surprise dropped on his head.

   Berry seemed to sense this hesitation and snorted softly. "You can't just realize this and not do something about it," she stated. "Court the goof or something at the very least. Let him know that you like him!"

   "Court?" The question came out of her mouth before she realized it.

   "Yeah," Berry said, "you know, try to win his affection and all that. Not like it'd be hard."

   Lyra blushed again. Courting? She wasn't even sure where to begin with something like that. Sure, there were customs for such things. Each pony race had their own. Unicorns, for instance, would solidify or liquefy the aether of their magic and present it to the one they were courting in a vial or gem. Common among all the races were giving flowers of their coat color or similar things.

    She blinked and shook her head. Why was she even considering this? Had she just not confirmed to herself that she wasn't going to place extra stress on Blacklin? This was stupid and silly. There was no need to continue that line of thought.

   She downed the rest of her drink in a single gulp and slammed the cup down on the counter before shaking her head.

   "No, I don't think so," she started. "He has enough going on right now. That gryphon doesn't need some idiot who doesn't know her own feelings pestering him."

    The grin Berry gave her after saying that caused a shiver to run down her spine.

   Wind Whistler pointed a hoof at Nightingale.

   The pegasus was nearly frothing at the mouth by the time she finished. Her breaths came in harsh, angry pants. Her eyes were cold, hard and narrowed as she looked at Blacklin. The gryphon was unsure who she was more angry at: Himself or the bat pony she was accusing.

   Nightingale, to her credit, was calm during Wind Whistler's tirade. If it upset her or caused any sort of emotion, Blacklin couldn't see it. Once Whistler had finished, she looked around at the others.

   Now that the initial shock of Wind Whistler's outburst had faded, the others give each other bemused looks. Blacklin likened it to a group that were all in on some grand joke but refused to share it.

   "If you are quite done, explanations can be done," Nightingale stated. Her voice was deep, soft and yet held a hard edge to it. Like spoken from one who commanded and knew they commanded. "Since I doubt that you would believe what I say, it would be best if Lady Twilight Sparkle told the story."

   The title seemed to catch Twilight off guard. She blinked a few times in confusion before coughing and gathering herself up.

   "Oh, yes, of course." She looked around briefly, as if trying to find an appropriate starting point.

   "Tch, no, I'll tell it," Gilda stated, cutting Twilight off before she could even start. "Teacher's Pet would take too long."

   She ran a talon through her head feathers and sighed softly before looking at Wind Whistler.

   "Princess Celestia gave us the whole run down about Nightingale here," she said. "Teacher's Pet there had the same reaction you did. Utter freak out for stupid reasons cause she believed everything written in books."

   Twilight huffed at the repeated use of "Teacher's Pet" but didn’t say anything, letting Gilda continue.

    "And seriously, can you really picture Princess Celestia executing anyone?" the gryphoness asked. "She's locked up in stone, in the moon, and who knows where else. And these were the worst threats to Equestria. You really are a bookish dweeb."

   She shook her head in mild disgust, ignoring the yell of protest from Wind Whistler before continuing.

   "Anyway, here's the deal: Nightingale and her squad weren't executed. She was banished along with Princess Luna after their confrontation. Why it was written that they were killed? I don't know. Maybe they didn't want the worry that there was a chance that when Nightmare Moon came back she'd have a whole squad at her beck and call or something."

   She shrugged and then goes on. "Didn't happen that way in the end. Nightingale and the rest of the Shadowbolts didn't return with Nightmare. Dash said she saw them when they all went to find Nightmare, but she just saw shades, a mockery of them to confuse Dash."

   "But she still was a traitor!" Whistler exclaimed.

   "LIES!" Nightingale's outburst caused the rest to jump back and Whistler to cower.

   The batpony took a breath. "I say again, lies," she stated, calmer this time. "We were not traitors. Thou are mistaken in one thought. My Shadowbolts and I were not guards of Princess Celestia. We were and are loyal purely to Princess Luna. Through good or ill, we follow her. We were traitors not. We remained loyal to our Princess though it pained us."

   She stomped her hoof in indignation. "And our loyalty was not betrayed! It was no Sun magic that freed us from our punishment! It was the light of the Moon which brought us back. The Sun had forgotten us."

   She looked away, eyes narrowed slightly. "We do not hate the Sun, though we favor her not. Tis the Moon whom we serve, my Shadowbolts and I. It is by Her hoof that we agree to be part of this Long Patrol."

   "Uh, yeah, what she said," Gilda said, rubbing the back of her neck. "In the whole aftermath of Nightmare's defeat and Princess Luna's return, Princess Celestia kinda forgot about the Shadowbolts."

   "Princess Luna was not happy about that either," Twilight added. "Princess Celestia said that she spent an entire night yelling at her before she freed them herself."

   "So, were they just recently released?" Blacklin asked at last, moving to keep himself between Whistler and Nightingale. He didn't think the pegasus would have another outburst, but he didn't wish to take any chances.

   Nightingale shook her head. "No," she said. "It's been about four years now since Princess Luna rescued us. We have spent that time learning about how the world is now to help us fit in. Thankfully, not all seem to be as well read as certain ponies."

   "No kidding," Lighting Dust interjected, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. "I didn't even know about this until Twilight had her freak out at the castle and I've been under her care for the past three years or so now. No one's freaked out like that before, not even stuffed shirt Firefly when they met. Ow!"

   Nightingale gave Dust a stern look, wing folding back against her side after having smacked the pegasus with it. "Lightning Dust, I have told you time and time again to treat the Wonderbolt captains and former captains with respect despite how you may personally feel about them."

   Lighting gave a sheepish smile and nods. "Yes, Ma'am, my apologies!"

   Blacklin started to say something, but is cut off by a small buzzing from the orb next to him. He rolled his eyes and gave the others an apologetic look before tapping it lightly. Instead of opening up slowly into a window, the orb nearly burst open in a flash of light, revealing a large window this time showing a rather miffed looking Rainbow Dash sporting a Shadowbolts outfit.

   She gave a low growl, glaring at Gilda and then Blacklin. Her image wavering as if there's interference of some kind.

   "Grrrr.  . .  Looking at that and seeing my own, I demand that you lock Gilda and her in a room and don't let them out till they've worked things out! This sulking business of hers isn't helping!"

   She crossed her forelegs and glared once more at Blacklin and then Gilda, as if emphasizing her point.

   Blacklin, Gilda, and Moonlight all shared a look before turning back to the image of Rainbow Dash. Her words were confusing, though it doesn't take long for him to figure out that the "her" she had been mentioning was his own Dash. A soft laugh from Gilda confirmed to him that she'd come to that same conclusion.

   The gryphoness' soft laughter soon got louder and a wide grin spread on her beak. "Oh man, hahahaha, wow. Really? You are out of the loop big time Dashie!" Gilda took a breath and wiped tears from her eyes before looking at the image. “Rainbow Dash and I made up like nearly three weeks ago! Ain't the best of friends anymore or anything like that, but there's no hard feelings."