Aetiology

Aetiology
Chapter II
Light

“Has Spark ever told you about that first day outside? What am I saying? Of course he has. Anyway, you remember how he said that we separated into two groups: us–the Shadow Six–and you and Black Moon and the rest of the shadow ponies? Did you ever stop to think that maybe there was a reason for that? That maybe there was a reason you were not a part of our group to begin with? Because maybe if you and Spark had spent one second just considering that before you decided to fall in love, none of this would have happened.”

***

Why is it so warm?

Spark Shadow wrenched his eyes open. Through his bleary vision he could make out a bright and colorless glow. It was a familiar glow; he’d woken up to it before, at the mouth of the cave, but now it seemed to surround him. He was shocked into consciousness when he realized that it was touching him.

With a terrified scream, he rolled over, fell off the thing he was lying on and onto the floor, collected himself, and scooted to the darkest area of the room. His back to the wall, he squeezed his eyes shut and began to tremble. This is a dream, he thought, trying desperately to convince himself. This is just a dream, it’s not real. Open your eyes and you’ll be back in the cave…

He opened his eyes slowly and groaned. So much for that theory.

The room he was in was made completely of wood, with a perfectly flat floor and four perfectly flat walls, and a door across from him. There was a table pushed up against the wall, and the thing he’d fallen off appeared to be a bed. There was a bag by the table, but he was too afraid to check it.

What is this place? Spark looked down at his body to check for injuries, but to his surprise he appeared to be incorporeal. Hang on, it’s just black smoke. Wait, why am I covered in smoke? He shook a foreleg to rid himself of it, and was only mildly surprised that it appeared to be attached to him.

He looked back up at the bed. Streaks of sunlight fell across it through cracks in the walls. If I was in the sunlight, why didn’t I go crazy? Why can I still remember things? I thought your mind was supposed to be erased… He looked back down at the smoke. This stuff must be some kind of magic armor. But who…?

At that moment, the door clicked open and a shadow stepped inside. Spark pressed his back farther into the corner and stared at the figure in the doorway, who began to advance upon him. The soft tinkling of bells filled the air.

“Ah, you’re finally awake! It was really touch-and-go there for a bit, colt. You pushed yourself so hard to avoid the sun that you passed out as soon as you got here.”

Spark could see the pony now that he was in the room. He had long, curly hair that tumbled out from under a pointed blue hat and fell from his chin almost all the way to the floor. On his back was a matching blue cape. Both the cape and hat were decorated with bells and yellow stars. What a strange-looking pony.

“You’re one of the shadow ponies I locked in the cave, aren’t you? I remember you quite well. You’re the one with the white streak down your back,” the stallion continued. “Do you remember who I am?”

I remember that tinkling sound, Spark thought, staring at the jingling bells. I heard it in the field on that first day. “A-are you my father?”

“Ah ha!” laughed the stallion, making Spark jump in surprise. “So you do remember! Call me Starswirl, colt; most ponies do these days. What about you, do you have a name?”

Did he say “most ponies”? There are more of us? “My name is Spark Shadow,” he replied. His fear was gone, replaced by a long list of questions. He started with the two most important ones. “What do you mean ‘most ponies’? And why aren’t you crazy from being in the sunlight?”

“There are ponies everywhere, colt. Only the shadow ponies—that is, the ones in the cave—suffer extreme reactions to the light,” Starswirl explained in a patient voice. “Now I have a question for you: do you know why you’re able to speak and understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?”

Spark opened his mouth to answer, but stopped himself and frowned. Suddenly he realized that he had never bothered to question the words he could speak, or why he knew what a bell was without ever having seen one before. “I don’t know,” he answered sheepishly. “I’ve always been able to talk and understand what other ponies are saying.”

Starswirl nodded and turned to the bag on the floor beside him. The bag began to glow—I guess he has a horn under that giant hat—and a book floated out of it and onto the table. He flipped through the book for a minute before turning to Spark and saying, “Algae and unicorn saliva!” He beamed with pride as he slid the book back into the bag.

“What…?”

“By the by, what would a colt like yourself be needing this for?” Starswirl’s hat lifted slightly, and out from under it floated forth—

“My knife!” Spark leapt at the glowing blade, but the elder pony was hovering it just out of his reach. He tried to wrench it from his magic with his own, but Starswirl was much too strong. Spark fell back on his haunches, panting. Starswirl seemed at once bewildered and amused. “Give it back,” Spark whined.

The old unicorn lowered the knife so that it hovered before his own eyes. Sunlight glittered off the metal, catching its dull edge and rusted coat. “And why should I? What makes this old thing so important?”

“She gave it to me!” Spark cried, leaping at the blade once again, black smoke whirling around him as he sprung. Starswirl stumbled back in surprise, allowing Spark to pry it from his magic with his teeth. He retreated to his corner and watched Starswirl intently, but the old pony made no move to get it back. Carefully he tucked the knife into his mane, his eyes never leaving Starswirl’s.

“Did you say ‘she’? There are others left in the cave?” Starswirl asked slowly, moving closer to Spark. His eyes were twinkling beneath his curly mane.

Suddenly Spark could remember everything. Gasping sharply, he jumped to his hooves and galloped towards the door, but magic promptly grabbed his hooves and held him in place. He struggled against it for a moment, and then turned back to the bemused wizard. “My family is still in there!” Spark shouted frantically. “I have to save them!”

“Now calm down, colt,” Starswirl said, but his eyes betrayed his shock. “What’s been going on in that cave?”

Spark collapsed to the floor. All of a sudden he felt lost and utterly alone, and tears sprung to his eyes. The centuries of his life flashed in his mind’s eye, the years blurring together in a montage of continuous darkness. Where do I start?

He took a deep breath, fought back the sobs, and began. He told Starswirl about his life since he had been locked in the cave: Black Moon’s cruel reign, how his family had distanced themselves from the rest of the shadow ponies, and all the ponies who’d been born and killed on a whim.

Spark spoke of Equinivere and her brother’s knife, Jasper’s ability to find and control metal, Dream’s talent of communicating with animals, Storm’s speed, Flex’s strength, and Ghost’s heightened senses. He finally ended his tale with how he had escaped and how certain he was that his family was suffering every moment he wasn’t there. By the end of his story, his muzzle was soaked with salty tears and his voice was cracking.

Starswirl had remained silent and still during Spark’s speech, but now he paced back and forth, mumbling under his breath, his eyes shut tight. Spark watched him, choked sobs escaping his throat now and again, wondering what was going through the old pony’s mind.

“Tell me, Spark,” Starswirl said suddenly, halting in his tracks and turning his head to face Spark, whose sobs had now stopped completely and was wiping his eyes with a smoke-wrapped hoof. “If you went back there to save them today, what would you do? Would you be willing to kill other ponies? How would you even get them out of there?” He paused and lowered his voice, adding solemnly, “How can you be sure they’re still alive?”

“I… I don’t know,” Spark mumbled. “But I can’t just abandon them there with Black Moon. I have to go back for them. I promised.” He looked up and stared into the older unicorn’s eyes with desperation, his voice cracking as he spoke. “Please, Starswirl, you have to help me.”

Starswirl held his gaze for a long moment. Finally he said, “I will help you, Spark Shadow, but it will take some time.”

Spark grinned and got to his hooves, smoke trailing him as he cantered over to Starswirl. “How much time?”

“A very long time, I’m afraid,” replied Starswirl, and Spark’s smile vanished. “Spark, in order to save your family, you’re going to need training. Now, I’ve been searching for an apprentice for years, but I have thousands of years’ worth of things to teach, and nopony—well, nopony except me and the shadow ponies—lives for nearly that long.”

Spark blinked in surprise. We’re the only ones who live this long? The question was quickly pushed aside by the thought of being the wizard’s apprentice. I don’t have time for that. For all I know, they could be dead already!

“The journey will be hard, colt, and I won’t blame you if you return to the cave before your training is complete. But I know that, deep down, you know that you can’t save them without my help.”

“No,” Spark said firmly, looking towards the door. “I don’t have time for that. I have to go back. They’re my family! I can’t just leave them there, they could be dead already and—”

“If they’re dead already, what would you accomplish by going back there? And if they’re still alive, how are you going to get them out? And even if you did manage to escape together, how would you survive in the sunlight?” Starswirl sighed softly and shook his head. “If I hadn’t been here to protect you from the sun, you would be dead or insane right now. Do you really want to risk that with your family?”

Spark scowled. His immediate instincts were to argue and run away, but his expression softened as the rational part of his mind pushed the instincts away. No, he’s right. If I go back now, we’re all going to die. But if I wait, if I go back when I’m stronger, then I can save them for sure. And if they’re dead by then… at least I’ll be able to avenge them. He let out a long sigh. I don’t see any other choice.

“Fine,” Spark mumbled, pulling his gaze away from the open door. “I’ll be your apprentice.”

Starswirl smiled down at him and extended a hoof towards him, which he stared at in disgust. Scowling, he took the hoof in his and bent low to kiss it as Black Moon had so often made him do, but the old pony simply laughed and pulled his hoof away.

“Oh, no, colt! I’m your mentor, not your king. We shake hooves,” he explained, extending his forehoof again to Spark. The younger unicorn smiled in relief, straightened up and shook hooves.

They smiled at each other for a moment, and then Starswirl tilted his head towards the doorway expectantly. Spark turned to look outside; the sun wasn’t nearly as blinding as it had been before, but as beautiful as the outdoors were, he couldn’t help but feel terrified at the prospect of stepping out there.

“The smoke will protect you, colt. And I’m here if anything goes wrong. Don’t worry.”

Spark nodded. He wasn’t entirely convinced that it was safe, but he began to take slow steps towards the door nonetheless. When his hooves were an inch away from the light, he paused, swallowed the lump in his throat, squeezed his eyes shut, and stepped into the sun.

***

Where are they taking me?

Jasper was being dragged through the darkness, laughter echoing around him—in his ears or in his head, he couldn’t tell. Then for a moment he was weightless, falling through the air. He landed with a heavy thud. But this is the pit… Are they finally bringing me home?

The laughter receded into the distance and he heard the familiar creak of the door being opened, and then he was picked up by his legs and thrown inside. He landed painfully on the flat slab of rock he’d once used for his work. The door slammed shut.

Jasper opened his eyes carefully and was met only by darkness. He breathed a sigh of relief that ended in a fit of coughing; metal filled his mouth and he spat it out. How long has it been since Spark’s departure? he thought, and realized that he didn’t know. The days had blurred together quickly; today was the first that he had not been stabbed with a knife or bludgeoned with a rock. The wave of peace that washed over him was utterly foreign.

There was a quiet knock. “Ghost?” Two more knocks, followed by the sound of a pony dragging himself along the cavern floor. If Ghost is resorting to dragging himself… He didn’t want to finish the thought. Instead he said, weakly, “I’m glad to see you’re alive.”

“You’re a surrendering mule.” There was no levity in his voice. Jasper flinched. At least he hasn’t attacked me yet; perhaps he’s forgiven me. I wonder if Flex and Dream and Storm have as well…

His stomach turned at the thought of his only sister. Where is she? A pretty mare, all alone with those savage colts… He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. I cannot allow myself to have those thoughts. Black Moon said he did not mean to kill us, after all. And if Ghost is here now, then the others should be returned shortly as well.

Before he could muster the strength to rise to his hooves, the door opened again and something heavy landed on his back, winding him. Laughter echoed in through the door and was silenced with a slam. The thing on his back began to moan quietly.

“Jasper, is that you, brother?”

“Yes, Dream, it’s me. Ghost is here as well.” Jasper shifted his weight, causing Dream to roll off of him. He landed on the cavern floor and cried out in pain. Oh, I really did not mean to do that, Jasper thought, wincing at the sound. “Sorry…”

Dream’s whimpering subsided after a few minutes, and Jasper was struck once again by complete silence. Forcing himself to his hooves, he slowly made his way to where they had hidden the chest in the wall. His horn began to glow, and he panted with the effort of opening the chest and removing the enchanted crystals.

Jasper placed them gingerly in the notches in the cavern walls, smiling gratefully as the glow returned his vision, and then turned to inspect his two brothers. The smile vanished instantly. By the Sky Pony…

Ghost’s hind legs were bent at unnatural angles. A bone protruded from his left leg. Above his cutie mark—a stick broken into thirds, although nopony knew what it meant—was a deep gash that ran nearly all the way to his withers. Robbing him of his sight wasn’t enough, so they had to take away his agility as well?

“Guys, I think something’s wrong with my wing.” Jasper shifted his gaze to Dream and his stomach churned anew as he took in the sight of the pegasus’s right wing. It was thoroughly mangled; his feathers were matted with blood and bones jutted out from under his torn skin. It looked as though an entire chunk of flesh had been ripped out of him.

“Stay where you are, Dream. I’ll take care of it.” Feeling weaker than he’d felt before, he bent his head into the chest and grabbed the hammer and maps in his teeth. Stumbling over to his brothers, he began to work.

The maps were torn into strips and used to bandage Ghost’s hind legs. The hammer was used to reset the bone. Ghost was utterly silent throughout the process, but Jasper could see that he was clenching his teeth. A tourniquet was then fashioned from the remaining strips and placed at the base of Dream’s wing.

His work complete, Jasper collapsed to the floor between his brothers and blacked out as the waves of nausea and pain came to a climax.

When he came to, he panicked briefly at his semi-obscured vision before he realized that somepony had bandaged his head. How long have I been unconscious? he thought as he raised a hoof to his forehead and was painfully reminded of a deep gash above his eye. There was a sling around his right foreleg; he hadn’t even realized that it was broken.

The door to the cavern swung open suddenly. Jasper flinched, anticipating the echoes of hysterical laughter that were sure to follow, but his ears were met only by the sound of grunting, coupled with hearty chuckling.

“What’s the matter, you buckin’ mules? This hunka meat too big and sexy for you to throw in a hole? Put some spine into it!”

With a final grunt, the shadow ponies tossed Flex into the cavern and stood catching their breath in the doorway. The earth pony landed heavily on the cavern floor and lifted his head, one eye swollen shut, to look at his siblings.

His eye drifted from Jasper, who was sitting on the floor, to Dream, who was leaning against the wall, to Ghost, who was lying down. His expression turned to rage as his eye searched the room frantically for the missing pony.

“Where the buck is Storm?!” he demanded, twisting his head to face the shadow ponies at the door. “What have you done with her?!”

A dark grey pegasus colt took a step forward, smirking down at Flex. Jasper squinted at the pony through his bandage and groaned. Nails. I truly despise that idiot.

Flex struggled onto his hooves but promptly collapsed to the floor, wheezing. Nails chuckled and slowly reached into his spiked orange mane with a hoof, retracting it to reveal a small, thin object. Through the blur of his bandage, Jasper could barely make out what it was. Storm’s feather!

Nails lifted it to his snout, his eyes fluttering as he inhaled deeply. The feather ruffled in front of his nose. Jasper gagged in disgust. “We’s not done playin’ with cute flyin’ filly,” Nails said with a giggle. “She too much fun.”

“Give. Her. Back!” Flex lurched forward, digging his hooves into the ground beneath him to propel himself towards Nails, who quickly stepped out of the door with the others and slammed it in Flex’s face.

Jasper watched sadly as Flex beat at the door with his hooves, screaming obscenities. He knew it wouldn’t help. He could feel the metal that the shadow ponies had put in place to reinforce the door; it was only able to be opened from the outside.

He pushed himself onto his hooves and limped slowly to his brother, whose hooves had begun to crack and bleed against the door. Stopping behind him, he placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “Flex, we have to—”

“YOU!”

Jasper had fully expected to be yelled at. He’d expected screaming. He’d expected to be kicked out of the family for his decision to surrender to Black Moon. He’d even expected crying.

What he hadn’t expected was the punch that sent him flying through the cavern and skidding across the floor.

Jasper moaned and opened his eyes just in time to see Flex’s hoof come smashing down into his muzzle.

“You bucking traitor! This is your fault!”

As another hoof smashed into his chest, Jasper’s thoughts drifted elsewhere. Yes, this is my fault. I was the one who had trusted Spark from the beginning. Even when I’d had concerns about Equinivere, I’d kept my faith in Spark. And when Spark failed our family, so did I. I gave us to Black Moon. I destroyed Dream’s wing. I broke Ghost’s legs. I put Storm through whatever she is going through right now.

His body grew cold and numb. Flex was still beating him with bloody hooves, but it felt impossibly distant now. He watched as Ghost and Dream both tackled Flex, felt as his brother’s weight was lifted off his stomach, and then allowed his eyes to slide shut.

“No, Flex is right,” he managed to sputter, the taste of copper on his tongue. “This is my fault.”

For the second time that day, Jasper slipped into oblivion.

***

“Spark, my boy, do I really have to remind you again? A unicorn’s magic begins with telekinesis. Once you can control that, you can control all your magic.”

Spark ignored his mentor and narrowed his eyes, concentrating harder on the pile of rocks before him. With only one hind leg holding him up, he struggled to maintain his balance as he focused on levitating the rocks. Several fillies trotted by and giggled, leading Spark to believe—and not for the first time—that some of these exercises were merely for Starswirl’s amusement.

Two months had passed in the tiny earth pony village, and Spark’s training had become a little harder each day. His telekinesis had been adequate for lifting small objects back in the cave, but Starswirl had made him practice until he could lift something heavier than a rock.

On top of his magic training, he’d had to learn to maneuver in a new set of armor. The black smoke, while weightless and comfortable, had prevented Spark from performing magic. A local seamstress had made him a new set of armor, one enchanted with a peculiar iron thread that would protect the wearer from light while allowing their magic to pass through it.

The new armor was heavier than anything Spark had worn before, but it was worth it just to be able to stand in the sunlight.

“Focus! If you can’t control your body and magic simultaneously, you might as well go home with your tail between your legs and present yourself to that Black Moon pony.”

Spark gritted his teeth and focused harder. “Present yourself to Black Moon.” The white glow around his horn grew brighter, his leg growing steadier as he concentrated. Present Equinivere to Black Moon. The magic around his horn pulsed, his entire body growing hotter beneath his armor. He squeezed his eyes shut as sweat dripped from his brow.

You presented her to Black Moon, Spark. You broke your promise.

His horn pulsed one last time, a second, brighter glow surrounding the first. The ground disappeared beneath him. The guilt was eating at his heart, the anger fuelling his magic and burning his horn. She belongs to him now and it’s all your fault.

A blunt object smacked him across the face suddenly and Spark lost his balance, tumbled to the ground and opened his eyes. The stones that he’d been levitating came crashing to the ground before him, glowing with flames.

He slowly turned to look at the village and covered his face with a hoof as he took in the damage he had caused. Several of the villagers’ shacks were now falling from midair; those that weren’t in the sky were on fire.

He peeked out from behind his hoof to look at Starswirl. The bearded pony was panting hard, his wooden staff hovering beside him in a sheath of blue magic.

“What the… How did… Spark, what was that?!”

“I, uh, got distracted,” Spark answered sheepishly. “Sorry…”

A large crowd of villagers was now storming towards the pair, shouting angrily over one another. Spark could hear demands for everything to be fixed, as well as demands for his head on a pike. Swallowing nervously, he crawled over to Starswirl and hid himself as best he could behind the elder pony’s starry blue cape.

“Spark, just keep your mouth shut and act apologetic,” Starswirl muttered over his shoulder, and then addressed the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, I humbly beg for your forgiveness. Magic can be quite unpredictable at such a young age.”

Spark crept out from behind Starswirl and stared at the rabble. They were now murmuring amongst themselves, so the ancient pony continued his impromptu speech. “The damage is minimal, and I will gladly fix everything that was broken in the, uh, accident. I promise you, the worst is—”

At that unfortunate moment, there was a loud groan from behind them. Starswirl, Spark and the rest of the ponies looked up in time to see the water tower come tumbling to the ground.

Spark’s ears flattened against his head. Great. Surveying the damage, his eyes widened in horror as he realized that the town’s water tower—the village’s only source of fresh water in a 30-mile radius—had come crashing down on top of the hospital.

“Spark, you should probably crawl back to the shack as quickly as you can. I’ll be there shortly.” Starswirl turned back to face the now-advancing crowd, chuckled nervously, and then whispered back over his shoulder, “And start packing.”

You don’t have to tell me twice, Spark thought as he sprinted away.

Half an hour later, Spark was standing in the center of their shack, staring at his bags and marvelling at how all his worldly possessions occupied such a small space.

He’d fled the cave with only a knife, having lost the few things he’d wanted to bring along in the explosion. Now, along with the knife, he carried two sets of armor (he could practically hear Jasper telling him how tacky the armor looked and how useless it was for anything other than being in the sun), a set of magic-enhancing gemstones, and a small book called “Basics of Unicorn Magic”.

It was more than he’d ever owned in his life, but from what he’d seen of the villagers’ possessions, he was well aware that it was next to nothing.

The door swung open behind him, and he turned away from his bags to watch as Starswirl entered the shack. Sweat was dripping down his muzzle and he seemed older and wearier than usual, but there was a wry smile on his face as he shut the door behind him.

“A word of advice, colt: never tell an angry group of ponies that you’ll gladly remove every drop of spilt water after you’ve finished repairing their buildings,” he said, chuckling to himself. “Down on the ground with magnifying glasses they were! ‘Ah ha! You’ve missed a spot, you lazy, good-for-nothing…’” He trailed off and let out a long sigh. “But don’t you worry, Spark. The damage has been undone.”

Spark’s eyes filled with shameful tears, and suddenly he was very grateful that Starswirl was unable to see his expression through the armor. Although he was completely encased, the visor was further enchanted to allow him to see through it and breathe fresh air.

“Colt, the sun is going down. You can take off your armor now.”

The stitching along the armor’s neck, torso and legs glowed white and came undone, releasing Spark from his cage. He floated the pieces into his bag, attempting to hide his teary eyes from his mentor. But a moment later, Starswirl approached him and, lifting a hoof to his chin, made the younger unicorn turn to face him.

“You did nothing wrong, my boy. It was an accident. A mistake. And mistakes are the only way we learn,” he said kindly, dropping his hoof.

Spark sniffled and turned his gaze to the floor, tears dripping off his muzzle to pool beneath him. “I’m sorry, Starswirl.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, colt. In fact, I saw great potential in you before I had to whack you in the face with the staff,” Starswirl said with a laugh. Spark chuckled in spite of himself. “I didn’t mean to do it, but you didn’t react when I shook you, so I had no choice.”

Spark smiled slightly, pride beginning to fill the guilty void inside him. He looked back up at the bearded pony, who then added, “What was it that distracted you?”

Spark’s face dropped instantly and he looked back to the floor, fresh tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he explained, embarrassed, what he had been thinking about. “When you said that I might as well present myself to Black Moon, I started thinking of Equinivere and what he’s putting her through because of me…”

Starswirl nodded in understanding as Spark trailed off. “Emotion is a very powerful thing, colt. And you may be a thousand years old, but thanks to my spell, you’re barely an adolescent, which is when emotions are the most powerful. Even the tiniest bit of emotion can make a pony do things he otherwise might never do…” He trailed off and sighed.

At that moment, there was a thud against the wall of the shack, followed by more thuds and shouting.

“They’re throwing rocks at us!” Starswirl exclaimed crossly, shaking his head in disbelief. “I suppose that’s our cue to leave. Grab your things, boy. This place is far too small—not to mention uptight—for you to practice your magic here. We must travel to a place that is big enough to take you seriously.”

After a moment of deliberation, Spark took the armor he’d been wearing back out of his bags and slid the pieces back on, carefully stitching them back together. If I’m going to be walking, I might as well be getting used to this weight in the meantime. He floated his saddlebags onto his haunches, and then turned to face Starswirl, who was opening the door.

“Wait,” Spark called after him, hesitating in the middle of the shack. “Where are we going?”

“Why, the land of magic itself, of course,” Starswirl called back over his shoulder as he trotted into the starry night. “Great Breton!”

***

Jasper’s internal clock had ceased to tick long ago. Unable to see the outside world from the cage of his cavern, he had no idea how much time had passed since Flex had attacked him on their first day back together.

He passed the time wordlessly, keeping to himself as he napped and ate, hoping each time he closed his eyes that Flex wouldn’t kill him in his sleep and that Storm would be back when he opened them again. His body had mostly healed, but now and then he’d have a coughing fit that tasted like copper. Flex hadn’t attacked him since the first time, and Storm still had yet to return.

Jasper shut his eyes and the image of Flex smashing a hoof into his muzzle played on his eyelids. He had every right to try to kill me. I almost wish that Ghost and Dream hadn’t been there to prevent him from doing so…

The sound of shuffling made him open his eyes, and he saw Ghost on his hooves, facing the door. Jasper followed his gaze, and a moment later the door opened for the first time in nearly a year. This time there were no echoes of vicious laughter, just the faint sound of moaning as Nails threw a sack into the cavern.

“Took what we want from Sweet Flanks,” he said, scowling. “No fun now.”

As soon as he left, Jasper and his brothers were on their hooves, racing to the sack. Flex was the first to reach it, and he grabbed the fabric in his teeth, ripping a hole in it. They watched nervously as the fabric fell back to reveal Storm, and Dream stumbled backwards at the sight. Jasper’s own stomach churned as he stared in shock at what the shadow ponies had done to his only sister.

She was a mess of blood and dirty fur, moaning quietly as she lay on her side in the sack. Her once-wavy, shoulder-length mane was greasy and torn, and her scalp was visible in the places her hair had been ripped out; her tail was the same. Her coat was torn in multiple places, blood seeping from each cut and running together, nearly covering her from head to hoof.

Jasper moved to look at her back, and his jaw dropped as he noticed the two deep gashes that looked as though somepony had been trying to carve lightning bolts into her. Even her cutie mark, a heart bearing wings, had been slashed through. After a moment, Flex slowly reached out a hoof to her, running it gingerly across her cheek.

Her bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence of the cavern, echoing off the walls, making them all flinch in shock as Storm abruptly leapt to her hooves and sprinted to a rock on her mangled legs. She dove and cowered behind it.

The scream faded and Flex shot Jasper a look that said, “This is your fault.” Jasper glowered back at him but kept silent. Flex was right, after all, but at least Storm was alive. They all were, and that was the only thing that mattered right now. At least we all survived the ordeal.

All four brothers approached the rock slowly, careful to look as non-menacing as possible. The poor girl, Jasper thought sadly, watching her with pity. We may be her family, but all she can see is are shadow ponies surrounding her. He sighed and shook his head. And I cannot blame her for that. If anypony is at fault, it’s me.

They came to a stop a few steps from the rock and Flex continued carefully, moving beside Storm and wrapping a foreleg around her. “By the Sky Pony, Storm, what the buck did they do to you?” he murmured. She fought to escape his grasp, but he held her gently even as she screamed for a second time. He brought her to his chest and held her close as she bit at his forelegs and kicked at him.

They never managed to break her, Jasper realized with some relief. She fought the whole time.

After a few tense minutes, her voice cracked and she stopped screaming. Her jaw went slack around Flex’s foreleg and she went limp in his embrace.

“She passed out,” Flex said softly, more to himself than anypony else. Then he turned to Jasper and looked him in the eyes. “Jasper, I’m sorry. She’s alive. We’re all alive because of you.”

Jasper was taken aback, but simply nodded in response and looked away.

“Can ya help her?” Flex asked him after a pause.

“Of course,” he answered, trotting over to look over Storm’s unconscious body. “We must get her cleaned up first. Bring her to the flat rock. Dream and Ghost, kindly fetch some water and bandages. We need to do this while she is still unconscious.”

As Flex held her down against the rock, Jasper and Ghost sanitized her wings and legs. Dream’s insects were busy gathering what little water they could carry; the minerals would do a great deal to aid Storm’s healing.

Bracing her legs against the flat rock, Jasper snapped her bones back into place. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Flex wince at the sound. When it was over, Storm lay on the rock, wrapped head to hoof in bandages but much better off than she had been before.

They watched over her silently, and after a long while she began to wake up. Her eyes shot open, and then grew wider in fear as they leapt from pony to pony. Unable to move, she could only squeeze her eyes shut, tears soaking her bandages as she whimpered, “No, no, no, no, no…”

What have they done to you?

***

Storm had always had a much better sense of time than any of her brothers. It had been four months since she had been returned to her family, and she had spent every day of those four months huddling behind a rock in the cavern. One of her brothers would keep her company, sliding her moss and mushrooms from the other side of the rock, and she would hiss or swipe at them, more cat than pony.

They spoke to her from the other side of the rock, telling her about themselves and how they were feeling and what they’d been doing. Ghost wouldn’t speak, so Jasper had had to tell her about what he was doing: Ghost had resumed his training, he said, spending hours just trotting around the perimeter of the cavern on his hind legs, jumping around on his back hooves.

Jasper also told her that he’d been keeping himself busy by chipping bits of metal from the door, melting it with the magical energy of a broken crystal. He didn’t have enough for what he wanted to do yet, but he would eventually.

Dream told her that he was miserable due to his mangled wing. He couldn’t fly anymore and, without Surty, he had nothing to with which to occupy his time other than his insects, and they weren’t nearly as entertaining as his dragon.

Flex spent most of his time sitting quietly on the other side of the rock. When he wasn’t with her, he was waiting for his turn to keep her company. Ghost was quiet as well, but he didn’t give her the same feeling of safety and comfort as Flex.

While her brothers tried to sleep, Storm would be crying quietly to herself behind her rock. Four months had passed, and still she couldn’t shake the memories that haunted her every time the cavern fell silent and her eyelids shut out the light. And every time she started crying, somepony would reach out to comfort her, and she’d promptly push them away.

I’m not ready yet, she would think sadly as she’d whip her foreleg, trying to hurt them. She knew logically that this was her family, the ponies she’d been around for the last thousand years. She knew that they loved her and would never do anything to hurt her, but when she looked at them it was just so hard not to see the shadow ponies that had tried to break her.

Tonight was no different, and after a minute of crying, she heard one of her brothers rise to his hooves and make his way towards her, but then those hoofsteps stopped as another pony stood up and trotted slowly to her. She expected whoever it was to stop on the other side of the rock as always, but to her surprise she looked up through bleary eyes to see Ghost sitting on his haunches beside her.

She glared at him even though she knew he couldn’t see it, willing him to leave her alone, but he simply smiled softly at her and began to hum. It was the melody he’d made up centuries ago. He hasn’t sung this since we were barely a few decades old…

“Hmm hmm hmmmm, hmm hmmhmm hmmmhmm hmmhmmmm…”

As the sound of his humming filled the air, her glare softened and she tilted her head to look at the cavern behind her rock. Her gaze drifted over the rocks that lay at the edges of the cavern and the shapes of her brothers in the center of them, and then down at her own hooves.

“Hmmhmm hmm hmmmm…”

For the past four months, all she had been able to feel were those vicious eyes watching her in the dark, laughing at her as she cried alone, but now… Now she could feel something else, a bright light inside of her that resonated with Ghost’s melody. She let the memory of those eyes leave her, the melody taking its place as its light pushed the despair away.

“Hmm hmm hmm hmmmm…”

She had stopped crying, but now new tears sprung to her eyes as she started to quietly sing along with her brother.

“And you’ll see, my little starlight princess, after darkness comes the light.”

The song ended and Ghost moved closer to her. She pulled herself up to wrap her forelegs around him and nuzzle her face in his neck.

“Ghost, they d-did things to me,” she whispered between sobs. “They hurt me. They m-made me scream. They dug th-things into me…”

Ghost slid a foreleg over her shoulders and pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head.

“Ghost, they… they took turns with me. And they’re s-still laughing. Oh, by the Sky Pony, I can hear them laughing…” The words spilled out of her like vomit. A part of her was embarrassed to be discussing it with her brother, but she ignored that. This is catharsis. Let it out.

The black pony pulled back his leg and placed a hoof on her chin, tilting her head up to face his. He tapped his nose once.

“I know,” Storm bawled, “but I can hear them. T-that laugh, the way they’d b-burst out laughing every time they m-made me scream…”

Ghost tapped his hooves together before flicking the side of his neck.

“You’re right,” she said, sniffling as her tears slowed. “B-but what am I supposed to do now? What can I possibly do?”

Her brother smiled down at her and touched his right shoulder, tapped the rock with the side of his left hoof, and ran his right hoof down the center of his snout to let it rest on top of his heart.

Storm wrapped her brother in a tight hug, and he nuzzled her gently as she cried into his shoulder. “H-how do you always know the perfect thing to say?”

She lifted her head and watched as he lifted a hoof to the spot on his face where his right eye had been. Using both hooves, he gently lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile, and then hugged her tightly. She could hear the rest of her family approaching them, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel the need to hide.

Until she felt a hoof touch her back.

“No!” She wrenched away from Ghost’s embrace and backed away quickly from her brothers, her eyes wide as she stared at them. Ghost fell back against the rock, and the three ponies who had joined them looked at each other, embarrassed.

They’re your family, she reminded herself. You have nothing to be afraid of. They’re your light in the darkness, remember?

She hung her head and began to weep, motioning with her hooves for them to come to her. Instantly she found herself in the center of a group hug as her brothers surrounded her and held her tightly.

“Guys,” Storm said after her tears had subsided, “no stallion is ever going to touch me again without my permission.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Flex began to laugh. The other ponies gaped at him.

“What’s so funny?”

“You gonna start fillyfoolin’ now?”

Everypony laughed at that, and Storm was grateful for it. It had been such a long time since she had heard laughter that was not preceded by her own screams. For the briefest moment, the months of torture and entrapment melted away. For the first time in what felt like forever, they were a family again. The Shadow Six, together at last. Wait…

“Hey, Jasper, Spark is coming back for us, right?” Storm asked, suddenly serious. The idea of being a family again had come as a painful reminder that they were still missing one of their own.

For a second she could see a look of fear and doubt flash across Jasper’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a reassuring smile. “Yes, Storm. He promised, after all. He’ll return, and we shall all be running free in the moonlight soon enough.”

Who are you trying to reassure? she thought, but smiled back anyway.

A moment later they were all laughing and joking again, and as they fell asleep hours later with smiles on their faces, nestled together in a pile of wings and fur, the thought of Spark nagged at Storm, keeping her awake until she no longer had the strength to keep her eyes open.

***

“You’re a rotten old jackass!”

They’d been travelling to Gemstone, the capital of Great Breton, for eight entire months now, and Spark was certain that they would have been there seven months ago had Starswirl not stopped every few miles to teach him a new trick.

But despite his frustration, Spark had to admit that he was a lot stronger now. Balancing multiple objects while moving about with his armor on had become a simple trick. Today he had been levitating sand above himself in an effort to use his magic to shape it. That is, up until Starswirl had decided to pop his magic bubble right over Spark’s head.

Starswirl simply laughed at the younger pony. “It’s not my fault you weren’t fast enough to catch it. Why, when I was your age, I was already building mountains out of mud. You can barely hold sand!”

Spark grumbled, suddenly embarrassed. Shaping his magic had been more difficult than he’d expected. He lifted the sand again, managing to shape it into a flower before it burst in his face as his magic imploded with the effort. He tried again and again, until Starswirl prodded him with his wooden staff and raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, colt, that’s enough practice. Now try what I told you.”

Spark sighed under his hood and nodded, edging closer to the canyon beside them and peering into its depths. The canyon’s walls descended into pure darkness; he couldn’t even be sure there was a bottom to it. He gulped and tore his gaze away from the hypnotizing height to look across to the other side. There were sixty feet between him and the outer bank of the city across the canyon, and he needed to build a bridge to get there.

Not taking his eyes off the canyon, he concentrated on the sand around him. Lifting the sand carefully with his magic, he floated the shapeless lump to the crevice and stretched it out, forming a small, narrow bridge. Beaming, he turned to Starswirl.

“Hah! Do you really believe that little stick of sand will carry you across? You’d be tumbling into the canyon before your hoof even touched its surface.”

Spark frowned. He was right; there was no way it would hold any weight at all. Concentrating harder, he pulled more sand to the bridge, making it thicker and wider. He looked to Starswirl again with a smug smile on his face, which vanished when his mentor laughed again.

“If a bird landed on that thing, I’d have to rescue it!”

“B-but it’s thicker now! It could easily hold both of us,” Spark said indignantly.

Now it was Starswirl’s turn to smile smugly. “Then why don’t you take a step and prove me wrong?”

Spark studied the bridge and groaned. The old pony was right again. With a sigh, he shut his eyes, focusing hard on his magic. He felt it pulse in his horn as he reached his magic out to the ground beneath him, pulling at the earth. The dirt began to move, brushing around his armored hooves and spreading out on top of his bridge of sand. He opened his eyes, watching the dirt and sand as it flattened out, the bottom arching to give it support.

“For a minute there, I didn’t think you had it in you,” Starswirl said, marvelling at Spark’s creation. “Come on, Spark. I think you’ve earned a treat. I’ll take you to a restaurant.”

Spark grinned and followed Starswirl across the bridge. “Can we find someplace to lie down first? All that work made me kinda tired.”

“Sure, colt. It’ll be the first thing we do.”

As it turned out, it was not the first thing they did. Seeing a capital city for the first time had erased any trace of fatigue Spark had been feeling, replacing it with an excitement he’d never experienced before.

The first thing he noticed when they entered the market place was a store that had vegetables sitting outside on a stand, completely unguarded. He watched, bewildered, as unicorns simply strolled by it as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

Next to the vegetable stand was a store that had all sorts of strange clothing on display. They didn’t seem very comfortable to Spark, but their appearance was stunning. Jasper would love that place. And beside that store was–

Spark galloped as fast as he could down the street, coming to a halt in front of the store and pressing his armored snout to the window as he stared inside.

“Books! So many books!”

He ran back to Starswirl’s side and begged him for some bits, which Starswirl was happy to give him after Spark had pointed to the book store. With twenty bits in his saddlebag, he sprinted into the store. I’ve read that stupid “Basics of Unicorn Magic” book so many times I can practically recite it word for word!

The books on the shelves were massive, and he wandered the aisles slowly, gazing in awe at the rows upon rows of books. How am I supposed to choose just one? he thought with a frown, using his magic to pull several dozen books from the shelves at once so he could read their titles:

“The Magic of Mulch: The Earth Pony Guide to Farming”
“The Modern Arch: Building a Metropolis in the Modern Era”
“Rubies for Breakfast: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Raising a Dragon (But Were Afraid to Ask)”

Spark…

His magic imploded, sending the books tumbling to the floor. The shopkeeper coughed at him angrily, but Spark’s mind was elsewhere. Did something just call my name?

As though he was being led by his horn, he found himself trotting to the back of the shop. His horn lit up, bathing the shelves around him in a soft, white glow as one of the nearby books started to float over to Spark. It hovered before him and he lifted a hoof to dust off its cover.

“Secrets of the Shadows”

It was old, beaten up, torn in some places, and had a musty smell, but Spark knew this was the book he was meant to buy. Floating it beside him, he approached the shopkeeper, an older beige unicorn with a dark mustache who was staring at him with one raised eyebrow. “How much for this one?” he asked, floating it over to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper took it in his own magic and examined it, frowning as he did so. He shrugged and opened his mouth, and then shut it quickly as his gaze rested on something behind Spark. Spark turned to follow his gaze and realized sheepishly that the shopkeeper was staring at the books he had dropped earlier. “Forty bits,” the older unicorn said in a strange accent, scowling at Spark.

Spark frowned. He only had twenty bits, but this might be his only opportunity to get that book. Wait, isn’t this what Starswirl was telling me about a few days ago? Haggling?

“It’s an old book. It can’t be worth that much,” Spark argued. “I’ll give you… ten.”

The older unicorn sighed and rubbed his brow with a hoof. “Look, it is an old book, but it’s probably worth a lot more than what I offered it to you for. But if you want it that badly… thirty.”

“Twenty and I’ll put away every book I pulled out earlier.”

The shopkeeper looked from Spark in his armor to the pile of books behind him to the sunshine coming in through the window, and sighed again, looking weary. “Alright, alright. Just put the books away first.”

Fifteen minutes later, Spark left the shop, smiling as he felt the added weight of “Secrets of the Shadows” in his bag. He scanned the area and quickly found Starswirl at the vegetable stand, buying a jug that looked like it had some kind of liquid inside it. Spark trotted to his side.

“Did you find anything good, colt?” Starswirl asked, swirling the liquid around the jug.

“I think so. And I haggled him down from forty bits to twenty.”

“Good, but we’ll still have to work on your haggling.” Still? I got it for half price and that wasn’t enough? Spark shook his head in amused disbelief. Cheap mule… “In the meantime, there’s someplace very important that I need to take you. Are you going to be okay without rest or food for a while?”

Spark nodded, mentally trying to come up with a list of things that were more important than rest and food; he couldn’t think of anything. Starswirl trotted off, floating both the jug and his wooden staff at his side.

Starswirl led him through the city to its center, and Spark found himself in front of an enormous palace. His jaw dropped as it came into view, the sheer size of it unlike anything he’d ever seen.

The palace was grand and beautiful, and he stood stunned next to Starswirl as he took in the stained glass windows, the golden spirals that climbed the walls, and the bright green gems inlaid in the walls in mesmerizing designs.

After a few moments he realized that Starswirl had continued on without him, so he hurried to catch up with the old pony, his eyes glued to a spiral of green gems set in the white wall before him. As the pair approached the gate, they were halted by two unicorns in golden armor, each one levitating a spear.

“What is your business at the palace?”

Starswirl took a step forward and said, “I am Starswirl the Bearded. The armored colt beside me is my apprentice, Spark Shadow. We humbly request an audience with the court of Queen Emerald.”

The two guards glanced at each other with unreadable expressions, and then opened the gate with their combined magic. Inside the gate was a courtyard with a small legion of soldiers in training. As they trotted through the courtyard, Spark asked Starswirl where they were.

“This is the courtyard of the Royal Unicorn Palace,” he explained as Spark looked around. “And there are a lot more guards around the palace like the ones at the gate. Security is everywhere due to the Equine Alliance.”

Spark watched a row of unicorns as they practiced stabbing pony-dolls with their pointed sticks. He noticed that some of the dolls had wings and others didn’t, but none of them had horns. “What’s the Equine Alliance? And if they’re allied, why would they need security?”

Starswirl sighed. “Well, it’s an… uneasy alliance between the earth ponies, pegasus ponies and unicorns. You see, colt, the earth ponies grow all the food due to their unique relationship with the earth, the pegasi control the weather, and the unicorns use their magic to manage different things around the world.

“Together, the three races of ponies work together to ensure everypony’s survival, but there is much mistrust between them. There have been cases of rogue earth ponies and pegasi committing serious crimes against the other races, believing theirs to be superior.” He scowled at that, and then shrugged and looked down at Spark. “That’s the gist of it, anyway. I can explain more about it when we have the time.”

Spark nodded. Truth be told, he didn’t care too much for politics; what he was really curious about was the armor the guards wore. It was shiny and golden, and he wondered how strong it was. He smiled as he pictured Jasper stealing a set off a soldier’s back just to study the metalwork.

They came to a large door at the end of the courtyard where another guard stopped them and asked Starswirl what their business was in the palace. Once again, the bearded pony introduced himself and Spark, and the guard escorted them through the door and into the palace.

Spark’s jaw dropped as he entered the palace proper. He’d stepped into an immense room with numerous hallways leading away from it, each hall brightly lit and decorated floor-to-ceiling with paintings of regal-looking ponies. The room had pillars around its edge, and there was a pair of winding staircases in the middle of the room that led to a second floor. On the first floor, between the two staircases, was a large, golden door.

“This is the Grand Hall,” Starswirl whispered as they trotted towards the door. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”

As they approached, Spark noticed that a painting had been hung on it: a statuesque white unicorn with a crown and long, wavy green hair stood next to a much smaller unicorn filly, whose coat was also white and whose red hair tumbled down her shoulders from beneath a smaller golden crown. The older unicorn was smiling; the filly looked almost bored.

“Wait here, Professor,” the guard told them before disappearing through the door.

“’Professor’?” Spark asked, tearing his gaze from the painting to look at Starswirl.

“Spark, we only have a few moments, so listen close,” Starswirl replied in a hushed and hurried voice. “I visit here often and I hold a noble rank with the Queen. Now, unicorn custom requires us to do some things you might not like. So just follow my lead no matter what, keep your mouth shut unless you’re spoken to, and take off your hood.”

Spark opened his mouth to question him, but the elder pony shot him an exasperated look that said, “Just do as I say. Please?” So Spark took off his hood and floated it into his bag without a word. A moment later, the guard opened the door and nodded at them to enter.

This room was almost as enormous as the Grand Hall, but much narrower. Spark noticed with a start that the walls on either side of him were letting in the sunlight through large, colored windows, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that the light was not touching the red carpet that led down the center of the room.

He looked around; the walls were decorated with great tapestries that seemed to be telling the story of sun-praising unicorns. The red carpet before him led to a staircase nearly twice his height, at the top of which was a grand, golden chair. Sitting in the chair was the same white unicorn with the green hair that he had seen in the painting; beside her stood the filly.

Spark felt a nudge and looked up to see Starswirl trotting slowly towards the staircase. He followed the bearded pony, still marvelling at the grandeur of the room, and before long they came to a stop at the base of the stairs.

Spark tried to keep his eyes downcast, but he cast a furtive glance up at the Queen anyway, and then to the filly beside her. The filly noticed him looking at her and scowled down at him. She turned up her snout and scoffed quietly. Spark blushed and looked back down at his hooves.

“Professor Starswirl the Bearded, it is such a pleasure to see you again,” the Queen said in a prim accent.

Spark looked back up to see that the Queen had risen to her hooves and was now holding out a hoof, smiling expectantly at Starswirl. The old pony smiled back and climbed the stairs, using his wooden staff for support, and stopped before her. He planted a kiss on her hoof.

“Queen Emerald, the pleasure is all mine,” he said before turning his head to nod towards Spark. “I would like to introduce my apprentice, Spark Shadow. He has shown immeasurable potential for magic and I believe he would make a fine addition to Great Breton’s ranks.”

“If he has your approval, then it is a pleasure to meet him.” Queen Emerald smiled down at Spark and extended a hoof towards him as well. Starswirl nodded encouragingly and Spark climbed the stairs. Staring at the hoof, he hesitated. The thought of Black Moon came to his head and he suppressed a frown of disgust. Starswirl said to follow his lead, so just do it. Don’t think about it. One second and it’ll be over.

Spark kissed the hoof and repeated what his mentor had said: “The pleasure is mine, Queen Emerald.” He glanced up at the white unicorn filly as he said it. Her snout was still upraised. Spark fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Such a gentlecolt! I see he has been paying attention to your teachings, Professor,” the Queen said warmly, and then turned her attention to the filly behind her. “Princess Ruby, that is not how we greet visitors to our court, now is it?”

Princess Ruby sighed in exasperation, but approached Spark anyway. She extended a hoof and said in a practiced manner, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Spark kissed her hoof as well, and the Princess lowered it quickly and took a step back towards her mother, glaring at Spark. Are all the royal fillies like her? Spark looked back up at the Queen, who was still smiling warmly, seemingly unaware of her daughter’s reluctance to have anything to do with the other unicorn.

Starswirl broke the silence. “Queen Emerald, I’m afraid I am in need of a favor from your court. If we may talk in private…?” He glanced at Spark apologetically.

“Why, certainly, Professor. Princess Ruby, kindly escort young Spark on a tour of the Royal Palace.”

“But mother!”

“Ruby,” the Queen said, her stern voice in contrast to her kind face, “these fine ponies are our guests. Take him to the back and show him the library. Please.”

Ruby groaned and motioned at Spark. “As you wish, mother. Please follow me, pony.” She trotted past him, and he followed her uncertainly down the steps, casting one last glance at Starswirl before following her around the back of the throne and into a much smaller room. Once inside, the doors closed and the Princess turned to look Spark up and down. “You are rather ugly, you know.”

“Wha—?”

“And that cloth you are wearing is tacky and repulsive.”

“Hey—!”

“And you smell horrid,” she continued, sniffing at him. He backed away quickly from her snout, glowering at her as she sighed. “But you will have to do. You are my new special coltfriend, pony. You will love me, pamper me and protect me. In return, I will take care of you and tend to your needs. Now come, we must get you to a bath.”

Spark watched in utter confusion as she turned away from him and towards another door. Jasper would be absolutely in love with her, he mused, following her out of the room.

“My name is Spark, Princess,” he said when he caught up to her. “And another thing–”

Princess Ruby cocked her head at him. “Yes, what is it?”

“What’s a bath?”

***

Every turn was precisely calculated. Every tuck of her wings increased her speed and kept her from colliding with the wall. And every lit crystal she passed was a checkpoint that reminded her just how slowly she was flying.

Faster, I need to be faster, because if I slow down they’ll catch me, and if they catch me, they’ll...

Storm shut her eyes and pumped her wings harder. She knew the walls of the cavern by heart now, knew how far the tip of her wing was to the rocks, and how much space she could climb before hitting the stalactites that hung from the ceiling. The perimeter of the cavern was approximately three quarters of a mile, and she could make a lap faster than she ever had before, but it still wasn’t fast enough.

The days had begun to blur together: wake up, eat, gather water from the cracks in the wall, wait for Spark to rescue them, fall asleep.

Jasper had finally chipped enough metal off the door to create a prosthetic wing cover for Dream. It was flimsy and Dream was still unable to fly, but it covered his bones and would help his wing heal. Ghost had become proficient at moving around using only his hind legs; when he wasn’t training, he was waiting by the door for the shadow ponies to return, ready to attack. Flex had taken it upon himself to help Storm with her training.

Jasper called out to her suddenly, his voice distant as she flew. “Storm, would you mind terribly slowing down just a tad? It’s become quite windy in here.”

If they chase me and I’m slow, they’ll catch me, but if I fly faster, they won’t catch me, because I’ll be faster than them. So I have to fly faster or else they’ll chase me and then they’ll catch me and they’ll do it again and again and again–

The pebble that struck the side of her head suddenly was just enough to snap her out of her thoughts, and her eyes flew open as she heard her brothers scream her name. Slowing down, she turned to look at them and watched as Jasper and Flex fell to the floor. Dream and Ghost had their forelegs clamped around large rocks.

Storm giggled and flew over to land beside Flex. “Um, what happened?”

“I think you just started a tornado,” Flex said with a grim smile as he rubbed the shoulder he had landed on.

“She tried to kill us is what she did!” Jasper groaned, scowling at Storm. He groaned again as he noticed the scattered remains of his work area, the tiny pieces of metal strewn across the cavern.

“Oops, sorry guys,” Storm said, putting on an apologetic face and stifling another giggle. I can’t believe I flew that fast!

At that moment, Ghost leapt to his hooves and growled, facing the door. The rest of them followed his gaze.

“Flex, remain with me,” Jasper ordered in a low, hurried voice. “Dream, please stay back. Storm, take cover.” Storm didn’t need to be told twice. She was already on her way to the back of the cavern to hide behind a protruding rock in the ceiling.

The door clanked open behind her as she dove behind the rock.

***

Two earth ponies trotted into the room and stopped just inside the doorway. Nails appeared from behind them and approached Jasper and Flex in the center of the room. Ghost was off to the side, still growling at the intruders. Dream had hidden himself behind a rock on the ground. Storm was hidden behind a rock in the ceiling at the back of the cavern.

Jasper glared at Nails as the pegasus dropped a small box at his hooves. His gaze turned to the box. He could feel its contents.

“Hello, friends,” giggled Nails. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, and then turned his gaze to the rock where Storm was hiding. He laughed harder. “Hello again, Sweet Flanks.”

“What do you want, Nails?” Jasper had gone back to glaring at him.

“Master wants to talk to Jasper pony.”

“You may tell your master that he can sit on a pointy rock,” Jasper growled.

“Now, now, Jasper Shadow. At least your brother had the decency to insult me to my face. That is, until he abandoned all of us.” The voice came from just beyond the door, mocking and acidic. It made Jasper’s stomach turn, but he showed no sign of his disgust as Black Moon stepped into the cavern. “Hello, Jasper.”

The alicorn spread his wings and flew to where Storm was hiding. “Hello, Storm,” he said with a chuckle. Jasper could hear Storm whimpering as Black Moon flew around the cavern for a minute, enjoying the opportunity to stretch his wings.

“Well, far be it from me to break family tradition,” called Jasper dramatically as he watched the Shadow King fly. “Why don’t you go sit on a pointy rock?”

“Jasper, I’ve come to talk with you in private,” said Black Moon, ignoring the question as he landed a few feet from the other ponies and took his time trotting over to them. “I was hoping we could reach an…” He paused and stopped before Jasper, the corners of his mouth curled up in something resembling a friendly smile. “…agreement,” he finished, kicking the box at Jasper’s hooves. “I come bearing gifts. This one is free. Walk with me and there will be better ones for you and your family.”

Jasper looked down at the contents that had spilled out of the box. Four pounds of iron carbonite. That is more than enough to fix Dream’s wing. He shook his head and looked away. “What could you possibly have that we would want?”

Black Moon clenched his teeth and whistled; from outside the door, Jasper heard a pony snort and kick at something.

“Awwwwwuuuuurrrrr!”

Dream shot forward from his hiding place. “Surty! Give him back!” Flex restrained his pegasus brother from bolting out the door. Dream whined as he flapped his wings uselessly.

“You heard your brother, Jasper,” said Black Moon, stretching a wing towards the door. “Are you really going to deny him his pet?”

Jasper looked at Dream. His brother was staring into his eyes, silently pleading with him. “Fine,” he said, his gaze lingering on Dream’s. “I shall come with you. Give us the dragon first.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Nails?”

Nails trotted out the door, returning a moment later with Surty, his teeth wrapped around its neck. He dropped it in front of Dream, who fell to his haunches and scooped up the baby dragon, his eyes brimming with tears.

Black Moon looked at Jasper and tilted his head towards the door. “Shall we?”

The alicorn trotted out the door, followed closely by Jasper and the two earth ponies. Jasper glanced back to see Nails laugh one last time, his head facing Storm’s hiding spot. As soon as Nails was out the door, it slammed shut behind them. The group made their way out of the pit and headed for the opening of the cave.

“I see you made your brother a brace for his wing. I apologize for that, by the way. I never meant for things to get that serious.” Jasper blinked at Black Moon. His usual mocking tone was uncharacteristically absent from his voice. “But your fellow ponies had so much anger that needed releasing. You did all intend to abandon us, after all.”

Black Moon glanced down at Jasper and he looked to his hooves in sudden shame. “And one of you managed to succeed,” Black Moon continued. “I suppose your plan was to leave and never return, even if only one of you escaped.”

Jasper continued to look at his hooves, once again feeling foalish for ever having believed in Spark’s plan.

The rest of the journey was made in silence, and after a few more turns, they arrived at the cave entrance. Jasper squinted at the brightness; it had been nearly a year since he had seen the sunshine. Through his half-blinded vision he could make out the familiar shapes of ponies preparing to carry out another one of the Shadow King’s escape plans. They seemed to be wearing some kind of crude armor.

His eyes adjusted to the light and he realized what they were wearing. Rocks. He looked outside and noticed a few rocks lying in the sunlight.

“I see you remember those,” Black Moon said, having followed Jasper’s gaze. “Tell me, do you think the plan would have worked?”

Jasper thought about it and shook his head. He turned to look at Black Moon, whose eyes were still fixed on the rock armor outside. “No,” he said, feeling defeated. “Spark was becoming desperate and he was willing to risk it all on... rocks.”

“So he was desperate and greedy,” Black Moon said, cocking his head. “He must have had no trouble at all getting all of you wrapped up in his scheme.” Jasper frowned. He’s right, he thought, glancing at the sky. Spark is my brother, but Black Moon is right.

There was a brief silence. Black Moon’s eyes were still on the rocks outside, and without shifting his gaze, he spoke. “Every day for the past year, I’ve been staring at that armor you made. Every day I’ve been staring at my own failure out there in the sun. Those rocks have been mocking me, telling me that I simply don’t have whatever it is that you and your family have; those talents that make you each so special.”

He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Jasper. After a long moment, he broke his gaze from the rocks and turned away. “Come. This isn’t where I wanted to bring you.”

The pair continued in silence; Nails and the other ponies had stayed behind at the entrance. As they passed the pit, Jasper noticed the guards protecting the hole and the door at the bottom. It was as if Black Moon had placed an entire legion of unicorns outside their door. Each guard grinned wickedly at Jasper as he trotted by.

A few minutes later, they found themselves at the back end of the cave. It was dark and musty, and Jasper coughed as he inhaled the dust that had been floating around the cave for millennia. So this is the slave area, he thought as they passed sickly-looking ponies with their hooves in the walls, occasionally pulling away to drop small nuggets of ore into piles that lined the walkway.

“We are not going to become your slaves, Black Moon,” Jasper murmured, frowning at the malnourished ponies. “So if that is the reason you brought me here, then you have wasted both of our time.”

Black Moon raised an eyebrow at this and chuckled, his familiar mocking tone suddenly present in his voice. “’Wasted your time’? Aside from chipping away at that door, what else could you have been doing that would qualify this as wasted time?” As soon as it had appeared, the mocking tone vanished. “No, I have no intention of turning you or your family into slaves.”

Jasper breathed a sigh of relief and Black Moon continued. “Like I’ve told you before, you’re all much too valuable to me for your talents to be wasted on common slave work, and I can’t trust you enough to let you outside. No, Jasper, I have something even better in store for you.”

After another half-hour of walking through the dark cave, Jasper began to feel something in his horn. His eyes went wide at the sensation; it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Black Moon smiled at him as they came to a door.

“I see you’ve noticed the treasures we keep back here,” the alicorn said, tilting his head towards the door. “Would you like to take a look?”

Jasper pushed the door open slowly, and his jaw dropped at what he saw. Piles of iron, nickel, lead, copper, gold and silver were arranged neatly around the room, as well as other minerals he didn’t know the names of.

“I need you, Jasper Shadow. Your gift with metal is far greater than anypony else’s in the cave, and I’m willing to work out a deal for your cooperation.”

Jasper stared at the metals, unable to take his eyes off of them. Look how they shine, even in the dark! Look at the colors! Look how much there is! How have I never felt this before? His mind raced as his eyes shot from pile to pile. If Black Moon had asked me ten minutes ago if I wanted to help him, I would have said no, but this… By the Sky Pony, this changes everything!

“Make armor for me and my shadow ponies. In exchange, we will take the locks off your door. You and your family will bear my seal and any who touch you will face immediate death.” Black Moon moved closer to Jasper and bent low, their faces nearly touching. “Make my ponies resistant to the sun. Make them a fighting force that will crush anything that opposes us when we finally leave this wretched cave.”

Black Moon put a hoof to Jasper’s cheek, gently turning his head to face his own. Lime green eyes stared into bright red ones as Black Moon whispered, “Use your talents to make us invincible.”

“Ye—”

Jasper’s assent was interrupted by the clinking of chains from across the room. His eyes followed the sound and fell on a pony who was chained to the wall. Their legs were bound together, their neck was tied to prevent movement, and they had something around their muzzle to prevent them from speaking.

His heart skipped a beat as he realized who it was.

Equinivere.

“What is she doing here?” Jasper demanded, rounding on Black Moon, who had straightened up. “What have you done to her?”

“She refused to be a slave, Jasper. Normally, the punishment would be to throw her out into the sunlight or simply kill her,” he explained in an even voice as he stared at the shaking mare. “But this one is far too special to me.” He turned back to Jasper and his lips curled in that familiar corruption of a smile. “If you choose to work for me, consider her your model and my first test subject.”

Jasper opened his mouth to object, but stopped as he realized what was happening. Here I am, being offered full safety and freedom for my family, he thought, anger rising in his chest, and yet again, this mare is in my way.

Black Moon’s smile faded as he leaned down close to Jasper, once again using a hoof to force the unicorn to look into his eyes. “You will work for me. You will build me an armory using every piece of metal in this cave. You will free your family and you will stand by my side as this world bows to my hooves. And you will not let this mare stand in your way. Do you understand me?”

Black Moon straightened up again after a moment and Jasper sighed. He looked up at the alicorn who stood before him, his black wings spread, his hoof extended towards him.

A true king of the damned, Jasper thought as he bowed and kissed the hoof of his King.

“Good Shadow.”

***

It had been a good day as far as Starswirl was concerned. He’d spent the past two hours talking with Queen Emerald over a jug of freshly-squeezed apple cider, and together they had set up everything that was needed for Spark. The Queen is so much fun when she’s drunk, Starswirl thought as he stumbled through the hallways.

Queen Emerald had sent a servant to find Ruby and Spark, so Starswirl was more than surprised to find his young student sitting in the main hall at the base of one of the staircases, wearing full armor.

“Spark, how long have you been waiting for me?” The colt didn’t answer. “And why are you wearing all your armor? The sun has nearly set. Take off your hood.”

Spark merely sat silently, slouching closer to the ground. Starswirl frowned and used his own magic to remove the hood and place it on the floor beside his apprentice. Spark’s eyes were wide open and staring at the floor, and his ears were flattened against his purple mane. Starswirl raised an eyebrow.

“Colt, what are you…” He paused and sniffed the air. “Why do you smell like wildflowers?” Spark simply lowered his head further, and Starswirl’s eyes went wide with the realization. “Did Princess Ruby give you a bath?” His apprentice nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the immaculate marble floor. Starswirl chuckled. “Well, you don’t smell like a corpse in the desert anymore. So what’s wrong?”

Spark lifted his head to look at Starswirl. He was blushing. “Um, Ruby and her servant…” He shifted his legs, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “They were very… thorough.”

Starswirl burst into laughter, not sober enough to hold back. Spark held his head in his hooves in embarrassment as his mentor fell to the floor, clutching his stomach and howling with laughter. A few of the guards approached them, causing Spark to sink even lower to the floor, hiding his face in shame.

After a few minutes, the laughter had mostly subsided and Starswirl returned to his hooves, still chuckling softly. “Well, at least now I can take you out in public and not have ponies run away in disgust. I promised you a trip to a restaurant, didn’t I?”

“Fine. Whatever. Can we just go now, please?” Spark mumbled, his hooves muffling his voice.

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to your fillyfriend?”

Spark took off at that, bolting towards the courtyard, his cheeks bright red. Starswirl followed at a leisurely pace, still chuckling to himself.

The sun had set by the time they arrived at the restaurant, so Spark had taken off his armor. His eyes were still wide and his ears were still flush against his mane.

“So, Spark,” Starswirl began after their food had arrived, “why don’t you tell me what happened?”

“Um, well,” Spark said, his cheeks beginning to flush yet again. “First she said I smelled ‘horrid’ and that I needed a bath. So she took me to this room with a tub and told me to take off my clothes while she filled the tub with water. Then, while the water was running, she left the room and came back a minute later with another mare, and they made me get in the tub.”

Spark shook his head softly and closed his eyes as though reliving a terrible memory. “So they started scrubbing my back with a sponge and some soap, but when my back was done, Ruby started bringing her sponge lower… and lower…” He trailed off, opening his eyes and blushing harder.

Starswirl chuckled again. Fillies these days. If Princess Ruby was being that forward, she must really like Spark. He began to wonder if Spark had ever had a bath in the cave. For that matter, he wondered if any of those ponies had ever felt truly clean.

“Um, Starswirl,” Spark started to ask, prompting the wizard to look up from his mug of coffee, “is it wrong that I, uh, liked it a little?”

***

A few moments later, Starswirl put the sopping wet napkin down, chuckling once more at Spark. “Well, now we know how far I can spit coffee. But no, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Spark calmed down at that, his ears returning to their normal state and his blush fading from his cheeks. He looked down at his plate of fresh vegetables and began to play with the carrots.

All of a sudden, there was complete and utter silence.

The restaurant had been noisy with conversation, but now it was totally silent. Spark could hear every pony’s breathing, and he looked up from his plate to see what the matter was. To his surprise, every pony in the restaurant had stopped what they were doing and were now facing the same direction with their eyes shut. He looked outside and noticed that the unicorns on the street were doing the same thing. Everypony’s horn was glowing.

“Starswirl, what’s going on?” he whispered, suddenly frightened. “Why did everypony just stop?”

Starswirl smiled down at his apprentice and shook his head. “Shh. Look to the east and concentrate your magic on the sky.”

Spark frowned, but did as he was told. He faced the east and shut his eyes, focusing his magic on the starry void.

Thank you for waking me up…

Spark’s eyes snapped open and he watched as the moon broke the horizon and began to rise through the dark sky. He turned to Starswirl, his eyes wide with amazement. “Did… did the moon just thank me? What just happened?” He looked around; the restaurant-goers had resumed their conversations as though nothing had happened.

“Yes,” said Starswirl nonchalantly, taking a bite of his daisy sandwich. “The moon has always been kind. The sun, on the other hoof, usually demands more focus.”

“But… what happened?” Spark managed to sputter, thoroughly confused.

“Spark, remember when I told you earlier about the Equine Alliance?” Starswirl asked between bites. Spark nodded. “Well, I left out what the unicorns did exactly because I wanted to show you by example. What just happened was that the unicorns of Great Breton all joined their magic, and Queen Emerald used that magic to set the sun and raise the moon, completing the cycle.”

Spark touched his horn with a hoof and grinned in understanding. “So the purpose of the unicorn race is to raise the sun and moon?”

“That is a very simple way to put it, yes. But the true nature of our power comes from balance. Unicorns bring harmony to the world, you see. The grass and food that grow on the plains, the water that flows through the rivers, the animals that live off the land,” Starswirl said, beaming at Spark with sudden pride, “all life revolves around harmony, and the magic of the unicorns ensures that the balance is always kept.”

“So by raising the sun and the moon, we maintain the harmony of the world?”

“Again, there is more to harmony than the raising and the setting of the sun and moon. All three races work together to maintain harmony.”

Spark nodded, and silence fell upon the pair as they continued to eat. Then Spark remembered something, and without looking up from his vegetables, asked, “So then how come every unicorn added their magic except you?”

There was a pregnant pause, and Spark looked up at Starswirl. The old pony had an unreadable expression on his face, and he quickly hid it with the daisy sandwich. “Well, let’s just say,” he began, taking a bite out of it, “that I have too much magic in me. I have no power to speak to the moon, the sun, or the stars.”

Spark still didn’t understand, but he felt like he had learned enough already, and he was tired. “Starswirl, where are we going tonight? I could use that rest now.”

Starswirl finished the sandwich, saying as he chewed, “We’re going back to the palace. I have a room set up for us. And tomorrow you’re to start your first day of school.”

“’School’?”

“Yes, school. Queen Emerald has been gracious enough to allow you to join Princess Ruby for basic magic lessons. There’s a lot I have left to teach you, colt, but you’ll need a basic understanding of magic and its practical uses before I can really start. Plus, it would benefit you greatly if you had other ponies to train with.”

Spark sank into his cushion, the blush returning to his cheeks. “So I’m going to be spending all day with… her?”

“Spark, you have nothing to fear from her. She’s just a filly, after all.”

The young unicorn groaned and sank deeper into his chair, blushing furiously as he recalled the sponge travelling lower, lower, lower—

Oh, I have plenty to fear.