Just another day...

Orlare could walk around in her normal form as the queen that she really was, however it tended to put some species on guard, especially older ponies. So she used the guise of a sky-blue unicorn named Delicate Mind. She typically ran her practice in Fillydelphia, a non-Canterlot location that was within commuting distance to two large cities: Manehatten and Baltimare. Most of the changeling queens would regard her as being the most traditional, so to have her hive so close to population centers and the public eye was the perfect hiding place.

Her assistant nodded to her as she entered her office. She only had time to pour herself a cup of coffee before the various local hive members started to work with their appointments, and sure enough, the flow of positive emotions began. She hummed slightly and tapped one of her pens against her desk, thinking to herself.

“Just a few moments in and there is more to be expected, but then again there is always an uptick early in the morning.” She yawned and moved over to her magitek computer, loading up her scheduler to see what she had to work on today. She idly tapped on the screen and noticed that her first appointment had blocked in quite a large chunk of time. “That’s strange.”

Before she could dwell on it further, the intercom beeped. “Dr. Mind – your nine a.m., Mr. Sharp Sickle is here to see you.”

“Let him in.”

After a few moments, an earth pony walked in and closed the door behind him. “A-ah.. hello!”

Orlare looked at the pony for a moment, somewhat confused by the fact she could sense nothing from him. “Are you okay? Normally I can feel something off of a pony, but from you I feel nothing, and I know you’re not a changeling.”

The earth pony smiled. “Ah, sorry about that. I had to use a toy to sneak out. The family gets worried when I take off without warning.” He motioned to what looked like a dull copper necklace before he took it off, dispelling the glamour for now.

She immediately recognized the pony before her as Long Path, but there were more than a few things off about him. His eyes that used to be bright and full of a power and determination were puffy and red from crying for who knows how long. His hair was normally well groomed, but now it was an utter mess. He used to stand tall and he bore the weight of the world rather well, even now that his daughter was the established head of the House, but the pony in front of her was lighting shaking. As the illusion completely wore off, the queen could see just how broken the pony actually was.

“By the great circle – what happened?!”

“I couldn't be around the herd anymore like this. Free was trying to syphon off the negative emotions, but it was starting to poison him as well as the herd. I wasn't aimlessly wandering around, it just took me time to make my way here. If there is anyone who can help me, I figure it’s the queen of the hive that specializes in this kind of thing,” Path said as he sat down, his entire frame slightly shaking every few moments. He was trying his best to keep it together, but the obvious cracks were getting larger.

“How are you here when this morning I saw you on TV in Griffonia?”

“Ah! No, that’s just standard protocol, if I’m sick or if anything happens to me, I have a specially trained changeling take my place for important commitments. Only the herd and a few key people know that I am not in Griffonia right now.”

With a flare of her horn, Orlare was back into her queen form as she approached Path, looking him over a few times. “If you still want to be my patient, I can help, but it will not be pretty. However, it will clean the emotional wound, so to speak, so you can begin to heal properly. Make yourself comfortable on the couch while I get procedures started.” She turned back to her desk and produced a few sheets before coming back, handing them to him to read.

“Standard forms, as well as aftercare instructions. This will be invasive and once we are done, I will be contacting one of your herd to come and get you.”

Path signed the papers as he read on. “I'm not a doctor – what are you doing to do?”

“We are going to form a local connection. We are going to relive what caused you pain, then I am going to work to give you the tools you need to recover and move on. You will need somebody to get you simply because it will be so intense and exhausting. The mental strain will take a toll on you physically, so plan not to do anything for a couple of days.”

“I’ve been connected to hives before, so why is this so intense?”

“Because this is a connection between just us, but you are the host. The time you were in the green hive, Dianthia was the host, and with the Chrome Hive, they are the host or the strain is shared. This situation is going to be like comparing night and day.”

Path folded his ears back slightly. “As long as you don't dig too deep, it should be okay.”

Orlare nodded as she moved up onto the other part of the couch, leaning up to his neck. “You’ve had this done to you before, but be warned – this will be more painful than the bites you are used to.”

Path nodded but when those fang connected to his chi, he let out a pained groan. “This isn't so baaaaaAAAAHH!”

Olare held him in place as the connection was established.

Path walked down the stairs with a smile, yawning as he entered the dining room and sat down in the chair, his mind still mostly cloudy from just barely waking up. Free and Twilight were still in the shower while Luna, Hype and Lucida were already eating.

“Hey, Dad, where’s mom?” the hippogriff asked.

Path chuckled a bit. “She must be so tired after all the celebrating last night. I was shaking her, trying to wake her up, but she’s out like a light.” He groggily poured himself a glass of orange juice, not noticing Hype's eyes going wide as he shot a look at Luna who met his gaze. The pair hurried out of the room while Path looked back up to Lucida.

“So how is your little girl doing, hmm? I’m glad that I get to be grandpa again. My other grandfoals are a little too old to let me and Rose dote on them anymore.”

Lucida laughed a bit and rolled her eyes. “I was going to bring her over later tonight, Dad, so yes, you can dote on her all you want. As long as you don't spoil her!” Lucida perked up and looked at something behind Path before she stood up. “Give me a second, Dad.” She got up and walked out of the room, leaving the earth pony to his own devices for a while.

After a few minutes, he looked up from his plate and noticed that the room was still empty. “What in Tartarus is going on? Where is everyone?”

Path walked back up to his bedroom to see the entire herd circled around a still-sleeping Roseclaw. He rolled his eyes. “Can we not tease her and just let her sleep?” He sat down next to her and idly patted her head.

Everyone was looking at him sadly before it finally clicked in his head. Roseclaw was normally the first one to wake in the morning, usually waking him up with her crooning. She sometimes slept in late, but never this late, and normally she was very warm, which is why they curled around her in the winter, but now she was cold. His eyes slowly went wide.

Hype and Free were the first ones to feel it and they nearly collapsed to the ground. Twilight realized what was happening and, with a flash of her horn, they were teleported to Blue Streak's den on the campus fringes.

“No... NO!” Path curled up beside his still mate, nuzzling her chest and neck. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” He started to become more and more frantic until he rested his ear against her chest and heard nothing. “But… but we just finally had our family complete. Don't leave me!” He started to hyperventilate. “Stay with me. Stay with me please! GET HELP!” he screamed at the others in the room as one by one they started to cry for their lost mother, sister, and herd-mate. All the while, Path was having a complete psychological collapse.

The scene froze.

As the world came back into view, Path was sitting at the table, staring off into space. Lucida and Era were trying to get him to move or do anything. It had been a few days and he was almost completely cut off from external stimuli.

“Come on, Dad – have something to eat for me, please?” Era moved up a spoon but he didn't budge.

“Try this.” Lucida came out with some oatmeal with cherries in it.

Path started to speak in a rather distant voice. “You know, Roseclaw always loved oatmeal with cherries in it. Everyone thought it was weird but I thought it was cute. Did she tell you when she was coming back?” He took a bite of the oatmeal while the pair looked at each other. Before either of them could say something, Luna appeared with a necklace.

“This should make it so that Pif, Hype, and Free can come back.” Luna put the necklace on Path and after a few moments, Twilight came back with the changelings in tow.

“The necklace cuts off all emotions?” Hype asked.

“No, it just blocks the negative emotions from being radiated. As well as a few other things that don't matter right now,” Luna replied.

“But I feel nothing from him.”

“That’s because all he’s feeling at the moment are negative emotions.”

All of them were fretting about what they could do to help Path. As the scene started to dim, the others disappeared until Path was alone. Out of one of the lamps, the Yellow Changeling emerged, looking at the scene with sad eyes. “When I heard that she had passed, I did not realize that it would affect you so hard.” She moved up to Path who remained motionless. “I know how to help you, but it will mean reliving the pain yet again.”

The scene dissolved with just Path and Orlare standing there. Almost immediately the earth pony moved into an aggressive stance… well as aggressive as it could be as disheveled as he was. “WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME LIVE THROUGH THAT AGAIN?! IT’S LIKE A PART OF ME IS DEAD!” he roared out as his coat fluffed up. He launched himself at the queen, only to be stopped in midair, muzzle to muzzle.

“Attacking me would solve nothing, and it would just waste valuable time.” Her horn lit up and a clock appeared, gradually spinning. “This is real time, we have already been in your mind for three hours. Let us not waste any more time.” She moved her horn against his forehead and it lit up. A searing pain went through his body, making him spasm and scream as everything went dark.

Path woke up slowly and looked around. The others were curled up around him, all of them but Roseclaw. He checked on them one at a time, nuzzling and nibbling slightly, but they were all soundly asleep. He debated going back to sleep until he heard the soft clink of a spoon in a tea cup. His head turned to where his ears had swiveled to, only to see Roseclaw sitting on the balcony with some tea, wearing her usual smirk. He was quick to get out from around the rest of the herd and rush to her side, and the old griffon couldn't help but grin as she pushed him lightly into the seat next to him.

“We have some time, so let’s just sit back and enjoy some tea? No point getting riled up so quickly, hmm?” The griffoness poured Path some tea as he composed himself. After a few moments, Roseclaw started to talk again. “We have grown so much, haven't we? One drunken night in a small pub grew into all of this. Our House has the ear of every government on the planet, and even the ones off-world. Even though you haven't been the Head of the House in decades, still they ask how high when you say jump. I was right to convince my father all those years ago to let you visit Griffonia.”

Path started to sip the tea. “Yeah, I have to admit that I wasn't really expecting things to go how it did – drunken making-out in a bar, then a fight to the maiming. I think all the warrior talk was getting to my head though. It made me take risks that I don't think I otherwise would have. Like for instance, my thunderhooves ability. I practiced it a few times beforehoof, but it was never used in a make-or-break situation before that. Then when we were fighting the Mad Queen, I was coming up with idea after idea. If it wasn't for everyone there, we would have been hosed.” He laughed and drunk some more tea.

Roseclaw rolled her eyes a bit with a grin. “There is an old saying in Griffonia – the finest blades are forged within the depths of Tartarus. You dealt with the worst of the worst: the last efforts of the major factions of evil threatening civilization on this world. I would say that you and Blue Streak are the last great warriors, not counting the alicorns.”

“The last great warriors? I wouldn't go that far.”

He looked up from his tea to see his wife's beak curled up into a grin as she laughed.

“This coming from the person that took down a general unarmed? Then did it again in a foreign land? Then there was that time a few decades back when some of the new warrior-caste griffs thought you were just blowing hot air. So you scheduled the gauntlet match. Oh, and then there’s our son who can run faster than the speed of sound, trained by an Old World Griffonian warlord, was used as a battery to go back and forth through time, housed the Aspect of Creation and has not one but two dragonesses for mates, one of them a Matriarch!”

Path held his hooves up. “Okay! Okay! You win.”

“I’m not finished. If you wanted, you could singlehandedly take over this entire system and be nothing short of a god-king!”

Path frowned. “Why would I do that? Things would become stagnant, boring, and complacent. No innovation. No growth. And if history has taught me anything, all that does is halt all progress then kick it back a few steps? What would be the point? Between Pif and Hype and the Global Equis Think Tank, they have so many projects and steps they want to take, its insane. Hell – you were there. All the new science that the Cosmic Lotus project alone has created and continues to generate to this day has led to an explosion of ideas. Right now the world needs stability at this critical time.”

Path was about to continue on when a talon reached up to stop him. “And this is why you are the best warrior. Anyone can swing power around; it takes wisdom to know when not to.” She moved out from around the table and looked out over the countryside. The stars were starting to fade and the edge of the horizon was starting to turn red. “Lay with me on the balcony.”

The pair curled up together and looked up at the coming dawn.

“I don't know how I will be able to go on without you,” the pony murmured.

“It will hurt, but you will heal. Give it enough time and I expect you to be okay again,” the griffon crooned and rubbed his sides.

“But nobody will ever be able to replace you,” he whimpered.

“Again, in time I expect you take on many others after me.” Her feathers puffed up and she started to speak with her cocky tone. “Because who am I to deprive the world of such a mighty warrior’s lineage?” She giggled for a few moments. “Use the rest of the herd to make sure you only breed with the strongest.”

Path rolled his eyes as he leaned into the cuddle staying motionless for a while.

Eventually Roseclaw looked over to the horizon and smiled sadly. “The sun rises and our time is nearly up.”

Path started to tear up again. “Please don't leave me again.”

The old griffon smiled. “I'll be waiting for you on the other side, my love.”

Path just cried out as the sun peeked over the horizon. “Goodbye, Rose.” He closed his eyes and held her as tight as he could.

“Good bye, Path.” He felt those warm wings wrap around him one last time.

The sun eventually covered everything in a bright golden light and Path opened his eyes, staring up into the bright golden eyes of Orlare.

The princess looked up from her desk and smiled at Free and Luna, the pair that had been closest to the office and the least busy when they were notified of Path’s location and condition. They wanted to burst in right away and go get him, however they had been stopped by her assistant.

“Right now the Queen is working on mending his heart. He was in fairly bad shape when he arrived; it's why they have been linked for over eight hours. When they are finished, Path will need you both. Mending does not mean completely healed, but at least now he will have started on the road to recovery.” She made a motion to the door. “He will see you now.”

The pair rushed to the door and went inside to see Path staring up at the ceiling, his eyes a bright yellow before it faded. The Queen moved from her spot next to him and motioned for Free to come over.

“The wounds have been cleansed, closure has been granted, but he's going to be leaning on you heavily for a several days up to a couple of weeks, Free. When you're ready, replace my connection with yours so he can feel his herd again.”

Free nodded, and between the two queens, the shift was unnoticeable. However, Free could feel Path’s pain again, but this time it wasn't bottomless. There were repairs done and his soulmate could recover. Path grabbed both Luna and Free and started crying again. He was still just as disheveled as before, maybe even more, so but the healing could now begin.

Luna started helping Path out of the office while Free stayed back to talk to Orlare. “Thank you for helping him. This kind of trauma is beyond what I’m used to handling.”

“Think nothing of it, Gossamer. I'm just glad I was able to help before he reached the point of no return. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to need a break. It's been ages since I’ve had to dive that deep for that long.”

Free nodded and rejoined Luna and Path as they left. The alicorn was shuddering. “That pain, that loss – is this all coming from Path?”

The changeling queen nodded. “I was acting as a buffer the entire time, but now that he can recover, I’ve opened it back up again. Let's head back to the house; I feel that we are long overdue for some rest.”

Luna nodded. “I’ll let Destined know to cover my Night Court tonight. He will understand why.”

As the header said, this episode was written by my collaborator, AlaskaIsCold. As usual, I just whipped it into shape.

Long Path has always been a bit emotionally fragile. That's why his granddaughter leads House Path now. He will need to toughen up in the future though.