The Shadow of the First Star

Chapters

Your Castle Has Another Princess
The Rangers
Life is Like an Onion Bun
Playing With Fire
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
The Big Bad Wolf
Dark Tidings

Your Castle Has Another Princess

Chapter 2: Your Castle has Another Princess

I want to thank everyone who has been following my progress. I intended to get this chapter up sooner, but got caught up in February's competition. Once again, this was written on my iPad which has proven both wonderful and frustrating (that darn autocorrect feature can be a pain sometimes), so please feel free to point out any errors that you find. That said, let me apologize in advance as this and the next couple of chapters are going to be mostly exposition, which I tend to execute in the form of gratuitous info-dumping. So if anyone is frustrated with that, I ask that you bear with me as I promise that the story will be picking up soon. I would also like to apologize if anyone has any problems with my rendition of the Apple Family dialect (dialect has never been one of my strong suits).

Twilight Sparkle blinked in shock at the stallion's words. He wouldn't budge, even at Princess Celestia's orders. Even more shocking was his vehemence at the idea and his insistence that the only pony whose orders he would listen to was...

"You. Mean, Princess Luna!"

Far Treader nodded silently as he surveyed the assembled ponies. It was Applejack who spoke next. "Now hold on now!" she exclaimed loudly, "Ah like Princess Luna as much as the next pony, but we were the ones that brought her back after the whole Nightmare Moon deal. Ah would think that entitles us to some explainin'."

"You would think wrong then," replied Far mulishly.

"Why Ah outta..."

"That's enough!" exclaimed Fluttershy, "I understand that you and Twilight are frustrated, but that doesn't change the fact that this stallion saved our lives and maybe all of Ponyville. And now he's hurt because of that."

Big Macintosh nodded in agreement. "Ah think ya might be jumpin' the gun sis. Ah'm sure y'all are mighty curious about this whole affair. Ah reckon Ah am too. But first things first. We may have gotten the first aid done, but that ain't no replacement for real care. Right now, the most important thing is to get this feller to the hospital and get him treated right."

"That sounds like an excellent idea.". All the ponies (and dragon) jumped at the sound of Silverbrook's voice as he trotted up to join them. They had been so focused on questioning Far Treader that they had briefly forgotten about his companion and only now remembered his presence as he joined them in the orchard. Silverbrook's strange, liquid weapon was nowhere to be seen. He had apparently stowed it back away.

"It's done then?" asked Far quietly.

Silverbrook nodded without saying a thing, prompting a sigh from the other stallion. "I hate the idea of being laid up in a hospital though. Would you mind taking care of this here?" Far Treader jerked his muzzle to indicate his bandaged wounds.

"You can't be serious," said Twilight, "Are you saying you'd rather have your injuries treated out here than in a real hospital."

Silverbrook shrugged impassively. "That is how we are used to doing things. However..." he turned his attention to Far Treader, "...Since affairs have conspired to arrange things for us like this, I think you would be better off accepting the hospital. It's not as though you didn't earn it. You would be a fool to turn down treatment of this caliber when you can have it."

"That's right!" squealed Pinkie Pie as she bounced her way into the conversation, "You never know, your injuries might be worse than you think they are so you should really see the doctor when you have a chance."

"And what pony in his right mind would treat a greencloak?". Far raised an incredulous eyebrow.

To his surprise, Pinkie simply giggled cheerfully. "Don't be a silly McSillypants! Doctors are better ponies than that. Besides..." she reached down and picked up a ragged piece of green cloth, all that remained of Far's green cloak, "...You got so wrapped up in that really amazing battle that your silly cloak got all torn up without you noticing it. Now you have the perfect excuse to stay in the hospital long enough for us to get more exposition. Oh and I have to have time to plan a really awesome party for you guys. I mean, first there's the welcome to Ponyville party for every new pony. On top of that is also gets to be a 'Thank You for Saving Us From the Scary Monster' party and it can also be a 'Get Well Soon' party for you just because you got hurt. It's not very often that I get to throw two parties at once, much less three. This is totally awesome, not too mentionthatthistotallymakesupforthelackofdialogueI'vehadforthelastfewpagesandthereareallkindsofawesomegamesIgettocomeupwithandthisisgonnabrsogreatIreallycan'twaittogetstartedandIthinkI'lllgoandgetstartedrightnow!" Pinkie bounced in a circle around Far as she talked, each lap getting faster and faster as her excitement gained momentum.

Pinkie was abruptly cut off as Twilight used her magic to literally zip Pinkie's mouth shut. "Calm down Pinkie, one thing at a time."

Both Far Treader and Silverbrook were flummoxed by the Pink Pony. Far was dreading the things Pinkie Pie was suggesting, while Silverbrook was fairly certain that he had heard a couple things that shouldn't be said by any reasonable pony in that strange mess of statements.

"A party is out of the question," snapped Far after coming back to his senses, "We have no time for such foolishness and you definitely can't go around telling the town about that monster. This is top secret information!"

Pinkie managed to unzip her mouth. However, she was now aghast at what Far Treader had just said. "No party!" she exclaimed, as though such a notion was beyond her comprehension, "But I throw really good parties so that everypony can have lots of fun. Don't you want to have fun?"

"I am perfectly happy and have my own ideas of 'fun.' And they do not include parties," said Far loftily as he turned his nose up at the pink pony.

"Please don't be upset," requested Fluttershy softly as she came to stand next to her normally exuberant friend, "We just want to show you our gratitude and wish you well. You understand, don't you.". The gray Earth Pony was beginning to look a little panicked at all the pressure.

Far Treader sighed yet again. "Look, I know you mean well. But I am not one for parties..."

"Nor I," interjected Silverbrook quietly.

"I'll listen to your request and go to the hospital. But please, I would much prefer to be left alone."

Pinkie let out a sound like a deflating balloon, her mass of pink curls sagging. But she met Far Treader's eyes forlornly. "Okay," she said quietly.

Big Mac sighed at the depressing turn the conversation had taken. "Eeyup, now that that's settled, let's get ya on over to the hospital." With a swift motion, he hoisted Far Treader onto his back and carried the wounded pony toward the exit of Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack, Fluttershy and Silverbrook followed along, but Twilight stayed when she noticed that Pinkie remained unmoving, her eyes staring off sadly into space.

"Pinkie?" she asked softly as Spike looked on from his place on Twilight's back.

"He didn't like my parties," said Pinkie, sounding like she was on the verge of crying, "I didn't get to even throw them and he already didn't like them."

"That's not your fault," said Twilight quickly.

"Yeah, that guy's just a party pooper," added Spike, glaring in the direction the others had gone, "You don't need to get all worked up over him. You throw great parties, Pinkie."

"B-but," said Pinkie, her lower lip trembling, "My parties are supposed to make ponies happy."

Twilight nudged her friend into a walk as she led the way to the gate of the farm. "It's not your fault Pinkie. Some ponies are just like that. They don't really feel comfortable around a lot of other ponies and hate being at the center of attention."

Pinkie turned her glistening eyes to Twilight. "But you weren't like that Twilight. You didn't like being around other ponies either, but now you love my parties and you love being with everypony. What makes him so different?"

Twilight sighed. "That's because I was wrong about who I was. I was so caught up in my studies and my role as Princess Celestia's student when I first came to Ponyville that I didn't even know what real friendship was. I've never been so happy to be wrong.

"But that pony is different. That wound was severe. It's going to take several stitches at the very least. If he had his way and if we hadn't pushed him, he would have simply treated it out here, with no painkillers or anything just so he wouldn't have to interact with other ponies. A pony like that is naturally more comfortable with his own company. I know it may not make sense to you, but ponies like that aren't the sort that do well at parties. It doesn't make you wrong, it just means that parties aren't the way to make him happy."

"But I..." Pinkie wavered uncertainly.

Twilight sighed and smiled at her friend. "Listen Pinkie, I know how much you love making other ponies happy. Why don't you look for a different way to thank him. It doesn't always have to be a party you know."

Pinkie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay." She smiled over at Twilight, who smiled back and gave her dear friend an encouraging nuzzle.

"Come on Pinkie," she said, "Let's go home."

"To be honest, I'm shocked." The doctor examined the x-rays and reports detailing the nature of Far Treader's injuries. "I'm more than a little worried about what gave you those lacerations, but even more amazing is what I've seen. I've never seen a stallion with so many old injuries. You, my friend have lived a very rough life."

Far Treader smiled wryly. "So I've been told before."

"Well this time you got it from an expert. I used to work in Canterlot and I've examined members of the Royal Guard who had been on some of the most hazardous assignments that this kingdom has had to offer. Some of them were easily twice your age and didn't have even half the scars and old traces that you carry.". The doctor frowned.

Far Treader shrugged. "They probably lived so long by being prudent enough not to get injured so many times." The doctor raised an incredulous eyebrow at the stallion.

The rest of Far Treader's companions were arrayed around the hospital room. Silverbrook had wisely stowed his own green cloak, leaving his unique color scheme and his test tube and beaker cutie mark visible for all to see. Fortunately, even though he had a very distinctive appearance, he had the dual advantages of not having traveled near the hospital during his run through town and almost everypony he had run past being too distract by hiding from him or the cloak itself to notice his features. Unrecognized then, he now sat in the room with Applejack, Fluttershy and Big Macintosh. Twilight, Pinkie and Spike had separated from the group, with Twilight quietly explaining to her friends that Pinkie needed some time to calm down after Far's unilateral rejection of her party ideas.

"Now then," declared the doctor, setting aside his clipboard with Far's diagnosis, "I'm afraid you're going to need a few days of rest for those injuries to heal. Unfortunately the parts you managed to get all torn up are the parts that move around a lot when you walk, so you need to stay off your feet for a while."

Far Treader nodded, through reluctantly. Once the doctor left, he turned his eyes to Silverbrook. "Can you report this to The Order."

Silverbrook smiled. "I already sent the report to the Archmage, so things should be taken care of. I expect to hear back from him later today."

Far Treader groaned. "I'm grateful. I'd rather not deal with that madpony if I can help it."

"Well then, good luck with your recovery," said Silverbrook curtly as he turned around and left the room.

Big Macintosh smiled at the bedridden stallion. "Now Ah know ya ain't one fer hangin' around other ponies, but Ah want ya to know that Ah'm mighty grateful for what ya did up there on the farm today. Ya might not think much of it, but y'all saved mah life and ya saved Miss Fluttershy's too. And from what I've heard ya saved quite a few other lives too in the long run, right sis..."

Big Macintosh elbowed Applejack in the ribs, prompting a glare from his younger sister. However, she did take off her hat and looked solemnly at Far Treader. "Ya did do a big service to mah family today and ya saved one of mah best friends to boot. So in the future, our house is always open to ya."

"Eeyup," agreed Big Mac, "And we Apples always stand by our word, so if ya need a favor in the future, don't hesitate to ask."

Fluttershy spoke last. "Thank you," she said, in her usual whispery voice, "For everything."

The three of them left. Finally alone, Far Treader let out a sigh of relief and settled down for a nap.

Twilight sighed as she placed another book on the shelf; yet another dead end. Since taking Pinkie back to her home at the Sugarcube Corner, Twilight had returned to the library and had immediately drafted and sent a letter to Princess Celestia for more information regarding this mysterious group of ponies that Far Treader and Silverbrook were a part of. While she waited for the princess's answer, she turned to the best activity she knew of in order to pass the time, research. She had gone through two different tomes on Equestrian history, looking for some indicator about an organization sworn to Princess Luna, but had come up empty hooved every time.

Twilight was just cracking open the cover to her third book when, with an almighty belch, Spike burped up a cloud of flames that then deposited Celestia's return letter onto a desk for Twilight to read. The Unicorn quickly unrolled the scroll and perused its contents.

My most faithful student,

I do indeed know about the group of which you speak. However, I am not in a position to answer your question. What this Far Treader pony told you is quite true. It is not my place to give you this information. I have, however, informed Luna of your curiosity on the matter. I have left it up to her, as to whether or not she should answer her question. Whatever her decision is, my dear student, you will have to accept it, even if you do not want to. This matter is very important to Luna and is something that can be addressed only by her. So if she decides to not give you the answers that you seek, I request as strongly as I can that you do not press the matter.

Yours in friendship:

Celestia

Twilight frowned at the letter. That was not the answer that she had been hoping for. What if Luna decides not to tell me? Oh I don't think I can stand not knowing! Twilight's train of thought was abruptly interrupted by another belch from Spike, depositing another letter onto her desk. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise when she saw that this letter was from Luna.

My friend, Twilight Sparkle,

I was a little surprised to find out from my sister about your curiosity regarding my Rangers. I have actually been debating for some time about whether or not to inform you about them. I am already aware of your boundless curiosity and appreciate my sister's willingness to abide by my decision on the matter for better or for worse.

I have decided to provide you with the information at you seek. However, for certain reasons I will not disclose any of this information to you right now. First off, it is a rather long story and while I know you are not adverse to lengthy reads, I suspect that your friends (whom you undoubtedly also want to have brought up to speed on the topic) would not cope as well. Secondly, I do not want to leave a written record of this information, even briefly, as it is an extremely sensitive matter. To that end, I have asked another of my Rangers to meet you in Ponyville in order to provide you with the information you seek.

Please wait for him in the meantime and please do not pressure Far Treader or Silverbrook for further information on the topic as I am sure that you are aware that they do not deal very well with other ponies. My chosen messenger is much better suited for this kind of task. On top of that, he has informed me that he is actually an old acquaintance of yours and apparently looks forward to seeing you. I hope this response satisfies you for now.

Your friend;

Luna

Twilight sighed in relief, happy that Princess Luna had agreed to provide her with the information that she sought. After scanning the letter again, her smile turned into a bemused frown. Apparently the pony Luna had chosen to inform her and the other Bearers was an old acquaintance of hers. Having not made many friends to speak of before she came to Ponyville, Twilight found herself lost in her thoughts. She wondered who it could be.

Rarity listened in stunned silence as Fluttershy related the events of the previous day. It was early in the afternoon and the quiet Pegasus had sought out her fashionable friend at the Carouzel Boutique. Obliging her dear friend, the white Unicorn made the decision to close down the shop for the day (it had been a slow business day anyway) so that she could listen to Flutershy's story without interruption.

"Oh you poor dear!" exclaimed Rarity when she heard what had happened, "That must have been a simply horrid experience for you, nearly being mauled to death by that beast. But to think, the ones who saved you were greencloaks of all things. I would have never expected that."

Fluttershy nodded. "It was really surprising."

"Oh this calls for an afternoon at the spa," declared Rarity in all her drama, " After that experience you more than deserve a good pampering. You deserve to relax after such an ordeal."

Not one to refuse such a gracious offer, Fluttershy nodded again. The two of them set out for the spa, their route taking them along Ponyville's main street. They had only traveled a few steps when somepony called out to them.

"Excuse me, ladies."

Rarity and Fluttershy turned to regard the stranger that approached them. The speaker was a Unicorn stallion with a robin's egg-blue coat and a royal-blue mane. He approached them with a pleasant smile. "Can we help you?" asked Rarity, before noticing that Fluttershy in her usual manner had crouched behind Rarity to avoid the stranger. "Can I help you?" she amended.

The Unicorn nodded. "I'm looking for Miss Twilight Sparkle. She's an old friend of mine and I was hoping to catch up with her while I was in the neighborhood."

"Oh my! An old friend of Twilight's. That's simply wonderful to hear. Twilight Sparkle happens to be a very dear friend of ours." Rarity pointed down the street towards the library. "Twilight lives in the library over there. Oh I do hope you stay for a little while, I would very much like to meet one of Twilight's old friends."

"I'm certain that we will get to speak again Miss..."

"Rarity darling. And this dear here..." she gestured to the canary-colored Pegasus hiding behind her, "...is Fluttershy."

The Unicorn nodded to Rarity politely. "Thank you very much for your help Miss Rarity. I look forward to meeting you and the others again soon."

He turned about and trotted off in the direction of the library. Rarity smiled as she watched him go. Then what he said registered in her mind. "The others? Why, whatever did he mean by that?"

Twilight smiled as she levitated another book into its proper place on the shelf. She had been doing more research while she waited for Princess Luna's messenger arrived. As she slid the book away, she heard a knocking on the door. "Come in," she shouted, "We're open."

the door swung open to admit greenish-blue Unicorn. Looking him over, Twilight frowned. There was something familiar about him that she just couldn't place. She looked over the stallion carefully, trying to figure out just what she was missing. She was fairly certain she remembered his coloring from somewhere. She certainly didn't remember his cutie mark, a cluster of eight orbs that looked something like pearls.

The other Unicorn was currently staring at her disconcertingly. Twilight briefly saw something that looked like a blush flit across his features. Finally, the Unicorn opened his mouth. "Well, I know I haven't seen you in a very long time, but I must admit that you've grown into quite the beauty."

It was now Twilight's turn to blush slightly at the unexpected compliment. "Do I know you?" she asked, scrunching up her face as she desperately tried to recall something.

The other Unicorn smiled ruefully. "Well, I suppose it was a bit much for you to recall instantly, we were just foals after all."

That made Twilight blink. Foals? She struggled to reach as far back in her memory as she could. That would mean he was somepony she had seen before she had entered Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. That was probably why she couldn't place his cutie mark. They had met before either of them had gotten their cutie marks. Thinking back as hard as she could, she could vaguely recall that among the other foals she used to play with before she had gotten completely absorbed in her studies, there was indeed a fellow Unicorn, with a coat of eggshell blue and a mane and tail of royal-blue. She even recalled those solemn, gray eyes that now stared at her in quiet anticipation.

"I think I do remember you," she said with some difficulty, suddenly aware of the fact that they had been spending the past few minutes in a somewhat awkward silence. "What was your name again?"

The Unicorn smiled. "Oceanus. Remember, you and the others used to call me Ocean because that was easier to say."

Twilight blinked, her eyes widening in shock as the last piece of the puzzle. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, "I remember you now. I can't believe I didn't recognize you Ocean!"

Oceanus let out a laugh. "I can! We were just foalhood playmates after all. I understand that you've made a fair number of very good friends in the years since we last met."

Twilight nodded and gave him a sheepish smile. "I did, but it took me a while. After I got into the Princess's school, I kind of got wrapped up in my studies. It literally took Nightmare Moon coming back after a thousand years to get me to actually make some friends."

Oceanus chuckled at that. "I remember that after you saw the Princess raise the sun that one time, you hardly ever came out to play with us anymore."

"Yeah," agreed Twilight, before frowning in confusion, "But I remember that not long after that I didn't see you even when I did come out to play. What happened to you?"

"That's bit of a long story," said Oceanus before straightening a little, "But we should probably take care of business first."

"Business," Twilight frowned before it clicked in her head, an old acquaintance coming to look for her, "You're working for Princess Luna now aren't you? You're the one she told me was coming."

Oceanus nodded in agreement. "Yes, the Princess asked me to come to Ponyville to brief you and the other Bearers of the Elements of Harmony on the situation. Speaking of this, I ran into two of the others on the way here."

Twilight blinked. "You did?"

"Yes. Miss Rarity was kind enough to give me directions to the library. I don't think that she or Miss Flutershy realized who I was, although I did tell them I was an old friend of yours."

"Uh, that's my fault," Twilight admitted sheepishly, "I only got Luna's letter last night and I haven't gotten a chance to tell them that you were coming yet."

"That's perfectly understandable. I admit that it was something of short notice. I'm afraid that you'll have to forgive us for that. We are used to doing things in a hurry, so when I received Princess Luna's instructions, I proceeded here with all haste. And it is certainly no fault of your friends for not recognizing me, I very well couldn't have waltzed into town with a green cloak on, now could I?"

Twilight blinked in surprise. "I'd almost forgotten that part," she said.

Oceanus laughed. "I understand. Allow me to introduce myself formally then." He coughed with feigned importance. "I am Oceanus Regulus of the Order of Rangers in service to her Divine Majesty of the Starlit Night: Princess Luna." Oceanus bowed politely to her.

Twilight found herself smiling at him. Barely able to contain the urge to laugh, she bowed back. "And I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student to her Majesty, Princess Celestia and the Bearer of the Element of Magic. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

The two of them looked at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. "I have to say," remarked Twilight, wiling a tear from her eye, "You're different from what I expected."

"You were expecting somepony like Far or Silverbrook?"

Twilight nodded. "Well, yes."

Oceanus chuckled. " Well, it is true that most of the members of the Order are like those two. I'm one of the few exceptions, which is why I get saddled with the jobs that require dealing with other ponies."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "Why is that?"

"That will require a bit of explaining. I should go ahead and give you the full story, only..."

"Only what?"

"Should we try to get the other Bearers together to that they can all hear this, or would you like me to explain it to them later?"

Twilight frowned. Her inner student (or rather as Rainbow Dash might say, her inner egghead), wanted Oceanus to go ahead and start talking. The thought of learning something new, something that might give a completely new insight into a heretofore unknown chapter of Equestrian history was incredibly tempting. However, she knew her friends also deserved to hear this. It would be more polite of her to arrange things so that Oceanus only had to explain himself once.

"I'll go round up the others," said Twilight, "Should I tell them to come right away?"

Oceanus smiled and shook his head. "In spite of my haste in getting here, there is no need to hurry. Princess Luna was quite generous in the amount of time she allotted me to complete this assignment. Besides, I have an errand of my own to run besides this. So take your time."

"Okay. Maybe we should plan to do this over dinner then. That would be the best time to try and get everypony together."

Oceanus nodded. "That would certainly work. I'll see you then." He turned and headed for the door.

Twilight also nodded. "Yeah, and Ocean..." Oceanus paused and looked back over his shoulder. "It's nice to see you again, even if I don't remember you that well."

Oceanus smiled back at her. "Even if you don't, it was certainly worth it." He headed out the door, leaving Twilight in stunned silence for a moment as another blush crept up her cheeks. She took a second to shake it off before turning and heading upstairs into the bedroom. There, Spike was laying, curled up in his little basket, taking an afternoon nap. He had been working hard all morning and had only settled down just an hour ago. He's still a baby after all, Twilight reminded herself, I hope he's okay with me waking him up.

Leaning down, Twilight gently nuzzled the little dragon. "Spike," she said gently, "Can you wake up please?"

It took a few repetitions, but Spike eventually forced his eyes open and gazed blearily up at his caretaker. "Huh? Twilight? What's up?"

"Listen Spike, Luna's messenger just arrived here. He's going to be explaining some things, but I need to get everyone together so that he can tell us all at once. So, we decided to have him talk during dinner."

"And..." the little dragon prompted sleepily.

"And I was wondering if you felt up to cooking dinner for everyone tonight," said Twilight gently, "I know you're tired and probably don't want to cook for seven ponies, so we can eat out if you don't feel up to it."

Spike's eyes blinked lazily as his sleep addled mind turned over Twilight's request. "Yeah, I don't really feel up to cooking for seven...Wait! Seven?"

Twilight drew back at the dragon's sudden burst of lucidity. "Yes...?"

"So that means that Rarity will be coming, right?"

Twilight had to work hard to suppress the burst of laughter that was trying to fight its way out of her throat. That would get his attention. "Yes, that's right," she said, trying her hardest to remain in control.

Spike practically shot straight up from under the covers and nearly hit the ceiling in his excitement. "Holy guacamole! I gotta go get groceries! No wait, I've got to come up with a menu first! Oh man! How many courses should I make?"

Twilight couldn't contain herself anymore and collapsed, laughing until tears streamed out of her eyes at her dragon's antics. After a few more minutes of uninterrupted laughter, she became aware of the fact that Spike was glaring at her. Getting herself back together, Twilight finally managed to get back onto her hooves. "I'm sorry, Spike. Listen, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. Keep it simple and just do your best and I'm sure that Rarity will be delighted with you, okay."

Spike managed to calm down a little and nodded fervently at Twilight's instructions. Twilight leaned down and nuzzled her little assistant once again. "Why don't you go ahead and plan out what you want to make and write up a grocery list. Remember, you're cooking for seven of us, so don't go overboard."

Spike nodded again and zipped out of the bedroom at a speed that would have impressed Rainbow Dash. Feeling pleased and relaxed that she could entrust the meal to her Number 1 Assistant, Twilight headed out to find the rest of her friends.

"Another new pony, really!" Pinkie Pie nearly jumped out of her skin in her excitement. Twilight winced and braced for the explosion of words that she was certain was about to erupt from the pink pony's mouth. Not being entirely sure of where all her friends might be, Twilight had sought out Pinkie first at the Sugar-cube Corner. If anypony was going to be able to find all the others on short notice, it would be Pinkie. Twilight sometimes wondered if Pinkie's real special talent was knowing where to find her friends, no matter how well they may be hidden.

However, Pinkie stopped abruptly in mid-jump, something that Twilight was sure violated the laws of physics. As she settled back onto the floor, Twilight could see Pinkie's excitement visibly deflating like the air being let out of a balloon. "Pinkie?"

"If he's a greencloak like Far or Brookie then that's means he probably doesn't like parties either." Pinkie looked down, tears in her eyes.

Twilight sighed and with a reassuring smile, pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Listen to me, okay Pinkie?"

As Twilight pulled away, Pinkie sniffed and nodded, sitting down as Twilight looked into her eyes.

"You don't have to worry so much. Ocean is a good bit different from Far Treader and Silverbrook. From what I've seen, he gets along with other ponies just fine. That said, we should probably keep it between just him and the six of us...and Spike, of course.

"So why don't you go and help Spike with dinner and you can make it into a dinner party. Does that sound alright."

Pinkie nodded again. "But what about all the games and the streamers and the decorations and the...?"

Twilight cut her off. "Not this time I'm afraid Pinkie. You need to listen to me. There isn't just one way to have a party you know. As Ponyville's number one Party Pony, you should be well aware of that. Not everypony has the same ideas about what's fun as you do and you know that too. Would you go throw a really loud party full of pranks for a pony like Fluttershy?"

Pinkie shook her head vigorously, "Nononononono! That would really scare her and hurt her feelings. I would never do something like that to her!"

Twilight nodded. "That's right. Now, I couldn't tell you the kind of things that Ocean likes, but it wouldn't be bad for you to come up with something nice and easy while he got to know us. Is that alright?"

Pinkie looked thoughtful for a long moment, so Twilight gave her another prod. "Even if it's not the kind of party you normally throw, it's still a party, just a different kind of party."

Pinkie's eyes lit up and her smile returned. "Okay, I get it now! Oh boy, I get to throw a kind of party I've never thrown before! That's so exciting I can't wait to find out what ideas I come up with!"

Twilight nodded enthusiastically before deciding to put a stop to Pinkie Pie's tirade so that she could get back to her original request. "Before you go and help Spike set up, why don't you go and find the others and let them know, okay?"

Pinkie was nodding so fast her head was a two-toned pink blur. "Okay!Gottago!Bye!" And just like that, she was gone.

Twilight laughed and nodded to herself as she headed out of the bakery. No matter what, Pinkie would still be Pinkie.

"Well, you certainly made a mess of yourself this time," remarked Oceanus with an amused tone as he looked down on Far Treader.

Far let out a gusty sigh. "I could have simply had Silverbrook handle the treatment without having to deal with this, you know."

"Yes, but you should take advantage of the opportunity to rest up while you have a chance."

"Rest!" snapped Far, "In this place. This place is too sterile and dead! How in Luna's name do you expect me to get any rest here! I can't even see the sky."

Oceanus laughed lightly. "You are indeed a Ranger to the core." A grin spread across his face as he used his magic to open one of his saddlebags. "Fortunately for you, I didn't come here just to lay on a few taunts. Princess Luna sent me this along with her orders." He pulled out a folded mass of dark green cloth. "I suggest you keep this concealed until you're discharged."

Far accepted the cloth with a grateful nod before stowing it away in his own saddlebags, which lay on the table next to his bed. As he did so, he shot a long look at the Unicorn. "So Princess Luna is having you explain things to the Bearers?"

"Yes," replied Oceanus, "She's actually been engaged in a vigorous correspondence with Miss Sparkle for quite some time now. She didn't want to put you or Silverbrook under any extra pressure, so she sent me down to manage things."

"Most gracious of her. By the way, where is Silverbrook?"

"He already received his next assignment from the Archmage. It appears that that new weapon of his is going to up the demand for him in the future. The poor fellow is going to be quite busy for some time."

Twilight returned to the library to find that Spike and Pinkie had already started preparations for the festivities. She was surprised. Every surface was gleaming. All the books had been organized and put away. Spike and Pinkie had already set out a large round table with seven seats around it for all the participants. She couldn't help smiling to herself. It seemed a little much for just dinner and a visitor (who was admittedly an old friend), but she was glad Pinkie had found some outlet for her partying inclinations.

"Oh my, I don't go much for formal events, but I'll try my best."

Twilight spun around to see that Oceanus had come in behind her, apparently having finished his errand. She smiled encouragingly at him. "Don't worry, it's not going to be anything stiff like that. Pinkie just wanted to throw a party, so I told her that she should throw it in a way that would probably make you comfortable. I mean, you may not be like Far Treader, but you probably don't go for all the loud noises and activities that make up a typical Pinkie Pie Party."

Oceanus stifled a laugh. "That is certainly true. While I wouldn't be adverse to one of those parties if you were just introducing me as a friend, this is certainly not the situation for a louder party."

Twilight nodded as she turned her eyes back onto the table. She decided to resume a thread of the previous conversation she'd had with the other Unicorn. "So what did happen to you? I remember that you were gone before I entered school."

"I'm a year older than you, so I was supposed to go to Magic School as well. However..."

"What?" Twilight raised her eyebrows at the strange tone in the stallion's voice.

"My performance on the exams was not good enough for regular Magic School, much less the School for Gifted Unicorns. My parents weren't too happy with me. However, I was offered a unique opportunity by a visitor from outside of Equestria to study abroad."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Who was it? Where did you go?"

"My master was one of the Lung Dragons that dwell in their heavenly kingdoms to the Far East. He taught me their brand of magic, which I'm told is a rare thing for a pony to have an aptitude for. Their magic is distinct from the kind that Unicorns use. It was a surprise that I was capable of it at all."

There was a clattering sound from the kitchen. Spike leaned out and stared at Oceanus with wide eyes. "You learned dragon magic!" he exclaimed.

Oceanus chuckled at Spike's obvious enthusiasm. "You could say that. But Lungs are far removed from the other breeds of dragon, including your own. I'm not entirely certain that you could learn such magic."

Spike frowned, looking a little upset at having his question being answered before he could even ask it. Oceanus's eyes narrowed as he looked at the little creature. Suddenly, he asked, "You were hatched by magic, weren't you?"

"Well yeah, Twilight's the one who hatched me."

Oceanus drew back in surprise and looked back at Twilight, who blushed slightly at his attention. "That was my entrance exam," she explained weakly.

The Ranger took a moment to mull over this. He appeared to be thinking carefully. After a moment. He turned back to look at Spike. "I may have been premature," he said, "You might be capable of learning Lung magic after all."

"Really!" exclaimed Spike, his voice quaking.

Oceanus nodded solemnly. "I should warn you that I may not have the time to oversee your instruction, so it may be a difficult and lengthy task for you."

"That's totally okay!" exclaimed Spike as he pulled himself back into the kitchen and got back to work preparing dinner.

"Thank you for that," said Twilight as she smiled sweetly at him.

It was now Oceanus's turn to blush. Twilight waited a moment before deciding to get their conversation back on task. "So you studied with the dragons for a while..."

"Yes. I only returned to Equestria a couple of years ago. That was when I was scouted by the Archmage to join the Rangers. As for what I've been doing since then, well that will have to wait until dinner."

A frustrated huff escaped Twilight's mouth. Once again, her inner egghead desperately wanted more information. But she knew better than to press at this point. It was clear that any further questions along this track would be met by evasive and meaningless answers. She decided to talk about something else. "Can you at least tell me what this whole green cloak business is. One of your fellow Rangers shut down all of Ponyville when he came into town. But you strolled in here without a problem.

The flap on one of Oceanus's saddlebags flew open and he telekinetically pulled out a flowing cloak made of the same dark green fabric as that which had been worn by the other Rangers. In a graceful movement, he swept it over his shoulders and closed the clasp around his neck so that the cloak's hood was pulled back from his head. As he did this, Twilight was shocked to note that there wasn't the barest glimmer from Oceanus's horn, even though he was clearly doing magic.

"A rather elegant solution, don't you think?" he asked wryly.

"What do you mean?"

"As you've already been told, secrecy is of the utmost importance to our work. It is essential that we keep other ponies away when we are on the job or they would be caught up in the very hazards we sought to protect them from. The fact that most ponies will flee from the very sight of our cloaks ensures that they aren't in the way when we're working.

"On the other hoof, when we need to move among other ponies without clearing out entire towns with our very presence..." Oceanus whipped off his cloak, "This is all that is necessary."

"Wait, that's it?" Twilight found herself blinking in confusion.

"That's the elegance of it," explained Oceanus, fastening his cloak around his shoulders once again, "We are called greencloaks by the masses because the only thing that really stands out about us is our cloaks. Their attention is taken entirely by the cloak itself and most ponies don't bother to take note of the characteristics of the pony under it. As such, when we wear the cloaks, we sweep aside ponies that would otherwise be troublesome obstacles and without them, we are just other citizens of Equestria."

"That's amazing!" exclaimed Twilight. It explained so many things and answered so any questions. That was why the Rangers allowed themselves to be feared so easily. That fear was attached to the cloaks they wore so that they could invoke it or avoid it at will. It was a brilliant concept that utilized typical pony psychology to their advantage.

As Twilight pondered this, she became aware of a low whining sound that was gradually increasing in volume. She felt her body go tense and she realized that she knew this sound quite well. It was the sound of a flying object approaching at ridiculously high speeds.

"Um," said Twilight in an uncertain tone, "You might want to put that cloak away. It sounds like one of my friends is coming and she might get the wrong idea if you don't get the chance to explain yourself."

Realizing what she was talking about, Oceanus looked up, his gaze going out through the large window set high up in the library wall. He blinked once and gulped nervously. "From the look of things, your warning might be a little too late. I believe your friend has already spotted me and doesn't look inclined to allow me to explain myself."

Even as Twilight pressed a hoof between her eyes and groaned, the window into her library shattered as a sky-blue Pegasus plowed right through it with a ringing battle cry. Oceanus only barely had the time to blurt out "Oh this is going to smart," before the rainbow-lined blur slammed into him hard enough for the two of them to go flying all the way to the other end of the library. The impact of them slamming into the wall knocked all the books off the shelf above the two struggling ponies and buried them under an avalanche of paper and bindings.

"Twilight!" shouted Spike, rushing out of the kitchen, "What in Celestia's name was that?"

A beleaguered Oceanus managed to wriggle his way out from under the pile of books. But before he could get his hooves back underneath him, the blue Pegasus with a brilliant rainbow mane burst out of the pile and planted all four feet on him, using her right forehoof to keep his head pressed to the floor.

"I've got you now, jerk!" snarled Rainbow Dash, "Now you'd better explain what you were trying to do with Twilight before I really make you sorry!"

The Rangers

Chapter 3: The Rangers

Okay, so there's quite a bit more exposition in this chapter, which means a lot more infodumping. Hopefully this isn't too much for everyone and I can assure you that things start picking up in the next chapter. Once again, I would love to hear your opinions as well as any constructive criticism that you have to share.

Before Rainbow Dash could follow through on her threat, she felt herself wrapped in a magical aura and pulled forcefully away from the downed unicorn. Looking over, Rainbow saw Twilight glaring daggers at her as magic flared out from her horn, entrapping the Pegasus and keeping her from doing any more harm.

"Twilight! What are you doing?" Rainbow protested as she struggled futilely against the magic that held her captive.

"You'd better answer that question yourself," growled Twilight, "And explain just what you though you were doing by smashing through the window of my library and attacking my guest."

"Your guest!" shouted the blue Pegasus, "He's a greencloak! I was saving your ungrateful purple hide!"

"He is my guest and a personal messenger from Princess Luna herself, so I suggest that you apologize right now and behave yourself from now on."

"B-but..."

"NOW Rainbow!"

Rainbow let out a frustrated groan before turning around to look at the blue-maned Unicorn getting shakily to his feet. "Fine. I'm sorry about slamming into you like that."

Twilight wasn't satisfied. "And..."

"What else is there?"

"You know exactly what else," snapped Twilight, taking a tone that one might use to scold a disobedient child.

"Alright! Sheesh! I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions when I saw you and made a reckless move without fully considering the consequences. That good enough?"

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "That's better, but I still don't like your tone young lady."

"Who are you? My mom?"

The two were distracted by Oceanus's laughter. Looking over, they could see that he was almost on the verge of falling over again. Seeing his amusement, Twilight suddenly found herself blushing and dropped Rainbow like a hot rock. The Pegasus let out a yelp before she fell to the floor in an undignified heap.

Oceanus was wiping tears out of his eyes as he spoke. "I'd heard that the Bearers were an excitable and eccentric bunch, but hearing that and seeing it for myself were two different things."

"So, I take it you're just fine then," said Twilight flatly.

"Yes yes, all is forgiven."

Twilight groaned as she looked at the mess made by the broken window and the piles of now unshelled books. "And Spike and Pinkie put so much work in getting this place cleaned up."

Rainbow visibly wilted under the chastisement that she had just undone the work of two of her friends. "I'm sorry," she said in a much more sincere tone than before.

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to reshelve these books. The window will have to wait, though. I can replace it easily enough, just not right away."

"You're certainly taking this in stride," remarked Oceanus.

"I'm used to it. It's not like this is the first time Rainbow Dash has crashed into my library." Rainbow was practically trying to sink into the floor at this point. "At least she went through the window this time, instead of the wall, which she does sometimes."

"Those were all accidents!" snapped Rainbow irritably.

"Now now," Oceanus's tone was consoling, "There's no need to get upset."

The Unicorn stallion picked up a piece of glass with one hoof. Sitting down, he reached over with his other foreleg and lightly cut it with the piece of broken glass, only just barely penetrating the skin, prompting shocked gasps from Twilight and Rainbow.

"What are you doing?" demanded Twilight.

"Yeah! Are you crazy?"

The stallion gave Rainbow Dash an amused glance. "I'm not sure you want me to answer that question."

Before they could say anything else, Oceanus smeared a small amount of his blood on the piece of glass. Before the shocked eyes of Twilight and Rainbow, as well as Spike, who was now watching from the kitchen door, the fragment of glass floated up towards where the window had been, every other shard and piece joining it. Before their eyes, the window reassembled itself, not even showing the slightest scratch or crack. There was no evidence of Rainbow's forced entry from a few moments before.

"Was that...was that..." Twilight tried desperately to overcome her shock, "Was that the Lung Dragon magic you were telling me about?"

Oceanus shook his head, "No. That was a spell that the Archmage taught me after I came back to Equestria."

"You keep mentioning this Archmage. Just who is this guy?"

Oceanus smiled cryptically. "I'll explain that along with everything else."

Twilight groaned and hung her head in frustration. Then she turned and looked over at the pile of books now cluttering the floor. She turned her gaze over to Rainbow Dash, who at least had the sense to avert her eyes sheepishly. Then she looked back over at Oceanus. "I think you should probably put that cloak back away before somepony else sees you and jumps to the wrong conclusions."

"You have a valid point there.". Oceanus used his magic to unstrap the cloak from his shoulders. While it hung there, it formed something of a barrier between him and the eyes of the two mares. While they couldn't see, he carefully lifted his cut foreleg up and let out a slight puff, his breath congealing into a silvery mist that wrapped around the limb. The cut he had made shrank and disappeared. That taken care of, he resumed folding his cloak and stowing it back away. Then he turned to help the girls work at returning the books to their proper places on the shelves.

Not long after the commotion caused by Rainbow Dash's arrival, Pinkie Pie returned with the decorations for the party. Twilight was surprised to see the restraint the pink pony showed as she carefully hung streamers from the rafters, their colors more muted and tasteful than usual.

Pinkie was only too happy to explain. "I remember what the decorations looked like at the Grand Galloping Gala, so I figured if we wanted a quiet sort of party, then the best thing to do would be to use colors like that."

Twilight nodded, bemused at the idea of Pinkie making so much sense.

A couple of hours later, Rarity and Fluttershy returned from their trip to the spa, Applejack trotting in a few minutes afterwards. The group of seven seated themselves at the table and found that Spike had outdone himself with that night's dinner. There was freshly baked bread for everypony, along with a wonderful salad. Twilight found herself wondering where Spike had gotten such high quality lettuce, as it seemed much better than what she could usually find at the market. After the salad came steaming bowls of celery soup lightly flavored with herbs. The main course was a dandelion and daisy quiche.

"Good heavens," gasped Rarity, "Spike dear, where in Equestria did you learn to cook like this? This is simply fantastic."

Spike blushed under the praise. "At the palace," he said by way of explanation.

"That don't tell us anythin'" said Applejack.

"Yeah, you've got to give us more than that," added Rainbow.

"Well," said Spike bashfully, "When Twilight was at her classes, there wasn't anything for me to do. So I'd wander around the palace and I eventually found my way into the palace kitchens. The cooks there taught me how to make stuff."

"Oh Spikey-wikey, this is simply fantastic. I really do wish that I could enjoy this kind of food more often. You really have a wonderful talent."

Spike was rapidly coloring under Rarity's stream of praise. He barely noticed Twilight's elbow poke his ribs. "Nice work there, Romeo."

He was poked from the other direction and saw that Applejack was also prodding him. "They say the best way to a mare's heart is through her stomach," the orange Earth Pony added, grinning slyly at him.

Steam was literally escaping Spike's ears before he stuttered off some excuses about getting dessert and rushed back into the kitchen. Oceanus watched this all with a look of amusement. When he saw that Rarity had turned her attention and was talking to Fluttershy, he leaned over and spoke to Twilight in a low tone.

"Is there something that I'm missing here?"

Twilight giggled. "Oh not really, Spike's had a crush on Rarity ever since we came to Ponyville. He always jumps at any chance to impress her."

Oceanus blinked. "Well, that's something that I wasn't expecting. And you're alright with this?"

Twilight giggled. "If Spike and Rarity can make each other happy, then I would be glad to see that happen. As it is, I don't think it will be an issue for a while yet." Her smile became a frown. "Is there some thing that you're concerned about?"

"A little," Oceanus admitted, "I would say that I'm glad that you would be willing to give your blessing to them. But things would be difficult for a pair like that."

"You talk like you know. Has this sort of thing happened before?"

"It has. While extremely rare, there have been dragon-pony relationships like that in the past. It does not always go well."

Twilight nodded. "I know that Spike will be around for a long time after the rest of us. It would be really hard for him to lose Rarity like that."

"There is that, but there is also another matter too consider."

"What's that?"

"Children."

Twilight blinked. "What...oh? You mean that's actually possible?"

Oceanus nodded. "The children of dragon-pony matings are distinct in their appearance so that the nature of their lineage is easily apparent from a cursory glance. They have other qualities that separate them from ponies and dragons. But the greatest issue is generally their lifespan."

"Is it like a dragon's?"

The Ranger shook his head. "Much shorter than a dragon's, but much longer than a pony's. That has its own issues. Since dragon-pony hybrids rarely live with their dragon parents, they generally spend their lives among ponies. But because they have a longer lifespan, they also mature much more slowly. A hybrid, growing from foalhood to become a colt or filly before finally becoming a stallion or mare is a process that takes decades where for ponies it might take a few years. It creates a sense of disconnection with others and that's before you factor in the lovely things like the issues some ponies might have with living in proximity to half-dragons. Their lives are difficult ones."

Twilight turned her head to look at Rarity, still chatting cheerfully away with Fluttershy, before swiveling to look over at Spike, who was gazing at Rarity with a wistful expression. She forced a soft smile onto her face. "But it's still to early to tell what the future holds. Spike's young and this is his first crush. It may turn out to be nothing."

"Even so, if things progress, you have an obligation as his guardian and caregiver to inform him of the potential consequences. And even if if they don't, he is still a dragon living among ponies. That means there is little chance of him finding someone among his own kind." Oceanus didn't want to press the issue, but felt he had to point that out.

Twilight sighed and nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, Spike emerged from the kitchen with a beautiful cake. This was Pinkie's creation. and her primary contribution to the party, besides the decorations. As they were enjoying dessert, Oceanus surveyed the group. The girls were clearly enjoying themselves. While he hated to ruin that comfortable atmosphere, he still had a job to do. It was time to get down to business.

Apparently, Pinkie had already anticipated this and was actually calling attention to herself by saying, "So since this party is to welcome Ocean (prompting a chuckle from Twilight to here another pony using her nickname for Oceanus), let's let him introduce himself!" Her voice was practically giddy.

"Thank you," said Oceanus, tilting his head toward her in gratitude. He turned to look at the attentive expressions of the other mares at the table. Twilight looked downright ecstatic at the prospect of finally having her questions answered (and Oceanus couldn't really fault her, seeing as he had spent most of the day stringing her along). Applejack wore an expression of quiet attentiveness. Rainbow Dash glowered a little at him (her pride probably still a little bit sore after the events a few hours earlier). Fluttershy had appeared to have abruptly remembered that there was an unfamiliar face at the table and seemed to actually be cowering away from him slightly. Finally, Rarity was wearing an expression of polite confusion.

"Pardon me, but didn't you say that you were an old friend of Twilight?" she asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

Oceanus coughed awkwardly. "That turned out to be a slight exaggeration on my part. We used to play together back when we were foals. But we weren't ever very close. But that was not the sole reason that I came here."

"Then what, pray tell is your actual reason for being here?" asked Rarity pointedly.

Oceanus was suddenly aware of an intense stare coming from the other side of Twilight. Applejack's eyes had narrowed as she watched Oceanus with renewed intensity. Oceanus quickly pegged her as a pony who did not like being misled, fitting for the one who was supposed to be the Bearer of the Element of Honesty. Figuring that there was no further reason to put off the inevitable, he decided to be blunt and frank with them.

"Perhaps it will be easier for you to understand if I don the vestments of my position." With a flick of his horn, Oceanus opened his saddlebag, which sat on a small table on one side of the library and withdrew his cloak. Floating it over, he wrapped it around his shoulders, prompting an astonished gasp from Rarity.

"You're a greencloak...oh my."

Fluttershy let out a squeak. Applejack was apparently taken aback by his appearance. Rainbow Dash, who had already seen Oceanus like this simply continued to glower at him. Pinkie Pie maintained a blandly cheerful expression, giving no indication as to what her true thoughts were.

"What in tarnation?" snapped Applejack, "Having one of ya creeps in these parts was bad enough, but now y'all are comin' out the darn woodwork!"

"Applejack!" Twilight admonished, "Ocean is a guest. Even if I have difficulty remembering because it was so long ago, he is still a friend of mine. More importantly, he was sent by Princess Luna herself to answer all those questions we had yesterday. I can't believe that I would need to tell you of all ponies to behave yourself."

Suitably chastised, Applejack shrank back from Twilight's reproachful glare. "Sorry Twilight, but even after yesterday, Ah still can't bring myself to trust them greencloaks just like that."

"In all honesty," commented Oceanus, "That's how we prefer it."

"Come again," said Applejack, her voice betraying confusion and uncertainty.

"I'll start at the beginning. Hopefully this will answer some of your questions as we go, so be patient with me." Oceanus took a deep breath and launched into his explanation.

"You may be familiar with the story of Equestria's founding that is reenacted on Hearth's Warming Eve. However, that is far from a complete tale of this country's creation. If you think about it, there are many problems with that story. This country is blessed with fertile soil pleasant climates (when there aren't windigos) and abundant riches. Isn't it strange then that this land remained unsettled for so long before the ponies from the three tribes arrived here? A land so wonderful as this would be attractive to any race, and yet it was completely unclaimed when our ancestors found it.

"As it turned out, Equestria was unclaimed, but not uninhabited. In fact, when our country was first founded, a great many fell creatures dwelled here. At first, their existence was unknown because of the relatively small size of the first settlements. But as the number of ponies swelled, conflict became inevitable.

"Foreseeing this, the Princesses went into action and fought back the beasts and creatures before they could encounter any ponies and become a threat to them. But as the number of settlements increased, the princesses realized that they could only drive back the monsters so far. The creatures would have to be purged for Equestria to be truly safe for ponykind. However, many of these creatures were old and powerful and even the Princesses were unable to destroy them. Those that couldn't be destroyed were sealed away, the locations of their prisons cordoned off into areas that remained wild within Equestria's borders as a sort of buffer to prevent ponies from accidentally stumbling upon them; areas just like the Everfree Forest.

"But even with their great power, the Princesses realized that the things that they sealed away would not remain sealed forever. They would have to renew the seals occasionally to ensure the creatures that they had sealed away did not escape to wreak havoc."

"So yer sayin' that the Princesses canned up them baddies and then created your bunch to help keep them that way," interrupted Applejack, anticipating where this was going, "Sorry, but that don't make no sense."

"Yeah!" added Rainbow Dash, "If the Princesses had the power to do all that themselves in the first place then what did they need you guys for?"

"And surely they would have been aware of when their seals were failing, which would have prevented them being taken by surprise,"said Rarity, "So they wouldn't need you for some early warning system either."

"Heh," snorted Oceanus, "The problem is that things rarely work out that neatly. As you pointed out, the Princesses could have easily done all the work themselves, but there were a number of factors that limited their ability to take action. The first was the continuing expansion of Equestria itself. The growing nation was badly in need of governance and naturally the ponies turned to the sisters to provide the wisdom and authority that they needed to prosper. With the creation of Canterlot and the establishment of the princesses' respective courts, the sisters were unable to act as freely as they had in the past. Furthermore, because they did not want to trouble their subjects with the fear of the monstrosities that were locked away, waiting for a chance to escape so that they might inflict unheard of carnage upon ponykind, the Princesses kept the existence of these creatures a secret. This, combined with the Princesses' prominence in Equestria's politics hindered their ability to take action when the seals failed.

"As for the seals themselves, while the Princesses would normally have been aware of how long they would have lasted, there was another problem in play. You six are unquestionably familiar with the entity known as Discord. Many of the beasts and abominations that the Princesses sealed away were the products of his reign, if not his outright creations. As such, many of them carried a fraction of his essence. This fragment of primal chaos affected their surroundings and made any magic worked around them unstable to a certain degree. This meant that even Celestia and Luna with all their power and wisdom could not always be completely sure how long the seals would last.

"And thus, to act as a safeguard against these things, Princess Luna created the Order of Rangers, who, as their name would suggest, ranged across Equestria to monitor the seals and serve as a first line of defense against the monsters that escaped until one of the Princesses could arrive to re-seal the creature in question. As Equestria developed the Rangers advanced their own capabilities and eventually developed the means to seal all but the most powerful monsters themselves.

"Furthermore, as Equestria grew, there was also the possibility of conflict with neighboring countries and peoples. Because the Princesses wanted their beloved little ponies to live in peace and harmony, they balked at the notion of creating something like a standing army as a buffer against potential conflicts. Even the Royal Guard's purpose remains largely ceremonial. To that end, Princess Luna added to our list of responsibilities, appointing us to serve as the primary deterrents to potential enemies, using whatever means were necessary."

Fluttershy gulped audibly and spoke up for the first time. "Oh, um, when you mean whatever was necessary, do you mean...?"

"Diplomacy was obvious as a first resort," replied Oceanus in a consoling tone, "But we were authorized to use whatever means necessary as the situation dictated. We Rangers were diplomats, but also spies and if necessary, assassins. Whatever was required to prevent potential conflicts, we did it. This, along with the previous reasons detailed was why our very existence was one of the most carefully guarded secrets in Equestria. You will never find us in the history books and no one, least of all the princesses would acknowledge our existence or our deeds if they were asked."

"You said your order was created by Princess Luna," observed Twilight, "Is that why Princess Celestia was so particular that I get her permission to learn about you?"

Oceanus nodded. "This might surprise you, but back when the sisters first settled into their roles, Princess Luna was especially proud of her purpose. It wasn't just the beauty of her nights that she took pride in, but also the role that they played in the world. Her time was the time of rest. It was the time granted to ponies so that they could regain their strength to face another day. She actually took a great deal of pride in the fact that her nights were so restful and relaxing to her little ponies. Naturally, she took a great deal of interest in doing whatever was needed to make sure that her subjects could sleep easy. Because of that, the creation of a secret organization to keep the horrors that lurked in the darkness at bay was an action that suited her nature. We Rangers understood that and we are proud of our role and also took it as a point of pride that no ponies would know the things that we did to keep them safe; dark deeds in the darkness."

"Ah suppose that's why Far Treader was so reluctant to have anythin' to do with us," remarked Applejack dryly.

"Somewhat," agreed Oceanus, "But that's mostly just his nature. As I was explaining to Twilight later, our cloaks serve a wonderful purpose in managing how we deal with ponies. Because we only arrive when the dangers sealed away in places like the Everfree Forest are about to break loose, we have become something akin to omens of disaster and are treated appropriately. Ponies flee from the sight of us, which keeps them from being caught up in the battles that we must fight. However, because our cloaks are the things that are most strongly associated with us, most ponies fail to take notice of our individual characteristics. So all I have to do is take off this cloak..." Oceanus unfastened his cloak and let it drop out of sight. "...and now I am simply Oceanus, just another ordinary Unicorn roaming through Equestria. I could walk through and do business in Ponyville with no one the wiser, even though the residents would vanish from the streets if they caught so much as a glimpse of my cloak. So as you can see, that antisocial nature isn't necessary for maintaining our secrecy."

"But you said that most ponies in the Rangers were like that," Twilight pointed out.

"That's because their personalities are useful for another reason. It is true that the majority of our members are quite introverted. That actually is useful for us as it makes them uniquely suited to the rigors of our work."

"Oh, how so?" asked Fluttershy softly. She was especially curious about this as she had difficulty dealing with other ponies frequently as well.

"The demands of our Order keeps us on the move. Furthermore, since our responsibilities take us into the depths of places like the Everfree Forest, where few if any ponies venture willingly, we can expect to go weeks, or even months at a time without coming into contact with another soul. We spend our time in the wilderness, living off the land and supporting ourselves. We have no place that we can truly call home. For most ponies, such extended periods of isolation would greatly strain their resolve and endurance. Because of that, ponies like Far and Silverbrook, who are not only perfectly fine with not interacting with other ponies, but actually prefer to spend their time in solitude can actually thrive under such circumstances."

"That seems kind of sad," said Pinkie in an uncharacteristically solemn manner.

"It may seem that way to you," replied Oceanus, "But some ponies are just like that. It's actually better to give them a place where they can be true to who they are rather than trying to force them to conform to the standards of what most Equestrians would call normal society."

"That does make a certain amount of sense," agreed, Rarity.

"But wait a second!" shouted Rainbow, "There's something that's been bugging me about this whole thing."

"Oh dear, what is that?" asked Fluttershy as she turned to regard her brash friend.

"Well, I was thinking that this whole thing about their order being formed by Princess Luna and I was wondering..."

"What about the last thousand years?" said Oceanus, anticipating her question. Rainbow's mouth snapped shut and she nodded tensely.

Oceanus light out a soft breath. "That is something of a difficult topic for us. Even we are not sure what brought about Princess Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon and we were certain that we were the ones who knew our princess best. All I can say with any degree of certainty was that her transformation was not natural."

"What makes ya say that?" asked Applejack with a raised eyebrow.

"As I told you before, Princess Luna took a great deal of pride in the fact that her nights were a time of rest and repose. The very idea that she was offended by the fact that ponies slept through them is incomprehensible. Therefore, some catalyst must have triggered her change, although no pony has been able to figure out just what that catalyst is.

"In any case, when Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, we found ourselves greatly conflicted about what to do. Eventually we settled upon simply continuing our duties. The problem was that Nightmare Moon was not simply content to have the night last forever. In her insanity, the idea of sleep itself became the enemy. She became a creature that wanted to make sure that no pony slept through her nights, even if night was eternal. So, true to her name she created living nightmares to terrorize ponies into remaining awake and watchful so that no pony would ever miss even a single moment of her night.

"Luckily, Princess Celestia sealed Nightmare Moon away soon after. We Rangers were certain that Princess Luna would have been horrified to see any of her ponies harmed by her creations, however little control of her actions she had at the time, so we Rangers added her nightmares to list of beasts that we kept in check. We then spent the last thousand years trying to dispose of them so that their existence would not haunt our princess when she eventually returned."

"How many are left?" asked Twilight.

Oceanus visibly relaxed. "None. The Loup-garou that you saw yesterday was the last of Nightmare Moon's twisted creations."

"So you stayed with her all this time." Everypony turned their eyes towards Rainbow Dash, who looked unusually thoughtful. "Even though she had turned into Nightmare Moon, you still believed in her and waited a thousand years for her."

"Yes," agreed Oceanus, "Our predecessors from a thousand years ago knew that something was very wrong with Princess Luna and believed that someday she would return to her rightful place by her sister's side. But they also realized the consequences of banishing her to the moon and even resented Princess Celestia to a degree because of it."

"Why?" asked Twilight, her voice tinged with shock. The very idea that anypony could bear resentment towards her beloved mentor was something of a foreign concept to her.

"It was because of those consequences that I mentioned. A thousand years is a long time for ponies. Entire generations would pass between Luna's sealing and her release. The peculiar details of Luna's transformation would ultimately fade away before the ennui of a millennia. Our predecessors in the Order realized that by the time a thousand years had passed, Luna would solely be remembered as Nightmare Moon. Worse still, they also realized that out of necessity, Princess Celestia would have to take over Luna's role and responsibilities in her absence. By the time Princess Luna returned, there would be no pony who remembered the work that she did because as far as all living ponies would be concerned, everything would be taken care of by Princess Celestia.

"In other words, even when she returned and took her rightful place by her sister's side, Princess Luna would have nothing. The ponies who normally would have served under her would be too used to working beneath Princess Celestia at best. At worst, they might actually resent her for her actions as Nightmare Moon."

"That's awful," said Pinkie Pie, looking forlornly at her plate.

"Indeed," agreed Rarity, "We have all had moments where we weren't rightly ourselves. Luckily our friends understand that and we can be forgiven for the a things we've done when we weren't in our right minds. But..."

"But Luna didn't have that opportunity," said Twilight, her voice barely a whisper, "By the time she returned, anypony that had known the real Luna had been dead for hundreds of years. All they had were the stories of her as Nightmare Moon."

Oceanus nodded, his expression solemn. "That is why the members of the Order took it upon themselves to carry the memory of their founder and pass it on to each new generation of Rangers. From our initiation, we are reminded of the vital role that Princess Luna played in the creation of Equestria and our Order. When we take our oaths, we swear loyalty to her and her alone. For a thousand years, no Ranger has ever acted upon an order from Princess Celestia that they would not have received from Princess Luna herself. When the six of you used the Elements of Harmony to cleanse Princess Luna of her corruption, we were the first to come before her and welcome her back."

"Ah guess Ah can understand y'all trying to stay loyal to Luna," said Applejack, "But did y'all have to be so darn stubborn about not doing anything that Princess Celestia asked ya to do. That seems right rude to me." Applejack suddenly became aware that the others were directing incredulous looks in her direction. "What?" she asked as she shrank back into her seat.

"You're one to talk about being stubborn AJ," Rainbow pointed out.

"Yes, I seem to remember somepony causing a great deal of trouble because she was too stubborn to ask for help with harvesting," added Rarity.

"Or that time you ran away to Dodge Junction and refused to talk about us because you were all embarrassed about not winning that rodeo," said Pinkie.

"Uh well," Applejack faltered slightly, "Ah should know a thing or to about being stubborn, so Ah have to call it how Ah see it."

Surprisingly, it was Oceanus who came to Applejack's defense. "Actually, she's right. At least at first, our predecessors in the Order were extremely resentful of Princess Celestia for her actions and stubbornly persisted in that resentment for several centuries. It was only a couple of generations ago that some Rangers realized that not only had Princess Celestia not been merely content to leave us to our own devices, but that she had also been encouraging our autonomy to her rule. We eventually came to realize that Princess Celestia resented herself as much, if not more than we did for her actions. She had locked away her beloved little sister for a thousand years and had been forced to rip away almost everything that belonged to Princess Luna and manage it herself to keep the country from falling apart in its entirety. We know now that she was happy that we retained our loyalty to Princess Luna even after a thousand years so that she could have somepony to genuinely welcome her home."

"Oh darling," Rarity sobbed dramatically, "That's so sad and wonderful. You must be absolutely overjoyed to finally have your princess back."

Oceanus smiled indulgently at her. "Indeed we are. In any case, that was pretty much everything that I planned on telling you and then some. I hope that your curiosity is satisfied."

"Wait," said Twilight, causing everypony in the room to look at her, "You mentioned somepony called the Archmage. Who is that?"

"That's right, Ah remember Silverbrook and Far talkin' about that fellow," added Applejack.

"Hmm, I'd forgotten about him," Oceanus admitted, "His role is...difficult to explain."

"What do ya mean?" asked Applejack.

"The Archmage is not a member of our Order; at least, not formally. In spite of that, he is the one who coordinates our actions and informs us of the tasks that need to be completed. Apparently he took up this role sometime after Nightmare Moon's banishment and no pony, even those of us within the Rangers can say exactly when."

"Wait a second, just how old is this pony?" asked Rainbow.

"No clue," said Oceanus, prompting exclamations of surprise, "The only thing we can say for certain is that he is without question the most magical Unicorn in all of Equestria, hence his title."

"No way! Twilight's the most powerful Unicorn in all of Equestria!" protested Spike vehemently as he came rushing out of the kitchen.

Oceanus tilted his head. "I somewhat doubt that. The Archmage was granted his title by Princess Celestia herself. Some say that his power could even be greater than that of both princesses combined."

"Oh my, what a ridiculous notion. I simply cannot believe that you of all ponies would believe such ludicrous assertions." Rarity glared disdainfully at the greenish-blue Unicorn, who merely shrugged indifferently.

"While I can't honestly claim that I am the most powerful Unicorn in Equestria," admitted Twilight a little bashfully, "I'm fairly certain that I would have heard of a Pony like this Archmage. But I've never heard anything like this before."

Again, Oceanus shrugged. "I'm not sure why you never heard of him either. Unlike us Rangers, his existence was never any great secret. The only secret about him is his association with our order. As far as I know, there has been no effort to keep the Archmage from being known. He even visits Canterlot from time to time. I'm told that the heads of Princess Celestia's magic schools trip over their hooves to present their best students to him for instruction, although I've heard that his methods are quite harsh."

Twilight blinked in surprise. "That makes no sense. If he's so important, why did I never meet him?"

Oceanus simply shook his head. "I can't answer that. I can only suggest that you ask Princess Celestia herself for the answer."

Twilight Sparkle frowned. She intended to.

By the time Oceanus had finished his explanation, it had gotten quite late and everypony decided to go their own ways and return home. Eventually, only Twilight, Pinkie, Spike and Oceanus were left inside the library. Both Twilight and Spike were a little surprised to see that Pinkie was hesitant to leave. Seeing that Pinkie wanted to talk to Oceanus for a moment, Twilight and Spike turned to start cleaning up after the party.

"Um, Ocean, I have a question," said Pinkie nervously.

Oceanus raised an eyebrow, prompting her to go on.

Pinkie fidgeted nervously under the Unicorn's gaze. It was unusual behavior for her to say the least. "Um, well, you know Far right?"

"You mean, Far Treader?" asked Oceanus.

Pinkie's head blurred up and down a she nodded. "Yeah, that's him. Anyway um...uh..." she ground a hoof into the floor of the library uncertainly, "Do you know what kind of things that he likes?"

Oceanus blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting this kind of question. "I do know a few I things about his preferences, but why are you asking?"

"Um, well...because...I know he doesn't want one of my parties, but I can't help but think how sad he must be to be stuck in that big hospital with lots of other ponies around. You were saying stuff about how he was happier being alone outside and stuff like that."

Oceanus found himself nodding in agreement. "Yes, that's true. In fact, I went to visit him earlier today and he was perfectly miserable. So you want to help him. May I ask why?"

"Well, I really like to make other ponies happy. Figuring that out is what got me my cutie mark," explained Pinkie, "Normally I just throw a party and that makes everypony happy. But then I met Far and he said that my parties would never make him happy. And then I talked to Twilight about it and she told me how different things make different ponies happy. And then I thought I should find out what things make Far happy so that I could try and make him happy in a way that works for him."

"I...see," said Oceanus, "As a matter of fact, I do know a few things that he enjoys. I think I might be able to help you." He and Pinkie went outside, deep in conversation.

Having listened to them before they left, Twilight couldn't help but smile as she turned back to helping Spike clean up after the party.

"Are you certain you can find them?" asked Oceanus as he watched Pinkie Pie bounce cheerfully away, "They're a ways in the forest."

"Yeah, I'll ask Zecora for help. I'm sure she knows where they are."

Oceanus smiled ruefully, remembering the Zebra, who was known to him and the other Rangers, being the only pony (or Zebra) willing to live in that place. "Best of luck to you then."

Turning back into the library, Oceanus moved to help Twilight and Spike clean up the remaining decorations. As he worked, he noticed that Twilight was smiling fondly at him.

"Thank you for that," she said softly, "What you just did really means a lot to Pinkie."

"She certainly is different," remarked Oceanus as he used his magic to stack dishes.

"Is that something the Archmage taught you?" asked Twilight, staring at him.

"What? Levitation? Every Unicorn can do that. Granted it took me a little longer than most of figure it out but..."

"No I mean they way you do it," clarified Twilight, "I can't see a hint of your magic around your horn or the things you move."

"Oh that. Yes, you could say that the Archmage taught me that. It's nothing that special. Essentially, the aura you see from a Unicorn's horn and the aura that appears around the object being manipulated are signs of energy going to waste. That magical energy, instead of going into the spell, is instead being burned away in the form of light and sometimes heat. What the Archmage taught me was how to reign my excess energies in to channel my magic more efficiently. Because I have less than most Unicorns, I can't afford to really waste any."

"I see," said Twilight, "Could you teach me how to do that?"

"I could," replied Oceanus hesitantly, "But I'm not much of a teacher, I'm afraid. Also, I expect I shall be leaving shortly, if not first thing tomorrow. As a Ranger, I can scarcely afford to stay in one place for so long. I'm sorry."

"No I'm sorry," said Twilight quickly, "You've already done so much for us: coming to talk to us at Luna's request, answering all of our questions, saying you would help Spike, not to mention what you did for Pinkie Pie. You probably have so much to do and I went and just asked you to do something so selfishly." Twilight blinked, realizing that her eyes were starting to tear up.

A soft smile graced the other Unicorn's face as he gently reached up and brushed away Twilight's tears with a gentle hoof. "You have nothing to apologize for. You're simply being true to yourself. I can understand you wanting to learn new things. That's what made you so appealing to Princess Celestia as her student. I even remember that you were like this when we were foals," a chuckle escaped him, "Always desperate to get to the bottom of whatever you didn't understand."

Twilight sniffed and managed to keep anymore tears from coming out. "So, where are you staying tonight?"

The stallion turned his eyes to the ceiling in thought before lowering them to look back at Twilight. He shrugged.

"So you don't have a place to stay," said Twilight simply, "Not even a room at the inn."

Again Oceanus shrugged. "We Rangers are used to sleeping outdoors. To be honest, I'm perfectly comfortable with it. In fact, some, like Far prefer sleeping outside."

"But not you?" asked Twilight.

"It doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me. So I've never had any particular preference."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here in the library for the night," said Twilight with an easy smile, "There's the couch over there that you can sleep on. Celestia knows I've fallen asleep on it enough times." She tilted her head to indicate the piece of furniture in question.

"No kidding," muttered Spike as she shuffled past, "Sometimes I think she likes that thing better than her own bed."

Oceanus's laughter was drowned out by Twilight's indignant protestations and the impromptu wrestling match that occurred between her and Spike as a result. "Alright," the stallion said, "I'll take you up on the offer."

"You will!" exclaimed Twilight!

"Of course," agreed Oceanus, "After all, I did promise to try and teach Spike Lung Dragon magic. We can start in the morning. I won't have to move on until I get my next orders, so depending on when that happens, I can stay however long I'm needed for."

"Alright!" exclaimed Spike, pumping his fist into the air. Then he grinned sheepishly as Twilight gave him a slightly reproachfully look.

"In any case, it's time that we went to bed," said Twilight gently as she used her horn to levitate Spike up onto her back. As though her words had suddenly reminded him of how late it was, the little dragon found himself yawning. With a smile, Twilight carried him up the stairs to their room. "Sleep well, Ocean."

Oceanus nodded and returned her smile. "And you as well."

Once the door closed behind her, Twilight deposited her charge into his basket. "Wait there Spike, but don't go to sleep just yet."

"Spike blinked sleepily at the lavender Unicorn. "Huh, what are you doing Twilight."

"I need to write a quick letter to the Princess. I just need you to stay awake long enough to send it off to her." Twilight spread a piece of parchment on a writing stand and got out a quill and some ink. A few moments later, she finished and roused Spike to get him to incinerate the scroll with his flame, sending it off to Princess Celestia.

"Are you going to bed, sister?" Luna asked as she watched her elder sibling trot down the throne room toward the doors.

"Yes," replied Celestia, "All our affairs are in order for the evening and your court is about to open."

"Even though no pony has come to see me yet," muttered Luna.

Celestia let out a sigh. It wasn't uncommon for Luna's depression with the state of affairs to show itself. Celestia didn't blame her. When she had been forced to banish Nightmare Moon, Celestia had taken over all of Luna's workload out of necessity. Now that Luna was back, they were slowly working to change things over so that Luna would once again fully hold the position she held in the past. Because of that, the princesses worked jointly with the ministries that had been Luna's responsibility before her exile to get them used to the idea of having Luna back in charge. The work was slow and tedious, but progress was being made.

However, Celestia understood the real cause of the unrest generated by her younger sister's return. Celestia had gone to great pains to ensure that everypony understood that Luna was not responsible for her actions as Nightmare Moon. The main problem was that they had yet to identify the affliction that had caused Luna's corruption in the first place. Thus, without any knowledge of what it had been that had changed her, the ponies around Luna acted as though they treaded on thin ice, with any mistake having the potential of breaking the foundation of her sanity and sending her spiraling back into madness. It was that fearsome delicacy, day in and day out, that put Luna on edge.

Celestia found herself suppressing a smile. There was at least one group of ponies that had welcomed Luna back without the slightest reservations or hesitation. She remembered it well. On the night of Luna's return, the Rangers had assembled in Canterlot for the first time since their formation and welcomed Luna with a simple ceremony that had nonetheless, warmed Celestia's heart. Things had gotten even better after Luna had worked up the courage to go down to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, where she came to terms with her portrayal as Nightmare Moon and had even begun to enjoy herself a bit. Even better, Luna had made some friends. Celestia was well aware that her younger sister engaged in correspondence with Twilight Sparkle. Apparently she also received letters frequently from a small foal named Pip that she had befriended down in Ponyville.

The older princess's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a letter Ina cloud of greenish flames. "Odd," she said, noticing that's Luna was moving to join her, "I wasn't expecting a letter from Twilight tonight."

"Perhaps it concerns the Ranger I sent down to brief her and her friends," Luna suggested as she moved to read over Celestia's shoulder.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Luna's messenger from the Rangers arrived in Ponyville today. As it turns out, we did play together as foals, though I'll admit that my memory of him is quite fuzzy. He is a very nice pony, exceedingly polite and wonderful to talk to. In spite of some initial difficulties, we managed to arrange it so that he could give his explanation to everypony among us Bearers. However, there is one thing in his explanation that confused me.

Oceanus mentioned a figure called the Archmage, a Unicorn of incredible power and knowledge in the ways of magic. While his association with the Rangers is obviously a secret, Oceanus mentioned that I should have been aware of the existence of this Archmage and that he has in fact visited Canterlot a number of times. I find myself somewhat curious as to how I have never heard of this pony before.

I don't wish to imply that you have been keeping secrets from me, Princess. And even if you were, I'm sure you had the best of reasons. I will understand if you don't want to answer my questions about the Archmage, but I still ask you to answer what you can.

Your Faithful Student;

Twilight Sparkle

"Oh my," whispered Celestia.

"Sister," said Luna from behind her, "I must admit that I am confused as well. Who is this Archmage?"

"I'm sorry, Luna," said Celestia quickly, "I thought you knew about him already, seeing as how he does work with your Rangers after all."

"I was not aware of this," replied Luna, "Strange that my Rangers never mentioned him."

"I never thought to bring it up to you," Celestia admitted.

"I will talk with the Rangers later," said Luna, "In the meantime, can you explain who this Archmage is?"

Celestia nodded. "I have not seen him for sometime now, come to think of it. He's long overdue for one of his usual visits to gather more students.

"In any case, the Archmage is a Unicorn who lives over in an unsettled area of Eastern Equestria. Not long after I had sent you to the moon, the Archmage approached me and introduced himself. I have no idea where he came from and have no knowledge of who his family was or how old he was at the time he appeared before me. He immediately struck me as a potentially dangerous individual."

"How so?" asked Luna, unaccustomed to her sister being so wary.

"His magic is exceedingly powerful. In fact, I will fully admit that if he wished, he could easily wield more power than either of us, maybe even both of us at once. But what truly disturbed me is that he did not learn his magic here."

"So he studied outside Equestria, like Oceanus."

Celestia shook her head. "No, he ventured farther than that...much farther. His magic comes from beyond the boundaries of our very world."

Luna's eyes widened. "How is that even possible?"

"I have no answer to that," admitted Celestia, "Whenever he comes to Canterlot, we prepare a batch of students for him from among our best and brightest. I never told Twilight about him and I did my best to keep her presence a secret from the Archmage. Fortunately, he never pressed the issue."

"Is he dangerous?"

Celestia shook her head. "I don't believe so. But his instruction, while comprehensive, is...hard. His students tend to be reduced to gibbering wrecks."

"I see," muttered the Princess of the Night.

"I shall have to compose a reply to Twilight about this matter," said Celestia in a worried tone, "I need to take care with what I tell her."

"Go to sleep, sister," said Luna, "You need your rest and it might help you figure out what to say."

"Yes," agreed Celestia, "Good night Luna."

As Celestia turned to go, she was stopped by Luna's voice. "One more thing. This Archmage, does he have a proper name?"

Celestia frowned. "He did give me a name when I first met him, but I doubt it's the one he was born with. He told me that the name is also one of the names used to refer to his magic."

"And that is...?"

"Kaleidoscope. That is his name, the Archmage Kaleidoscope."

The room was vast and cavernous. It was a magnificent hall carved from brilliantly white marble. Beautiful sculptures sat in alcoves on either wall, while a massive door marked the entrance to the hall. The room was tastefully lit by chandeliers that dangled from the ceiling at regular intervals, their light reflecting off the elegantly tiled floor. It was the kind of room that might have belonged in one of the finest estates of one of the highest ranked nobles in Canterlot. It was hard to believe that this room existed inside a small cottage that stood alone in the unsettled Eastern countryside. Even more shocking was that this was only a small portion of the dwelling.

On the far side of the room from the entrance was a dais set three steps above the rest of the floor. Set into the floor, just before the steps that led up to the platform was a near perfect model of Equestria. The only things that separated from a truly perfect model were the series of gems set into particular places on the model. These gems glowed with an internal light that flickered at various frequencies depending on the information that they communicated.

On the dais, reclining on a couch-like pillow that was quite plain, making it seem out of place in the ostentatious room, was a Unicorn stallion with a jet-black coat that contrasted sharply with his stark-white mane and tail. Right now, the Unicorn was not showing even the slightest interest in the model in front of him. Instead, his attention was on the other occupant of the room. In the center of the massive hall stood a blue unicorn with a silvery mane and tail, along with the magic wand cutie mark that decorated her flank. The mare's legs were bent as she gasped for breath, looking as though she had just finished with some tremendous exertion.

The black stallion at the front of the room nodded. "We are finished for the night. Return to your chambers and rest, Trixie."

Trixie, formerly known as The Great and Powerful Trixie, managed to raise her head to meet the black Unicorn's gaze. "Thank you, Master." Trixie slowly staggered out the doors while the Archmage looked on impassively.

Life is Like an Onion Bun

Chapter 4: Life is Like an Onion Bun

This chapter is where things start picking up. Thank you to everyone who's been waiting patiently for this.

Twilight let out a yawn as she descended the stairs from her room. Within her room, Spike remained in his basket, still sleeping. Looking down, she saw Oceanus still resting on her couch, but awake. At present he was reading a scroll that she could recognize as having come from Luna by the look of the seal on the back of it.

"I see you don't waste time when it comes to asking questions," observed Oceanus wryly without glancing up from the parchment, "You must have fired off a letter to Princess Celestia first thing after we parted last night."

Twilight blushed slightly. "Well, yes. Is that what that letter you have is about?"

Oceanus nodded before looking up at her for the first time. As he did so, the scroll snapped shut. "My Princess is a bit cross with me as apparently this is the first time she's heard of the Archmage as well."

"Huh?" Twilight was utterly flummoxed by that revelation.

Oceanus burst out laughing. "That was my reaction as well. In fact, I'm guessing that that was the root of the problem. At some point, we all assumed that she knew about the Archmage already, or that somepony had already told her about him and we all failed to tell her. A rather awkward mistake, I suppose."

His remarks drew a short laugh from Twilight as she made her way to the kitchen. "I'll make some breakfast."

"And what about your dragon?"

"Let's let him sleep a little longer," suggested Twilight, "After all the work he put into last night's dinner, he's earned a bit of a lie-in."

"I suppose that makes sense. Still, we should get him up soon if he plans to learn magic from me. I'm here on borrowed time as it is and there's no telling when my next assignment will come in. We need to make use of every minute I have."

"Don't worry," reassured Twilight, "Spike will wake up once he smells food. There's no way he'd ever miss a meal." Even as she started moving ingredients and pans around with her magic, a loud burp ripped through the stillness of the early morning. "Or Princess Celestia could send a reply to my letter. That would work too."

On cue, Spike wandered out of his room and came down the stairs, blinking groggily at the two Unicorns standing in the kitchen, a scroll clutched I his claws. "Message for you, Twilight," he said between stifled yawns.

Twilight nodded and used her magic to pluck the scroll away from the dragon's grasp. Unrolling it in front of her, she took a moment to read it even as pots and pans, shrouded by the glimmer of her magic assembled themselves. Even with out her watching it, breakfast was preparing itself in fine order.

"Impressive," remarked Oceanus, prompting another blush from Twilight at his praise.

"That's a new one she came up with a couple of months ago," explained Spike, having regained some of his lucidity, "If I'm not around to feed her, she'll get so caught up in her studies she'll forget to feed herself. It's really neat that the spell does all the work without her having to pay attention."

"If that's the case, then I assume you must have different spells depending on what you want to cook," ventured Oceanus.

"Yeah," groused Spike, "And it took her forever to get them right."

"Spike!" protested Twilight, "It did not."

"Maybe not from your perspective, but you weren't the one who had to eat the results," muttered Spike petulantly as he crossed his arms and glared at the lavender Unicorn, "I swear that Apple Bloom could have done better."

"It was an experiment and I wanted an unbiased assessment."

"And you would have gotten one if you hadn't glued my jaws shut with that gunk you claimed was food."

"But at least I ironed out the kinks in the spell," said Twilight by way of apology, it works just fine now." To illustrate her point, a batch of oat pancakes was currently in the process of being assembled and cooked. From the smell of things, there had been no slip-ups on Twilight's part just yet.

Spike, his memories of her previous efforts clearly colored by his crossness at being so rudely awakened merely chose to take his seat at the kitchen table and tried his best to remain awake as he waited. At length, Twilight finished reading her scroll and rolled it up before turning to regard Oceanus.

"I'm a little shocked," she admitted, "I thought you might have been exaggerating, but it looks like you were telling the truth. A lot of what the Princess told me fits in with what you told me. In fact, it even seems as though she's afraid of this Archmage."

Oceanus shrugged. "That's rather understandable. The Archmage is a difficult pony to get a handle on in terms of his personality, but his unique magic is downright alien in nature. Even though I traveled to the Far East in order to study under the Lung Dragons, I couldn't fully comprehend the nature of his magic when he demonstrated it for me."

Twilight nodded. "I think I'd like to meet him one day, but not just yet."

"Perhaps you will. I can't tell you what that will be like."

A trio of plates flew to the table, each one bearing a stack of the fragrant pancakes and accompanied by jars of syrup and preserves as well as a stick of butter. The three settled down to eat. As they did, Twilight looked inquisitively at Oceanus. "By the way, what did you tell Pinkie last night?"

"I gave her some advice on some things that might make Far Treader's stay in the hospital more pleasant...oh, and a recipe."

"A recipe?"

"Pinkie dear, are you alright?" asked Mrs. Cake as she stepped into the kitchen of the Sugarcube Corner.

"Yuppers!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she moved removed a batch of fragrant smelling rolls from the oven.

Mrs. Cake sniffed the air and frowned. The smell was divine, but completely different from what was normally baked in this kitchen. The rolls had a wonderful, savory smell, which was even more confusing as Pinkie was the one who was baking them and Mrs. Cake could not readily remember the last time that Pinkie Pie had baked something that didn't use copious amounts of sugar, which the Pink Pony seemed to thrive on in defiance of all known logic.

"May I ask what the occasion is?" asked the older mare.

"Oh, it's no big deal. I'm just making these as a gift for somepony," replied Pinkie as she placed the fresh rolls in a box for easy transport.

Mrs. Cake frowned, but nodded all the same. "Alright dear, have a good time."

"Okie dokey lokie!" Pinkie sped out the door in a pink blur, leaving a baffled baker behind her.

"She made a gift for somepony," said Mrs. Cake in a bemused voice, "And it isn't cupcakes..."

"Alright, show me your fire," instructed Oceanus.

Spike nodded and took a deep breath. With a loud rushing noise, he unleashed a stream of green flame that stretched over twice his length. Having finished breakfast, Spike, Oceanus and Twilight stood in a clearing a short distance in the Whitetail Woods outside Ponyville. Unlike the nearby Everfree Forest, the Whitetail Woods were completely under pony management and devoid of fearsome predators and other hazards...aside from the occasional beehive.

Oceanus frowned in concentration as he carefully examined the flame that Spike had produced. "I was right about the magical nature of his hatching having altered him. His fire is certainly distinct."

"He can already send and receive scrolls from Princess Celestia," Twilight pointed out.

"Can he send and receive objects from other sources?"

Twilight frowned and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, we've never thought to try that."

"I can," Spike confirmed, "Princess Celestia was the one who taught me that trick and how to target it. Because I'm used to sending the scrolls to her, it's become automatic for me, so sometimes I end up sending her stuff by accident, like when Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash pranked me and gave me the hiccups. I accidentally buried her in scrolls that time."

"Oh," inquired Twilight, raising an eyebrow, "Is that what happened to my astronomy book?"

Spike shifted on his feet as he averted his eyes. "That was different. I sneezed."

"Hmm." Oceanus mulled over this information carefully.

"Is this important?" asked Twilight.

"It could be. In which case, the characteristics of his flame are governed by his breath control, hence why hiccups produced the spell while the sneeze made ordinary, albeit green, flames. If we go by this, then the nature of his flames will change according to how he breathes them. If that's the case, then if we can get him to learn the right kind of breath control, Lung magic should be within his reach."

"Really!" Spike was practically dancing in his excitement.

"I believe so. Let's begin." Oceanus stepped away from Twilight and stood directly in front of Spike. "Lung Dragons are different from other breeds of dragon. Naturally there are additional breeds and each has it's own unique quality. For example, your breed, the Fire Dragons breathe fire, as their name suggests. The Sky Dragons of the north breath wind and thunder and the Song Dragons of the south use musical tones to produce different effects. Then there are the Lindworms of the southwestern swamps that breathe poison gas."

"What about the Lung Dragons?" asked Spike, leaning forward eagerly.

"The Lung Dragons breathe mist.". Oceanus inhaled deeply before breathing out. His breath puffed and condensed in the air as though it were in the middle of winter. However, instead of quickly dissipating, the moisture continued to build until it became a substantial cloud of silvery fog that hung between him and Spike. The mist roiled and strange lights glittered within it.

Meanwhile, Twilight had pulled out a scroll and was taking notes at a furious pace.

Spike looked slightly disappointed. "That actually seems kind of lame."

"Make sure you withhold your judgment until the lesson is complete," replied Oceanus as he suppressed a chuckle, "The mist is merely a conduit for the Lung Dragon's magic. Depending on how it is applied, it has almost unmatched versatility."

The hovering cloud suddenly came to life. It's volume expanded explosively, like a kettle boiling over. The roiling mass of fog swirled around the three of them like it had a mind of its own, expanding until it covered the entire clearing. Then the cloud lifted overhead and released a torrent of rain, completely soaking the two Unicorns and dragon, drawing a shriek from Twilight as she desperately and futilely tried to cover her parchment to keep it from getting wet. Before she could even begin to voice her displeasure, the cloud dropped and rolled down over them, leaving all three completely dry and Twilight's note-taking sheet unscathed as though it had been never touched by moisture. The mist pooled on the ground, forming a silvery carpet that didn't rise past the ponies' fetlocks.

"As you can see, Lung magic is primarily associated with the water domain. In their own lands, the Lung Dragons are revered in much the same way that the Princesses are here in Equestria. Some use their magic to bless the land with rain and ensure bountiful harvests. Others rule the rivers and control the waters that inundate the flood plains that are also used for farming.

"Properly used, a Lung Dragon's magic can spur the growth..." the grass at their feet suddenly shot up over the Unicorns' heads, "...or purge the land of life." The grass turned brown and wilted, ultimately turning to dust that drifted away on the wind. The ground the three of them now stood on was dusty and desiccated.

Twilight stared in horror at the dry, lifeless ground beneath her hooves. However, as she watched, the mist sank back into the ground and soaked it through. Before her eyes, new grass grew where the old grass had been until it was the same height it had originally been.

Spike watched the entire demonstration with wide eyes. "That is so awesome!" he exclaimed.

Oceanus smiled and nodded. "There are actually many things that a Lung Dragon can do with his mist. But first, we must see if you can produce it. Now...take a deep breath..."

"While your injuries are recovering, you don't seem to be getting much rest," remarked the doctor as he examined Far Treader.

"I am having some trouble sleeping," Far admitted. This was an understatement. There were dark rings under his eyes, indicating that he had not gotten more than a few moments of sleep in the two nights he had stayed in the hospital. All in all, he looked (and felt) miserable.

"Perhaps some sleep aids then," suggested the doctor.

"No drugs!" snapped the gray Earth Pony stallion. Realizing that the doctor had been taken aback by his vehemence, his expression softened. "Sorry. I've just had bad experiences with them in the past."

The doctor nodded. After all, this patient had refused any form of anesthesia or painkiller when they had been stitching him up, not even a local. In spite of that, he hadn't even flinched when they had been closing the lacerations across his body.

"Please don't worry about me doctor," said Far quietly, "I can manage like this until I'm recovered enough to move on my own."

"I'm not entirely certain that I believe you," said the doctor in a hesitant tone, "But I will give you some more time. If I don't see any improvement I may have to take matters into my own hooves, whether you like it or not." He turned and left the room.

Far Treader groaned and sagged down onto his bed. "Go to the hospital, they said. Get your injuries treated right. Take some time off. What a joke." He was grateful that he at least had the room to himself so that no pony was around to hear him complaining.

He was roused from his session of self-pity by the sound of approaching hoofsteps, somepony...no, two someponies were approaching his room. Looking up, he saw Nurse Readheart come trotting into the room while the other pony waited outside.

"Mr. Treader," said the nurse with her usual polite smile, "You have a visitor."

That gave the gray stallion pause. He wondered if Oceanus had come and had some news for him. Instead, a pink face surrounded by a curly pink mane thrust itself into the doorway. "Hi there!" chirped Pinkie Pie as she grinned cheerfully at him.

Far's eyes widened. He briefly remembered how he had only barely talked the energetic pink pony out of throwing him a horrifically noisy party. She brimmed with so much energy that she could barely contain it. The Ranger found himself quite distressed at the prospect of spending any time with her.

"I know that you've been having a hard time dear," said the nurse sympathetically, oblivious to her patient's distress, "And Pinkie asked to visit you. She's very good at cheering up other ponies when they're having a hard time. Oh I just know you'll be feeling so much better." Turning around, she left the room before Far Treader had a chance to protest.

Sighing in despair, Far watched as Pinkie trotted through the door, balancing a white, cardboard box on her hindquarters. "What do you want?"

"Well, I thought that since today is such a beautiful day, I should take you outside!" Turning around, Pinkie pulled a wheelchair from outside the room and rolled it over to Far's bedside.

Suppressing agonized groan, the stallion almost glared at Pinkie. "If it's all the same, I would rather stay here."

"Aww, don't be such a Frowny McFrownypants!" protested Pinkie with an expression of exaggerated sadness. In an instant, she switched to an enticing grin as she hopped, bouncing the box off of her hindquarters and into her hooves. "Come with me and I'll let you have some of these," she cajoled, opening the box.

Far's eyes widened to their limits as his nose was flooded with the magnificent bouquet of freshly baked onion dumplings. "Wh-where did you g-get those?" he stammered, his resolve beginning to fail at the scent of his absolute favorite treat.

"Silly! I baked them myself, of course! Don't they smell delicious? And they'll taste soooooo much better if we enjoy them out in the hospital garden!". Pinkie beamed so brightly at him that he was tempted to reach for a pair of sunglasses.

How does she know about those? Far's mind was racing. A life spent in the farthest reaches of Equestria, sustaining myself off the fruits of the land, eating things that most ponies would never dream of; foregoing every luxury imaginable and being perfectly happy with it and somehow, this pony of all ponies manages to uncover my one true vice...it's not possible unless...Oceanus, that traitor! Even as his mind blazed furiously, expressing its rage at his turncoat comrade, Far's mouth watered at the smell of those wonderful rolls. And these aren't just any onion dumplings. She somehow got those onions I love that only grow wild in certain parts of the Everfree Forest. He's told her everything! Dear Luna, I'm doomed!

Far's head sagged as he finally gave in. "You win."

"Yay! Let's get you into this chair."

A few minutes' time saw the pair out in the garden as Pinkie slowly pushed Far Treader along the path until she spied her destination. She wheeled him over to a bench that sat facing a small flowerbed. "Here we go. Isn't this a great place for a snack?"

Resigned to his fate, Far allowed himself to be helped up onto the bench, laying across its length. Pinkie meanwhile, sat on the ground next to it and placed the box of fragrant baked goods on the small open section of bench between the two of them and opened it. "Alrighty! Dig in!"

Far Treader blinked in surprise and stared at the pink pony. She smiled back at him, but this was different from her usual smile. There was something almost relaxed and serene in her expression. Wondering at what she planned next, he nonetheless reached into the box and withdrew one of the treats and bit down on it. The gray pony nearly passed out as the favors exploded in his mouth. Chewing slowly, he savored the taste of wild onions carefully caramelized before they were packed into the dough and baked. There was no question, she had gotten this recipe from Oceanus. To his surprise, he found himself grateful for the treat. Even as he munched on the dumplings, he listened to the sounds of birds and insects in the air around him. He even appreciated the sight of the flowerbed and the rest of the gardens, even though they were a far cry from the wilds that he was acclimated to.

The only thing that bothered Far in the slightest was Pinkie's silence. He had only been acquainted with her briefly, but his first impression was that of a pony with boundless energy. And yet, she seemed merely content to sit silently beside him. She wasn't even watching him anymore, but was gazing silently out across the flowerbed, a faraway look in her eyes. Is she reigning her impulses in...for my sake? Far had to admit that that was the only feasible answer, which moved him considerably.

Having ingested several of the onion dumplings from the box, Far settled back on the bench with a full stomach. His eyelids were growing heaver as his sleeplessness from the previous two nights caught up with him and he allowed himself to relax in the tranquil atmosphere of the outdoors. Pinkie, realizing that Far was no longer eating, looked over and saw that the stallion had fallen asleep, his head resting on his legs as he relaxed on the bench. Realizing that Far was content, she allowed an uncharacteristically calm yet genuine smile spread across her face.

"Ugh," groaned Spike as he sagged in his seat at the kitchen table. Twilight also sat, reviewing her notes from the morning practice session while another of her spells prepared lunch by itself in the background. Oceanus also sat at the table, sipping from a glass of water occasionally.

Spike's throat felt raw after his lesson. He had spent all morning trying to produce the mist that Oceanus had been talking about. While he had managed to produce quite a wide variety of flames, the fog that he needed to create still eluded him. Oceanus had been right there along with him, suggesting different kinds of breath control and discarding each one as they failed. However, he had assured Spike that they were closing in on a solution. By the end of the lesson, Spike had been able to produce a cloud of faint, vaporous flame that vaguely resembled the mist that Oceanus could create, but was still flame. At that point, it was decided that they would adjourn for lunch so that Spike could relax his throat after producing more fire over a short period of time than he had ever had to before in his life.

"We are very close," remarked the Unicorn stallion, "I believe that if we refine that last breath you produced, we will have the desired result."

"I don't know," Spike hemmed and hawed, "Maybe you were right yesterday when you said that I wouldn't be able to do this."

"No," replied Oceanus, "I am more certain than ever now. The magical nature of your hatching has effected the qualities that defined your magic. I would dare say that Lung magic might not be the only form of dragon magic available to you. From what I can tell, your horizons are broad and you have almost unlimited potential."

"Isn't that great Spike?" said Twilight without looking up.

"Yeah, fantastic," he croaked, "What are you doing anyway Twilight? You haven't stopped reading those notes since we came back."

"I'm trying to create a training manual. We don't know when Ocean will be asked to leave us to do something or other, so I've been taking notes to try and put something together that we can use to keep up your instruction while he's gone."

"That is wise of you," said Oceanus, "And even if I am away, I still have methods of sending letters to you, so I will be able to provide you additional information when time allows even if I am not actually here."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Twilight, clapping her hooves together as she set down the parchment. "Thank you so much for this, Ocean."

The Ranger bobbed his head in silent acknowledgement of her praise. He then turned his gaze to Spike. "I suspect we may be able to get you producing mist by this afternoon. At that point, we can go into the particulars of how it is used."

Big Macintosh groaned as he pulled with all his might. A low rumbled signified that the stump, roots and all, had come free from the ground. Taking a moment to gather himself, Macintosh looked around. It was the second day after that monster had run loose and he and Applejack were still working to clear away the debris left behind by the epic battle. The remains of broken apple trees had to be pulled away, branches, trunks, stumps and all. On top of that, they also had to clear away the remains of the barn that had been wrecked in the fight.

Getting his wind back, Macintosh dragged the stump over to the pile of ruined trees. While the trees could no longer produce apples, little Apple Bloom had suggested that they actually chop up the trees and sell the wood, which was useful for cooking applications, like smoking. The filly's elder siblings were quite impressed with her logic and decided to follow along with the plan.

While Applejack and Big Macintosh did all the heavy lifting, Apple Bloom sorted through the remains of the barn, looking for anything that could be salvaged from the collapsed structure. It was hard work as the three of them toiled away under the midday sun. They had only stopped briefly for lunch and were now back at it.

Apple Bloom sighed as she overturned another pile of planks, searching for salvage. "This is gonna take forever," she groaned.

"Ain't nothin' that can be done 'bout that Bloom," replied Applejack as she dragged another chunk of tree over to the pile, "It'll be done when we get done. Yer just gonna have to stick with it for now."

Big Mac's ears twitched at the sound of multiple approaching feet. Looking up, he smiled as he saw a familiar yellow and pink shape coming over a nearby hill. While Fluttershy wouldn't be much good for heavy labor, he still thought her presence would make the remainder of the day more bearable. Then his eyes widened when he saw that the Pegasus wasn't alone.

Fluttershy was actually being followed by a pair of massive brown bears, who plodded along behind her at an easy pace as she fluttered over the ground towards the Apple siblings. "Well now Miss Fluttershy, Ah'm a mite surprised at the company ya're keepin'," said the red stallion.

"Oh, we'll, um," stammered Fluttershy as she looked away from his gaze, "I knew that you three had a lot of work that needed to be done, so I asked two of my biggest and strongest animal friends if they would be willing to help you with all that work...um, if that's alright with you."

Big Macintosh glanced over at his sister, who was smiling and shaking her head in disbelief. "Just when Ah think Ah've seen it all, ya surprise me again."

"Oh! If that's a problem, I can just ask them to go back home," said Fluttershy quickly.

"No no, we'd love the help. Do yer friends mind bein' paid in apples? Ah don't reckon they'll have much use for bits." Applejack grinned at her quiet friend.

"Uh well, actually..." Fluttershy stared down at her hoof. "Actually, they told me that your grandmother's cooking always smells ever so wonderful and they were wondering if they could have some of that...if that's alright with you."

Applejack barked out a laugh before turning and calling for her youngest sister. "Bloom! Run on back to the house and tell Granny Smith to start bakin' up a storm. We're gonna need a whole lotta pies."

"Okay sis!" shouted Apple Bloom, gleeful for an excuse to escape the constant labor.

"And after that, make sure ya get yer hide back here and get on with that sortin'! Don't be dilly-dallying ya hear!" Applejack suppressed an amused chuckle as a barely audible sound of protest floated back to her from rapidly dwindling filly.

Turning back, she grinned eagerly at her brother and the newly hired help. "Well, let's get back to work. These trees ain't gonna pull themselves."

Carefully exhaling, Spike produced a glittering green cloud that looked nothing like his usual flame. For one thing, it didn't dissipate into the wind, but hung before him. The strangest thing was that he could feel it, as though the cloud was an extension of himself. He stared at it with eyes wide. Did this mean he had succeeded?

Seeing his unspoken question, Oceanus grinned. "There's an easy way to find out." Without the slightest hesitation, he thrust his foreleg into the cloud, prompting a gasp from Twilight. Before either Twilight or Spike could say a word, the stallion pulled his leg back out unscathed. "Success!"

"Don't scare me like that!" shouted Twilight, prompting a sheepish expression of apology from the other Unicorn.

"Sorry, couldn't resist."

"So now what?" asked Spike, looking at the cloud uncertainly.

"Now, you practice until we're absolutely certain that you can produce your mist at will," replied Oceanus, eliciting a groan from Spike.

It took another hour of tedious repetition before the Ranger was satisfied in Spike's ability to create the mist at will. By the time he was finished, Spike felt as though he as about to keel over from the strain. Producing fire on its own had worn out his throat, but the mist was magical and drained his strength like a bout of strenuous exercise. He had always wondered how Twilight managed to avoid getting chubby in spite of all the time she spent lying around, reading. Perhaps the magic she used regularly burned up excess calories without her needing a fitness session.

Puffing and groaning, Spike tottered and fell onto his rump. He cast a pleading glance at his tormentor, who appeared to be deep in thought before nodding. "That looks good. So now that we're sure that you can produce your mist at will, now comes the part where you learn what to do with it."

Spike felt his energy nearly return at that announcement...nearly. In spite of his excitement, he still didn't think he had anything left for further practice. He realized that Oceanus was gazing down at him.

"Well, it looks like you hit your limit today," he observed, "So I will give you a demonstration for now and we can work on the practical later. As you continue to practice, your magical reserves will build up strength. Because you're using the same energy you would use for physical functions for magic, you could say that this could be considered a kind of endurance training."

Spike gulped nervously. If being able to use magic meant that he had to increase his endurance, then he had an idea of what was coming. However, Oceanus did not go further into the topic, but instead snorted out a cloud of his own mist.

"The first step in using Lung magic, just as in any other form of magic is in establishing your territory." The mist spread out to fill the entire forest clearing.

Twilight blinked in surprise. "Territory? What are you talking about?"

Oceanus gaped at her. "Do you mean that you don't know about establishing a spell field?" At Twilight's blank glance, Oceanus closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead at the base of his horn. "Honestly, what has Princess Celestia been teaching you?"

"Hey!" Even if it was someone she now considered a friend, Twilight did not feel very open about someone disparaging her mentor in front of her.

Oceanus stared at her. "Establishing a spell field is one of the most basic operations in magic. Both my original master and the Archmage have said that a battle between mages is a battle for territory."

"Battle? Princess Celestia never taught me about battle magic. Neither did any of the other teachers at her school."

That made Oceanus pause. "That makes some sense then. But even if its primary function is for battle, spell fields have all sorts of uses."

"How so?"

"Well, for purposes of demonstration, try casting a spell here." Oceanus tilted his head to indicate the clearing around them.

Twilight looked around and spotted a nearby rock. She opted for a typical levitation spell and frowned in concentration as her horn began to glow. Something felt off. A simple levitation spell for a small object should have been foal's play for her, but for some reason she was encountering difficulty. As she focused the necessary energies to cast the spell, Twilight felt as though she were fighting her way through thick mud. Her horn sparked and fizzled and she felt a lot of energy draining out of her spell before she could even apply it, as though something was siphoning it off. Finally, after way more effort than she should have exerted, the rock wobbled uncertainly and lifted off of the ground. After lifting it a ways into the air, Twilight sighed and released her spell, letting the rock drop back down to the ground. Looking up, she saw Spike blinking at her in confusion while Oceanus seemed to be quite impressed with her.

"I don't get it," said Spike, "It looked like she just did what she usually does and the rock floated. What's the big deal." From this, Twilight realized that her concentration made the time it took for her to cast the spell seem longer than it really was. The difference was apparently not noticeable to Spike.

"I was rather surprised to see you manage to do so well in a foreign spell field," said Oceanus thoughtfully, "You certainly have talent, Miss Sparkle. But you felt it didn't you."

Twilight nodded, while Spike simply fell into worse confusion. "Felt what?"

Twilight explained it. "It took a lot more effort than I would normally use just to levitate something that small. It was like something was weighing me down and draining my energy."

"That is one of the aspects of a spell field," said Oceanus, "With my mist, I have claimed this area as my territory by setting a field of my magic. Within this territory, not only are the magics of other ponies hampered by it, but my own magics are much easier to use. You essentially create a place of power in which you can draw out your fullest strength."

"A place of power..." Twilight was lost in thought for a moment. An idea occurred to her, prompting her to look up. "Could you use this kind of spell to create something more permanent."

Oceanus nodded. "Actually, that was originally how these were meant to be used. Mages generally pick a place that they use as a home base of sorts and then establish a spell field and build it up. As you continue to add to it, you can accomplish all kinds of interesting things."

Twilight's mind was gone, lost in a flurry of thoughts as she found herself imagining all the possibilities that this new kind of magic opened up to her. Already, she was beginning to line up countless experiments that she could conduct back at the library to make use of the interesting properties that Oceanus had described to her. But she would need more information. Perhaps she should send for books from the library in Canterlot, or even Celestia's school. But considering that never Celestia nor the teachers she employed seemed to teach that sort of magic, Twilight might have to venture farther afield...

Oceanus and Spike watched as Twilight stood stock-still, her eyes staring off into the distance, unfocused. "Um...is this normal?" asked the greenish-blue Unicorn uncertainly.

"Yeah, she gets like that sometimes," said Spike before he started muttering petulantly, "Whenever she discovers some new kind of spell or piece of knowledge she gets like a foal in a candy store and completely forgets what's going on around her. She'll snap out of it soon enough."

"". The howls of Diamond Dogs filled the air as the weighted tentacles of Soul Silver slammed into a crowd of the filthy beasts and scattered them like tenpins. Even as the blows sent half a dozen of the creatures flying, over a dozen more came up twirling slings, the only ranged weapons they seemed to have any knowledge of.

Silverbrook did not flinch. He didn't even need to give any instructions. As the salvo of stones came whirling at him with enough force to crack a pony's skull, Soul Silver sprang to his immediate defense, forming a spherical barrier that deflected every single one. The instant the attack was over, Silverbrook barked out another command and his weapon lashed out yet again, sending Diamond Dogs flying with each attack.

All told, Silverbrook hated dealing with the subterranean canines. The main problem was that there was no simple, universal way to treat them. Some packs were minor annoyances, living in gem-filled quarries and competing with ponies for the local supply. Those packs could be ignored. Others were pests that went out of their way to make life miserable for ponies who threatened to claim what hey considered their own. Finally, the worst packs were the ones that considered ponies to be beasts of burden that could be pressed into service at will. Some packs even went so far as to raid small towns and villages to capture ponies so that they could toil away in Diamond Dog mines. They were slavers. This category was the one that Silverbrook and other Rangers were most frequently called upon to deal with.

Soul Silver sprang into its defensive configuration once again as a group of Diamond Dogs tried to flank Silverbrook and strike from behind. Their crude axes and clubs had no more luck breaching his defenses than their slings had. As they reeled from the recoil of their own blows, Silverbrook launched a series of tendrils that hit the four attackers head on, ramming them back.

This pack of Diamond Dogs had raided the village of Coltswood, ponynapping thirty-seven ponies of all types and ages. Silverbrook's assignment was simple: go in, beat the pack into submission, free the prisoners. Of course, things weren't that simple. He couldn't exactly allow the villagers to see him at his job. He certainly couldn't let them see a greencloak as the hero. The Rangers went out of their way to make sure that the common pony regarded them with suspicion and fear after all. He couldn't carry out the mission without his cloak either. The Diamond Dogs had to be made certain of just who was dispensing their punishment.

This pack was persistent, which came along with their substantial numbers. The boldness and aggressiveness of a Diamond Dog pack correlated directly with their size. The larger the pack, more likely they were to be active slavers like this one. This meant that beating them into submission was also a lengthy task.

Finally, their morale was beginning to waver. Several of the beasts were already beating a hasty retreat. The rest were trying to rally and launch a concerted assault in a hope to break through Soul Silver's defenses. Seeing that they were apparently waiting for something, Silverbrook took the opportunity to look around the cavern. This was a hub for the network of caves that the Diamond Dogs operated out of, with several tunnels coming in from every direction. It was useful for the beasts as the tunnels could easily be employed for flanking attacks.

Silverbrook grinned. The group rallying in front of him must have been waiting for reinforcements to strike from another direction. Well, he knew just how to handle that. "" Several rod-like extensions split off from Soul Silver's main mass and stretched down the tunnels around Silverbrook.

A few seconds later, a tremor traveled up a tendril leading to a passage slightly behind and to the right of where Silverbrook was. So that was where the reinforcements were coming from. Retracting Soul Silver's feelers, Silverbrook waited until he could see the shifting shadows that indicated the approaching Diamond Dogs out of the corner of his eye.

"" At his command, the tentacles lashed out at their targets, the stone surrounding the passageway entrance, causing it to collapse almost directly on top of the approaching flanking force. The main group, having been about to launch their own attack while Silverbrook was distracted, skidded to a haunt before they had even fully begun to make their own charge. Silverbrook turned his full attention to them and grinned eagerly. The result was exactly what he had hoped for. The last resistance of the Diamond Dogs broke and they fled, yapping in terror.

That little trick hadn't been exactly necessary. Even with the flanking attack, the Diamond Dogs lacked the power to break through Soul Silver's automatic defense. But Silverbrook wanted to break their morale sooner rather than later. By cutting off the expected reinforcements, he had effectively shattered the last pillars of the current group's morale, allowing him to finish this battle much sooner.

Before they could all escape, Silverbrook had one last task he needed to complete. "" Three tentacles reached out and wrapped around a straggler, who gave out a strangled whine as he was dragged back towards the horrifying pony in the green cloak. His comrades didn't even spare him a glance back, preoccupied as they were by saving their own skins. True, there were plenty of other Diamond Dogs who were littering the chamber with their unconscious bodies, but Silverbrook needed one who was awake and he didn't have the patience to wait for any of the others to revive.

Soul Silver dragged the unfortunate Diamond Dog up before Silverbrook and held the mangy beast suspended in front of him. Silverbrook stared straight into the terrified eyes of the creature. "Go back and release all of your prisoners," he said simply, "Release them and see to it that they get to the surface safely. If you don't..." Silverbrook glanced to the side and set his target for a stalagmite that jutted up from the floor near the edge of the chamber. "" Another tentacle shot out from Soul Silver. This one lined with razor edges. It cut through the stone formation like butter. The top of the stalagmite slid away to reveal that the cut had been so clean that the exposed surface looked as though it had been polished to a glass-like consistency.

"If you don't, I will find you and the others and I will do that to you. Don't even think about trying to trick me. I know exactly how many there are. If you don't follow my instructions, I will know. Do you understand me?" The Diamond Dog nodded frantically, too terrified to use his voice. Silverbrook released him and the dog scrambled off whimpering to follow his instructions. Silverbrook didn't doubt that they would be carried out. But he sent one of Soul Silver's tracking tendrils after the creature, just to be on the safe side.

Spike was living fast asleep on Twilight's back as she carried her assistant into the library. The remainder of the practice session had been spent on Oceanus explaining the capabilities and applications of spell fields. Twilight listened even more eagerly than the dragon to this new wealth of information. Already worn out by the strenuous practice earlier, Spike hadn't been at his most attentive. Once they had finally decided to return to the library, he was too tired to walk and had to ride on Twilight's back, nodding off in the process.

After carrying him up to the bedroom and tucking him into his basket, Twilight came back downstairs and made her way to the kitchen to prepare a light dinner for Oceanus and a late night snack for Spike should he wake up later that evening. While she cooked, she and Oceanus talked. Twilight was eager to know more about the magic he had been using earlier.

"I know some books that would be helpful in that area," said Oceanus as he browsed a nearby bookshelf, "I'll ask one of my comrades to send them your way."

"They won't mind?" asked Twilight.

"Spell Field Theory is not exactly a top secret branch of magical application. I'm told that the Archmage and those students that can handle his lessons are particularly adept in its usage, so he might have some materials that could help you in that area. However, since I doubt that you will be hearing from him anytime soon, I'll just have to see if I can get him to send something to you later."

"I'm so grateful," said Twilight as she brought the food and plates to the table, "But there's something else I'd like to ask."

Oceanus raised an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

"I was just curious. Could you tell me about the Lung Dragons? What are they like?"

Oceanus chuckled. "To be honest, they're bureaucrats..."

Silverbrook watched from a distance as the newly freed ponies came out into the waning light near the end of the day. Carefully, he counted each and every one of them to ensure that the Diamond Dogs hadn't tried to pull a fast one on him. Fortunately, they were all accounted for. Just to be sure, he followed them at a distance to make sure that they made it safely to their homes.

Even though this had been a troublesome assignment, Silverbrook couldn't keep a smile from his face as he watched the villagers greet their returning friends and family. Sons and daughters rushed into the open embrace of their parents. Lovers reunited with varying degrees of passion. There was plenty of cause for celebration that day. His assignment completed, Silverbrook turned away from Coltswood and trotted off into the wilderness to await his next set of instructions.

They came more quickly than he expected. Silverbrook frowned as the instructions were relayed by blink code through the gem that the Archmage had provided him for that purpose. This was much more important than his usual assignments.

"Somepony or something has been tampering with the Fourth Seal in the Thotep Pass. Investigate immediately."

The Thotep Pass was a night's journey away from his current location. Looking up to see the sun almost completely below the horizon and the moon beginning to rise opposite, Silverbrook performed some quick calculations. If he traveled through the night, he would be at the pass by seven the following morning. While it meant that he wouldn't be getting a chance to sleep anytime soon, he wasn't worried at the prospect. Rangers were conditioned to go multiple days without sleep after all. Silverbrook set out at his swiftest pace. There was absolutely no time to waste.

"And here we are, back at your room, safe and sound." Pinkie Pie gently pushed the chair carrying Far Treader into his hospital room.

Far felt much more rested after spending the day napping on a bench in the garden. He was especially impressed that Pinkie hadn't done anything to disturb him during that time. She had also checked her usual exuberance while getting him back to his room. However, Far was distracted from his thoughts by an unusual scent emanating from the hospital room itself. His keen nose, honed by years spent in the wilderness, detected the faint smell of drying paint.

Far looked around for the source of the smell, but was baffled until he looked up. The stallion's eyes widened as he stared at the ceiling. The normally bear ceiling had been painted into an exceptionally faithful representation of Princess Luna's night. While it was a far call from looking up at the actual stars, Far couldn't help but pick out several of his favorite constellations and patterns. Stargazing was one of his favorite hobbies, another reason he was considered ideal for service directly under Princess Luna.

Stunned, Far turned to look at Pinkie Pie, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Surprise!" she cheered, "Do you like it?"

Far turned his eyes back up to the ceiling. "When...? How...?"

Pinkie giggled at his incoherence. "I have a couple of friends who are really good at painting. They did this for me as a favor while we were out in the garden."

Far Treader had plenty of other questions, such as how they had gotten permission from the hospital for this, or how they managed to get the job done so quickly so that the room wouldn't be filled with fumes by the time he got back. The time factor confused him immensely. However, as he glanced back at Pinkie and her genuinely happy grin, he decided that there was no real need to know the answers to those questions. This was Pinkie Pie after all.

To his own surprise, Far found himself smiling. If anything, the sight of that made Pinkie's grin grow even wider. "Thank you." Even the Ranger was shocked by the degree of sincere warmth in his own voice.

"You're so so soooooooo welcome!" Now he could see that Pinkie was only just barely restraining herself. Far half expected her to shoot off like a rocket and put a hole in his newly painted ceiling.

"You've done so much for me. I'm grateful, but why? I understand that you love parties and were disappointed that I wouldn't let you throw one for me. But why this?" He jerked his head to indicate the scenery. "Just the dumplings and the trip to the garden were pleasant enough. But why go so far for me ?"

It seemed that Pinkie had it in her to surprise Far yet again as the expression she gave him was the most sincerely warm and joyous expression he had ever seen a pony wear. "Because that's who I am," she said with uncharacteristic seriousness, "More than anything else in the world, I want to make ponies happy. I want to see them smile. And that means you too.

"I know that I didn't to a very good job at first, but Twilight helped me to understand that not everypony needs parties to make them happy. Some ponies, like you, find their happiness in other things. I just needed some help figuring out what that was."

She helped Far struggle onto his bed. "I can honestly say that you have done more for me today than anypony since my own foalhood," said Far as he looked up at the ceiling once again, "And I am happy...and very grateful." He turned his head down to look Pinkie straight in the eyes. "Thank you Miss Pie."

"I'm really happy that you're happy," said Pinkie by way of reply, "Nighty night. Sleep tight."

As Pinkie Pie bounced her way out of the room, Far Treader turned to look up at the nightscape painted on his ceiling once again. "I think that tonight, I may sleep much better."

Oceanus yawned as he settled in for another night on the couch in the library. Twilight had finally gone to bed. He chuckled to himself as he remembered their talk. The librarian had been eager to learn about Oceanus's experiences abroad and his time with the Lung Dragons. She had asked him a great many questions. He wondered though, just how much time he had left to spend in Ponyville. Even spending more than one night in a fixed location was a rare occurrence in the life of a Ranger. They spent their lives on the move.

As though it had been perfectly synchronized with his thoughts, a swirl of mist streamed through the crack at the bottom of the front door. It drifted right up into Oceanus's face before congealing into a letter. Using his magic, the Unicorn caught the scroll before it hit the ground and unrolled it. As he perused its contents, his eyes widened. "The Thotep Pass!"

Among all the seals that kept the various horrors that threatened ordinary ponies at bay throughout Equestria, there were six that absolutely could not be ignored or overlooked (even though that was technically true for all the seals, but these six especially). The slightest fluctuation of their status was an emergency of the highest degree among the Order.

Sadly, Oceanus acknowledged that his stay in Ponyville had come to a very abrupt end.

The Thotep Pass was high in the subalpine region of the Saddleback Mountains. It's existence was known only to the Rangers as it was far away, not only from the normal routes of travel through the mountains, but also far from even the most disused backwoods trails. It was a place that could only be located through careful navigation across terrain devoid of any ponymade indicators. In other words, it was a place that few if any besides the Rangers would be able to find on their own. The fact that it lay at the very edge of Equestria's border made it all the more inaccessible. All in all, it was an absolutely perfect place to keep something that should not be disturbed under any circumstance.

Silverbrook had no idea what the name of the pass meant. He had heard that it was actually a fragment of a longer name that nopony dared to speak aloud, if there were actually any ponies who honestly knew what that name was. None of this mattered as Silverbrook climbed over the uneven and rocky terrain to reach his destination. It looked like nothing more than a small cave. But it was the sight of one of the most important seals that it was the Rangers' task to monitor.

Drawing on his innate magic as an Earth Pony, Silverbrook allowed the ground itself to tell him what he needed to know. With each time his hooves clacked against the stone, he gained insight into the features of the land around him and anything connected to that land. It was no match for Soul Silver's seeking capabilities, but it did enable him to get a feel for his surroundings and an idea of what was around, even if he couldn't pinpoint the exact location of certain things, like ponies. With this subtle form of Earth Pony magic, Silverbrook could feel the presence of another pony through the ground, a pony who should not have been there.

Standing at the entrance of the cave, Silverbrook could barely make out a faint blue glow coming from within. "This place is forbidden," he said in a voice that echoed through the lonely pass, "Explain who you are and your purpose."

No voice came back to him. But the blue glow in the cave began to grow brighter. The metallic-colored stallion became conscious of a low rumbling noise echoing from within the lessening darkness of the cavern, a rumble that was gradually becoming a roar. Silverbrook's eyes widened as the glow resolved into a torrent of blue-white flame that rushed put from the tunnel and washed over him.

Playing With Fire

Chapter 5: Playing With Fire

Twilight trotted down the stairs with a smile on her face. Her mind whirled with all the amazing things she had heard the previous night. While an ordinary pony might have found a few of Oceanus's stories engrossing, Twilight was practically giddy at all that he had to share about far away lands and strange cultures. Her mind floated to the heavenly kingdom of the Lung Dragons and the all-Unicorn kingdom that flourished beneath them. She had been shocked that there could be a place where only Unicorns lived without Earth Ponies to tend the land or Pegasi to guide the weather. But it seemed that the Lungs themselves took care of both, earning the reverence of the ponies who lived below them.

The lavender Unicorn was so excited at the prospect of all the new things that she might learn that she only barely noticed that there was no sign of her guest. It wasn't until she came into the kitchen and spied a letter on the table that she was mindful of the fact that she hadn't yet seen Oceanus today. Reaching out with her magic, Twilight unrolled the scroll to see what message had been left for her. As she suspected, it was from Oceanus.

Twilight,

I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly. I've been summoned for an important task that I cannot ignore. Because of this I had to leave immediately. Since you were asleep, I didn't want to wake you and cause any problems. I would have liked to have waited until you woke up in order to say a proper farewell, but this just could not wait. I hope to see you again.

Oceanus

PS: Have Spike to continue practicing with creating his mist. I will send additional instructions when I have the time.

Twilight blinked, surprised to find herself tearing up a little. Had she already gotten so attached to the other Unicorn, even though he had warned her that something like this would happen? Taking a breath, Twilight relaxed. She had known this was coming after all. However, she wondered if she would ever see Oceanus again. He had made it clear that a Ranger's business took him all across Equestria and beyond. The only reason he had been in Ponyville at all was because he had been ordered to go by Princess Luna. Twilight realized that there was a substantial chance that last night was probably the final time she would see her old foalhood playmate.

Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by a low grumbling noise as her little brother dragon and Number 1 Assistant came down the stairs himself.

"Good morning, Twilight. Hey, where's Ocean?"

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry Spike, he had to leave last night after we went to bed." She tilted her head to indicate the letter on the table.

"Oh," said Spike flatly, "Ranger business?"

"Ranger business."

Silverbrook let an explosive sigh escape him. All around him, the shimmering cocoon of Soul Silver rippled as the flames washed off its surface. Faced with an onslaught of fire, Silverbrook had only barely managed to activate his weapon before the flames engulfed him. As that attack abated, Soul Silver lowered its defense, allowing him to finally get a good look at his assailant.

The Unicorn was bright yellow, a color that matched up nicely with her orange eyes. Her blue mane and tail had streaks of white running through them, not unlike the color of the flames she had just sent barreling at Silverbrook. Since she faced him dead on, Silverbrook wasn't at the proper angle to see what her cutie mark looked like. He had more pressing concerns at the moment anyway. He had half expected to see her frustrated with the fact that her flames had failed to scorch the flesh off his bones. But instead, she seemed amused, looking like a foal with a new toy. Her expression was unquestionably gleeful and she laughed loudly and freely.

"Excellent! I was afraid things would be too easy. This makes coming up to this lifeless pass worth my while."

Yep, definitely like a foal with a new toy.

Silverbrook grit his teeth. The ambient temperature in the area was rising. From the glow suffusing his peripheral vision, he was aware that the blast of flame the crazed mare had used by way of introduction had set the brush around him on fire. While using Soul Silver to keep the flames from consuming him would be simple, he was getting more than a little uncomfortable with the increasing heat.

"Explain yourself. Just what are you doing up here?" he asked.

The mare rolled her eyes. "Boring," again with the childish tone, "I finally have somepony to eat up some time with and he wants to play twenty questions. I have a much better game."

Silverbrook groaned. "And I suppose that I'm supposed to try not to die while you try to turn me into a pile of ash."

An immature giggle escaped from the yellow Unicorn. "Ooh and he's smart too. This means I won't be bored after all." A jet of blue-white flames raced up from her horn, leaping several meters into the sky before she lowered her head and brought the tongue of flame down like a descending sword.

Immediately, Soul Silver leapt to its master's defense, forming a spherical barrier that the flames splashed harmlessly against. Even before the barrier retreated as the attack ended, Silverbrook was already striking back.

"". Thick tendrils of the heavy liquid lashed out, whipping toward the Unicorn in a metallic blur. The attacking tentacles slammed into her and the ground around her, pulverizing stone and sending fragments flying in all directions. However, the mare was unscathed, as though the attack had passed through her. Instead, she rippled as though she were nothing more than a reflection on the surface of a lake.

A mirage, Silverbrook realized a little too late. She was using the heat from her flames to distort the refractive qualities of the air to displace her image before his eyes. As he looked around for his opponent, Silverbrook was even more aware of the oppressive heat. He realized that the fires around him were blazing much too intensely. They ought to have turned red and yellow as there was nothing currently burning that should have been able to fuel the flames at their initial blue-white intensity. But instead, the area around him was awash with bluish light. The reality of the situation hit Silverbrook almost immediately.

She's set up a spell field. Even though he was no Unicorn, Silverbrook had an excellent grasp of Unicorn magic, both because of his own unique interests in the ill-defined area of his own study, which was close to Unicorn magic in its own way, as well as his training as a Ranger. All Rangers, regardless off which of the three tribes they belonged to, were taught the nature of the special abilities and talents of the other two races of pony to ensure that they could act in support of one another when they needed to, or fight against them if they had to, although Rangers, as a rule, were not to turn their martial skills against other ponies. However, it was best to be prepared for unusual circumstances. Circumstances like these, thought Silverbrook wryly.

A lance of flame rushed at Silverbrook from his right flank. Even though he had been looking left at the time, Soul Silver still reacted, putting up a barrier that the flames dissipated harmlessly against. Hoping to catch the mare off guard, Silverbrook again attacked as soon as her own offensive ended. Again Soul Silver's tentacles whipped harmlessly through a false image.

"Oh I'm getting bored again," moaned the blue-maned mare again, "We're just doing the same thing over and over. Can't we try something different?" The Unicorn's voice echoed from all around.

She could have been hidden anywhere within the spell field. The rising heat was a herald of the increasing intensity of the mare's spells. Silverbrook realized that if he didn't find her soon, her power of her attacks would surpass the strength of Soul Silver's autonomous defense, forcing Silverbrook to direct Soul Silver's defense manually. With his enemy hidden behind her mirages, it was unlikely that he would have sufficient warning to protect himself.

"" Soul Silver launched its tracking tendrils across the battlefield, seeking his opponent. While the overall temperature of the area would make it difficult to locate her though her body temperature, Soul Silver would still be able to find the mare through the vibrations generated by her heartbeat and breathing. While his weapon searched, Silverbrook continued to cast his gaze around him, giving the impression that he was still looking for the Unicorn mare with his eyes alone. If he was fortunate, she would fail to notice the fact that Soul Silver's tendrils were moving along the ground, seeking her out.

Two more attacks came, each more powerful than the last. By the time the second attack had dissipated, the protective shell around Silverbrook was glowing red and the interior was getting uncomfortably hot, even by the standards of the battlefield, which was taking its own toll on the Earth Pony stallion. However, Silverbrook's patience was finally rewarded as a tremor traveled up one of the tracking tendrils, finally telling him exactly where his target was hiding.

Barking an order, Silverbrook sent Soul Silver's tentacles whipping in the direction his weapon had indicated. The air warped and his target appeared as she leapt over and ducked under the different strikes. Not wanting to give her another chance, Silverbrook pressed his attack. However, the mare proved to be more agile than he had anticipated and she continued to evade his strikes, even finding time to send a jet of fire whirling his way. Now that he knew where the attack was coming from, Silverbrook was able to set Soul Silver's defense to one direction to ensure that it matched his opponents position. It also allowed him to increase his defense's power so that her attacks didn't threaten to break through so easily. Even as the two of them exchanged blows, Silverbrook continued to follow her movements with a tracking tendril to keep the mare from slipping away into one of her mirages again.

However, the Ranger was troubled that the Unicorn was able to evade his attacks so easily. It seemed that she was able to read the path of Soul Silver's strikes and avoid accordingly, which would have been difficult. On one hoof, since Soul Silver's strikes originated from a central mass and derived their power from their whip-like motions, which made it possible to read where the attacks were coming from. On the other, Silverbrook could compensate by striking with several tentacles at once. He supposed that if he wanted to, he could switch to blades, which could strike much more freely since the liquid nature of Soul Silver allowed its extensions to sharpen themselves well past the limits of what a normal metal blade could be sharpened to, which meant he wouldn't need to worry about the power of his strikes. But Silverbrook chose not to resort to blades. He had no intention of killing this opponent; not out of mercy, but out of a necessity to find out just what she was up to.

The Unicorn was laughing uproariously as the two of them continued to battle, making it seem like she thought it was all a game. "Now this is exciting!" she exclaimed as she bounded over another tentacle before going into a roll underneath one that should have slammed into her head. Her cutie mark, a burning torch, was now plainly visible. Coming out of her roll, she oriented on Silverbrook and launched a sphere of flame. When Soul Silver's defense came up, instead of washing across the surface of the shield, the flame instead splattered and clung to the shield like gobs of burning jelly.

She's combining evocation with conjuration magic, he thought as the blue and white flames began heating the liquid metal that made up his defense. Instead of allowing the substance to burn through, he instead retracted the defense and manipulated the flow of the liquid mass that was his weapon so all that flaming substance was gathered at one point before launching it at the tip of one of his tentacles straight back at the insane mare, sending it straight in like a spear, rather than swinging it around in an arc.

The Unicorn shrieked, not in surprise or fear, but glee as she dodged the thrust, which instead slammed into the ground where she had been standing. As Silverbrook had anticipated, this splattered the mass of burning gunk, sending a rain of flaming droplets scattering all across the area. Even the mare, agile as she was, had no chance of evading them all. Several landed in her mane and on her coat, catching on her fur. She leapt back, her leap actually carrying her out past the radius of burning ground she had inscribed as her spell field. Coming to a halt, her horn flared and the fires that had caught on her body winked out, leaving singed and burned patches behind.

Trying to take advantage of her immobility, Silverbrook launched another attack, Soul Silver's tentacle whipping out with fantastic speed, homing right in on the motionless Unicorn's flank to knock her tail over teakettle...only to instead slam into a solid barrier that flared at the edge of the Unicorn's spell field. Silverbrook's eyes widened as he realized that the barrier encompassed the whole spell field, which left him trapped in the middle of a fierce blaze. The heat was close to being unbearable.

"That was so...much...fun!" said the Unicorn, carefully emphasizing the last three words of the sentence. Silverbrook had expected her to be angry after being injured by her own flames. A tantrum-like burst of emotion could be expected considering she washed been acting like a child playing a game. It would have been natural for her to have been upset by the fact that the game had resulted in her experiencing pain. Instead, she looked more enthused than ever.

Then her expression began to darken, as though a sad realization was dawning on her. "It's too bad we can't keep this up," she said, "But I have to go. I'd like to say that we can play again sometime, but you aren't going to be able to play ever again."

Silverbrook was confused by her words until he realized that the temperature was beginning to drop. Looking around, he saw that the flames around him were beginning to die. Then the realization hit him. The barrier wasn't merely a physical obstacle to prevent his attacks from breaking through. It had completely isolated this space, including the air. And now that the fire was burning through the oxygen in the enclosed space, it wouldn't be long before all that Silverbrook had left to breathe was a lungful of the poisonous byproducts. I have to break through this barrier right now!

He out all of Soul Silver's offensive power into a single brute strike at the barrier aiming directly at the crazed mare standing beyond. She showed no sign of being surprised or concerned and instead smiled again at him. "My name is Pyre," she said, "I'd tell you to remember it, but that won't be an issue anymore."

To Silverbrook's surprise, the barrier broke with ease. He had thought it would take a lot more effort on his part. If Pyre's goal had been to asphyxiate him, she should have made it much stronger. Then in a flash of insight, he realized what she was truly after. But it was too late. Silverbrook's world vanished in a flash of light as an explosion engulfed the entire area, the sound of it echoing across the range of mountains like thunder.

Still miles distant, Oceanus's head shot up as he heard the sound of the explosion rip through the air. Looking up, he could see the plume of smoke rising in the distance. It was obvious that the blast had occurred at the area that was his destination. Forgoing any attempt at pacing himself, Oceanus launched into a full gallop, tearing off towards the site of the explosion as fast as possible.

Rainbow Dash's head perked up as a low rumbling sound echoed through the air. It was barely audible to her, so the source was extremely distant. She looked around carefully to see if there were any dark clouds in the region. Ponyville wasn't scheduled for a storm anytime soon, so the presence of thunder clouds would have been very unusual. There were no such clouds in sight though, which allowed Rainbow to relax. Perhaps she had simply imagined it.

Satisfied with her examination, Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the task at hoof. She launched herself off the cloud she was using as a starting platform and began to work her way through her new routine. Moving with incredible speed, she worked her way through tight turns, corkscrewing dives, flips and loops. She pulled out of her latest dive well before she could get up to her top speed. She didn't dare attempt another Sonic Rainboom. Her last effort, while spectacularly successful, had landed her several hours worth of community service to make up for several dozen broken windows caused by the resulting shockwave. She might have considered practicing elsewhere, but pulling off dangerous maneuvers over the Everfree Forest was nigh suicidal and Applejack had barred Rainbow from ever practicing over Sweet Apple Acres after her last attempt at the Buccaneer Blitz had knocked several trees worth of apples off their branches before they were ready to harvest, costing the farm a good chunk of money.

Her routine completed, Rainbow returned to her starting position, panting from the exertion. She had felt herself slipping in a few places and wanted to go over the routine again. If she could string this one together, the Wonderbolts were sure to notice. Even as she thought that, a melancholy sigh escaped her lips. Even after her performance in the Best Young Flyers competition and even being recognized by the Wonderbolts at the Grand Galloping Gala, Rainbow was conscious of the fact that there was still no sign that the team was interested in her.

Am I not good enough? she wondered before shaking her head vigorously. That wasn't possible. She had been recognized as the best young flyer in all of Equestria by no less than Princess Celestia herself. She had performed the Sonic Rainboom, a trick that had been thought to be a myth. There was absolutely no way that she couldn't have been considered good enough for the Wonderbolts.

Anyway, this is no time to be doubting myself. I need to go over my routine again until it's perfect. As usual, Rainbow decided to use her practice as a way to get her mind off her uncertainty. Gathering her confidence, she trotted to the edge of her cloud again and poised to jump off.

Rainbow Dash crouched and spread her wings. With a powerful kick of her legs, she launched herself into the air and angled to make the first dive of her routine...only to be cut off by a pink and blue streak that flashed across right in front of her. Flaring her wings, Rainbow came to an abrupt halt, startled by the near collision. Her head whirled as she searched frantically for the disruption that she was certain had nearly killed her.

There it was. A pink Pegasus with a blue mane swerved gracefully even as she hurtled through the sky at shocking speed. Rainbow's jaw dropped. She recognized that coat and mane, that swift yet majestically graceful flight, the cutie mark of two blue lightning bolts. The pink Pegasus hurtled through the sky so fast she was little more than a blur, and yet she also almost danced with her movements, drifting like a windblown leaf, never flying absolutely straight, but seeming to somehow drift to her destination while still being undeniably fast. Rainbow Dash recognized the movements of her absolute idol, her highest ideal, the closest pony she had to a mother.

The new arrival touched down on Rainbow's starting cloud, bracing herself before Rainbow Dash rammed into her at full speed, knocking her off her hooves. The two tumbled across the surface of the cloud for a moment before coming to. A rest as Rainbow wrapped the new arrival up in the tightest hug she could manage. "FIREFLY!!!"

The older Pegasus laughed as she returned the embrace, gently nuzzling Rainbow as she did so. "Oh Rainbow, I'm so glad to see you. I know that I haven't visited in a long time. I'm sorry. I didn't come sooner."

Ash she listened to her surrogate mother, Rainbow felt her eyes tearing up. To hide this, she buried her head in Firefly's chest and hugged her tighter. "It's cool," she said, "You're here now." In spite of her best efforts, Rainbow couldn't suppress a sniffle. "I missed you."

"My girl," whispered Firefly running her hoof through Rainbow's mane, "My beautiful, beautiful girl."

Finally, Rainbow was able to force herself to let go and the two of them got to their hooves. For a moment, they simply stared at one another. Finally, Rainbow found the words she had been wanting to say. "Welcome home."

Firefly smiled. "I'm happy to be here. I was a little worried when I heard that you had started living on your own. But then I heard some of your accomplishments. I am so proud of you."

Rainbow blushed more fiercely than she ever had before, looking away modestly. Suddenly, she thought of something. "My friends!" she exclaimed abruptly, "I've gotta introduce you to my friends. Oh my gosh! I never even told them about you! Why didn't I even think about that? I'm so sorry Firefly..."

Firefly held up a hoof, forestalling Rainbow's tirade. "It's all right. I would love to meet your friends. But first, there's somepony that I would like you to meet too."

Rainbow blinked. "Huh?"

Firefly chuckled. "He'll be along shortly. He was only a little bit behind me when I decided to go and surprise you. I'm afraid he only got the hang of flying recently, so he's a little on the slow side right now." Firefly scanned the sky in the direction she had come from before she saw who she was looking for. "Oh look, there he is."

Looking at where Firefly was pointing, Rainbow Dash spied what appeared to be another Pegasus, a colt. She recognized the movements of a beginner. He flapped his wings occasionally, but was clearly doing his best to take advantage of natural updrafts and wind currents to keep himself aloft and moving at a decent pace. It was the sign of a Pegasus who had learned to fly but hadn't quite developed the strength needed to really fly. He was more gliding than anything else.

Rainbow observed him as he got closer. From his size and the fact that he could fly, somewhat, she guessed he was a little older than little Scootaloo. As the colt got close enough for Rainbow to get a better look at him, she found her eyes widening. He was like no Pegasus she had ever seen before.

He was certainly tall for his apparent age, his gangly limbs reminding Rainbow of Fluttershy when she was a filly. His coat was primarily brown, but in multiple shades that formed a rippling pattern that almost resembled scales. As he got closer, she noticed that the pattern gradually became more defined as it raveled down his legs, until she realized that from about halfway between the knee and the fetlocks wasn't a pattern, it really was scales. And that was one of the more subtle aspects of his appearance.

In place of his mane was a row of slightly curved spines the color of unpolished steel that started out as short bumps at the crest of his head before extending to a full two hoof-lengths towards the middle of his neck before gradually shortening again to vanish between his shoulders. The colt's tail, at least, was the same as a normal pony, consisting of streaks of varying colors of gray that reminded Rainbow of the illustrations she had seen of the heroine of her favorite book series, Daring Do. But that was about the only resemblance.

The most eye-catching feature of the colt's anatomy were unquestionably his wings. They were massive for a colt his size, easily dwarfing the wings a normal Pegasus would have at his age. Most importantly, they weren't feathered, but leathery and bat-like. They were a shade of gray so dark that it was almost black.

Boy, with the surface area on those things, he must get some pretty good lift, she found herself thinking idly. That probably explained how he had been able to keep up with Firefly so well in spite of having only learned how to fly a short time ago. Wherever the two of them had come from, Rainbow wagered that it was probably a fair distance, given how much Firefly liked to roam about.

Flaring his wings, the colt flapped hard to cut off his speed before landing awkwardly on the cloud. His gray eyes, the color of clouds before a heavy rainstorm, flickered nervously between Rainbow Dash and Firefly. Rainbow was surprised to note that his pupils were vertical slits, like Spike's. He almost looked afraid that they were going to attack him, or at least afraid that Rainbow would. There was practically an unspoken request for reassurance every time he shifted his gaze to Firefly.

Unsure of how to approach this unusual situation, Rainbow stared wide-eyed at Firefly. The question was obvious. Forget who this colt is, WHAT is he? Rainbow winced internally even as that question occurred to her. It was disrespectful at the very least and she had the feeling that it was probably the kind of question that Firefly and the colt got asked a lot...without much tact if the colt's frightened behavior was any indicator.

"Rainbow Dash, meet Zephyr." Firefly gave the colt a wide and encouraging smile. "And you could say that he's your little brother."

Rainbow's jaw hit the ground...beneath the cloud they were standing on. "What?" It was the only word she could force out of her mouth. She didn't feel angry or intruded upon. After all, even though Firefly had technically been her mother, the pink had left Rainbow in the care of a foster home for extended periods of time while she left for her work. What that work had been, Rainbow had no idea. When she had been a foal, Firefly had given her a different answer every time Rainbow had asked that question. All Rainbow knew was that it had something to do with how Firefly had found her in the first place. All she could feel was complete bemusement.

"Zephyr," said Firefly in a gentle tone, prodding the colt slightly, "This is Rainbow Dash. Say hello."

The colt gulped nervously before staring straight into Rainbow's eyes for an unsettlingly long second. "H-hello," he stuttered out. He snapped his eyes away quickly.

"Um, hi," replied Rainbow. She gave him the best smile she could manage at the moment before turning to look back at Firefly. "Now what?"

It was getting close to noon, so Firefly naturally proposed lunch...in town. Rainbow Dash had to double check that idea. As normal as it seemed, Zephyr was clearly not a normal pony. Besides, she really wanted to know where this had come from. In spite of her reluctance, Firefly insisted and they descended from the cloud to land in Ponyville itself. From there, the three of them trotted to an outdoor cafe that Rainbow Dash occasionally ate at. The food was nothing absolutely spectacular, but it wasn't overly expensive, which suited Rainbow well. Even though she was the weather manager for all of Ponyville, it wasn't the most lucrative of professions.

As Rainbow expected, the trio received quite a few odd looks as they proceeded through town. There was certainly no hiding Zephyr's unique appearance. More than once, Rainbow found her eyes wandering over to him herself. One thing she noted was that the colt was quite lucky to be lanky. With those long legs of his, he was able to walk while keeping his unusually large wings from dragging on the ground

Arriving at the cafe, the three of them sat around a table and ordered their meals. While they ate, Rainbow glanced at Zephyr before turning her face to Firefly and biting the bullet. "Okay, I know you probably get this a lot, but..."

Firefly nodded as Rainbow's voice trailed away. Zephyr merely stared at his food, eating mechanically. "Zephyr is a half-breed. Specifically, he is a Pegasus-Sky Dragon cross.

Rainbow glanced back at Zephyr. To her shock, this revelation wasn't as much of a surprise as she expected it to be. It explained a lot: the wings, the scales, the spines that reminded her of Spike when he had suddenly transformed into a rampaging hoarder that one time. "Huh, that makes sense," she said.

Firefly blinked. "I was expecting you to be a little more surprised." Zephyr was also looking at Rainbow with a fair bit of confusion in his expression.

Rainbow chuckled. "You wouldn't believe some of the downright bizarre stuff I've seen and been through. Finding out that my new little brother is a half dragon is actually pretty tame by comparison." She found herself frowning as something occurred to her. "I'm not sure how other ponies are going to take it though. Ponyville is a pretty welcoming place. But there are some ponies here whom I'm not sure would handle this well."

"And what ponies are these?" asked Firefly with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I know there are a couple of fillies who like to tease others in general. A couple of my friends' younger siblings keep getting picked on by those two because they don't have their cutie marks yet. I'd hate to think what they might try to do to Zephyr."

"Hmm, if it's only one or two ponies, they'll be easy to avoid," mused Firefly.

Rainbow was about to point out when a different question occurred to her. "Wait a minute. Are you two staying in Ponyville?"

Firefly nodded.

"So you're staying?"

Firefly smiled. "Yes. No more trips, no more disappearing on you like I did when you were little. We're here to stay."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Rainbow as she leapt straight up in the air. Then the train of thought that had prompted this question returned to her and she settled back down. "But if you're staying, then Zephyr will be going to school with those fillies."

"No he won't," replied Firefly. There was something mischievous in her tone now. "Zephyr finished school a while ago. Didn't you Zephyr?"

At her prompting, the colt nodded. It was clear that he had some idea of what was about to happen as there was a sort of resignation to his expression.

"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow, "I mean, yeah he's not exactly a foal anymore, but he's obviously still school-aged. Why wouldn't he be in school?"

Firefly was grinning now. "Why? Because...Zephyr is actually only one year younger than you."

"Oh," said Rainbow. That made sense. After all, it had been years since she had been in school, so it only made sense that if Zephyr was just a year behind her then he would be finished with school as well. That would put him at an age where most ponies would be looking for a good job if they didn't already have one...then the reality of what Firefly had just said hit her.

"WHAT!!!?"

Oceanus arrived on the scene barely half an hour after the explosion. A the blast had turned the immediate area around ground-zero to charcoal. The concussive force had trigged a small rockslide that had buried a portion of the area. Oceanus exhaled a quantity of his mist over the area, searching. I believe that Silverbrook was the one who had been sent here. Given his starting point, he clearly got here earlier. But what happened?

His mist wound its way through the fallen rocks and Oceanus was able to detect the presence of a heavy liquid substance. It must have been Soul Silver. Trotting over, Oceanus began to use his magic to shift the rubble. His levitation skills were still subpar, but he managed to shift quite a bit before he had to utilize his other assets.

With a final tug, the last of the large boulders resting on top of the sphere of silver liquid fell away. Finally free of any threat, Soul Silver retracted its defense, allowing Oceanus to see Silverbrook. The silver stallion had indeed seen better days. Patches of his metallic coat were gone, his flesh seared. A good portion of the gold mane had been scorched off and his tail was practically a stub.

"Rough day?" asked Oceanus casually.

Silverbrook grunted before slowly and carefully getting to his feet. "I've had better," he groaned.

"What happened?"

"I came to check the seal and found a damn psychopath!" snapped Silverbrook, swinging one leg to encompass the large burned area.

"Fire Mage eh," observed Oceanus, "Unicorn?"

"Indeed. And crazy stuff aside, she knew what she was doing."

"Really?" Oceanus raised an eyebrow as he looked more carefully at their surroundings.

Silverbrook nodded. "I've rarely ever seen a Unicorn set up a spell field so fast. And that was before she trapped me in it and hit me with a backdraft."

Silverbrook had had plenty of time reflect on what he had been hit with. By allowing the flames to burn low before breaking the barrier, Silverbrook had unwittingly triggered an explosion as the fresh oxygen of the air outside the barrier ignited the nearly spent flames with renewed vigor. Even Soul Silver's automatic defense hadn't been enough to completely shield him from the blast.

"I'll get started on treating those injuries," said Oceanus carefully as he prepared to create more of his most. But Silverbrook shook his head.

"We need to check the seal first. That crazy mare was in the cave with it before she tried to cook me alive."

Oceanus nodded and the two of them instead began to climb up to the cave entrance, which had fortunately not collapsed in the explosion. They didn't have to travel very far in, daylight still visible behind them as they reached the seal.

The tunnel opened up into a larger enclosure that was almost perfectly circular. In the center of the enclosure sat a single conical boulder. Inlaid on its surface we're countless sigils and runes inscribed with an ebony metal; Orichalcum, a metal even rarer than truesilver. No deposits had been found in five millennia. Neither of the Rangers were surprised. In all likelihood, nearly all the Orichalcum in the world had been used in this particular seal and the five others like it. These six were the only seals that could not be allowed to falter, even for an instant. The metal the enchantments were written with was itself nigh indestructible, ensuring that the seal would remain strong for all perpetuity. What it held imprisoned was just that important.

Oceanus frowned as he paced around the stone, examining the runes and the enchantments. Carefully, he allowed his magic to pass over the seal itself. There was indeed something off...but he couldn't tell what. The seal wasn't compromised at all. So there was no danger of it breaking.

"I can't tell what this Unicorn you fought did?" said Oceanus, "But the seal is intact and as strong as ever."

"So now what?" asked Silverbrook.

"If I can't tell what she did, then it is likely something that is outside my experience or knowledge. We aren't taking any chances though. I'm calling the Archmage to come and examine this personally."

"Come in," said Twilight cheerfully as she set another book on its shelf. Looking over, she saw the door open to admit Pinkie. "Hi Pinkie. What's up?"

Pinkie tilted her head and gave Twilight a confused look. "We'll, there's those books on the really high shelves and then there's the light in the ceiling. But I thought you would have known that, so what are you asking?"

Twilight pressed her hoof to her forehead and made a mental note to be more careful with her word choice around Pinkie...again. Half the time, she wondered if Pinkie did stuff like this on purpose. Sometimes the party pony's jokes ranged a little too far from common understanding. "I mean, is there something you wanted?"

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Oh! That's right. I wanted to talk to Ocean and thank him for giving me all that wonderful advice to help with Far."

Twilight sighed, hating to disappoint her friend. "Sorry Pinkie. He had to leave last night. Apparently he got some important Ranger mission and had to leave right away. I'm sorry you missed him."

"Oh," said Pinkie, her joyous expression leaving her face for a moment. But she was smiling again soon enough. "That's too bad. But I hope we get to see him again. He was really neat."

"I hope so too," said Twilight in a consoling tone. But not likely, she thought.

Twilight was about to turn back to her work before she noticed something unusual. Turning around, she studied Pinkie carefully. There was something off about her, but Twilight couldn't put her hoof on just what. Pinkie Pie was still Pinkie Pie. Right now she was scanning some of the shelves around Twilight's library. She was still smiling, but it seemed smaller than usual. Her posture also somehow seemed to be more...relaxed. Pinkie was normally so overflowing with energy that any thought of her standing still didn't last more than a few seconds before she was literally bouncing off the walls.

"Pinkie Pie, are you feeling alright?" asked Twilight carefully.

"Yuppers," replied Pinkie, turning around to face her lavender friend.

"You just seem, different."

"Wellllllllll, when I was with Far the other day, I took him out to the garden so that he could relax outside. It worked really well and he ended up sleeping for most of the day. And it was such a nice day that I thought I might just sit and watch too. I think I might have ended up napping a little bit, but I really had fun, even though we didn't really do anything."

Twilight blinked as she tried to come to grips with what Pinkie had just told her. Sitting still and quiet had always seemed physically impossible for the pink pony. The idea that she had spent most of the previous day literally doing nothing was as foreign as the idea of Discord suffering from OCD.

"And you're sure you're all right?"

"Yep," chirped Pinkie, "In fact I feel really good. Normally because I'm so busy planning parties or throwing parties or planning to throw a party while I'm throwing a party that I planned, I just tend to lose track of things. But yesterday I realized that sometimes just doing nothing and relaxing can be the most amazing thing."

"And do you feel like throwing a party now?" asked Twilight nervously.

Pinkie mulled it over for a moment. "Nope," she said with surprising finality, "I tried to think of a reason to throw a party, but they all seemed kind of silly. I even thought of just throwing a party for the hay of it, but that seemed silly too."

"Really?" While Twilight was relieved that Pinkie wasn't about throw a party on the spot, she was a little off balance with the idea of Pinkie not wanting to throw a party. To say that Pinkie Pie never ran out of reasons to throw a party was an understatement. Half the time, she made up reasons just so she could throw a party.

"I feel okay about it though," said Pinkie in her usual bright tone, "I know that we'll have a really good reason to party sometime. And when that reason comes along, I know our party will be even more special and super awesome. "

A light clicked on in Twilight's head. Ah ha! She's learning to pace herself. Twilight was amazed at this revelation.

"And it's all thanks to you and Ocean," said Pinkie, "Because you taught me that there are TONS of different ways to make a pony happy and that a party isn't always one of them. And you helped me remember that throwing parties isn't what makes me special, it's doing what I need to to make other ponies happy. So long as other ponies are smiling, I'll never feel down!"

Twilight found herself laughing in relief. "I'm glad to hear that, Pinkie."

Twilight turned back to her work while Pinkie pulled a book of jokes from a nearby shelf and set about reading it, pausing to occasionally giggle at the punch line. They continued like this for a few minutes before another knock on the library door stirred them.

"Come in," Twilight called out again.

The door opened to admit Rainbow Dash, who staggered across the floor before sitting down and staring blankly at a bookshelf. Following her into the library were a pair of other Pegasi. Twilight overlooked them for a moment in order to find out what was going on with Rainbow, who was currently sitting and staring vacantly into space. Twilight walked over and carefully prodded her friend.

"Um, Rainbow?"

"Oh, hey Twilight," replied Rainbow without looking at her, "The world sure is an amazing place, huh?"

"Sorry," offered the older pink Pegasus mare who had come in behind Rainbow Dash, "I think we broke her."

Rainbow Dash managed to finally shake off her torpor and come back to reality. "Sorry Firefly, but that really threw me for a loop."

The older mare laughed as the colt that accompanied them glowered up at his caretaker. Twilight observed this with some degree of confusion. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, would you mind introducing me to your friends?"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to do just that before being bowled over by a pink streak of pure happiness. Pinkie Pie ground to a halt right in front of the two ponies. The mare leaned back a little, nonplussed while the colt dived behind her and cowered in a way that was reminiscent of Fluttershy.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! It's really nice to meet you since I've never met you before, which is rare since I know everypony in Ponyville, which means that you're not from Ponyville and that means you're new in town! And as Ponyville's number one most welcoming pony it's my job to officially welcome you to Ponyville!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. Well that didn't last very long, she thought, remembering Pinkie's now all too brief bout of serenity a few moments ago.

The older mare appeared to be enjoying it though. "How very nice to meet you dear. I'm Firefly and the boy behind me," she said as she shoved the reluctant colt in front of her, "Is Zephyr."

"H-hi," ground out the poor colt.

While Pinkie was bouncing in circles around the pair, Twilight was finally able to take notice of the colt's unique features. Her eyes widened at the sight of Zephyr's draconic traits. Pinkie appeared to be completely oblivious to the colt's unique appearance, instead content to jump around excitedly while babbling about the wonders of meeting new ponies (although that may very well have been her version of tact, by refusing to treat Zephyr any differently, no matter how strange he looked).

"Since you guys are new in town that means it's time for one of my super-patented-ultra-awesome Pinkie Pie parties!". Twilight rapped a hoof against her forehead as Pinkie jumped higher than before, crowing with excitement.

Here we go again. While Firefly looked amused and happy with the prospect of a party, the young colt seemed to be terrified of the idea. Of course, that may have had more to do with the fact that Pinkie was bouncing around acting like a loon. But in either case, he looked like another pony who wouldn't take one of Pinkie Pie's welcome parties very well.

Then, to Twilight's surprise and shock, Pinkie screeched to a halt in midair before descending onto the floor in front of Firefly and Zephyr. "That is, if it's okay with you," said Pinkie in a plaintive manner.

I guess she learned something after all.

"I would love a party Miss Pie," replied Firefly with a warm smile, "But if you don't mind, please don't go overboard. Zephyr is a little shy with new ponies." She reached over and rubbed her young charge's back encouragingly.

Pinkie sat down and seemed to think things over for a moment before grinning at the two of them. "Okay!" And then she was gone the swinging door of the library being the only indicator of her ever having been there.

"Whew," gasped Rainbow Dash as she came to stand next to Twilight, "I'm a little surprised Twilight. Was Pinkie being...restrained?"

Twilight nodded cheerfully before turning back to Rainbow's two companions. "Sorry about that," she said, "Pinkie Pie means well, but she can be a little much."

"I was kinda saving her for last," Rainbow admitted sheepishly, "I didn't think that she'd be in the library of all places."

"It's all right dear," replied Firefly, "You have some very unique friends."

"That's an understatement," said Twilight and Rainbow in perfect unison before looking at each other and laughing.

"In any case, it's very nice to meet you. I am Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville's librarian." Twilight extended her hoof to Firefly, who shook it gently.

"I'm very happy to see that Rainbow has a friend like you," said Firefly, a mischievous lilt in her voice, "Luna knows I've been trying to get her to read more books. But she just wouldn't have any of it."

"I know what you're talking about," agreed Twilight before grinning slyly at Rainbow, who was beginning to blush, "But as luck would have it, Rainbow Dash has come around to the joys of reading...haven't you Rainbow?"

Rainbow's blush intensified and she stared sheepishly down at her hooves. "Um, yeah," she admitted.

"Oh wonderful!" exclaimed Firefly before wrapping Rainbow Dash up in an enthusiastic hug, "I'm so proud of you!"

Twilight tilted her head inquisitively. "Miss Firefly, are you Rainbow's mother."

The two parted, with Rainbow Dash once again looking a bit sheepish. It was Firefly who answered the question. "In a sense I am. I was Rainbow's official caretaker during her foalhood. But my work meant I had to travel a lot, so I was gone a great deal of the time. So yes, I am technically Rainbow's mother, although I'm afraid I haven't been a very good one."

"That's not true!" exclaimed the blue Pegasus as she leaned against Firefoy and nuzzled her, "I know that you couldn't be there all the time. But you're an awesome mom and I know you always had good reasons."

"I can't quite agree with you, but it makes me happy beyond words to hear that you feel that way," replied Firefly before returning the affectionate gesture.

Twilight had to suppress her impulse to squeal at the sight of the happy pair. Instead, she turned her attention to Zephyr, who had apparently lost interest in the conversation and was perusing the library shelves. Twilight trotted quietly up behind him. "You're a half-dragon aren't you?" she asked gently.

The poor colt yelped in surprise at suddenly being noticed and spun around before backing up against the wall, his ears back and the whites of his eyes showing. Even Rainbow Dash was shocked by the display, which went well beyond Zephyr's previous Fluttershyesque shyness. This was pure fight-or-flight. Zephyr was beyond nervousness and self-consciousness and now looked terrified for his life. It was the look of a cornered animal.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that!" Twilight backpedaled both physically and metaphorically to give the poor child some space in hopes it would calm him down. Firefly trotted briskly by her and came to stand next to Zephyr, gently rubbing his back and nuzzling his neck. Gradually, the colt's panic began to subside and he calmed under the care of the older Pegasus.

"I'm sorry about that," she admitted to Twilight and Rainbow, "And you are right that Zephyr is a half-dragon. That's a rather sensitive topic for him."

"Wait a minute," protested the rainbow-maned Pegasus, "You told me that pretty easily and neither of you seemed to have much of a problem with it."

Firefly sighed. "That was alright because you weren't able to recognize Zephyr's parentage right away. Unfortunately, very few recognize him as a half-dragon until sompony tells them. And in his experience, when he is recognized right off the bat, it's generally for the worst of reasons. On one such occasion, he was nearly killed by an overzealous dragon hunter."

Twilight gagged. "Oh Celestia," she whispered. It was a horrid notion.

Firefly shook her head and gently unfolded a wing and wrapped it around the shivering colt. "There are some ponies with a strong dislike of dragons and some who extend that dislike to anything associated with them. Naturally, a half-breed like Zephyr tends to get the worst of both worlds."

Twilight nodded and leaned down to direct an encouraging smile at Zephyr, who looked away from his caretaker and up at the lavender Unicorn with fear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry about that," she said gently, "I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, there's somebody I'd like you to meet and he should be getting back very soon."

The mostly brown colt blinked, his eyes betraying confusion and curiosity. Rainbow quickly figured out what Twilight was talking about. "You mean Spike, right?"

Twilight grinned at her brash friend. "He's been out practicing, but he should be back soon for lunch." She turned to face Firefly and Zephyr again. "You three are welcome to join us, of course."

"We'd love to, but we just came from lunch," admitted Firefly.

"I was taking them around to introduce them to everyone," explained Rainbow, "I was thinking of taking them to see Rarity after you, but now I think that Fluttershy might be better to start with."

Thinking it over, Twilight agreed with Rainbow Dash. While there was nothing wrong with Rarity, after the scare the colt had just been through, he would probably feel much more at ease with the similarly shy, but exceedingly sweet Pegasus. It surprised her a bit that Rainbow would be so considerate. While she couldn't say that Rainbow Dash was thoughtless about others' feelings, she was notorious for being more than a little thick-skinned.

Not that Zephyr's all that difficult to figure out, she found herself thinking wryly. She had already noted the similarity between his behavior and Fluttershy's on several occasions already. The only main difference was that while Fluttershy's shyness was simply general nervousness about meeting new ponies, Zephyr's was born of fear of whatever torment he had been through. Digging through the recent events, Twilight remembered the interest with which the colt had been studying the bookshelves. He had been so engrossed that he had forgotten the presence of the three other ponies in the library until Twilight had accidentally scared the living daylights out of him. Leaning down, she smiled encouragingly at Zephyr. "Do you like books?"

Zephyr's gray eyes blinked up at her. "Y-yes."

"Would you like to look at some of them? Since you're staying in Ponyville, you're free to check them out whenever you like."

"Okay," Zephyr said in his usual soft tone before pulling uncertainly away from Firefly, who let him go with an encouraging smile before looking over at Rainbow.

"By the way, Rainbow, do you mean to tell me that Fluttershy is here in Ponyville too?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, she looks after the animals around here."

Firefly's eyebrows went up. "Really?" She thought it over for a moment. "It's fitting now that I think about it."

The three of them began to plan out the tour of Ponyville that Rainbow wanted to take her newly arrived family on. Naturally, they would go to see Fluttershy first. After that, they would swing around through Sweet Apple Acres so that they could meet Applejack before coming back into town to meet Rarity. Finally, they would go to the Sugarcube Corner and get reacquainted with Pinkie Pie (and in all likelihood arrive in time to be swamped by the resulting party).

Twilight looked up from their conversation when the door to the library opened. Spike came trudging in, looking worn out from his morning training. Twilight noted that he was a little late for their usual lunchtime and figured that he must have lost track of time while practicing with his mist. "Hi Spike."

"Hey Twilight," responded the little dragon, a hint of hoarseness in his voice.

"Yo," said Rainbow Dash casually to which Spike responded in an equally casual manner.

That left Firefly, who was staring at the baby dragon with undisguised awe. "Oh my." Turning to Twilight, she asked, "Is this who you were talking about?"

Twilight nodded eagerly before turning to look at Zephyr, who was still engrossed with the bookshelves, once again completely oblivious to what was going on around him. He really likes books, she noted with some amusement. And here she thought she was the only pony in Ponyville who could lose herself in books for hours. It looks like she was about to be in good company. "Zephyr, there's someone you should meet."

Following Twilight's gaze, Spike noticed Zephyr at the same time Zephyr noticed Spike. The two of them completely froze at the sight of each other. Then to the surprise (and secret glee) of the other ponies in the room, Zephyr slowly began to approach Spike. His usual wariness was completely gone, having been replaced with an expression of pure wonder. Spike was staring with similar interest, although his expression also showed some shreds of confusion, as though there was something that about the colt that he recognized but couldn't quite put his claw on. Zephyr paused with only half a meter between the two of them, staring intently at Spike, who was staring just as intently back.

"Hi," said the little dragon lamely.

"Hi," answered the half-dragon automatically, as though conversation was an afterthought. "Are you a...dragon?"

Spike was used to being a novelty and was actually quite proud of his status as a dragon, especially with his roll as Twilight Sparkle's primary assistant. His natural tendency to brag kicked in and he drew himself up, affecting a rather haughty pose. "That's right." He then took an opportunity too look more closely at Zephyr. "And are you a...what are you exactly?" Spike finished with a deadpan tone as he realized he had absolutely no idea of what he was looking at.

"Zephyr is a half-dragon," explained Twilight as she came up behind her assistant while Firefly trotted up behind the colt in question.

"Really!" exclaimed Spike before turning to look back at Zephyr with wide eyes, "Cool!"

Of all the responses to the revelation of his mixed parentage that Zephyr had been expecting, that clearly hadn't been one of them. The colt sat down, too surprised to keep his balance, his eyes staring off into space even as he addressed Spike. "You think I'm cool?"

Spike nodded eagerly. "Yeah, you're amazing! You have those wicked looking spines and those cool scales and those wings...oh man! I wonder if I'll have wings like that when I grow up!"

Zephyr blushed and looked utterly stunned by Spike's praise. Twilight was sure she knew why. Here he was in an unfamiliar place and a complete stranger was praising the very traits that had probably earned him a substantial quantity of scorn if not outright hostility in other places.

Firefly was beaming as she turned her gaze from Zephyr and back to Twilight. "There's probably a good story behind this handsome fellow," she said, indicating Spike, who drew himself up again.

Twilight laughed and gladly related the story of how she had come to have a dragon as her assistant and younger brother.

Silverbrook sighed as he lounged in the cool water. He was resting in a basin that Oceanus had carved with his magic and then filled with water provided by his mist. The magical water's healing properties worked slowly, but faster than it would have taken to simply allow Silverbrook's wounds to heal naturally. They also cleansed the burned sections of his skin of any threat of infection and necrosis. His throat and lungs felt better too, after he had dunked his head a few times to get the full effect of the pool and drunk a bitter but fragrant tea that Oceanus had brewed from a collection of herbs the Unicorn carried in his saddlebag.

Oceanus, having finished the active parts of Silverbrook's treatment, had gone back up to the cave entrance to check on the progress of the Archmage's examination. So he was waiting there as the much older black Unicorn emerged. The Archmage had been in the cave for over two hours, examining the effects of Pyre's work in minute detail. When he emerged, the sun had moved past it's zenith and was beginning its progress towards the western horizon where it would finally descend. Oceanus perked up and looked questioningly at the Archmage as he trotted out into the sunlight.

"Well?"

In his usual manner, the black Unicorn seemed preoccupied with some stray thought or another. But he answered quickly and concisely all the same. "I can't discern the actual mechanics of the spell our intruder friend laid on the seal because it is incomplete."

"Incomplete?" Oceanus's tone betrayed his confusion. By all rights, an incomplete spell should have dissipated after it had been interrupted. In other words, it's traces should have been gone by the time the Archmage had arrived, even as quick as his response had been. "Do you mean to say that she failed to finish the spell when Silverbrook arrived."

The Archmage shook his head and turned to look back into the cave. "No. What I meant is that the spell itself is meant to be part of a larger working."

"A larger working, how so?"

"Laid across the other five seals," answered the Archmage in an irritable tone, as though this should have been obvious to the younger Unicorn.

"To what purpose?"

Kaleidoscope stared at Oceanus as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "It should be obvious. There could only be one reason to tamper with these seals. Clearly our friend means to release the First Star back into the world."

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Chapter 7: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Firefly suppressed a yawn as she coasted along the mountain face. She was tired, having made the journey to Talon Mountain and back countless times before. Fortunately, this would be her last. After many years of privation and toil, she would finally be retiring. She was lucky to have reached this point while she still had so many good years left in her life. It would be nice to reconnect with Rainbow Dash after Firefly's work had forced her to spend so much of her time away from her precious adopted daughter. She remembered hearing that Rainbow had taken up residence in a village that wasn't far away from Canterlot. Apparently she was doing well for herself.

The winds were intensifying, dragging at the cloak draped over Firefly's wings. She frowned, mountain storms were frequent and often difficult to navigate. An inexperienced flyer would have found themselves careening out of control before smashing into the unforgiving stone of some cliff or rock spire. But Firefly was anything but inexperienced. She could easily navigate the worst of storms as though the sky were perfectly clear. Years of traveling through storms like these had taught her how to read the flow of the wind and travel along the paths of least resistance. Even tired as she was, flying through a storm like this was foal's play for her.

However, with a sudden surge, the winds changed their flow and direction without the slightest warning. The pink Pegasus was nearly knocked out of the sky as the raging winds closed about her, forming a cyclone that seemed to cut off the sky. This was not a natural storm. The winds did not normally move in this manner and changes as drastic as the one she had just experienced could not occur so quickly. Firefly knew that something else must be behind the storm. Most telling was the roar that echoed through off the distant peaks, making the mountainside shiver.

"Honestly Kushala," muttered Firefly, "A simple hello would suffice." With a low chuckle, Firefly banked around and flew directly up the side of the mountain, heading for the peak.

There he was, his claws and tail wrapped around the top of the mountain while his head towered atop its elongated neck. He swung his head about and let out another roar, a blast of pure wind erupting from his gaping maw and enshrouding the mountain further. Firefly flew in closer until she could make out the individual steel-gray scales that formed the elder dragon's armor.

"You certainly have an effective way of getting my attention," shouted Firefly, her voice barely carrying over the roar of the wind, much less the roar of the dragon. But he heard her all the same. The tooth-lined jaws closed and the great beast turned his glowing yes on her.

"But you have a tendency to ignore me if I don't do this," he pointed out.

Firefly had to laugh at that. The gray dragon had an unusual fondness for ponies. He even occasionally took the shape of a Pegasus to visit the towns and villages that lined the Equestrian border near his range. He and Firefly had spoken many times before as she was a frequent visitor to the area due to being called out to the Griffin lands so often. He was a wonderful conversationalist, she had to admit. She had even been flattered when he had made a pass at her. The dragon had a strong fondness for Pegasi and he had always loved the way she flew. However, Firefly had turned him down for a variety of reasons. But the old dragon never held a grudge and remained a good friend.

"I suppose it's for the best," she sighed, "This will probably be the last time we have the chance to talk like this."

Kushala, the Wind King of the North grimaced. "Is it time for that already? Good grief the years pass by so quickly."

Firefly winced at the implication that she was dying. But she understood his confusion. To a dragon who had been fully grown for many centuries on the day Nightmare Moon had been banished, the brief clawful of years that encompassed a pony's life could be over in a blink from his perspective.

"No, I'm not that old," replied Firefly, "But I am retiring. I was hoping to meet up with my daughter and spend some time with her to make up for all the years I spent on the move in this business."

"Ah yes, your daughter, the one you adopted," Kushala mused, stroking his elongated chin with a silvery claw that was longer than Firefly's whole body, "She was the one from that time wasn't she?"

Firefly grinned. "Yes. That was the first time we met, come to think of it."

"And how is your daughter doing?" asked the Wind Dragon.

Firefly sighed. It made her heart ache to realize that the last time she had seen Rainbow Dash was years ago, a filly barely out of her foalhood; she hadn't had the chance to check on Rainbow's progress for months. "She was doing well, the last time I checked. I even heard that during her time in Flight School, she managed to pull off the legendary Sonic Rainboom."

Kushala tilted his head. "Really, I would have loved to see that. I love a Pegasus who really knows how to fly."

"You keep away from her you old charmer," said Firefly wryly, "I may be behind in my checks on her, but I know that my daughter is still too young for that sort of thing. Besides, you'd break her heart and then I'd have to come and teach you a lesson."

The dragon tilted his head off and let out a booming laugh that echoed off the distant peaks, making him sound like a whole chorus. "I suppose I should know better than to infringe on your family, Firefly. Speaking of infringement, I have a small favor to ask of you."

Firefly looked up at the gray dragon expectantly. To her surprise, for the first time in their acquaintance, he tilted his head aside and avoided meeting her gaze. It wasn't like Kushala at all to be so hesitant. "What is it that you need."

"There is a Pegasus who lives in Konik, not far from the northern border." He gave her an exacting description of the pony in question. Firefly frowned. If the errand involved looking up this pony, there was not telling what problems she might run across. With his typical draconic perspective, Kushala might well be unaware of how much time had passed since he had last seen the Pegasus he was describing to her now. His description might well be years out of date.

But there was something else that rang alarm bells in Firefly's mind: the wistful expression with which Kushala gave out the pony's features, his short asides on how he wished he could go and see her again, the slightly...ashamed expression he now wore as he continued to avoid making direct eye-contact. Then it clicked.

"Oh you old fool," Firefly whispered, "You did it again didn't you."

"Yes," replied Kushala, turning his head to look at her.

Firefly had heard Kushala's stories. This would not be the first time he had been taken with a particular pony and transformed to spend time with her...only to end up spending more than just time. Ultimately, the reality of the situation would assert itself and Kushala would have to return to his proper place. And in his usual manner, he would lose track of the intervening years until everything was a confusing muddle. Even worse, while Firefly knew that Kushala was able to stop himself before things went too far, most of the time, this would not be the first time that he had fathered a half-breed child.

"You want me to check up on your child," she said softly.

Kushala nodded. "You're right about my sense of time. I'm not entirely sure how long it's been. All I ask is that you find out what has become of my son. You don't even need to come back to tell me. I trust you."

Firefly sighed and shook her head at the old dragon. At least he had the presence of mind to learn the gender of his foal before he had left the colt and his mother to their fate. Worse still, Firefly knew about Konik, having used the village as a stopping point in her journey to and from the Griffin kingdom. The ponies who lived there labored in the harsh climate to eke out what living they could, the harsh, wild weather from the mountains often sabotaging the efforts of their Pegasi to make it more hospitable. They were coarse and harsh and much too stubborn to leave. Firefly shuddered to think of what close-minded ponies like them might do to an unfortunate half-breed who lived among them.

"Alright, I'll go," she said, "But you're probably right that you probably won't hear back from me. If your son is still alive, I'll do what I can."

"Thank you." The old dragon bowed his head. "I ask for nothing else."

"So what happened then?" asked Rainbow Dash, her eyes wide as she listened to Firefly's story. She had been shocked to learn that her mother had known a dragon of all things.

"I went to Konik to look into the matter," said Firefly, "I had stayed there a few times, but generally avoided the place. They're a close bunch who don't like visitors, among other things. I half expected to have my questions lead me to the gravestone of some long-dead pony."

"But they didn't," Rainbow guessed, having seen where this story was going.

Firefly shook her head. "That actually was the case with Zephyr's mother, the Pegasus Kushala had asked me to look into. It turned out that he actually was more on top of things this time as I only missed her by a few months."

"What happened?"

"She had apparently always been in poor health after giving birth to Zephyr," replied Firefly, "A half-dragon's gestation period is just as prolonged as their other stages of development. But a mare's body isn't built to endure a pregnancy that can last well over a year. She managed to hold on for several years, but she was weak and able to do little. She barely had the strength to care for her own son. It's a testament to her love for him that she lasted so long and did manage to care for him for several years before finally passing away.

"But Zephyr had his own problems. As you might expect, the ponies of Konik weren't very accommodating to a half-breed foal. He was tormented by the other foals who lived in the town with him, especially at school. Not only did his teachers and the other adults do nothing to discourage that behavior, they actively encouraged it at times. To make matters worse, because she barely had the strength to see to his basic needs, Zephyr's mother wasn't up to the task of facing down her own neighbors to better her son's lot."

"That's awful," whispered Rainbow. She didn't even think to ask what had been done to Zephyr. She didn't think she could stand knowing. Worse, she might have been tempted to fly off to that village and give those ponies a piece of her mind. Then she looked up abruptly as the episode at the library earlier that day occurred to her. "What about the dragon slayers?"

Firefly directed a furtive look up the stairs that led to the guest room where Zephyr was currently sleeping. Carefully, she lowered her voice as much as she dared, forcing Rainbow to lean in as she talked about this most sensitive of topics.

"Once I found Zephyr, I realized that he was much too young to endure a journey of any distance. He wasn't able to fly yet and the prospect of trying to take him on hoof through the areas surrounding Konik wasn't a pleasant idea." Firefly decided to not bring up her other reasons for not bringing him down to Ponyville right away. "I decided to take care of him, so I settled into his mother's house to look after his needs. With a healthy pony looking after him, I'd like to think I made things easier on Zephyr, but not by much. I was an outsider after all and we outsiders were only a few steps above half-breeds like Zephyr in the villagers' estimation.

"More importantly, Kushala wasn't the only dragon the villagers had had dealings with. There were other dragons that made their homes in the northern ranges and not all of them were as friendly. Several ponies lost their lives to dragon raids. There were a few ponies who took up arms as dragon slayers to defend their homes. Some were more zealous than others.

"It happened on a day where I had gone to the market. A dragon slayer had heard about the half-dragon who had been living in Konik. From what I gathered afterward, he had seen Zephyr playing by himself in our yard and recognized him almost immediately. The dragon slayer attacked and tried to kill Zephyr. I only got home just in time to stop him from landing the killing blow. Fortunately, I was able to fend him off." Actually, she had been more than able to do that and had done more than just fend the murderous bigot off, but Firefly felt that Rainbow didn't need to know that much.

Rainbow Dash had her hooves pressed over her mouth, her eyes watering at the thought. Firefly gathered her wits to finish the story. "Zephyr was hurt pretty badly. I had to treat his injuries myself because the doctor in town refused to treat a half-dragon. We were lucky that I was able to do enough. At this point I realized that there was no way we could keep staying in Konik. So, even though Zephyr might not have been up to making the journey, we set out as soon as he was better. We traveled by hoof for a couple of years until he was strong enough to fly. Once he could fly, we flew the rest of the way and the rest of the story is just us coming here to Ponyville."

As Firefly finished, Rainbow Dash found herself thinking that there were a few holes in her mother's story. For one thing, while Equestria was large, it wasn't so vast that a journey from the northern border to Ponyville would take years. Ponies traveled all across Equestria by hoof all the time and their journeys usually only took a few weeks at most. She found herself wondering what had actually taken Firefly so long to come to Ponyville with Zephyr. However, she decided not to press the issue.

Rainbow Dash looked up the stairs, where her new little brother was sleeping. "I can't imagine what he went through."

"Neither can I," added Firefly, "But it's terrifying to think about. In spite his age and the fact that he finished his schooling, Zephyr is still very much a child. To go to a school and have your classmates grow up around you while you remain a little foal for much longer only added to the alienation he experienced for simply being born different in the first place. It's a world we will never see or understand. But hopefully, this town can be a home for him."

Rainbow turned her eyes back to the mare she acknowledged as her mother. "It can and it will," she said in her firmest tone, "I promise."

"Is something wrong?"

Luna looked up as Celestia approached. Luna had raised the moon some time ago. By all rights, Celestia should have been in bed already. "I should be asking you the same question, sister," said Luna, "You're up past your bedtime."

"Don't worry about it," said Celestia cheerfully, "Covering for you for the last few centuries has turned me into quite the night owl. It seems that even newly acquired habits die hard."

Luna frowned, but knew better than to apologize (again) for the changes Celestia was forced to undergo in order to make up for Luna's absence. Celestia always brushed off such apologies as though the inconvenience caused for her by having to seal her own sister into the moon was nothing. Luna also knew that Celestia would reject the idea that Luna herself was somehow responsible for her actions as Nightmare Moon. That didn't assuage Luna's guilt in the slightest. Until she knew what had caused her transformation into that unholy demon, she couldn't be able to rest peacefully without knowing whether or not she had been the cause of her own downfall.

Instead, Luna turned her gaze to the windows of her study, which overlooked her Night Garden. Celestia had always praised her younger sister's sense of aesthetics. The hedges and carefully tended flowerbeds were lower to the ground than Celestia's garden. There were no trees, no mazes. The whole thing was very understated. During the day it looked plain...dull even. It was only during the night that the true beauty of Luna's garden was revealed.

Everything in her garden was a variant of a unique family of flowers that Luna herself had created millennia ago, back when Equestria had first been founded, moon-blossoms, luminescent flowers that bloomed only during the night, underneath the moon. Different breeds, each with their own characteristic and color, bloomed during different phases of the moon. Because of these subtle qualities, every night in the Night Garden presented a different picture. If she were walking through that garden right now, even the scents in the air would be different from previous nights.

After Nightmare Moon had been sealed away, Celestia ensured that the Night Garden was meticulously maintained in Luna's absence so that it would still be there when she returned. To Luna, it was a testament to how much Celestia missed her and how much Celestia regretted what she had done. However, as she looked out over the garden now, Luna's thoughts were occupied by a very pleasant memory. "There is nothing wrong, sister," she said finally, "I was just going through a fond memory."

Luna sighed as she looked out over the vast courtyard. Even though the sun had set, the Summer Sun Celebration continued. That actually wasn't accurate. Celestia had essentially started a new celebration on the heels of the last one to celebrate Luna's return and her liberation from the specter of Nightmare Moon. Luna didn't really want to go through with it right now though. She had already participated in the celebration in Ponyville. While she had enjoyed that thoroughly, she saw no reason to continue in Canterlot.

Celestia had other plans though. Her main purpose had been to reintroduce Luna to the nobility and start getting them accustomed to having her back. To be honest, Luna wanted nothing to to with the stuffy nobles and their formal events. As the Princess of the Night, she preferred the art of understatement and subtlety. Even before her banishment, the nobility, with their inclinations toward decadence and garish displays of wealth and privilege always disgusted her.

"Bored already?"

Luna flinched as Celestia's voice came up from behind her. Straightening up, the Night Princess looked over her shoulder to see Celestia striding up behind her. "I can understand," said Celestia, "I always end up doing this when I decide to hold the Summer Sun Celebration somewhere other than Canterlot. The nobles always get miffed and are in need of placation. Usually I just throw a little after party here in the palace and call it good. But for once, we actually have something to celebrate."

Luna had to suppress another sigh. Here her sister had thrown a party because she felt she actually had a legitimate reason and Luna was being a stick in the mud. "You look like you could use some quiet time," Celestia whispered into her ear, "But before that, could you look into the Night Garden. Somepony's been working on a little surprise for you."

Luna frowned, a little suspicious at the suggestion. Even a thousand years ago, Celestia had been a prankster and a trickster. While she found it unlikely, Luna wouldn't have been surprised that she was about to be the target of a little lighthearted fun. Celestia never went overboard with her pranks, fortunately. Luna decided that, whatever it was that was being planned for her, it would be infinitely better than continuing to linger among these stuffy nobles.

Luna trotted down the castle hallways until she reached the entrance to her Night Garden. Looking out, she was greeted by the sights and scents of three different varieties of moon-blossom blooming under the nearly full moon that had only just begun to wane. Not seeing anything or anypony, Luna trotted down the pathways of her garden, content for the time being to enjoy the sight and smell of her flowers, glad that Celestia had worked so hard to preserve the garden for her return.

It took Luna a moment to notice the creeping mist that had begun to spread across her garden. It was barely above fetlock level, expanding like a silvery carpet over the ground. As it encompassed her, Luna felt the telltale tingling sensation of a spell field being established. She tensed, ready for an attack, until she realized that there was no indication of hostility. Her magic was being left untouched, not that a mortal spell field had a hope of truly inconveniencing an immortal Alicorn. Instead she felt it go to work in a different way. The Earth Pony that made up one third of Luna's essence could sense that the magic was interacting with her beloved moon-blossoms in a remarkably subtle way.

All at once, every single one of the flowers in the garden burst into full bloom, regardless of the current phase of the moon. Luna looked around in shock as the entire courtyard was bathed in a soft gentle light. She then realized that the light was revealing several figures who had all but materialized out of the night, several cloaked figures.

"Princess Luna."

The soft spoken voice redirected the Night Princess's attention back in front of her, where a pony now stood. Underneath his dark-green cloak, she could make out the shape of a Unicorn who looked at her with gentle eyes and an expression of undisguised happiness.

"You," she whispered. Even though she did not recognize the pony, she recognized the cloak that he wore, the cloak of the Order...of her Order.

"We have been waiting," said the pony, "For a thousand years, our predecessors and their predecessors all waited and prayed for this night, the night we finally get to come before you again. For many years, we have been hoping to get the chance to finally say this to you."

Luna felt tears beginning to stream down from her eyes. Her Rangers were there.

"Princess, welcome home."

The shock was almost too much for Luna. They had been waiting for her all this time. Even after what she had done as Nightmare Moon, they had not lost faith in her. Her legs began to give way beneath her. But she felt herself being held up as the Unicorn in front of her pressed in under her and used his body to support her. Two more were suddenly at Luna's side, leaning up against her and lending their strength as well, while more still closed in. Her composure breaking down, Luna began to weep as she swept up as many ponies as she could in her embrace while more still closed ranks around her.

All the while, Celestia looked on as the Rangers welcomed their founder and leader back to the world, like a group of foals welcoming their beloved mother home after many years of absence. She did nothing to hide the tears that streamed down her face as, down below, Luna basked in the love and affection of the ponies who had been waiting most devotedly for her return. "Welcome home, sister," she whispered, "This is what you deserve." Her task completed, Celestia turned and began to make her way back to the official party, drying her tears as she went.

"I was happy that they stayed with you," said Celestia quietly as she stood next to her sister, easily recalling what Luna was reminiscing about, "Even though the years came and went and generations passed, they never ceased to remain yours and yours alone."

"And I am glad that you let them," said Luna.

"I couldn't have made them, even if I wanted to," replied Celestia, shaking her head slightly, "Another trait your Rangers possess is that they can be overwhelmingly stubborn."

Luna chuckled quietly and nodded in agreement. Looking up, she spied a glittering cloud tracing its way across the sky. The silvery cloud of mist slithered through the minuscule cracks in the windows and congealed into a letter before her eyes. "Word from Oceanus." Luna opened the letter and scanned its contents.

"Sister! This is terrible!"

"What is it?" asked Celestia, frowning as she moved to read over Luna's shoulder.

"Somepony or something wiped out the population of Haytenview. Worse still, whatever it is is apparently heading in the direction of the Third Seal!"

Celestia gasped in shock. It appeared that the mysterious enemies who threatened the future of Equestria, if not the entire world, we're stepping up the scope of their attacks. Now innocent ponies had fallen victim to their evil machinations. Stepping back, Celestia let her head drop down. "This is only going to get worse, isn't it?"

"Yes," agreed Luna.

"Let me know when you receive more information," said Celestia as she turned around and headed for the door.

"I'm going out," said Luna, "If I hurry, then maybe I can be of some help."

Celestia nodded. "Very well then. In the meantime, I am going to make preparations to tell Twilight and the others. The Archmage was right. We can't afford to keep this secret from them for any longer."

Celestia left the room. Luna used her magic to teleport to the other side of the wall and spread her wings in the open air. With a swift downstroke, she lifted herself into the sky, heading south at a swift pace.

"So let me get this straight, you call him the Operator?"

"Well yes."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same creature? The one held by the topaz seal in southwest Everfree?"

"That's the one. You know; tall, skinny guy, no face to speak of, pretty snappy dresser for an eldritch entity born to prey on ponies by driving them to fear and madness."

"But why in Luna's name do you call him the Operator?"

"Because it's the kind of name you might think of for a spy, you know, like James Buck. He's always dressed so suavely."

"Well, I guess you have a point there. It's hard to think of another monster that could make a basic suit and tie ensemble look so intimidating."

Oceanus chuckled as they returned to the task at hand. Tracking an unknown entity with a head start of undefined length over broken terrain in the middle of the night was tedious business. Fortunately, Star Sapphire was one of those Rangers who enjoyed conversation, at least with her peers. While most Rangers were introverted and preferred their own company, there were few who could pass up the chance for conversation afforded by a pony who had had similar experiences. One of the greatest barriers for social interaction between Rangers and the other ponies of Equestria was the veil of secrecy. Being unable to bring up their profession and their experiences (at least openly) with regular ponies put a damper on spending time with them. Conversation with fellow Rangers was much easier as there was nothing for them to hide from one another.

To eat away the hours while they tried to close the distance with the mysterious pony responsible for the destruction of the town lost to the distance behind them, Oceanus and Star had opted to spend time talking about the different creatures they had dealt with during their travels. Star Sapphire was endlessly creative when it came to giving various beasties nicknames, some of which Oceanus found downright absurd, even if there was some degree of logic to Star's thinking.

Thus the banter continued as the night wore on, their journey taking them through the dense forest. But the terrain was changing. Slowly, the ground was getting softer, the air more humid. They were getting closer to the Black Bog. Oceanus paused and held up a hoof, signaling his companion to silence. Straining his ears, Oceanus heard an unfamiliar sound in the distance.

Whatever it was, it was either something immense or a great number of smaller somethings. It was a constant sound of something writhing and wriggling, of soft, moist objects being rubbed together, altogether a sickening chorus. Oceanus turned and nodded his head to Star Sapphire and the two of them leapt into a full gallop. Their quarry was within earshot and had been heading in the direction that Oceanus feared. They had to stop it immediately.

A few minutes later, they came to a stop. The sounds were much louder now, signaling the Rangers' increased proximity to their quarry. The only problem was that the sounds were no longer coming from ahead of the two ponies...they were coming from all around. Oceanus's ears perked up, swiveling about as he tried to pinpoint individual sources from among the grotesque cacophony echoing all around them. "I do believe we have run into an ambush," he intoned gravely.

Star Sapphire carefully stood so that she stood almost directly behind Oceanus, facing in the opposite direction. She slowly began to tense her body, getting into her combat stance. Out in the darkness between the trees, unsettlingly alien shapes moved. The ponies' eyes narrowed. The shapes undulated and slithered like hoards of snakes. But they were not snakes. As the hideous things closed in, they could make out more details. They were not snakes, but tentacles covered with massive suckers that reached forward and dragged their central bodies across the ground. Others walked upon their uncounted legs. More than a few had hauled their bodies up into the trees and climbed along, reaching from branch to trunk to neighboring branch, practically oozing through the forest canopy. Their central bodies were unremarkable, devoid of any features or spectacular shapes, save one, an open maw lined with razor-sharp teeth arranged in circular patterns.

Oceanus gritted his teeth and did his best to control the nausea that surged through him at the sight of these ugly beasts. He had faced down countless monsters and seen a great deal of the darkness that was so carefully locked away in Equestria's depths. But these things were in a class of their own. Whatever they were, they were utterly alien and completely unnatural. This may be something from the Archmage's arena, thought Oceanus, fully realizing that there was no way creatures like these could exist in Equestria, or the world around it.

"This is going to be a difficult battle," muttered Star as she took in the daunting number of abominations surrounding them.

In front of Oceanus, the ranks of demons parted to make way for a single Unicorn. This must have been the perpetrator of the atrocity that they had encountered earlier then. Once again, Oceanus found himself suppressing his nausea. This...thing could barely be called a pony. Whatever color his hide had been, it had long been overrun by rust-red stains that could only be dried blood. The Unicorn's mane hung in scraggly strands along his neck, matted and dyed dark. His tail seemed to have been combed through with pure filth. He was about the most wretched and vile looking pony Oceanus had ever seen. But worst of all were his eyes, set unnaturally in the madpony's head so that that they projected out and slightly to the side, looking to all the world like they were about to come tumbling out of their sockets. They seemed more like fish-eyes in that respect than eyes that belonged to a pony. Shifting his gaze slightly, Oceanus could see a patch of raw scars crisscrossing the Unicorn's flank where his cutie mark should have been.

"A pair of meddlers have come to see my efforts," said the pony in a whining sort of voice, "Since you were so determined to come after me, I thought I would reward you for the trouble so that you could behold the magnificence of my work. Are they not beautiful. Nopony in this world could possibly hope to best my artistry. You should have seen the canvas where I prepared my work."

Oceanus and Star knew, that when he had said canvas, the sick bastard had meant the town. Looking more closely, Oceanus could see scraps of flesh hanging from the bodies of the monstrosities arrayed around them. A blood sacrifice then, he deduced. It was the most horrid and abominable magic imaginable, one that used the flesh and blood of innocent ponies as a conduit for magical power. But to what end? Oceanus couldn't bring himself to believe that these creatures had been conjured. Was it the result of some horrid transformation spell? Or had his initial assessment been right?

Then he noticed something else. Hanging in the air next to that despicable pony was a book, a tome of some kind. To his horror, Oceanus realized that the cover was made from pony skin. The front depicted the image of a pony's face projecting slightly out and screaming in fear or agony. Without needing to check, Oceanus could sense the magical energy flowing outwards from the book. It seemed that the only energy that the Unicorn was using, was the magic that he needed to hold the book itself aloft. That must be the source of the problem.

Oceanus decided to play for time while he came up with a viable strategy. "And who is the great artist that stand's before us?"

To his disgust, the pony smiled earnestly and bowed politely, as though he were introducing himself to Luna's court. "I call myself Threshold. I am but a simple artisan who wishes to make the world beautiful once more."

"And how do you plan to do this?"

Threshold grinned widely. "I will take my art to spectacular new places until the ponies of the world are forced to acknowledge my greatness. I will capture their hearts and minds as their faces are contorted into terror beyond their wildest imaginations. I will compose an orchestra of anguished howls and shrieks of fear. All of Equestria shall be my canvas!"

"Lovely," muttered Star over her shoulder.

"And now you two shall become the next strokes of my brush," declared Threshold grandly. That had apparently been the signal as the monsters he had marshaled advanced on the two Rangers. Some slithered across the ground like the nests of snakes they had initially resembled. Others used their legs to propel themselves into the air with unnatural leaps while still more swung in from the surrounding trees.

Star Sapphire moved first, rearing up and slamming her hooves into the ground. The ground in a large radius around her and Oceanus erupted, sending stones, boulders and a healthy quantity of dirt surging upward and outward with enough force to tear through the rubbery bodies of the fiendish creatures. At the same time, Oceanus took a deep breath and unleashed a dense cloud of mist that filled the area around them. Wisps of steam arose from the mist to form a head of low clouds over the battlefield. And as the next wave of monsters closed in, the clouds unleashed a torrent of rain. But this rain was far from normal. Instead, the water hurled down in the form of countless minuscule knives, razor-sharp and moving at supernatural speed. The incoming blades sliced reaching tentacles to ribbons, pierced tooth-filled maws and drove back the remaining attackers. In the first seconds alone of the battle, the ground was littered with the bodies of the defeated demons.

"Your artistry appears to be lacking," Oceanus pointed out as he turned to face Threshold again.

To his surprise, the insane Unicorn's grin had not vanished. If anything, it was even wider than before. Then Oceanus's hearing picked up the sound of shifting and ripping. He looked around, expecting more of the monsters, but then he realized that the corpses of the ones he and Star had dispatched were twitching. Before their very eyes, the torn chunks of the abominations exploded outward into newly formed forests of tentacles as fully formed creatures burst out form every severed limb and scrap of flesh, their numbers multiplying exponentially.

Not waiting for an attack, Oceanus called up more of his mist. Realizing it would be a waste to try and keep killing the demonic entities, which only seemed to reform after every attack, he instead decided to deal with the source of the problem directly. The quality of the mist changed as it surged toward Threshold, turning into a potent acid that would dissolve flesh in seconds. Threshold's grin didn't so much as twitch as the monstrosities he controlled flung themselves between him and the rushing wall of acidic mist. Several of the creatures wrapped their tentacles around him, sinuous limbs interweaving until they formed an airtight cocoon. Oceanus resolved to let his acid melt its way straight through the impromptu barrier, only to find that the monsters weren't reacting at all.

That acid should react to all worldly matter, thought Oceanus, his suspicions confirmed, These creatures are from a different world, one with a different set of physical laws.

His attention was drawn by the sound of several wet objects being smashed. Turning around, he saw Star Sapphire slamming her hooves into the center of one the creatures, sending it flying back even as it burst apart like an overripe melon from the impact. Moving smoothly, she sidestepped the lashing tentacles of another abomination and slammed her shoulder against it, spattering the filthy thing across several trees around her. She continued to fight, avoiding attacks and counterattacking flawlessly as the beasts attempted to press in, clearly determined to do her job to keep Oceanus's back covered.

Oceanus turned his attention back to the front as he condensed loads of water into the air around him. The large droplets flowed into the shape of several different varieties of flowers before rotating like circular saws. He sent them flying toward the deranged summoner. Once again, the demons moved quickly to his aid, piling on top of one another as the whirling blades of water carved through them, using their mass to completely crush Oceanus's attack with their sheer density.

This is getting nowhere, thought Oceanus as the slaughtered monsters again regenerated and multiplied. He harbored no illusions that Star Sapphire was faring any better than he was. It was only a matter of time before they were buried under an avalanche of the monstrosities. Matters were getting desperate.

"Ack!" The strangled cry from behind him drew Oceanus's attention back to Star. To his horror, he saw that a tentacle had whipped out from one of the monsters from an absurd distance to wrap around her right foreleg. Her balance broken, Star Sapphire's defense faltered and with speed that boggled the mind, several more tentacles whipped out from different directions to wrap around her other legs. Another closed around her torso while yet another looped over her neck. Before Oceanus had a chance to do anything, Star had been fully restrained and now was fighting for her breath. And even as he looked, the tentacle holding the Earth Pony's neck bulged unnaturally and the applied pressure began to increase as the beast apparently opted to simply tear her head right off.

Oceanus quickly moved to support his comrade, but the demons that had been in front of him pounced on his moment of distraction and less than a second later, Oceanus was trussed up just as thoroughly. This is no good, he thought.

Then, just as the tentacle around his neck began to squeeze, there was a rush of wind and the tentacles holding them fell away. Crescents of air distorted as blades of wind sliced away the restraining appendages, dropping the two captured ponies to the ground. As Oceanus and Star Sapphire gasped and coughed, a new pony landed amongst them. "That was disappointing Oceanus. I know you're better than this."

Looking up, Oceanus spied Mountain Breeze, whom he had sent ahead to the Seal. She smiled wryly down at her senior and then turned to glare at Threshold, who looked enraged that somepony had butted into his fun.

"How dare you interfere with my art?" he practically screamed.

"Sorry," answered Threshold with a taunting lilt in her voice, "I got a good look at your art just now and that was me expressing my opinion."

Apparently at a loss for words, the monster in a pony's shape let out an inarticulate screech of pure rage, prompting Mountain to raise her eyebrows. "What are you so mad about? It's like the old saying goes, everypony's a critic. If you're a real artist, deal with it."

With sounds like bursting balloons, the ranks of monsters replenished themselves and then swelled. Oceanus frowned as he observed the situation. The demonic creatures were endless in quantity. He couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of magical energy that was being spent. One pony simply couldn't have this quantity of power. However, Oceanus detected something abnormal. He turned to glance at Mountain Breeze.

"I need you and Star to keep them busy for a short time," he whispered to her.

"Why?" asked Mountain, perplexed, "You could have destroyed them all already."

"In case you haven't noticed, destroying them only makes them regenerate and multiply. Presumably, as long as they continue to receive their supply of magical energy, they can remain and even multiply endlessly. Destroying them gets us nowhere and only makes things worse in the long run. I think I've figured out what Threshold is doing. I just need you to buy me the time I need to confirm it and then some more time for me to do something about it."

Mountain Breeze frowned but nodded. Oceanus turned his mist into an extension of his senses and spread his spell field in the direction of Threshold. The mist crept along close to the ground. Oceanus felt his insides twist with nausea as the mist flowed around the serpentine legs of the assembled abominations. The mist had almost reached Threshold when, once again, the monsters tightened their holds around him, enveloping him with their tentacles to keep the mist from reaching him. As they did so, the front ranks launched themselves forward with renewed vigor.

Mountain Breeze spread her wings and unleashed a barrage of wind blades in all directions, cutting down the monsters like stalks of wheat before the reaper's scythe. But there were still plenty more, slithering and leaping over the bodies of the fallen, even as the pieces of the dead ones regenerated to create more enemies still. In spite of this, Oceanus remained focused on his task, his mist seeming to flow uselessly against the impenetrable wall of tentacles that surrounded Threshold. Just a little longer...

Then it was done. Oceanus had his suspicions confirmed. A smile slowly formed on his face. It was time to turn the tide. "Star, Mountain, I'll take it from here."

Mountain Breeze grinned eagerly. "Does that mean you're finally gonna cut loose?"

Oceanus grinned at her in return. He pulled his mist back. Perceiving that the threat had withdrawn the demons shielding their master withdrew their tentacles, leaving the fish-eyed Unicorn a clear view of his intended victims. "Have you given up already?" he taunted, "Oh how mortifying it must be to be completely outclassed by pure numbers, to be suffocated by a horde of unholy demons. I can't wait to see your faces contorted into terror and agony. Accept the inevitable and surrender yourselves TO MY ART!!!"

As Threshold's voice became a shriek, the demo s launched themselves en mass, with even greater numbers than before. But Oceanus remained calm and confident. On his flank, the cutie mark depicting eight silvery pearls flickered and came to life. The pearls detached themselves from his flank, shifting from two-dimensional images to three-dimensional orbs the size of apples. Eight gleaming silver orbs now floated in the air around Oceanus.

The monsters closed in. The orbs shot away from their master and formed a circle around the three beleaguered ponies. As one they began to flash. The monsters rushed forward, closing in on the Rangers. They crossed the invisible boundary depicted by the arrangement of the eight pearls...and exploded into fountains of blood that poured to the ground. More monsters came behind them and collapsed similarly.

Threshold let out a shriek of rage and the monsters, as though responding to his voice, recoiled away from the invisible barrier. Oceanus grinned at his adversary. "I've figured you out," he said, "You aren't the one supplying magical energy to these monsters. It's that book. The book itself is an individual energy source. And from the look of things, that tome's power is near limitless."

Threshold's expression changed from one of rage to one of disbelief. "How?"

Oceanus tilted his head. "I'd theorized that not long after our little session began. After all, there's no way that a single Unicorn could supply power to all these abominations by himself, much less regenerate and multiply them after they were struck down. And you were holding that book up in plain view for all to see. I was almost certain that it was a decoy and used my spell field to check, just to make sure. But it seems that you really are that poor of a mage."

"Impossible!" screeched Threshold, bearing his teeth, "Your mist couldn't penetrate my familiars' barrier."

Oceanus chuckled, but wasn't going to tell that monster of agony the secret of that trick anytime soon. In truth, it had been a simple matter of exploiting the qualities of his mist, which, while magical, was still condensed water. It had been foal's play to let the mist seep into the ground before bringing it back up through the ground underneath Threshold, where he hadn't thought to use his barrier to protect him. "In any case, all I needed was to establish a simple boundary field to cut those monstrosities off from their source of energy and they dissolve back into nothing."

"I wouldn't say 'nothing,'" groused Star as she lifted a hoof off the ground, which had become saturated with blood.

"And now," said Oceanus with finality, "It's time to bring your career as an artist to an end. It's a pity. You envisioned yourself as a great artist, but in reality, you're nothing more than a hack who can't accomplish anything without that tome."

"I won't forgive you for this!" shrieked Threshold, "I will strip the flesh from your bones while you breathe! I will weave your intestines into a tapestry while you can still watch! And I will make sure you feel every second of it!"

"Mountain," said Oceanus, "Focus all your strength on the front and scatter the ones before us."

"You got it boss!" chirped the Pegasus before lifting her wings. With a single tremendous flap, she unleashed a whirling blast of pure wind that drove straight through the packed ranks of the creatures between them and Threshold. The horizontal tornado tore through the beasts and scattered them in all directions.

Oceanus leapt straight in, following in the tornado's wake. The eight orbs, which had been hovering in a circle around the three Rangers, joined him, flying through the air in twisting and curving paths, glowing a brilliant white as they did so. They surged ahead of the rushing Unicorn, intercepting the few monsters that were still in his way. When they impacted, the monsters burst into rivers of blood. Meanwhile Oceanus concentrated all his remaining energy into his horn. The tiniest light flickering at the tip was the only indicator of the spell he was preparing.

Threshold was not about to sit quietly and let his enemy come closer. He ordered more of his monsters to attack, but Oceanus's orbs were already closing in. The pearls swooped down, aiming for the book. Threshold used his magical grip to swing the book out of the way, dodging one pearl, then another, then a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh. Finally, with one last swift movement, Threshold managed to swing the book out of the way of the eight and final orb. Now he could focus on using his demons to keep Oceanus's attacks at bay with the time he had bought.

Turning his attention away from the orbs, Threshold's eyes widened to see that Oceanus himself had already closed in behind his pearls. Instead of simply being avoided, he had predicted that Threshold would move the book to avoid his attacks. Instead, he had carefully manipulated how Threshold had moved the book out of the way. The tome was now positioned directly in the path of the charging Unicorn's horn. It was too late for Threshold to get the book out of the way entirely.

Oceanus's horn pierced the cover of the book close to its spine. Threshold's last attempt at evasion meant that Oceanus's horn carved a gash through the spine of the book. The damage could have been minimal, but then the disruption spell that Oceanus's horn was carrying activated.

The demons closing in around Star and Mountain exploded into a torrent of blood that pooled on the ground around them. There was nothing left of the unnatural creatures, only small lakes of crimson fluid that dotted the landscape. Threshold now stood alone, completely unprotected by the hideous creatures that he had been so proud of.

"And now, your art is finished," said Oceanus grimly as he turned to face Threshold for the last time, "And so are you."

"It's time to face justice," said Star Sapphire as she closed in from the other side.

Then, to Oceanus's shock, the damage inflicted on the book, which more resembled a wound on a flesh and blood creature, closed over itself. The tome was healing it's own damage. Before their eyes, the tome began to shine as it released a tremendous amount of magical energy.

"Stop!" shouted Oceanus as he rushed forward.

Threshold paid him no heed and instead let out a shriek of pure rage and hatred. Before any of the Rangers could approach by more than two steps, the pools of blood all around them exploded into a crimson mist that filled the air, completely blocking their view of the monstrous criminal. Mountain Breeze was the first to respond, using a powerful beat of her wings to banish the fog, revealing empty ground where their enemy once stood.

Oceanus exhaled a massive cloud of mist and extended his spell field to its limits, trying to find Threshold before he could get away. But it was an act of futility. The insane Unicorn was gone. He had escaped completely. Oceanus turned to his comrades and said the only word that he could think of at this time. "Damn."

As the three Rangers took a moment to contemplate their next course of action, the light shining from the moon above them began to flicker and dim. Looking up, they spotted a winged shape slowly descending towards them. The three ponies carefully backed up to make room as Princess Luna landed amongst them.

"Princess?" Star Sapphire tilted her head in confusion as she regarded their monarch.

"I am glad that I was able to find you," said Luna, "I had to track you three from Haytenview. It wasn't easy. Clearly my skills in this area are rusty. From the looks of things, it seems that the situation is somewhat under control."

Oceanus nodded, his eight pearls returning to their usual locations on his cutie mark. "Yes, we were able to track our target and thwart his efforts to reach the Third Seal. However, as you can see, we failed to apprehend the culprit. Even worse, we believe that nopony survived his attack on the village." The three Rangers bowed their heads. "We are sorry. Our negligence has cost untold numbers of ponies their lives this night."

"No. It is I who must apologize," said Luna softly, "You were never meant to pit yourself against other ponies. This should have been well outside the scope of your duties. I do not know how the secrets of the Six Seals were leaked, but it is clearly the fault of my sister and I that this has come to pass."

"In any case," said Mountain Breeze, "The situation is under control for now. What should we do next?"

"My sister and I have opted to inform the Bearers of the situation," answered Luna, "Should the worst come to pass, they will be the ones tasked with sealing the Star of Creation once again."

"Um, let me get this straight," muttered Mountain Breeze, "You're talking about the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony right?"

Luna nodded.

"Those six mares currently living in Ponyville?"

Again, Luna nodded.

"The ones that Princess Celestia depicted in no less than two stained glass windows decorating your throne room and the ones that she honored for defeating Discord in a very loud, very public ceremony?"

"Yes," agreed Luna, worry beginning to make itself apparent on her face.

"In other words, as opposed to the Seals, which were carefully hidden away and placed in extremely inhospitable and inaccessible locations, you and Princess Celestia not only left the only ones capable of using the only weapons that could be of use against the First Star in a place that is easy to find and reach and you practically shouted their existence out to the farthest reaches of Equestria so that just about anypony who wants to find them could know exactly where they are!"

"I...see your point," said Luna, taken aback by Mountain's vehemence, while, at the same time, understanding it completely. The implications did not escape her notice.

Luna turned to Oceanus. "I would like for you to come back to Canterlot with me. We have some arrangements to make."

Oceanus made to bow, but began to wobble. "Understood...my...Princess..." His body slumped to the ground.

"Is he all right?" asked Luna as she bent down to examine him.

"I think so," replied Star Sapphire.

"He's worn out," said Mountain Breeze, "You had him move out to the Thotep Pass last night and he was there for most of the day. Then he got our request for assistance and had to use his mistform to travel to Haytenview. Then he was with us, tracking that damn maniac for the better part of the night. And then there was the fight against those nasty monsters, which Oceanus used a lot of magic for. He's spent."

"I see," said Luna softly, leaning down to gently nuzzle Oceanus's unconscious form, "He always works so hard. I will go ahead and bring him to Canterlot with me." She then turned to Star Sapphire. "And I would like for you to make haste to Ponyville. You will be stationed there until further notice."

"What should I do then?" asked Mountain Breeze.

Luma sighed. "I'm afraid that I have a difficult task for you. You will continue your rounds. However, you will also have to help with Oceanus's and Star's workloads while they are otherwise occupied, possibly others as well. I am going to ask the Archmage to redistribute their duties so that somepony can be on hoof to respond should any more of the Seals come under threat. This means that your numbers are going to be spread thinner than ever before. I hate to ask this of you, but can you do it?"

Mountain Breeze bowed deeply. "Should you ask it of us, we will fly to the furthest reaches of the world for your sake, Princess."

"Thank you, my little pony."

Using her magic, Luna lifted Oceanus gently onto her back and took to the skies, heading back to Canterlot. Star Sapphire and Mountain Breeze locked eyes and nodded to each other before taking off in separate directions as well.

"THE ARROGANCE!!!" shrieked Threshold as he smashed a hoof against the stone wall, honestly wishing that he had something more fleshy upon which to vent his frustrations, "Those cretins dare defile my art and then deign to pass judgment on me!"

"To be honest, I don't find it that hard to agree with them," taunted a feminine voice. With a flash, the chamber was suddenly lit with blue and white flames. "Your art is so droll and tasteless."

A manic grin spread across Threshold's face as he turned to regard the yellow Unicorn now illuminated by the dancing flames. "Ah, there you are. I was hoping to see you again. One day I will have you give yourself to my art."

"You wish," taunted Pyre with a cheeky grin, "I want to see how well your little beasties taste once I've smoked 'em real good."

"THAT'S ENOUGH FROM BOTH OF YOU."

The two Unicorns froze in place, not daring to twitch. For a moment, the domed chamber was silent, save for the crackling of the flames that marked its circumference. There were no visible entrances or exits, only walls of solid rock in every direction, including above. The shadows of the two ponies seemed to stretch forward, meeting in the center of the chamber before bubbling upward and resolving into the form of a stallion. His pitch-black coat and mane would have made him invisible were it not for Pyre's flames. The only thing that could be easily seen was the bone-white horn that jutted out from his head, twisting crookedly. Even the stallion's eyes were black.

He wasn't alone. His companion was an Earth Pony, whose coat was black with flecks of white, contrasting with his light-amber mane and golden eyes. Remarkably, the Earth Pony stallion was enormous. His body easily dwarfed that of his companion and was even larger than Princess Celestia herself. As he emerged from his companion's shadow, the solid-rock floor of the cavern crackled before finally giving way with a low crunching sound, dropping the massive pony about an inch before the ground was compact enough to support his weight, which was even greater than his apparent size would suggest.

The smaller of the two black ponies stepped away from his companion. There was a brief rustling on his back as a pair of wings slowly extended before retracting. "Unfortunately, both of you have failed me," he said, his voice cold as ice.

"Ridiculous," protested Pyre, "After all, I actually reached my Seal and put your spell on it."

"Yes, after which, you lingered around long enough to advertise our presence to the Princesses, who are now aware of our objective and are in position to counter our moves. Had you actually done your job right instead of playing around with that Ranger, we would have had the opportunity to secure at least three of the Seals before anypony became aware of what we were after."

"Then what?" asked the massive Earth Pony stallion.

"Then we try something else that will divert Celestia and Luna's attention long enough for us to reach the other Seals. For that, I've sent Carrion to the Griffin King at Talon Mountain to set things in motion there. Meanwhile, we will have to make our plans to dispose of the Bearers of the Elements so that they cannot interfere when we achieve our aim. For now, I want all of you to go to ground and stay out of sight for a while. If we are patient, our chance will come again." Shadows washed out from the pitch-black pony and engulfed the room, snuffing out Pyre's flames before leaving the room as empty as it had been before.

Is anyone out there? I understand that this story isn't as popular as my other one, but it's been five whole chapters with nary a peep. I'd love to hear some feedback, something, anything...please...it's so lonely here.

The Big Bad Wolf

The Shadow of the First Star

This is my first piece for MLP:FIM and I hope you'll forgive me if it's a little rough along the edges. I'll try my best to go back and fix errors or issues as I go, but major editing may have to wait until I've mostly finished the story. That said, I appreciate any kind of constructive criticism that you may have to offer. This story was mostly written on my iPad, which has been an...interesting experience to say the least. There are some things I love about it and some things I hate. Suffice to say, there are plenty of errors that spring from that alone, so if I miss any in the proofreading phase, feel free to let me know.

Chapter 1: The Big Bad Wolf

Few ponies ventured into the Everfree Forest willingly. It was a dangerous place after all. To ponies, such a place was plain unnatural. After all, a place where the seasons changed and the weather formed all on its own was extremely strange by anypony's standards. And that was nothing compared to the flesh-eating creatures that dwelled there, some of which were more than capable of enjoying a pony as a meal. No it was very safe to say that few ever went into the Everfree Forest. With so little of the vast and strange woodland explored, it was the perfect place to hide something. Unfortunately, there are some hidden things that are more than capable of making themselves found. Deep within the forest, a rocky cliff formed between two sections of the forest at different elevations. Either side of the cliff ultimately sloped down into a gentler hill, but the section of the rock face visible was strangely flat and smooth, almost as if it had been carved.

With a low crack, a single fissure marred the smoothness of that rock face. From within the darkness revealed by that fissure, a low growl emerged. With a loud thud of impact, the cliff side shuddered and the fissure branched out into several smaller cracks, spreading all across the otherwise smooth rock. Another growl and another thud and the fissure widened.

Fluttershy hummed a pleasant tune as she carried her charge across the gentle hills and between the fruit-laden trees of the Apple family's prized apple orchards. Settled into a carrier that the yellow Pegasus carried with her mouth was the Apple family's precious dog, Winona. Applejack had asked that Fluttershy treat the poor dog after she had injured her paw. Said injury now treated, it was Ponyville's resident animal expert's pleasure to return the beloved pet to her family.

Over another hill and the Apple family's homestead came into sight. Fluttershy smiled around the carrier handle in her mouth. While Applejack was nowhere in sight, Fluttershy did spy another pony whom she was just as happy to see in her opinion. The Apple family's eldest son, Big Macintosh was just stepping out of his home's front door. While his size, large even by Earth Pony stallion standards, might have made him somewhat intimidating, his soft spoken and gentle nature had quickly endeared him to the shy and quiet Pegasus. As he made his way into the front yard, Big Mac spotted Fluttershy as she made her approach and gave her a welcoming smile.

"Miss Fluttershy, it sure is nice to see ya. Bringin' Winona back are ya?"

"Yes, that's right," replied Fluttershy in her normal soft voice, barely a hint above a whisper, "She should be good as new in a few more days. Just make sure that she doesn't do anything too strenuous for about three more days."
"It's right kind of ya to do this for us and Ah'm sure that mah sister think's so too." Big Mac lowered his head to inspect the dog in her container. "While Ah'm sure that you had a lovely time with Miss Fluttershy, I reckon ya're glad to be back home."

The dog let out an enthusiastic bark as Big Macintosh opened the front of the container and let her loose into the yard. While moving with a slight limp favoring her bandaged paw, the family dog was nonetheless enthusiastic about her renewed freedom and romped happily through the grass. Fluttershy's soft giggle at the dog's antics was accompanied by Big Mac's low chuckle as the two of them watched Winona for a brief moment.

Big Mac turned to regard Fluttershy. "Ah have some work to do in the orchard, but y'all are welcome to help yerself to some of Granny's home-cookin' in the kitchen."

"Thank you very much, that's very kind of you," answered Fluttershy.

The red stallion was about to suggest that Fluttershy wouldn't be amiss in staying for dinner, but was interrupted before he could even open his mouth. A low sound halfway between a howl and a roar drifted across the rolling hills of Sweet Apple. Acres. The sound chilled the two ponies to the bone and set their teeth on edge. Most telling of all was Winona's reaction. The normally dauntless canine, perfectly happy to help round up stampeding cattle and face down other similar dangers immediately dashed inside the house, tail between her legs. It was a reaction that Big Macintosh had rarely ever seen before.

"Was that timber-wolves ya reckon?" he asked, exchanging a nervous glance with Fluttershy.

"Ain't no way that there's a timber-wolf howl!" declared the venerable Granny Smith as she stepped onto the front porch, her eyes narrowed, "We've lived next to the Everfree Forest for most of mah life and Ah ain't never heard nothin' like that there howl before."

Big Macintosh looked at his grandmother inquisitively. "Ya reckon Ah outta check it out?"

Granny Smith looked suspiciously in the direction the unearthly sound had come from. "Ah ain't so sure, but it'd be best if y'all headed that way and made sure that whatever jest made that there howl stayed put in the forest and didn't come wanderin' out."

Big Mac looked uneasily over in the direction of the noise and gulped nervously. "Well then, Ah'd best be off then. Miss Fluttershy, y'all should probably wait here with Granny."

The yellow Pegasus trembled slightly as she looked in the direction of the noise. "Oh dear," she said softly. She took a moment to gather her courage at the prospect of what she was about to suggest. "Um, if you don't mind, I think that I'll come with you," she said softly and hesitantly.

"Ya sure?" asked Big Mac carefully, "Whatever that there was, it sounded mighty scary."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, but if it's an animal of some kind, I might be able to convince it not to come out of the forest. I would really like to make sure that things went without anypony getting hurt."

Big Mac regarded her carefully. "Well, alright then."

In another part of the Everfree Forest, a single pony wandered through the trackless wilderness at a light trot. The Earth Pony's features, along with his ash-gray coat were obscured by the dark-green cloak he wore. Even though there was no sign of any road or path, the pony's steps were sure and certain, as though he had traveled this way many times before. When the eerie cry rang out through the forest, he ground to an immediate halt and looked around frantically.

"It sounds as though the seal broke earlier than we thought it would," he muttered to himself, "I'd better hurry." He reached back into one of the saddlebags he wore under his cloak and pulled out a small clear gem. In the middle of the gem was a tiny dab of silvery metal. Without wasting a second, the pony dropped the gem onto a nearby rock and smashed it into powder with his hoof. The action completed, he shut his saddlebag and headed off once again, this time at a full gallop. As he raced in the direction of the noise, a single thought went whirling through his head. Please let me be in time!

A different pony, also cloaked in green paused as he trotted along one of the roads heading into Ponyville. Taking a moment, he reached into his own saddlebag and pulled out a clear gem with a piece of silvery metal embedded within it, a perfect twin to the one that the other pony had just smashed. This one was glowing and buzzing with fierce intensity.

"That's not good," he muttered to himself, "We're out of time already? It looks like I finished my work just in time though." The message received, he too set out at a fierce gallop that would carry him through the normally peaceful town of Ponyville.

"What in tarnation?" Big Macintosh and Fluttershy came to an abrupt halt as they cleared the last rise of Sweet Apple Acres' orchards. Not far away was the white fence that marked the edge of the Apple family's land, and beyond it, a brief stretch of open ground before the Everfree Forest rose up in an ominous wall of vegetation. Even from this distance, the two ponies could see something large and dark moving among the thick trees.

Their eyes widened as the source of the terrible howl they had heard earlier stalked into view. It indeed seemed to be a wolf of some kind, but neither pony recognized it. Fluttershy, who knew all kinds of animals had seen timber wolves and regular wolves and other wolves, but this creature was in a different class altogether.

It was enormous, several times bigger than the largest timber wolf that she or Big Mac had ever seen, which was impressive since timber wolves were supposed to be the largest breed of wolf in the area. Its jaws alone looked big enough to swallow a pony in a single bite. Within those jaws glistened ivory fangs that looked sharp enough to cut through wind blown silk. The claws on its feet looked equally sharp and were unusually long for a wolf, looking more like cat claws than anything else. Even beneath its thick, black fur, Fluttershy could see powerful muscles sliding against one another as the monstrosity continued to prowl slowly towards them. But the worst things, in Fluttershy's view, we're it's eyes. She could see nothing animal-like in its eyes, just a malevolent hunger that terrified her utterly. This was not some normal animal. It wasn't even a regular monster like a dragon or a cockatrice that she could Stare into submission. This creature was alien and unnatural; and though Fluttershy rarely ever thought such a concept could apply to a creature, it was evil.

"Yah'd best get outta here Miss Fluttershy," said Mac quietly hoping to avoid provoking the creature, "A'll hold it off for ya."

"Um, but...I think you should run too," whispered Fluttershy, "It looks very dangerous...and very strong."

"Ah reckon y'all are right about that," agreed Mac, "And Ah might be gettin' in over mah head. But Ah very well couldn't live with mahself if Ah let something bad happen to ya; to say nothing of what Mah sister would say if ya got hurt on my watch."

Before Fluttershy could respond, a low snarl forced its way out of the beast's throat. The low sound made the bones in both ponies' bodies vibrate with its sheer power. Looking over, they could see those powerful muscles tensing.

"Oh dear," whispered Fluttershy as the monster lunged forward.

Twilight Sparkle inhaled. Deeply, savoring the morning air as she and her dragon assistant, Spike, made their way through the the streets of Ponyville. The clear skies offered the promise of a lovely day and according to Rainbow Dash, there were no storms scheduled. It seemed to be the perfect day for moving out and about. As the two of them walked, the lavender Unicorn spotted a familiar face behind a small apple stall. Smiling brightly, Twilight headed up to her friend.

"Good morning."

"Twilight!" exclaimed the orange Earth Pony, "Ah'm surprised to see ya up and about already. Ah was sure yah'd be sleepin' in after reading some book all night."

Twilight laughed at the light jab Applejack aimed at her. "You know I don't do that very often," she answered.

"Only because I threaten to hide the darn thing if she doesn't go to bed at a reasonable hour," grumbled Spike, prompting a lout guffaw from Applejack and an almost rebuking cough from Twilight.

The three of them spent several more minutes trading small talk as Applejack continued to peddle her popular produce prodigiously to the packed ponies of Ponyville. Twilight listened intently as Applejack related news about her family's farm, Apple Bloom and her friends' latest schemes to earn their cutie marks and the developments between Applejack's elder brother and Fluttershy.

Twilight, in turn, talked about some of the new books she had received from Princess Celestia's, as well as her correspondence with Luna, who had begun writing frequently of late, asking Twilight to help her get up to speed with the conditions of modern Equestria. While Luna's participation in Nightmare Night had been a success, it had also made her painfully aware of how little she knew about the changes that had taken place during her thousand years of imprisonment on the moon. Twilight was always more than happy to help the otherwise reclusive princess adapt.

Spike yawned as he leaned on one side of the apple cart. He always felt a little left out during these conversations. It wasn't as though he couldn't get a word in edgewise; he just didn't have all that much stake and he didn't feel that he had anything worth saying at this point. So as the two ponies chatted, Spike watched the other residents of the town going about their business. So he was the first to notice the bright-pink blur approaching the apple cart with lightning speed.

"Heads up!" he exclaimed, "Pinkie Pie inbound at seven o-clock!"

Both Applejack and Twilight whirled to face the pink Earth Pony as she skidded to a stop in front of them. "Hey guys!" she said brightly, "I just wanted to let everypony know that..." before she could finish, her voice was cut off by a series of intense shudders that sent her buzzing across the ground.

Her three friends' eyes widened at the sight. "That don't look good sugarcube," said Applejack nervously.

"Another doozy?" asked Twilight as she looked around frantically.

"Yep," replied Pinkie, her normally cheerful expression gone and replaced by an uncharacteristically serious one, "And it's..." before she could continue, she was cut off as another series of shudders rocked her body.

Pinkie opened her mouth to explain further, but was interrupted again by the cries of a green Unicorn whose flank was decorated by a lyre, rushing down the street. "There's a greencloak coming!" she shrieked as. She barreled down the street, oblivious to anything in her way and forcing ponies to jump aside. Any complaints at her carelessness were forgotten as the ponies around her realized what she had been shouting. The response was nearly instantaneous.

"A what now?" asked Twilight in confusion.

She didn't immediately get an answer as the ponies around her panicked and rushed to gather up their belongings. Shops closed, doors slammed shut and blinds went across windows. In mere seconds the streets were almost completely devoid of life. "What the hay is going on?" asked Twilight, looking over at where Applejack and Pinkie Pie were...or where they had been. Now there was an empty space where an entire apple stall had been only seconds ago. How do they do that?

"Psst, Twi." Looking in the direction of the whisper, Twilight spotted Applejack and Pinkie Pie cowering in the doorway of a nearby shop. "Quick, get in here!"

Twilight and Spike hurried to obey and soon were inside the shop,watching as Pinkie hastily barricaded all the entrances.

"What in Equestria is going on?" demanded Twilight as she looked around, "This feels like the whole Zecora problem all over again."

Applejack shook her head vigorously. "Naw, this ain't like how it was with Zecora. When them greencloaks are about, ya need to be extra careful. They say bad things happen when greencloaks come to town."

"Who is they? And what things?" asked Twilight, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Why everypony in every town in Equestria!" exclaimed Pinkie, "At least...everypony in every town like this one, that is towns that are close to places like the Everfree Forest."

"When they show up, all sorts of scary noises start coming out of the forest," added Applejack, "Ah've heard those noises mahself and poor Fluttershy's gone and had nightmares about the things she's heard when those greencloaks come trotting through this neck of the woods."

"I don't know," hedged Spike, "It sounds pretty weird to me. Are you girls sure that it's not Zecora all over again..hey, there he is!" Spike was joined by the three ponies at the window. As they watched, an Earth Pony stallion came rushing down the street at a full gallop. True to the name that ponies had been shouting, his body was covered with a dark green cloak, which included a hood that was pulled up over his head. With his speed, the cloak flared out behind him, revealing a metallic-gray coat that resembled polished steel. He seemed oblivious to the emptiness of the streets as he rushed along, running with singleminded intent.

After he passed, Applejack let out a sigh of relief. "Boy howdy," she said to Pinkie Pie, "Ya said it was a doozy and ya weren't kiddin'."

Pinkie actually looked somewhat confused. "Yeah, it was a doozy," she agreed, "Which is strange, since..." She paused as a series of shudders rocked her. "...I'm still getting the shudders, which means that that wasn't the doozy and..." Another series of vibrations coursed through her body. "...They're telling me that whatever doozy they've been warning me about is gonna happen at Sweet Apple Acres."

Both Twilight and Applejack turned to look at each other in shock before turning back to Pinkie. "WHAT?"

Mac grunted in pain, amazed that something so powerful and solid could exist in the world. When the monster had lunged, he had managed to sidestep and bucked the creature with all his considerable might, enough force to split any but the oldest and thickest trees on the farm in two. His attack barely made the creature flinch. Fortunately, it was enough to throw it off it's course so that the lunge missed both Macintosh and Fluttershy entirely.

Big Mac turned to once again urge the mare to flee, only to see her cowering, her wings frozen tight against her sides and apparently unable to move. The beast, apparently sensing her vulnerability, spun about, but didn't manage to orient on her before Big Mac set himself stubbornly between it and the Pegasus. "Yah ain't gonna touch her without goin' through me first," he declared, lowering his head and setting himself for the monster's charge.

The gigantic wolf tensed once again, lowing itself to the ground and preparing to leap. However, just as its paws left the ground, an ash-gray blur slammed into the wolf from the side. A discarded, dark green cloak fluttered through the air. In an instant, the strange pony came to a stop, having apparently completely transferred the momentum of his charge into the body of the monster, which in turn exploded into motion...in the wrong direction, flying perpendicularly to the direction it had originally been about to leap.

Big Macintosh's jaw dropped. The monstrous creature so powerful that his strongest buck had been barely able to make it flinch had just been sent flying by a pony that wasn't nearly as large as him. Wide-eyed, he stared at the new arrival, whose green cloak had just come to rest on the ground behind him. The pony was an average size for a stallion. However, his lean build failed to hide the small but powerful muscles that had produced that fantastic blow. No longer obscured by the cloak, the pony's pitch black mane and tail fluttered in the light breeze. He seemed oblivious to the presence of the other two ponies, his sky-blue eyes focused with single-minded intensity on the beast he had just knocked for a loop. A compass cutie mark was visible on the pony's flank.

A greencloak? Mac thought with confusion. All his life, he had been taught that those green cloaked ponies spelled trouble, but this one had just saved him and Fluttershy from the vicious monster that had emerged from the Everfree Forest. Unless, of course, he had something to do with this monster being out here in the first place.

The strange pony continued to ignore them. The monster, meanwhile, had been slammed spine-first into the thick trunk of a nearby apple tree. It got unsteadily to its feet and regarded the new arrival. Having decided to switch targets, it wasted no time in charging at the strange pony, extending its jaws to crush the life from its victim.

The ash-colored pony spun about with incredible grace, his spin carrying him just barely clear of the lunging creature's jaws as they snapped shut on the empty space where he had been. He turned the maneuver into a spinning buck, slamming his front hooves down so hard that the ground beneath them cracked from the force. The blow slammed home into the wolf's flank with incredible power, once again lifting the creature off of the ground.

Big Mac suppressed a wince and heard Fluttershy whimper softly behind them at the sickening crack that sounded from what could only have been the beast's ribcage being crushed by the force of the blow. In spite of this, the creature was thrown nowhere near as far as it had been the first time, managing to land on its paws as well. Still, it's right side had an unnatural depression where the pony's hooves had connected. But even as they watched, there was a low groaning sound and the depression began to push back outwards into its original state. The creature was recovering from its injuries even as the battle continued. Just what in Celestia's name is that thing?

"Just what're yah trying to say Twi?" demanded Applejack as they rushed in the direction of the orange Earth Pony's home, finding themselves trailing in the wake of the cloaked pony that they had been hiding from only a few moments earlier, "Ah've experienced it mahself, when greencloaks come into town, bad things happen."

"That's not the question I'm asking AJ," answered Twilight as she galloped alongside her friend, "I just think there might be something you and everypony else is missing."

"Such as..." Applejack spared the purple Unicorn a glance to raise a skeptical eyebrow.

"Well, have you considered that it might not be that bad things are happening because those ponies show up here, but that they come here because bad things are about to happen.

This gave Applejack pause as she stopped to consider it. "But, yah'd think we all woulda noticed if these greencloaks were doin' us a favor every time they came round here."

Twilight frowned. "I'm trying to figure that out myself. But has anything bad ever actually happened to anypony when they're around? Sure, there seem to be a lot of stories about scary sights and sounds, but there doesn't seem to be anything about anything bad actually happening."

"Well, now that ya mention it..."

Applejack's response was cut off by Spike, who was riding on twilight's back. "Guys, we're here!"

They had indeed arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. They unknown pony in front of them didn't hesitate and leapt straight over the gate. Applejack, Twilight and Pinkie followed suit...and stopped as the pony into front of them ground to a halt, looking around.

Applejack opened her mouth, about to demand what business the greencloak had on her farm, but was cut off before she could even speak. A loud roar sounded across the fields and orchards, followed by the sound of fierce impacts and heavy blows. Somewhere on the farm a massive fight was taking place. The strange pony oriented on the racket immediately and took off at an even faster pace, with the three friends and dragon followed as quickly as they could.

The land had been turned into a disaster zone. Trees had been uprooted, furrows plowed through the ground. In places, the earth had been split open entirely. A nearby barn tilted unsteadily to one side as the combatants had smashed clean through the wall. Even now, the gray pony stood braced to meet another charge from the mighty wolf-like beast, gasping and panting hard. The fight was not going well for him. It had been simple enough to avoid the monster's jaws. However, when it brought its razor-sharp claws into play, things had changed. Such attacks were more difficult to read and avoid. A series of long gashes along the pony's flank were a testament to that. Meanwhile, the monster seemed tireless it's assaults, each one as swift and brutal as the one before. Every injury the pony inflicted seemed to quickly reverse itself into nonexistence.

Big Mac ground his teeth in frustration. The stranger that had saved him and Fluttershy would not be able to keep the battle going much longer. He wished there was something that he could do to help, but his strongest blow had already been shown to be worthless against the beast. Things were looking bleak, no question.
Fluttershy was the first to notice the approaching hoof beats and squeaked as another green-cloaked pony came barreling into view. This one rushed past the two of them without paying Mac or Fluttershy the slightest mind. He headed straight toward the two combatants. As he did so, he reared up and slammed his hooves down into the earth, sending a strange rippling motion through the ground towards the monster's underside. Before it could react, the earth underneath it exploded, sending rocks flying straight up into the creature's stomach and chest, knocking it up into the air before it slammed back to the ground, stunned.

The beleaguered, gray Earth Pony turned to regard the new arrival. Mac and Fluttershy, on the other hoof, were distracted by the sound of more arrivals and turned in time to see Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike arrive on the scene.

"Fluttershy!" exclaimed Twilight, "Are you alright?"

"Ya okay, Big Macintosh?" asked Applejack as she rushed up to her brother.

"Y'all could say that," said Big Mac as he nuzzled his concerned sister, "But it was one hay of a close thing there."

"Oh yes," agreed Fluttershy softly as she leaned in relief against Twilight, "But that nice pony managed to save us in the nick of time, which is amazing since he's a greencloak."

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie excitedly as she sat down and pulled a bag of popcorn seemingly out of nowhere, "Are you guys watching this? It's amazing." She chowed down enthusiastically as she watched the next part of the battle unfold.

Meanwhile, the mysterious savior and the new arrival ignored the other ponies and were speaking to each other.

"Did you finish it?" asked the ash-colored one.

"I did," replied the other, reaching with on silver coated leg to pull his hood back. His mane was the color of gold. Normally that would mean it was blonde. But in this case, it really was gold, a strange metallic color, much like the silver of his coat. This, combined with his literally copper-colored eyes gave the impression not of a living pony, but of some metal statue come to life. "I wasn't certain the bonding would be successful at first, but then things worked out even better than I expected."

The gray pony let out a soft sigh. "Then that means we can finally finish this." The two of them turned to regard the monster that was regaining its feet. Once again, it seemed that no lasting damage had been done. Facing its antagonists, the beast let out another low snarl.

In answer, the metallic pony reached into the saddlebag he wore beneath his cloak and pulled out a slim glass vial. The monster lunged toward him and his companion, but the stallion calmly used his teeth to pull the stopper out before tilting the vial and pouring its contents onto the ground. As he did so, the spectators could hear him utter a few words in some strange language.

The monster rushed in, leading with its jaws. Abruptly, the small puddle of silvery liquid at the silver pony's hooves explosively expanded in volume, suddenly becoming a mirror-like wall that wrapped around the two ponies, forming a silver sphere. The monster slammed into the wall, it's jaws glancing off the curved surface. Even as it did so, it let out a shrill shriek that had Twilight and the others covering their ears. As it turned away from the barrier, a hissing sound could be heard is blood dribbled slowly from its jaws.

Big Macintosh and Fluttershy's eyes widened in shock. This was the first time the beast had ever seemed to be definitively wounded. In fact, instead of immediately healing, the wound seemed to be festering and worsening.

The spherical barrier fell, congealing into a massive droplet of the silvery substance that waited obediently by the side of the metallic Earth Pony. Without hesitation, he barked out a harsh syllable. The mass of liquid exploded into motion again, this time forming a trio of thick tentacles that whipped out towards the monster, slamming into its flank. Again, the beast let out a massive wail, reeling back from the blows. It's skin sizzled, apparently reacting badly to the substance behind those attacks.

The pony snapped out another unknown word. This time, the liquid extended into elongated, semicircular blades, that swiped at the beast from multiple directions. This time, the monster had apparently learned from its experience and leapt clear of the attack, the extending blades missing and instead slicing through the trunk of a nearby apple tree like paper. The tree fell to the ground, sliced into segments. The monster paused for a moment before whirling around and retreating into the forest.

The metal-colored pony moved to pursue, but hesitated as his companion sagged to the ground next to him. He looked over in concern.

"Don't wait for me!" snapped the ash gray pony, "Finish it!"

The other pony nodded and charged after the monster into the forest, the massive droplet following faithfully at his side. Meanwhile the ash-colored pony finally sagged to the ground, leaning to one side as blood continued to trickled out, staining the earth around him red.

"What in tarnation is goin' on?" snapped Applejack as she rushed up to the gray pony, "Yah'd better do a mighty good job explainin' yerself or there's gonna be trouble!"

"Now stop that, Applejack!" snapped Fluttershy, flying up behind her orange friend. Her voice was only slightly louder than normal, but coming from Fluttershy, it was practically a roar. "This stallion saved our lives. We need to at least treat his injuries first."

"There's a first aid kit in that barn there," said Big Macintosh ambling up, "Ah reckon we can make do with that for now." He and Fluttershy raced towards the ruined barn to fetch the needed medical supplies.

Twilight Sparkle came up to stand beside Applejack. As she did so, her horn flared, a purple aura extending from it to cover the grievous wounds on the gray Earth Pony's side, staunching the bleeding. The pony let out a relieved sigh and looked thankfully at Twilight. "Thank you, miss."

Twilight smiled politely at the stallion. "You're welcome. While we're getting you patched up, could you explain who you are and what that thing was?"

"There's a limit to how much I can tell you. I am bound by royal decree not to reveal our mission to regular ponies."

"Well yah don't need to worry about that," remarked Applejack, "Twilight here is Princess Celestia's personal student."

The stallion blinked and looked over at Twilight. "Oh, I see, so you are Twilight Sparkle then." Twilight blushed and nodded at his observation. The gray pony turned to look at the others. "That would mean that the rest of you are the Elements of Harmony."

"Well, all except for Big Macintosh, he's just my brother," added Applejack.

"And Spike," said Twilight, "But he is my Number 1 Assistant."

"Hey!" protested the dragon, "I was Rainbow Dash for a little while!"

"That was temporary and you know it."

"Well I suppose that it is safe to tell you then," observed the stallion a little dubiously as he watched their interactions.

Twilight and the others nodded eagerly.

The stallion sighed and nodded. "My friend and I..." he jerked his head in the direction his companion had gone, "Came here to deal with that creature you saw a moment ago. That creature and those like it have troubled Equestria for thousands of years. It is our job to deal with those things and keep them from harming innocent ponies."

"Well, Ah'll be," whispered Applejack, "So you were right about them, Ah guess Twi."

Twilight nodded slightly before turning back to the gray pony. Big Macintosh and Fluttershy were returning with the first aid kit from the barn, which chose that very moment to crumble completely to the ground. "Can you tell us your name?" asked Twilight.

The Earth Pony let out a sigh. "I suppose there's no helping it now. My name is Far Treader. My comrade who just left us is called Silverbrook."

"And that big, nasty, wolfy-wolf type thing?" asked Pinkie, bouncing in her excitement.

Far Treader eyed Pinkie oddly. "That creature is called a Loup-garou. It is a beast that has existed for thousands of years. Long ago, it was created solely for the purpose of wreaking havoc on ponykind."

Silverbrook ground to a halt as he surveyed the forest around him. The Loup-garou was more cunning than he had thought. All traces of it seemed to have vanished. The creature appeared to be adept at covering its trail. I need to find it, he thought, Before it finds something to eat. As powerful as it was, the only reason that the monster had not completely torn Far Treader to shreds in their battle was its state of extended starvation. If the creature found something that it could consume and regained some of its original strength, then the battle would become exponentially more difficult.

In spite of the dire implications of losing the beast, Silverbrook smiled. But now we have the ideal weapon to deal with it. Not only can we finally end this, but I anticipated that something like this might happen. You can't escape from me, foul beast. Silverbrook looked down at the mass of liquid that rolled to a stop next to him. This was his ultimate weapon, the Soul Silver. Looking about, Silverbrook uttered a command in a language long lost to modern Equestrians. ""

Several thin, rodlike tendrils extended from the mass. They reached out to nearby trees and rocks, branching out along each object that they came in contact with and spreading throughout the area like a net. Silverbrook waited patiently as Soul Silver extended its reach, searching for its target. After a few moments, a vibration traveled back along the extensions from a certain direction, eventually channeling into the mass as a whole. The tendrils retracted and the mass of silvery liquid began to roll in the direction of its prey.

"Found you."

"And just who would create a monster like that?" exclaimed Applejack in horror.

Far shook his head. "I can't say. In any case, there were actually several of its kind, possibly dozens." This remark elicited a gasp from the assembled ponies and dragon. "Fortunately, they were sealed away and the past few centuries have been spent dealing with them In a more permanent manner."

"You mean killing them right?" asked Spike. Far Treader nodded. "But why didn't you just do that in the first place?"

"Loup-garous are extremely difficult to kill," replied Far, "They take a great deal more effort than any ordinary creature."

"Ah saw it," interjected Big Macintosh, "When ya were fightin' that there beast, all the damage ya were dealing' out it was fixing right back up." He and Fluttershy had begun applying bandages to Far Treader's wounds.

Far Treader nodded in agreement. "That creature has been sealed away for hundreds of years. Every few decades, the seal had to be renewed so that wouldn't escape and devour helpless ponies. Because it had been starved for centuries, I was able to actually hold it off for a time. But as you noticed, if Silverbrook hadn't arrived, then that battle would have ultimately ended badly for me. Back when the Loup-garou was fully fed, it was nigh unstoppable. But even now, no matter how much we deny it its food, the Loup-garou won't die. There is only one substance that has ever proved capable of dealing sufficient damage to it."

"What substance is that?" asked Twilight, leaning in eagerly. This pony was proving an unexpected well of knowledge. She couldn't wait until her next report to Princess Celestia.

"It is a variant of silver, called truesilver."

Twilight's eyes widened in shock. "Truesilver! But that's one of the rarest elements in the world, much less Equestria!"

Far nodded again. "Finding enough truesilver to produce a weapon that can be used to kill the Loup-garou was the reason that killing them all took over a thousand years. It takes decades of searching and mining just to unearth a few grams of the stuff. In the past, what little that could be found would generally be forged into a tiny weapon that would then be used to deal a fatal blow to a Loup-garou. Because this almost always ended up consuming and destroying the weapon as well as the monster, it meant that more decades would have to be spent in order to find enough to deal with the next one.

"Ironically, just as we were seeking enough to forge a weapon to use against this Loup-garou, Silverbrook stumbled upon a discovery. By mixing truesilver with alchemically modified quicksilver, he was able to create a special weapon with magical properties. That weapon is what you saw him use earlier on." Far Treader nodded at the damage that had been wrought by the tentacles and blades of the liquid mass.

"Hold on!" exclaimed Twilight, "That was clearly a magical weapon. Silverbrook is definitely an Earth Pony. How could somepony that isn't a Unicorn use something magical like that?"

Far Treader smiled cryptically, "That is a trade secret. I will tell you that we Earth Ponies have magic of our own. Granted, not many know how to use it. But you would be surprised to see what we are capable of."

Silverbrook was surprised by where he found the Loup-garou. He never would have thought that the beast would actually retreat back to the place where it had been sealed the past few centuries. But there it was, crouched against the rock face, next to the very hole it had crawled out of earlier that day. As it saw him approach, the monster snarled viciously.
In spite of his certainty, Silverbrook was careful. Cornered animals were the most dangerous after all. While he had confidence in Soul Silver's defensive capabilities, it wouldn't do to let his guard down with this creature. It was still something that had lived for centuries. That alone made it worth taking seriously, no matter how powerful his new weapon was.

But I think I have the perfect way to end this. Now I just have to goad it into attacking.

Silverbrook continued to approach. The Loup-garou remained unmoving, although it continued to threaten him with its vocalizations. Silverbrook took another step. It was clear that the beast was waiting for him to get closer in order to minimize the response time he would have to direct Soul Silver. But I have already marked its current attack speed. I know how close I can get. And in the worse case, I still have Soul Silver's autonomous defense. Silverbrook's creation was designed to leap immediately to his defense, forming a spherical boundary against incoming attacks, whether Silverbrook himself was able to respond to them or not. It would even shield him from attacks that he didn't know were coming. However, that defensive measure only held so much power. Depending on how much extra power it drew from desperation, the Loup-garou might have the strength to break through the automatic defense function.

Here. Silverbrook halted his approach. This was as close as he could get and still have time to respond when the Loup-garou went on the attack. Now all he had to do was invite that attack. Soul Silver flattened itself out and spread out like a puddle between Silverbrook and the beast. He smiled mockingly at the monster and then did the one thing he was certain would make it attack. Silverbrook lifted his foreleg to his mouth...and bit down on it hard, breaking the skin and allowing a thin trickle of blood to run down before falling to the ground.

The monster's eyes lit up. Silverbrook could see the cautious respect it had for his weapon at war with its predatory instincts. While it knew to be wary, unfortunately for the Loup-garou, centuries of starvation overpowered its wariness of the only weapon that it had ever encountered capable of truly hurting it. The sight of fresh blood drove it into a frenzy and it lunged forward.

Now! "" The puddle of altered mercury exploded upward, forming a wall of vertically oriented wires. The Loup-garou leapt straight into them. The force of its lunge carried it part of the way through, straining and stretching the wires as the beast fought to force its way through them. While the wires bent, they didn't break. As the creature forced its way through further, more of them wrapped around to restrain it, until it's momentum was finally halted.

"" In a flash, the wires coiled around the beast, wrapping and restraining all it's limbs. The monster's skin hissed and sizzled as it came further into contact with a substance that was practically poison to its very existence.

Silverbrook impassively looked the creature int the eye. The Loup-garou's eyes were the same as always, filled with mindless and malevolent hunger. Still, there was no reason to be cruel. "Farewell. I hope you find peace. " The wires instantly formed needle like points on their tips and turned to plunge them through the Loup-garou's body from every angle. The Loup-garou shrieked as its body was impaled from every direction, skewering all of its vital organs in one go. Seeing his work nearly complete, Silverbrook closed his eyes and gave the final blow. ""

The impaling wires formed razor sharp edges and whirled about, cutting the monster to ribbons. Silverbrook opened his eyes to watch the last Loup-garou fall to the ground in bloody chunks. He stared into the creature's eyes and watched as the bestial light faded from them. The eyes closed.

Silverbrook sighed sadly. In a sense, watching the creature's final moments made him feel somewhat guilty. Even though it was a ravenous beast created solely to feed on the flesh of ponies and make Equestria into a nightmare world, it was still only doing what it was created to do and could never have done otherwise. But still, he hoped that whatever happened to it now, it would no longer have to suffer for things it had no control over.

The remains of the great beast did not linger long. The blood and chunks of flesh dissolved into a black smoke that drifted away on the wind. Silverbrook watched its departure and sighed. The battle was over.

Far Treader and the others stopped their conversation as the Loup-garou's last agonized shriek echoed out of the Everfree Forest. "From the sound of things, Silverbrook must have dealt the final blow."

"Just like that, huh." For some reason, Applejack didn't feel relieved by this revelation. The monster had come onto her family farm, wrecked a good portion of the orchard, her family's livelihood, threatened the lives of her beloved older brother and dear friend, and probably would have pressed on to Ponyville itself and caused all kinds of havoc there. But still...

"It's so sad," whispered Fluttershy, giving voice to the same thoughts that were in Applejack's mind. From the disheartened looks that the others carried, they too must have had similar thoughts.

Far Treader nodded. "In the end, it was never anything more than what it was created to be and given no choice as to its fate. Even though you might not be able to bring yourselves to hate such a pitiful creature, that does not change what we have to do."

"Speaking of that," interjected Twilight, looking at Far in a suspicious manner, "You have more explaining to do."

"What about?"

"Don't toy with me," said Twilight Sparkle in all seriousness, "I've been the voice of reason around here when it comes to you and your friend there," she gestured into the forest, "So we deserve a little explanation as to what this is all about. You talked about this whole Loup-garou thing going on for hundreds of years, which means that there's more to this than just you and your friend. And unless I misread some of your hints in our earlier conversation, that über-wolf wasn't the only thing that we have to worry about. So out with it!"

Far Treader shook his head. "No. This is as far as our conversation goes. Everything else is sealed by royal decree and even you can't change that, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight frowned and drew back. "I am Princess Celestia's personal student and the Element of Magic. I think that entitles me and the rest of us to know what this is all about. And even if you don't think that way, all I have to do is send the princess a letter and I can get the permission we need."

Far chuckled. "You could, I suppose. But it wouldn't help you. Even an order from Princess Celestia herself would not change my position on this. Her authority does not dictate our decisions."

"Why not?" asked Fluttershy quietly.

Far Treader smirked. "Because...you're asking the wrong princess."

Dark Tidings

Chapter 6: Dark Tidings

"Good gracious," said Firefly as she set down her teacup. What had started as an impromptu explanation about how Twilight had gotten Spike had turned into a recounting of how Twilight and Spike came to Ponyville and the various adventures they had gotten into then. "You've certainly had an eventful life," she observed, turning to look at Rainbow Dash, who had been helping with Twilight's story. Spike had kindly made tea for the group and he and Zephyr waited off to one side while the three mares talked.

Spike covered a yawn. Naturally, the adventures Twilight and the others had been on were all old news to him (although he had gotten more than a little embarrassed when the story of him growing out of control the day after his birthday had come up). But Zephyr listened with rapt attention to their stories, finding them much more amazing than the books in the library.

Twilight looked up and was suddenly aware of the time. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, "I completely forgot about the time. We should stop for now so that Rainbow can take you around and introduce you to the others."

"Oh shoot!" snapped Rainbow, "That totally slipped my mind. Come on you two! We've gotta get going!"

Firefly laughed and pushed herself away from the table while Zephyr got to his hooves with considerably greater reluctance. He was beginning to feel comfortable here. He liked the library and he found that he liked listening to Twilight Sparkle. She knew the most amazing stories. Nonetheless, he knew that Firefly and his new big sister weren't going to let him out of meeting the others that Rainbow was constantly talking about.

Turning to Spike and Twilight, Zephyr ducked his head. "Um...goodbye." He quickly turned towards the door but stopped as Twilight called out to him.

"Zephyr, I'm guessing that you're too old for school," she smiled, "In fact you're probably around the same age as me and Rainbow aren't you?"

Rainbow Dash's jaw hit the floor. They hadn't brought up the topic of Zephyr's age at all. Even Firefly looked surprised. "How did you know that?" asked Rainbow incredulously.

Twilight scratched the back of her head while grinning sheepishly. "Well, actually...I've been reading up on pony-dragon crossbreeds recently and I learned a few things."

While there was an unspoken question in Firefly's gaze, the implications of what Twilight had said went completely over Rainbow's head. "Oh yeah, from a book. Typical Twilight."

"Anyway," continued Twilight turning her attention back to Zephyr, "You're always welcome here. I could even find a job for you to help with if you like."

"Thank you," said Zephyr softly. Even though it was barely audible, she could sense the sincerity of his tone.

Twilight smiled warmly at the half-dragon. "Ponyville is your home now and you're family to a very important friend of mine. We'll all do our best to make you welcome here."

Zephyr was blinking away tears as Firefly led him out the door.

Spike looked up at Twilight in confusion. "Did you know that Zephyr was coming to Ponyville?" he asked.

"No, I had no idea he or Firefly even existed before today," replied Twilight.

Spike scratched the top of his head. "Then what were you doing, reading about half-dragons?"

Twilight sighed. She hadn't been expecting to have to talk to Spike about this so soon. But now that the issue was on the table, she figured now was as good a time as any to bring it up. "Spike...there's something we need to talk about."

"So," said Firefly as she, Rainbow and Zephyr took to the air, "That dragon friend of yours. Is he in some sort of special relationship?"

"Well," mused Rainbow, "He's cool and all. He's Twilight's personal assistant. We're all good friends with the little guy. And he feels the same way about us...except for Rarity."

"Ah yes, you mentioned her before. What, pray tell, is so different about Spike's relationship with your friend, Rarity?" Even as she was asking, Firefly could guess the answer.

"Oh, Spike has a huge crush on Rarity. He acts like it's some sort of big secret, but everypony from here to Canterlot already knows...including Rarity."

"I see. That explains it then."

"Huh, explains what?"

"It explains why she was researching the nature of half-dragons," Firefly explained, "Otherwise the timing would be rather suspicious. I would almost think you'd told her we were coming except that you had no idea that I was coming and you certainly didn't know about Zephyr yet."

"I guess that makes sense," said Rainbow as she started putting two and two together. "So she was thinking about Spike and Rarity and..." she paused and looked at Zephyr, who would have tried to hide behind something except that they were flying, "...ohhhh."

"That took a bit of work for you, didn't it?" observed, Firefly.

Rainbow looked down. "Um well, it's just that...I haven't exactly given it all that much thought. I mean, I don't even have a very special somepony yet, so I've never really thought about stuff like having a foal or a family like that."

"That's alright Rainbow Dash," said Firefly, "I'm sure that you'll find your very special somepony someday."

"Um sure...oh look, there's Fluttershy's place." Rainbow surged ahead, eager to put distance between herself and an uncomfortable subject.

Firefly and Zephyr were both surprised to discover the idyllic cottage that was serving as Fluttershy's home, outside of Ponyville and rather close to the wilds of the Everfree Forest.

"Now, I'm sure she'll be happy once she realizes it's you," Rainbow Dash told Firefly, "But she gets nervous around new ponies. She's sort of like somepony we both know."

The two of them looked at Zephyr, who gave them a confused expression in response. Rainbow Dash shrugged and knocked on Fluttershy's door. "Fluttershy," she called, "Are you home?"

"Yes," came a soft voice from the other side of the door, "Is there something you need, Rainbow Dash?"

"Come on out," said Rainbow in her usual assertive tone, "There're a couple of ponies I'd like you to meet. You're in for a big surprise."

"Oh," said Fluttershy. The sound of the door being unmatched could be heard before she paused. "Is it a nice quiet surprise or is a Pinkie Pie surprise?"

"A nice surprise," groused Rainbow, "Now hurry up and get out here."

The door slowly opened and the three Pegasi waiting outside could see Fluttershy's head, with the majority of her face hidden behind her pink mane, peak out from inside. As she glanced out, she saw Firefly and her eyes widened with recognition. Slowly, she opened the door and came out. By this time, Firefly was covering her mouth with on hoof, her eyes wide in amazement.

"Oh my," whispered the older Pegasus, "Oh you've grown up into such a beauty."

Fluttershy blushed heavily before throwing herself at Firefly and the two of them embraced. Rainbow Dash sniffed and had to wipe away an errant tear. While Firefly was not Fluttershy's parent or caretaker, the two had known each other because of Fluttershy and Rainbow's friendship in Flight School. Firefly had always been a source of warmth and encouragement for the shy little Pegasus, something that had been a big help for Fluttershy when she had been troubled about her weakness in Flight School.

Zephyr was moved by the display of affection as well. In fact, he was so moved that he briefly forgot his own shyness and advanced a step. However, one hoofstep was enough to get Fluttershy's attention, which prompted her default response to a pony she had never met before.

"Eep!" The yellow Pegasus squeaked and jumped, diving back into her cottage and hiding behind the doorframe. Her outburst prompted Zephyr to jump as well and dive behind Firefly's flank. As Rainbow Dash and Firefly watched, Fluttershy peaked her head out from behind the doorframe while Zephyr peaked his head out from behind Firefly...in perfect unison. Upon seeing each other, they let out startled exclamations and dove back behind their respective covers...in unison.

Rainbow couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing, prompting Fluttershy and Zephyr to peak out from the hiding places and stare at her...in unison. This only made her laugh harder until she couldn't even stand up. Even Firefly was chortling as she watched the two very similar ponies act like perfect mirrors of one another.

Confusion and a certain degree of agitation prompted the two shy ponies out of their hiding places to get a better look at Rainbow Dash, who was rolling on the ground. They turned to look at each other...in unison. Then they looked back at Rainbow...in unison. Then slowly, they smiled at each other. And before long, they were laughing too.

Celestia's court was rather monotonous, all things considered. Early in Equestrian history, it had been the place where she handled matters that pertained to the day, passed judgments over issues and disputes and listened to the problems and difficulties of her children and do what she could to solve them. But Equestria had now grown far too large for Celestia to address every problem personally. Many of these were handled under the guidance of a battery of ministers and bureaucrats who managed matters according to the laws that had been laid out millennia ago, laws that were updated occasionally to ensure that they were always relevant.

While this meant that Celestia was no longer bogged down with the day to day problems of her little ponies, it came with its own price. Celestia had long ago lost the feeling that she did anything of substance during her court. She suspected that once ponies overcame their fear enough to begin attending Luna's court, she too would soon be feeling as though she was accomplishing little of note.

Celestia stifled a sigh. Oh how she wished she could invite artists and musicians to share their newest creations with her. Her nation was filled with marvelously talented ponies who could move her spirit in many ways. One of her greatest pleasures in Equestria's earlier years had been seeing and fostering the new nation's culture. But now that was out of the question as well. The location of her court was automatically biased towards ponies who lived in Canterlot and even if she tried her best, it was still unlikely to be fair to the poor struggling, but talented artist in Manehatten who couldn't afford to miss the days of work it would take to come to Canterlot and go back. Celestia loved her subjects and didn't want to play favorites if she could help it.

Although that certainly didn't apply when it came to Twilight, she thought sourly. Even though she tried to avoid it, she did have to admit that Twilight was one of her few favorites. Celestia loved her faithful student like a daughter. But it also hurt her to realize that in doing so, she had raised Twilight above the rest of her subjects in some ways, even if she tried to do otherwise.

In the end, I can't be perfect, no matter how hard I try. That's just fine though. Imperfection is what we wanted after all. That is much better than being like Him.

So now her days consisted of endless ceremonies, petitions by nobles, announcements of charities and reports by scholars and ministers about the minutiae of her nation's maintenance. It was dull, dreary, boring...

...And it all came crashing to a halt when the doors blew open right in the middle of Prince Blueblood's bragging (she refused to acknowledge it as a report) about his latest "acquisitions." Celestia would have been grateful for the interruption had it been some other pony and not the one who came trotting calmly into the hall. There was no ceremony in his actions, no protocol, only the barest pretension to the most basic respect. But Celestia also knew (or rather feared) that if push came to shove, she had no chance of making him do otherwise.

"Hello Princess," said the Archmage briskly as he came before her, striding past Blueblood as though he hadn't seen the white Unicorn who was now blustering about his ruined dignity. After a few seconds, the Archmage seemed to realize that Blueblood was there and gave the prince the slightest glance out of the corner of his eye. "Hello Blueblood. Goodbye Blueblood."

"Now see here!" snapped the prince, "I don't know who you think you are, but I will not abide such poor behavior. You've made a mockery of my presentation. I cannot accept this affront to my dignity. You must ever apologize or answer to me on the dueling grounds."

The jet-black Unicorn didn't even acknowledge Blueblood's challenge, seeming to have forgotten that he was even in the room. Instead he was now looking at the guards stationed around the room, many of whom were rolling their eyes covertly at the prince's antics. "Hello guards. Goodbye guards."

The guards turned their gazes to Celestia, who only sighed and nodded. She was unsettled. Normally the Archmage was content to simply ignore the guards and even whoever's court session he happened to interrupt when he entered. If he was dismissing the guards (and Blueblood) then the situation must have been important and for her ears only. As the guards filed out, she turned her attention to Blueblood, who was still trying to get the attention of the Archmage in order to get an answer to his insult.

"I'm sorry Blueblood dear, but I'll listen to your report at tomorrow's court. Please leave us for now."

"But Auntie..." Blueblood directed a plaintive look up at the Princess.

Celestia shook her head in response to her unspoken question, silently feeling a little guilt for being so amused at her pretentious nephew's futile attempts at getting the Archmage's response. She loved him, of course, but he really needed to learn more humility.

"Be a good chap and fetch Luna if you would," said the Archmage as though it had been an afterthought.

"Uncouth swine!" snapped Blueblood before storming out of the throne room. The doors slammed shut behind him.

"Swine...really?" The Archmage raised an incredulous eyebrow. "I never thought anypony would stoop so low as to insult swine in so heinous a manner."

In spite of herself, Celestia suppressed a giggle. While she could appreciate the Archmage's humor, she still distrusted and even feared the eccentric pony before her. He wielded magic that was alien not only to Equestria, but this world itself. He had come to her barely a century after Nightmare Moon had been banished and in spite of the hundreds of years that had passed, had shown no signs of aging beyond his close-cropped white mane and his equally close-cut white beard, as well as the matching color of his tail. His physique was just as lean and toned as it had been when he had first come to Canterlot to introduce himself to Celestia. His dark-brown eyes were just as sharp and clear as that day. He had lived through the lives of dozens of ponies and yet he was a mere Unicorn.

"So what brings you here today?" asked Celestia, deciding to dispense with the pleasantries as she always did with the Archmage, "Are you here for more students?"

"Would I have bothered dismissing your guards for something so banal?" countered the black stallion sharply, "Besides, I have a student right now and she's all that I can handle at the moment."

It took all of Celestia's control to keep her jaw off the floor. In past visits, the Archmage had taken up to half a dozen students in one swoop. He usually returned them after a brief term in varying degrees of mental and physical health. For just one student to require all of his attention was an unprecedented occurrence. But before Celestia could comment on this, the doors to the throne room opened to admit Luna, who flapped her wings to fly to her throne, positioned next to Celestia's.

"Sister, is this the Archmage you spoke of?" asked Luna, staring at the strange Unicorn.

"I'm glad that we finally get to meet, Princess Luna," said the Archmage, offering the first formal bow he had given in the Royal Court since he originally came to Canterlot, "I can already tell that we will get along much more pleasantly than I do with your sister."

Luna blinked in surprise as her sister glowered. "And why is that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I have spent a great deal of my time working with your Rangers. And through them I've developed and appreciation for your subtlety," replied the Archmage, "Oh Celestia can be clever when she wants to. She's devised all manner of convoluted plans for that student of hers. But she can never resist revealing what she has masterminded. She always has to show off and claim the credit.

"You, on the other hoof, are not merely content that most ponies will go to their graves not knowing what you have done for them, but are proud of it. That kind of subtlety, I can appreciate."

Both Princess Luna and Celestia were taken aback by this. It was a response neither of them had expected. Although, it did ring with what Celestia knew of the Archmage's doings. Even though she had made no secret of his existence, the Archmage had never gone out of the way to advertise his presence, perfectly content with the fact that most of Equestria didn't even know he existed.

"But enough with the pleasantries, I'm sorry to say," said the Archmage, interrupting himself, "Because what I have to say will be the furthest thing from pleasant."

"What could be so important?" demanded Celestia, a sinking feeling nesting in the pit of her stomach. If it was an issue that the Archmage was compelled to take seriously, the news couldn't be good.

"Somepony has tampered with one of the Six Seals."

That was worse than she could have ever expected. The response was drastic. Celestia's varicolored mane and tail lost their glow, dissolving into their natural pink coloration. Likewise, Luna's starscape mane and tail dropped back into their normal pale blue. The shock of the news caused both of them to lose their hold on their divine appearance.

"Are you certain?" asked Celestia softly.

The Archmage nodded, his expression severe. "I examined the Seal myself after the situation was investigated by Rangers Oceanus and Silverbrook. Apparently, Ranger Silverbrook ran afoul of the culprit, a Unicorn by the name of Pyre, one of my former students as it turns out."

"So this Pyre is the one behind the problem?" asked Luna.

The Archmage shook his head. "No. If anything. She is merely an agent of somepony else. Pyre was far too interested simply in the art of burning and destroying to be capable of any such machinations on her own, not to mention that the spell used to tamper with the Seal was clearly devised by a different pony."

"Can you divine their objective?" asked Celestia.

"Are you seriously hoping that I will tell you something other than the obvious?" asked the Archmage in an annoyed tone, "As much as I would like to say otherwise. There is only one possible objective that these ponies could be seeking to accomplish as there is only one thing that could be done with the Six Seals.

"In other words, they aim to unlock the Six Seals and release the Star of Creation into the world once more."

For a brief instant, the sun froze in the sky. It was so brief that there was no conscious recognition of the occurrence by anypony in Equestria. The only indicator to them was a brief feeling of wrongness, as though the entire world stood still for the barest instant. Inside their throne room, silence so absolute as to be deafening descended; a silence that was only broken as Princess Luna began to whimper.

After the initial silliness of their introduction, Fluttershy and Zephyr got along quite well, although Fluttershy's animals were as shy around Zephyr as they were around most other ponies. After a few minutes spent on getting to know each other, Rainbow took Firefly and Zephyr on to their next destination, Sweet Apple Acres.

Being able to fly, Rainbow saw no reason for the group to take the long route to get around to the farm's main entrance and instead took them straight across the rolling orchards until the Apple Family residence was in sight. Unsurprisingly, neither Applejack nor her other family members (aside from Granny Smith, who was napping in the living room, so Rainbow Dash wisely decided not to disturb her) were in the house. After taking a few seconds to listen, Rainbow Dash was able to detect the distant thuds of somepony applebucking.

"This way," she said to her two companions and they headed off over the fields to see the orange Earth Pony bucking the apples out of a tree. To Rainbow's surprise, Big Macintosh was there as well, loading down a nearby wagon with baskets filled to overflowing with the delicious fruit. As she finished with her current tree, Applejack spotted the three flyers coming in.

"Howdy Rainbow," she said cheerfully, tilting her hat up slightly, "What brings ya here? And who're yer friends there?"

"Hey AJ," replied Rainbow Dash as she landed in front of Applejack with Firefly and Zephyr following, "I just wanted to introduce you to these two. This," she gestured to the pink and blue Pegasus, "Is Firefly, who took care of me when I was little, so she's basically my mother."

"Well Ah'll be," breathed Applejack, "In a hundred years Ah never expected to meet yer family like this Rainbow Dash. Ya never said a word about them."

Rainbow shrugged and grinned nervously. "Well, it was a bit of an awkward subject so I never really got around to telling any of you about it. It always felt weird to say anything, especially since your family is so...normal."

"Ain't a problem sugarcube," replied Applejack with an easy smile as she trotted up to Firefly. "It's a fine pleasure to meet ya, Miss Firefly. Ah'm Applejack and this here," she gestured to the massive red pony coming up behind her, "Is my brother, Big Macintosh. We're mighty pleased to meet a member of Rainbow Dash's family." She shook Firefly's hoof vigorously, prompting an amused laugh from the older mare.

"Well, they certainly don't lie about the Apple family's hospitality," said Firefly cheerfully, "It makes me happy to know that Rainbow has a friend like you."

Applejack nodded in agreement before leaning to look around Firefly to see Zephyr, who, as usual was crouching behind Firefly, looking out nervously. "And who are you, sugarcube?" she asked with the gentlest smile that she reserved for when she was playing her loving big sister role "What's yer name little fella?"

"Z-Zephyr." The half-dragon managed to take a few shaky steps away from Firefly and out into full view. Applejack's eyes widened as she finally got a good look at his draconic features.

"Landsakes. Well, ain't you a sight kiddo?"

The colt let out a sharp yelp and dived back behind Firefly again. Applejack chuckled good-naturedly. "It's okay little fella, nopony here is gonna hurt ya."

Once again, Zephyr nervously crept out into the open. Applejack nudged her elder brother. "Big Mac, why don't ya go and see if these two would like to try some of our apples."

The large stallion nodded. "Maybe Ah should take 'em back to the house and see if they can get a samplin' of Granny's cookin'."

"Why don't ya go and do that. Ah've got some things to talk to Rainbow about for a minute." She gave Firefly a meaningful glance. "If ya don't mind Miss Firefly."

Firefly nodded, appearing to understand what Applejack was asking her to do before following Big Macintosh, who led her and Zephyr on a path that would lead them back to the house.

"So what's up, AJ?" asked, Rainbow, aware that there were some sensitive topics in play, "You don't have a problem with Zephyr do you? Because if you do..."

Applejack shook her head. "Naw. Ah learned mah lesson after Zecora and done learned it again with those greencloaks. Ah'm through with laying down a judgment on somepony just because they seem different from us. And besides," she cast a smiling glance in the direction of her brother and his two companions, "Ya don't need to be an expert on ponies to see that colt there is one sweet little fella. He may be on the shy side, but Ah can tell he'd never willingly hurt somepony."

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. "Well that takes care of one issue. But what is it you wanted to talk about then."

"Well, Ah take it ya know about Pinkie's party," said Applejack.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. You got the invitations already."

"If there's one thing that girl doesn't hold off on, it's gettin' the word out. But Ah'm more concerned about Bloom and her friends."

"Your sister? Why?"

Applejack shook her head and wondered how dense her friend could be at times. "That colt's flank is as blank as the day he was born."

The realization hit Rainbow Dash unexpectedly. "Oh it is isn't it." She quailed a bit under Applejack's glare. "Sorry, I was distracted by, you know, the whole half-dragon thing."

A sigh escaped the orange farmer. "Ah swear sometimes Rainbow, ya wouldn't recognize a snake if it bit ya. But that aside, mah point is that Bloom and her two friends are gonna be all over that colt once they notice."

Thinking it over, Rainbow Dash imagined what Applejack was talking about and winced. "Given that he's around our age, that's gotta be a difficult topic for him."

"What? Really?" Applejack was taken aback by this new piece of information. "Well that certainly make's things interestin'. But mah main point is that that there boy is mighty shy and mighty fearful."

"Yeah. He acts a lot like Fluttershy doesn't he?"

Applejack shook her head. "From what Ah can tell, if anythin' it's worse than that. Fluttershy's a mite skittish to be sure, but that colt ain't just shy. He's plumb scared for his life if Ah've ever seen it. Ah don't know what he's been through, but Ah can tell that poor fella ain't had the best of times with other ponies."

Thinking back to Zephyr's panic attack in the library, Rainbow was forced to agree. "Yeah. Firefly hasn't told me a whole lot yet. I think she's saving that for later. But she's dropped some hints. She even said that some ponies have tried to kill him."

Applejack hissed in sympathy. "That is bad. Which is why the last thing we want is fer mah sister and her friends to swamp that poor fella. That means that you and me have to head 'em off at the pass and make darn sure they keep themselves under control durin' that party."

"What do you need me for? It's your sister, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but Ah'd like fer ya to talk to Scootaloo. She looks up to ya, so she'll probably be more inclined to listen if ya talk to her."

"I can do that," agreed Rainbow, "And after this, we're heading over to visit Rarity, so she can talk to Sweetie Belle."

"Right then," said Applejack, "It's a plan." She lifted her hoof and bumped it against Rainbow's before the two of them took off to join the others at the farmhouse.

"Calm yourself Princess," said Kaleidoscope flatly as Luna began to hyperventilate.

"Calm!" snapped the Princess of the Night, "You can't be serious! If the Seal is broken...if He gets out...it's going to be the end of everything! How can I possibly be calm about this? This is the worst! Possible! Thing!"

"You will calm down because dealing with this calmly is the only way we are going to be able to prevent that from happening," replied the Archmage coolly, "A panic attack here in the throne room will not stop the enemy from continuing their efforts. Keep in mind that we have a strong advantage here."

"And what advantage is that?" asked Celestia as she took a deep breath and restored her mane and tail to their varicolored state, blowing in the solar wind generated by her divine power.

"Our enemy's work is far from complete. But whoever he or she is, they have already tipped their hoof. Now that we are aware of the threat, we can anticipate their movements.

"I can tell from the nature of the working that was laid upon the Seal in the Thotep Pass that they are components of a much larger working must be laid upon the other five Seals as well. This means, if nothing else, we know exactly where they will be heading next."

"Have you identified the nature of the working?" asked Luna, finally managing to get herself back under control and restoring her own godly appearance.

"It is but a fragment of a larger one, but I believe that when combined with the workings that need to be placed on the other Seals, they will form a counter seal that will serve to unlock your Seal and release Him."

Luna shivered visibly, but managed retain her composure. The Archmage trotted over to one of the large windows set into the wall of the room and looked out over the palace gardens. "We could detail the Rangers to keep a watch on the Seals, but Pyre was dangerous enough to overwhelm Silverbrook and he is one of our most able combatants."

"You said that this Pyre pony was one of your students," remarked Celestia, "But how much did you teach her?"

Kaleidoscope grinned ruefully. "I never got around to teaching her more than the basics. A pity really. She was one of the few students I deemed capable of actually making it all the way through my training intact. Unfortunately, she lost interest in her studies very quickly."

"Perhaps you aren't the most enthralling of teachers," Celestia pointed out wryly.

"Perhaps," replied the Archmage, letting the jab slide off him, "But it's more likely that she was too interested in finding new ways to make things go kaboom. That was her passion in life; another piece of evidence that clearly shows that she is not the mastermind of this endeavor. The problem is that we don't know what other pieces our adversary has in play and they may be even more dangerous than she is."

"Perhaps if we mobilized the Rangers in force," suggested Celestia.

This time, it was Luna who objected. "We can't do that sister. My Rangers are spread quite thin as it is. If we try to mobilize enough of them to effectively guard the Seals then there will not be enough to continue to monitor the monstrosities we have locked away in Equestria as well as keep an eye on our neighbors."

"Which is another area of concern," remarked the Archmage, turning back to look at the sisters, "While we are aware of our enemy's purpose and objective, they are also aware that we are aware. That means that in order to lay down the remaining components of the counter seal, they must come up with some means to keep our eyes off the remaining five Seals long enough for them to finish their purpose."

"And what is that?" asked Celestia.

"War." That one word was enough to make both Princesses gasp. Thanks to their diplomatic efforts as well as the occasional alternative means employed by the Rangers, war had never been experienced in Equestria's history. Never once had Celestia or Luna even given a thought to creating an army of any kind to deal with such threats. They remained adamant in their stance that their subjects would not be exposed to such atrocities.

"But with the Rangers guarding the borders, no enemy force could possibly work its way into Equestria," Luna pointed out.

"Of course," agreed the Archmage, "However, no one has attacked us thanks to their work behind the scenes, which is our primary tool of deterrence against conflict. And while the Rangers could indeed route an army, doing so would require that we mobilize all of them to that purpose, exactly the kind of action that would lower our guard around the Seals and allow our enemy to finish their work."

"In other words, the next step the enemy will take will be to trigger a war between us and a neighboring country," mused Celestia.

"And it falls to our Rangers to head that off before it can happen," added Luna, "But they can't be everywhere at once."

"And in the worst case, we cannot allow the Seals to be left unguarded," finished Celestia, leaving the last part of her statement unsaid. Even if that means letting Equestria burn.

"Oh darling, I just adore your coloring!" gushed Rarity as she examined a very tense and still Zephyr, "That beautifully subtle pattern in your coat is marvelous to behold and I love the way the scale pattern gradually gives way to actual scales. Oh it's such a pity you weren't born a filly. I could come up with such an inspired dress for you."

"Rarity!" admonished Rainbow. The last thing a sensitive colt like Zephyr needed was to have a pony expressing disappointment about the nature of his birth.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I've said too much." Rarity clamped her hooves over her mouth.

"Actually..." Rarity and Rainbow Dash turned to see that Zephyr was...blushing. "That was kind of a compliment to me."

That makes sense, mused Rainbow sardonically, I bet a lot of ponies have wished different things about his birth.

The statement seemed to rekindle Rarity's enthusiasm. "Hmm. I've thought about branching out into male apparel once or twice. A darker, earthier tone is just perfect for stallion-wear. And those wings of yours are simply too magnificent to go to waste. And those spines...hmm."

"Um, while it makes me happy that you're so inspired," said Zephyr, "I don't think you'll have much in the way of customers if you design a line around a half-dragon like me."

Yet again, Rainbow Dash had to pick her jaw up off the floor that day. She had almost never heard the colt use more than two words together, much less speak in complete sentences. Not only that, but he was being uncharacteristically outspoken and his tone spoke of a dry sense of humor that she just couldn't imagine Zephyr as being able to express. Looking over, she saw Firefly who was in silent hysterics. Clearly she was much better acquainted with Zephyr's wit.

Rarity simply laughed out loud. "As much as it pains me to admit it, you have a point there. But still, I would just love to see what I can do with the pattern of your coat. I do hope you'll let me examine it sometime. Even if it's not for you, I'm practically bubbling over with ideas of how to fit that scale pattern into different color and design schemes."

"That sound's wonderful," interjected Firefly, as she came to stand next to Zephyr while wiping tears out of her eyes. Rainbow was beginning to think that Firefly was enjoying the humor of the situation a little too much.

"It truly has been a pleasure to meet you two," said Rarity as she showed them out the door, "I'm certain we'll be able to get to know each other even better at Pinkie Pie's party."

As they headed out, Rainbow Dash hung back with Rarity and shared the plan that she and Applejack had come up with to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders under control. Rarity agreed to talk to Sweetie Belle and ducked back into her boutique to get ready. Meanwhile, Rainbow went on to guide Firefly and Zephyr to the Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie's party awaited them.

"I believe I may have some possible countermeasures to our problem," said the Archmage.

"What kind of countermeasures?" asked Celestia, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"As of right now, our greatest problem is the lack of a force that we can use as a deterrent against foreign attackers. The Rangers serve this purpose, but their role is meant to be purely covert and mostly preemptive, heading off problems before they have a chance to get out of control. Obviously, the only logical solution is to expand the martial resources that you have at your disposal."

"We are not building an army," said Celestia in her firmest tone.

"Nor do I suggest that you create one. After so many millennia of ardent pacifism, such an action might be taken as an acknowledgment of weakness at best and an indicator of future aggression at worst."

"Then what is it that you suggest?" inquired Luna.

"I have been working on some ideas to recreate some of the more interesting things I have seen and encountered during my travels," explained Kaleidoscope, "And I would be more than willing to put the results at your disposal once I have finished with them. But I will need your help.

"I will provide you with a list of criteria. You Princesses need to find at least five ponies who fit those criteria. Search wherever you please. Once you do, send them to me and I will take matters from there."

The Archmage seemed to pull a scroll out of thin air and levitated it over to Princess Luna. As she read the contents, she frowned. "I don't see what your objective is."

"What I'm trying to do will become clear in due time," said Kaleidoscope, "With any luck, I will have the chance to conduct my experiments and you will have the opportunity to reap the rewards. It's the best of both worlds."

Celestia frowned as she got a chance to look at the list as well. "It is going to be difficult to find ponies who meet your requirements."

The Archmage gave her a smug smile. "Only the best after all."

"I have to ask," said the Princess of the Sun, "Why you are going through all this trouble for our sake. Even helping with the Rangers is nothing more than a hobby for you. Do you really have any personal stake in this whatsoever."

The black Unicorn grinned. "As you have deduced, I am doing this mostly for my own amusement. However, I certainly see no profit in allowing the Star of Creation to escape. As little investment as I have in your wellbeing Princess, I have grown rather fond of this world and don't care to see it destroyed. Most of my stuff is here anyway." He turned and began to make his way to the doors.

"By the way," he said, looking over his shoulder, "You might want to consider telling the Bearers your secret within secrets. After all, if the worst does happen, it will fall to them to deal with it."

The Archmage lifted his head up and brought his horn down in a slashing motion. An array of colors glittered in front of him briefly as the newly formed split in space refracted the visible light spectrum before giving way into a colorless tear in the fabric of reality. Without the slightest hesitation, the Archmage stepped through, sealing the tear behind him.

Celestia signed, relaxing a bit now that the Archmage was gone. "What a mess we are in."

Luna looked over nervously at her. "Sister, what do you think? Should we tell Twilight Sparkle and the others?"

"We should," admitted Celestia, "As much as I am loathe to admit it, the Archmage is right. But I cannot feel certain about how to approach it. This is a very heavy matter and I would like to keep them from getting involved if at all possible."

"Perhaps you should let them decide. They will want to protect their homes and friends. We should give them the right to act on that desire."

Celestia lowered her head. "We should. They deserve to know what might someday be asked of them. I just need to decide how to do it."

"Now are ya listenin' Bloom?" asked Applejack firmly as she blocked the way into the Sugarcube Corner. Applejack had only just informed Apple Bloom about the presence of the new blank-flanked colt. The filly was unquestionably excited about meeting the new pony, who, like her, had yet to discover his special talent. But as Applejack had predicted, that was exactly the problem. Fortunately, she had acted swiftly enough to keep Apple Bloom from rushing right inside.

"Ah have no problem if ya want to be friends with Zephyr. Celestia knows, he needs a few badly. But ya need to understand that that there colt has had a hard life. And he ain't the type to trust ponies real easy, especially if you and yer friends get too excited around him, he's liable to split."

"Why is that sis?" asked Apple Bloom, her voice laden with innocent naïveté.

Applejack lowered her head with a sigh. "Ah ain't been told the details, but Ah can tell that that poor fella's had ponies who've tried to hurt him fer somethin' that's no fault of his own and that he can't change. That means yer gonna have to be mighty careful about what ya say around and to him until he's a lot more comfortable in Ponyville. And don't ya be givin' him too much trouble about havin' no cutie mark. He might not look it, but he's actually close to mah age, maybe a year or so of difference, so it's probably sensitive fer him to talk about."

"But sis," protested Apple Bloom, "How can he be so close to yer age and not have a cutie mark yet?"

"Because he's half-dragon. That means he grows up way slower than most ponies."

"A half-dragon!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, "Wow! How cool! Ah wanna see him right now!"

Applejack slammed her hoof into the ground almost right in front of Apple Bloom's nose, making the filly rear back and settle down into startled silence. "Now that's what Ah was just warnin' ya about," she snapped, "And don't think yer the only one. Sweetie Belle is gettin' the same talk from her sister and Scootaloo is hearin' this from Rainbow. Ah would love fer y'all to be friends with Zephyr. Shoot, that's probably the best thing fer him. But Ah have to ask ya this Bloom." Applejack lowered her head until she was eye to eye with her little sister. "Be gentle with him...please."

Looking suitably chastised, Apple Bloom responded with a heartfelt, "Okay."

"And one more thing," added Applejack, leaning forward slightly so that she was now whispering into Apple Bloom's ear, "Do her best to keep those two rotten apples ya keep tellin' me about away from him."

"Ya mean Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?"

Applejack nodded gravely. "Given how they treat ya and yer friends, the last thing we want is fer them to think they can start pickin' on poor Zephyr. And..." she leaned in closer still, her whisper dropping even lower, "...Don't tell anypony ya heard this from me, but if either of those two crosses the line and goes too far, ya have mah permission to buck 'em good."

Apple Bloom stared with wide eyes at her elder sister. "Really?"

Applejack nodded. "But only if they really cross the line. Ah mean it! Yer an Apple and that means ya have self-control. But if those two fillies take things too far, and Ah know ya know what Ah mean by that, it's gonna be up to you to show 'em we don't put up with nonsense like that here in Ponyville."

"Okay," said Apple Bloom resolutely.

Applejack smiled at her sister and leaned back up and got out from between her and the door. "Now that that's settled, let's go in and give these new ponies a good old fashioned Ponyville welcome!"

"Yay!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, shooting through the door before Applejack could even flinch. The orange Earth Pony shook her head as she watched the filly go, hoping that her words had had some impact.

"So what did you do that kept you away from Rainbow Dash for such long periods of time," asked Rarity as she sipped delicately from the cup of punch she had poured for herself.

Firefly nibbled on a cupcake. "I was attached to the embassy on Talon Mountain. I did a lot of work there as a diplomat."

"A diplomat, really?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "And does this have something to do with how you came to be little Zephyr's caretaker? Was he a child of embassy staff."

The pink Pegasus shook her head. "Actually, his father, whose home I tended to go past to and from my job, asked me to look in on him. When I did, I found him alone. The poor boy he just lost his mother and was practically at the mercy of the worst kind of ponies."

"How terrible!" exclaimed Rarity before casting a furtive glance in Zephyr's direction, hoping the colt hadn't overheard their conversation. He appeared to be otherwise occupied she noted with some degree of gratitude. It seemed that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had roped him into a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony. She was glad to see that the three fillies seemed to be reining in their enthusiasm and that the four ponies were laughing quite good-naturedly at the varying results of their attempts. Quickly, she turned to look back at Firefly. "And how could his father have simply allowed such things to go on?"

Firefly sighed, her smile taking on a sad tone. "He was worried. But honestly, he knew that anything he tried to do to help would probably just make things worse."

"How could he have known that?"

"Having an elder Sky Dragon swoop down on a town because his son had been bullied would be more likely to cause a riot than change their views."

Rarity's hoof snapped up to her mouth as she realized what she had just asked. That was foolish. I should have known that one of his parents had to be the dragon. "Really?"

Firefly chuckled. "Kushala has had relationships with more than a few ponies, so he knows how things work. Besides, he also has diplomatic obligations to the Princesses. He may not be a member of a foreign nation, but he respects the Princesses all the same."

"An elder dragon," Rarity whispered in shock. Her face turned bright red. "Why he must have been enormous! How in Equestria...?"

Firefly broke down laughing at the stunned look on Rarity's face before the white Unicorn had the presence of mind to glare at her. "I'm sorry," said Firefly between chuckles, "I should have told you."

"Told me what?"

"Dragons are natural magicians, like Unicorns. Quite a few can use magic to take on a pony's form."

"Is that so?" asked Rarity. Again she cast a look in Zephyr's direction.

"Bit for your thoughts?" asked Firefly as she noted the unusually pensive expression on Rarity's face.

"So that's how it works hmm?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Rarity let out a quick, nervous laugh before responding. "Oh nothing! Now dear, you really must tell me about what the Griffins are like. Rainbow's friend Gilda was only with us briefly and frankly it was the worst of first impressions. But is their society really as rough and tumble as I've heard...?"

"Something wrong, Spike?" asked Twilight, coming to stand next to the little dragon.

True to form, Spike had spent most of the party watching Rarity. However, his usually straightforward lovestruck expression was replaced by a much more thoughtful one. Occasionally his glance would shift to Zephyr, who was listening with rapt attention to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they regaled him with stories of their antics in their quest to obtain their cutie marks.

Oh I see, she thought. Spike had indeed taken their little talk to heart after seeing Zephyr. It was one thing to talk about the future as an abstract concept of things that may or may not happen. But it was another entirely to have a living demonstration of the potential consequences of one's actions.

"And what do you think?" asked Twilight, "I know that most of us in Ponyville wouldn't mind one bit. After all, everypony here knows and loves you (even after that thing with your birthday), so I don't think you would have any problems in the long run."

"It's not just that," explained Spike, "But that talk we had today helped me realize what I was getting into. I mean, I forget that at the end of the day, I'm still just a baby. And now that I've thought about it, I've never really put much thought into how Rarity feels about me. I mean, she's kissed me on the cheek a couple of times. But I'm probably just a baby in her eyes too."

"Oh Spike," whispered Twilight, leaning down to nuzzle him fondly, "Yes you're a baby dragon. But you're a lot more mature than quite a few ponies I've met (Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie spring to mind)."

"It's just that, I've never really thought about Rarity's feelings," said Spike, slumping down, "Whenever I'm around her, all I can think about is how she makes me feel. But how do I make her feel? Does she even remotely think of me that way? Does she just think I'm annoying or at least useful some of the time? Oh..." He clapped his hands over his mouth for a moment. "Just listen to me!" he moaned, "Even when I try to think about her feelings the only thing I seem to care about is how she feels about me."

Twilight swept the little dragon into a tight hug. "Oh Spike, I am so proud of you."

"But why?" asked Spike, "I'm so selfish and immature."

Twilight shook her head emphatically. "Not near as much as you think," she said, "Yes, you're selfish and you still think a lot like a baby. But tonight you took a big step. You put aside your own feelings and realized your own selfishness. You're growing up so fast. If you keep this up, then Rarity will be the luckiest Unicorn in Equestria. Just don't rush things, Spike. Be patient and be yourself."

"I don't understand," said Zephyr, "Why do your attempts always end with you covered in tree sap?"

"You know, we haven't worked that out yet," said Scootaloo sheepishly.

"And it's not always," protested Sweetie Belle, "Only mostly."

"And what have you tried?" asked Apple Bloom, "Ya must have tried a few things to find yer special talent."

"Um," said Zephyr sheepishly while looking down, "Not really."

"What?" asked a shocked Scootaloo, "You mean you've never tried to find out what your special talent is?"

"Yes, well," Zephyr shifted uneasily, "I was always a little too busy."

Scootaloo was about to ask what Zephyr was so busy with when Apple Bloom clapped a hoof across her mouth. Confused, the orange Pegasus looked over at her friend. Apple Bloom shook her head. Oh, realized Scootaloo, This must be one of those topics that Rainbow Dash warned me not to ask about.

"Anyway," said Sweetie Belle, "Do you want to try and find out what your special talent is with us?"

"Um, well," muttered Zephyr, "I'm not sure..."

"It'll be alright," added Apple Bloom, "We promise not to force ya to try anything dangerous or scary."

"Yeah, that's just what Scootaloo's into," sniped Sweetie Belle.

"Hey!"

"Um..."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaasssssse!" cajoled the three fillies, simultaneously putting on their most powerful puppy dog eyes.

Zephyr sagged in defeat. "Fine."

"YAY!!!" shrieked the three fillies, prompting a yelp from Zephyr as he dove behind the nearest piece of furniture, in turn prompting a series of swift apologies from the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they attempted to convince their newest member to come out of hiding.

"Sorry about that," said Sweetie softly as the colt finally crept out.

"We get a little carried away sometimes," Apple Bloom admitted.

Scootaloo's head shot up. "Hey! I just heard that Ditzy's making bubbles!"

"Really!" exclaimed the other two fillies.

"Yeah look!" Scootaloo pointed over to where the wall-eyed mailmare was mixing together a solution of soap and water before cutting up straws. There were already several other foals gathering around her.

"Come on!" shouted Apple Bloom eagerly, grabbing Zephyr by the foreleg and pulling him in that direction.

"Yeah!" added Sweetie Belle, "There's nopony who can blow bubbles like Ditzy!"

Zephyr found himself being dragged off by the enthusiastic trio before he had a chance to protest.

"How's the party Dashie?" asked Pinkie as she bounced over to her rainbow-maned friend.

"Pretty good," replied the Pegasus before giving Pinkie a grateful expression, "Thanks for reining it in. It look's like Zephyr's having a good time."

"Oh I'm so glad," said Pinkie, "I was worried that it might be too much for him."

"Well don't worry, you did great," said Rainbow. She looked up and checked the clock on the wall. "It's getting late," she observed, "We should probably start wrapping up soon. The foals have to get to school tomorrow."

Pinkie looked over to where the foals in question were playing with the bubble-making implements that Ditzy Hooves had made for them. The gray mare was even giving Zephyr a few pointers as he struggled with his. The half-dragon looked strangely at ease in Ditzy's company. But then again, even if her tendency to misalign her eyes occasionally caused the mailmare to lose her depth perception (with equally occasional disastrous results), she was still one of the warmest and most friendly ponies in Ponyville and a favorite of the foals, who were enamored with her natural talent for blowing bubbles, as evinced by the cutie mark adorning her flank.

Following Pinkie's gaze, Rainbow smiled fondly at her brand new little brother. "Well," she said, "Maybe we can wait a little longer."

The town was eerily silent. It had only been a single night since the incident was reported. Oceanus knew now that he needn't even remove his cloak to enter. There was no one left to see. Anxiously he looked around. The buildings were empty without the slightest sign of life. Their condition varied. Some looked completely untouched. Others had been ripped apart, either from within, without, or both. There wasn't a single body to be found. But there was plenty of blood. It was spattered everywhere, dying normally cheery colors a shade of dark, rust red. Its smell filled the air, mixing with something reminiscent of festering sewage.

Oceanus glared at the damage as he trotted down what had once been the town's central avenue. This town had been like countless others around Equestria. But now it was a pit of decay. Something horrid had happened here. He paused as he sensed movement in his peripheral vision. Taking a moment, Oceanus inhaled and then released a burst of mist that expanded to cover a large radius around himself.

"There's no need for that." Another hooded pony stepped into his field of view. Oceanus relaxed a little bit as he recognized the voice.

"Mountain Breeze."

The light-purple mare with snow-white mane and tail fluttered her wings underneath her cloak, lifting it briefly enough to display the the snow capped mountain cutie mark that matched her name. "I've flown over a dozen circuits around the area, but found no survivors."

"Likewise," added another Ranger, blue with a red mane and tail under her cloak, as she stepped up in front of Oceanus.

"Star Sapphire." Oceanus nodded carefully to her. Although. He was senior to both of them, he still treated them with respect. He had seen their skills for himself and knew that they could be relied upon.

"I thought you were up at the Thotep Pass this morning," said Star, "That's a long trip to make."

Oceanus shook his head. "I traveled by mistform. It's draining, but the news sounded urgent."

The Earth Pony sighed. "Unfortunately, you seem to have wasted a trip. I've searched the entire town, top to bottom, and there's not a single soul to be found."

"What about the tracks?"

"We did find the tracks of an unknown pony entering the town, but couldn't discern if he left," replied Mountain Breeze.

"And yet our mysterious stranger is not here."

Mountain Breeze nodded. "We didn't find pony tracks, but we did find tracks of some kind. Come and see what you make of this."

They led him across to the southern edge of the town. Here, the ground had been torn apart by some strange appendages. The rotting smell of sewage was even more omnipresent now and even with all his experiences at encountering the foul things that dwelt in the dark corners of Equestria, Oceanus had to fight back the impulse to gag at the scent. As before, the scent was accompanied by the metallic tang of blood.

"This resembles nothing among the tracks we know," said Star Sapphire, "As you have more experience, can you place it?"

Oceanus shook his head. "It looks like nothing I recognize," he admitted darkly, "And it doesn't match the patterns of any of the creatures we have sealed in this region." He turned his head to Mountain Breeze. "I trust that you have confirmed that all the seals in this region are still in place."

"Yes, they are all intact and holding. So one of those monsters couldn't be responsible."

Oceanus turned his head back to the tracks and noted their bearing. "I will send a report to Princess Luna and the Archmage immediately. Mountain Breeze," he turned to regard the Pegasus, "Fly on ahead and reinforce the Black Bog Seal. Star Sapphire," he turned his gaze to the Earth Pony, "You and I will follow this track and try to overtake whatever made it."

"You believe this has something to do with the incident from this morning in the Thotep Pass," said Star Sapphire. It was not a question.

"Given the bearings and the indicators that a pony was responsible for this, I believe it unwise to think otherwise," replied Oceanus as he pulled parchment and a quill from his saddlebag. He looked over at Mountain Breeze. "Go."

The Pegasus nodded sharply and took to the air without further prompting.

Oceanus wrote his report down before exhaling a puff of mist on it. The parchment dissolved into fog and shot off, dividing in two before streaking off in separate directions. His work completed, Oceanus nodded to Star Sapphire and the two took off at a healthy pace.

"So this is it," said Rainbow Dash as she, Firefly and Zephyr alighted on the front porch of her cloud house, "Welcome home."

"Oh Rainbow, it's lovely," said Firefly as she marveled at the classical columns, the streams of rainbow and the artful arrangement of the building that hung a short distance above the ground just on the outer edge of Ponyville. "Did you build this yourself?"

"Yeah," replied Rainbow, bashfully, "I mean I had some help from some other Pegasi when I first moved in. I remodel every now and then to keep things fresh...which reminds me, I need to add an extra room."

"We can worry about that tomorrow," said Firefly, "I'll share a room with Zephyr tonight."

"Okay then," said Rainbow, "Come on in and let's get you two settled."

Owing to the malleable nature of the clouds themselves, houses like the one that Rainbow built were easily modified and if she wanted a change of scenery, it only took an afternoon's work. On top of that, if she wished, she could move the entire building around as the mood struck her, although she needed to clear its new position with the mayor's office and the weather bureau when she did so.

Rainbow Dash opened the door to her home and was greeted by the slow, plodding tortoise who now lived there. Tank looked up at his owner and gave her a very slow and gentle smile that served to bring a smile to Rainbow's face. She had to admit that even though his nature was practically the inverse of her own, Tank never failed to brighten up her day.

"Hiya Tank," she said cheerfully, "I've got some ponies I want to introduce you to. They're family, so be nice."

Telling the tortoise to behave himself was about as unnecessary as telling Celestia that she needed to raise the sun in the morning. Unlike Fluttershy's bad-tempered rabbit, Tank was gifted with natural good behavior and patience (although the latter went without saying). Firefly was only too happy to meet the pet that served as such a marvelous contrast to her adopted daughter's energetic nature. Zephyr actually seemed to find Tank's presence comforting and the two took an immediate liking to one another.

Zephyr let out a yawn and Firefly took him up to the guest room after Rainbow told her where it was. They would get around to making a proper bedroom for him in the morning. In the meantime, Firefly and Rainbow Dash settled into the kitchen while Rainbow made a couple of cups of hot chocolate for her and her mother.

"So," said Rainbow, "You're staying."

"I am," said Firefly, "If you'd have me."

"Of course!" exclaimed Rainbow before settling down, "But what about your job."

Firefly smiled sadly. "I retired. I'll miss it, but I felt it was time. And not long afterwards, I found Zephyr and decided to take him in."

"Can you tell me?" asked Rainbow cautiously, "I mean, what did he go through? Even Fluttershy isn't as bad as he is when other ponies are around. And there was that episode in the library."

Firefly looked down into her mug. "It's an unpleasant story. But you have a right to know, if only in part because you're his sister now and I hope that you will look after him when I can't. There may also be repercussions that could come from this, even here in Ponyville; although I have to say that I'm very pleased with the welcome that you and your friends have given us. Are you sure you want to know?"

Rainbow Dash nodded gravely. "Tell me about my brother."