Hi, I'm Aiden Walter Dixon. Most just call me Aiden or Addy. I'm an archeological detective who's travelled the world in my submarine, on my mountain bike, on my skateboard, and flying high in my paramotor.
This is the story of how during a daring a...
Breakfast was a mostly quiet affair as we poured over the events mostly internally. Haven then reiterated the royal agenda, and we all took mental notes.
"Follow me," she ordered, heading down the hall to a different part of the castle.
"See you in a minute, besties," I called out to Sunny and her friends as I took off after Haven, stopping by the guest suite to grab the iPad.
Right away, my eyes took notice of differences; the color palette was noticeably different, with a dominant lighter white-maroon marble tone, and gold accents. The morning light shone vividly through tall, thin windows. Suddenly something stopped me dead in my tracks.
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"Um, Aiden? I – oh." Haven called over her shoulder, before noticing me staring solemnly at a large framed art piece. Right away, she rushed to my side and put a comforting hoof on my hand.
"This was such a long time ago," she said softly. "I kept it as a reminder of such a special moment – both in the history of Zephyr Heights and of my life. And my daughters, too. If you deeply miss your own family, you've done a pretty good job of burying it, Aiden. Let's work towards the first step of bringing you home."
I took one last glance at the art before proceeding down the hall and through golden double doors. A queen-size bed stood at one end, with four armchairs and a polished dark wood coffee table by a window overlooking the city.
"Go, take a seat," Haven offered, pushing the door closed.
I softly slumped into the chair, almost melting into its soft, plush cushioning. Haven closed the windows and sat beside me "So, what's got you and Sunny so concerned?"
"It's a long story."
"I'm quite used to them."
I bit my lip and took a deep sigh. "When Sunny and I went to Bridlewood, I got attacked by several unicorns. After the misunderstanding was cleared, it was revealed that they'd fallen for a made-up tale about me, sent to them by a pony who called himself Shootie. Sunny and I took notes of his appearance, as described by several unicorns."
Haven nodded concerningly, and her face grew serious. So I continued.
"Later, while out on the road heading here, Hitch runs out of seemingly nowhere and alerts us that Sprout had escaped. Before heading on his way, he handed me a pouch. Inside it was a torn-up shreds of paper. But when we all put it together, it revealed pretty much everything I had theorized to be true. Look."
The air stood still as I turned on the iPad and opened up the photo of the assembled diagram. Haven's eyes widened with shock and disbelief, but also regret.
"I should have known..." she muttered, shaking her head slightly. "I should have told you..."
"Told me...?" I began, eager to know the details.
"I should have been more transparent with you. As I'm sure Hitch told you, he and I had a deal to transfer Sprout to a secure jail cell in the castle until further notice. Vapor Vici was a newly appointed transport guard that day. When the news broke that the chariot holding Sprout did not arrive in time, I ordered ZBS News Media not to broadcast it, in fear of mass panic. Secretly, I sent out a mailed letter to Hitch, then sent two of my most trusted guards to scout for where the chariot was last seen, and Pipp later gave that info to Hitch. Turns out my guards weren't as good of detectives as I made them out to be, as they simply called it a dead end. But with the efforts of you, Sunny, Izzy, and my daughters, that end turned into a key lead towards the truth of the matter! Just one thing."
