The Deepest Magic

Chapters

Chapter 2: Believe
Chapter 3: The North Comes South
Chapter 4: The Eleventh Hour
Chapter 5: Come Back to Us
Chapter 6: Awakening
Chapter 7: Alive Again
Chapter 8: Never Alone
Chapter 9: Unfinished Business
Chapter 11: Dawn Over Equestria
Chapter 12: Final Farewells
Chapter 13: What the Dawn Brings
Chapter 14: Embracing Tomorrow
Epilogue
Chapter 1: Shroud of Grief
Chapter 10: The Deepest Magic

Chapter 2: Believe

Celestia walked slowly and deliberately down the hallway from the room where she had left Lily alone with Sky. Her mind was more anxious than it had been in years, but she understood, perhaps more than anypony in Equestria, just how important it was to keep a level head. Especially in times of crisis.

Behind her, she heard the familiar hoofsteps of her six faithful subjects. The holders of the Elements of Harmony. From the day they had restored Princess Luna to the empire, she had found each of them to be faithful and trustworthy. She had relied upon them with tasks that she would have withheld from many of her own personal guards. They had faced dragons, confronted monsters, and even fought an invading army. And she hoped that, somehow, they would continue to impress her.

But now, here in the security of the royal palace, she could almost feel their unease. Some of them looked unnaturally tense, while others followed with heads hung and ears flat against their heads. The princess sighed to herself. They’ve done so much already. But all too often, the battles we lose are the ones that strike us at home.

She inclined her head back to the group following her to speak when another voice broke the silence. “So, now what?” Rainbow Dash asked, the impatience in her voice coming as no surprise to the monarch.

“Now we wait,” Princess Celestia replied firmly. She turned straight ahead again, hoping to signify and end to the discussion.

But Rainbow Dash wasn’t through. “Wait? That’s all we ever do! We wait. Sky’s lying in a coma because we waited too long!” she blurted, disregarding Celestia’s attempts to cut off the conversation.

“Rainbow…” Twilight said softly. It had a compassionate tone to it, which stung the princess’ heart. Rainbow Dash was merely saying what they must all be thinking. In fact, she herself had thought the same thing over many sleepless nights. And she still wondered where it had all gone wrong. Where she had gone wrong.

“Look, Sky can’t last forever like this,” Rainbow continued to protest. “It’s been five days, and the only way he’s getting any nourishment at all is with magical spells, and we can’t count on that lasting forever.” Her sigh came out loud and harsh. “We don’t have time to wait.”

Celestia stopped in her tracks and turned to face the group of six ponies. She locked her gaze with Rainbow Dash for a moment, whose eyes grew wide with sudden alarm at the thought of having possibly offended the princess.

But Celestia’s expression grew soft. “I understand that, Rainbow Dash,” she said, her eyes drifting from mare to mare as she spoke. “The entire Council does. But even if we had the time, what could we do?” She closed her eyes and shook her head sadly before continuing. “Sky’s body is here. We have no word on the Chimera. And we all agreed that bringing Lily to Canterlot was our best chance at saving Sky. All we can do is wait and see what happens.”

Rainbow Dash took a breath as if to argue, but after a short moment, she released the breath in defeat. “Yeah, I know,” she admitted. “It just feels wrong to be sitting here on our haunches when there’s still so much that needs to be done.”

“I can appreciate that,” Celestia responded. “We may not have much time, but until we gain some new information or something changes, we can only do one thing with it. And we just have to believe that it won’t run out before Sky comes back to us.”

“But what will we do if we find out where the Chimera is and Sky isn’t awake yet?” Rarity asked, a worrisome look coming to her face.

“We won’t know until that happens,” Celestia replied simply. “But I may have to ask the six of you to wield the Elements of Harmony against it.”

“But Princess,” Twilight interjected, “you’re the most powerful pony in Equestria. Why can’t you just go and face it? I’m sure it wouldn’t be able to stand up to you.”

Celestia let her eyelids close as she responded. “There are a few reasons. First, I don’t think it wants to fight me like this. Perhaps eventually, but not yet. If I were to come, I doubt it would stay and fight me. And secondly,” she continued, opening her eyes, “there are those ponies that Sky told us had been consumed by the Chimera. I fear trying to vanquish this creature at the expense of not being able to save those ponies.”

“So does Sky,” Twilight countered. “Why should you be any different?”

“Because, my faithful student,” Celestia answered, stepping forward, “Sky has faced this creature three times now. And I think that deep within his mind, wherever it is, he knows how to defeat it, once and for all.”

“How can ya’ know that?” Applejack asked.

“Because even though he is unconscious, his body still exists. Which means that the Chimera did not consume it. Which means that somehow, he found a way to protect himself from that fate.” She turned to a nearby open window, where the stars glittered in another crisp, clear night sky. “I believe he finally has the key to ending this. We just have to wait for him to come back.”

“Oh.” Celestia turned again to see Rainbow Dash, red with embarrassment, nervously running her hoof through her multicolored mane. “I’m sorry, Princess. I was just…frustrated. I shoulda known that you had thought everything out like that.”

The alicorn smiled softly as she approached the speedy pegasus. “I am certainly not infallible, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia admitted. “I know how worried you are about Sky. How worried all of you are,” she said, once again scanning the faces of her small audience before returning to Rainbow. “You do not need to apologize.”

The pegasus smiled sheepishly as Celestia turned and began walking again, leading the slow procession to the throne room. She and her entourage were silent as they passed the guards on duty, who promptly saluted as they passed by. The stained glass portraits along the hallways were dark as they plodded along. I don’t care what he says, Celestia thought to herself, if he comes back and defeats the Chimera, he’s getting a window of his own.

Finally, as she opened the doors to the great throne room, Celestia heard a small voice speak up from behind her. “Lily seems really sweet and kind,” Fluttershy said, though her voice was barely louder than a whisper. “I’m not surprised that Sky liked her so much.”

“She’s really quite lovely, as well,” Rarity added.

“Did you guys hear her crying in there?” Rainbow asked. “She really liked Sky, too, it seems.”

So much for tact. She continued down the bold red carpet to the front of the room, where her two guards snapped to attention on either side of the throne.

The discussion behind her continued. “Likes, ya’ll, likes,” Applejack interrupted, a bit forcefully. “Not ‘liked’.”

“What’s the difference?” Rainbow asked, sounding a bit put off by Applejack’s unnecessary abruptness.

“Sky’s still alive, ya’ll. He still likes Lily, and she still likes him.”

“Applejack, you know what they meant,” Twilight chided. “Of course Sky’s still with us. We won’t give up on him.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow as she ascended the steps and turned around, seated on the throne. She quickly looked to Applejack, who was looking somewhat dejected where she stood.

“It’s just that talkin’ about him in the present keeps me thinkin’ about him in the present. It’s mah own way o’ keepin’ myself convinced that he’s comin’ back to us,” Applejack explained, her speech becoming softer with each word.

The room suddenly became deathly quiet. Each of the six mares looked to a different area of the room, as though they were ashamed to look at each other. It was apparent that the horrible reality had washed over them again, uncertain of what to say in response. After several tense moments, it was Pinkie who broke the silence.

“Aw, come on, you guys,” she said in her contagiously cheerful manner. “Sky’ll wake up soon, and then we can set everything right again.” She smiled broadly in conclusion.

“Of course he will, Pinkie,” Twilight replied. “It’s just hard to believe that right now.”

Polarmino
April 6, 12:06 AM – Approximately five hours after Lily’s arrival in Canterlot

It was too cold to be doing this.

Hayseed stood at the edge of town, gazing out into the frigid night. A light veil of clouds caused the moon and stars above to be surrounded in a gentle glow. His shift had only just begun, but he was already tired of it. Ever since Lily had been summoned to Canterlot, the townsponies had decided to form a town watch. Apparently, something had happened that concerned the town leaders enough to force them to keep a constant vigil on the town.

Unfortunately, they had not seen fit to inform him of what it was.

He had his suspicions. When Sky had been here, he had gone off to the windigo colony. The windigoes hadn’t bothered the settlement since that time (which had only been about two weeks earlier), but he wondered if Sky’s and Lily’s journey to their home had agitated them.

But he didn’t think that was the answer. No, deep in his mind, he believed that the answer lay in what Sky had fought when he went to the windigo colony. He hadn’t mentioned much about the creature, but he had said enough to convince Hayseed that it was powerful, it was dangerous, and it could hold a grudge. And if all that was true, it was very possible that it would return to Polarmino.

For revenge.

So, here he was, just past midnight, fulfilling a makeshift guard duty on the frozen ground of his hometown. On the other side of the town, Lemon Cobbler held her own as the other half of the night force. If you could even call it that.

It’s not like we could actually do anything against something that decided to attack the village. All we could really do is manage to warn everypony so that they could get away. We’re not fighters…we’re settlers.

His eyes watched his misty breath linger in the air until it vanished into the frosty air. Inside the town, behind where it had disappeared, he saw gentle orange glow radiating from a low window in his own home. Hayseed smiled. He couldn’t see inside, but he already knew that his brother Barley was reading by the fireplace. Again.

He adjusted his scarf and looked up at the lantern-pole attached to the harness he wore. He rather disliked it; in the deep darkness of the far north, it could be seen for miles. While it was meant as a deterrent to frosty creatures and a beacon to anypony who may have been unfortunate to have gotten lost, Hayseed feared that if something determined came to the village, then it would know exactly where they were.

He felt a cold shiver race up and down his spine. Can’t think like that, he thought to himself. Gotta keep it together.

A faint movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention. Every hair on his body stood on end as he turned in its direction, uncertain of what he had seen. Gathering his courage, he called into the darkness.

“H-hello? Is anypony there?”

The only sound he heard was the light breeze blowing past his ear. He began to wonder if his mind was just running wild. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to somepony on the night watch. He started to turn back to the village when he felt a strange urge to call out one more time. Just to be sure.

“I said, is anypony there?” he called. His voice echoed off the hard ground into the empty spaces of the frozen north, and he cringed each time he heard his own voice repeated back to him. Then, in the midst of the echoes, he heard a raspy voice that was distinctly not his own.

“Help! Where are you? Please, help!”

In spite of his worry, he found himself darting into the night as his lantern swung back and forth from its mount on his pole. He waved it back and forth frantically, hoping to catch sight of the owner of the voice. As he frantically looked around, he finally spotted it: a dark gray pony with a jet black mane, looking half-frozen and rather haggard from days without food.

Hayseed rather unexpectedly found himself standing beside the mare. She looked to be an older pony, though not quite as old as his grandfather had been. No, not as old as he IS, he subconsciously corrected himself. He looked at the mare, and he saw fearfulness in her eyes, though he could tell that she was both relieved and surprised to see him.

“Oh, my, I never thought I’d find a pony out here! Are you lost, too?” she whispered.

“No, ma’am,” Hayseed responded politely. “We’re just on the edge of my hometown. How long have you been out here?”

“Oh, I honestly don’t know,” she replied, her speech giving way to a coughing fit as she finished. “I just lost my way, and there was a bad fog, and soon, I was all turned around. Where am I?”

“This is Polarmino,” he said, turning back to the town. “If you’ll come with me, we can get you inside where you can start to warm up.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! I thought I was going to be a meal for a windigo out here!” she said with a chuckle. Or a small cough. Hayseed couldn’t tell.

The two of them slowly made their way to the edge of town, and Hayseed led her straight to his own home, where the fire still glowed through the window. As he opened the door, sure enough, he saw Barley sitting on the floor in front of the fire, engrossed in another of his books. He arched his eyebrow as he looked up at his elder brother. “Aren’t you supposed to be on watch?” he said, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

“I am on watch,” Hayseed replied as he helped the newcomer into the house. Barley was on his hooves in a flash, startled by the approach of this unfamiliar pony. “I found her on the outskirts of town. She says she’s been lost for a while. I brought her here so she can warm up and get something to eat. Think you can help with that?” He leveled his eyes at Barley, trying to will him into the kitchen to grab something warm to eat.

“Oh, uh…” Barley stammered for a moment. His gaze quickly passed from Hayseed to the newcomer several times before he finally seemed to gather his wits. “Oh! Here, you can sit in front of the fire,” he said, backing away from his spot on the floor, “and I’ll grab some warm cider from the kitchen, and perhaps I can toast some bread for you?”

The grey mare merely nodded as she dropped to the floor and huddled close to the fire, still shivering. Hayseed gave Barley a look that said, “Well?” and he was off to the kitchen, a panicked brown blur of motion.

Hayseed shut the door and walked over to a cupboard, where he found a suitably thick blanket. He walked over to where the mare lay on the floor and gently draped it over her. She looked up at him and smiled in a gesture of appreciation.

He felt a warm satisfaction grow in his chest as he watched her lower her head to the floor and close her eyes. He had done a good deed tonight, if nothing else happened. It was what his parents had taught him to do. It was what his grandparents had taught him to do. They had told him many times that it was his job to teach others to treat ponies with kindness and respect. “You owe it to them, and they owe it to you,” they had said to him. And now, it felt good to have lived up to that expectation.

He heard a soft clatter from the kitchen. He leaned down beside the resting mare and whispered, “I’m going to the kitchen to help get you something. I’ll be right back.” He then rose up and made his way to the kitchen.

As he walked inside, his lantern clanged against the frame of the doorway, grabbing Barley’s attention from where he was trying to bring the water to a boil. “Hey, everyone else is sleeping!” he whispered. “Can you at least try to keep it down?”

“You’re one to talk, with all that clattering and knocking from in here,” Hayseed shot back. “I’m just here to help. What do you need help with?”

“Grab some apple concentrate of ours and toss it in here,” Barley said, gesturing to the steaming pot of water before him. “I’ll toast a few slices of bread. That should at least take the edge off her hunger.”

“Bread?” Hayseed asked incredulously. “That’s it? Seriously? We can’t offer her anything more, I dunno, cordial?”

“If she hasn’t eaten anything in a while, you can’t risk upsetting her system,” Barley explained. “We’ll need to slowly reintroduce food to her, and bread’s pretty neutral when it comes to stuff to eat. It’ll nourish her, and we won’t run the risk of her reacting badly to it.”

“Oh.” Hayseed paused for a moment before continuing. “Where do you learn all this stuff?”

Barley gave him a quick look before tossing a few slices of bread onto a metal rack over the fire. “Where do I learn most of what I know? I read, unlike a few other ponies I know.”

“Har har.” Hayseed dropped pulled the top off a large jug and poured a healthy amount into the pot, then grabbed a ladle and began to stir.

Shortly thereafter, the cider and toast were ready, and the two of them offered them to the elder mare. She was already looking much better than when Hayseed had found her, and she eagerly scarfed the both the toast and the cider. Barley had returned to the kitchen while Hayseed remained with their guest. She looked up at him nodded.

“Thank you for finding me,” she said in a suddenly much clearer voice. “I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to last!”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Hayseed replied, blushing slightly. “I’m just surprised you made it here. There aren’t any real towns or anything nearby. You must have been walking for days.”

“It might have been that long,” she agreed. “But look at you, taking me into your home to take care of a complete stranger on a cold night like this. Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?”

The thought registered in his head like a cannon. “Ah, I’m sorry, but I’m supposed to be on guard duty. That’s why I found you tonight. And I’m afraid I need to get back out there. Never know who else I may find,” he added with a wink.

She nodded in understanding. He turned to the kitchen once again, careful not to knock his lantern against anything, where Barley was apparently fixing a few more slices of toast. “I’m headed back out, bro,” he said. “If you could just keep an eye on her, we can tell mom and dad what’s going on in the morning.”

“If the smell of the cider doesn’t wake them up soon.”

“True.”

“Heh, this is your revenge. If you have to stay up all night, so do I, huh?” Barley retorted.

“You would have been up all night reading, anyway,” he countered. “So I don’t think it’s asking too much.”

“Fair point. Hey, I was gonna make a few more slices of toast for her if she wanted any. Did she happen to mention that?” Barley asked as Hayseed turned to leave.

“She didn’t, but I can ask.”

“Please do.”

He walked out of the kitchen (still careful with his lantern) and began to talk as he rounded the corner to the living room where the newcomer waited. “Hey, my brother was going to fix a few more pieces of toast if you wanted some. Are you still hungry?”

And as he rounded the corner, his eyes grew wide and his heart nearly exploded in his chest.

The old grey mare was standing in front of the fire now, her blanket tossed aside. From her back, a huge plume of black smoke, or a horrible shadow, rose, filling the air and spreading around the ceiling. Her mouth opened slightly, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs. As Hayseed stumbled backwards, she opened her eyes in his direction, and, to his horror, he saw a pair of glowing red orbs emerge on either side of her head.

“As a matter of fact,” she hissed, “I am.”

Chapter 3: The North Comes South

Northern Frontier of Equestria, Crystal Mountains
April 6, 3:43 AM

The inner sanctum of the colony was slowly beginning to look like the chamber he remembered. It had not been but two weeks ago that he had seen it decimated in an epic battle with the creature known as the Chimera. He could still feel the dread of the horrible creature and feel the heat from its fiery breath.

In the wake of that terrible clash, he had proudly told the pegasus that the windigoes would not leave their home. And now, looking at the progress of the reconstruction, he felt the satisfaction of being right. The sheer rock walls of the cavern had been once again coated in a thick layer of ice, and the decorative carvings and etchings were already beginning to return. The one supporting pillar that had been destroyed was under full-scale construction, and there were already more than a dozen platforms that had been placed around the vastness of the chamber. High above him, on the opposite side of the chamber, the magnificent throne of his lord looked out over the recovering domain.

And the king was there.

The pale glowing eyes of King Icevein pierced the distance to the leader of his forces. They were filled with power, as they had always been, but the commander couldn’t help but note the distinct look of worry and contemplation as he patiently stood before his master. “And you saw this?” the king asked, his booming voice shaking the chamber.

The commander looked on undaunted. “Some of my scouts returned with this report less than an hour ago,” he explained. “It is gone.”

Even from this distance, he could see the king’s eyes shift in brightness as his expression changed. “Do we know where it has gone?”

The commander bowed his head, taking a moment to carefully choose his words. “It was last seen heading south.” He paused again before continuing. “I did not want to risk any more scouts by following it, so its current location is unknown to us.”

He listened to his voice slowly dissipate into the vastness of the cavern before the king spoke again. “Do we have any other information?”

He lifted his eyes back to the throne as he spoke. “No, my liege.”

The king reclined back on his throne as the commander finished speaking. A long, awkward silence followed.

He steeled his nerves. He had been the king’s most trusted officer for years, and his reputation for being cold and calculating had only served to solidify his standing within the ranks of the windigoes.

But that did not mean that he was not without fear.

He had never thought he would see the day when he would feel the need to perform an act of service to a creature of any kind. He believed that it was the duty of any windigo to prove that they were self-sufficient, not requiring the aid of any to survive. They were the strongest of any civilization; the survivors of the unsurvivable, and the citizens of the uninhabitable.

Until the ponies came.

That fateful night when the pegasus and unicorn came to him and warned all the windigoes of the threat of some monster called “the Chimera,” he had almost laughed at them. But when the threat turned out to be real and the danger was far greater than he could have imagined, it was those same two ponies that had stood up and defended his home. And it was his duty of honor to see that deed repaid.

King Icevein suddenly leaned forward again. “And yet,” he said slowly, “here you remain, so there must be something you still wish to say.”

If a windigo was capable of sweating, he knew he would have started. He had never felt this nervous; not even the Chimera had instilled such a sense of fear on him. Was he crazy? Was he actually about to ask this?

“Yes, my lord,” he said in a steady voice. “I would like permission to go south to warn the unicorn.”

The air shifted. It did not become warmer or colder, but it became thicker, tighter...closer. The king’s eyes narrowed as he focused in on where the commander stood. The tension in the room grew with each silent moment, until the very air itself felt so heavy that the commander thought he might choke on it.

“…Do you know where she is?”

The question drew the commander’s focus back onto the king, who was now leaning so far forward on his throne that he appeared to be ready to fall right off. It was obvious that he was both disturbed and deep in thought, yet his attention had never drifted from the windigo on the icy ground before him.

The commander mentally chastised himself. No one else in the colony knew that he had secretly been keeping an eye on the unicorn ever since he had returned them to the town after the conflict with the Chimera. He had felt a certain compulsion to watch over her, perhaps as a form of payment for what she had done. Maybe he had done it out of some sense of honor. Or perhaps, deep within himself, his long-frozen heart had begun to thaw from the warmth of friendship and compassion he had sensed in her presence.

Still, he had inadvertently let the king know that he had been back to the colony recently. And one way or another, he was about to admit that he had done even more than that.

“She is in the capital city of their empire, in the heart of their realm.” His words came out concise and clear, but slightly too loud to be normal. They betrayed the anxiety he felt.

The king rose up and floated down to the leader of his forces. He appraised the commander long and hard, though his thoughts were kept to himself. The commander looked attentively into the eyes of his king, though the silence caused his nerves to fray even more. He wished that, if only for a moment, he could look into the mind of the king and see exactly what he was thinking. At least he would know what kind of punishment he would receive for his actions and subsequent request.

“Tell me…why would you risk so much to travel into the midst of those who despise you with a warning they may not even listen to?” the king asked as he circled the object of his query.

For the first time since entering the chamber, the commander knew exactly what to say. The words seemed to well up from within him, as though he had no ability to hold them back. “Was it not so long ago, my king, that they did the same for us?”

King Icevein was undaunted. “Why not send a scout in your place?”

It was a baited question. He already knew that. The king was trying to force him into a corner and make him say that he wanted to go. He wasn’t sure that was entirely accurate, but he couldn’t deny that in at least some small measure, it was true.

He decided it was safest to guard his words. As much as King Icevein had trusted him in the past, he could not be certain that his standing would remain the same. “She will only know me, not one of my scouts.”

The king closed his eyes and sighed. He turned and slowly backtracked to his throne. “I take no pleasure in the thought of losing you for even five minutes,” he said as he floated through the air. “But I sense that I cannot dissuade you from this.” He reached the throne and returned his gaze to his subject. “If this is truly your desire, then I will grant your request.”

The commander bowed low as his mind registered the surprise he felt. “Thank you, my king,” he managed. He quickly rose up again and looked directly into the eyes of his king. “I shall depart immediately and return as swiftly as I may.”

“Then go,” the king concluded with a gesture of his hoof. “Be swift and cautious on your way.”

With one final nod of his head, he turned to leave. But as he reached the small arched exit from the chamber, the king’s voice boomed out again.

“Commander, do not think that you are the only one of this colony that would go on this mission. The coming of the ponies has changed many things among the citizens of this realm, not the least of which being our long-seeded hatred of the Equestrians.”

He found himself involuntarily turning back to look at the king, his surprise overpowering whatever force of will he tried to impose against it. “My liege?”

“You do an honorable thing today,” he continued in a softer voice, “and greater things may yet result from it.” The king hesitated for just a moment before he called out again, strong and clear. “Go! Time passes quickly, and you have none to waste.” The gleam in his eye seemed to echo his speech in silent communication.

“As you wish, my lord,” he replied. With a sudden burst of speed, he raced through the halls of the cavern until he emerged into the open air of the starlit night. Columns of smoke rose to the southeast, just on the edge of the horizon. If this does not end now, then such will be the end of all civilizations that oppose the Chimera.

He took a deep breath of the frosty air. The chill invigorated him; he knew that his journey would take him far from the lands of the comforting cold, where his strength would lessen. But it was a journey he had to make. With a screech, he took to the air and made a beeline just west of due south, flying as quickly as he could.

I told him that he was lucky to have survived his journey, he mused. Perhaps he was. Perhaps not. But either way, I could use some of that luck right now.

Canterlot
April 6, 10:07 AM

The sound of a hoof knocking on wood awakened Lily from her sleep. She groggily opened her eyes and glanced around the room. The sunlight was pouring in through the open patio doors, blinding her temporarily as her eyes attempted to adjust to the sudden solar intrusion. As her vision cleared, she was surprised to find herself lounging on the bed beside Sky’s still form. She must have gotten up on the bed beside him sometime during the night. She didn’t remember doing it, but it would have been hard to dispute the evidence.

She sat up and stretched for a moment. She rolled her neck from side to side and curled her legs, trying to pop her stiff joints when she suddenly remembered what had awakened her in the first place. She quickly spun around to where the door stood, still closed.

She hastily ran her hoof through her mane a few times to try and cause herself to look presentable when the door opened a crack and a familiar purple unicorn head poked in. “Can I come in?” Twilight asked softly.

Lily smiled. “Of course, Twilight,” Lily responded, lightly hopping off the bed onto the floor. “I’d appreciate the company.”

Twilight stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. She nervously glanced between Sky’s body and Lily a few times. “Any changes?”

Lily let her head drop as she shook it from side to side. “No. He’s still exactly the way he looked when I got here.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed as Lily finished speaking. “And how are you doing?” she asked.

Lily looked up in surprise. How was she doing? She hadn’t really thought about it until now. “Me? I’m…alright, I guess,” she said with a shrug. She looked over to where her head had been resting on the bed, where she saw the distinct marks of dried tears on the bedsheet. “I’ve stopped crying, at least.”

Twilight looked away and rubbed her leg inattentively. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s alright,” Lily interrupted, looking sympathetic. “You didn’t mean any harm.”

Twilight looked up again, and the small form of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Thanks.” She produced a small satchel from her back, and, untying it, revealed a pair of glowing white marbles. They reminded Lily of the fire spell orbs that Sky had used several times during his time in Polarmino. “These are magical nutrient containers,” Twilight explained, apparently noticing the attention Lily was giving to them. “Since Sky can’t eat right now, we’ve been using these to keep his body healthy. They’ve worked pretty well up to this point, but the Princesses are worried that they will lose their effectiveness if we keep using them too often.”

“I see,” Lily said, amazed at the ingenuity of the devices. She watched quietly as Twilight broke them open and emptied the glittering contents into Sky’s mouth. “Twilight, can I ask you something?”

The purple unicorn turned back to face her white counterpart as the last of the glittering substance fell from the orbs. “Of course. What is it?”

Lily cleared her throat as she began. “When I arrived here, it felt like everypony was watching me so closely. It was like they were expecting me to cast some powerful magic and make everything better, just like that. Is that what everypony was expecting?”

A muscle seemed to tighten in Twilight’s neck. “Well…maybe. See, when we found out that you had saved Sky’s life when he was in Polarmino, we all became really hopeful that you were an extremely powerful magic user.”

Lily blushed for a second. “Oh, no. My magic is a calming magic, used to dispel panic or negative emotions. From what I understand, it’s a lot like Princess Cadance’s magic.”

“Oh, alright,” Twilight said in comprehension. “Once all this is over, I’ll have to get you to show me this magic. I think it would be useful in my studies.”

“Okay,” Lily replied. “So they expected me to use some complicated magic spell to save Sky when I got here?” she continued, redirecting the conversation back to her original question.

“I don’t know if that’s what we were expecting, but it’s certainly what we were hoping for. See, there was another incident that occurred where two ponies were able to cast an incredible magic spell because of the love between them. Maybe we were a bit optimistic in believing that it might happen again, but we had to try.” She released a sigh as she shrugged.

“I see,” Lily said softly. A thought arose in her mind. “But how did you know about…well, about Sky and me? Did he talk about me?”

Twilight seemed to turn a bit redder in the cheeks as the question left Lily’s lips. “Well, no, not exactly. We read his journal.”

Lily’s eyes suddenly grew wide in surprise. “He kept a journal?” she asked.

“You didn’t know?”

“He never mentioned it.”

Twilight brought her hoof to her chin in contemplation. After a few moments, she looked back to Lily. “Well, we didn’t know about it until Princess Celestia told us about it. That’s when we found out about you.”

Lily bit her lip as a new question came to the front of her mind. “Twilight, would you do me a favor?”

Twilight looked on with curious eyes. “What’s that?”

“Would you read Sky’s journal to me?” she asked softly, as though the request seemed inappropriate. “As much as I like him, I still know so little about him. And since he can’t tell me about himself right now…”

Lily watched as Twilight’s eyes became glassy. She turned to a nearby shelf and pulled a black book to herself with her magic. She walked around to beside Lily and sat down as she opened the cover to the first entry. “Sure, Lily. I’d be glad to.”

So the two mares sat together on the floor, reading the journal of the pegasus resting in the bed. As they read, the entries were interrupted by the sounds of laughing and the sounds of crying as they shared in the thoughts and adventures of their friend through the previous three months. As Twilight read, Lily found herself hearing the voice of her boyfriend instead of the violet mare, as though he was perfectly fine and was reading everything himself.

As Twilight finished reading the final entry and closed the journal, the sudden opening of the door caused them both to jump. Spinning around, they found Princess Celestia standing in the doorway, accompanied by a gold-armored guard.

“My little ponies, I must ask that you come with me immediately.” Celestia’s face was grave as she spoke.

“Princess Celestia, what is it?” Twilight asked. “What’s wrong?”

“An intruder has made his way to the edge of Canterlot. He has not tried to penetrate the barrier, but he says he has a message,” Celestia explained.

“An intruder?” Lily asked, shivering. “Is it…the Chimera?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. It is a windigo.”

Lily’s mind suddenly became a whirlwind as she heard Celestia’s words. What was a windigo doing here? Why had it come so far south? And why was it giving a message to the ponies?

“What’s the message?” Twilight asked, a sudden fierceness in her voice.

“That is why I need you,” the princess answered. She turned and locked her gaze with Lily. “He says that his message is for you.”

Chapter 4: The Eleventh Hour

Canterlot
April 6, 12:16 PM

Lily rubbed her eyes. Was she really seeing this?

She stood at the corner of the city, where the wall around the city met the side of the mountain. A mere dozen feet out or so, the protective bubble around Canterlot solidified into a transparent magenta barrier that kept the rest of the world outside of the spired city. And just beyond the barrier, sitting stoically upon a small outcropping, was a windigo.

No. The windigo.

It could be no other. She had seen an entire colony of windigoes. And as much as she thought that most of them were indistinguishable from each other, there was no mistaking this one. He looked strangely haggard, almost ragged, but the way he held himself set him apart. His piercing blue eyes were focused on her as soon as she saw him. Before him, right at the edge of the wall, several armored guards stood in defensive stances, with a tall, white, blue-maned unicorn stood authoritatively in front of them.

“Commander?!” Lily exclaimed as she approached. The guards turned to face her for just a moment as she ran between them. “What are you doing here?”

“You know him?” the unicorn asked incredulously.

Lily arched an eyebrow as she looked back at the unicorn, who wore a typical guard’s uniform, yet bore a certain commanding presence. “And you are?” she asked.

“My brother, Shining Armor,” Twilight said breathlessly as she stumbled up to Lily. She had been left behind in Lily’s rush to see this windigo for herself. “He’s…he’s the captain…of the guard…in Canterlot,” she managed between gasps for breath.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lily said, suddenly realizing how brash she had sounded a moment before. She winced as another thought rose in her mind. “Wait…you’re married to Princess Cadance…”

Shining Armor dismissed the thought with a wave of his hoof. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Just tell me what this…thing…is doing here.”

“Lily Pond.”

The group of ponies turned all at once toward the windigo. His voice was airy and thin, but it was clear and concise. Lily almost smiled as her mind recalled the last time she had encountered the windigoes…when Sky was alive and well.

“Commander.” Lily stepped forward and sat down. If the other ponies around her were determined to treat him like an enemy, she would treat him like a friend. “What brings you this far south?”

“I have a message for you,” he said. “Though it is not pleasant.”

Lily’s insides suddenly went cold. If he had truly come from the north into the very center of Equestria with a message, it had to be important. And important news that also happened to be bad news…

She swallowed nervously. “What is it?”

“I am afraid that your home is no longer there,” the commander said simply. He showed no sign of sadness or remorse as he spoke, but the air grew colder with each word. “Last night, the Chimera was spotted fleeing from the remains of the town. It had set the entire colony ablaze before it fled.”

Lily brought a hoof to her mouth as tears she had thought long spent began to stream from her eyes. “Oh no…”

The commander let his head fall ever so slightly as he continued. “There were no ponies to be found after it was gone. I…” He hesitated for a moment. “I do not believe that there are any left to find.”

Lily’s tears were flowing in earnest now. Her forelegs gave out as she slumped to the ground, tears forming puddles on the stonework beneath her hooves. “H-how? How could this h-happen?”

“And how do we know that you’re telling the truth?” Shining Armor suddenly spoke up. “How do we know you’re even a windigo? For all we know, you could be the Chimera yourself!”

The commander straightened up, tall and proud, as he turned to address the captain of the guard. “And if I was the enemy you seek,” he began, “why would I endanger myself so much to travel to the most defensible location in the empire? Would I not rather strike where it is most vulnerable?”

Shining gritted his teeth and prepared to respond when Lily reached out and touched his leg. “He’s telling the truth,” she said simply as she slowly tried to sit up again. “Just…trust me. I know he is.”

“But, even so, why would a windigo do this for ponies?” he challenged. “They’ve always hated us! Why would they suddenly want to help?”

Lily’s eyes rose to meet Shining Armor’s, then turned and looked at the glowing blue orbs of the commander. “Because, as hard as it may be to believe, he really does care.”

Shining Armor made a face, but Twilight shook her head. “Let’s trust Lily on this one,” she advised. “She’s closer to this than all of us. Her judgment is probably the best of anypony here.”

“Twilight is right,” Celestia said, descending onto the top of the wall from her flight. “Lily and Sky did something that no pony has dared to do in hundreds of years. Perhaps they have set in motion the coming of a new age between Equestria and the windigoes.” She turned her gaze to the commander, who seemed to straighten up slightly as she did so. “Do you know where the Chimera was heading after it left Polarmino?” she asked.

The commander appeared slightly taken aback by the question, but he recovered quickly. “I do not know the names of locations within this realm,” he began, “but it was fleeing in a direction that was approximately due south. Perhaps it is looking for another town to destroy. Perhaps one that is important to Lily? Or the pega—” He stopped himself short. “Or Sky Streak?”

Celestia turned to Lily. “Is there anything significant to you south of Polarmino? The place where you grew up, or perhaps where your family still lives?”

Lily shook her head. “I grew up in Fillydelphia, but that’s on the coast, further east of Polarmino than south.”

“What about Sky? He grew up in Foalumbus. What if the Chimera is going there?” Twilight asked.

Shining Armor tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Foalumbus…that’s in the right general direction. But if he only grew up there, that’s not much of a reason to want to destroy the town. Does his family live there still?”

“They do,” Lily confirmed. “He told me about them when we were travelling to the windigo colony. But how would the Chimera know where Sky’s family lived?”

“The Chimera was trying to get into Sky’s mind,” Shining explained. “If it succeeded, it would know almost everything about him…including where all the ponies he cared about were.”

Lily’s eyes grew wide. “Wait…then do you think that the Chimera went after Polarmino to get…me?”

She felt every pair of eyes lock on her. She shrank down, suddenly feeling very guilty for some reason. “I think that it is very likely,” Celestia said softly.

The princess looked again to the windigo. “Commander, I thank you for your help. We will see to it that we do everything to eradicate this threat to both of our civilizations.”

The windigo tilted his head ever-so-slightly to one side. “Might I ask…where is the pegasus Sky Streak? I must admit, I fully expected to see him here.”

An awkward silence ensued. After a few tense moments, it was Lily’s voice that answered. “He battled the Chimera some nights ago. By himself. We don’t know all of the details, but we found him unconscious, and he has been that way ever since. We keep hoping he’ll wake up soon, but we don’t know when that will happen.”

The commander’s eyes dimmed. He was silent and still for several minutes while the ponies looked on. Finally, he raised his head as his eyes flashed a brilliant blue. “Sky Streak once spoke to me of the power of friendship and love. He told me that it grew stronger as more ponies contributed their own love to it. I must confess that I did not believe him until he battled the Chimera, when I saw with my own eyes the strength that he had when he fought for those he cared about. And I told him that if he had been right about the power of friendship, then it would only be when he was surrounded by those that he loved that he would be able to defeat the Chimera.”

The commander’s eyes seemed to glitter as he continued. “But now, it may be that he needs your love to save him, before he can use his love to save you.”

The ponies stared in shock. The windigo seemed oblivious to their stunned silence as he slowly rose into the air. “It was good to see you again, Lily Pond,” he said.

Lily recovered as she heard her name. “You, too, commander. Thank you again,” she replied. She sighed. “I guess we’re even now?”

He began to fly away before stopping and looking back. “Perhaps we are,” he conceded. “But if I am not mistaken, then that does not mean that the goodwill between us needs to end.” He then made a strange face. Lily didn’t realize what she was seeing for a few seconds, when the truth hit her like a sack of bricks.

The windigo commander…was smiling.

She blinked in disbelief. When she opened her eyes, he had turned away and was flying back to the north. An involuntary smile of her own rose to her lips.

“Did…did that windigo just smile?” Twilight asked, her confusion evident.

“Are we even sure that windigoes can smile?” Shining muttered.

“Shining Armor.” Celestia’s voice brought a sudden solemnity to the conversation. “We will need to dispatch a group of guards to Foalumbus immediately. We cannot leave the citizens there without some form of protection, or, if that fails, at least a warning.”

“I agree,” the captain nodded.

“And I must ask that the Elements of Harmony head for Foalumbus, as well.”

Lily saw Twilight’s head jerk upwards to look at the alicorn in surprise. “What?” she asked.

“We do not have Sky right now,” Celestia said. “And without him, we have very few options for dealing with the Chimera. Our best hope is that the Elements of Harmony can stop it.”

“Pardon me, Princess,” Lily interrupted, “but I believe that Sky is still our best hope.”

Celestia regarded the white unicorn for a moment. “I understand what you mean, Lily,” Celestia replied, a hint of compassion in her voice. “And that is why you will be staying here with Sky. If you believe what the windigo commander told us, then Sky will need you. And,” she continued, seeing the question rising in Lily’s face, “if he does wake up, then we will need him to go face the Chimera. Because as powerful as the Elements are, Sky is the only one that truly understands our enemy. And that will be our most useful weapon against it.”

She turned again to Twilight. “Gather the others and get on the next train to Foalumbus. I will personally see to it that it leaves within the next hour.”

Twilight bowed before turning and galloping back to the palace. Lily watched her go, thinking of how fast she had seen Sky move in his battle back north. Suddenly, a startling thought occurred to her.

“Wait a minute,” she said, causing Celestia to look at her attentively. “Did the commander say that the Chimera was at the colony last night?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I believe he did. Why?”

“Because that means that he covered the distance from his colony to Canterlot in one night,” Lily said. “He came all the way here in one night just to deliver a message.” She shook her head, as if to try and help her brain accept the unbelievable truth. “It’s no wonder he looked so ragged!”

“I believe, Lily Pond, that perhaps you and Sky have had made more of an impact with the windigoes than you realized,” Celestia said with a strange smirk.

“I guess so.” She gazed longingly to the north, wishing that she could bring herself to believe that the news of the windigo commander had merely been a bad dream. “I just wish that Sky could have been awake to hear that.”

“Then you should go be with him,” Celestia suggested, “so that you can tell him when he wakes up.”

Chapter 5: Come Back to Us

Canterlot, Train Station
April 6, 12:58 PM

Celestia watched Twilight follow her friends aboard the train. She had accompanied them to the station to see them off on a mission she never wanted to give. But with Sky still unconscious and the Chimera posing a very real threat to the city of Foalumbus, she was left with no choice.

Shining Armor had already dispatched a troop of pegasus knights to Foalumbus in hopes of beating the Chimera there. The rest of his guards had boarded the train before Twilight and the others. Celestia typically did not approve of such a show of force, but the threat was too great. She hoped it would support the citizens more than frighten them.

“Well, this is it,” Twilight said, standing in the doorway. She twisted her head around to look into the cabin and muttered something before returning her attention to the princess. As she spun back around, the tiara on her head glistened in the sunlight. “I wish that Sky was coming with us.”

Celestia eyed the Element of Magic carefully. “We all do,” she consoled. “And maybe he will join you. But right now, we need you to go in his place. I am sure you’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Twilight replied. “I still remember that first encounter with the Chimera. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Night Mare Moon was evil, but she only wanted to rule and get her way. Discord was…well, he was just chaotic. And Chrysalis was only looking for power and somewhere to grow her empire. The Chimera…it just wants to destroy. It doesn’t care what it is. It just runs on inflicting pain and torment on everything. It’s…terrible.” She shuddered from the memory.

Celestia stepped forward and raised Twilight’s head with her hoof. “Then you will need to be stronger than its hatred. Remember what the magic of friendship has seen you through, and you will have no need to fear the Chimera.”

Twilight gazed into the alicorn’s eyes for several seconds, apparently lost in thought. Finally, her eyes broke free, bringing a determined look to the unicorn’s face.

“Right,” she said confidently. “We’ve faced an entire invading army before. What’s one monster?” She smiled broadly, but Celestia could see the tinges of doubt behind her student’s brave face.

“Remember, this isn’t your journey alone. You have your friends with you. Rely on them, and let them rely on you. Your strength is each other.” She stepped back as the horn sounded at the front of the train of cars. “Be safe.”

“We will,” Twilight replied as the door shut. She continued to hold her student’s gaze, even as the train began to crawl from the platform. As the car began to speed up, Celestia found herself trotting alongside it, unwilling for it to leave her sight. Twilight pressed her hooves against the glass, staring with wide eyes at her teacher. As the platform ended, Celestia came to a screeching halt as Twilight’s face escaped her view.

She had never felt so apprehensive about dispatching the Elements against a foe. Night Mare Moon. Discord. Even Chrysalis and the changelings. None of them had truly scared Celestia as much as the Chimera. It had already shown its complete disregard for life, and its imminent descent upon Foalumbus indicated that its thirst for destruction had not been satisfied. And now, she had sent her most faithful, capable subjects against it. She felt her teeth pressing into her lip.

“Please,” she whispered, “let me be right about this.”

Lily’s heart sank as she watched the train depart the station. Celestia stood silently upon the arrival platform, and even from this distance, she could sense the anguish the princess was feeling. She raised her horn into air as it began to glow, and an eerie stillness fell over the nearby area as her calming spell took effect. She wasn’t certain that it would reach the princess, or if it would even have any effect on a pony as powerful as she was, but it made her feel just a bit better to be doing something to help. It was better than nothing.

In the streets below, life in Canterlot continued as it always did. Ponies wandered the streets, waving and chatting to each other on their way to and fro. There were Equestrians from all walks of life: there were the high-brow, upper-class citizens that Canterlot was known for; the normal, working ponies that drove the prosperity of the capital city; the royal guards that held their silent vigil over the city every moment of every day (and night); and, of course, there were the visitors to the city, including tourists and travelers that simply wanted to come just so they could say that they “had been there.”

But even in the midst of all the citizenry, Lily couldn’t help but focus on the one pony that wasn’t there. He was here, in the palace, lying motionless in a sleep that he might never emerge from.

Her spell faded as she turned and walked back inside from the patio. The open doors had let in the fresh air, which she had hoped would lighten her mood. Unfortunately, it had not. Instead, it had simply given her more to see through a gloomy perspective.

She reprimanded herself for being so depressed, but deep down she felt that there were few things that she could feel positive about. Her home was destroyed. Her boyfriend was in a coma. Most of her friends had been consumed by a monster, and may be lost forever, and what few had not suffered that fate were now pitted in an increasingly hopeless battle against that same monster. Her life was in tatters. The only positive feeling she could find was hope: hope that somehow, somepony would find a way to undo all the tragedy and save Equestria from this nightmare.

And that somepony was lying in that bed.

She crawled onto the bed and laid herself beside Sky’s sleeping frame. She reached over and somewhat playfully ruffled his mane with her hoof. “I’ve only known you for a few weeks,” she said softly, “but it’s been long enough for me to know that you’re not this lazy. You’ve overslept.”

She eyed the pegasus curiously, hopeful (but not expectant) for some change to occur. After a few moments of no activity whatsoever, she began to speak again. “The empire’s in danger,” she began. “The Chimera’s on the loose, and we aren’t sure that we can stop it.” Suddenly, her words began to flow in a torrent, as she found herself unable to hold them back. She stood up, looking straight into Sky’s face as her speech stopped only for the occasional sob. “Oh, Sky, Polarmino’s gone! It’s completely gone! The Chimera went there and destroyed it! It went there to get me, but I had already come here, so it just destroyed everything! And now it’s on its way to Foalumbus! Foalumbus, Sky! Your family! Your sister! That’s where they are! The Chimera is trying to destroy everything and everypony you care about! You need to save them! They need you!”

Sky still lay motionless in the bed, heedless of Lily’s pleadings. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, like the up-tempo beat of a club song. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just…I don’t know how much more I can take. I’ve almost lost everything, Sky. My friends, my home…maybe even you. And if it doesn’t stop…I don’t know how I’ll go on.”

She slowly returned to her position of lying beside Sky. She leaned in close to him and lightly touched her nose against his. “Come back, Sky. I need you.”

“Hnnngggaaaaaaaahhhh!!!”

He lurched forward, pulled by some force outside of his own will. Finally mastering himself, he stopped, trying to figure what he had just experienced. “What…what was that?”

Ahead of him, the dreadful city of lights continued to shower the entire area in a terrible revealing glow. He had managed to gradually inch closer to the city over the last however-long-he-had-been-here, but in reality, it wasn’t really that much closer. He just couldn’t muster up the courage to encounter those lights...especially so many of them.

Until just now.

It had been amazing. A surge of energy and desire so powerful that he had completely forgotten his fear and had rushed headlong towards the source of his urging before he realized what he was doing.

He stared at the glowing hub before him, trying to concentrate. “Is it you?” he asked. “Are you calling me again?”

Expecting an answer?

“Maybe not with words,” he replied to the voice. “But if I can feel the influence of this…whatever it is, maybe I can make it respond to me. Maybe I can find out what it is, exactly.”

I thought you already knew what it was. It’s a creature; a life form.

“I do know that,” he agreed. “But I don’t know what its connection is to me. Why do I feel what I do in response to it? Is it looking for me? Does it know who I am, or who I used to be? It might be the key to answering all of my questions.”

The voice was silent. He calmly waited for a reply, but no response could be heard. “What? No advice to offer here?” he asked, trying to bait the voice into perhaps revealing something.

What good would advice do? You already seem to have made up your mind to go find this thing and discover what it is and what it knows about you. All you have to do is go after it.

The suggestion sent a disturbing ripple through his thoughts. It was true: the only thing he could do was go and find this creature. It was the only way to learn anything. But the problem lay in getting there. It was surrounded by countless other creatures, whose presence intimidated him to the point where approaching them required every ounce of willpower he had. And if there were more than one of them…well, it wasn’t likely that he would be approaching at all.

Ah, but that’s right…you’re scared of all the other lights in there. What a conundrum.

The suspicion that the voice was less of a friend than it appeared rose again in his mind. If the voice had merely been joking or teasing him, it would have been fine. But this didn’t feel like a simple joke. This was…mockery. It offered no valuable advice on how to approach the problem, nor did it offer any actual support. It was as though it wanted him to stay where he was. It was like it wanted him to be miserable, stuck in the mire of making a choice between two impossible options.

“Some help you are,” he retorted. “You just keep talking, yet very little of what you say is actually of any use. Are you just infatuated with your own voice?”

Hmph. So this is how you repay all the help I’ve given you? With ridicule?

“Help? What help?” he countered, almost laughing at the irony of the response. “Everything that’s happened up to this point has come about by my own decisions! It seems obvious to me now that every time I ask you something, your response has done nothing but muddy the issue and cloud my judgment. You don’t want me to move forward. You’re trying to stall me.” He paused as a new line of reasoning became clear to him. “What is it that you’re afraid of?”

He thought that he heard a deep, menacing growl, but it disappeared after a moment. What would I have to be afraid of?

“I don’t know, but I think I’m beginning to understand. Whatever it is that’s in there,” he said, looking at the city again, “you don’t want me to get to it. Something will happen when I find it, and you’re scared of whatever that is.”

You sound quite certain of yourself. But I am merely a voice. What could happen that I would be afraid of?

“I’m wondering if you’ll disappear once I find that light.”

An eerie laughter filled his thoughts. Disappear?! the voice cackled. Oh, I can assure you, I will not disappear. I am quite permanent.

“But every voice has a source,” he thought. “And now I wonder if it isn’t me that you’re scared of. Not me as I am now,” he said, explaining himself, “but what I may become.” He let the statement sink in. “It’s me that you fear, isn’t it? You’ve done nothing but try and hold me back for what little memory I have.” He suddenly felt a rise of emotion within him as the truth became clear in his head. “I’m supposed to get in there and find that light. And you’re terrified that I just might do it.”

The voice was silent, but he wasn’t done. “I don’t know what makes me so scared of the other lights, but I know enough to know a villain when he speaks. And I’m through with listening to your lies and advice. I know where I belong, and it’s in there, with that light! It calls to me, beckoning me to make a decisive choice, not sit around, doing nothing but weighing my options! I don’t care about the fear anymore! I’ll get nowhere if I just stay here! I’m willing to face my fears!

“And, whatever happens, I will live with the outcome.”

I see. Then be off. I have no use for one who scorns my advice. But I dare say that if you find what you seek, then you will understand what I have told you, and you will yearn to be able to make your choice again.

“But I will face the future, not run from it,” he replied. “I’m done stalling. Enjoy the rest of your existence. I don’t need you anymore. In fact, I think I’ll enjoy the silence.”

He steadied his mind as he stared into the glowing city before him. In a flash, he broke into a full charge toward it, throwing off his fear. “No more waiting.”

Chapter 6: Awakening

“No turning back. No turning back. No turning back.”

He repeated the mantra in his head over and over as he slowly advanced into the city. He tried to remind himself of the sheer determination and fearlessness he had experienced not long ago, just before entering the city. At least, he didn’t think it was too long ago. But he had a very loose grasp on the concept of time, and focusing on it didn’t seem to help much.

But here he was, in the city of lights...and it terrified him. Most of the lights were relatively stationary, but there were just too many to be comfortable with. He had managed to keep his distance to this point, but the more he tried to weave his way around the lights, the more he found himself going the opposite direction from where he felt he was being called. That one light just had to be there: right smack dab in the middle of it all.

“Where else would it be?” he grumbled in a hushed voice, afraid that anything spoken too loud would draw the lights. “It only makes sense. It’s like there’s some law that states that nothing is ever as easy as it should be!”

It was a slow, agonizing dance that led him through the shadowed areas of the city at a (relatively) safe distance from the lights. He kept himself aware of the lights and wherever they were, hoping to avoid the chance of having one sneak up on him.

He hazarded a glance towards the brightly glowing hub of radiance towards what he figured was the center of the city. It pulsated with energy, like the beating of a heart. And at the center, he could feel the mysterious light calling out to him, reaching for him, yearning for him.

Suddenly, he felt a new sensation: he could feel his thoughts drifting to visions that were not his own. Strange scenes began to play across his mind. In them, he saw a friendly-looking sky blue pegasus, his navy blue mane and tail flashing as the sun caught a couple of long silver streaks running within them. He was donned in brightly-polished golden armor, and his wings seemed to glisten against his sides. His head was thrown back in laughter, apparently having been amused by some scene or joke that had been told by somewhere nearby.

The vision of the laughing blue pegasus sent a warm, familiar feeling through his mind. “It…it feels like I know him,” he mumbled. “I don’t know where or how, but…he just seems so…”

His thoughts were interrupted as he caught sight of a light passing beside him, within a few mere feet. He quickly retreated from the light, though he was surprised to find that he had felt no increased fear or dread in spite of its presence. As he increased the distance between he and this other light, he became aware of a most peculiar thing: the second light seemed to have reached out to him. As he pulled away, he saw what appeared to be misty, ethereal tendrils of light dissipate between he and the newcomer, as though the two of them had interacted in some way. And as the light faded completely, the strange vision of the jovial blue pony faded, leaving him as alone as he had been before, but more confused than ever.

“What in the name of all that is good and holy was that?” he asked as he watched the light slowly saunter away.

“Well, that was odd.”

Night Crest looked around for a moment before shrugging and continuing his patrol. He was a deep navy blue pony with a dark auburn mane and tail. His shimmering gold armor contrasted with his naturally darker hues to the point that he almost felt lost inside of it whenever he was on duty. He turned his head upward to the night sky and took a deep breath.

“It’s been months since that happened,” he mumbled to himself. “We were just talking that one day while we were on duty together, and we had been talking about how we were a couple of hopeless bachelors. The more and more we talked, the funnier the conversation got, until we were just laughing our heads off. Heh…what was his name? Cloud something?” His forehead wrinkled in thought. “No, no…Sky, maybe? Yeah, that sounds right. Sky. Wow, I wonder what brought that memory back. I wonder what he’s up to. Might be nice to catch up with him again.”

“Is that what happens when the lights get close? I have visions of some kind?” he wondered. “But what do they mean? Is there something I’m supposed to understand from that? There was a laughing pegasus. Whoopty-do. What good does that do for me?”

He caught sight of another light off to his left. “I think I need to test a theory…”

Octavia walked the lamp-lit streets of Canterlot alone. She enjoyed the cool evenings and the quiet atmosphere—it was hard enough to get with a roommate like Vinyl Scratch. Still, here in Canterlot, she knew all of the good times and places for some solitude, and this was one of them. In her head, she worked her way through her newest piece of work, a wonderful string quartet that she had been composing for months now. She closed her eyes, imagining her cello and bow in her hooves, playing her lovely melody in front of huge crowds within a beautiful amphitheater.

Suddenly, a new vision replaced her dream. It was a memory of not but a few weeks ago. She had been walking through the streets of Canterlot again, but a stiff wind had proven to be quite a hassle, and several pages of her score had been caught up into the air and were flying away, much to her chagrin.

Just then, a light blue pegasus had come streaking by, shouting “I got it!” as he proceeded to rocket through the air, snatching all of the lost pages and returning them to her with a charming toothy smile.

“Thank you, kind sir,” Octavia said.

“No problem! Keeps me loose and limber. Besides, I couldn’t have just passed you by when you needed help like that,” came his slightly-too-extroverted reply.

“Just the same, I appreciate it…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” she continued, trying to prompt a response from him.

“Oh, it’s Sky Streak. But you can just call me Sky. It’s what my friends call me.”

“Well, then, thank you, Sky Streak. You’ve saved me from a great deal of trouble.”

“Aw, well, you’re most welcome.” He glanced up at the clear blue sky that matched his own color almost perfectly. “I’d love to stay and talk, but that sky is just begging to be flown in, and it’s calling to me. Have a great day!”

And just like that, he had gone. She smiled at the memory. “He was just a bit outgoing, but he was as nice and friendly as any pony I’ve ever seen. Perhaps I should try to find him again. He did help me then…it would be a nice gesture to invite him to my next performance, as a way of saying thank you.” She continued down the street, entertaining her new line of thought.

“Well, now,” he mused, “this is getting interesting.”

He watched the light float away as the thin streams reaching out to him slowly evaporated. “That same blue pegasus again. And now I’ve got a name to go with it: Sky Streak. Is he important somehow?” He pondered the situation for a moment when he realized something: he wasn’t frightened of the lights anymore. Now he was more fascinated and intrigued by the curious mystery they held.

He made his way through the lights, drifting close to the occasional one, and found himself fascinated to find that each time, another dream came to him, and each one with that cheerful blue pegasus. As he continued through the city, a new question came to mind…one that both excited him and worried him.

“That blue pegasus…Sky Streak…is he…me?”

He couldn’t deny how the distinct the possibility was. Of course, there was no way to be certain (at least, none that he knew of), but the fact that he just kept showing up meant that there was something important about him.

Eyeing another light, he drew near to it, wondering what he would see this time. But as he passed within a few feet of the creature, he found that no visions came to him. No blue pegasus, no ponies, nothing at all. He stared at the light incredulously. “Hey, what gives? Where’s the dream?” he asked, slightly offended.

The light glimmered before him, but no matter what he tried or said, he could not connect with it as he had with every other one before. “Wait,” he said, as the gears in his mind began to turn. “Every time I have a vision, I see Sky, and those lights connect with me…somehow. But this one doesn’t do anything, and I have no visions at all. I wonder…”

He chuckled to himself. “I think I understand. I’m seeing their memories. Their memories of Sky Streak. And if I keep seeing him whenever they react with my presence…” He dared his mind to believe the evidence he was piecing together. “…then they’re seeing a memory they have in common with me. Which means that I’m Sky Streak.”

He looked to the center of the lights, where the one calling him awaited. “So, if I’m Sky Streak, then who are you?”

Now more determined (and curious) than ever, he raced past the pinpoints of light around him as they stretched into streaks in his wake. He just had to find that one. The one that could solve everything.

He zigzagged between the lights throughout the city, heedless of their presence or the visions they could bring. As he passed them by, he occasionally caught a quick glimpse of a memory—usually just enough to see himself smiling, or flying, or doing something to help whomever he had been with at that time. And as the images flashed through his mind, he felt—or perhaps, he merely imagined it—that somewhere behind him, he could feel a pair of wings beating against him, propelling him on his flight.

Suddenly, he came to an almost immediate halt as he spotted the most amazing sight: there were two lights, but quite unlike the others. They were brilliant, dazzling, almost enchanting with their glow. They floated one beside the other, each one basking in the other’s radiance and mingling with it much as the lights had done with him. The one on the left emitted a powerful yellow light, and it seemed to illuminate the darkness. The second one, on the right, shone with a cold blue light that did not dissipate the darkness, but instead, it filled it. It did not send the darkness away: it merely gave the darkness a light of its own.

Whatever the hay that meant. He found it hard to explain.

Distracted by these two powerful spirits, he approached them, wondering what they could be. As he neared them, he watched as the telltale ribbons of light reached out to him, bathing him in their glory and washing him in a wave of memories.

Luna looked up at her sister. “Tia, do you feel that?”

Celestia’s head was already in the air, scanning the throne room where the royal siblings were seated. “I believe I do,” she replied. “It feels like…like something is here with us. Something familiar.”

Luna arched an eyebrow. “I find it interesting that I can’t help thinking about Sky Streak right now,” she said as her memories of the fallen pegasus danced through her mind. “I mean, of course I’m thinking of him, but now…”

“Now it’s almost as if he’s here with us,” Celestia completed the thought. “Yes, I feel it.”

“What is it?” Luna asked, uncertain of the answer.

Celestia narrowed her eyes as she continued to inspect the chamber, apparently looking for something important. “Perhaps you are right, sister. Maybe Sky Streak is here with us.”

“Come again?”

She turned to the lunar princess. “You yourself said that when you found Sky’s body in the Painted Forest that it felt like his spirit was no longer within him. What if you were right? What if Sky’s body and spirit were separated, and now, his spirit is returning?”

Luna’s eyes grew wide. “I did not think that such a thing was possible…”

“But if it is possible, even the smallest chance, we must try to help it as much as we can.” She rose from her seat and headed for the doors at the opposite end of the room. “We need to go to him. Perhaps we can bring Sky’s spirit to his body.”

He was amazed at the scenes that played before him. There were ponies of all colors, shapes and sizes. There was a rainbow-maned pegasus and an orange country-bred pony. He saw a shy yellow pegasus, a classy white unicorn, and a ridiculous-looking pink pony with a curly tail and mane to match. And then there was the last: a cute purple unicorn that he felt a strange connection with. She was not the pony that he was looking for; that much he knew. But somehow, she shared something with him.

And, of course, there were the two alicorns. He recognized them instantaneously as the lights he was currently in the presence of. One was deep blue with a dark tail and mane with what appeared to be tiny pieces of glitter that sparkled like stars in the night. Her eyes seemed to possess an almost-bewitching charm. And, Sky thought, it was a spell that he might not mind falling under.

The other was tall and white, proud and regal, yet kind and compassionate. Her mane was long and flowing, and it waved in the breeze as the colors of the sunrise rhythmically danced down its length. He could sense the power she possessed, yet her eyes shone with the wisdom of countless generations.

He looked on, spellbound by visions, unable to draw himself away from what he saw. He felt so welcome, so at peace, so at home…how could he leave?

But then, a new image rose to the front, and his mind awoke. His purpose was renewed as he saw her. It had to be her. There was no doubt.

She was a beautiful white unicorn with a mane and tail as green as the leaves in summer. Her eyes seemed to shine as she looked directly at him in his dream. Then he realized it: it was because she was crying.

His heart broke. She was so pure, so wonderful…he did not have any recollection of her, but he knew, deep down, that she was exactly who he had been looking for. No…she was more than that. He cared for her. He loved her. He needed her.

In a flash, he was gone. The final leg of his journey.

The sudden absence of Sky’s presence worried Celestia. “He’s moved,” she said, whipping her head around to face her sister. “Come, Luna! We must locate him!”

But Luna remained seated, eyes closed, but a confident smile appeared on her face. “There’s no need. Sky will be fine.”

Celestia tilted her head curiously. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I know that he’s going to see Lily. And she’s currently with his physical body.”

“But how do you know that he’s going there?”

Luna opened her eyes and flashed her sister a look of clever wit and craftiness. “Because, sister, I sent him to her.”

He could feel it. Every fiber of his existence screamed like a live wire as he searched for the light. She was close…extremely close. As soon as he had seen her in the visions from the alicorns, he knew that she was the one he was after. None of the other lights mattered at all. None of the memories, none of the answers—nothing was as important as she was.

He adjusted his course to the right a bit, not slowing down at all. He passed dozens of lights, with most of them reaching out to him as he shot by. Then, in a sudden blaze of glory, one light erupted as he came up beside it. He stopped instantaneously and inspected it. It only took a moment for it to engulf him in its glow, and he knew what he had found.

A word came to him as the visions filled his mind. “Lily…”

“Sky?”

Her head rose from the bed, eyes fixed on the motionless pegasus beside her. He was not awake, but she had felt it, clear as day: she had felt him. Just like back at the windigo colony, when she had first realized that she could sense his emotions. Then, it had been his anxiety before it transformed into sheer determination. Now, it was…peace. Relief, as though he had come to a conclusion of something. She stared at his face as a disturbing sense of worry draped itself over her. “Sky…if you can hear me…wake up.”

And in response, a vivid portrayal of every memory she had of him came roaring back to her.

“Lily…oh, Lily. I remember now.”

He was no longer a third party, viewing the events of the past. These memories were his life, and he was reliving them. The windigoes. The town of Polarmino. The Grains and Clocks. And, yes, even the Chimera. They were all there; players in the forgotten act that was his past.

And he had the lead role.

He could feel the frigid temperatures of the night in Polarmino, and the welcome warmth and taste of Lily’s special cider. Cuddles’ purring resonated in his mind. The screeching of the windigoes and the roaring of the Chimera. He saw his battle with the terrible monster, and the wonderful date he had shared with this very pony not twenty-four hours later. If he could have cried, he would have.

Something on the edge of his vision distracted him. As he focused on it, he observed an unusual sight. The streams of light from Lily’s spirit had merged with some streamers he had not seen before: his own. The sets of ribbons wound around each other, weaving a beautiful strand of light that slowly worked its way through the air until they both began to wrap around a dark object a mere few feet away.

As he looked on, the lights illuminated the object, gradually revealing its natural light blue hue. He stared on incredulously as strands of navy and silver hair became visible. Its eyes were closed, and it did not move, but he didn’t need to see any more to be positively certain of what was lying before him.

“That’s…that’s Sky. His body. My body.”

Unlike all of the other ponies he had passed by, which had all had their lights encased within their bodies, his own body was empty. Dark and hollow…almost lifeless. He approached the dark form of his physical existence, drawn by more than his own desire. This was the end of his wandering; he could return to his body and be reunited with his past. But as he drew close, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

You don’t want to do that.

“No?” Sky said caustically. “I thought you were gone, and yet here you are, trying to delay me from making a definitive choice yet again.” He was getting mad now. “Get lost.”

I’m warning you. Uniting with that body will only result in pain and sorrow for you.

“‘Pain and sorrow’? That’s obviously a lie, because I’ve seen my past, and it’s been filled with joy and happiness. Any pain I might have endured was short and fleeting.”

You may wish it will have been a lie, but I speak the truth when I tell you what awaits you.

There was a brief moment of silence when the truth struck him. “Wait…how do you know that ‘pain and sorrow’ await me? If that isn’t a lie…” He felt sick as his anger reached the boiling point. “You’ve known who I am all along! And you never told me! How dare you claim to be a friend!”

Say what you will, but that does not change the truth.

He looked upon his hollow body longingly. It would be wonderful to unite it, if for no other reason than to find some kind of physical outlet to vent his frustrations. “Maybe you’re telling the truth. I tend to think not, but I don’t know. But here’s one thing I do know: I’d take a lifetime of pain and suffering if I had my friends with me over anything else with the likes of you!

“I’m ready to go home.”

Ignoring all else, he reached out and touched the nearest hoof of his body. He suddenly had the strange sensation of having himself stretched out and pulled into a tiny opening. He wriggled uncomfortably as he gradually became tangible, though he welcomed the feeling of being encased in his own warm flesh. He saw his own familiar ribbons of light stretch out all around him as his body illuminated itself from the glow of his spirit. And distantly, he heard the sweet voice of a long-sought pony.

“Sky…if you can hear me…wake up.”

Her heart jumped in her chest. Had…had she just seen him move?

Maybe her eyes had played a trick on her. No…she had felt him again; his anger like a searing hot iron. Somehow, he was here. She eyed him closely for a moment. “Sky?”

She felt the blanket tighten beneath her. Looking down, she heard a soft hissing sound, like air being slowly released from a balloon…or a tire.

Or like a pony taking a deep breath.

Her eyes were on him in a flash. She was startled to see that his head had moved. It had fallen from its upright position, and though his eyes were still closed, his head was now facing towards her.

The wind blew gently in the night air. The stars glittered brightly as the occasional cloud passed silently by. No birds sang. No critter stirred.

And while all of Equestria slumbered, one pony awoke from his sleep.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” Sky said in a gravelly voice as his bright blue eyes flashed in the dim light of his room. “Nothing like waking up to you.”

Chapter 7: Alive Again

Sky gazed into Lily’s eyes, finding himself entranced by the light and charm he had come to know and love so much. He was reunited with his own memories—apparently as a result of his return to his body—and now, he was alive again. His hooves, his mouth, his eyes, his brain…

His heart.

Lily simply stared, a dumbfounded look etched on her face. Sky forced a smile to try and prompt anything from her, but she simply looked on, unblinking...unmoving. It was as though she had suddenly been turned to stone. He began to wonder if his return from sleep had somehow sent her into a sudden shock.

Growing anxious in the increasingly awkward silence, Sky searched for something to say. Continuing the thought from his latest comment, he twisted his face into a nervous, half-embarrassed expression. “That…that came out wrong,” he muttered.

At first, there was no change. Sky looked around the room and tried to force his cheeks to turn red in feigned embarrassment. Finally, he saw her blink as her mouth moved slightly. He pricked his ears up as he tried to listen.

“S…Sky…”

“Hey, she speaks!” he exclaimed, his contagious smile rising back to his face.

“Sky, you’re…you’re awake,” she said softly. His heart went out to her. He wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling, but he knew the signs of an emotional overload when he saw one. And once she finally overcame the initial shock…

She landed on top of him before he could complete his thought. Her legs wrapped around his neck, completely cutting off his airway, causing him to choke. “You’re awake! You’re awake! I knew you’d come back; I just knew! Oh!” She loosened her grip for just a moment, causing Sky’s airway to open again. As the air rushed in, he coughed as the unexpected intake took him by surprise. And before he could steady his breath, he felt Lily’s lips press up against his.

At once, his mind forgot all about his unsteady breath and took in the exhilarating sensation of the kiss. His eyes grew as wide as watermelons as his mind erupted like an entire field full of fireworks. His tail stood on end even underneath the bedsheets, and his wings popped open quite involuntarily, his inherent magic suddenly bursting to life within them, causing him to rise up and press even further against Lily’s already engaged mouth.

And, almost comically, his mind eased enough to actually enjoy what he was feeling. Lily was kissing him. His first kiss. It felt so warm, so wonderful, so…perfect. His eyes closed as his body began to relax. Hay bales, maybe I should have my spirit separated from my body more often, if this is the response I’d get.

His pleasure was interrupted as he felt Lily pull away, only to be replaced by a rather forceful pair of hooves being driven into his chest. He collapsed back onto the bed, and as his eyes opened, he caught sight of a suddenly rather upset-looking Lily Pond hovering over him, hooves planted firmly against him.

“What in Equestria were you thinking, going off to face the Chimera like that?!” she demanded. “You had us worried for days! You could have been killed!”

“There’s my Lily,” Sky coughed. He frowned as he looked away. “I know. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have a choice. The Chimera was in my head, Lily. It was threatening me...threatening everypony I knew. It shook the mountain here. It said that it would bring down the mountain if I didn’t go face it. What could I do?”

Lily’s face contorted into a look of hurt and frustration for a moment, but after a few seconds it passed, replaced by a softer expression of relief and forgiveness. “Nothing, I suppose,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been so scared. First it got you, then…” She stopped short.

Sky’s eyes grew wide again as he rolled over and sat up. His muscles groaned against their usage after a week of inactivity, but he forced the discomfort to the back of his mind. “Then what?” he asked stoically. His jaw clenched as his mind visualized the face of his foe. “What did it do?”

Lily looked like she was fighting back tears. “Sky, we need to see the Council. Now.”

Throne Room of Canterlot Palace
April 7, 1:36 AM

“It WHAT?!”

“I’m sorry, Sky. This is not the news we wanted to greet you with upon your return to us,” Luna said apologetically. “But it’s true. The Chimera razed Polarmino early yesterday morning.”

It was as though somepony had turned off the gravity. His mind reeled, his vision turned blurry, and his insides twisted as he grappled with the news. Hazy images of his friends from the frozen outpost flashed through his mind: Barley, Hayseed, Amber Waves, Countdown, Silent Moment…and as he thought about the destruction and chaos the Chimera had wrought upon them and their town, his stomach turned. He brought a hoof to his mouth as he struggled to hold down a gag.

He felt Lily’s head lean against him. The dim light from her horn cast small shadows on the floor. He was thankful to have her there: her calming spells had already proven invaluable, and that value would only grow with this news. But in the midst of that, he knew that she felt the pain of these events even more than he did.

“How did you find out?” Sky asked.

“Apparently, an…acquaintance…of yours travelled here to warn us, or perhaps more specifically, Lily, of what had happened.”

“An acquaintance of mine?” His eyebrow arched in confusion.

“The commander came from the windigo colony, Sky,” Lily said softly from beside him. Her head was still resting against his shoulder, and the feeling of her voice vibrating against his body sent a tingling sensation along his spine. “He did for us what we did for the windigoes.”

His eyes opened wide in surprise before a smug smile came to his face. “Is that so? Well, is he still here?”

“I am afraid not,” Celestia answered. “He departed shortly after he delivered his message. However, he did ask about you while he was here.”

“Well, good for him,” Sky said. “Although I wish I could have seen him. Did you tell him about my…uh…‘circumstances’?”

“We did,” Luna confirmed. “And he mentioned something that he said that he had told you before.”

“Ah.” Sky already knew what they were referring to. It hadn’t been five minutes since he had driven the Chimera from the windigo colony before the commander had told him that his chance to defeat the Chimera would come only when he was surrounded by those that he truly cared about. And after his most recent bout with the monster, he was realizing how right he had been.

“He understands better than I did about how to face that monster,” Sky said, his head drooping as he spoke. “He told me that my chance to defeat the Chimera would come, but only when my friends and loved ones stood with me. Too bad I didn’t think of that when I went off to the Painted Forest alone.”

“You did what you thought was right,” Cadance consoled him. “And it’s behind you. Right now, we need to focus on the situation at hoof.”

Sky lifted his head and saw the comfort in her eyes. He took a deep breath and composed himself. “You’re right,” he agreed. “So…what else did the commander mention? Did he know where the Chimera was at?”

Celestia and Luna exchanged nervous glances, but it was Shining Armor that spoke up. “He said that he knew that it had been seen travelling to the south.” He paused as an uncomfortable silence fell upon the room.

Sky could feel everypony’s apprehension in the air. “Alright, I’ll ask: what’s the Ursa Major in the room? What’s south of—” His voice abruptly stopped as the map of Equestria he had come to know so well appeared in his head, revealing exactly what was south of Polarmino.

“No…”

“Sky, this is why you need to go and face the Chimera again,” Lily said. She stood erect beside him now, and she displayed a sudden determination that surprised him. “Innocent ponies are in terrible danger, and your family is its number one target!”

The pegasus’ teeth began to clench as he felt a cold anger kindle inside of him. “It told me it would do this,” he growled. “It told me that it wanted to see me suffer; that it wanted me to watch as everypony that I cared about was consumed and made a part of that…monstrosity. But to know that it’s actually doing it…that’s something else entirely.” He began to pace in front of the members of the Council. “And if it lays so much as a hair on any pony in Foalumbus, I’ll break that nightmare into a thousand pieces with my bare hooves.”

He sauntered over to an east-facing window and stared out over the night-draped plains of Equestria in the direction of his colthood home. I WILL see it broken, he thought. It deserves nothing less. It may have gotten the better of me last time, but this time will be different, I swear…

He blinked. But as his eyes opened, his focus was no longer upon the world outside the palace. Instead, he saw the window as clear as day, and reflected in it, he saw himself. A cruel scowl was etched across his visage, and from his back, flames blacker than night in the Everfree Forest rose into the air.

Startled by the vision, he gasped and stumbled back, twisting awkwardly and landing on his side. He quickly sat up and checked himself for any signs of the flames while patting himself down, just to be sure.

“Sky?”

Lily’s voice brought him back to reality. He sighed. “How…how can I go back and face the Chimera again? It beat me once. It knows my weakness, and it knows how to beat me again.”

The next voice he heard was the soft voice of Princess Luna. “And what was that weakness, Sky Streak?”

Sky swallowed as he finally began to understand. After waking up, he had assumed that the voice that had spoken to his spirit so often had been the Chimera trying to dissuade him from returning. But now, he realized that had been wrong. No, the voice had been his own: not the joyful, smiling pegasus from his memories, but the angry, hateful darkness that had manifested itself in the battle in the Painted Forest. It had warned him of the pain and sorrow that awaited him.

And it had been right.

“The Chimera knew it all along. It made me angry. It got me upset, and it cultured the dark feelings that I felt. And by the time I was fighting it, I knew that I hated that monster.”

He turned and faced the ponies in the center of the room. “And I still hate it. I still feel that anger and rage; that desire to rip it to shreds for all the things it’s done to Equestria.” He reminded himself of his final moments before the Chimera descended upon him. “And it used that darkness against me. It’s a creature of hatred, and it used my hatred as its own weapon. And if I face it again, it will just do the same thing. I can’t fight it again.”

“Sky Streak,” Celestia began solemnly, “I think I understand what you’re feeling. It is never easy to face the thing that made us fall, but our failures are opportunities to grow stronger. To become better. They are only failures if we choose not to face them again.”

“But I can’t just go back out there! The Chimera knows how to beat me! It’s already done it once! It’s not scared of me!” Sky protested.

“If it did not fear you, it would not have tried so hard to beat you,” Luna replied.

The response stopped Sky’s train of thought dead in its tracks. “What?” he asked, dumbfounded.

Luna walked forward from her place until she stood directly in front of the pegasus. She proceeded to sit and look him squarely in the eyes. “Sky Streak, let me talk to you not as a princess, or a member of the Council, or even as an alicorn. For now, I am merely a pony that understands better than any other pony in all of Equestria what you are facing.”

He sat still, spellbound, as Luna spoke. “We all carry darkness within us. I do, you do, my sister does…I’m sure even Lily has her own darkness that she struggles with.” Sky cast a quick glance at the lovely unicorn, who turned her eyes away. “And the darkness is different for each of us. But the darkness is not evil in and of itself. It is merely the place within us where the evil can most easily take hold.”

She lifted her head and turned away, apparently seeing visions of ages long past. “My darkness was the love and pride that I had for the night, which I considered to be just as beautiful and worthwhile as my sister’s daylight. But she had the affection of all the ponies of the land, while the night was shunned in favor of the bright day. And when my jealousy consumed my thoughts, I ceased to be Princess Luna: I became Night Mare Moon, a monstrous embodiment of the evil that I had allowed to fester within my darkness.”

She shook her head for a second as her mane rippled in response. “But after Night Mare Moon was defeated by the Elements of Harmony, I was given the chance to start over: to put away the darkness and be reconciled to the ponies and the land that I loved. And I took that chance, and now, my sister and I are reunited as the rulers of Equestria.”

A lonely tear wormed its way down her face. “Sky Streak, the darkness does not go away. I still wish that more ponies would love my night and dwell in its beauty. But I understand that I cannot dictate their lives any more than you can raise the moon. And every night and day, I choose not to let the darkness control who I am.”

She smiled as she raised his head with her hoof. “Sky, your darkness is your passion. You have a zeal to see something done, and your sense of justice fuels it. But you have let the Chimera become the source of your drive. You are focused on destroying it instead of putting your attention where it should be.”

Sky’s own tears were falling by this point as his very soul felt like it would shatter. Luna was delving into the very depths of who he was, but he simply did not have the will to resist her. “Where should my focus be?” he sniffed.

The Princess of the Night withdrew her hoof and stared deep into eyes of the broken pegasus. “You already know what your focus should be. It is what has led you to this point. It is the source of your strength. It is what everypony has been telling you ever since you encountered the Chimera for the very first time.” She smiled knowingly. “And it is time that you understood what that is.”

As she rose to all four hooves, Sky’s mind was suddenly filled with images and sounds of bygone days. He saw the inside of Zecora’s hut, where Twilight’s friends were gathered around him, and he heard the small voice of Fluttershy telling him that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t do everything on his own. He saw the entrance to the windigo colony, where the commander looked at him with those chilling blue eyes and told him that only when he was surrounded by those he loved would he be able to defeat the Chimera. He saw the sunset in the small grove outside Polarmino where Lily had told him that the sooner he came to grips with the fact that he couldn’t do everything himself, the sooner he could finish his war against the Chimera.

He focused on the present again, where the rest of the Council had come up behind Luna, who was looking at him confidently. Lily had moved beside him, watching him with concerned eyes. “B-but, I can’t take them with me,” he managed. “It puts them in danger!”

“And every time that you face off against the Chimera, they stand by and let their friend challenge that danger. They understand that you have a role, as do they,” Celestia stated from behind her sister.

“But how can I take them with me?” he asked. “It’s not like I can bring them on every journey I go on.”

Cadance smiled. “Can’t you?”

“Sky Streak, your friends are not merely physical bodies,” Luna continued. “They are individuals, and they are the memories that you share. They are the emotions that bind you to each other, and they are the connections between everypony in all of Equestria.

“And wherever you take those feelings, your friends are there with you.”

“Your friends believe in you, Sky,” Lily said from beside him. “We always have. We believed that you would come back to us when you were asleep. Even now, we believe that you can overcome the Chimera.”

Sky let his eyelids fall. As he did, he saw the faces of a thousand ponies, all ones that he had spoken to at some time or another. He knew many of them well, and others, not as much. But even so, he considered them all to be his friends. He thought about what would happen if something were to threaten any of them. Would he face that threat to protect them? Of course he would. But why?

And suddenly, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.

As he opened his eyes, he felt the electricity run through his veins. His wings tingled. His hooves itched. His heart felt like it might explode. An unmistakable energy coursed through every appendage of his body.

He rose to his hooves and wiped away his tears. He took a deep breath as he looked into the eyes of his beloved Princess Luna. “I understand,” he said. “Thank you for showing me, princess.”

Luna merely smiled and nodded. “With the Council’s permission, I would like to set out on a mission against the Chimera,” he said, being certain to emphasize his words.

“And I would like Lily Pond to come with me.”

Lily’s eyes glittered as she looked at her boyfriend. She walked over beside him confidently. “I would have demanded you take me along if you hadn’t said that,” she said, giving him a nudge.

He flashed her a knowing smile. “Let’s face it; you wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Doesn’t that sound familiar.”

“You have both our permission, and our blessing,” Celestia said. “Shining Armor has dispatched a troop of royal guards to Foalumbus to try and delay the Chimera. I sent along the Elements of Harmony with them in hopes of defeating it, but I fear for their safety. Please get there quickly and ensure that they are alright.”

“Don’t need to ask me twice,” Sky said, turning towards a nearby balcony door. He ran and pushed it open, welcoming the cool evening air as an old friend. He breathed it in, letting it calm his nerves. One way or another, it will end tonight, he thought. And that alone is worth fighting for.

“Lily,” he began, “we’re gonna need to get you a—”

“Already got some,” she interrupted, skipping past him. In front of her, suspended by her magic, were three bottles of a familiar milky-blue liquid. She quickly opened one and took a swig. “Are you just gonna stand there, or are we going to leave?” she asked, popping the cork back into the opening of the bottle.

Sky chuckled to himself as he erupted into the night sky before returning mere moments later, pushing a small cloud. Lily leapt onto it as Sky positioned himself behind it, preparing for the long journey that would take them to the eastern horizon. He looked back long enough to catch the gaze of Princess Luna. As he stared, he heard her voice echo in his head: You are not alone. They are your strength, and you are theirs. He nodded in response. Then, with a mighty heave, he took Lily and the cloud rocketing with him into the night sky, headed for an appointment with his destiny.

Celestia watched them shrink into the distance until they were an indistinguishable dot against the dark sky. Finally, convinced that watching them would do no more good, she inclined her head back to a lightless corner of the room. “Well, Ace? What do you think?”

The members of the Council turned in unison to watch a white unicorn with a red and silver mane step from the shadows. He was draped in a deep navy robe, and underneath, one could see the reflective surfaces of various pieces of armor. His gray eyes narrowed as a warm, slightly-mischievous grin stretched across his face. He faced the Council members, who looked on eagerly.

“What do you think?” the unicorn responded.

“I believe that he will succeed,” Luna said without hesitation. “He finally understands.”

Cadance nodded her agreement, while Shining Armor spoke from beside her. “He has the makings of a great member for you. I fully approve of him, pending his return from this mission.”

“I cannot agree more,” Celestia concluded. “Now, what about you?” she asked the cloaked unicorn.

“You know,” he said as he stared out the open balcony doors, “I think he’s exactly what we’re looking for.”

Chapter 8: Never Alone

Somewhere between Canterlot and Foalumbus
April 7, 5:28 AM

The train vibrated rhythmically as it moved along the tracks. It chugged steadily along beneath the starless night sky. Most of the ponies on board the train were asleep, lulled into their dreams by the almost-hypnotic hum of the train’s engines and the gentle rocking of the cars.

Not Twilight Sparkle.

She sat at one of the windows of the car, alertly staring across the dark fields as they passed by. She glanced to the east as the train looped around a small pond, and she saw the telltale glow of the lights of a nearby city. “Foalumbus,” she whispered, careful not to disturb her slumbering friends. “I’ve never been there before. But I never wanted to go anywhere under these circumstances. I just hope we’re not too late.”

Beside her, Spike squirmed in his sleep, groaning as he tossed and turned. Twilight couldn’t help but smile at him. In spite of the danger of their mission, Spike had refused to be separated from Twilight. “Sky would be so proud of you,” she said, adjusting his blanket. “When we get back, we’ll have to tell him all about it. Hopefully he’ll be awake so he can actually listen.”

She turned her attention back to the window again. Her friends had slowly dozed off during the night. But she could not bring herself to sleep. She felt anxious. Of course, they all were, but she felt more nervous than any of them could have understood. Of all the ponies on board the train, she was the only one that had seen the Chimera before. She had witnessed its power and terror, and, had it not been for Sky, she would not be where she was right now. And here she was, going back to face this thing again, but this time, there was no Sky to protect them. This time, it fell to her to do the protecting.

Spike mumbled in his sleep. “That’s right; you were there, too, weren’t you?” she whispered to him. She took comfort in his courage. He’s faced the same thing that I have, and he still volunteered to come with us. And even though I know the only reason he’s sleeping is because he can’t help it, it’s still amazing what he’s doing. Sky, I wish you could see this.

She slowly rose to her hooves, careful not to disturb anypony, and began to pace along the length of the car. Applejack lay on her back, her beloved hat resting on her face. Pinkie Pie was in a similar position, but her mouth hung wide open in a perpetual smile. Her tongue was slung over the edge of her mouth, apparently dreaming about some kind of sugary treat. Nothing unusual there.

Rarity had, somehow, managed to bring along her sleeping mask (though none of her other accessories had made the journey), and she was stretched out along her own seat under a blanket that she had found on the train. Fluttershy was curled up in the corner of her seat, her breathing and movement so subtle that Twilight almost went over to check if she had a pulse. And Rainbow Dash had managed to crawl into the storage space above the seats and was snoring away, much like she always was.

None of them truly understand what they’re up against, Twilight thought to herself. All they know is that there was a need, and they came to fill it.

The lack of visible stars indicated that they sky had turned overcast. Somehow, it only seemed appropriate. It was almost always the case in the best stories that whenever there was a showdown between good and evil, there had to be stormy weather. It was almost like it was an unwritten rule or something. When she, Spike, and Sky had first fought the Chimera, it had been in the midst of a terrible storm. Granted, Sky may have caused the storm, but there had still been one. Rainbow Dash had reported that when she and Princess Luna had found Sky’s body, it had been raining. And even though Lily had told her that she and Sky had faced the Chimera in the heart of a mountain, there was no sunshine that fell on that battle.

Her thoughts slowly drifted back to Canterlot, where she imagined Lily sitting in Sky’s room, watching and hoping that he would awaken. She pictured Princesses Celestia and Luna sitting together in the throne room, taking counsel as to their next move, should their gamble with the Elements of Harmony fail…

She shivered as she forced the thought from her head. She couldn’t think that way. She couldn’t afford to give the Chimera any advantages…especially not of the psychological kind.

The train continued on for several minutes while Twilight meandered around the cabin, unable to calm her anxious nerves. She alternated between pacing and looking out the window as her restless legs carried her along wherever they went.

Suddenly, the train jolted with such force that Twilight was thrown off her hooves and sent tumbling across the floor. Crashes and screams suddenly arose from around her as she struggled to right herself. Applejack ended up sliding next to her as Pinkie Pie sailed overhead, yelling “Wheee!” excitedly before slamming into the wall of the cabin.

“What in tarnation was that?!” Applejack exclaimed, grabbing her hat and thrusting it upon her head.

“Can’t a girl get any decent rest around here?” Rarity complained from the nearby corner she had landed in. “It’s completely uncivilized!”

A muffled thud came from above them as a compartment opened up, and along with several pieces of luggage, out spilled Rainbow Dash, looking dazed and somewhat worse for wear. “Ugh, I gotta stop sleeping up there,” she moaned. “It’s bad for my health.”

“Did we stop?” Spike asked, looking completely alert, as though the deep sleep he had been in mere moments earlier had never happened. “Maybe we hit something.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Or maybe something hit us.”

“You mean…the Chimera? You think it’s attacking us?” Spike asked with a quiver in his voice.

“We’re not far from Foalumbus,” Twilight explained. “It might have seen us coming. Grab your Elements, girls! It looks like we’re gonna need them sooner than we thought!”

As they each donned their respective Elements, Spike rose up and peeked out the window. “I can’t see much of anything,” he said, peering into the darkness. “How are you supposed to fight the Chimera if you can’t see?”

A sudden flash of light illuminated the cabin. Twilight’s horn glowed like a star, dispelling the darkness inside the car and shining out through the windows. “I finally found a use for that night light spell,” she said with a smile.

“Um, Twilight? The door’s jammed,” Fluttershy said from the exit area. Sure enough, the door was crumpled in such a way that the mechanism had jammed, and the door refused to budge.

“Don’t ya’ll worry about a thing!” Applejack said, adjusting her hat and curling up before the door. “Ain’t no tree that can stand up to an Apple family buckin’, and I’m bettin’ there ain’t no door that can do it, either!”

With a mighty heave, Applejack planted her rear hooves against the door, causing it to whine and groan in its place, but it remained shut. Another buck later, the door flew off its hinges into the darkness. “Told ya’,” Applejack said, looking satisfied.

“No time to stand around; we need to see what’s going on,” Twilight chided. She descended the few stairs to the ground outside, where she turned her horn toward the front of the train, where the seven of them suddenly saw a rising column of smoke and steam rising from the engine.

“Oh, my, Spike, it looks like you were right,” Rarity began, “we did hit something!”

“Careful, girls,” Twilight advised. “This feels like an ambush. Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious.”

They slowly approached the front of the train, led on by the light of Twilight’s horn. They had almost reached the engine when a deafening roar split the silence, followed by the screams and cries of dozens of ponies.

And as a stream of yellow flame shot from the area in front of the engine, Twilight’s fears were confirmed.

“It’s here!” she called out to the others, who could only stare in disbelief at the sudden burst of fire.

Several guards were running towards them, preceded by groups of innocent ponies who had been on board the train with them. “Hurry, get to safety!” Twilight said, hoping to guide some of them to a safer location. The darkness would help to keep them out of sight of any unwanted eyes.

As the guards passed, Twilight stopped one of them. “What’s going on?” she asked as the chaos grew around them.

The guard appeared shaken and frightened, but unharmed. “It’s…it’s a monster!” he exclaimed. “It had, like, six heads, and breathed fire! It was black, and…and…”

“Is it still at the front of the train?” Twilight interrupted.

He nodded. “Last we saw, it was still there, just laughing and breathing that fire at anything it saw. We need to get to cover!”

“Then go!” Applejack said, recovering from her initial shock. “You can leave this to us!”

The guard nodded and turned to go. Twilight saw him move in the corner of her eye as she turned her focus to where the Chimera awaited them at the front of the train. But as she took a step, she saw a flash of red from the very edge of her vision.

And, to her horror, she saw the glowing crimson eyes of the guard.

“No!” she shouted as the guard exploded in a cloud of black flame, transforming in an instant into the hideous form of the Chimera. Within seconds, its heads were reared back, prepared to unleash a river of flame to incinerate them all.

Twilight threw her magic into gear, focusing on all her friends at once and targeting a patch of ground behind where the Chimera was standing. And as just as the flames erupted from the Chimera’s mouths, there was a flash of light as the six ponies and one dragon were no longer there. A split second later, they re-emerged in a new location. The Chimera halted its attack and turned around to face the group. The light from Twilight’s spell was enough to reveal the creature in all its grotesque glory, from its patchwork body to its three smiling heads, each adorned with two glowing red eyes and a smile littered with razor-sharp fangs.

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Wow, Sky was right. That thing is ugly.”

“Well, well,” the Chimera said in its unnerving triple-voice, “there are still some ponies foolish enough to try and face us. How delightful.”

“We’re here to stop you,” Twilight replied. “Your campaign of terror ends here!”

The Chimera regarded her for a minute with all six interested eyes. “Ah, we remember you. The dessert that got away.” Its foremost head licked its lips hungrily. “We wondered what became of you. Looks like it won’t matter in the end.”

“She didn’t come alone!” Rainbow Dash countered.

“That’s right!” Applejack chimed in. “You have to face all of us together!”

The Chimera threw its heads back in laughter. “Oh, dear, all six of you! Whatever shall we do?” It suddenly became stoic, taking slow, threatening steps towards the group of friends. “Do you know how many ponies we’ve consumed in the past week? Any idea at all? Hundreds.” It disappeared into a black cloud, and when it dissipated, a pink-maned, neon yellow pegasus stood in its place. “And they all tasted wonderful.”

“Hey! That’s like what the changelings could do!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Oh, we assure you, this is far better than any changeling could do,” it said, continuing its slow advance. “This is no ‘imitation.’ This is the actual body. Though it certainly wasn’t capable of doing much against us.”

“Why you little…” Rainbow began. “Those ponies weren’t bothering you! You went after them just because you could?!”

The brightly-colored pegasus halted for a moment, bringing a hoof to its chin. “Well, when you put it that way…” Its eyes glowed red again as the black cloud transformed it into the Chimera’s hideous shape. “We suppose so.”

“I don’t know about ya’ll, but I think I’ve seen just about enough,” Applejack said, nodding to the others.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Twilight replied as she focused her magic into the Element she bore on the crown of her head. “Let’s teach this thing a lesson! To your places!”

As they stepped into formation, the Chimera snickered. “What is this, a cheerleading session?”

Twilight felt her mane begin to sway in the growing breeze. She felt her magic power rising as she prepared to channel the full power of the Elements as she had done several times before. She knew how this would work. She knew how this would end.

Then, barely above the sound of the hastening wind and the pressure in her mind, she heard the distinct voice of the Chimera. “Oh, is that how it is? I think not.”

Twilight opened an eye, half from curiosity and half from an impending sense of dread. To her surprise, the Chimera had closed the distance to them, and was now bounding in at full speed. It would be on them within moments.

She transitioned her magic focus and teleported them again, barely avoiding the monster’s claws. It skidded along the ground after the near miss, then turned and, seeing the group of mares, immediately charged again.

“Split up!” Applejack shouted, diving for cover behind a nearby rock.

“It’s no use!” Rainbow Dash yelled from high in the air. “Whenever we try to activate the Elements, it attacks before we can get it off!”

“What we need is a distraction!” Rarity suggested from beside Applejack.

“Ooo, I’m great with distractions!” Pinkie said, poking her head out from behind a bush. “Hey, you big bully, come get me!”

“A fantastic suggestion,” the Chimera snarled. Without hesitation, it dove straight over the bush, looking to make a snack out of the pink pony before she could move.

Suddenly, there was a loud BANG, as the Chimera went careening through the air amidst a cloud of confetti and ribbons. It tumbled along the ground for a few meters before finding its footing, looking rather surprised at the strange counterattack it had just suffered.

“I never leave home without my party cannon!” Pinkie shouted, a wide toothy grin plastered on her face.

“Great work, Pinkie!” Rainbow called to her. “I got the next one!”

She launched herself at the still-dazed Chimera and raced around it in a tight circle, stirring up a rainbow-colored whirlwind around it.

“That’s our chance,” Twilight said to the girls. “Let’s get into position. Once Rainbow gets back here, we’ll attack. We’ll need to make it quick, though.”

They quickly assembled together and watched anxiously as the multicolored tornado continued to spin around its victim when all of a sudden, a stream of yellow flame erupted from the center, send Rainbow Dash retreating for cover. She dropped into her position almost immediately while the dust continued to spin around the Chimera.

“Now!” Twilight shouted, almost before Rainbow had touched down. Instantly, the telltale rainbow beam erupted from among them as Twilight’s eyes flashed a pure white light. The beam shot through the air, making for the ground where the dust was finally settling.

But just before it landed, a blur of neon yellow emerged from the dust cloud and headed straight for the six young mares. Before any of them could even call out the danger, the pegasus turned into a vicious kick. The next thing they knew, Fluttershy had barely managed a cry of alarm before she had been sent sprawling limply through the air.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight gasped.

“Hey!” Pinkie screamed. “NOBODY HURTS MY FRIENDS!” There was a fire in her eyes as she looked for the pseudo-pegasus.

Before she could spot it, though, it had soared overhead and come up behind her, planting a ferocious kick into the back of her head. It collided with a squeak, and Pinkie staggered and fell forward, unconscious.

“Group up!” Twilight shouted, desperate to rally her friends before things could get out of hoof. “Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow!”

“Over here!” she heard Applejack call out. She glanced to her left to see her three friends, standing opposed to the speedy not-pegasus. Rainbow Dash hovered in front of it, and Twilight could almost see the smoke coming from her ears. As she looked on, she saw the neon pegasus transform back into the shape of the Chimera, who smiled cruelly.

“Two down,” it said with two of its heads. “Four to go.”

“Do your worst!” Rainbow challenged.

“Oh, I won’t have to,” it said nonchalantly. “It will take far less effort to be done with you.” It struck the ground with its front paws, and a boulder erupted from the ground, crashing into Rainbow Dash, sending her skyward. At the same time, the hole it had risen from expanded, engulfing Rarity and Applejack into its gaping maw.

“Applejack! Rarity!” Twilight called, running to the edge of the hole.

“Twilight!” she heard Applejack’s voice call up to her. “It’s…it’s some kinda quicksand! We’re sinkin’ in here!”

“Hold on, I’ll teleport in and get you out!” she called back.

“We wouldn’t.” She looked up to see the Chimera on the opposite side of the hole. Its faces were neutral, but she could feel its threatening presence like needles pricking her all over. “That teleportation of magic of yours sure seems handy, but who knows what kind of trouble it could get you into?” It shrugged its shoulders. “Say, if you used it, we might just have the urge to send some fire down this hole. And wouldn’t that be tragic?”

Twilight recoiled at the thought. She was alone. Her friends were scattered, unconscious or trapped, and she was left with no choice but to face the Chimera on her own. And with Applejack and Rarity trapped in the sinkhole, she was now not only at a severe disadvantage, but also on a timer. She gritted her teeth in anger and desperation.

“Coward!” she screamed. “Leave them out of this!”

“They came with you. They involved themselves. And if you want to save them, you’d better hurry. We think we might have made that quicksand a little softer than normal.” It bared two fang-filled grins.

Twilight didn’t hesitate. She quickly rifled off a pair of magic blasts at the Chimera, but it blocked them with its massive paws. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash landed in a crumpled heap nearby. Realizing that the boulder was still in the air, she quickly looked up and saw it hurtling to the ground, not thirty feet up. Reaching out with her magic, she grabbed it and hurled it right at the Chimera, who regarded it for a moment before it smashed into the ground where it stood.

Hoping she’d earned at least a few seconds of freedom, she took off for the lip of the hole, activating her light spell again. But before she could reach the hole, a streaking neon pegasus knocked her right off her hooves, and she went tumbling with it along the ground. Barely able to keep her senses steady, she kicked and launched the occasional magic spell as she grappled with her attacker.

But as she tumbled, the pegasus shifted again into its customary form, and Twilight felt its massive paws pin her to the ground. She felt herself sinking into the ground under the titanic strength of the monstrosity. Her breathing became shallow and difficult. Daring to look up, she saw the lion’s head of the Chimera, staring down at her triumphantly.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice come charging in.

“Get your mangy paws off her!” Spike shouted.

The Chimera turned a lone head in his direction and, with a mere flick of one of its paws, sent Spike sprawling.

“Enough!” it shouted as Spike landed with a thud. “You have failed, and you will now see our ultimate triumph!”

It turned back to Twilight, placing its second paw back on top of her. She coughed as what little breath she had was squeezed out of her. “But first, we think we’ve waited quite long enough for our dessert.”

She couldn’t believe it was going to end like this. The Chimera had defeated the Elements of Harmony. It had defeated Sky. It had defeated everything it had faced. And it was about to take her, and her friends, and add them to its list of victims. She closed her eyes in despair.

Night Mare Moon. The Ursa Minor attack. A huge dragon. Discord. Chrysalis and the changelings. She had survived them all. And yet, the Chimera had finally proven to be her match.

She could feel the heat and hear the hissing of its breath. Its enormous paws felt like they would push right through her. She dimly felt the trickle of tears run down the sides of her face. She heard the rumble of the Chimera’s stomach, hungry for ponies to feed on.

Wait. That’s not a stomach rumbling. That’s…

She heard it again. It was louder this time, but it reverberated in the air. She could hear it coming from above her, but it sounded like it was higher than the Chimera, which was right on top of her. It was strong…and yet, so very, very familiar.

It was thunder.

She hazarded a peek up. The Chimera was still on top of her, eyes downward, but it no longer seemed to be focused on her. It seemed thoughtful; disturbed almost. Something had disrupted its train of thought. And perhaps, just maybe, it had given the monster a cause to be afraid.

The snake and goat heads turned away to look at the sky. Twilight followed suit, and saw the most amazing sight. The cloud cover she had presumed was there earlier was indeed present, but now she could see it. It glimmered with a faint blue color, but it was growing brighter by the second. As she looked on, the entire surface of the clouds seemed to sizzle with an unmistakable energy. It bubbled and frothed like one of Zecora’s concoctions she had seen so many times. And in spite of her circumstances, her heart dared to believe.

“Is this real? Is this really happening?” she whispered.

The blue sparks of energy within the clouds began to gather and spiral together to a central point. The blue glow lit up the landscape all around as a tremendous pressure rose in the air. The Chimera removed its paws from Twilight, who coughed and sputtered, searching for breath. But she was forgotten.

The Chimera paced along the ground as the source of light grew. “It cannot be,” it said in a raised voice. “It cannot be! We defeated you! Left you broken and lifeless! What does it take to kill you?!” it screamed in a manic voice that betrayed its sudden panic.

The energy finished gathering. The Chimera roared, unleashing rivers of flame in all directions. Twilight looked on, unable to draw her eyes from the unfolding scene.

And with a crack of thunder that shook the ground, a mighty bolt of lightning split the sky, immersing Twilight’s vision in a blaze of blinding white. As the stroke landed, the shockwave triggered a violent wind that rushed past her, driving her several feet along the ground. She covered her eyes with her hooves and struggled to keep her senses.

She heard the Chimera’s roar as it whizzed past her in the force of the explosion. The dust and small stones whipped up by the blast peppered her body, but she ignored them. Her entire focus was on what was at the center of that blast radius.

Finally, as the wind died and the light faded, she uncovered her eyes. The area where the lightning had struck was bathed in steam and smoke. And yet, even through it, Twilight could make out the forms of two distinct figures.

The first was a white unicorn, and it took Twilight a moment or two to realize that somehow, she was staring at her newest friend, Lily Pond. Her eyes were opened wide, and as she caught sight of Twilight, she brought a hoof to her mouth and gasped. But almost before Twilight could give any sign that she was alright, she caught sight of the second figure. And her heart stopped.

The light blue pegasus stood proud and tall amidst the wisps of smoke around him. He looked much like some kind of great champion, victorious from a terrible struggle. His wings were spread wide, and they sparkled with power. The silver streaks in his mane seemed to ripple and radiate a light of their own, while his blue eyes glowed with an intensity that matched the bolt of lightning he had just ridden.

His face was stern, and as he caught sight of the Chimera, he locked his gaze with it. The beast looked on, drawing deep breaths and looking very much unprepared for his sudden arrival. “I believe you and I have unfinished business,” he said in a voice that sent chills down Twilight’s spine.

He was really here. He had come back, and now, he was really here.

Twilight could only gasp and sob as she choked back the tears of joy as she looked at him. “Sky…”

Chapter 9: Unfinished Business

Outskirts of Foalumbus
April 7, 6:37 AM

“Sky…”

He heard his own name from off to his right. Casting a quick glance in that direction, he saw Twilight lying prone on the ground. Her eyes were glassy, and her mouth hung open in surprise. She looked exhausted, and she had obviously been in a fight, but the fact that she was alive came as a huge relief to him. However, the field was littered with the forms of her friends, all unconscious…or worse.

He inclined his head back in Lily’s general direction. “Lily…make sure that Twilight is alright. And I need you to help her make sure that the others are alright, as well.”

“What about you?” Lily asked.

He leveled his eyes his enemy several dozen feet ahead of him. “I’m going to buy you the time to do it.”

“Alright. Just please be careful.” She hadn’t argued with him, which revealed her confidence in him, but also her own realization that this was his task to perform. He took comfort in that.

We all have our parts to play. This is mine.

“You’ve become quite the magician,” the Chimera said in that haunting set of voices. “You’ve also become quite the masochist, coming back just to get thrashed again.”

He felt Lily behind him, waiting to move until Sky had managed to draw all of its attention to himself. “You’re sadly mistaken if you think I’ve learned nothing since our last fight.”

It snorted in amusement. “You obviously haven’t learned to stay away.”

Sky was not amused. “And you obviously haven’t learned to leave my friends alone. I’ll give you one chance to leave Equestria. Anything that happens after that falls on you.”

The Chimera snorted. “We think we can live with that,” it retorted, licking its three sets of lips. “Too bad you can’t say the same.”

Sky sighed. “I expected no less.” He snorted defiantly as he stretched his legs out into a crouching position. His face was set in a strangely neutral manner, but his eyes were filled with an intensity that seemed to well up from the deepest depths of his pupils. “Consider this your farewell party.”

“Oh, you sound so—”

Whatever the Chimera had planned to say, Sky never heard the end of it. His mind barely registered the beginning. Because before the Chimera had managed to say the word “sound,” he had surged forward, flashing and sparking along the way, bringing his rear hooves together in a kick that drove the Chimera head over heels along the ground. He spread his wings as straight as he could, and as his magic power rippled across their edges, he felt as though each wing was a weapon, a blade forged from a bolt of lightning itself.

He stood his ground as the Chimera rose again to its feet. Upon its foremost head, a smile rose as it rubbed a paw against its cheek. “Not bad. Is that all you’ve got?”

He looked down on this creature, this…menace…and for a split second, he felt the rage rise in his brain. But he quickly suppressed it, reminding himself of what Luna had told him. I don’t need the hate. It can keep it. I’ve got something better.

He glanced out the corner of his vision, where he could see Lily helping Twilight to her hooves. Spike was struggling to stand as well. I’m honestly surprised to see him here. I wonder if he came willingly.

He brought his focus back to the task at hand. He needed to buy them time to regroup. “Why don’t you come over here and find out?” he challenged.

“No thanks,” it replied, smacking the ground with its paw.

Sky was in the air almost immediately, wary of the Chimera’s power over the ground. Not a second later, a boulder burst from the location he had been standing and shot straight towards him. He barely managed to get his hooves positioned beneath himself to avoid taking the impact in his gut.

He clenched his teeth as the strain on his knees rose dramatically while the enormous stone launched him into the air. Fighting through the pain, he contorted his body backwards and caught the air with his wings, slowing his ascent. Then, with a mighty heave, he kicked against the rock, sending it hurtling back towards the Chimera.

The monster raised one of its six eyebrows, as if the danger did not concern it in the least. “Did another pony teach you that?” it asked. “Because that certainly looks familiar.” As the boulder approached, the Chimera draped itself in its black cloud. And just before impact, Sky saw a neon yellow blur rocket out from the cloud and speed through the air.

He barely managed to keep track of it before it raced right at him. He managed to duck just in time to avoid taking the full brunt of the impact, though he felt the speedy pegasus clip the tips of his wings, sending a shot of pain through them.

The pink-maned, neon yellow pseudo-pegasus paused in its flight, looking rather satisfied with itself. “We can see why you enjoy being a pegasus so much,” it said. “We have personally come to enjoy using this one.”

Sky was unamused. “Don’t get used to it.”

The Chimera-pegasus stared him down with a smug glare. “Care to see how you stack up against another pegasus? We’re rather eager to see how that would turn out.”

He didn’t respond. He was too busy trying to focus on what he was fighting for, rather than what he was fighting against. “Left speechless?” it continued. “Well, then, let’s just get started!”

It was heading right for him again. He tucked his wings and turned into an evasive dive, spinning as he avoided the attack. He quickly unfurled his wings and caught the wind underneath them, and, with a powerful push, he took off.

His pursuer wasn’t far behind. But Sky knew that he could leave this thing in the dust. He had been flying for years, and he had always been heralded as a great flyer by everypony he had gotten to know. He was at home in the air. More than that, he had been blessed with magical abilities that could augment his already impressive flying skills. The Chimera, on the other hoof, may have been flying for a grand total of a week, and it wasn’t made for the air. It was an earthly creature. It stood no chance against him. He could reach Canterlot before this thing could cover half that distance.

But how would that help him?

He steadied his pace and opened his awareness to where the Chimera was. He caught sight of it behind him on his left. He could see by its behavior that it was fighting to try and catch up, but the gleeful look on its face indicated that it had every intention of doing so.

“Now, now, don’t try and escape,” it shouted. “There’s no use trying to run!”

“Who’s running?” Sky replied. “This is just a leisurely stroll for me. Don’t tell me you’re having trouble keeping up already?”

He gradually moved to his left to position himself directly in front of the Chimera. Behind him, he could hear the grunting and straining of the Chimera as it worked to catch up to him. And it was catching up. But he could tell that it was taking so much effort, that it could focus on little else.

Which was the opening Sky was waiting for.

Flattening his wings, he turned into a smooth one-eighty, slowing dramatically but never losing position in his flight. And just as he completed the turn, he saw the surprised face of his enemy within reach of his front leg.

“Hey there.” Sky hauled back and planted his hoof into the face of the false pegasus, causing it to careen wildly past him as its momentum carried it on its new trajectory. Sky didn’t hesitate a second. Spinning around again, he caught up to his out-of-control adversary and delivered a powerful downward flip kick to its midsection, redirecting its path into a beeline for the ground.

Determined to press his advantage, he broke into a nosedive, chasing after his target. As he reached it, he thrust out his front legs, catching it squarely in its shoulders. His eyes locked with his counterpart’s, and he held its gaze as they descended, as though the Chimera could not look away.

Sky slammed the Chimera into the top of a shallow hill, raising a cloud of dust in the impact. He stood over the body of the neon yellow pegasus, who coughed and sputtered. Sky pressed it back against the ground and lowered his head to within mere inches of the Chimera’s face. “Never try to chase a pegasus,” he advised. Then, with a growing intensity in his eyes, he whispered, “I’m coming for you.”

“Then come on and beat me, if you think you can,” the Chimera hacked.

Sky’s face darkened. “I wasn’t talking to you,” he said forcefully. “I’m talking to them. I’m coming for them.”

He focused into the Chimera’s eyes…and looked deeper. He looked past the hatred, the thirst for destruction, and the love of chaos. He saw past the almost impenetrable blackness of the Chimera’s mind, until he found it. He saw it…dozens upon dozens of tiny pinpoints of light, smothered by the darkness, but alive as ever.

“All of them.”

The Chimera sat perfectly still, held captive by Sky’s penetrating glare. For a few strange moments, it was as though the creature had been purged of its destructive instincts and was perfectly innocent and as amicable as anypony could hope.

Finally, the Chimera blinked, and, apparently regaining its senses, it kicked Sky off of itself. He hovered gracefully a few feet away as the pseudo-pegasus wrapped itself in its black cloud before transforming back into its typical form. But in addition to its regular appearance, the Chimera possessed a new feature: upon its faces, the distinct look of surprise and apprehension was etched. It looked at Sky with looks of utter confusion, disbelief, and, if Sky could have believed it possible, fear.

“What are you doing? If you want to face me, then face me!” it shouted, though it sounded more panicked than commanding.

Sky suddenly felt a calm, soothing sensation in his brain. It settled his nerves and put him at ease. The Chimera was wavering, and, on the other side of the hill, the final stroke was prepared.

“It’s not about you and me,” he said simply. “It’s never been about you and me. I just happened to be the one that was chosen to show you what it really IS all about.” He raised his eyes and caught the gaze of the white unicorn beyond the base of the hill. Her horn glowed as her calming spell draped the area in a serene stillness. “If you’re ready, ladies,” he prompted.

Standing in a circle around Lily, perfectly aligned in formation, the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony closed their eyes and channeled their powers into one. Twilight, who stood at the head of the group, began to glisten and tremble as the force of the Elements built up in her body. Finally, with a brilliant flash of Twilight’s opening eyes, the rainbow-colored beam rocketed from amongst them and made for the place where the Chimera watched from its back. Sky heard a sort of gurgle coming from one of the monster’s heads (he assumed it was the goat head, since it was trapped underneath the body), and the Chimera quickly flipped back onto its legs, apparently looking to avoid being struck by the potent magical attack.

Quick as a flash, with the magical strike impending, Sky darted up behind the Chimera and shoved its foremost face back into the dirt and held it there as best he could. “Oh, no you don’t!” he shouted. “You’re gonna take your magic, and you’re gonna like it!”

Hearing the hiss of the snake’s head from behind, he brought his hind hooves together like a clamp, catching it right under its jaw. He held it as tightly as he could, desperate to keep it from scorching him. The goat’s head turned to face him, and he drove his last free hoof right into its nose.

I just have to keep it here a few more seconds, and it’ll be over with, he thought. It’ll all be over.

His body tensed as the Chimera squirmed to get free. He felt its legs kick as it tried to move even without the use of its heads. Increasingly desperate, he channeled some of his magic energy into the beast, trying to disrupt its movements for just a moment longer.

Then, as the Chimera flailed to break free, his eyes saw Lily, who stared at him, looking more worried than he had ever seen her. It looked like she was about to start bawling at any minute. Sky did his best to calm himself as a reassurance to her that he was alright, when the thought finally registered that she wasn’t worried about how he was dealing with the Chimera.

She was worried about the magic of the Elements.

He looked up just in time to realize that it was literally hundredths of a second until the beam collided with his body, which was draped awkwardly across the back of the Chimera. In that short period of time, his mind came to understand many things: he had no certainty that the Elements would help him enough to emerge victorious, he didn’t know if the Elements would be able to defeat the Chimera at all, and he didn’t know if they would be able to rescue all the consumed ponies. But most of all, he realized how precious every moment he had spent with his friends had been, and just how much he would be willing to give up to have just one more.

This is it.

The magic struck, and everything turned white.

Lily gasped as the rainbow struck the bodies of Sky and the Chimera. The hideous monster on the bottom quickly disappeared into a widening sphere of light, but Sky remained visible for a few more moments. She watched, frozen in horror and despair as his eyes opened wide and glowed with a pure white light, making him look like some kind of otherworldly apparition.

“Sky!” Lily heard the voice of Spike from behind her, calling out towards his friend, now trapped in the impact zone of the magical storm.

Her own voice was stolen away as the radiating sphere of light slowly became enveloped in a dim grey cloud that seemed to pulsate with darkness at its core. As it expanded, she could only watch helplessly as Sky’s form vanished within. As his body disappeared, the last thing she saw was his body as it straightened up and spread its wings, all the while, those glowing white eyes giving him an eerie, ghostly appearance.

And silence fell on the battlefield.

Chapter 11: Dawn Over Equestria

Sky had never felt so tired.

His ears lay flat atop his head as his wings sagged at his sides. His legs were completely numb, making him feel like he was standing on four columns of rubber. He could feel himself swaying back and forth as he struggled to bring his sense of balance back into order. He was a mess.

And he had never felt better.

It was gone. At last, the Chimera was gone. His mind was clear. The dread had disappeared. Those accursed crimson eyes had vanished. He was free.

“SKY!!!”

He looked up and saw his friends charging towards him, looks of indescribable joy and happiness radiating from their faces. All around, he saw ponies of all shapes and sizes, slowly coming to their senses. He recognized many of them as ones that had been with him just moments before in the showdown with the Chimera. But now, they were reunited with their actual bodies, liberated from their prison within the Chimera’s mind.

And that’s the single greatest thing that could have happened, he thought to himself.

Suddenly, he was aware that his friends had gone silent and that the faces of every pony were all being directed to a single point behind and high above him. It only took him another moment to realize that he was standing in the middle of a large shadow. Slowly, he turned around just to meet the eyes of a rather upset-looking, enormous green dragon.

He stared into the dragon’s eyes for several seconds before he sat back on his haunches—partly because it made it easier to look up, but mostly because he just couldn’t stand on all four legs any longer. The dragon simply seemed content to keep its gaze fixed on Sky. The two held their staring contest for what seemed to Sky to have been hours before he finally mustered up the courage (and the breath) to speak.

“Yes?” he managed.

The dragon continued to stare for a few agonizing seconds. Finally, it closed its eyes and nodded its head in what appeared to be a small bow of sorts. As it raised its head and returned its gaze to the ponies on the ground, Sky smiled and returned the gesture.

“You’re welcome,” he said, raising his own head. “You can go to your home now. The battle is over.”

Without hesitation, the dragon spread its great wings, turned to the south, and took to the air, headed for destinations unknown. As Sky watched it fly away, he noticed Lily come up on his left and sit down, placing her head on his shoulder again. On his right, Twilight, Spike, and the others sat down. Far to the east, just visible over the distant rooftops of Foalumbus, the dawn was breaking. The clouds above continued to roll back. The red sky had given way to a softer orange glow, and now, the entire landscape was bathed in a warm golden hue.

“Just look, Sky,” Lily said softly. “You brought them back. You saved them all. You did it.”

He let his head fall ever-so-slightly. “It wasn’t me alone. It took me a long time to figure it out, but this wasn’t a battle I could win by myself.” He glanced to his right, where six mares and one young dragon smiled approvingly. “I needed all the help I could get.”

He turned back to her as he felt her pull away from him. She was already staring at him curiously. “Sky, what happened in there? We all felt that you needed us, but…just what did you do?”

The memory of the conflict replayed vividly in his mind. He saw the whirlwind of light and the revived ponies as they joined him in his stand against the Chimera. But more than anything, he heard the sinister voice of the monster as it told him that the danger to Equestria was far from over. It may have only been beginning.

And somehow, he knew that it was the truth.

“I did what I should have done all along,” he began. “I found my strength in the faith and love of my friends. And what’s more, the ponies that were there responded to that and rose up against the Chimera. And together, the strength of our friendship won out.” He forced a smile he did not feel.

Twilight wasn’t fooled. Her face was etched in concern as she spoke. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

He flinched. It was an issue that needed addressing; he couldn’t deny that. If the Chimera had been telling the truth (which he was convinced that it had been), then there was still a very real threat to Equestria. But right now, all he wanted to do was just breathe and relax in this comfortable, long-awaited peacefulness.

“Ask me later,” he finally replied.

Twilight made a face, but held her tongue. Sky was beginning to feel a bit of strength return to his legs and wings…or maybe it was just feeling. Either way, he could tell that he was recovering. He hadn’t been entirely certain why he had been so tired, but the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that it had been the channeling of the Elements that had done it. He was not one of its official bearers, yet he had still harnessed and utilized their power. And that was not something that he was necessarily cut out for. The subsequent results of such action would likely have serious side effects…which would have explained his current state of exhaustion.

He turned his attention to the hundreds of ponies slowly trying to gather their wits and senses as they re-familiarized themselves with their motor functions of their bodies. “Besides, we still have a lot of work to do. All these ponies need to be told what they’ve been through and what to do now.”

“And let’s not forget that some of them don’t have homes to return to,” Lily reminded him.

“Mister Sky? Miss Lily?”

All of them spun around toward the voice to see a light grey filly with a silvery tail staring at them with wide, frightened eyes. And before Sky could say a word, Lily rushed forward, embracing the young foal in a tight hug.

“Oh, Silent Moment! I’m so happy to see you!” she exclaimed as her voice quivered. “You’re safe now,” she continued, looking back over her shoulder at the blue pegasus. The little filly peeked around Lily as she released her. “Sky’s seen to that.”

Sky raised an eyebrow appraisingly. “I thought I told you to stay out of trouble after you spied on us during our date,” he said.

Silent Moment laughed and rushed forward, tackling Sky where he sat. He allowed himself to topple under the filly’s assault, joining her in filling the air with the joyful sounds of laughter.

Another voice called out. “Hey! I’m supposed to be the one that gets to tackle Mister Sky!”

“Countdown!” Lily shouted excitedly.

Sky barely saw him coming. He had simply let Silent Moment knock him over, but Countdown had shown a certain propensity for being a bit more…forceful…than his sister. He prepared to call out to the young colt, but he was already leaping through the air in a flying tackle that was directed right at him.

Might as well take it like a stallion.

The air left his lungs in a mighty “whoosh” as Countdown landed on top of him. The two foals giggled and squirmed as they wrestled with the pegasus they had come to adore. Sky brought two legs around the young ponies and rubbed the tops of their heads vigorously as they simultaneously began to squeal.

“Noogie attack!” he laughed.

The trio continued to wrestle, heedless of the world around them. Occasionally, Sky would manage to nudge one of the foals off, only to find himself beneath them again mere moments later. And I thought the Chimera was relentless.

Suddenly, he heard Lily gasp. He twisted over onto his stomach, tossing Silent Moment and Countdown in opposite directions. She was staring past him, apparently (once again) overcome with emotion. Sky followed her gaze to where two elder stallions stood side by side, beaming proudly at her. The first was a tawny pony with a snow-white mane and tail, while the second was a unicorn with a dark grey body that contrasted with his light grey tail and short mane. Even as his eyes recognized them, he felt his head pitch forward into the dirt as he felt a pair of hooves collide with the back of his head.

“Grandfather!” he heard a pair of high-pitched voices squeal in perfect unison.

Pulling his head out of the ground, he saw Silent Moment and Countdown, along with their brother Second Hand, clambering over each other just to get to their beloved patriarch. Sky rose to his hooves and dusted himself off, watching every moment of the reunion he had feared would never happen.

The eyes of the earth pony wandered across the area before falling on Sky. As their gazes met, the pony raised his head and narrowed his eyes, though there was a distinct sparkle there, Sky noted. Feeling as though he was summoned, he sauntered over. As he arrived, he noticed that Lily had come up alongside him, wearing a smile as big and bright as any he had ever seen.

“Sky,” she said, “I’d like to introduce you to someone.” She gestured to the pony beside her, who was busy observing Sky with keen eyes. “This is Grandpa Grain.”

It was a simple enough statement. But considering all that Sky had been through to get to this point, it felt like one of the most important sentences he had ever heard.

“A pleasure, sir,” Sky said with a nod of his head. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”

“Not too long,” came Grandpa’s reply. His voice was scratchy and thin, betraying not only his age, but also the disuse that his voice had experienced over the past month. He gave Sky a reassuring smile. “It only feels like it’s been a long time.”

Sky caught Lily’s eye for a moment as he let the words hang in the air. “It certainly has.”

“There’s so much we have to tell you,” Lily began, “I don’t know where to start. You see, after you disappeared, a really bad blizzard hit Polarmino and—”

“Grandpa!” shouted a trio of ponies (whom Sky recognized as Barley, Hayseed, and Amber) from beyond where Grandpa Grain stood patiently. Almost instantaneously, he turned toward the voices and wrapped his legs around his grandfoals as they crashed into him. Following close behind, the remaining members of the Grain and Clock households charged in, filling the air with the sounds of laughter and crying as loved ones that had been thought lost were reunited.

Lily placed her hoof on Sky’s wing. The look of sympathy on her face was unmistakable. “Let’s give them their space.”

He nodded and turned back to where the rest of his Ponyville friends sat in a huddle, conversing among themselves. “You know, Lily,” he said as he walked, “I never told you what it was like while I was in that coma.”

“I didn’t want to ask,” she admitted. “I figured that if you wanted to talk about it, then you would be the one to start that conversation.”

“And I’m starting it now. It was…” He paused to search for the right word. “It was terrible, yet enlightening, now that I look back on it.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

“I was separated from my body. Basically, I was merely a spirit wandering around Equestria. I couldn’t communicate with anypony, and I had no memories of anything. I didn’t know who I was, or who you were, or anything about any of my friends. I didn’t even know that I was supposed to have a body.

“But at some point, I remember seeing a light…er, another spirit…pass near me, and it called out to me. It was moving very quickly, and I chased it as far as I could. Somehow, I knew that I needed to be with that spirit, whatever it was. And I was scared to death of most of the others, but that one…it was special. I knew that I belonged with it.”

Lily was silent as Sky continued. “It took me a long time to muster up the courage to go into Canterlot to find that spirit. A voice kept trying to dissuade me from going. And now I understand that the voice was just the darkness within myself, trying to keep me from making the choice to chase that light. But in the end, I went anyways. And I found it.”

He released a long sigh, though it was not the sound of exasperation, but of relief. “Lily, you were that spirit. You were the light that called to me; the one that drew me back. You were the light that led me back to where I belonged. And I belonged with you.”

She looked at him with an almost-sarcastic face that bore a hint of mischief. “Sky, you sound like you’re going to propose to me or something.”

“Once again, I’m not that fast,” he assured her with a smug grin. “But I wanted you to know…out of all the ponies in Equestria, including my family, the Council, and all my other friends, you were the one that found me and brought me back. I think that means something.”

“Maybe it does.” She gazed off into the distance, seemingly lost in her thoughts before speaking again. “I hope it does.”

Twilight stood up as the pair approached. “Just look at this, you two,” she said excitedly. “This is better than we could have hoped! The Chimera is gone, and all the ponies are safe, too!”

“Not to mention a few griffins and windigoes,” Rainbow added.

“Windigoes? Where are they?” Sky asked, looking around.

“Look up.” Rainbow pointed into the air. As Sky followed her hoof, he saw, hovering high above them, a cluster of five windigoes, all gazing down to where the ponies sat. “I think they want something from you.”

Sky rolled his eyes. “They probably just want to know which way their home is,” he explained. Pointing in the general direction of north, he called out, “Your home is that way. You’re free to return to it.”

A chilling shriek sliced through the air, silencing everypony where they stood. Within moments, the windigoes were gone, passing like phantoms into the distance while the dawn dispelled the night.

“Well, that’s one group dealt with,” Rarity said, “but what are we going to do with all these ponies? Many of them are far from their homes…”

“If they still have homes,” Fluttershy interjected.

“…and could probably use a good meal and a place to stay.” She shook her head, causing her mane to bounce for a moment. It was flecked with specks of sand and dirt, but she didn’t seem to notice, or even mind.

“Well, we’re not that far from Foalumbus, are we?” Pinkie said, beaming energetically. “We could just take them there! They could stay in some inns and get food and—”

“Sorry to ruin that idea, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted, “but all that would take money. And I doubt any of these ponies will have any bits on them at all. So staying in an inn, even for one night, is out of the question.”

“Well, what else can we do?” Applejack countered. “They need somewhere to stay, and Foalumbus is the closest place there is. We can’t just do nothin’.”

“But there are hundreds of ponies here,” Rainbow replied. “Even if they had money, there’s no way there would be enough room for all of them.”

“Then we’ll just have to rely on the goodwill of the citizens of Foalumbus.” Every eye turned towards Sky, who gazed longingly off towards the city. It had been so long since he had been to Foalmubus, and he now found himself eager to return to see his family along with many others he had left behind when he had moved to Coltlanta. “The train tracks have been pretty much destroyed from the attack, so no train is getting through there for at least a few days. And we can’t just leave these ponies to fend for themselves.” He looked around at the crowd, which had begun to gather around where they sat. Most of them looked relieved to be alive, if not a bit confused and frightened at their current situation.

“But Rainbow is right, we don’t have the room for all of them,” Rarity protested.

“Not in the inn, I agree,” Sky nodded. “But there are lots of homes in Foalumbus, and I’m sure the ponies would be glad to help out others in their time of need.”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t think that’s a decision you’re able to make by yourself, Sky,” she said. “That would be a huge burden to place on so many of the ponies in Foalumbus. How can you be sure that they could handle such a responsibility?”

“I don’t know that,” he said, taking to the air. “That’s why I’m going into Foalumbus to find out if the ponies there would be willing to help.”

“By yourself? That’s a lot of homes to visit for just one pegasus,” Rainbow commented as she spread her wings.

“I’m not going to visit each home,” Sky replied. “I’m going to go see the mayor. He can get out the word faster than all of us could do together. In a few hours, I should have an answer.”

“I still don’t know, Sky,” Twilight said, looking both thoughtful and disturbed. “Why should the ponies in Foalumbus help out this group of ponies that aren’t even from around here?”

“Twilight, if all this had happened outside of Ponyville instead of Foalumbus, do you think the ponies there would offer to help in any way they could?”

“Well…yes, I suppose they would. At least, I believe they would.”

“And I believe that the ponies of Foalumbus will do the same.” He looked to the city again. “Try to gather everypony up and keep them calm. If they have any questions, try to answer them as best you can. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“You certainly seem to be feeling better.”

Sky glanced back at Lily, who was smiling confidently at him. And to tell the truth, he was feeling better. The exhaustion he had felt after the battle seemed to have fallen from him, and he felt much more like himself now than he had then. He wondered how that had happened when a familiar voice echoed in his head.

You are not alone. They are your strength, and you are theirs.

He smiled inwardly. Ah, Princess Luna. How right you were. In more ways than I understood at first. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Keep things under control here, ‘kay?”

“You got it,” Spike said, giving Sky a hearty thumbs-up.

As he sped off, he heard the voices of his friends calling the large assembly of ponies together, asking them to remain calm and reassuring them that they were safe. The Chimera may be gone, but there’s still so much to do. And even now, I still can’t do everything on my own. I don’t know that I ever noticed it before, but everypony does so much. He closed his eyes as he flew, concentrating on the lessons he had learned within the last twenty-four hours. I’m sorry I took so long to learn those lessons, Princesses.

He heard no voices in response, but an unfamiliar image of the Council came to his mind. They were gathered in the throne room of the palace, where they all stood silently, facing him with approving smiles.

Thanks. Now, do you think you could help me convince the mayor to help out these refugees?

He could have sworn that Celestia winked at him.

Chapter 12: Final Farewells

Ruins of Polarmino
April 29, 2:58 PM

The crumbling remains of the village of Polarmino were a depressing sight. Each day saw another building collapse little bit more into a dusty pile of ashes and scorched timber. A cold, relentless wind whistled through the wreckage of the meeting hall. The rows of small cottages on either side of the street lay silent, little more than hollow, burnt shells of what they once were. Everything had been torched in the destructive flames of the Chimera, leaving it black and dead; a stark contrast with the glistening white snow visible in all directions. It was a miserable scene.

But without any ponies, not even a windigo could feed on the negativity.

Feelings of sadness were not uncommon to the windigoes. While they feasted on disharmony and hatred, the emotion of sadness was usually not far removed from its more aggressive counterparts. To a windigo, sadness was the garnish on a meal: unnecessary, but still a nice touch.

But to be the one feeling the sorrow? That was something entirely new.

Still, the commander couldn’t deny what he was feeling. Somehow, even though the Equestrians had never really cared for the windigoes at all, seeing the settlement in this condition unsettled him. Perhaps it was the harsh reminder of the power of the Chimera. Or the unpleasant reality of death. Or maybe, it hurt to know that somewhere in Equestria, a pair of unique ponies he had become fond of would always carry this sadness with them, as well.

He had returned to the ruined town many times over the past two months, watching for any sign of life, pony or otherwise. Shortly after returning from his trip from Canterlot, he had found a curious creature, covered in black and white fur, which seemed to be lost and frightened within the decimated colony. He had not paid it much mind until he drew near to it, when it had hissed at him. Over his next few visits, he had sought out the fussy creature, which had apparently taken shelter somewhere with some remnants of food, because it never seemed to lose any weight. Recently, though, the little animal seemed to be running out of sustenance, because it was beginning to look more thin and gaunt than before.

He had wondered how he could help the poor thing, though without knowing what it could safely eat, he had been unwilling to offer it anything. And so, the little animal continued to become thinner and thinner until it was only a matter of time until it would die of starvation. And today, he was afraid of what he might find.

He slowly passed between the empty houses of the settlement, only half-aware of his surroundings. Deep in his thoughts, he had begun to wonder about the fate of Sky Streak and Lily Pond. He knew from the feeling he had several weeks ago that they had confronted the Chimera again, but he had no other news on the outcome. And so it was that he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not hear the voices until he was almost right on top of them.

He quickly gathered his wits and retreated to the cover of the nearest standing wall, peeking around the corner to watch for the intruders. He silently reprimanded himself for being so incautious. He perked up and listened to the conversation as it grew in volume:

“I had no idea it was this bad. How did it happen?”

“Barley told me that it disguised itself as a lost pony to sneak into the village, then destroyed everything from the inside.”

“I’m glad that everypony turned out alright, but I still hate that they had to lose their homes.”

“There was nothing any of us could do. Once the Chimera came here, we should have known that the colony was doomed.”

“I guess so. But that still doesn’t make it any easier to see this.”

He recognized the voices, of course. So they were victorious, and they both survived. Fascinating.

Suddenly, a soft mewing began on the other side of the wall. Surprised, he turned towards the source of the sound. Ahead of him, the pair of ponies sounded as though they had also heard the sound and were now approaching it. “Did you hear that? It sounded like…a meow.”

“Oh, no way. That’s just not possible.”

“Cuddles, is that you? Come here, Cuddles.”

Cuddles?

Another soft meow came from the partially-collapsed home beside him before he heard the distinct gasp of Lily Pond. “Cuddles! It is you! Oh, just look at you, you poor thing!”

“How in Equestria did she survive this long? It’s been three weeks!”

“Perhaps,” the commander said, rounding the corner into full view of his guests, “she is as resilient as the two of you.”

“Commander!” Lily exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise as she focused on the windigo. She was wearing another beige coat, much like the one she had been wearing when she visited his colony. Either it had been impeccably repaired, or she had obtained an entirely new one.

Beside her, the sky blue pegasus looked at him with a smug, fully confident face. Much like Lily, he was wearing a hooded white coat that matched the one from the battle over three months ago. “Hello, commander,” he said calmly. “I heard you didn’t wait around for me in Canterlot, so I figured I’d have to just come to you.”

Lily gave Sky a quick elbow in the side. “Don’t listen to him, commander; he’s just teasing you.”

He glanced down to see the little creature, looking more haggard than ever. It barely seemed to be able to stand on its own. Lily crouched down and used her magic to draw a cylindrical object from her saddlebags. She unscrewed the top portion, revealing a cap that doubled as a cup or bowl of some sort. Then, taking the main portion, she proceeded to pour out a steaming amber fluid into the cup. “Here you go, Cuddles…I’m sure you’ve missed this.”

Cuddles sniffed at the mug of liquid for a moment before gingerly leaning over and began to lap the liquid with her tongue. “I assume you know what this creature is?” the commander asked.

Sky looked at him curiously. “Well, yeah. This is Lily’s pet cat, Cuddles. We both assumed she had been lost when the Chimera attacked Polarmino, but it seems as though she’s tougher than we thought.”

“We’ll need to get her to somewhere warm,” Lily said, looking concerned. “Who knows how much longer she’ll be able to last? It’s been a long time to survive without proper shelter or food.”

“That cider seems to be having a positive effect,” Sky observed. He quickly turned back to the commander. “But that brings up a question: did you keep an eye on her during all this time?”

“I have looked for her on several occasions,” he admitted, “but I have not cared for her. I did not know what she would use for sustenance. Windigoes are poor at discerning food sources for other creatures, I’m afraid.”

“It’s fine,” Lily replied. “She seems to be alright, if not a bit thin and weary, but I think we can handle that with some time.” She sweetly ran her hoof across the back of her furry friend as she continued to imbue the welcomingly warm cup of cider.

“I am pleased to see that you survived your final encounter with the Chimera, pegasus,” the commander said. “Was it as I said it would be?”

“I never knew that windigoes were foresighted,” Sky replied. “I have to thank you for that, commander. If it hadn’t been for what you told me, I might never have figured out how to beat that thing.”

“The windigoes are not foresighted. We merely understand other creatures and their weaknesses better than others,” he replied solemnly.

“Oh, uh…I meant that as a joke,” Sky said.

“I see. I am afraid humor is a subject with which I am not well-acquainted.”

“But I meant it when I said thank you.”

The commander straightened up and gazed down at the ponies proudly. “Of course. Any windigo would be proud to have helped contribute to the downfall of such a creature.”

Sky seemed to smile sadly. Lily placed her hoof against his side, apparently a gesture of support. “Commander, I’m glad you’re here. This is likely the last time we’ll see you for a very long time.”

The windigo arched an eyebrow, causing a disparity between the brightness of each eye. “And why is that?”

“Well, see, both Lily and I will be living in Canterlot. I’ve been living there for the past year or so. And since Polarmino is gone, Lily has to find another place to live, so she’s decided to join me in Canterlot.” He paused before quickly adding, “I mean, not living together, just in the same city.”

“Do your princesses have no plans to rebuild the town here?” he asked, looking around at the wreckage.

“Well, not right now,” Sky continued. “See, Celestia and Luna agree that the windigoes deserve some space, and since we worked together several times over the past few months, we don’t want to damage anything that we may have started to build. So they’ve decided to leave these lands empty for now.”

“And what of these ruins?”

“The ruins of Polarmino will remain as a monument of sorts,” Lily interjected. “A reminder that when a great danger threatened us both, the ponies of Equestria and the windigoes were able to put aside their differences and stand together.”

“Then you are merely here to say goodbye?” the commander asked. He did his best not to display any emotion, even though he felt a twinge of nostalgia.

“I guess so,” Sky said, looking like he was trying to put on a brave face. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again, but it probably won’t be for a long time, and we didn’t want to disappear without any explanation.”

“Well, then…I must admit, I am saddened by this,” the commander admitted. “I am not entirely certain, but I believe that I was beginning to grow fond of the two of you.”

“You know, commander, I think that’s true for all parties present,” Sky commented.

Cuddles finished lapping her cider and meowed contentedly. “Well, if nothing else, I think she’s in better spirits,” Lily said, placing her thermos back into her saddlebag. Then, she gingerly lifted the cat into the air and placed her in her other bag, tucking her in neatly in an attempt to keep her warm. “But we still need to get her some shelter.”

“Then you must be on your way,” the commander said abruptly. “You cannot risk the life of your companion any more.”

Lily recoiled at the brusque nature of the windigo’s comment, but Sky stood his ground. “If my journeys should bring me back here, I will come looking for you,” he said. “And I expect to find you.”

The windigo raised an eyebrow slightly as Sky continued. “And if I don’t see you, then I’ll have to believe that you’re hiding from me. Probably because you don’t like me. And that may just be enough to keep me from coming back ever again.”

The commander snorted. The comment was strangely amusing. It was as if, for a moment, Sky understood the mindset of the windigoes and knew how to manipulate them. Perhaps he did. “I hear you,” he replied at last. “And rest assured, if you come here again, you will see me.”

“Until that time, then,” Sky said as he and Lily bowed.

“Until then,” the commander echoed as he took to the air and headed for home, smiling the entire way.

“Do you think there’s hope for the windigoes?” Lily asked as the commander faded from sight.

“Hm?” Sky grunted. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, we may be friends (so to speak), but he’s still a windigo. He will still feed off of our negative emotions and feelings that we’d rather not have. How can we build a relationship on that?”

Sky merely sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know, Lily. I’d like to believe that everything will work out in the long run. But we’re not foresighted, either. We don’t know what the future holds any more than he does.

“In spite of that,” he continued, “I think that what we’ve done so far is a fantastic first step. Before we went to the windigo colony, we were enemies. Now, we’re on speaking terms, even to the point that one of the windigoes travelled all the way to Canterlot to warn us about a specific danger. I can’t be certain what will happen in the future. But I do know what has happened up to now. And that makes me feel pretty confident about the future.”

Lily couldn’t help but smile. “You certainly have a way with words.”

He her words brought a look of surprise to his face. “You think so?”

“I do. But it’s probably because you don’t know when to shut up,” she added with a mischievous smirk.

“Oh, har har,” Sky moaned. “Let’s get Cuddles somewhere sheltered.”

“Good idea.”

“And maybe I can find somepony who will treat me with some civility,” he shot back.

“To you?” Lily said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Miracles happen, but I think you’re pushing it.”

“Sweet Celestia, what did I do to you?” Sky exclaimed. “I should go back to the windigoes! I might have better luck with them!”

Lily half closed her eyes and leaned into Sky, prompting a small meow from her saddlebag as it was squished between them. “Fine, I’ll be nice. I’m just trying to stay even with you.”

“I like to win,” he said with a spark in his eyes, “but with you, I’m content with a tie.”

Chapter 13: What the Dawn Brings

Foalumbus Fairgrounds
June 20, 5:40 AM – The Day of the Summer Sun Festival

If perfection could exist in the real world, Sky was convinced this was it.

He stood in the midst of a field that had been transformed into a bustling, radiant hub of activity, even at this early hour. It was the morning of the longest day of the year, and here, at the edge of the city he knew so well, every pony was anxiously awaiting the revealing of Princess Celestia and the Rising of the Sun.

It had been over two months since the showdown with the Chimera (which Spike had taken to calling the “Chimera’s Last Stand”), but Sky could see little evidence of the event. The railroad had been repaired within a few days, and the mayor had very graciously opened the inns of the city up to the refugees at no cost. And as for the ponies that the inns could not hold, the citizens of Foalumbus had risen to the challenge and accepted them into their own homes while they looked into ways to return to their own homes…or for a new place to call home.

And even now, Sky saw several ponies that he recognized from that fateful day, but he was convinced that they had merely returned for the sake of being witness to the annual Rising of the Sun at the festival. After the battle, Celestia (with the approval of the Council) had made the decision to hold the festival in Foalumbus this year, as a sign of gratitude to the citizenry for their kindness and hospitality to those that had lost so much.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Sky broke out into a wide, toothy grin as Lily’s question registered in his mind. She had been staying as a guest in the palace ever since the destruction of Polarmino, and Sky had spent a great deal of time with her since then (including several more dates). And when they discovered that the Summer Sun Festival was to be held in Foalumbus, they had both agreed that they should be there.

“Immensely,” he replied. “I don’t know that there are words to describe how good it feels to be a part of this.” He looked at her appraisingly for a moment. “Though I think Cuddles was a bit sour to be left behind in Canterlot.”

“She can get over it. She should be happy just to be alive.” She shook her head back and forth, causing her mane to flail wildly in the air. “But I know what you mean,” she replied, returning to the original topic. She wore a deep green and gold cape across her back that swayed in the light breeze. It had been a gift from Rarity that arrived not two weeks ago, with a note demanding that she wear it to the festival. “We went from tragedy to victory to celebration in just a few months. This really is special.”

Sky adjusted his own gift from Rarity, a bright blue and silver shoulder wrap that glimmered in the many lights of the fairgrounds. “Have you seen anypony from Polarmino here? I’ve been looking, but I haven’t recognized anyone.”

“They’re all here,” Lily replied. “Princess Celestia invited them all to come to a special ceremony following the sunrise. She wanted to meet each of the victims personally and tell them how proud she was of each of them for their courage and friendship that helped you defeat the Chimera.”

A sudden squeal behind them caused them both to turn around instinctively. “Oh, you’re both wearing the gifts I made for you!” Rarity exclaimed. “Oh, they just turned out marvelously!”

“Hiya, Rarity,” Sky said with a wave of his hoof. Behind her, he could see the rest of his friends from Ponyville, each wearing an accessory of some sort, presumably of similar origin to his own. He was most amused by the dapper-looking Spike, who was sporting a fancy black fedora, and Applejack, whose cowpony hat was adorned with white trim and threaded designs, giving it a more festive appearance. “Nice hats, you two.”

“Thanks!” Spike replied. “Rarity made it just for me, and it fits great!”

“Looks nice, too,” Lily added.

“I’m not much for fancy frills or nothin’ like that,” Applejack said, “but since it was for a special occasion an’ all, I figured it was the least I could do to wear it.” She tilted it a bit to the front before nodding in satisfaction. “At least it fits.”

“Good to see you two again,” Twilight said. “We really hadn’t seen each other since a few days after the battle.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said from her perch on a cloud she had snagged from the air. “So what have you been doing since then?” She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “Going on lots of dates together?” she teased.

“Actually, we have been on a few,” Lily said, moving up against Sky. He blushed for a moment before turning his attention back to Rainbow Dash, who was still looking on with taunting eyes.

“They were very romantic,” he said smugly. “Would you like me to tell you about them in great detail?”

Rarity’s eyes grew wide in anticipation, and Twilight and Fluttershy leaned forward. But Rainbow Dash sat up and stuck her tongue out in disgust. “No, thanks,” she muttered. “You take all the fun out of teasing.”

“It’s a big brother thing,” he replied.

“Speaking of which,” Lily said, suddenly looking around, “have you seen your family? I thought they were going to meet you here.”

“Hey, does that mean we’ll get to meet ‘em?” Applejack asked.

“Ooooh, more friends?! This calls for a PARTY!!!” Pinkie shouted as a shower of confetti flew into the air (apparently from nowhere).

“Well, we’re kinda already at a party,” Sky said, gesturing around. “But yeah, they should be here. And I’m sure they’d all be glad to meet you. Just, uh…” He hesitated and rubbed his leg nervously. “See, the thing is, they don’t know everything about what I’ve been doing over the past nine months. All they know is that I’ve been doing work in Canterlot. They know nothing about the Chimera, or my acceptance into the Service, or even my trip to Polarmino. And yes,” Sky said, raising a hoof before Rarity could utter a word, “that means that they don’t know anything about you guys. They know about Lily, but they don’t know where I met her.”

“Sheesh, Sky, how much have you been keeping from them?” Applejack asked, looking a little disappointed.

“I haven’t been keeping stuff from them. It’s just that this is my first time back here since my mission into Everfree. So I haven’t really had the opportunity to get them caught up on everything that’s been happening.”

“And you couldn’t send a letter?” Twilight asked.

“Well, before we defeated the Chimera, I didn’t want them to worry about me. I was still in that ‘I can do this myself’ mindset. But after that, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how difficult and outrageous it would sound if I just up and told them everything at once. So I figured that the best way to tell them would be when I had all my friends with me…I guess as witnesses to prove I wasn’t just making it all up.” He shrugged.

“Do they have a good reason to think you’d make everything up?” Applejack asked, looking a bit suspicious.

“What?” Sky looked up, surprised. Then, remembering Applejack’s Element, he chuckled. “Oh, no. But if I told you the entire story out of the blue when you had been assuming for nine months that I had been safely in Canterlot, working in the confines of the palace, wouldn’t you be a little skeptical?”

“I guess that’s true,” the orange mare admitted. “So how do you intend to tell them?”

A twinkle appeared in his eye as his familiar smug grin returned. “Slowly.”

They all broke out in a fit of laughter, lending their own voices to the din of joyful sounds throughout the town. And just as they began to quiet down, a voice called out to him. A voice that sounded just familiar enough to sting his eyes as the tears threatened to start rolling.

“Sky? Big brother, is that you?”

He whipped his head around and saw a teal green pony with violet eyes, complete with freckles and an auburn mane and tail to boot. Her mane was tied in a single braid along her neck, her tail was cut shorter than before, and she was decidedly taller than he remembered, but there could be no doubt.

“Heya sis. Miss me?” he called back to her.

She broke into a full gallop towards him in a flash. As she reached him, he stretched out his front legs and caught her in a tight hug. He closed his eyes, relishing this moment that had been so long in the making. His wings spread open behind him, slowly lifting both he and Cinnamint several feet into the air as he held onto her.

After several seconds, they descended back to the ground, where Sky looked his sister in the eyes. “You keep growing like this, and soon, I won’t be able to do that anymore.”

Cinnamint rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Sky saw a pair of pegasi emerge from behind a nearby festival tent. One was a light lavender mare with a mane and tail of a slightly darker hue, while the other was a deep blue stallion with a chalky-white mane and tail. Almost as soon as he saw them, he felt his legs take him bounding towards them.

“Mom! Dad!”

He felt himself become wrapped in their legs as he reached them. He had missed them so much. It meant the world to him that he could see them again. His mom was still so beautiful and sweet as he had remembered her. And his dad looked just as strong and confident as ever.

As they released him, his father arched an eyebrow at him. “Looks like it wasn’t just a rumor. He’s alive after all.”

Oh, right. He’s sarcastic as ever, too.

“Very funny, Dad,” he replied with a sigh. “I’ve been very busy; otherwise, I would have sent you a letter of some sort.”

“That’s some kind of busy to keep you so occupied that you couldn’t send us anything for a full nine months,” his mother chimed in.

Should’ve expected this. “I’ll explain later. Right now,” he said, turning his body and gesturing to his waiting friends, “I have some ponies I’d like you to meet.”

As he led them back to the awaiting mares, Lily stepped forward. “Mom, Dad, sis…this is Lily Pond.”

Lily bowed her head to the family as Sky continued, gesturing to each member of his family in turn. “Lily, this is my sister, Cinnamint; my mom, Feather Wisp; and my dad, Midnight Sky.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Lily said, smiling sweetly.

“And it’s nice to finally meet you, dear,” Feather Wisp replied.

“Yeah, I didn’t think there was a mare in Equestria that could stand to be around Sky for very long,” Cinnamint quipped.

“Shush, you,” Sky muttered. He gestured to the remaining six mares (and one dragon). “And these are some of my other friends.”

“Wow, Sky,” Midnight said, looking impressed, but with a definite look of mischief in his eye. “Most stallions would be content with just one mare. You’ve brought seven back here.” He nudged his son playfully. “I’m so proud of you.”

“DAD!”

“Be nice, honey,” Feather chided her husband as Lily and Cinnamint giggled to each other. “Go ahead, sweetheart,” she said, turning back to Sky.

He took a deep breath. I guess your family never stops trying to embarrass you, even after nine months of being apart. Maybe especially after nine months. “Well, these are my friends that I met in Ponyville, actually.”

“Oh, I know this one!” his father suddenly piped up again. “Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and…Rainbow Dash.” He looked triumphantly at his son, whose ears flattened beside his head as a stunned look fell across his face. “I miss any?”

“Hey! You forgot about me!” Spike shouted from Twilight’s back.

“Oh, sorry, Spike,” Midnight apologized.

“Better,” the dragon said, satisfied.

“H-how…how did you know that?” Sky asked, struggling to speak through his shock. Around him, his friends all looked as surprised as he did.

“Son, you’re plenty sneaky, but you can’t fool everypony that easily,” Midnight said, displaying a smug grin that looked every bit like the one that Sky showed so often.

“Did you really think we would let nine months go by without any word from you?” Feather added.

Cinnamint was snickering to herself. “Hehe, your faces!” she said between giggles. “You should see yourselves!”

Sky felt a certain dread fall on him. “But…how? How did you know?”

Feather smiled compassionately. “Sky, you’ve had ponies looking out for you for longer than you know. Princess Celestia has been sending us letters about you every few weeks since last September.”

“Princess Celestia?!” Sky’s friends shouted in unison, causing him to jump.

He gulped nervously. “So…you know I haven’t been in Canterlot the whole time, then, huh?”

“Yes,” Midnight replied, suddenly solemn. “We know all about your quests in the Everfree Forest and Polarmino, and all about this ‘Chimera,’ and a lot of other things.”

Sky’s head fell. “I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he began. “I just didn’t want you to worry about me. I wanted you to be happy and live in peace, without any concern for me and the danger I might have to face.”

“Well, not sending any letters for nine months wouldn’t have been a good way to go about that,” Midnight muttered.

His mother waved a dismissing hoof before continuing. “But we also heard how our courageous son faced down a monster in the Everfree Forest, and, with the help of his friends,” she looked appreciatively at the group of mares behind Sky, “he conquered his fear and drove off that monster. And then, he chased it to the frontier of Equestria, where he fought and beat it, with the help of a special new friend.”

Lily blushed as Feather Wisp continued. “And we heard about how he dared to fight the monster on his own to protect all of Canterlot. And we heard about how even after he was left for dead, he came back and fought the monster alongside his friends one last time, vanquishing it and saving all of Equestria.” She smiled at Sky with tears running down her face. “And he’s made us very, very proud.”

“He certainly has,” Twilight said. “We’re all very privileged to know him and call him our friend.”

“You guys…you know that you were as much a part of this as I was,” Sky said sheepishly.

“Oh, just be the hero, just this once,” Rainbow Dash said, sounding exasperated. “It won’t kill you.”

Suddenly, there was the chiming of a bell, followed by the tremendous roar of a nearby crowd. “Celestia must be about ready to come out and raise the sun!” Twilight exclaimed.

Midnight Sky crouched down and spread his wings. “Think you can keep up with your old horse?” he said to his son.

Sky Streak merely rolled his eyes as he spread his own wings. “Pssh. You couldn’t keep up with me before I left. And now, I’ve got skills that would just blow your mind.”

“How about we all go on hoof?” Feather Wisp suggested, somewhat forcefully.

Midnight straightened up and cleared his throat as Sky lowered his wings. “Oh, uh, yeah, we can do that, too,” the younger said.

They all trotted through the fairgrounds, taking in the sights and sounds of the annual celebration. Pinkie Pie had to stop numerous times on the way to play a particular game in hopes of winning a prize. By the time the bell chimed again, she was carrying several new stuffed dolls, a new confetti launcher, and some strange contraption that appeared to be a small wheel tied to a string, which Pinkie referred to as a “yo-yo.”

On their way, Sky found himself waving to friends and acquaintances he had almost forgotten. They smiled as they waved back, though he was often uncertain if they recognized him at all. In the end, though, it didn’t matter to him. He was merely happy to be here among friends.

They at last arrived at the central stage, where Mayor Redtape stood at the podium. A huge crowd had gathered around the stage. Apparently, no pony for miles around wanted to miss this opportunity.

“What a crowd,” Rarity observed. “This is quite the event, isn’t it?”

“I’m just glad I’m not the one on that stage,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Foalumbus doesn’t have a lot of big venues throughout the year,” Feather said as the group found a spot they could all fit in. “So whenever something big does come, it draws a big crowd.”

As they all took their seats, Mayor Redtape tapped his hoof against the microphone a few times before clearing his throat. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” he began, “as mayor of Foalumbus, I welcome you to the annual Rising of the Sun here at the Summer Sun Celebration!”

A raucous cheer rose from the crowd, accompanied by the thunder of hundreds of hooves, all stamping their approval. The mayor seemed to be enjoying every bit of the attention. “We’ve all had a wonderful time so far, but I think we’re all ready for the main event! May I present her royal majesty, Princess Celestia!”

Out from behind a curtain, the Princess of the Sun emerged, shining like her namesake and standing regally upon the platform. Once again, a huge cheer rose from the audience which lasted for a full minute before finally dying down. As the last stamping ceased, the princess smiled and began to speak.

“The celebration of the Rising of the Sun has long been a tradition within Equestria. For countless generations, it has symbolized the ever-present hope of a new day, and the ability to move beyond the darkness into the light. It is the promise of hope beyond the horizon. And this year, it is my belief that such a message is perfectly appropriate here in Foalumbus.

“A little more than two months ago, Equestria was in great danger. A ferocious enemy had been terrorizing our homes and citizens, and there seemed to be little we could do to stop it. However, just when the darkness seemed to be unstoppable, hope came in the form of several young ponies who stood up to the darkness. Together, they ignited a light that defeated their enemy and shattered the night.” Sky looked around at each of his friends, who were already looking at each other. Lily scooted up against him, causing Cinnamint to giggle softly. And, Sky noticed, his parents were constantly raising their hooves to their eyes to catch their falling tears of pride.

Celestia continued. “And now, on this day, this morning, we celebrate not only their victory, but also the coming of the day for the refugees that found themselves far removed from their homes. The good ponies of Foalumbus united together to lend a hoof to their fellow citizens that had suffered so much. So, as Princess of Equestria, allow me to express my gratitude to each of you for your generosity and kindness. You have all proven yourselves to be an example for the rest of Equestria.” Again, the cheer erupted from the crowd, though perhaps slightly more enthusiastic this time around.

Celestia raised her hoof to bring a stop to the cheer. “But let us not forget that while the rising of the sun brings the promise of another chance to some ponies, there are others to whom the sun brings not another chance, but a new opportunity.” Suddenly, it seemed to Sky that Celestia’s words echoed in his mind. As he stared at the alicorn, she seemed to focus in on him, as though her words were meant specifically for him. “For some ponies, their tasks do not require another chance, because they have been completed. But now, they will need a new task, or mission, to perform. To them, the sunrise is not the coming of a new chance, but the symbol of a new stage in their life. Yesterday has passed; the dawn brings something new and fresh. But the hope of the sunrise comes to them, as well. It is a hope and belief that whatever life brings their way, they will meet it with purpose and determination.”

In a flash, she spread her wings and gently floated into the air. “So, whether you seek the coming of another chance, or the start of a new mission, or if you merely enjoy the beauty of the dawn, then behold, my ponies! The sun rises on Equestria!” And as her wings carried her higher and higher, she lifted her head dramatically, and the dazzling light of the sun broke across the eastern horizon, igniting the sky and bathing the land in its warm golden glow.

There were many ooo’s and aahh’s that filled the air before they transformed into a deafening cheer as Celestia descended once again on the platform. Above the cheer, Sky could hear Twilight’s voice calling out. “The last time we were at this event, things turned out a little differently!”

Sky leaned towards her and shouted, “Glad we could make it up to you!”

Several hours later, the crowds were finally beginning to thin as ponies began to head home for some rest after an entire night of celebrating. Sky, with his family and friends, were slowly walking back towards the town from the fairgrounds.

“Mare, do I feel sleepy,” Rainbow said as she walked.

“You must be tired to not be in the air,” Twilight observed.

Midnight Sky yawned absently from the front of the group. “So, what are you girls going to do now? Got an inn you’re staying at?”

“Oh, yes sir,” replied Fluttershy (who was surprisingly still alert). “I guess we’ll probably just head back there and rest.”

“You most certainly will not!” Feather Wisp protested. “You’re welcome to come over to the house and take a siesta there. No sense in spending bits on a hotel when you can relax for free.”

Twilight stifled a yawn as she tried to speak up. “Oh, thank you, but we’d hate to impose.”

“Sweetheart, it isn’t imposing if you’re invited,” Feather replied with a smile.

“Oh, good!” Cinnamint cheered. “Now I can finally hear all the embarrassing stories about Sky from the last year!”

“Not quite yet,” Sky corrected. “I think we’ll all want to take a little nap. Yes, even you,” he added, seeing the face she made.

“Well, that’s certainly kind o’ ya’ll to do that fer us,” Applejack said. “We’re mighty grateful.”

“You are perhaps the best friends our son has ever had, and you’ve done so much for him, it’s our privilege to have you stay with us, at least, for a little while,” Midnight replied.

“Pardon me, but may I interrupt this conversation?”

The group of ponies turned simultaneously to the source of the voice to see none other than Princess Celestia smiling down at them. In one synchronized motion, they all bowed low to the ground.

“O-of course, Your Majesty!” Midnight exclaimed. “How can we be of service?”

“First, there is no need to continue bowing,” she said with smirk. As they rose, she lifted her head and arched her eyebrows slightly to give her the appearance of being apologetic. “I’m afraid I must ask you to postpone your arrival at your home. My guards here,” she said, gesturing towards the gold-armored pegasi at her sides, “will accompany you to a suitable location where you can rest.”

Sky sensed that there was more. “And what else, Princess?”

She turned her gaze onto the light blue pegasus with the same eyes that he had felt during her speech just a few hours earlier. “Sky Streak, my faithful servant, I need you to come with me.”

Chapter 14: Embracing Tomorrow

Foalumbus
June 20, 9:17 AM

Sky watched as his family and friends left with the two royal guards in the direction of the fairgrounds. Several times, he saw them look back his direction, but none more than Lily, Spike, and Twilight. As they rounded a corner, all three of them kept their eyes on him until the last possible moment. Then, as they finally passed from his view, he looked up at Celestia. “What can I do for you, Princess?”

She smiled at him sympathetically. “Don’t worry, Sky. I’m not sending you on another mission. Not today, at least.”

Sky let himself relax just a bit. “Oh, good. I’d much rather take a nap,” he yawned.

“Walk with me.”

They slowly began to walk the streets of Foalumbus. They seemed unusually quiet to Sky, who attributed that to the likelihood that most ponies were resting from their night full of partying. The town had changed so much since the time he had moved away, and yet, to his eyes, there was plenty that he remembered as being exactly the way they were now.

“So, my parents tell me that you kept them informed about me over the last nine months,” he said rather matter-of-factly.

“I certainly have,” she admitted. “You may not have wanted them to worry about you, Sky, but your family has a right to know how you’re doing. I took it upon myself to perform that duty until you came to understand it yourself.”

“Which I do now,” Sky finished the thought. “Thank you for doing that.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued as the two ponies continued to walk the lonely streets of suburban Foalumbus. The burning question in Sky’s mind was begging to be asked, but he didn’t want to be so forward with it. However, the thought continued to eat at him until finally, he could stand it no longer. “Princess?”

“Yes, Sky Streak?” she answered, looking at him without turning her head.

“Um…well, your speech this morning…uh…” he stammered. Finally, he decided to throw caution to the wind and just ask the question. “When you talked about starting ‘a new stage in life’ and ‘taking a new task,’ I couldn’t help but feel like those words were meant specifically for me.”

Celestia snorted in mild amusement. “Sky, there were many ponies in the audience this morning, and I am certain that many of them could relate to the words I spoke there. However,” she continued, turning her head full on to look Sky straight in the face, “you are correct. I did mean those words for you.”

Sky nodded as he turned and looked up the street again. “I thought so,” he quietly replied.

“Does that bother you?” Celestia asked.

“Maybe,” Sky admitted. “I mean, I had just gotten comfortable. My enemy is gone, I have friends and family who love me, and I have a job to do in Canterlot…I guess I just finally felt like I had a place I belonged. A place I could rest and enjoy. I had a home.”

“Sky Streak, Equestria is like a garden. It does not grow well when left by itself. It must be cultivated and watched over for any signs of trouble. And it is nice to find your place within it, but you never truly get to put your hooves up and just leave it be. And as for the rest of your concerns,” she added, “why should those change? I do not think that advancing into the next stage of your life should mean that you lose your friends and family.”

Sky’s brow furrowed as he listened. “Our roles in our lives may change, but that does not mean that we lose everything that we have worked for. And when you think about it, do you really want to be ‘comfortable?’ Do you want to stop growing; to stop becoming a better pony? To be comfortable is to be sedentary and unmoving. Not changing and not growing. And I think you are too valuable and special a pony to be like that.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Sky conceded. “It’s just that…well, change is hard. It’s not something that we usually want.”

“Spoken like a wise old sage of Equestria,” Celestia chuckled. “Only he would finish the proverb: ‘Change is not what we want, but it is what we need.’ And remember, Sky, that your home is not a building, or even a place, but a mindset. ‘Home is where the heart is,’ a very wise pony once said. And Luna told you that wherever you take your feelings for your friends and family, they come along with you in spirit. And that’s as much a home as anypony could ask for.”

“I understand,” Sky nodded. “So, what is this next stage in my life?”

“For that,” stated Celestia, “you will need to go inside.” She halted and raised her hoof in the direction of a modest-looking house. An open front yard split in two by a solitary pathway leading to a small set of stairs before the front door greeted him. A pair of windows upon its upper level stood on either side of the lower-level door. Mere months ago, Sky had seen this same house in a terrible nightmare. Then, it had been black and burnt, haunting and depressing at the same time. Yet now, in the bright sunshine and the brilliant colors of summer, Sky looked on with satisfaction at this cheerful house.

“Heh,” he chuckled. “Rather ironic that after our conversation about where home is, you bring me to my colthood home.”

“I have my reasons,” Celestia said cryptically. “Shall we go in?”

Sky studied her closely. It was obvious that she knew something, but what it was, he had no clue. “Yeah, why don’t we do that?” he said slowly and deliberately.

As they ascended the stairs, Sky took in the sights and smells of this place he had left behind years ago. No matter how far his journeys would take him, this house would always hold a special place for him. Home may be where the heart is, but part of my heart will always dwell here.

Opening the door, Sky was surprised to see three ponies standing in the center of the living room, apparently awaiting he and Celestia. At the head of the trio stood the all-too-familiar form of Princess Luna, whose charming smile made Sky’s knees go weak instantly. And flanking her on either side…

“Hey!” Sky exclaimed. “You two! You’re the guards from the palace that have been following me! Princess Celestia, what’s going…”

And suddenly, he remembered exactly where he had seen them before.

“You…you were the guards that were with Princess Luna that first night,” he said softly as the memory ran afresh through his brain. “You were there, but…I just forgot, I guess.”

The white unicorn on the right looked to his counterpart and smiled. “Told ya’,” he said in a mischievous tenor voice. “Pay up.”

The forest green pony on the left merely rolled his eyes. “Save it, Ace,” he said, sounding rather irritated. “Now’s not the time.”

“Uh…Princess Celestia?” Sky asked, looking every bit as confused as he felt.

“Don’t mind them, Sky. They had a friendly wager between them to see if you would remember them now. Enough, boys,” Celestia said, causing the two guards to instantly clam up and turn back to attention. “Luna, would you mind explaining?”

“Of course, sister,” Luna said with a nod. “Sky, we’ve been keeping an eye on you ever since you first came to Canterlot. I came to you on that night for many reasons. But perhaps no reason more significant than the potential I saw in you.”

“Potential?” Sky echoed.

“When we first met, you were still so young and…well, immature, if I may. You had much to learn about life. But I saw it in your eyes: that fire, that spark of determination that burned within you. You may have been immature, but I also saw that you had the ability to grow into a truly great pony.”

Sky blushed as he heard the Princess describe him. “Aw, well…” he stammered.

“And now that we stand here, I see that you have truly blossomed into the pony we believed you could be,” continued Luna. “You embody the heart, courage, determination, and devotion that would befit any hero. And you used those traits to overcome your personal darkness, and, in doing so, saved Equestria from an uncertain fate.”

“But in your victory over the Chimera,” Celestia took over, “you proved that you were ready for your next challenge. And now, we want to present you with the opportunity to accept that challenge.”

Sky shivered as Celestia spoke. “You make it sound like it’s something huge and intimidating.”

“If it is, then understand that we believe that you are ready and able to face it,” Luna replied.

“Well,” Sky said, mustering up his courage, “don’t keep me in the dark. What is this ‘new challenge’?”

“You mean you haven’t figured it out yet?” the white unicorn asked, looking a bit surprised, though he continued to wear that mischievous smile like it was a permanent fixture on his face. “You know what it is, even if you don’t realize it.”

Sky quickly ran through all of the dangerous jobs he could remember hearing of in his journeys, from spies to infiltrators, but nothing that really stuck out to him as something he would be cut out for. He shrugged. “I’d say Wonderbolt, but you two don’t look like the flying types.”

The unicorn brought his hoof to his face as his companion smiled triumphantly. “I guess you owe me now, hm?”

“Stow it, Scope,” Ace replied sourly.

“Another bet, huh?” the pegasus asked.

Scope ignored the remark as he turned his attention back to Sky. “Do you remember walking the halls of the palace back in late March with your yellow pegasus friend? How you came to that mysterious door that you couldn’t enter?”

Sky’s memories flared to life as he recalled the event. “Yeah…why?”

“The rumors about what lay beyond that door say that some secret society of ponies dwell there, performing the most critical and secretive tasks for the Council. No pony knows who they are or where they come from, but they say that it is by their vigilance that the peace of Equestria is maintained.”

Sky raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “You seem to know more than the rumors would indicate,” he observed.

“That’s because the rumors are true.”

“Oh, really? Then if the rumors are true, then why do you let them continue? If everything’s so hush-hush, why let everypony so close to the truth?” Sky challenged.

A light flared in Scope’s eyes for a split second. “Because even you have to admit that there’s no faster way to draw attention to something than by trying to silence those that talk about it.”

“You see, Sky,” Celestia began from beside him, “even Equestria has its secrets. Many years ago, I instituted a special group of ponies—six of each race—to work undercover to uphold the law in Equestria and suppress any threats to its bliss. They were named the Alicorn Guard, and they were tasked with secretly keeping the peace throughout the empire. And granted, many things, such as the Chimera, still slip through. However, it is by their vigilance that most threats against the empire are kept at bay.”

“Hold on,” Sky said, raising a hoof. “You mean to tell me that this group of eighteen ponies is responsible for protecting the entirety of Equestria?”

“I do,” Celestia nodded. “And you have a great deal in common with them.”

“How’s that?” Sky asked.

There was a moment of silence before Celestia spoke again. “Sky Streak, I must apologize to you,” she said, letting her head fall. “After your first battle with the Chimera, I told you that my knowledge of the phenomenon of a pegasus being able to use magic was extremely limited. Which was true. But I’m afraid that I may have misled you with that, because you are not the only non-unicorn in Equestria that can use magic.”

Sky became suddenly deadpan, unable to display any emotion. “What?”

“After Night Mare Moon was imprisoned on the moon, I lost the ability to use the Elements of Harmony. When I decided to form this new society, I wanted it to act as a sort of filler for the lost magic of the Elements of Harmony, until a pony—or ponies, as it would turn out—would arise capable of wielding them again. And so, with that in mind, I found a way to connect the ability to use magic with certain emotions within the ponies of the society.”

“But wait,” Sky interrupted. “You told me that you didn’t know of any time something like this had happened! If you had been doing this for years, then how could you say such a thing?”

Luna cleared her throat. “Actually, I told you that there was no recorded evidence of it. Which there isn’t.” She sighed before continuing. “But truth be told and technicalities aside, your magic is truly unique. The ponies that my sister managed to imbue were given magic through artificial methods. However, your magic was something special: forged in the fires of adversity, it flared to life when you exemplified something truly worthy of magic. You stood up for your friends in the face of overwhelming odds, determined to save those you cared about. And with a little nudge from Twilight, that magic didn’t just enter into you: it became yours. It belongs to you, in the strictest sense of the word. And that is more potent than any kind of magic my sister or I could give away.”

“You’re one of a kind, kid,” Ace said, apparently over his pouting session.

“Just—just wait a second,” Sky replied, bringing his hoof to his temple. All in all, he thought he had taken all this new information rather well. But even he had a limit as to what he could handle. “So this organization has six unicorns, six earth ponies, and six pegasi, and all of them are able to use magic?”

“That’s right,” Celestia replied simply.

“And out of all of the typically non-magical ponies, I’m the only one whose magic is…well, not natural, but not induced?”

“Yes.”

“And what would being a part of this organization involve?”

“You would be teamed up with Ace and Scope here as the third member of their team,” Celestia explained. “And your duties would remain much the same as they have been for you in the Service. It will fall to you to protect Equestria wherever you may be needed. And that may occasionally take you beyond its borders. You would be asked to watch, observe, follow, take action, and sometimes, fight. You would be a silent guardian of Equestria.”

“I see. But why not approach me about this before? Wouldn’t these other ponies have been useful against the Chimera?”

“There are two answers to your question, Sky Streak,” Luna responded. “Firstly, the Chimera was your foe. You needed to prove to us that you could overcome that trial in order for us to consider you for this. And secondly, you needed to learn your one great lesson: that others are there for you. Being a part of the Alicorn Guard requires that one understands the value of teamwork. And in your final victory, you showed that you at last understood the power that comes from working with your friends.”

Sky contemplated her words for a moment. While they made sense, the royal siblings were making him sound a lot better than he really felt. “I thought you said there were only eighteen ponies in this…Alicorn Guard…at a time,” Sky objected. “Wouldn’t I make nineteen?”

“Our sixth pegasus retired shortly after the Changeling invasion,” Scope replied. “We’ve been looking for a replacement for some time now.”

Sky cast a suspicious look at Princess Luna. “Might that have been another reason you came to me that night?”

“Yes,” Luna admitted. “But if I had not thought you were capable of filling that role, I would not have come to you. You’ve proven me right in that belief.”

“So, Sky Streak,” Celestia began, slowly walking forward to stand beside her sister, “will you accept this offer? The Alicorn Guard will be a challenge to you. It will be difficult, and you cannot reveal its existence to anypony, under any circumstances. But the entire Council agrees with me that you are the pegasus fit for the job.”

Sky was silent for a long time. Inwardly, he thought about his friends: Lily, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and all the others. He thought about his family. Could he keep such a secret from them? Could he live up to their expectation of him?

“Please say yes,” Ace begged. “Scope and I have been relegated to guard duty until we could find a third member for our team.”

“What about my friends?” he asked at last. “Will I still be able to see them?”

“Of course,” Luna replied. “To them, nothing will have changed. Only you will know about the Guard. They will still assume that you are merely in the Service.”

“Remember, Sky, your friends are what make you strong. We would not separate you from them,” Celestia reminded him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I never would have imagined something like this,” he said quietly. “Not in my wildest dreams.” His eyelids opened, and his blue eyes glowed with intensity. “But I have no reason not to trust the Council. And if they believe that I can do this, then I trust their judgment.”

“So you accept?” Luna asked, somewhat excitedly.

He took another deep breath before answering. “Yes.”

“Then kneel, Sky Streak,” Celestia said, stepping forward.

He bowed his head as he fell to three knees. He felt the two horns of the alicorn sisters rest upon his shoulders as Celestia spoke. “Then as the head of the Royal Equestrian Council and Princess of the Sun, I appoint you to the Alicorn Guard. You must never reveal the secrets or existence of the Guard to anypony. You vow to uphold the law of Equestria and strive to protect it in every action you take. The ponies of this land may never thank you for your service to your face, but their bliss is your reward. Now, rise, Sky Streak of the Alicorn Guard.” With that, he felt the horns lift from him. He looked into the eyes of the princesses as he rose to his hooves.

“And welcome to the next stage of your life.”

Sky looked around curiously for a moment. “So…now what?”

Ace and Scope looked at each other as Luna stepped forward. “Now, you live your life. Be with your friends. Strengthen your bonds with those you love. It will make you strong when you need to be away from them.”

“And prepare for the day when we’ll call you,” Ace said. “It’ll probably be soon.”

“How soon?” Sky asked.

“No telling,” Ace replied with a wink. “We’ll try to give you a heads-up of at least an hour.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Your friends and family will be here soon,” Celestia said as she passed him, opening the front door and walking through. “Remember that you cannot tell them about the Guard. And Sky?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Thank you. You continue to impress me with your willingness to serve. And even if most ponies will never know everything you will do for them, remember that that does not diminish their own gratefulness at all.” With that, she watched as Luna, Ace, and Scope all descended the stairs. As they started down the street, the princesses looked back at him one last time and lowered their heads in an appreciative bow. Celestia’s horn lit up, and the door closed in front of him.

Sky stared blankly at the door for a few minutes. Well, that was quick.

He slowly recovered his bearings and began wandering around the house, reminiscing about the days of his colthood. He had spent years in this house, learning every nook and cranny from which to jump out and scare his unsuspecting sister. He had performed stunts by flying around the house, through rooms and between rafters. His sister had tussled with him across these floors, and many of the rugs still showed signs of the abuse they had suffered at the hooves of the siblings.

As he strolled through the house, he saw pictures of himself as a colt. There was one of him at flight school, where he graduated on the honor roll. He saw another with Fluttershy, himself, and several of their classmates, posing for a school picture. And there was another of himself and his old best friend from Cloudsdale, Punch Line.

As his walk down memory lane continued, he ascended the stairs to the second level and noticed a sign on a closed door that surprised him. It read, “Sky’s Room.” And as he opened the door, he staggered from the memories that mobbed his brain all at once.

There was the same bed he had slept in for years, still with those amazing Wonderbolt covers. His old bookshelf still sat opposite the room, situated against an otherwise bare wall, loaded with books. There were some schoolbooks, but most of them were novels about Daring Do or stories about some of Equestria’s great fliers. There was a rather large tome entitled “Legends and Myths of Equestria,” which he pulled from the shelf and dusted off before opening it. Flipping through it, he saw many things that made him smile. He read about some of the supposed “myths” of Equestria, including Night Mare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. I think this book is in need of some serious revisioning.

The sound of a door opening, followed by many voices, caused him to retreat from the room to the top of the stairs, where he saw his family and friends entering the house, each looking like they were either ready for a nap or had just awakened from one.

Lily was the first to see him. “So, Sky, what did Princess Celestia want?”

He cleared his throat as he spread his wings and floated over the stairs to the lower level. “Oh, she wanted to talk about the past few months and about expanding my current responsibilities within the Service.”

“Oh, that’s great, sweetie,” Feather Wisp replied, leaning over and giving her son a kiss on the forehead. “It’s nice to be recognized for your hard work.”

“Yeah.” He stretched, suddenly aware that he was just as tired as they probably were. “Well, did you guys get any rest?”

“Not really,” Rainbow said, looking like she was ready to conk out right where she stood. “We were all too curious about what you were doing to really get any sleep.”

“Oh. Well, don’t worry about it. I’m still the same pegasus. Just might be doing a bit more for the Council in the future.”

“Well, I think we should all get some rest,” Rarity said, wandering over to the nearby couch and positioning herself comfortably. “We all need our beauty sleep.”

“Speak for yourself,” Midnight quipped.

They all laughed for a few seconds before spreading throughout the house, each one finding a comfortable place to curl up in. Pretty soon, the sound of gentle sleeping (and Rainbow’s snoring) filled the house.

Sky had retreated with Lily to his room again and was slow to fall to sleep. He was intrigued by the book of myths he had found, and Lily seemed determined to remain awake for as long as he was. Finally, when Sky seemed to have reached a stopping point, Lily spoke up.

“Sky, was that really all that Princess Celestia asked you? To take on more responsibilities in the Service?”

He put on a good face for her. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“That wasn’t a straightforward ‘yes’.”

Sky furrowed his brow and sighed. “Lily, please don’t press this. I’ve told you what I can honestly say. Having to say any more would force me to break a promise.”

She seemed taken aback by Sky’s admission, but nodded at last. “Just one last question, then.”

“Shoot.”

“What would you say that Celestia asked you to do?”

“What would I say? Hmm…” He gazed around the room while Lily’s words rattled around in his head. As he saw the books on his shelf and the covers on his bed, he heard the words of the Solar Princess from earlier that morning:

Yesterday has passed; the dawn brings something new and fresh. But the hope of the sunrise comes to them, as well. It is a hope and belief that whatever life brings their way, they will meet it with purpose and determination.

“She asked me to move on to a new phase of my life,” Sky said, looking satisfied with his answer.

“Oh, did she?” Lily’s eyes were suspicious, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “Anything else?”

“She asked me to bring you along—all of my friends and family—on my new journey. Wanna come along?”

Lily laughed as she placed her head against his. “Of course.” They yawned in unison as they finally succumbed to the allure of sleep. “Let’s face it; you wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Epilogue

Canterlot Palace
July 1, 11:06 PM

“I had a great time tonight, Sky. Thanks for bringing me along.”

“Who else would I have brought?”

Sky stood on the doorstep to Lily’s new home, still entranced by her amazing outfit. She had pulled her mane up into a bun and applied some sort of…something…to make it shine. Her tail was meticulously brushed and ran like silk from underneath her elegant green dress, which he had found out had been made by none other than Rarity. It complimented her hair and eyes almost perfectly. When Sky had first seen her, he had been rendered speechless for a solid three minutes.

“Well, you didn’t have to bring anypony,” Lily replied.

“Are you kidding?” Sky said, laughing. “THE Octavia approaches me out of the blue and offers me free tickets to one of her concerts as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for some small thing I did for her a few months ago, and I’m supposed to go by myself?” He shook his head, still chuckling. “That’s the makings of a date night if ever there was one.”

“Well, just the same, it was wonderful.” She pulled his bleach-white top hat off his head with her magic before leaning forward and giving him a gentle (and very much appreciated) kiss on the cheek. His face grew warm as the familiar sensation of blushing returned. Never gets old.

She pulled away at last and placed his hat back onto his head. She looked him over once, then proceeded to straighten his silken white bow tie adjust his matching coat. “Just because the concert’s over doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look your best.”

He arched an eyebrow as she worked. “You realize I’m taking this off once I’m back at the palace, right?”

She snorted softly and smiled but held her tongue. “There,” she said at last. “Now you’ll look nice on your way back.”

Sky merely rolled his eyes. “See you tomorrow?”

As her mouth widened into a smile, her eyelids fell ever-so-slightly, and to Sky, time itself seemed to stop. The stars went out and the lights of the city faded into nothingness as his whole attention was devoted to the lovely unicorn that stood before him.

“Of course,” she said. “Have a wonderful night.”

He felt his heart beat as the flow of time restarted. “Sweet dreams, princess,” he returned. He caught one last glimpse of her glistening smile as she entered her house to turn in for the night.

A surge of magic ran down his back and through his tail. His wings pressed outward against his coat, fueled by an insatiable excitement. He turned and began to head for the palace, mind racing with a million thoughts. I wonder if she can feel my emotions now? And if she can, what does she think of them?

His thoughts were interrupted by the intrusion of an unexpected voice coming from above him. “Princess? I do not seem to recall her coronation.”

His head jerked up in time to see none other than Princess Luna descend to the ground near him. “Princess Luna,” Sky regarded her with a bow. “It’s just a…thing…I call her…sometimes.” He glanced around nervously. “Were you looking for me?”

“I noticed you from the palace, and I thought you looked quite…dapper,” she said with a knowing grin. “Mind if I walk with you? I have been meaning to talk to you for some time.”

Sky gestured with his hoof. “Not at all, Princess. I would be honored to accompany you back to the palace.” As she began walking, he fell in beside her.

“You really do look quite dashing tonight,” Luna commented. “The top hat is a nice touch.”

“Thank you,” Sky replied. They passed a small, dim cottage on his right with a sign that read “SOLD” staked in the front lawn. “Octavia very graciously gave Lily and I tickets to attend her concert tonight. I had the suit and everything picked out, but I spotted the hat in a window a few days ago and just knew that I needed it. It just called to me.”

“You sound like a mare with too many bits,” Luna replied.

“It was a one-time thing,” he assured her. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Several things. Firstly, I wanted to thank you for returning the shards of Night Mare Moon to the Council. I must admit, I was unsettled to see them again, but I am pleased that they have been sealed away where they can no longer be put to evil use,” the princess explained.

“We were all surprised when Pinkie Pie found them,” Sky admitted. “But it matches up with what the Chimera told me, about how it was able to use the pieces left behind.”

Luna closed her eyes, though to Sky it appeared as though she were wincing in pain. “It may also answer a few questions we have, though there is no need to address those at this time.”

Sky involuntarily began to form a question, but he managed to stop it as Luna finished her statement. He quickly redirected the topic of conversation. “What else did you want to speak to me about?”

“You have been staying in the palace as your place of residence for over half a year now, correct?”

“Yes.” A light suddenly flicked on in a nearby window, drawing Sky’s gaze, though his train of thought was undisturbed. “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’m very grateful for that. The hospitality of the palace has been…incredible.”

“Well, the Council has managed to find you a new place to live. It is not as lavish or grand as the palace, but it will be more of a home than a single room in a lonely wing of the palace.” She looked back over her shoulder in the direction of Lily’s home. “And I think you’ll like the location.”

Sky curiously followed Luna’s eyes back down the road…and suddenly realized the significance of the empty cottage they had passed not two minutes ago. “You mean…that’s going to be my home? But it says that it’s already sold.”

“Who do you think purchased it?” Luna asked smugly.

His eyes became the size of saucers. “Oh, you didn’t…”

“Sky Streak, whether you desire it or not, the ponies of Equestria, including the Council, all owe you a huge debt for your deeds. Consider this a small recompense for your courageous actions.”

He wanted to argue, but the look in Luna’s eye told him that the topic was closed for discussion. He sighed, conceding the point. “All right. The least I can say is thank you for this. And you’re right,” he added, peering back at the lights of Lily’s own home, “I do like the location.”

“Celestia and I thought you might.”

Another lit window caught Sky’s eye. The blinds were drawn back, granting him an unimpeded view of the interior of the house. Within, he spotted a tall mare with a flowing green and blue mane that reminded him of Princess Celestia. And barely visible over the window sill, Sky could make out the top of the head of a young filly. She was hopping around the mare excitedly as the elder bore a look of exasperation. Somepony appears to be up past their bedtime, Sky mused.

A long silence ensued, broken only by the soft clopping of Luna’s and Sky’s hooves on the cobblestone street. The night was bright in Canterlot, and only the brightest stars were visible through the glare of the many streetlamps. A warm breeze swept past them from behind, and Sky shifted uncomfortably. I don’t know if it was my stay in Polarmino or the dream I had, but I think I prefer the cold a bit more now.

“Sky,” Luna said abruptly, “how have you been holding up?”

His face was a mask of confusion as he turned to face her. “I’m sorry?”

She cleared her throat. “It has been nearly three months since you fought the Chimera.”

“Ah.” He pondered the question for a moment before giving a response. “Well, of course, it’s been on my mind. I know what it told me; about how there was that nest of hatred somewhere within Equestria.”

“And you believe that the Chimera was telling you the truth?” Luna asked, a measure of skepticism evident in her voice.

But Sky was undeterred. “I do. It had no reason to lie to me. What good would it have done to have lied about that? It would have merely been an empty threat.”

“But why would it tell you the truth? Wouldn’t that be in direct contrast to its own interests?”

Sky shrugged. “I don’t know, Your Highness,” he admitted. “But deep down, I just know that it’s true. And I can’t ignore the possibility, as reluctant as I am to accept it.”

He caught sight of Luna beaming at him. “What?” he asked innocently.

“I don’t know if you realize it, Sky,” Luna began, “but you’ve grown so much. You’re not a naïve young pegasus from Coltlanta anymore. You’re a full-grown stallion, and not just in body. You think for yourself, you’re observant and perceptive, and you’ve become wiser over this past year. You’ve made all of us very proud…your family, your friends, and the Council, too.”

“Well, that’s why you invited me to serve you in the first place,” he commented. “To help serve Equestria. And growing up is a big part of that, right?” He looked up from the road, anticipating a nod of agreement from the princess.

Instead, he was surprised to see the Lunar Princess looking disturbed and shaken. “Princess Luna? Is everything alright?”

She halted and faced him, her eyes wild. However, Sky felt compelled—or commanded, perhaps—to stare into the depths of her eyes, to the heart of her black pupils. And as he did so, he felt a question rise unbidden to his lips, though he was powerless to hold it back.

“Princess Luna, what’s the real answer? Why have you shown me so much attention over the past year?” he asked, though to him, the voice did not sound like his own.

Luna closed her eyes and let her head fall. For a split second, the world around Sky seemed to grow hazy and blurred, as though his vision was fading. But the event passed almost as quickly as it had arisen, and as he refocused, he saw Luna staring at him with glassy eyes.

“One thousand years ago, I knew another pony,” Luna began, her voice soft and quivering. “He was courageous and strong, and fiercely loyal. He was a pegasus, renowned for his skill in flight and his fearless deeds. He never backed down from a challenge.” A nostalgic smile rose to her face as she suddenly seemed to notice Sky no more. Her vision was given to another time. “What a sight he was.”

“And this is pertinent…how?” Sky asked.

Luna’s eyes refocused on him. A distinct look of sorrow was now evident on her face. “He was one of the few ponies that loved the night. He devoted himself to my service, which I gladly accepted…for a time. But it wasn’t enough. One pony wasn’t enough to satisfy my thirst to be appreciated. And as a result, I fell to the darkness and became Night Mare Moon. And that pegasus stood beside me, willing to do anything for me. And consumed by darkness, I commanded him to go and try and incite an uprising to begin a rebellion against my sister.”

Sky sat spellbound as Luna’s tragic story continued to unfold. “It was not long before my sister and I fought, and I was exiled to the moon. As for that pegasus…I do not know of his fate. I have yet to find the courage to ask my sister whatever became of him.

“That was a thousand years ago, Sky. I had been given a second chance. And I had been seeking ways to rectify the deeds of my past. And one fateful night, I happened to see you in Canterlot…and I recognized you. You are so much like him. Brave, strong, loyal, and defiant in the face of all odds. And when I saw you, I promised myself that I would honor his memory by helping you avoid his fate, whatever it may have been.”

Sky was suddenly aware that his mouth was hanging open. “You mean…you came to me that night out of a desire to make up for your mistakes to this other pony?”

“Perhaps I was naïve to believe that I could truly make up for my past sins by helping you, but even now, I believe that it was the right thing to do,” Luna said, sniffling as she held back her tears.

Sky grinned sheepishly as he fumbled around for the right words. “Princess Luna, I don’t think it was naïve at all. I think it shows that you are truly changed from who you were. You want to help those around you to make sure that their future is as full of hope and joy as you can offer. And if you were worried that I would be angry about the reason you came to me,” he continued, “don’t worry about that. I’m not upset. I’m actually quite honored to have been given the opportunities…as well as the attention,” he added with a wink.

“You are a comfort to me, Sky,” Luna said as she wiped her eyes.

He threw his head back and watched a shooting star flare across the sky. “I do what I can,” he said, shrugging and smiling calmly.

They resumed their walk for several more minutes in silence as the palace gates grew larger and larger as they approached. Sky’s thoughts were a mixture of emotions as he grasped the significance of what Luna had told him. He now knew the truth: he was the princess’ chance to redeem herself. And that responsibility was twofold: in order to ease the pain of Luna’s past, he would have to battle for all of Equestria’s future. The present had been secured: now he had to reconcile the past and future together.

Sounds like fun.

Finally, they arrived before the massive doors of the palace. On either side of the gate, the royal guards stood at perfect attention. As they spotted Luna, they bowed in unison. With a wave of her hoof, she directed them to rise. And as they noticed Sky (whose identity was apparently somewhat masked by his outfit), they snapped off a hasty salute. Sky merely rolled his eyes.

Luna looked at the blue pegasus again. “Well, Sky, are you ready for the future?”

Sky watched as the gate began to swing open. “Ready for it? I’m just going to let it come.”

He adjusted his top hat confidently as he began to walk with Luna into the bright halls of the palace. “It’s the future that needs to be ready for me.”

THE END

…for now.

Chapter 1: Shroud of Grief

Location: Canterlot
Date: April 5. It has been five days since Sky’s disastrous battle with the Chimera.

The train slowed to a crawl as the station drew steadily closer. The steam from the engine filled the air, wrapping the following cars in a sheath of thick white clouds. The cool night air was still and calm, and as the train passed through the steam trail, it carved a tunnel for itself through the mist.

As the trail of steam slowly dissolved, the engine finally ceased its slow approach and came to a complete stop against the platform. As the doors opened, a white unicorn with a green mane and tail bounded off the train, breathless as she frantically looked to and fro. Her luggage followed close behind her, held in her magical grasp. Her face was wrought with sorrow, but there was an unmistakable look of panic in her eyes as she dashed back and forth across the platform.

“Lily Pond.”

She stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing her name. As she turned to the source of the voice, she found herself staring into the eyes of two of the most famous ponies in all of Equestria. She had never actually met either, but she had heard enough of them to know them when she saw them. One was a tall white alicorn with a glistening multicolored mane and a golden crown adorning her head. The other was a shorter, purple unicorn, who stared up at the alicorn in surprise.

Lily looked on for a few tense moments before gathering her bearings and bowing. “Princess Celestia,” she said at last. Daring to look up, she saw the monarch step towards her. Celestia smiled, but it was more of a compassionate expression than one of pleasure. The unicorn stayed close to her side, though her gaze had turned to Lily.

“Lily, I must apologize for asking you to come so suddenly, but we believe that you may hold the key to solving this riddle,” Celestia said. She glanced at her companion for a moment. “This is my student, Twilight Sparkle. It was her idea to have you come here.” Twilight blushed slightly, but did not smile.

Lily nodded in acknowledgement. “Sky told me all about you, Twilight,” she started. “He really thought a lot of you.” She suddenly felt her throat tighten and her eyes begin to sting. She had said his name. He was the reason she had come so far so quickly. Her knees went weak as her insides turned to butterflies.

“Where is he?”

Twilight’s look of surprise dissipated quickly. “In the palace. Would you like to see him?” she asked, her voice barely audible above the din of the station.

“More than anything.”

He looked on from the very edge of the city. The strange bubble around the city would not keep him out; he had no doubt about that. But even from this distance, he could pick out the eerie multicolored lights of bodies moving back and forth within the city. He hesitated. “Well, now what?” he asked to no one in particular.

It had been some time since he had awoken from his sleep. Hours, days, weeks…he didn’t know. He had no exact concept of time. In all honesty, he didn’t have a clear sense of anything. He didn’t know what day it was, what year it was, where he was…or who he was. Any memories of who he was or may have been at one point in time were gone.

He had awakened on a field, and the shock of his first discovery had yet to wear off: he had no body. He could see the grass and the trees, but he could not feel them. He couldn’t smell the flowers, taste the grass, or feel the wind. Was he just a thought, or some strange bodiless entity? He didn’t know, but as the time had passed, he had become increasingly convinced that he was supposed to have a body. He just didn’t know where it was.

His first discovery was quickly followed by an equally stunning realization: he may have had no body, but he could still see. Well…perhaps “see” was the wrong word. But it was as good a word as he could come up with. Everything he “saw” glowed with light. There were certainly things that he did not see because they did not glow. But he had let the thought pass. For now, he was caught up in the lights.

It hadn’t taken him long to realize what he was seeing: they were other living things. Creatures with existences, much like his own, as they moved about their lives. However, there was one major distinction. Every light he had encountered was encased within a form: a body. And the light from within their bodies was broken and scattered from each one of them, causing the lights to glisten and sparkle like gemstones of many hues and varieties. And as the lights approached each other, they would often glow brighter, causing their separate rays of light to mingle with the others’, creating a wondrous display of color.

However, as beautiful as the lights were, he found that he was unable to endure their presence for long. Every time he approached one, he was quickly overcome by a feeling of terrible dread, forcing him to retreat from the lights. He did not understand what it was about them the frightened him so, but he had decided to stay away from them as best he could.

That is, until it had passed him. It had been another light, moving faster than any other creature he had encountered, and moving in his direction. He had quickly begun to move away when he felt something new: a longing, yearning desire to be near this light. He had stopped to observe the new light to find that it had, to his amazement, begun to grow in power and brilliance, as though his presence there excited this creature. It was almost as if it was calling him; begging him to stay with it.

And he had. He followed the light as fast as he could…which, for not having a physical form, is quite fast. He stayed right with it…until he had approached this bustling center of creatures. There were hundreds…possibly thousands of them in there, and the same feeling of dread that all other lights had cast on him returned. However, he could not shake the strange sensation of this singular light. Even from so far away, he felt restless, as though he simply belonged with this other being. He was supposed to follow it.

His thoughts returned to the present, where he watched the lights from a safe distance. Together, the lights mingled together to form a shimmering core of radiance; a glorious star that could light even the darkest of nights. He tried to find pleasure in the thought.

“Then why am I so afraid of it?” he asked.

Because you do not belong there.

That voice. It echoed like it came from a great distance away, yet he could understand every word as though it was being spoken by someone right in front of him. It had been with him almost since the moment he had awakened. It had given him advice and helped him along his way, though he could not shake the feeling that it was hiding something: that it knew more than it cared to let on.

“And just how do you know that?” he asked, making his suspicion evident.

If you belonged there, why would you be so terrified of what you see there?

He had to admit, it was a fair point. If he belonged among the lights, then why did they fill him with such fear? He didn’t know how, but he was certain that wherever his home was, it wasn’t supposed to feel like that. But then again…

“What about that other light? It called to me. What if I do belong with it?” he asked. He didn’t expect a fully honest answer from the voice, but his curiosity got the better of him.

A brief moment of silence followed. …Do you think that entering that crowd of lights is worth finding out? came the eventual reply.

He gazed intently toward the radiating hub before him. The apprehension he felt about approaching was overwhelming, but he could feel the presence of that one creature as it pierced his thoughts like a needle. The two forces pulled on his consciousness, each one vying for control of his actions. He drew his attention from his internal struggle and simply stared through the darkness to the city of lights.

“It might be.”

Lily bit her lip in apprehension as they walked the quiet halls of the palace. The guards stood at perfect attention as the trio of mares passed them by. The halls were bright and beautiful, decorated with regal-looking banners and tapestries and lit by brilliant lamps. But to her, the world seemed to have been drowned in a deep sea of gray. There was no cheer to be had in this place. Not like this.

Celestia and her two companions were perfectly silent as they came to a closed set of doors on their right. The princess walked beyond the door, then gestured to Lily to enter. She caught her breath. This was it. On the other side of these doors, Sky lay in what could be his last sleep. Her mouth went dry and her stomach felt like it would drop to her hooves. She nodded as beads of sweat began to form her forehead. Her horn glowed white as she pulled on the handle with her magic.

Before her, five colorful young mares sat around a simple bed, seemingly entranced by the lone object resting upon it. Their attention was quickly redirected as they took note of the ponies approaching from the doorway. They all stood and bowed as Celestia followed Lily in, though nopony spoke a word. An awkward silence followed before an orange pony with a well-worn cowpony hat spoke up.

“You must be Lily,” she said in a thick country accent.

Lily merely nodded. Her voice had vanished, unwilling to participate in the scene she was witnessing. Her eyes slowly circled the room, taking in the sense of despair that hung in the air. Each face in the room was pointed in her direction, and she thought she saw a glimmer of hope in each pair of eyes. She didn’t know how, but she was certain that it hadn’t been there before she walked in.

“We’re, uh…we’re all really sorry that we asked you here for this,” the country mare continued. “Sky’s our friend, but we all know that you mean somethin’ more to him.”

Lily managed a small smile. It was only a minor gesture, but she appreciated how this other pony referred to Sky in the present tense: he wasn’t gone. He was just asleep…and alive as ever.

She suddenly found that her voice had returned. “Thank you.” It came out softer than she had intended. “Although I’m…I’m afraid I haven’t had the privilege of meeting any of you before.”

“Oh, how rude of us!” exclaimed a purple-maned mare from the opposite side of the room. “I am Rarity.” She gestured to each of the other four ponies in the room. “And this is Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and, of course, Applejack,” she said, pointing to the country mare Lily had been speaking with before.

“I’m afraid there will be time for pleasantries later, my little ponies,” Celestia said from the doorway. “But I believe that Lily will want to spend some time with Sky.” She paused for a moment, and Lily could almost feel Celestia’s commanding eyes drifting from pony to pony. “Alone.”

“Oh…right,” Rainbow Dash said, signaling to the others. “C’mon, guys.” She took to the air and grabbed Lily’s gaze. “If you need anything, you can just call any of us.”

A hearty “ahem” from behind Lily pulled Rainbow’s attention away, then she blushed slightly and shot through the air, leaving the unicorn alone with a familiar blue stallion in the bed. As she heard the door click shut behind her, she approached the side of the bed. Her hooves seemed to move independent of her will, as though she was drawn more than she walked. As she reached the head of the bed, she rose up onto her hind hooves and placed her front hooves against the bed. Her eyes immediately floated to the pillow as her mind braced for what she would see.

A warm smile rose to her lips as she stared into the face of that goofy blue pegasus that had won her heart just a few days ago. A wave of memories flooded her vision as she recalled that first morning after he had arrived. She had nearly tripped over him as he slept in her living room, sprawled out across the floor, mouth agape like it was inviting an insect to fly inside. She saw the breakfast that they had eaten that morning. She recalled the meeting in Polarmino where they decided to set out to find the windigo colony. She beheld the journey to the halls of King Icevein, and the battle against the Chimera. And she remembered that beautiful sunset on their very first date.

The memories slowly faded in spite of her unwillingness to face reality. As her world gradually shifted back to Sky’s lonely room, she found that her vision had grown blurry behind a veil of tears that had begun to grow in her eyes. She felt her throat tighten as her lip began to quiver. The tears began to flow in earnest.

Her head collapsed onto the bed as her muffled sobs floated away into the quiet night.

Chapter 10: The Deepest Magic

“No decorations or anything? It’s almost like you weren’t expecting this.”

Sky stood opposite the Chimera in a dimly lit area nestled within thick walls of fog. Beneath his hooves, Sky saw no solid objects, further convincing him that this was not a physical showdown: it was the manifestation of a battle of wills. Before him, his enemy smiled grimly.

“Our apologies,” it said in response. “We’ve simply been too busy trying to make room for all the new additions.”

Before, the remark would probably have caused his anger to boil over. But here, Sky simply let the comment pass. Deep within himself, he felt a curious sensation that filled his mind with positive thoughts of love and companionship. He saw the smiling faces of his friends and family, and his heart swelled with the thought of them. It was no longer merely his duty to protect them: it was his privilege to fight on behalf of such amazing ponies.

He almost laughed as the thoughts ran their course through his mind. Wouldn’t have thought I would have been saying that just a few weeks ago. But I couldn’t be happier that I’m saying it now.

“Too bad, then,” Sky replied. “This is an eviction notice.”

It was the Chimera’s turn to laugh. “Oho, you think you can defeat us now?” it said with one head as the other two continued to chuckle. “We seem to remember that same confidence in our last battle. How did that turn out again?”

“If you think you’re talking to the same pegasus you fought a week ago, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise,” Sky said, eyes leveling. “Things are much different now.”

“Indeed!” the Chimera agreed. It shook the mane around its foremost neck for a few seconds. “But if you think that you are the only one that has changed, then you are mistaken yourself.” All three heads turned in opposite directions simultaneously. As they looked around at the gray mists that surrounded him, Sky became aware of dozens and dozens of glowing red eyes that suddenly began to flare into existence all around him, staring anxiously at the solitary pegasus.

“We’ve been quite busy, as we are sure you’ve noticed by now,” the Chimera continued. “We now have many bodies and forms at our disposal.” It licked its lips hungrily. “And so many more still to go.”

Sky saw the multitude of crimson onlookers. Just a few hours ago, the sight would have paralyzed him with fear. But not now. Now, the terror the eyes once held for him was no more. Instead, he heard a string of voices, one at a time, speak to him.

First, he heard a familiar purple unicorn. “Your friends are with you.”

That voice was followed by the airy, hissing voice of a windigo. “Your friends are with you.”

After that, he heard the soothing, yet confident voice of his beloved princess of the night. “Your friends are with you.”

And, at last, the voice that made his heart jump and his insides turn to knots; the unicorn that had drawn him back to the land of the living. Her voice was so soft he could barely hear it, but he knew that he didn’t have to. Her words were powerful regardless of their volume.

“Your friends are with you.”

“And that’s unfortunate,” Sky said, turning his attention back to his foe. “You were better off when it was just you.”

“If you’re trying to say that we’re diluting ourselves with these…lesser beings…then you’d be right to say that they are nothing compared to our original selves,” the Chimera admitted thoughtfully. “But you are wrong to assume that our power is diminished because of that.”

Sky snorted in mild amusement. “It’s always about you, isn’t it? About how powerful you are, how much you’ve done, what your plans are. It’s almost laughable.”

He cast a smug, yet cold, look at the Chimera. “That wasn’t what I was saying at all.”

“We’re listening.”

“I’ve been told since our first meeting that I couldn’t do this alone,” he began. “That I had to have help in some form or another. And I struggled to accept that. I fought you on behalf of the land, and the ponies, that I loved. I fought because I wanted to protect them from you. And yet, each time I did, I was never able to completely defeat you. And the one time I faced you entirely on my own, I failed miserably.”

“What a memory that was. We think we shall cherish that one as much as we will relish crushing you here,” the monstrosity said, a disturbing look of satisfaction on all three of its faces.

“But then, something happened. You beat me, but I came back. I was drawn back. And when I did, I learned a very important lesson.”

The Chimera rolled its six eyes impatiently. “And that was?”

“All this time, I had fought with the understanding that my friends were the reason that I fought. But then they used their love for me to bring me back. And that made me realize: they aren’t only my purpose for fighting, but they are also the strength that I fight with.” His voice was steady, but as he spoke, his words seemed to take on a distinct power.

“Fancy words, but meaningless,” the Chimera ridiculed. “We don’t care what power you use to fight us. You can’t win.”

“Wrong!” Sky shouted as he stamped. The air shifted with a nervous energy as the tension increased. “I was never strong enough to beat you by myself; I admit that. But I’m not by myself anymore. My friends make me more than I could ever be on my own. They change me, grow me, make me better…stronger. And wherever I take those feelings of love and companionship, they are there with me!”

As he finished, his body began to emit a light that flowed in the increasing breeze. His bright blue eyes began to glow. And faintly beside him, ghostly apparitions of his friends appeared, smiling broadly as he summoned the strength of his friends to his aid.

“Do ya’ feel that?”

Twilight looked at Applejack. Of course she felt it. In the midst of their calling out to Sky in a frenzied panic, a sudden sense of love and warmth had washed over her. It was so inviting, yet so demanding…as though she was being drawn to a different place. Beside her, she heard Lily make a sound.

“It’s Sky. He’s facing the Chimera, and…he needs us. We need to believe in him,” she said.

“Sky’s our friend,” Rainbow Dash replied, hovering a few feet above the ground. “We’ve always believed in him.”

Twilight stepped forward, looking at the pulsing gray mass before them. “Then we should let him know.” As her friends stepped to her sides, she closed her eyes and focused her mind on the blue pony that had grown so much in the short time she had known him. She remembered the scared little pegasus he had been when they had first met at the Everfree Forest. And she remembered how she had seen him grow not just on that journey, but even up until now. And now, she believed that he could finish his task.

She smiled involuntarily as she spoke. “Your friends are with you.”

Far to the north, a lone windigo flew under the slowly brightening sky back to his home. Suddenly, his thoughts turned to the pony he had not seen on his mission. The one that had saved his home not but a few weeks ago. He looked back to the south, curious about the strange shift in his mind. Aside from the pegasus, he felt a certain…compulsion. As though he was needed. No…not his body: his faith in that defiant, yet entirely trustworthy, blue pegasus. Faith that he could accomplish what he had set out to do. He smiled as he understood the significance of what he was feeling.

“Your friends are with you.”

Deep in the royal palace of Canterlot, a silence fell upon Princess Luna. She unwittingly found herself turning to face to the east, where Celestia’s sun had begun to ascend, reddening the early morning sky. Once again, she found her mind drawn to Sky Streak. He had been on her mind for days on end, but this…this was new. A powerful summoning, like a call-to-arms of a sort. She stared towards Foalumbus, then closed her eyes and reached out to him.

Appearing in his mind, she saw a large open space enclosed by swirling, dark gray clouds. Peeking out from the clouds, countless red eyes looked on. And in the center of her vision, dark and hideous beyond words, was a monster that could only have been the Chimera.

Yet none of it distracted her from the urging she felt. She felt a gathering around her…an assembly of different ponies, uniting together under the express purpose of supporting their friend in this, his ultimate battle.

She withdrew from the dream and opened her eyes, speaking with confidence. “Your friends are with you.”

Lily cast a calming spell around the area, though, if the emotions she could feel emanating from those around her were any indication, it was entirely unnecessary. It was incredible: from all around her, she felt the combined thoughts of every pony directing their full faith and support for Sky in his battle with the Chimera. To her right, Twilight spoke, but her own mind was too busy to hear what was said. Instead, she merely took a deep breath and whispered to herself.

“Your friends are with you.”

“It was never about me!” Sky called out to the Chimera above the whirlwind of light that roared around him. To his right and left, each of the images of his friends had begun to contribute their own magical light to the storm, which only served to egg him on even further. “It’s about them! They’ve been the ones that believed that I could do this! It’s their power that fuels my ability to stand against you! It’s more powerful than any distance, stronger than time, greater and more potent than anything in this world!” A confidence raced through his mind, as all fears and doubts were cast aside. He felt the support of each and every one of his friends, and his body radiated with magical energy in response. “You think you’ve got power? I’ve got the magic of friendship—and that’s the deepest magic there is!”

Two of the Chimera’s heads cast doubtful glances at each other as the light swirled around them, but the lion’s head snarled defiantly. “And just what do you think the power of friendship is supposed to do to us?” it asked. “The Elements of Harmony mean nothing to us. Loyalty? Honesty? Kindness? We have no use for those things. Those are only capable of affecting something with a heart. And, we can assure you, we do not have a heart to affect.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Sky acknowledged. “But that doesn’t matter.”

A new look of confusion fell upon the heads of the Chimera. “Every citizen within Equestria recognizes the power of the Elements of Harmony, because, in some measure, each one of them bears that same power within themselves. No one pony bears the full power of the Elements. Every pony holds that magic within their own hearts. They harbor it, cherish it, and cause it to grow and flourish throughout the land.”

He closed his eyes as he continued. “And the Elements may not work on you, but they do work on the ponies of Equestria. And you’ve rather graciously seen fit to bring hundreds of those ponies here among us.”

The Chimera’s eyes grew wide as it listened. “How did you put it?” Sky continued. “You told me that when you consumed a creature, they ‘became a part of you,’ right? Guess what? That means that now, because of all those ponies, you CAN be affected by the Elements of Harmony.”

Sky opened his eyes with a flash of pure white light as the wind stopped dead for just a moment. His words were soft, but in the sudden and complete silence, they resonated with power. “And together, there’s no magic you have that can stand up to all of us.”

A wind like a shockwave burst from Sky’s body, causing the Chimera to recoil as it rushed past. As the wave expanded, it pushed back the gray mist around him, a vast starless blackness that stretched as far as one could see. And suspended in that darkness were the floating bodies of hundreds of ponies, along with a few griffins, windigoes, and one enormous green dragon. And as the clouds rolled back, the crimson eyes flickered and went out like candles at a birthday party.

Sky’s voice rose above all other sounds as the whirlwind picked up again. “The strength of Equestria isn’t focused in one pony! It’s not about me, or Twilight Sparkle, or even Princess Celestia! It’s about all of us, and the strength we have between ourselves! And that’s why you will never conquer Equestria!”

The tornado around them was gradually growing brighter with each passing second as the light rising from Sky and the phantasms of his friends was whisked into its flow. And the Chimera stood perfectly still, spellbound by the scene. “It’s not because there are thousands of ponies in Equestria. It’s because the thousands of ponies across Equestria all understand one thing: they care for each other. We’re all different, but we share the same mindset. And that’s exactly what Harmony is: many different voices joining together into one song that’s larger than any single voice.

“And that song is friendship.”

The Chimera was trembling, but it managed one last stand. “Friendship? You really think that’s enough to defeat me? My hatred is more potent than anything you can imagine!”

Sky slowly rose into the air with his wings spread open. “Hatred is the exact opposite of love. They can’t exist together in the same place. It’s either one or the other.” His glowing white eyes looked around at all the floating bodies of Equestrians that surrounded him. “And since you still doubt the power of friendship,” he said, his voice suddenly commanding and powerful, “let us show it to you!”

As he finished speaking, the rainbow beam of the Elements of Harmony sprung from his back, launching high into the air, where it exploded like a firework. Instantaneously, every one of the floating ponies awakened, revealing the same shining white eyes that Sky had. The tornado seemed to become ablaze with white fire as the light from all the consumed ponies merged with the twister.

The Chimera quickly responded by unleashing its telltale black flames from its back. But within moments, they seemed to fade away, lost in the all-revealing light of the Equestrians. Sky slowly moved in on the monster, causing the tornado to tighten as he advanced. As the walls of the twister closed in, the hideous creature began to dissolve.

Sky looked on with those unearthly eyes. “I told you that anything that happened was your own fault,” he said softly. “This was your own doing.”

But the Chimera did not cry in anguish or scream in defiance. Instead, it merely smiled. And not a vindictive, revenge-filled sneer that Sky expected. No, the Chimera looked…satisfied. Appeased. It was as though it had wanted this outcome all along.

“Ah, Sky Streak, you’ve come so far,” it said in its haunting triple-voice. “I really had my doubts. But you pulled it out in the end.”

Not even the glow of his eyes could mask the surprise on his face. “Excuse me?”

“You win.” The admission from the Chimera almost caused him to drop from the air. “But don’t think that you’ve destroyed me,” it continued. “I may be vanquished, but never forget that I am a creature born from hatred. Wherever there is hatred, there is the seed for my return.”

The Chimera locked all of its eyes with him as its extremities continued to vanish. “And, as a reward for your victory, here’s some advice: there’s quite a source of hatred within Equestria. Yes, from your own precious ponies. And if you don’t confront it quickly, you may find yourself facing me again. Sooner than you’d like, I’d wager.”

“Wait,” Sky said quickly. “Tell me this: why did you keep switching between referring to yourself as ‘I’ and ‘we’?” He watched nervously as the light slowly ate away at the Chimera’s body.

The Chimera snorted as its rear legs and snake head disappeared. “Ah, you really don’t expect me to reveal everything, do you? There’s a perfectly good reason for that, but I’m afraid you’ll have to find that out on your own.” It sighed as its midsection, including its second head, was engulfed by the radiant twister. “It’s been a long time since I was last vanquished. I’d quite forgotten what it feels like. I suppose I was due for a reminder.” It looked at Sky Streak again. Only the lion head remained, but the cruelty and malice he had seen in each of its faces remained. “Well, good luck. As much as I’d like to come back and get my revenge, I really don’t want to have to face you again. You’ve just become too much to handle.”

And as the light erased the last bit of the Chimera’s body, it threw its head back in laughter, seemingly enjoying every bit of this otherwise-terrifying event. And as the tip of its nose dissolved, the light exploded into a blinding glare, brighter than anything Sky could have imagined.

“What’s going on in there?” Fluttershy asked, nervously observing the gray cloud a few meters in front of her.

“There’s no telling,” Rarity answered, “but I suspect that Sky is having one last battle against the Chimera.”

“Then he’s gonna win!” Spike exclaimed excitedly. “I just know it!”

“We certainly hope so,” Twilight said, “but the Chimera is strong. You remember how it just tossed us around before Sky got here.”

“Don’t remind me,” Rainbow said from above her, rolling her head from side to side. “I’m gonna be sore for a week!”

“He’ll win.” Every pony turned to where Lily stood, staring intently into the pulsating mass of gray mist before them. “I can feel it. He feels…peaceful. Confident.” She turned back to the rest of the group. “It’s like the feeling you get when you’re trying to solve a riddle, and then you figure out the answer. He knows how to win.”

“Wait, you can feel his emotions?” Pinkie asked, looking confused.

“Yeah, I found out back in the windigo colony. It might be some special magic that comes from being especially close to somepony or something like that, but when I’m close to him, I can feel him. And right now, he’s—”

Her words were cut off as the cloud suddenly surged with light before it burst asunder. A pillar of light split the sky and tore into the cloud cover above, causing it to roll back in all directions, revealing a sky bright with brilliant red hues in the coming of the dawn.

The seven mares and one young dragon had nearly jumped out of their skin when the cloud exploded. And now, as they watched from the cover of a large boulder (the one that had knocked Rainbow unconscious), they beheld a stunning sight: the pillar of light continued to pierce the sky, but as it rose like an inverted waterfall, smaller streams of light broke off and fell to the earth. And as each one reached the ground, they expanded and dimmed, revealing the bodies of hundreds of ponies.

They watched in silence for almost a full minute before the realization of what they were seeing washed over Twilight. “Are…are those—?”

“It sure looks like it,” Applejack mused. “I just can’t believe he managed to do it.”

“What? What did he do?” Pinkie asked.

“Those are ponies,” Twilight explained. “The ponies that were eaten by the Chimera.”

Rarity gasped. “You mean…he did it? He found a way to rescue them?”

They continued to watch in awe as a shower of lights rained down upon the ground all around them. As more and more ponies emerged, Twilight noticed that the huge tower of light was slowly shrinking, until it was little more than a long pipe. Until, finally, the last ribbon of light fell to the ground. Then, in perfect unison, the eight friends turned their attention to the place from which the light had first emerged. Standing there, looking utterly spent and barely able to stand, was the blue pegasus they had come to know and love.

“SKY!!” they shouted together, racing forward to embrace their hero.