Kestral puffed up his cheeks, getting ready to jump in the water. He tested the diving board, giving a small hop. The hot air blew through his face, reminding him of what he was really there for. Some of the other kids were already yelling at him to hurry up. A couple were calling him a chicken already. It was led by Charlie, of course.

He hated dares. He felt like they were just made to get people to do stupid things. But Sarah was watching. It wasn't just his ability being tested, or his pride; It was his proof of being the manliest one in the eyes of the girls. He had to show Sarah that he was worth something. If nothing else, she would know he could do a double-front-flip into the water.

Was such a move boring? Sure, to the average person. There wasn't anywhere to practice, though, that wasn't already taken. In a small town like this, there were only two sources of fun that everyone could enjoy; The park, and the pool. Given the season was summer, it was no wonder why everyone congregated to the latter. There was a small river -a creek, more like- that ran through the edge of town, but there wasn't a kid alive brave enough to jump into that snake-infested mud-water.

“Just jump, you wimp!”

He narrowed his eyes at the one who called him that, then looked away. He knew he could do this. With a small running start, he leaped off the diving board, eager to prove his worth.

He tucked. His body rolled once, but he realized he was turning just a tad too slow. When the children called, and he hit the water, he felt the liquid smash against his neck first, then along his head and back, before it consumed him. It almost felt painful, but that wasn't the right word. It was the memory of a pain; A sort of tingling sensation that he couldn't quite get rid of.

He breathed in the water, as if it was air, and tried to swim up. He couldn't, though. His body kept descending, no matter how he maneuvered himself in the water. The clear liquid turned darker as he was dragged down by some unseen force.

Bubbles floated up from under him. As he looked up, the sun got darker and darker, until his vision was only a few feet in front of him. Somehow, he was able to see the bubbles that far away, until they, too, vanished. Then, two by two, blue, glowing eyes appeared from the darkness. They stared at him with a general anger with a twist of sorrow.

A black foreleg snaked its way around his mouth, and suddenly he felt it difficult to breathe. He struggled against it, trying to pry it away with his hands, but to no avail; It was stuck there, to silence his screams.

Another foreleg wrapped around, bearing a knife. Kestral's mind jump, and he forgot about his mouth. He pressed his arms again the foreleg as hard as he could, staying the blade from his own flesh.

He looked down at this bare chest, right where the blade was pointed to. He didn't know why or how, but there were two hearts drawn there. The tattoos beat with a mute rhythm, moving slightly across the skin with each pulse. Veins protruded from each, extending a small distance before they disappeared, like the ends were seeping into him. One heart was only about half the size of the other, and was settled under the larger one in a way that made it appear to be taking shelter.

He was losing his leverage against the black foreleg. The edges of the holes on it only seemed to cut at his skin at the touch. The two hearts beat faster and faster as the knife got closer. He didn't know why, but he knew he needed to protect them; Even more then he needed to protect himself.

The knife drew closer and closer, until the point was right at the edge of the larger heart. His arms were shaking; He wasn't going to win out. The knife pulled against the skin, slowly, steadily. It sliced across, and the larger heart bled a black ink, flowing out into the water.

The blade neared the smaller one. The beating was faster and faster, firing off like a machinegun.

“No!” He yelled. He didn't even understand why, he just did. “Nooo!”

“Kestral.”

It all stopped. In the blink of an eye, everything shifted to a relatively normal situation.

He sat at the bottom of the pool, still breathing in the suddenly-slighly-blue water. He looked up to see a quadruped looking at him expectantly. “Luna?” he asked. His lucidity overtook him. He suddenly realized where he was, and what was going on. “Luna!” He said with a smile. He got up. For some reason, they were about the same height, unlike in the waking world, where she only came up to his chest.

“Hello, Kestral.” She said. “You seem to become lucid with more speed every time I see you.”

“Well, practice makes perfect.” He said. “I guess... thanks again?” He looked up and around, figuring out what memory that dream started off as.

“It's my pleasure as the mistress of the night. Your thanks are much appreciated.” She said. Luna looked around, 'hmm'ed for a moment, and moved them above the water, onto the concrete. “So, what actually happened here?”

“Hmm?” He asked. He looked around, seeing the numbers of people going through looped actions that seemed to be recycled continuously. He racked his brain before he remembered where in his life the preceding actions had taken place; Freshman year.

“Oh, it was just a day where I hung out at the town pool.” He said. “I hit the water wrong, and had red and sore shoulders for twenty minutes. I told people it was a sunburn, and when it went back to normal I told them I had absorbed the radiation. Freshmen believe anything.”

Luna gave him an amused smirk. “Should I assume that is in your 'high-school' education?” She put emphasis on the words, as if not used to using them.

“Yeah. I had just finished my first year of it, and the next round of newbies were asking what it was like.” He said.

“Interesting.” She commented. She looked around, as if to find more questions to ask. “So, was there anything special about this day?”

“Uh.” He said. “It was the first time I had seen a girl naked.” He remembered fondly of how he discovered that peephole to the women's showers.

Luna just raised an eyebrow. “You make it sound as if you're deprived.” She said.

His smile dropped, and he looked at her with a deadpan. “No. It's just illegal to walk around naked In the U.S.” He said. “It's considered indecent and immoral to a lot of people.”

That questioning gaze never left her face. “I don't understand why one would think such things, but I suppose it's just a matter of personal culture.” She said. “So, there was really nothing of note in this memory?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.” He said.

She looked at him with in pensive thought. “Well, then I guess your fears may have shifted.” She remarked.

“What do you mean?” He asked. “I'm not afraid of the changelings.”

“Maybe not. But maybe you're afraid of what they can do to you.” She said. Before he could respond, she continued. “I've been doing this for a long time, Kestral, and I find it quite rare for an event in a dream to happen for no reason. Your previous nightmares were memories, and this one was... modified. It seems your mind is using this memory as a base, and changed it to accommodate new fears.”

He nodded, although he wasn't quite sure what to think of it. “Well, I didn't think any of my fears changed.” He began, but then didn't know where to continue, so he shrugged.

“I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough.” She said.

There was a small lull, due to Kestral taking mental leave for a moment, so Luna steered the conversation a little more towards another direction.

“So, about that note last night...” She started, getting his attention again. “What was it that we needed to discuss?”

“Hmm?” He asked. Then, he recalled. After he got the two eggs, he had gone and given her a note, asking politely to meet him in his dreams if possible. Her presence there was called for anyways, after all, he did give her permission to enter his dreams whenever he wanted. Why did he give her a note, though? Because there was a sudden influx of ponies that demanded to speak on cases. “Oh, right.” He said. “I actually wanted to give you something last night, but you seemed swamped with cases.”

“Oh?” She asked, obviously intrigued.

“Yep! Say hello to-” He concentrated as best as he could to get the objects to appear in his hands. He closed his eyes for a split second, and they did. He offered them to her. “-thing three and thing four.” He finished.

She looked at them for a moment, starry eyed. She shook it off, however, probably reminding herself that she was in a dream, and still had to wait a bit to get them. “You got them?” She asked. “How do you keep finding them?”

“Yes, I got these two.” He said, handing them over for her to look at them -or, at least, Kestral's memory of them. The gesture seemed lost to her, though, as she just kept looking at him. “And I made a deal with the thieves guild. I help them, they find me these. Then I just go nab 'em.”

She looked at him inquisitively. “You're telling me that's how you found all of them, and then just started giving them to me?”

“Well, no.” he said. “I found the black one first, in Ponyville. Then I saw the one in Celestia's room, and saw they were just alike. I figured they were a pair or something, so I just gave it to you with the plans I had recovered.”

“Ah.” She said. “That makes sense.”

“Yep.” He said. “Anyways, when do you want to meet, so I can give you the two I have?”

“The ambassadors and foreign interests have been self-reliant as of recent, so my afternoons are typically free.” She said. “Should I expect the usual place? Perhaps around four 'o clock?”

“Yeah, sure.” He said. “That's perfect. I'll meet you there at four.”

She nodded with a smile. “Very well, I shall see you there.”

She looked like she was about to leave, so he caught her attention. “Hey, Luna?” He asked. She looked at him with a more subtle curiosity. “Before you go, I've been meaning to ask you something.”

“Hmm?” She seemed thoughtful. “What would you like to ask?”

He paused for a moment, wondering briefly if he was about to cross some unspoken line in personal barriers. He decided he wasn't, and continued. “When I gave you that second egg -the red one- you seemed... rather emotional.” He started. “I just want to ask what they mean to you.”

Her smiled faded into a neutral, pensive pair of sealed lips. She looked at him less like a princess and more like a parent trying to find the right words to convey an idea to a child. She stared at him for a small moment, then spoke.

“Well,” She started. “the stone eggs were gifts made by a very old friend; Starswirl the Bearded. He made seven of them. One for sister, one for I, four for our other close friends, and one for himself. They were a binding gift -a testament to our lasting friendship.”

He nodded, understanding. He had no intention of asking further, but Luna had looked around, and seemed to displace her concentration. She moved around in a slow, almost sluggish walk, and sat on her haunches at the edge of the pool of water. She moved the tip of her hoof around, and forced the liquid to react. He got to her side, and looked at her expectantly. He felt like he was about to listen to a children's story.

“That was back around.... fourteen hundred years ago.” She said. “Equestria had been formed about two hundred years prior, and my sister and I had taken alicorn form one hundred years prior, marking our de facto diarchy. Less than a decade later it became a true diarchy, with unicorns at the front of our support, given how we took the burden of the sun and moon from them.”

“Anyways.” She continued. “We had made made close ties to the leaders of different special interest groups. Back then, everyone was more personal, they saw my sister and I differently. Among the intellectuals, we had befriended Starswirl the bearded. He was quite the charmer in his day, let me tell you.” She smiled affectionately. “He never outright said it, as it would have terrible political ramifications if he did, but he had feelings for Celestia. He had no herd, and never wanted children, but he felt connected to her.”

“We made other close friends. Close enough to visit more than the other factions representatives. There was Toil the brute. He represented the physical labor groups in Equestria. A very nice stallion. He actually set the record for the largest herd on legal record....most kids, too.” She smiled. “He never got that degree in geology that he wanted.” She muttered.

“Then there was Flora the natural. She was another strong earth pony. She cared for all the gardens and animals, and whipped them into shape if they made any trouble. She didn't actually represent anyone on a legal level, but she was the most vocal to the problems of any outdoorsponies.”

“There was also Peachy the plump. Now, I know that having a nice layer of fat on one's body is considered beautiful these days, but back then it was not. Many ponies considered it gluttonous, as it had only been a few generations from a small famine. She represented the foreign economics committee, which was mostly just us exporting food at the time.”

“And then there was Fire-Dancer the pyromancer.” She smiled a bit too childishly at the name. “I know the name may sound... eccentric. But hear me out when I say he was a true sweetheart. He was the head of our military at the time, but he wouldn't hurt a fly.”

“Your military was led by a pacifist?” Kestral asked.

Luna gave him a stern glare, angry at his interruption. “Ponies can have different mindsets during times of peace and times of war. He grew up in peace, so he was.... unseasoned, so to speak.”

“Anyways.” She continued. “We were all great friends, and Starswirl appreciated it. He made those eggs to symbolize our binds to eachother.”

“That's all they are, though. Mementos. Such things are valuable to sister and I, however. We are long-lived, but our memory is not perfect.” She looked away for a moment. “I simply fear that, one day, I will set the moon and not remember who used to stand by and watch as I did.”

Kestral nodded. He realized he should have suspected that after he found the white egg in Celestia's room. Now he knew who it was from, at least. He also realized that Celestia must have reciprocated some of those feelings in some way. She did, after all, dedicate a whole section of the castle to him.

“Well, don't you worry.” He said. She looked at him with a half-smile. “I can get them for you.” He offered a sincere smile.

“Well, thank you.” She said. “It really would help me focus on court cases if we had those back.”

He raised his eyebrow. “You think about them that much?” He asked.

She looked away for a moment, not answering until she gathered her thoughts. “I... was not always around these past fourteen hundred years.” She said. “Specifically, these past thousand, I was gone. I have no memory to fill it, so it's just a gap to me. From my own point of view, they had only passed a few centuries ago. It helps to make new friends, to move on, but.... I still mourn them. I admit that it still stings to know that it's just us three left from the golden age...” She trailed off.

“...three?” He asked.

“Two, I mean.” She corrected. “Just... just us two.”

He nodded, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, drawing from her an odd look. “Like I said. Don't you worry.” The fact that she smiled didn't escape him. “If you need someone to talk to, I'm always sleeping something off. Feel free to visit.”

She gave a tiny, suppressed giggle. “I think I will.” She said. “Four 'o clock?”

“Four 'o clock.” He said.

She nodded, and with that, she left, leaving an empty space where is mind had just perceived her to be. Right be fore she had left, she muttered only two words.

“Sleep well.”

“You too.” He said, before he realized what he said. He scolded himself for his reactionary statement.

His eyes cracked open, adjusting to a stunning amount of light before he could make out the small doe staring back at him from a foot away. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and she spoke.

“Morning, Kes!” Navi said. “Did you sleep okay?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Morning.” He said, noticing her worried face. “Something wrong?” He asked.

She shrugged. “It sounded like you were having a nightmare a few minutes ago.” She said.

“Oh, I'm fine.” He said. Kestral stuck his hand out and tussled the spot on top of her head. “Thanks for asking.”

“Okay.” She said, not truly convinced. Still, she offered a smile to him. “Well, mom's cooking lunch if you want to join us.” She said.

“Huh?” He asked, giving a yawn right after. “Sure, I’ll be there in just a second.”

She nodded, and hopped into the kitchen.

He took a moment to get up, not wanting to get out of the unreasonably comfortable couch. Eventually, the smell of garlic bread managed to bring him out of comfort, rousing the hunger that he didn't realize he had. He got up, and lumbered into the kitchen.

Jasmine looked up from the pot of boiling vegetables, and gave him a small wave. “Good afternoon, Kestral.” She said. “I was hoping you'd wake up soon.”

“Good morning.” He said. “How are you all today?”

“We're doing great!” Navi said, grabbing crayons from a worn box. She put a piece of paper on the table and started drawing. “I got to hang out with mom all morning!”

He leaned against the wall and looked between the two for a second, before he settled on Jasmine. “I thought you said you worked today?”

She rolled her eyes, though she looked like she was holding back some anger. “When my boss saw the sudden deposit in our medical account, he jumped on me and said I had to use up some of my vacation time, or else Sentient Resources would be all over them.” She said. “They're forcing me to take off Sundays now.”

“Yikes.” He said. “Is it paid at least?”

“I get half pay for an eight-hour shift per day gone. That means I'm getting four hours of pay per day, when I usually get fourteen. As much as I love spending time with my daughter, I'm not happy with by boss.” She said.

He gave a low whistle. “Well, he's probably not happy either.” He commented. “Back at my hotel, I had to force a few good workers to do the same. Heck, we didn't offer paid, either.... had great healthcare, though. We got in good with a dentist down the street.” He trailed off, living in his own world for a few seconds.

She shook her head. “Anyways, I'm glad you woke up. There's something we need to talk about.”

He looked over at Navi for a second, who just gave him a shrug. He looked back to Jasmine. “Might I ask what about?”

She took the vegetables off the stove, and dumped them through a large strainer that was set over the sink. “Well, it's about that parent teacher conference that we were going to tomorrow.” She stuck a hoof in the oven, and pulled out a sheet of breadsticks, followed by a pan of the messiest, cheesiest, tastiest looking spinach casserole Kestral had ever seen.

He pointed to the little one at the table. He very nearly spoke about how they had already talked, but then the words caught up to him. “'were'?” He asked. “As in, not anymore?”

“Yep.” She said, slicing some butter onto the mixed vegetables. “I had talked to Navi's teacher, along with the other student's parents, and I convinced them to meet us for dinner tonight.” She said. “I figured you might want to join.”

“Uh...” He looked at Navi, who seemed uncertain. “At what time?” He asked.

“Seven sharp.” She said. “Are you already taken tonight?”

“I'm meeting Luna at four, so, yeah, I'll come with you two.” He said, at which Navi clopped her hooves together.

“Yay!” She said.

Jasmine smiled for a moment, then spoke. “Oh, Navy, that reminds me. Why don't you go get that picture you wanted to show Kestral?”

The little reindeer looked puzzled for a second, before she lit up in a smile herself. “Oh yeah, I forgot!” She dropped her crayon, got up, and bolted around the corner and up the stairs.

Kestral watched her go off, and looked at Jasmine, who seemed to want his attention.

“Thanks for talking to her yesterday.” She said. “She's disappointed that you might leave, but she needed to know.”

“Ah,” he shrugged. “It's nothing. Still, I can sympathize with her. It's not very easy to just let go of a friend, knowing you may not see them again.”

At this, Jasmine raised her eyebrow, and gave him an odd look. She was silent for a moment, processing what he said. “'Friend'.... wouldn't quite be the word to describe it.” She said slowly.

What...? He mimicked her odd look, as much as a human could, but before he could ask about it, Navi hopped around the corner with a paper in her mouth. She jumped up to her seat and stuck the colorful drawing on the table, placing it just in front of him.

He looked over it. It was a doodle of two reindeer and a heavily-clothed minotaur. He quickly realized the minotaur was actually a crude drawing of him in his disguise, while the two reindeer were Navi and Jasmine. They were just standing there, smiling at him, with emphasized grins of happiness. They were on a grass flat, with Jasmine's and Navi's house at the side.

Oh... He looked at Jasmine for a split second, who looked concerned at how he didn't realize how Navi saw him earlier. He looked away, towards Navi, and gave a smile. “It's great!” He said, not sure how to react. “Do you... want it back, or-”

“Nope!” She said, grinning wildly. “It's for you! Keep it!”

He nodded, and folded it up, putting it in his pocket. “Well, thanks Navi.” Kestral said. “I'll be sure to keep it, then.” He said. He looked over at Jasmine again, who had simply gone to getting the dishes ready, leaving him to his own thoughts on the matter.

He wasn't sure what to think, so he just stayed quite and tried to figure that part out.

Kestral's meeting with Luna went well. He gave the eggs to her, and they parted after a few words of thanks. They both were needing to keep it short, it seemed.

He'd have been lying, if Kestral had said that Luna had been the focus of his thoughts that afternoon. In truth, he was still processing what had happened earlier, after he woke up.

He still wasn't sure what to make of it. Navi, apparently, looked up to him as something a little more than a friend. It made sense, he supposed. She came to her home, and he was usually there to talk to her. She typically went to her friends' houses, yes, but she seemed drawn to trying to entertain him. He was by no means skilled in psychological analysis, but hindsight is twenty-twenty, and he realized that she did seemed a little attached to him.

Maybe she was just looking for someone to attach herself to. Yes, that seemed to make sense. If and when he left, she would find someone else to attach to. He was just an intermediary to an imagined father-figure, for a time.

Another part of him fought against that thought, though. If he was just a placeholder to what she wants, why him? Wouldn't she have already found what she was looking for in someone else? A friend's father, perhaps? There was something off, something he wasn't getting.

In the mess that had opened up in his mind, there was one thing that he was certain; He would fill the role he was given, if only for a short time. Still, while he played the role, the question of the whole thing was to sit and simmer in the back of his mind.

He brought his mind back to the real world, setting his eyes on a friendly griffon, who was digging through a pile of menus inside his podium. The sir was dressed in nothing more than a fitted dress shirt, with the top two buttons opened, in a subtle attempt to seem like the customer was seeing a more personal side. The griffon finally got what he needed, and stepped aside, gesturing to them.

“Right this way.” He said.

They followed him, passing several of the colorfully potted plants, and traveled through the dim light until they arrived at a long booth. He set all of the menus down, and gave each spot a fork and knife wrapped in a paper napkin.

“Your server will be right with you.” He said, making a small bow. He moved out of the way, and let the seven of them get to their places.

Navi, Jasmine, and Kestral moved in on one side, sitting down on the wood bench. Kestral leaned against the padded back of the booth, and looked at the other four that were sitting down with them.

Rapid Shift, Swift's biological mother, sat down closest to the end away from the window. She was dressed in a black business suit, with a black tie and red shirt underneath. She had coffee-brown hair tied in a small bun, and cream fur, although he could just barely make out the hot-pink roots that were present just at the skin. She wore thinly-framed half-glasses, but he was at least partially convinced they were there for the looks.

Swift was seated in the middle of the two mares that were accompanying her. She looked at them all with a child-like smile that screamed innocence to onlookers, but by Navi's description of her, it was the ruse created by a schemer. Of course, he didn't want to jump to conclusions, and perhaps it was Navi's negative sentiment towards Swift, but the little earth pony did seem to have a certain playfulness in her smile, like she was waiting for some opportunity arise. Whenever she looked at Kestral, however, her smile faded ever so slightly. The slow turning of his head towards her sent her eyes elsewhere. It was odd, but he chalked it up to her being shy around new people.

Burnout was the third mare on the other side of the table. She sat at the window, looking out into the small garden next door. She had no clothing, and wore a look of drowsiness that seemed akin to her very personality. She was attentive, but didn't try to hide her weary posture. She had perfectly straight, lime hair, with a coat of sky-blue to compliment it.

At the end of the table was Ms. Thorough. She pulled up a chair, and positioned herself in a way that seemed to let her look at each group evenly, a small tactic, he realized, to make it seem like she would not take sides, but instead be the arbiter of the two. She had a ponytail, with a long tie that probably felt more like a noose, given how tight it was. Even so, her portly body gave her an almost motherly aura, and made her seem all the more friendly.

Everyone took their seat, and fumbled through the menu, hungrily trying to decide what to eat. The server came and went, getting everyone's drink orders before she left again. Soon enough, when it seemed appropriate, Ms. Thorough caught the attention of the six people she was meeting.

“I want to thank you all for meeting here. I felt that this would be suitable for making friendly conversation. After we're done here, however, I was hoping we could go to the park down the street, and discuss some of the more private matters while the two darlings play together.” She gave a smile, looking over each side.

The group nodded in general agreement, while the younglings looked at eachother in contempt. Nothing was said between the two as they both pulled their menus up to shield their sight.

“Now, Navi, Swift.” The two looked at her. “I know you two might dislike eachother, but I'm going to ask that you be a little more friendly. It would certainly help solve this situation, and, who knows? You two might end up as good friends!” She clopped her hooves together. “Why don't we start now? Can you both say a compliment to eachother?”

They both, in an odd form of unison, lowered their menus and glared at eachother. It took a cough and a nudge of their respective mothers before they remembered what they were doing.

“I like your mane.” Navi said in a flat tone.

Swift matched it with “Your necklace is kinda pretty.” She gave a big smile, which seemed sincere, but Kestral could tell it wasn't quite that. Her eyes flicked in her direction for a second, and it faltered slightly. Once again, he chalked it up to nervousness around strangers.

“Well, it's a start.” Ms. Thorough said. “Perhaps we should try to find what you two are agitated with eachother. Swift? Is there any particular reason you might dislike Navi?”

The little mare looked at Navi, and took a deep breath.

“And remember-” Rapid Shift cut in. “-that everything you say has to be appropriate, Swift.”

She sighed a little, and adjusted her tiny body. “She always makes weird looks at me in class. She sticks her tongue out at me, too.” She crossed her forelegs. “And I find that offensive.” She said.

“I do not!” Navi defended herself. “I stick my tongue out at Brisk. He sits right next to you.”

“Well, maybe you should have explained that sometime in the past three years.” She said back.

“Well, maybe you should have, I don't know, asked.” Navi retorted.

“Girls.” Ms. Thorough said. “Let's not have this devolve into another scuffle. Now, Swift? Is that all?” She asked.

Swift shifted her eyes away in a slight pout, before she spoke again. “Yeaaaaaah.” She said.

“Alright. Navi? What about you? Is there any specific reason you dislike Swift?” She asked, hoping the conversation wasn't about to turn into name-calling so soon.

“Yeah. She calls me names all the time, and tries to get her big sister to beat me up.” She said.

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

"Do not!"

“Yeah you do! And you take my crayons, too!”

“Those are class crayons, you have to share them!”

“I'll share when I'm done using them!”

“That's a load of dirt! You never share them!”

“AHEM.” Ms. Thorough cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. Even though the restaurant was loud with chatter, they managed to bring attention to themselves from several other people. The teacher waved them off before she spoke. “The point of this is so that you both know how you may treat eachother better. And you both ought to try learning about eachother, because there's a two-person assignment tomorrow, and you're paired.”

The girls let off a groan, though Swift's was more restrained.

This is going to be just fantastic. Kestral thought.

And fantastic it was. Fantastically repetitive, that was. The whole dinner could be summed up in a pile of trying to get the kids to act nice, with a few sides of hushing and glaring.

All in all, meals were had, and emotions developed none in a positive direction. Kestral was suspicious that certain parts of the conversation were being withheld from the younger ears, since they seemed to shy away at any specific attacks from either party. That problem was about to be amended, however. As the group neared the park, Ms. Thorough decided one the most grand idea.

“Mr. Hunter, would you mind if I elected you to watch the kids as they play?” She asked. “I need to talk to the parents about some issues that I feel are a little more private to them.”

He looked at Jasmine for a second, who affirmed it with a subtle nod. “Sure.” He said. He looked over at the playground, where, among a group of other children, Navi and Swift were playing. The two were keeping a distance from eachother, which was probably better for the time being, in spite of Ms. Thorough's attempts at having them coincide.

He went for a bench that was set aside, but quickly realized that there were no seats to be had; They were taken by a batling couple, and an older-looking minotaur. He passed them by, and simply stood several feet away. He put his hands behind his back, and looked onward, watching Navi play some sort of game involving marbles and hopscotch.

He thought it was a bit odd that children would still be playing past eight, barring the batponies, given their typically nocturnal nature. Maybe it was normal to people around Canterlot, who knows, but he just thought it was a little odd for city-folk to be so trustworthy of their children being out this late.

He watched one pegasus in particular do a rather difficult flip mid-hop. The child seemed to have impressed the kids around him, and basked in the attention he was getting from two fillies in particular -twins, from the looks of it. He cracked a small smile, realizing that the colt reminded him of himself a decade ago.

“So what division you from?” A voice asked to his side.

Kestral turned, and looked at the aged minotaur, who was facing him with a curious grin. “Hmm?” He asked. “What do you mean?”

He shook his head, and turned back to the kids. “Sorry. The way you were standing, it looked like you were from the military.” He said.

“Oh.” He said. “I don't know. I don't recall being in a military. If I use to be, I guess I'm not now.”

He turned back to Kestral with a raised eyebrow. “You aren't sure if you've ever been in a military before?”

“Long-term memory loss.” Kestral explained. “I know these past couple of years I've been a courier, but that's about it.”

“Oh.” The minotaur said. “That's a damn shame. I guess it makes life more interesting, doesn't it?”

He shrugged. “Sure, if you want to think so. Personally, I don't think it changes much, but that's just me.”

He gave a huff. “Well, still. I'd be surprised if you didn't come from some military background. Not even a lot of the Taurus Army sticks with such a proper stance.”

Kestral nodded, and looked back over to the playground. He was about to say something, but realized that Navi was coming towards him, so he shifted his attention to her. “Hey, Navi. What's up?”

“Nothing.” She said. She sat on her haunches next to him, and looked towards the other kids. “I'm just bored is all.”

He nodded, uncertain, and followed her line of sight into the group of children. He quickly spotted Swift jumping around where Navi had been not two minutes prior. He looked between the two, and connected the dots. He squatted down, got a little closer to her, and spoke in a low voice.

“So you're just bored?” He asked. “And it doesn't have to do with Swift jumping in?”

She groaned in response. “We're never going to like eachother. Why doesn't Ms. Thorough see that?”

“Easy.” Kestral said. “Because adults think they can fix everything when it comes to children.”

Navi gave him a confused look. “What?”

He shook his head, waving it off. “I don't know, it just sounded smart. In all honestly, I have no idea. Some people just never give up on some things.” He said. He paused for a moment. “Why don't you two like eachother, anyways?”

She rolled over onto her back and looked at him. “I think it started because she found out we're kinda poor.” She said. “She never bothered me until a few years ago.”

“Well, that's a start at least.” He said. “Did you ever ask her why she doesn't like you?”

“Uh, no.” She deadpanned. “I was too busy trying not to be bullied.”

“Sass, much?” He asked. “You're definitely your mother's child.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means what it means.” He said. “Now, maybe I can go ask her? See why she doesn't like you?”

She laid her head back against the ground, and gave what seemed to be a shrug. “Sure. I doubt she'll do anything but make fun of you, though.” She said.

“Well, we'll see. Maybe she pays more respect to adults.” He said. He stood up, and looked over where the kids had gathered on the blacktop. He walked towards them, and when he was close enough, he called his target out. “Hey, Swift, mind if I talk to you a second?”

She looked up at him, and froze, dropping any form of smile from her face. “Am I in trouble?” She asked.

“No, no. You're not in trouble. I just want to ask you something.” He said.

She looked between him and the group she was playing with a couple of times, before she put the marbles down. She followed him to the end of the blacktop, where Kestral sat down. She sat down as well, but kept about three feet of distance between them, and made sure to face her whole body towards him.

“So, Swift...” He started. He faced a ways away from her, to seem a little less threatening. “... what's the real reason you don't like Navi?” He asked.

She composed herself quickly, and rolled her eyes. “Because she makes fun of me. I heard her starting a rumor that I couldn't gain weight because I was allergic to chocolate.”

He gave a curious look, not that she could see it. “Are you sure she started it, or was she just perpetuating it?” He asked.

She stared at him for a small moment. “Huh?”

He shook his head. “Nevermind. I'll talk to Navi about that one.” He said. “But I don't mean what you two dislike about eachother now. What I want to ask is, what was the very first thing she did to make you dislike her?”

She fidgeted for a moment, and sent an unsure gaze towards Navi, before looking at Kestral again. “I, um.....” She paused. “... I don't feel comfortable saying it...” She said.

He, too, looked at Navi, who was looking back at them expectantly. He set his sight on Swift again, and spoke. “I promise not to tell Navi.” He said.

She looked at him, still fidgeting slightly. “You promise?” She asked.

He followed his words with a gesture to match. “Cross my heart, hope to die.” He said.

“Well....” She still seemed uncertain.

“And if I do,” he continued. “You can have the guard ponies take me away forever. Promise.” He said.

She looked him up and down for a long moment, then looked at him curiously, and spoke in a whisper. “I can do that?” She asked.

“Yep.” He said, matching her whisper. “I can be taken away forever if I break a promise. Banished, too. The really bad people get rotten fruit thrown at them.”

She looked at him for a moment, amazed. “Woooooow.” She said.

“Yep.” He said. “So, will you tell me now?”

“Sure.” She said. She gave another pause, like she was trying to think of how to word her story. She also looked around him, making sure there wasn't another kid close enough to eavesdrop. “Okay.” She started in a whisper, making him lean a little to hear. “Like, a few years ago I used to hang out with my friend Brisk, but then Navi started going to school, and he started paying attention to her!” He nodded, letting her continue. “They kept hanging out all the time, and he stopped paying attention to me!”

“Okay.” Kestral said. “So she took away your friend?”

“Yeah!” She tossed her hooves up in emphasis. “And she makes him side with her all the time! It's not fair!” She said.

He paused. “That... makes sense, I guess....” He mulled over it. “So if you could be friends with Brisk again, you'd forgive her?”

She looked taken aback for a second, before she thought over it. “Sure.” She said. “But you can't tell her. And don't tell Brisk either! He doesn't know I still like him!” She pleaded.

“Don't worry.” He said, standing up. “I think I can help you. You just need to trust me, okay?”

“Where are you going?” She asked, suddenly worried.

“To talk to the parents.” He said, taking a step.

“No, wait!” She said. “Don't tell my mom! I'll die of embarrassment!”

He stopped walking, and looked at her. “Don't worry about it.” He said. “I'm not going to tell them. I'm just going to convince them to... let you all have a sleepover. So you three can talk about your feelings together.”

She stopped, and just looked at him with uncertainty, while he walked away. Kestral went towards the four females that were speaking together. Ms. Thorough snuck a peek at him as he approached, followed by the two other mares, then the doe. They each looked at him as he took a final step towards them, and silenced at his apparent intrusion.

“Hunter?” Jasmine asked. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nope.” He said. “But, I think I know how it all started.”

“Really?” Ms. Thorough said. “Well, that's perfect! What was it?”

He squatted down, to get eye-level with them. “Okay, so what happened was that Swift was good friends with this other kid, Brisk, but when Navi showed up, Brisk started talking with Navi more, and Swift less.”

Burnout cut in. “So this continued, Swift got jealous of Navi, and the negative feedback bounced back and forth until they both hated eachother. Swift blames Navi, Navi has no idea about this, and Brisk sides with Navi because he probably didn't like the jealousy he saw in Swift, driving them apart even more, and making Swift's fears legitimate.” She said.

The other four in the group just stared at her, trying to catch up with everything she said. Rapid Shift was the only one that didn't hold a look of incredulousness.

“I, uh...” Jasmine said, still processing.

“Perfect!” Ms. Thorough clopped her hooves together. “Mr. Hunter, thank you for helping us. Burnout, you're just brilliant!” She looked excitedly between the two mothers. “Finally, I have something to work with. Now! In the hopes that you two might agree, I think we should have all three of them working on that project tomorrow. It'll be an after school project, so they'll have to meet and work together on their own.”

“Might I make a suggestion?” Burnout asked, gaining the group's attention again. “One of us should be there, so that we can isolate each one for about five minutes each. The other two would be more willing to talk things out if they were given privacy.”

“Are we sure they'd even talk?” Jasmine asked, having caught up. “They might just sit there and work silently.”

“I know Swift will talk to Brisk, if given the chance.” Rapid said. “Maybe we'll have them talk first, then go from there?”

“Sounds reasonable.” Thorough commented. “If they talk, they'll both have a reason to talk to Navi, too.”

“Then let's select who cares for them tomorrow, and call it an agreement.” Rapid said.

“I can't take that responsibility tomorrow, unfortunately.” Jasmine said. “My job runs far too late.”

“As does mine.” Rapid said. She turned to Burnout. “Could you take off early tomorrow, and watch after the kids?”

She shrugged. “Sure.”

“Then it's settled.” Ms. Thorough said. “Jasmine, is there anything you want to discuss with me before I talk to Rapid on another private matter?”

She shook her head. “No, I think we've covered what we need.”

“In that case,” She said. “Thank you for your time. I hope you three have a wonderful night. Rapid? Burnout? Do you two mind talking with me for a moment longer?”

The two nodded, and followed her off to a less crowded portion of the park.

After saying his own input, Kestral had watched the whole conversation in no small amount of surprise. The four females just seemed to have some unnatural understanding of both eachother and eachother's child. If he didn't know any better, that whole conversation would have appeared to have been scripted.

“I have never,” He said. “In all my life, seen a group of people be so agreeable.”

“Yeah, well...” Jasmine started. “It is kinda practiced. And we're tired of doing these meetings.”

Aha! It is scripte- “Wait.” He paused. “How many times have you met like this?”

“Ooohhhh...” She said, putting a hoof under her chin. “About every... month and a half, or so. For the past two years.”

“Oh, wow.” He said. “Didn't know it was really that much of a problem.”

“Yep.” She said. “At least there's an end in sight, now.” She began walking towards the playground's only bench, where Navi was still laying down on her back, looking around for anything interesting. “Navy, it's time to go home.”

Navi jumped up, and hopped towards them. She looked up to Kestral as she jumped onto her mother's back. “What did she say?” She asked.

“I'm not allowed to tell you. She made me promise.” He tussled the fur on her head. “But don't worry. I think she'll tell you soon enough.”

She gave him a curious look, but was otherwise indifferent to his answer. “Okay.”

The three walked in a relative silence. They passed by the elementary school, and entered where a group of vaguely identified government buildings were. Guards stood about the area, with a few of them making frequent patrols around the perimeters. Even a group of batponies was scouting the streets from above, though it was difficult to see them.

Near the end of the strip, where a small formation of guards separated the government district and the noble district, a pair of guards were walked towards them. They moved closer to the side, as to avoid a disrespectful proximity to them, but the guards matched it, and kept heading straight towards them. Soon enough, one of them called out.

“Are you Hunter, the Forgetful?” The leading mare asked.

They stopped. He stood with his back straight, and kept his tone neutral. “I remember having no such title.” He said.

“Then you live up to it.” She responded.

...Luna, you clever little snot.

“Anyways.” The mare continued. “Her majesty, Princess Luna, requests your presence at the Canterlot Hospital.”

He paused. “I thought night court was open tonight.” He commented.

“It was dismissed, as of the scheduling this morning.” She said. “She is at the hospital, and requests your presence at the earliest convenience.”

“I'll be there shortly, then.” He said.

The mare nodded, and led her partner away from them. Kestral turned to Jasmine and Navi, who just looked at him with a smile.

“You two have a good night.” He said. “I have a sneaking suspicion this might take a while.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “Have fun.” She said. “And don't get in trouble.”

“See ya!” Navi said.

He waved them off, and began walking towards the hospital. He couldn't help but wonder why she suddenly needed him.

Oh well. There's no rest for the wicked, I suppose.