Malachi lived just within the outer fringe of the Everfree Forest in an abandoned watchtower he’d been permitted to move into. The walls had been repaired and fortified against wandering monsters, while a combination of boulders, felled trees and earthwork formed a low wall that surrounded the whole affair. Behind the new construction, a stone-marked vegetable garden just beginning to show growth followed the course of a small stream. Surrounded by the sounds and shadows of the Everfree Forest, the tiny fortress was a reassuring sight, but must have made for a lonely place to live.
“He’s crazy, right? Living in the Everfree Forest alone?”
“He’s a little…different.”
“…Form up!”
The Solar Guards fanned outwards at they passed the outer wall. Twilight trotted ahead alone and fearlessly despite her brother’s call to stop.
The entrance to the tower had originally been made intentionally small to make it that much more difficult for the larger predators to force their way in. Stones had been torn out and re-fitted to allow something much larger than a pony to get in and out. The new door sported an assortment of dents and claw marks, but the solid planks were bound by rune-marked iron bands and would not be broken easily.
Twilight levitated a rock and used it to bang on the door a few times. She smacked her face with a hoof when that failed to elicit a response.
“Oh, I forgot. He sleeps during the day. We should probably-”
“Hello?”
A small slot in the doorway opened, one of two. The lower was sized for ponies and slid aside to show a pair of sky-blue eyes.
“Hello. I’m-“
“Twilight Sparkle! Oh! Give me a moment…”
With a squeak of metal on stone and an un-ladylike grunt of effort, the door opened to show a small unicorn wearing the livery of the Everfree Watch.
“Whatever can I do for you?”
“Is Malachi in? We need to speak with him.”
“I’m sorry, but he’s sleeping right now. He has an odd schedule, with his work, but if you come back in a little-“
“No.” Armor interjected suddenly. “It’s rather urgent. Official business.”
“Oh! The Royal-of course, come inside! I’m Far Sight. I’ve heard a great deal about you, Miss Sparkle. It’s very nice to finally meet you.”
The door opened and allowed Twilight to see their host in full - Far Sight was small and slight of build, even for a unicorn. Her eyes were a faded blue, and her mane matched their color. In the light, Twilight could see that her coat was dull, a flat bone grey. When Twilight’s eyes drifted, Far Sight turned slightly to show her mark – a closed eye over a strange geometric pattern.
The unicorn stepped back to allow the others to enter, and Twilight noticed that she didn’t quite look directly at any of the guests, only turning in the general direction of a sound or a movement.
“Is that…an interspatial distortion matrix?”
“Ha! Guessed it in one. The stories I heard about you weren’t at all exaggerated.”
“Well, that’s not…”
“Not important right now.” Armor interrupted once again. “I’m sorry to be rude, but it’s very important that we speak to Malachi. Could you wake him, please?”
“Of course. Won’t you have a seat? This may take a minute.”
Armor pointedly ignored the dirty look his sister shot his way. This was not a time to dilly-dally. He found a cushion in what was once a meeting room made with ponies in mind, though some of the furniture had been adjusted for something much, much larger. Far Sight returned after a time, shrugging sheepishly and asking for patience. She moved strangely, cautiously, not looking directly at the cushion she selected with a tentative gesture before settling in.
“That’s quite alright. Actually, there are some things I’d like to ask you as well. Such as what you’re doing here, and how you know Malachi.”
Far Sight bristled at the blunt question, and something about her body language was more than a little defensive.
“Well, I’m a member of the Everfree Watch. I often meet with Malachi for one reason or another.”
“And the reason you’re here today?”
“I just stopped by to deliver the newest patrol schedule, and to ask if he was interested in some work with a logging expiation being planned a few weeks from now.”
“I see. And did you-“ Armor paused, tilting his head in thought. “Miss Sight, how exactly could you ask him anything while he was asleep?”
The mare across the table from the siblings twitched and looked away from them.
“I…that is, I delivered the schedule last night, and since it was so late by the time our conversation was finished, I decided to spend the night here. It’s not safe for a lone mare to travel in the Everfree forest, you know. Let alone at night.”
“…That must have been a very long conversation, since regulations forbid travel though the forest past a certain time. Any veteran member of the watch would have accounted for that when planning a simple delivery.”
“Well…My magic is still active when I’m asleep, you see, and it just so happens that this tower has a very strong ward against the chaotic flows of magic that pours out of the forest on occasion. Without that protection, the distortions sometimes show me…unpleasant things…so during the worst activity, I sometimes bunk here. Malachi doesn’t mind.”
“How exactly does an abandoned watch tower have stronger protective spells than those currently in use?”
“I didn’t sense anything like that.” With the conversation turning towards magic, it had Twilight’s full attention. “What kind of spell is it?”
“It’s…not a spell, exactly.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s not really understood, but did you know that when humans first arrive in Equestria, their auras were distorted to the point that they disrupted magic around them? Nopony is sure why, but even after being here for some time, Malachi still has a nullifying effect on certain kinds of magical energies. He…is the ward.”
“But that can’t be right. Even if he had a unique magical aura, the effects wouldn’t extend past…”
As Twilight began muttering calculations to herself, Far Sight’s face began to turn a bright shade of pink.
“Twilight? What is it?”
“If she wanted to use his aura as a makeshift dampening field to protect herself from arcane field distortions, she’d need to remain in very close proximity.”
“How close?”
“Even this far from the center of the forest, she’d practically have to be right on top of…him…”
Twilight looked up from her thoughts, and Armor followed her gaze to see that Farsight’s blush had spread to the very tips of her ears. The Royal Guard, famous for their stony faces, fidgeted almost imperceptibly where they stood, and Twilight felt as if the room had suddenly become quite a bit warmer.
“I see…” Armor was looking lost, and out of all the things he’d expected to find here, this was…certainly not one of them. The carefully-cultivated line of questing he’d prepared was nowhere in his brain to be found. “So…I take it that means that you can…account for his whereabouts from last night to this morning?”
“He was there when I went to sleep, and again when I awoke…” Far Sight turned her head and let out a polite cough she’d been holding. “And I believe I’d know if he had gone away at any time, even for a moment.”
Another awkward silence and a second polite cough later, Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her.
“Do your abilities include temporal vectors?”
“A little. I can’t manage more then a few seconds into the future, but I can look an hour or two into the past with reasonable accuracy, depending on various factors. Why?”
“Then could you tell if Malachi was at a certain place at a certain time?”
“No. The same effect that blocks my abilities while I sleep makes it impossible to scry on him. Many common detection spells don’t even register his presence. It also blocks many kinds of communication spells, which is why I have to hoof-deliver-“
A heavy thud interrupted her, and the guards quickly turned towards the source of the sound. Slowly, each step sounding loudly, a burly figure plodded down the stairs towards them. Shining Armor got his first look at a human in the flesh, and reaffirmed his opinion on their relation to Diamond Dogs. Blinking and bleary-eyed, the human frowned in return at the sight of the assembled ponies. His gaze was neutral as it swept the guards, narrowed when it reached Armor, and widened when he recognized Twilight, standing up straight and bumping his head on the low ceiling.
A few unpleasant-sounding foreign words later, the human ambled over at a gesture from Far Sight and carefully sat down beside her. She was the only pony in the room that didn’t flinch when he lifted a bulky hand and rested it on her neck. His grip looked like it could have completely encircled the slim mare’s neck, and Armor forced himself to sit back down when all the creature did was ruffle her mane in a surprisingly gentle gesture.
“Twilight Sparkle…” The pale, bulky creature rumbled in heavily-accented Earth dialect, turning slowly towards the newcomers. “What can I do for you?"