Broken Feathers: Frozen North

by That Avi Nerd

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Original Character, Adventure
Length: 129442

Rainbow Dash and Phantom Knight head to the ice nation of Glacies to rescue Scootaloo and stop a devastating civil war that threatens Equestria.

Rainbow Dash, Phantom Knight, and the rest of Celestia's new Task Force 247 head to Glacies, an icy nation north of Equestria, where Sky Streak and the Changelings have fled to. Glacies is in the beginning of what would be a devastating civil war, revolutionaries , with help from the Changelings, fighting against the government loyalist, and the King isn't welcome to the idea of Equestrian's in his nation, even if they're there to help him. But for Rainbow Dash, this is about more than stopping the Changeling invasion of Equestria, stopping a civil war, saving the lives of countless ponies, it's about finding Scootaloo.

Published 2013-10-25 16:50:06 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-25 04:02:26 UTC

Farewell Equestria

Rainbow Dash stood on the Ponyville train platform beneath the clear, cloudless, azure sky. Next to her, was her saddlebag, filled with simple time-passing commodities and home comforts that Phantom suggested she bring. Things like a couple of Daring Do books, and some letter writing materials in one bag, while in the other she had some cold weather clothing. The train sat idle on the tracks, steam flowing from the stack on the front of the engine car. Ponies departed and boarded the train mindlessly, focused on their own lives and happenings. Rainbow Dash was standing next to the last car, were Phantom, Archer, and Stryker were loading up the equipment they had brought for their fair assignment.

By the ticket stand, stood Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell behind their respective sisters. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.

"He has Scootaloo. If I wasn't sure before, I am now."

"R-Rainbow?" Fluttershy whispered. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will Flutters," Rainbow responded with an equally soft tone, bring a smile to both of the mares. Rainbow immediately turned her focus to Applejack, bringing the farm mare into a tight hug. "AJ, I'm sor—"

"You ain't got nothin' to be sorry for, sugar cube. Ain't nothin' that you did wrong, or anythin' you could'a done differently."

Applejack left the embrace with a comforting smile. "Thanks, AJ." Rainbow adjusted the other mare's stetson hat, and moved onto the next pony. Pinkie Pie, who, did not look like Pinkie Pie. Her coat was slightly discolored, and her mane was flat. "Pinkie? What's wrong?"

"You're going away..." the pink mare sniffed. "And I won't be able to see you, or prank other ponies with you, or have parties with you..."

Rainbow put a comforting hoof on the mare's shoulder. "It's okay, Pinkie, really. I shouldn't be gone too long, and I'll still be able to write. I'll come back, Pinkie."

"...Pinkie promise?"

"Pinkie Promise." In an instant, the pink mare's namesake coat and mane popped back to their original color and puffiness.

"Darling," Rarity spoke, "do you think you could bring me back some exotic gems or fabrics? I would be a shame to miss out on an opportunity like this, and I think it would bring so much attention to the shop if somepony saw that we had materials from Glacies."

"Hehe, okay Rarity."

"Rainbow," the mare followed Phantom's voice behind her to see him putting sliding his saddlebags on. "It's time."

The rainbow-maned pegasus sighed, and looked back to her friends, who all gave encouraging smiles. She took a step forward, only to be haulted by two young fillies.

"You're gona get Scootaloo back?" Sweetie Bell pleaded with tears in her eyes, "right?"

"And kick that stallion's flank?" Apple Bloom continued.

"Yes, girls," rainbow nuzzled each of them in a successful attempt to cheer them up. "I'm going to get Scootaloo back, safe and song. And don't worry, I'm going to make that stallion wish he were in the endless pits of Tartarus..." Both fillies tiled their heads. It took a second for Rainbow to realize what she had just said. "Don't worry about it. But yes, I'll make that stallion pay."

"Well, okay. Good luck, Rainbow!"

Rainbow nodded, then headed for the train. She silently trotted up the ramp of the last car, made her way past Phantom, who was standing next to the door, and to a window seat with a view of her friends. "Take care of her, Phantom!" Twilight Sparkle yelled to him. He nodded, and slid the door shut. With a blow of a whistle, the train lurched forward, slowly building up speed. Phantom headed into the main part of the car, his hoofsteps muffled by the click-clunk of the car's wheels traveling over the joints in the tracks.

It was a simple passenger car, though, it was primarily being used for reserve storage. The only passengers were Archer, Stryker, Rainbow, and Phantom. Archer and Stryker had moved some of the crates around to create a set of table and chairs, where they were playing a game of chess, with pieces that were also improvised on the spot. The pair had often been close friends, and one of the things they did to pass the time was play each other in a game in some way or another. From what he could tell by briefly watching them, it looked as if Stryker was winning. Rainbow, however, sat alone in one of the few booths, staring out the window, a melancholy look in her eyes. Phantom made to the game and pulled up a crate to sit on and observe.

"So Stryker," Archer spoke as Phantom sat across from Rainbow.

"Hm?" Stryker replied absent-mindedly, at the same time he moved one of his pieces into the place of another, capturing it.

"How's it feel to be heading home?"

The unicorn looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about Glacies! Isn't that where you grew up."

"Ah, yes, but, growing up in a certain general location does not always make that location somepony's home. Now if you were to rephrase and ask how I feel about returning to Glacies, I would merely shrug and reply 'meh'."

"Hmhm... of course you would..." Archer moved a piece, capturing one of his opponent's. He then looked over at Rainbow. "Hey, Rainbow, is it? What's your story?" The pegasus didn't budge. She remained in her spot, staring blankly out the window. "S'wrong with her?"

"First deployment," Phantom chimed in, using his hoof to advise Stryker to take one of Archer's pieces with his while the earth pony was distracted.

"Ah, that's always the worst." Stryker said as he took another one of Archer's pieces. "Leaving everything that you knew, everything that was certain, behind, to go somewhere that is the complete opposite. Being lost in your own thoughts, staring out into the world thinking 'Why am I doing this again?' and doubting if you've made the right decision, etceteras."

"I know exactly why I'm here, thank you." Rainbow finally said, though she didn't look away from the outside world that was rapidly passing by.

"And why would that be?" question Archer as he moved another one of his pieces into position. "Check." Stryker glared at him, then focused once more on the board, plotting his next series of movements.

"That prick, Sky, tried to kill me. Tried to kill Celestia. Tried destroying everything I knew and loved. On top of that, he took Scootaloo. I'm going to make sure he doesn't harm any other ponies." Everypony sat in silence afterwards. They all agreed with what she had said, to them it was valid enough reason. In fact, it was a similar reason behind all of their enlistments. It was even the reason behind Phantom's cutie mark, a black series of blocks that resembled a striking eagle, Guardianship."

"Perfectly Understandable."

Stryker moved his queen into her final positon, a cocky grin on his muzzle. "Check mate!" he declared proudly. Archer sighed, and deflated slightly. Then in a sudden burst of aggressive emotion, violently stood up, throwing his hooves up and flipping the game board over, sending game pieces flying everywhere.

"Faust... I was so close that time!"

"You should just give up, you know you'll never beat me."

Archer glared at him, then stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go talk to the probie." The earth pony didn't hesitate to move into the booth seat across from the table in front of Rainbow.

Stryker got up to follow. "I'd be careful if I were you," he teased. "Have you seen the way Phantom and her look at each other."

Rainbow and Phantom both glared bitterly at the unicorn, before exchanging quick glances at one another, then awkwardly looking for something else to focus their gaze on.

"Oh yeah..." Archer realized in a mockingly tone, "I forgot Phantom's 'only for the pegasi'." The earthpony said the quoted portion of his phrase in a deep, 'lovers' voice, that sent both jokers into a quiet, hyena like snicker.

"That was once!" Phantom defended himself.

"Twice," Archer accused.

"Thrice, actually," corrected Stryker.

"Hey!" Phantom fought back. "Those last two don't count, we just got off of that eight month deployment and I was tired. Not to mention really, really drunk. They talk to me first, not the other way around."

"I wasn't."

"I was..." admitted Archer.

"Either way," Stryker continued, "they count. I doubt you went to the hotel room for two hours and played cards so don't even give me that excuse."

Phantom was showing very rare signs of flushing, and was having trouble formulating words. Finally he gave up, grunted, threw his up in the air, and stomped out of the back of the car, letting the door shut behind him, leaving him alone on the rear platform. Rainbow couldn't help but be amused by the events that had unfolded in front of her.

"He's a really stiff guy," Stryker whispered across the table. "But once you get something in common with him, or do what we do and joke with him like that, he's really a great guy." Archer nodded in agreement.

"Loyal to the ends of Equestria, too," Archer added.

Rainbow sighed. "Let's hope his loyalty extends farther than that..." she directed her attention back out the window. "We're going to need it."

The rest of the three hour train ride went by in silence between the ponies. Archer and Stryker used this time to change into their royal uniforms. They were royal blue with silver accents and buttons, adorned in medals and ribbons, and had a gold sash stretching across the front. Phantom never returned to the car, except to change and get his bags once the train had arrived at it's stop in Canterlot. Stryker explained that it was some rule that said they had to wear their uniforms when not on a specific assignment, and, since they didn't have their guard armor on them, they used their formal uniforms. Rainbow was the first to step onto the platform, followed by Archer, then Stryker, and lastly, Phantom. "The Aurora leaves in an hour," Phantom said, "let's move."

The four ponies made their way through the Canterlot streets. Weaving in and out of bystanders going about their business. Some groups of civilians who were at street-side café tables would occasionally stare at Rainbow Dash, whispering amongst themselves. Though, being a pegasus, she could hear them well. Most of them were talking about the recent events in Ponyville, and the rumors of her involvement. Though, whenever she would direct her gaze at them, they didn't to avert their eyes.

"Seems word has gotten out," Stryker commented.

"Not surprising," said Archer, his next voice was that of a fast-talking reported, "'Date line: Wonderbolt conspires with Changelings to overthrow crown'."

"I'd read it."

"Not like we'd be mentioned, though."

"We never are."

"It's our job not to be mentioned," Phantom said. "If we're mentioned, we failed."

"Speaking of which..." Stryker tapped on Phantom's shoulder, and pointed ahead towards the main gates leading to the castle. There, several ponies wearing brown hats with cards in the side bands that read 'Press' on the side. "The media."

Phantom sighed. "I was hoping to avoid them as long as possible. You got a spare cloak, Stryk?"

The unicorn nodded. From his saddlebag, he used his magic to pull out a black hooded cloak, that he covered Rainbow Dash with, much to her protest. The mare was hidden from hoof to head, with the exception of the light reflecting off of her eyes, and what small strains of rainbow mane and tail managed to escape the confines of the cloak.

"Keep your head lowered," Phantom warned. "If they see you, you'll be bombarded with question after question. Those sniveling snakes know no bounds. I can't began to estimate how many operations they've blown."

Phantom lead the way, deliberately putting himself between Rainbow Dash and the reporters hawking around the castle gates. Stryker and Archer flanked the mare, further impeding the media's view on her. Though, as the group got closer, their bright cobalt blue informs caught the media's attention anyway. At first the first reporter, a unicorn mare, approached the team at a slow canter, but when she saw streaks of rainbow emerging from the cloak behind them, she transitioned to a gallop, firing out questions. "Rainbow Dash!" she called, attracting the attention of every other pony, and reporter, in the area. "Rainbow Dash! What happened in Ponyville? How is Soarin' Skies connected? Where is he? Are you two romantically involved in some way?" the last question made Rainbow Dash blush, luckily her cheeks were hidden by the cloak and hood. "You there, guard! Who are you trying to protect Rainbow Dash from? Guard!"

Phantom sighed angrily, and whispered to himself. "Trying to hid her from your sorry flank..."

"Sir?" asked Archer, barely hearing what Phantom had mumbled.

"Don't worry about it. Stryker, can you teleport us to the ship?"

The unicorn groaned. "I guess. Somepony catch me on the other side, though." His horn emanated a bright light, charging up and finally letting out a blinding light, along with a loud bang. The reporters slid to a stop, dumbfounded that the ponies they were just running towards a second ago, disappeared.

On the other side of Canterlot Castle, hanging from the the side of the mountain, was the Equestrian Ariel Dockyard. Here, all of Equestria's, and other nation's, airships docked. The Aurora was tied down on the farthest dock, away from the other airships, with an entrance that was protected by Royal Guards. At the end of the dock, closer to the ramp leading up to the Aurora, a space in the air began to fizzle. In moments, under the cover of a bright flash and booming thunder, four ponies appeared, standing as if they had been there all day, except for Stryker. The unicorn was swaying dizzily from side to side, and was about to fall, had he not have been caught by Rainbow Dash, who propped the stallion up on her side. "Gotcha!" she announced.

The unicorn shook his head, trying to bring himself together. "Thanks," he said, finally standing on his own power.

Rainbow didn't reply. Instead, she stared long and hard at the airship. It was a large, white, long, cylindrical balloon, with curved ends that led to a point. At the read, four fins, like what was on the back of a dolphin, stretched out in a plus sign like formation. A large gondola showed itself at the bottom front of the envelope, along the keel. Rainbow could track the series of windows that started on the gondola, and went back along the side of the envelope itself, marking where the passenger cars likely were. A ramp led up from the dock, into an open cargo bay on the side of the envelope, where ponies were carrying supplies up and down, loading and unloading the ship. Along the side, in big, bold, black letters, read 'Aurora'.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Phantom asked the mare, stepping up to her side, and using his teeth to remove the cloak.

"I-I-I-I-I-I I've never seen... anything... like this."

"The largest airship in the world. She is a sight to behold. Fastest, too. She'll get us to Glacies in a about a week, as aposse to several weeks, or even a month."

Rainbow lowered her head. "Grr, I have to be stuck on this thing for an entire week?"

"Oh it's not that bad, there's plenty to do. Especially once you meet the captain."

"Captain? Who's the captain?" Phantom smiled mischievously and began to head up the ramp, Archer and Stryker following close by. Rainbow ran after them. "Who is he?"

"You'll see..." Phantom teased, picking up his pace. Stryker and Archer rolled their eyes at each other, maintaining a calm trot up the ramp as the mare zipped by, in chase of Phantom. The stallion looked back in surprise to see the streak of rainbow rapidly gaining on him. He put the heat on, transitioning into a full gallop, pushing past random ponies minding their own business. The two pegasi flew into the cargo bay, which stretched across the width of the ship, and was about a quarter of it's size in length. Phantom made an immediate left, heading into the first series of corridors. The two ponies rapidly passed by rooms on either side, presumably crew quarters by the looks like the ponies entering and leaving them. Rainbow chased Phantom through the maze of corridors, heading up, then down, left, then right, and so on.
That was, until Phantom collided head on with another stallion. The other pony didn't budge under the impact, while Phantom seemed to have hit a brick wall muzzle first. He slid off of the pony, landing flat on the floor, dazed.

Rainbow Dash rounded the corner just in time to see the impact, with enough time to slow down and not follow his example. Her jaw dropped once she saw the stallion he had hit. The stallion was wearing a crimson red jacket with a gold color and cuffs, silver buttons, and a blue sash, over his lavender coat. But what stuck out more was his brilliant rainbow mane and tail, nearly-identical to her own. The cutie mark, a red, orange, and yellow tri-beam firing out of a blue cloud.

"D-Dad?" she mumbled. Phantom pulled himself up off of the hard, metallic floor. Moving to Rainbow's side, he rubbed the back of his head, easing out the pain.

"Ugh," Phantom mumbled. "Sorry about that, sir."

Spectrum Dash guffawed. "It's quite alright, Phantom. And please, no need for formalities with me, remember?" Phantom gave a shallow nod. The sturdy stallion then turned his attention back to his daughter. "Heya, kiddo! How's Ponyville?"

Just then, Archer and Stryker appeared. "Oh..." Stryker said in realization. "He doesn't know... does he?"

Spectrum tilted his head to the side. "Know what? Dashie, did something happen? Does this have to do with the Task Force Celestia put under my watch?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow replied quietly. "Wait, what? Under your command?" The mare glared at Phantom. "Did you know about this?"

"I was going to tell you," Phantom replied. "But I figured it would have been better and more believable had you seen it for yourself."

"Hmmhm... Look dad, it's hard to explain."

"I'd say so," he huffed. "Celestia declared war on the Changelings while you were on the train over here, and I've got orders to fly you to the northern most region on the planet. And what's this I heard about Soarin' Skies being involved?"

"I think we should go somewhere to talk," Phantom suggested.

"Agreed. My office will do."

The four stallions and one mare sat in the Captain's quarters. Spectrum was behind his wooden desk, covered only by a few files and random papers. Behind him, a grand window gave view to the surrounding area on the ship's starboard side, in this case, the plains that extended out from the mountain off into the horizon. One wall was decorated with patriotic banners and posters of the Equestrian military; while the other was adorned with Spectrum's cerimonial sword, medals, ribbons, and other commendations, along with older looking pictures of his past servieses, duties and assignments. The troupe of ponies had been gathered in the room for a few hours, going back and forth with each other with Q&A, sorting out the details of the events of the previous week.

"Well, it's good to hear you're okay, Rainbow," Spectrum spoke with a smile. "And thank you, Phantom, for saving my daughter."

"Right place, right time, sir."

"Always is. Seriously, though, enough with the formalities." The captain expressed a brief pause. "I'll have us set way at once. We should arrive in Glacies in about a week. What you do aboard my ship in that time is of your choosing. We have several facilities that should accommodate any needs you may show. I'll have one of my men show you to your quarters. Unfortunately, we're tight on space at the moment so you'll have to share a room." Stryker and Archer shared a devilish grin with each other behind Phantom and Rainbow's backs. "Dismissed."

"Top bunk!" Archer called a half second before Stryker. The unicorn cursed under his breath as they headed out. Phantom and Rainbow calmly followed the pair.

The team's quarters were fairly simple. Just enough room for there to be two bunk beds, a desk on each side of the door, and two pairs of dressers. Between the two bunks, a small porthole window gave a small view of the outside world. Archer and Stryker picked the bunk beds on the left side of the room, with Archer throwing his bags atop the top bunk, and Stryker reluctantly sitting on the bottom bunk. Phantom took the bottom bunk on the right bed, saying that he preferred it as apposed to the top bunk, so Rainbow Dash gladly took that. The two pegasi awkwardly remained in their beds, attempting to think of something to occupy their time. Seeing this, Stryker nudged the bottom of Archer's bed, and quietly whispered to him. "Let's uh... let's go check out the ship."

Archer seemed confused for a second, the quickly caught on. "I'll bet they have a proper chess table somewhere, in which case I'll definitely beat you!" The two, in usual competition, raced each other out the door, leaving Rainbow Dash and Phantom behind in even more awkward silence.

"Phantom?" Rainbow asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Hm?" Phantom settled in on the bed, laying on his back and staring up into the underside of Rainbow's bed.

"When we were looking for Scootaloo back in Ponyville, you mentioned being you and your sister being orphans, and he not being able to fly. You said it was a story for another time. Now seems as good a time as ever."

She could hear him sigh, worried that she had offended him in some way, she was about to speak up, but was interrupted. "So it would seem... Take note, this is a story I don't often go into this much detail on. I was born twenty-five years ago on Hearth's Warming Eve in Cloudsdale General Hospital... About six years later, Nyx was born. I believe you two actually have the same birthday. Anyway, when Nyx was born there were... complications... and our mother died. So our dad raised us as best he could, but a single dad working a low level guard job doesn't make much. But, we got by. He did what he could and was the nicest pegasus in Cloudsdale.

"Then, one day I came home from school... no more dad. He was on his way home from work when he came across a group of thugs mugging some mare, and tried to stop them. He saved her, but, couldn't save himself. All of the orphanages in the city were filled at the time, so, we were left to our own devices on the streets."

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long guys, a lot of stuff has been going on lately. I promis I'll try to get the rest of the chapters updated more quickly. Here it is, the start of Broken Feathers: Frozen North. Now, I picked that name over Northern Skies because, well, if you take a gander at the map of Equestria, you'll notice a region to the north called, 'The Frozen North'. So, I decided that's where Glacies shall be.
Bonus: Phantom uniform! :D
Up next: Phantom's story.

Phantom's Story

9 Years ago

The unique city of Cloudsdale was quiet, dark, and cold. In an unusual show of weather for the cloud city, local weather officials had allowed it to snow to celebrate the Hearth's Warming season. Most pegasi were in the warmth of their homes, surrounded by loving friends and family, pondering at what their gifts could be. However, Phantom and Nyx Knight were not most pegasi. With the recent death of their father, they were left without without warmth, friends, family, food, presents, and, a home. All they had was a small, dark alley behind the Cloud Nine hotel, and each other. The only sounds were of the light breeze, and the rummaging of trash.

"Phantom..." whined a young filly's voice. "I'm hungry." The black coated, midnight blue accented filly sat at the base of a dumpster speaking to a pony who was climbing around inside of it.

A midnight blue colt with black accents emerged from inside the dumpster, resting his head on the edge, looking at the filly. Seeing his sister's saddened, scarlet red eyes ate at him. "I know," he said softly, jumping down onto the snowy cloud.

"I miss daddy..." she looked pleadingly into his sapphire blue eyes.

"I do too, Nyx, I do too." Phantom opened his wings and comfortably embraced his sister, giving her a soft kiss on the fore-head. "Don't worry though, I'll think of something." At that moment, a door next to them flew open, it's warm glow shinning out onto the alley. Phantom protectively took Nyx in his legs, and flew around to the other side of the dumpster.

A brown unicorn stallion wearing an apron emerged from inside, carrying with him a bag of trash help in his trash. The stallion absent-mindedly threw it into the dumpster, and began to head back inside. An idea came to Phantom's mind. "Stay here for a second," he whispered. Phantom quickly took to the cold air, flying up and over the dumpster, following the unicorn inside the hotel.

The colt found himself inside a warm, softly lit dinning hall. A gentle hum of soft music and conversation filled the bustling room. Waiters weaved in and out of the tables, patron's orders in hoof. Phantom tracked their paths back to the far wall, where they were entering and exiting a swinging door that led to the hotel kitchen. He quickly zipper under a table, using it's white cloth to cover himself from other the view of other ponies. Looking under the cloth to see his target, Phantom noted that the kitchen door was surprisingly not that far from the restrooms.

Phantom, deciding that it would appear normal to be milling about towards that general direction, snuck out from under the occupied table, and nonchalantly made his way towards the kitchen. Waiters and other patrons looked upon him with kind eyes, and gladly got out of his way if they neared. He even heard some mares comment on how 'cute' he was, while some nearby foals mentioned to each other about his 'strange' coloring. The colt made it to the back wall with no trouble, and stood between the kitchen and restrooms. He waited the moment when a waiter would arrive. Just as one exited the kitchen, Phantom slipped in through the open door, making sure nopony saw him.

The kitchen was of a much higher temperature than the rest of the hotel, and much busier, too. Chefs hovered over flame-lit stoves, cooking the food ordered by hotel guests, while waiters stood by patiently for the orders to be completed and brought to said patrons. Seeing that an order had been filled, and another waiter was heading his way, Phantom quickly dove for cover under a table. As soon as the employee passed, he crawled out.

Something on top of the table caught Phantom's eye. It was a small wicker basket, filled to near overflowing levels of breadsticks. And boy, did it look appetizing. The hungry colt looked left, then right, making sure no pony was watching him. Then, in a single wing assisted hop, the pegasus leapt up, grabbing the edge of the basket in the grip of his white teeth. Phantom quickly flew out of the kitchen, slipping through the door just as another waiter entered. He then landed on the red velvet floor softly, nonchalantly heading towards the door from whence he came.

Just several feet away from the door, a powerful stallion stepped in his way, staring the young colt dead in the eyes. It wasn't the stallions tan eyes, lavender coat, or even peculiarly rainbow mane that sent chills down Phantom's mind. It was the cobalt blue uniform, silver trimming, gold sash, two gold chevrons on each foreleg sleeve, and medals that stopped him his tracks. This particular pony was a member of the Royal Guard, a decorated one at that. The stallion beamed the colt an incredulous look that said 'I know what you did...'.

The contents of the whicker basket bounced around as it slip out of Phantom's gaping mouth. "You lost, son?" The stallion spoke in a cold, stern voice.

Phantom's ears fell. "Th-the waiter forgot our appetizer," he lied, stuttering. "So, I went to get them."

"Then where is your family?" Phantom looked around to attempt to locate a table without breadsticks. Unfortunately for him, the waiters in this hotel were highly trained and very professional, making sure not to slip up once. Every table had suitable appetizers. "And why are you trying to walk out with the food?"

The colt's gaze drifted away. 'I-I-I-I..."

The stallion knelt down, drawing his face closer to the colt. In a softer, kinder, fatherly voice, he spoke again. "Look, kid, I've been in the guard for awhile now, and I've seen all kinds of thieves. I've seen ponies who've stolen for greed, pride, revenge, anguish, envy, all of it. But you? You aren't any of those, are you? No... you're protecting somepony. Tell me, kid, who's the food for?"

Phantom sighed. "I... I'm sorry... I can't." Holding back the liquid pooling at the base of his eyes, Phantom quickly picked up the basket, and zipped out the door. Leaving behind the stallion, who dispiritedly watched the colt fly away, shaking his head and sighing to himself. He went about his day, returning to his family.

1 Year Later

"Stop, thief!" A pegasus mare howled at Phantom.

The thief in question flew down the mildly congested hallways of Cloudsdale General Hospital. Phantom weaved in and out of patients, and hospital staff members, careful not to spill the contents of the stolen, white saddlebag he carried with him.

For a year now, Phantom and his sister had been surviving on their own, on the streets. The pair had resorted to thievery to survive. Phantom was the one who stole the most, but Nyx helped where she could, often times as a distraction. The most common item stolen by the pair was food, or anything required for general survival. Phantom had even acquired discarded household items like blankets to make their alley home more comfortable. Once, he went as far as breaking into the Cloudsdale Flight School to steal text books, in an attempt to give Nyx some form of an education. It was the little things he could do to make their nightmare better. Their only protection from the elements was a sturdy cardboard box.

But this was probably Phantom's most important theft to date. Nyx was in their makeshift shelter, alone, and sick. Inside the stolen saddlebag: the medicine needed to get her better. And he would never let her down.

The pegasus' thoughts were interrupted by a hospital security guard rounding the corner infront of him, blocking off his initial escape route. But, improvising was one of Phantom's favorite past times, Often times he would think of different ways to accomplish many tasks, even if he had already completed it.

The colt pulled a ninety degree turn to the left, and tucking his wings and other appendages close to him, forming a midnight blue and black ball. In seconds, Phantom crashed through a nearby hospital window, receiving only a few lacerations. He expertly returned to a relax flying position, smiling to himself. Looking back, the ponies who had chased him merely stood at the shattered window, watching helplessly as he flew away. Phantom knew well enough ponies hated him for being a thief, but nopony knew why he did it. If they had, maybe things would have been differently. But sympathy was not an emotion commonly shared throughout this city.

Phantom was careful to avoid Guard patrols on his way back to his alley home. A colt of his age carrying around a medical bag that said 'This bag does not leave the hospital' on the strap, would have looked highly suspect. In no time, the pegasus crossed the city, gliding to a landing just outside of his dark alley home. He quietly entered the darkness, heading directly towards a back corner. There, a series of sturdy cardboard boxes were configured into a makeshift shelter, their opening covered by an old, discarded blue curtain. Phantom moved the curtain to the side, and entered. The makeshift home was lit only by a series of small holes cut in the top.

"Nyx?" Phantom called out in a whisper. A quiet cough and a sniff were the response given to him. He glided to his sister's side in her 'room', setting the white saddlebag down. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm hot...*cough* *cough*" she only barely managed to whisper. Phantom knew she was running a fever, and even though it was only fifty some degree's outside, he could still see a bead of sweat running down the side of her head.

The brother sighed. "I got you some medicine." Phantom opened the bag, pulling out a small, purple bottle of liquid medicine. He poured some of the liquid into the overturned cap, which acted like a cup. "Here, drink this." The colt held the medicine filled cap infront of the filly.

Nyx looked on it disparagingly, slowly taking it in a weakened hoof.

"It may not taste good," Phantom warned as his sister slowly drank the purple liquid. "But it'll help."

The filly cringed as the medicine hit her taste-buds. Though, in an instant, she began to feel better, and was more than happy to to finish it off. "Th-thanks," she spoke with a much clearer, healthier sounding voice.

"Anytime, sis." Phantom rested a hoof on his sisters forehead to feel her temperature, which, was thankfully going down. "Feeling better?"

Nyx nodded. "Phantom?" she asked just as her brother got up to leave.

Stopping, and looking back, he replied. "Yeah?"

"Can you read me a story?"

"Heh, aren't you getting a little old to be read to?"

"I'm only nine!"

"Ugh... fine. What do ya want? One of the science text books? Math? Equestrian?"

"Hehe, no silly! That one that was super-cool and awesome that you took from the book store, remember? You said that it just came out and looked really good?"

"What? Daring Do?"

"Yeah! That one!"

Phantom sighed, heading into the main room where a collection of books sat stacked on top of each other in one corner. From the bottom of the stack, he pulled out a green novel, and headed back to Nyx's room, sitting down at her side. He cleared his throat opened the book, and began to read. "Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone. Chapter one. As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky. But her crash landing in the jungle had injured her wing and she was grounded for a few days. Few days... it might as well be a few months, or a few years!

"The mosquitoes buzzed loudly. The macaws cried from the high trees. Yet all of these distracting noises were not enough to cover the sound of the predators following her every step. —"

2 Years Later

"Ready?"

"Eeyup."

"You know what to do." Nyx calmly trotted out of a darkened alley, leaving her brother behind, invisible to anypony who didn't look very hard.

Once Nyx reached the middle of the busy street, she stop, and began to sway back and forth. After several tips and turns, she let out a sarcastic moan, dramatically fainting to the clouds. Instantly, several ponies rushed to her side, attempt to make sure she was okay. One of them, a mare, had a saddlebag on her back. And you could bet that became Phantom's target.

The pegasus crept out of the shadows, careful not to be spotted by anypony. That part of his task wasn't difficult, all of their attention was clearly fixated on Nyx. Giving one last look around to make sure the coast was clear, Phantom made his move.

Clutching the strap of the bag in his mouth, Phantom shot powerfully into the air.

The mare he had stolen it was completely caught off guard. "Wh-what!?" she babbled, turning around to see what happend. "Hey! Get back here! Someone stop that pony!"

"Sorry ma'am." Nyx lept up from the cloud street, taking off after her brother. "Gotta fly!"

The two siblings, once they caught up with each other, calmly flew side by side through downtown Cloudsdale. Phantom flipped upside down, and placing the saddlebag on his belly, began to rummage through it mid-flight.

"Anything good?"

Phantom shifted through the bag with growing frustration. "No..." he growled. "Nothing but stupid makeup and hoofkerchiefs. No bits, no food, no nothing."

"Dang, at least we have some supplies at home."

"Hey, stop right there!"

"You here that?" Phantom asked, turning himself right-side up.

"No, what?"

"Royal Guard! Stop!"

"Okay, now I heard it!"

Phantom and Nyx looked behind them at where the voice was coming from. They were surprised to see a lavender stallion clad in silver armor flying after them, a rainbow streak following him through the skies. "By authority of the Royal Guard," he cried, "I here-by command you to stop!"

"Time to go!" Phantom banked left, turning down a side street, his sister mirroring his every move. But to their dismay, the stallion was still in pursuit of them, and gaining, rapidly. "Celestia he's fast!" The two pegasi put every ounce of energy they had into their wings. They turned left, the right, then another right followed by a second left. But still, no matter what twist or turn they made, the Guard managed to follow them, and even gain on them!

"Can we try hiding in the alley? We blend in really well."

"Yeah... W'ere obviously not going to out fly him, so yeah, let's try hiding."

Phantom led his sister higher into the air, flying over most of the buildings in the downtown area. Eventually they came across the Cloud Nine hotel, and dove straight down into their alley home. In an instant, they were enveloped into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

The Guard who was chasing the thieves saw where they had gone, and followed his instincts not to follow, for fear of a trap. Instead, he circled overhead a few times, then landed on the street right outside of the alley. The stallion grabbed hold of a flashlight from his utility belt with his mouth, and shone it into the alley. At first, it appeared to be a normal alley. Then, he saw an unusual amount of cardboard in the back corner. Minding his surroundings, the guard carefully proceeded forward. His light focused on the collection of cardboard, which now with a new angle, he could see a blue curtain cover what appeared to be an entrance. Carefully, he put his head through the flap.

The first thing the guard saw, was two pairs of eyes. One, sapphire, with protective and slightly annoyed look to them. The other, ruby, that had a hit of fear and unknowingness to them. Letting the light focus in on the area around the eyes, he could see easily who the owners were. A colt in his teens, of midnight blue coating with black accents. And a early teen filly, with the opposite coating. The colt was crouched infront of the filly, his wings flared out in a sort-of shield.

"Get back..." Phantom growled.

"You look familiar..." the Guard commented. "Have we met before?"

"I've run into many Guards before..."

Using his flashlight, the Guard examined the room further. Only one item caught his interest. A whicker basket in the corner from the Cloud Nine hotel. Then he remember the suspicious acting colt he encountered all those years ago.

"It's you. Isn't it? You're that colt I caught trying to steal the breadsticks!"

That's when Phantom recognized the guard infront of him. His lavender coat, yellowish eyes, and that unique rainbow mane. It was, indeed, the same Guard that stopped him for the first time six years ago. Phantom relaxed, albiet only a little, citing it to memories of the stallions kindness, understanding, and father-like approach.

"Yeah... that was me."

"There's something else about you... something I didn't see before. Who's your father?"

"My father was Spectre. Spectre Knight." The flashlight fell out of the Guard's gaping mouth, rolling to a position in the corner such that it illuminated all three pegasi. "Name ringing any bells?"

"You're... You're Phantom, aren't you? And you, you're Nyx, right?"

The siblings looked at each other, then hesitantly back at the stallion addressing them.

"Yeah," Nyx repled, slowly emerging from behind her brother. "Why? Do you know us?"

"Hm, I guess you would have been too young to remember... It's me! Spectrum Dash! I was your dad's best friend!"

Spectrum Dash took Phantom and his sister to his home after discovering their identities. He insisted that it wouldn't be a bother and that it was the best he could do for them.

Phantom stood in a narrow cloud hallway, staring a pictures incased in gold colored frames. A group in particular held most of his attention. One was of Spectrum Dash, and Phantom's father, Spectre, side-by-side at their Royal Guard graduation ceremony, laughing with each other. Another showed an apparent cook-out at the very house he was currently standing in; the picture showed Phantom standing on his father's back, along with his mother, Spectrum, and his wife, Firefly. A third picture showed a scene from Hearth's Warming Eve in what Phantom recognized as his old home. There, he laid in front of the tree, next to his dad, cuddling with his newly born sister. On the other side of the tree, Spectrum and his wife were cuddling their new born; a cyan furred, rainbow maned pegasus. It was the Hearth's Warming right after Nyx's birth, and their mother's death... Phantom could help the memories of her returning to his mind.

A laugh coming from the kitchen derailed his train of thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Nyx standing on a stool, helping a pink mare with a bright blue mane cook something, laughing and giggling at each other. Before their father had died, the two families often mingled with each other. Suddenly, Spectrum appeared at Phantom's side.

"I'm sorry, Phantom. If I had recognized you in that hotel six years ago maybe... maybe I could have helped in some way. Save you two from years of misery."

"It's okay, I didn't even recognize you. Especially with that mane of yours."

"Look, I want you to know something. I would adopt you and Nyx if it were possible, but, Firefly doesn't have a job at the moment and we're trying to support our family on my salary alone. I don't know how we could take care of you two and Dashie."

"I understand. How is Dashie, anyway?"

"She's doing great. She's out flying around somewhere now, actually. Obsessed with flying, and being the best at everything. And she's in love with The Wonderbolts."

"Like father like daughter, eh?"

"Hehe, yeah. You could say something like that." The two sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the framed memories. "I may not be able to adopt you, but I can help you out the best I can. There's a small position open at the base. I can get you the spot without you having to enlist. It won't pay much, but, with my help, you'll be able to get an apartment for yourself and Nyx. We'll maybe be able to get you two back in school."

"Th-thanks... I... I don't know what to say."

"You can say 'yes'."

Phantom smiled. Spectrum wrapped a hoof around the young colt's shoulders. "Heh, you're gona be alright kid."

2 Years Later

For the past couple years, Phantom had been working at the Cloudsdale Royal Guard base, doing odd jobs here and there, essentially working as a janitor. But he didn't mind. Spectrum had taken him under his wing, and protected him from any harassment he may have encountered from the other Guards. But after over a year of working, Phantom, with the assistance of Spectrum, was able to put himself and his sister up in an apartment, and get them into school.

After a day of school, keeping the bullies away from his sister—which resulted in a black eye for him and several other colts in the hospital—he was ready to collapse on his bed and take a nap before work. Stepping through his apartment door, he froze in his tracks.

The apartment was an absolute wreck. Completely unrecognizable as his home. "Nyx?" he warily called out. No reply. Interesting, he thought, she always gets home beforeI do... Phantom gravitated towards her room, where he could see that the door was loosely hanging from it's hinges. Again, he froze in the doorway, slack-jaw.

Her window was broken open, bed sheets thrown around, books scattered about. But more importantly, black and midnight blue feathers scattered about the floor, with a blood stain here and there. A sky blue feather stuck out in the shattered windowsill.

Rage was the dominate emotion surging through Phantom. Somepony took his sister, and they were going to pay.

Author's Note

Woohoo! Another update! I hope you guys liked this insight into the background of Phantom, and his sister, Nyx (both of whom I have drawings of on my DeviantART page.) Hope you guys like this sequel so far, actually. (I'm grasping at things to say, currently I can't think of any...)
Anyway, there will be a slight delay... *insert moans and groans of frustration here* I'm going to be working on a chapter later in this series for somepony who's become interesting in the story, and wants to hear about a specific part I have coming up. But never fear, I shall multi-task! I'll be writing that, along with the next chapter, though, it may take awhile.
Also, I was experimenting to see how I liked a page break that I made. Hope ya'll like it as much as I do! (I'm going to be using it from now on)
Coming up: A Glacien Welcome.
p.s. Comment and tell me what you guys think so far! You're all awesome! :3

A Glacien Welcome

"Ugh," Rainbow Dash groaned. "Do I have to wear this?"

A very boring week had passed, when they finally arrived at the Glacien capital city of Aquila. Well, outside of it, at least. The Glacien King wouldn't allow the Aurora to actually enter it, so Captain Dash resorted to landing just outside of the city gates.

Phantom had brought his team: Rainbow Dash, Stryker, and Archer, down to the ship's armory where he was getting them outfitted in the winter armor they would be using.

"Yes," Phantom replied through a strap in his mouth that he pulled on, tightening the silver suit of armor that he was helping to put on Rainbow. As he grabbed a nearby white hooded cloak, he also helped to put it on Rainbow Dash, while continuing the conversation. "The Glacien King does not want us wondering around his nation out of uniform." Satisfied, he put on his own hooded cloak.

Their armor consisted of silver plates which covered their breasts, around their shoulders, the top three quarters of their barrel, up and around their flank, then going down to protect the top quarter of their hind legs. With inserts for their wings, of course. The armor was slightly insulted for added heat benefits in the frigid Glacien air.

"But that doesn't make any sense. We're supposed to help him and stop some civil war! How can we do that if everypony here knows we're Equestrian?"

"No, it doesn't make sense, but, we have to do what their King says." From a nearby locker, Phantom pulled out more pieces of armor to put on; including metallic shoes, knee pads, and a bag that would strap around the gaskin of their hind legs. "Besides, they're going to know we aren't native anyway. Stryker here is the only one here who could pass for being Glacien, and that's because he is Glacien. Remember? Glacien Natives are only unicorns. No earth-ponies, and no pegasi. They're all unicorns."

"Some ponies could have cross bred though..."

"And in the eyes of their civilization, they are not 'true Glaciens'. Look, as much as we hate it, we have to do what this King tells us to do as if he were Princess Celestia. Alright?"

She sighed. "I guess..." Rainbow waited by the armory entrance for Phantom to finish putting his armor on. "It's just... it doesn't seem fair."

"It's Glacies," Stryker commented from the corridor outside. "Remember this, Rainbow Dash, Glacies is the exact opposite of Equestria. The King is practically a dictator, and rules with an iron hoof, ruling the country with oppression. Half of the land he 'owns' he took with his military. Non-true-blood-Glaciens are referred to as 'Carens' Kar-Ins and are the lowest class in their society. Carens aren't even allowed to set hoof in Aquila!"

Phantom had finished gearing up, and left the armory with Rainbow Dash. The three ponies proceeded down the corridor, picking up Archer along the way, towards the ship's main exit. "Is that why you left?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I couldn't stand seeing other ponies get kicked around the dirt in forced poverty. Once I got the chance, I left. Unless you're of Royal or noble birth, the system is pretty stacked against you. Even if you're a true Glacien, it's still difficult to get anywhere. But sadly, you're still better than if you were a Caren. Hay, the only reason you guys are even being allowed near the city let alone in it is because you're military, even though we're Equestrian."

"So this King hate's Equestria?"

"Hates? I wouldn't go that far. It's more of a... a... disapproval. He recognizes and respects the Equestrian Royal Guard as a skilled, and capable military force, but he frowns upon Princess Celestia's lack of using them. He's tried to get Celestia to use the Guard as an expeditionary force rather than a security force, and take over nearby regions."

"What!? Why?"

"Pfft, simple." The group of Guards stopped at the ship's exit. Stryker nodded towards the Glacien landscape that was laid out before them. A vast, white emptiness, dotted with small forests and a few hills. Beyond the horizon, lay small farming communities and vast woodlands equivalent in size and danger to the Everfree. "It's called Glacies for a reason. Ice. Ice bucking everywhere. The only reason this nation can survive this far north is because of the unicorns' magic. That's how they grow crops in this weather. Without the magic, they would surely die. And it's not easy to do, either. With the Glacien population increasing, it's becoming more and more difficult to secure resources.

"That's why the King thinks Glacies is better than ever other nation, too. Because only unicorns are capable of surviving and farming this region; through the use of their magic. The King needs trade with other regions, and the only one who's willing to trade with him is Equestria, but he doesn't want to since he see's Equestria as inferior. He once said that if Equestria grew to the power of Glacies, then and only then he would begin trade."

"Cmon," Phantom started, making his way down to the ramp that led towards the frozen earth below. "Let's end this bloddy war, stop Sky, find that filly, and go home." The others followed him. Archer and Stryker began to shiver the instant the icy wind came into contact with them. Stryker's horn lit up, and a glowing aura surrounded himself, a satisfying look filled his muzzle.

"Are... Are you... warming yourself?" Archer stuttered.

"Eeyup. That's one of the first thing a unicorn growing up in Glacies learns; a self-heating spell."

Archer grumbled something under his breath. Eventually his voice became loud enough to be heard. "...Unicorns... Oh! That reminds me! Hang on a second!" Phantom, who had just set hoof in the Glacien snow, stopped and rolled his eyes. The white stallion returned a few minutes later. "Sorry, forgot to send a letter."

Stryker nudged him playfully as they left the ramp, and began trudging through the handpicked snow. "More letters to your marefriend, Arch?"

The pink blushing was easily visible on the stallion's white coat. "N-N-N-No. What? No!" Stryker glared at the earth-pony. Sighing, Archer confessed, "Yes... Happy?"

"Nope!" Stryker replied cheerfully.

Leading the group of ponies along a snow covered stone path towards the city gates, Phantom craned his neck around to issue a reply of his own. "What's his name?"

"Oh ha ha," Arhcer mocked. "Her name is not of your concern."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I know her name!" Stryker sang, bouncing up and down, a hoof in the air as if he were answering a question in a class room. "Pick me boss! Pick me! I got this!"

"Uh... Yes! You!" Phantom called. "You in the back, you've got an answer?"

"Aye!" Stryker cleared his throat. "Ahem. What is Twilhmht Mhhmhle?" The unicorn found the name to be mumbled under the hoof that was implanted on his muzzle. Traced the apendage back to see Archer glaring fire into him.

"Twilight!?" Rainbow gasped, raising to the air. "You're dating Twilight!?" The pegasus hovered in the air, gaping at the white earth-pony.

"S-Sorry?" Archer attempted to apologize, but the look on Rainbow's muzzle told him he wasn't getting anywhere. "Oh come on! We're not even dating! We started talking at the train station before we left, now we're sending letters. It's no big deal!"

Rainbow hesitated shortly before falling to the ground in a laughing fit. Archer was unamused. "Ha ha ha! You like Twilight! Haaaah ha ha ha!"

"I'll have you know she as very smart, talented, ad interesting mare."

"Exactly," Stryker said. "That's why we believe you when you say you're not dating!" The unicorn couldn't help himself, and joined in the same fit of laughter as Rainbow Dash.

Phantom, however, was becoming slightly annoyed. More-so now that they were approaching the city gates. "Hey, get serious now," he commanded. "We've got company." Stryker and Rainbow Dash quickly regain their composure, moving back to Phantom's side.

Ahead, just in front of the city gates, was a group of five Glacien guards in a 'V' formation, with the tip facing Phantom. Each were adorned in golden armor, but the one at the tip of their formation stood out more than the others, with a brilliant sapphire crystal on his chest plate. It was clear to Phantom that he was of a significantly higher rank the those around him. Another thing caught his eye. Each wore a golden helmet, not so different from the Equestrian Royal Guard helmets, but one aspect of their's showed an appetite for war. A steel blade rose from the top of their helmet, mounted in front of the horn, it's blade facing ahead. Along with those weapons, they also appeared to have sheathed swords at their sides.

Now that the group of Equestrians were closer to the gate, they could see more of the details to it. It appeared to be the only entrance to the city within their eye sight along a fifty foot high solid stone wall that wrapped around the entirety of the city. The gate itself was composed of two black steel doors, that extended from the ground, to the top of an archway. On either side of the road, were stations for gate keepers to keep watch for anypony approaching. Phantom to special note to the archers that patrolled along the top of the walls, bows in hoof.

Phantom stopped shy of the group of Glacien Guards.

"You're the Equestrians, then, eh?" asked the guard with the sapphire in a mildly-thick accent.

"Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight," the pegasus introduced himself, a hoof held out to the Glacien who was addressing him. "Equestrian Royal Guard."

The pale coated unicorn merely stared disparagingly at the hoof. He seemed to carelessly inspect Phantom, his armor, and his counterparts. "Quite... I'm Captain Cypher, Glacien Security/Expeditionary Force." The Captain's eyes locked on to Stryker. "Ah, I see you've returned, defector. And you've brought Caren with you, no less..."

Stryker shoved past Phantom, and got close enough to Cypher that his horn was touching the other's blade. "The only Caren here is you, Cypher... Tell me, how many innocent ponies muzzles have you shoved into the dirt lately?" Rainbow could have sworn she saw bolts of electricity zapping between the two ponies foreheads.

Captain Cypher took several steps back, and regained his composure. "Right, anyway... I'll take you to King Centauri." The stallion turned tail, and headed towards the city. The large steel gates that kept everypony out slowly, and quietly, opened. Rainbow Dash was caught off guard by the soundless motion. Their hoofsteps crunching in the snow were louder than the turning hinges. The remaning guards that had accompanied Captain Cypher fell into positions behind the Equestrians, making Phantom very uncomfortable that he was now surrounded.

Once the group passed through the giant gates, they could see the entirety of the city. Phantom, Rainbow Dash, and Archer hadn't expected to see much, but they still couldn't help but be caught off guard by the overal appearance of the Glacien capital.

The roads were constructed of lightly clustered cobblestone, and the spaces between them were packed with trotted over snow. Buildings lined both sides of the streets, each were also made of cobblestone. Averaging one to two stories each, atop every one was a black shingled roof, but most were almost completely covered in snow. There was the occasion three or four story building for those with living spaces above shops. Along the sides of the streets, was the occasion set of tables and chairs, with awnings over each to protect from snowfall. Looked down what appeared to be the mane, and largest street in the city, the team of Equestrians could see on the horizon an giant stone castle that rivaled the one in Canterlot in sheer size. Though, admittedly this one looked considerably order, in disrepair, dark, gloomy, and overal a place a pony wouldn't immediately go rushing towards in excitement. Well, except for Pinkie Pie, she probably would. Trash and random debris milled about in the frost-bitten wind.

Just as disparaging as the architecture of the city, was the condition of the ponies that lived within it's walls. All unicorns, every single one of them had dull colored coats, and lifeless manes. Even their eyes were glossy. Phantom noticed something particular, though. Not very many of them even had cutie marks. This led him to one conclusion. There was a general lack of motivation and ambition amongst their society. Nopony wanted to really do anything. They even displayed this in their movements, which were either sluggish or robotic. None were smiling.

"Huh," Stryker began, examining the condition that was once his home. "Looks like official's got their stuff together, haven't seen this place looking this good in a long time..."

"Good?" Archer questioned, "Good? You can see the same thing I see, right? This place is a mess!"

"It's been worse. Trust me."

The group of guardsponies passed by several unicorn mares sitting at a group of tables on a nearby street corner. The Glaciens wearily eyed the Equestrians as they passed by, whispering conspiratorially amongst themselves. Seeing their, what was probably formal attire, Rainbow Dash concluded that these were members of the Glacien elite, and there for snobby, rich ponies she tended to despise. She could have sword that she saw them whisper the word 'Caren' several times. What does that mean... she wondered to herself. Remembering that she had a Glacien on her side, she proceeded to move to his side.

"Hey, Stryker," she spoke in a mildly soft tone. "What the hay does 'Caren' mean, anyway?"

"Lacking." he said matter-of-factly.

"Seriously? That's it? Lacking?"

"Eeyup. It's one of the higher tier insults around here. Basically saying that somepony lacks the necessary qualities to be a true Glacien. Believe it or not, if you tick off the wrong guard, you can be charged for being 'Caren', it's actually a crime. The only reason not everypony get's charged with it, most of the time, is because they need those they call Caren in the lower class to sustain the nobility and royalty."

"That's terrible!"

"Terrible? That's the bright side of Glacies. Aquila is the 'highest quality city' in Glacies. The outlying towns and farming communities in the country side are easily a thousand times worse. They're supposed to be run by democratically elected local government body, but instead the local guard chiefs usually extort and control the town's ponies. I left to escape."

Rainbow Dash slowly left the unicorn's side, returning to her previous position. She was satisfied for having an explanation, but slightly saddened by the extend of it. Yes, her question had been answered, but she could have done without such an in-depth explanation. How could this King do something like that to his own people!? The more she thought about it, the more she resented the Glaciens.

Most of the ponies travel had gone by relatively fast. In seemingly no time, they were upon the castle steps. The cobble stone steps lead up to to a pair of grand wooden doors. Captain Cypher scaled them without a thought, and opened up a door for the Equestrians, leading them inside. The last Glacien guard through shut it again in an attempt to keep the gold out. They immediately found themselves in a grand, elegant throne room. Red banners hung from the high ceilings, depicted on them was a single, blue, crystal. From where they were standing, they could either: go left down, down a smal hallway which led to a pair of smaller double doors; or go right, towards a similar looking area; or they could go forward, following a scarlet red carpet, up to a pair of grand thrones. The biggest of the two thrones, the one presumable for the king, had a bigger blue Chrystal atop it than the throne next to it.

Captain Cypher led the Equestrians towards said thrones. As they neared, they could see the two unicorns that occupied them. The very large stallion who sat in the largest of the two thrones, had a white coat and dull a navy blue mane and tail. A mare, who roughly the size of Princess Luna, had a grayer coat than the stallion, and had a glossy pink mane and tail. Their cuite marks weren't visible under their elegant royal clothing, assuming they even had cutie marks.

Rainbow Dash examined the walls as they proceeded on. Giant arching windows, evenly spaced from each other, were the only source of light for the entire room. Every other window was covered in stained glass, most depicted what looked like great ponies in their society, the founding of their nations, the original settlers coming to the region, etceteras. One in particular caught her eye. It showed roughly eight unicorns at the bottom, using their magic to fire at a blue crystal, which then fired at a red circle. Inside of that circle, was what appeared to be a dragon, made of light blue colors, and eyes of deep sapphire. On either side of the red circle, and above, it, were runes that Dash didn't recognize.

Stryker had apparently seen her transfixed gaze, and stepped in to explain. "The Battle of Palmyra," he called it. "Shows the Glaciens rising up against Boreas, an ice dragon who used the Glaciens as his slaves for his own personal benefits. They blame him for Glacies being frozen and lifeless as it is, so they rebelled in the hopes that it would restore Glacies to a state similar to that of Equestria. So, they sought out the help of three dragons who possed the powers over Psyche, Wind, and Lightning to defeat him. The dragons gave the Glaciens a blue crystal, that they focused their magic through to defeat Boreas. He was turned to stone, and hidden away in his castle in Palmyra.

"It is told that on the two thousandth anniversary of his imprisonment, if the blue crystal that turned him to stone is placed within it's receptor in the stone that incases Boreas, then the granite will crack, and Boreas will fly once more, and turn the world to ice."

"So, that's why we keep seeing stuff with blue crystals on them?"

"Eeyup. Supposedly, the blue crystal that was used to imprison Boreas is now the centerpiece of the King's crown. But, it's all a myth. Nopony has been able to find any magic within the crystal, and Palmyra has never been found. In fact, the only time anypony has ever mentioned Palmyra, or Boreas, is in the legend itself. They appear nowhere else."

"Well, we used to think that Nightmare Moon was a myth."

"That's what worries me. There's always truth behind myth. I'm not saying Boreas is real or anything, I'm just saying something happened that started the story. Personally, I think it's just a tale to keep ponies out of the forest, and gives them something to blame for this cursed weather. Hay, they force you to learn it in the schools."

Rainbow Dash was about to respond, but Captain Cypher spoke before she could. "King Alpha and Queen Omega Centauri," he bowed. Reluctantly, Phantom bowed too, along with the rest of his team. "These are the Equestrians you said would arrive today."

Everypony returned to a normal stance, all eyes focus on the King. Dash noticed that embedded on the front of his golden crown, was a brilliant blue crystal. For a brief moment, she could have sworn the temperature dropped the more she stared into it, that she could hear a quiet, deep laugh in the winds outside, and see a pair of small, glowing sapphire eyes within the crystal itself. Rainbow shook her head to snap out of it, and payed attention to what the King was about to say.

For a few more seconds, the King sat lazily, casting judgment on the Equestrians before speaking. "Which of you is the leader of the expedition?" He asked in a loud, boisterous voice, fitting for his size.

Phantom stepped forward, and stopped at Captain Cypher's side. "I am, your highness. Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight, Equestrian Royal Guard. We're here to—"

"I know what you're here for, Caren." Phantom recoiled slightly, having not expected to be blatantly insulted, at least with what the Glaciens considered an insult, so quickly; and by their king. This told him that their King truly didn't respect Equestrians, and probably nopony for that matter. This'll be fun, Phantom thought to himself. "Your princess and I have been communicating for the past week. You're here to help me end this civil war, are you not?"

Phantom decided that being nice, polite, and civil wouldn't get him anywhere with this king. So, he opted for the best solution. Be the exact opposite. "You tell me. After all, you've been writing to Caren for the past week."

The King seemed to be taken aback by Phantom's sudden change of tone, and use of a Glacien insult. "Attitude, eh? I like it. Yes, you are here to help me stop this civil war. I'm told that you're the best amongst the Equestrian Royal Guard, and frankly, I'm happy that you've shifted gears and are operating in other nations now.

"These rebels, Nightingales they call themselves, are accusing the local town governments of corruption and extortion, and are gathering support from the farmers and other Caren to fight against them. They've been using the forests to attack government buildings, outposts, and supply convoys. If you're as good as Celestia says you are, then we should be able to resolve this situation by the end of the week. That's out goal, at least. We believe they're going to try something on Aquila, but are unsure of what. I've sent—"

The throne room doors burst open, and a Glacien Guard rushed in. It looked as if he had been running for miles. His thoughts were probably on learning a teleportation spell for the future. "King Centauri!" he yelled from his advancing position. "King Centauri!"

"What is it, Guard? Have you news from the north-east?"

"No, your highness! It's—"

"Then why interrupt me in the middle of a audience!?"

"Sir! It's you're son! Prince Castor! He's missing."

King Centauri rose from his throne with surprising speed. "What do you mean, 'missing'!?" The King was making his way down the steps, and onto the scarlet carpet.

"We were patrolling the north-east forest, in search of... you know... like you said. We were ambushed by Nightingales. Only me and a few others survived, and we can't find the Prince anywhere!"

The King stomped a hoof to the ground, creating a dull 'thud'. "Faust!" He turned his attention, and rage, to Phantom and the Equestrians. "This will be a good opportunity for you to prove your worth, Equestrian. If you rescue my son, I will be willing to allow you to help further in our cause. Captain Cypher." The pony he was now addressing snapped to attention. "Take the Equestrians and head to the north-east forest. Find my son, and bring him back. I want every Nightingale you encounter dead. Understand?"

"Yes, your highness," he saluted, then turned towards Phantom. "Follow me."

Author's Note

I hate finding good stories on this site because I always get addicted to them and are completely unable to put them down.... Anywho, woot! Update! Yeah! Hope you guys enjoy this like the rest of the story, I'll be sure to try to focus more on this now and not read other stories as much. But, don't hold me to it.
If you guys have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on what I could do with this story, they'd be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Up next: The Nightingale.
Bonus: The Battle of Palmyra in Stained Glass

The Nightingales

Celestia's sun set on the Glacien horizon, but was covered by the trees of the Palmyra forest. Captain Cypher had led the Equestrians onto a train, and headed here. The train ride took most of the afternoon, and only now did they arrive at their destination: a small, makeshift camp full of Glacien guards. Groups of canvas tents surrounded fires that dotted the area. Around the perimeter of the camp, were patrols of guards that followed barbed wire barriers, on the lookout for their enemy. The air here was far colder than that of Aquila, which Archer wouldn't stop complaining about. He even went as far to put on a heavy, fur lined arctic suit under his armor, with a white mask and black goggles, completely covering from head to hoof.

"I want to see where Prince Castor's patrol was attacked," Phantom instructed Captain Cypher.

"We can do that in the morning," the captain replied, pushing his was past the pegasus and heading towards a command tent.

"WIth all due respect, Captain, if to find the prince, it's best we start as soon as possible."

"And with all due respect, Staff Sergeant, we're up against Nightingales. You recognize the first syllable, right? Night? We're in their domain, now. That's why we don't have patrols at night, and why we step up security at our outposts. Because this is when the Nightingales attack. This is when we lose guards. This is when we're defeated."

"So tell me this, if they're attacking, who's guarding their base?"

"..."

"Exactly. We need to go out, find were Castor's patrol was attacked, and follow the steps of the Nightingales back to their base, and get him back."

"Easy for you to say, you've never had to fight them! They may seem like a group of disorganized rebels but somepony is giving them advanced training. They're knocking my guards out left and right."

Phantom got muzzle to muzzle with the Captain of the Glacien Guard, glaring into his eyes. "Scared, Cypher?"

The stallion in question stepped away from Phantom. "No, but I'm not stupid. Here's what I'll do..." he looked around for a moment, and zeroed in on a passing guard. "Corporal." The pony he was addressing snapped to attention. "Get me a map of the Palmyra forest." Said corporal rushed into the nearby command tent, reemerging several moments later with a map in his magical grip. Captain Cypher took the map in his own aura and held it open in front of Phantom. With a hoof, he indicated to several points. "We're here. Prince Castor and his patrol followed this route, and disappeared, here." Cypher rolled the map up, and placed it within the pocket on the gaskin of Phantom's left rear-leg. "You're on your own. If you want to go into the forest now, go for it."

Phantom nodded. "Let's go, team," he replied, and headed for the base's only entrance/exit.

"I'll have my guards look for your frozen corpses in the morning!" Cypher yelled at them over the breeze.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, taking to the air and hovering at Phantom's side. "I hate that guy."

"I think we all do," Archer commented with a muffled voice through his mask from behind the pair.

"Eeyup," Stryker agreed. "So, Phantom, where we heading?"

The pegasus stallion stopped outside of the camp entrance, looking off to the north. "This way," he instructed, and headed towards the trees. Though the snow was only a few inches deep, and the wind was blowing ever-so lightly, a path in the snow was lightly carved out from where ponies had traveled through here earlier that day. On the train ride over, Captain Cypher explained that the Prince's patrol had left in the morning, and was the only patrol to leave the encampment that day. Apparently, only three ponies survived, two were in critical condition, leaving the remaining guard to carry his fallen comrades back to the camp, and proceed to make his way to Aquila and alert the King as to what had happened. Had he been an Equestrian, he probably would have gotten a medal. As for the Prince, the guard stated that he had been captured by the Nightingales.

Within minutes of leaving the relative safety of the Glacien camp, Phantom, Rainbow Dash, Archer and Stryker found themselves swallowed up by the infinite emptiness of the Palmyra forest. Luna's moon had rising before Celestia's sun completely set, and now sat directly over the ponies heads. It's light was their only source of illumination, reflecting brightly off of the white, pristine snow. Even with the light, the void that was the forest managed to keep their visibility down only to the twenty feet around them. They were practically blind, following tracks to Celestia knows where.

"Stryk," Archer called, "isn't this where you grew up?"

"Near here, yes," replied the unicorn. "My home was further in a few miles, though. I used to play through the same tree's we're walking through now."

"Nice, what kinds of games did you play?"

"My brother, sister, and I would often run from our home, to where that camp is - there used to be a large white oak there - and back. Last one to get bitten by a Wendigo wins."

"Wen-Wendi-Wendigos?" Rainbow Dash mumbled.

"Eeyup. Wendigos. And those are the least lethal thing in this forest next to wolves."

"Least... lethal?" the mare gulped, suddenly finding herself extremely close to Phantom's side.

"Aside from those two, there's also ice snakes; which are these giant, brown snakes that like to burrow about an inch under the snow so they look like snow covered tree branches, then, as you walk by, BAM!, they strike. Their venom is potent enough to drop several manitcores from one drop." Rainbow's unsteady gaze drifted towards the ground as show rose a few inches in the air to avoid anything that might look like a fallen branch. The stallions took note and couldn't help but surpress a small snicker. "Then there's the Nix Obitus. It's a tree with white bark, and white pine needles. A single prick from said needle, and you've got more poison in you than a six bites from an ice snake."

Dash looked around at all of the trees around them. All appeared to have white bark, and white leaves, but couldn't be sure about that in the darkness. Deciding it was better to be safe than dead, she dropped back down to the ground, and walked along side Phantom, keeping plenty of distance between her and the trees.

"Enough with the horror stories, Stryk," Phantom laughed. "You're scaring the rookie!"

"So wait," Rainbow Dash said, fuming. "None of those are real?"

"Oh, they're very real." Stryker explained. "In fact, there's an ice snake in front of you now."

Rainbow looked to where Stryker pointed with a hoof, and saw a lump in the snow. Suddenly, two, black eyes, opened up and reflected Luna's light into her own. The lump of snow rattled, and leapt at her. Letting out an unfortunately loud shriek of terror, Rainbow Dash took to the air in fear. The ice snake stopped directly below her, trying in vain to jump up and take a nip of her rainbow tail. Stryker quickly took the snake in his magic, throwing it deeper into the woods and away from them.

"Rainbow 'Danger' Dash..." Phantom sighed. "What ever will we do without you?" Archer attempted to hide his snickering, but was unable to do so. Along with Stryker. That was, until Phantom abruptly stopped, holding a hoof by his head, signaling the others to follow suit. They watched with careful anticipation as his ears swiveled around, searching for something.

"Hear something, sir?" Archer dared to ask, albiet in a murmured whisper.

"Probably the echoes from Dash's scream..." Stryker joked, quickly regretting hit when he saw the stare that Phantom shot his way. Bowing his head, the unicorn apologized. "Sorry."

"Quiet," Phantom advised, now looking around their area intently. "Get down and follow my lead."

Phantom pulled up his hood so that it covered most of his head and hair. He then laid down, tucking his tail under him. Tucking himself as far into the snow as he could, he quickly blended in, pretty much disappearing from sight. The only piece of him that was visible were his eyes, the top of his muzzle, and his breath.

Rainbow Dash and the others quickly followed suit, blending into the snow as best they could. It wasn't immediately clear as to what Phantom had heard, but to see the stallion that could out-stare a statue - maybe even Fluttershy - get down like that was disheartening. What ever it was, it wasn't good.

"Put snow in your mouth and burry your muzzles in the snow," Stryker whispered.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Rainbow Dash could see Phantom's head moving around. Presumably he was taking Stryker's advice to heart, so, she did the same. The snow that now covered her muzzle and laid within her mouth was making it difficult to breathe. The cold was becoming too much, numbing her head and appendages. She could feel her nostrils beginning to freeze, and her eyes becoming itchy.

Ahead of the Equestrians, just emerging into their field of vision, were eight silhouettes, all approaching them. Phantom was the farthest ahead of the group, so he got the first good view of the approaching ponies. His first thought? Nightingales...

Their armor appeared to be matte black, and hugged their bodies closely, like an exoskeleton. They were covered from neck to upper hooves with this chitin-like armor. Their heads were covered by black balaclava's, and their eyes protected by dark tinted goggles. Hoods over their manes that were connected to cloaks that helped conceal their tails. Though, through snowy eye lashes, he could see more details, like the brighter colors of their manes and tails than the Glaciens they saw in Aquila. One feature of their apparel that stood out the most, however, was the sheathed swords at their side.

There appeared to be eight ponies total, but only seven seamed to be acting as guards. One pony, who wasn't wearing armor, was following the leader of the formation, being pulled along by a rope. The remaining six ponies surrounded the apparent captive; their heads on a swivel, searching for danger.

"It's the prince," Archer whisper through the snow.

"Wait till they're over us," Phantom instructed in an equally hushed voice. "I'll take out the lead, and the ponies nearest the prince. Arch, take out the rear protection. Stryk, you've got the outer perimeter. Dash, I want you to do one thing and one thing only. Get. The. Prince. Out. Everypony got it?"

"Aye," replied Stryker.

"Copy," Archer responded.

"I'll fly straight up with him," Rainbow Dash confirmed.

"Okay," Phantom continued, "take him straight back to the camp." A few silent moments passed. "Go silent."

As the approaching ponies neared, the light breeze carried their voices.

"Boreas, don't tell me you're lost..." Spoke on of them.

"I'm not lost, I'm just... Uhh..."

"Exactlly, you're lost."

"Hey, that storm earlier got me turned around."

"How can you be lost? Don't you remember what she said? 'Follow the flowers'?"

"I don't see any flowers, do you?"

"Go," Phantom ordered softly.

"What'd you say?" asked the first pony.

"I didn't say anything," his friend replied.

"But I thought—"

The first pony's sentence was cut short, primarily due to an armor-clad pegasus stallion rising unexpectedly from the snow in front of him, and then charging forward will all of the power of his wings and legs into an incredible tackle that knocked the wind out of him. In seconds, he found himself flying above the tree's, and falling back into the forest, and into a quiet darkness from which he wouldn't see light until the next day.

Phantom, after he dropped the lead pony from above the tree line, made a high speed beeline for the remaining guards around Prince Castor. As he did, Archer and Stryker pounced from their hiding spots in the snow, aiming to tackle the guards indicated by Phantom, though, Archer did most of the tackling while Stryker used his magic to defeat his opponents. Dash rose from the snow, knocking her hood down. Spreading her wings, grabbing onto Prince Castor, and taking flight to the tree tops where she proceeded to watch the battle, much to the prostests of the prince.

"Put me down!" he commanded. "I surrender, I surrender! I'll tell you what you want!" His struggling was making it difficult for Rainbow Dash to maintain a hover.

"Hey!" she yelled into his ear. "I am here to help you! But if you keep flailing around like this, we're gona fall!"

"We're going to fall anyway! Look how high we are!"

"I won't let you fall; I'm the greatest flyer in all of Equestria!"

"E-Equestria?" Prince Castor looked up at that pegasus above him, his jaw going slack. Because of the moon light, he could see Rainbow Dash well, but also because of the moon light, he could see more. Her signature rainbow mane seemed to radiate some kind of magical aura. The white light shone off of the ice crystals frozen to her fur, creating a second rainbow effect that seemed to give her the appearance of a deity. She felt the prince tense body ease up in her forelegs, and his once strained expression relax. Of course, all of this blew of Rainbow Dash's head as she watched the battle rage below.

Below, Stryker was taking on another unicorn, their beams of magic pushing against one another. Archer had take a sword in his fetlock from a fallen pony nearby, and was crossing blades with another earth pony. Phantom found himself staring at who appeared to be the leader of this group of Nightingales, also a pegasus, though, he had a sword, and Phantom didn't.

The pegasi stared each other down, stalking around a central point in a counter-clockwise circle, judging the capabilities of the other.

"You're not a Glacien," Phantom remarked.

"No Nightingale is," the other pegasus replied. "You also are not Glacien."

"I'm Equestrian. Royal Guard, specifically."

"So why are you helping the Glaciens?"

"I was told to. You're attacking government positions and instillations, destroying property, burning villages."

The other pegasus charged at Phantom, using his wings to keep him, and the sword, off of the ground. Phantom took the low route, and dove into the snow. He used the side of his armor to deflect a blow from the sword, wrapped his hooves around the wings of the other pegasus, and brought the two of them into the snow. The other pegasus stood atop Phantom, pinning his wings and torso into the snow.

"You know nothing of this war, Equestrian."

Phantom kicked with his hind legs, pushing the Nightingale off of him and into a tree, where he pinned him to hit. The pegasus' sword dug itself into the trunk of another tree. "Then explain."

The Nightingale head-butted Phantom, causing him to stagger back. "We're the good guys," the Nightingale explained. "The Glaciens are tricking you."

"Prove it!" Phantom rocketed himself into the other pegasus, dragging him high into the air, up towards the icy clouds. He threw the stallion into the nearest one, the resulting impact created a thunderous lightning bolt.

"King Centauri wants to free Boreas!" The Nightingale yelled over the rumbling thunder. "He thinks he can control him and conquer the world! We're trying to stop him!"

"It's all a myth though!" The Nightingale charged at Phantom, but the Equestrian dodged the punch. Just as the Nightingale turned back to charge at Phantom once more, he was hit with a bright, tan, magical beam. The Nightingale seemed to freeze in the air. Paralyzed, he fell into the icy forest below. Phantom chased after the falling stallion, but caught up to him only just after he impacted with the snow. Rainbow Dash, with Prince Castor, seemed to see the fight, and flew over to the crash site.

"You okay?" Rainbow called out.

"Yeah! Just get the prince back to the Glacien Camp." Dash nodded, and flew back the way they came, much to the protest of Prince Castor.

Phantom landed next to the Nightingale, and looked at him closely. Removing his goggles and balaclavas, he could tell that the stallion was still breathing. The snow must have absorbed most of the impact. The Nightingale's eyes opened slightly.

"Don't... believe me?" he murmured. "Just... ask... your Glacien... friend..." Then, with no other words, he slipped out of consciousness.

A rustling in the bushes off to his side caught Phantom's attention. Looking over, he saw Stryker approach him and the Nightingale. "Sorry," the unicorn apologized. "It didn't look like you were fairing too well."

"I was just interrogating him. He knows more than I got out of him, we should bring him back to finish the interogations."

"Are... are you sure? The weather here is unpredictible and usually very, very, very bad to get caught in. Especially at night." Stryker pointed to the edge of the Nightingale's mouth. "He's bleeding, too. Wolves would track us, and catch up to us. It'll be better to leave him here. He is the enemy, after all."

"Yeah... yeah..." Phantom looked at the Nightingale once more, reflecting on the conversation they were having moments earlier. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's go."

Stryker turned tail to leave. Just as Phantom was about to follow him, something caught his eye. Neatly tucked away in one of the panels of the Nightingale's chitin-like armor, was a small, pink pedaled flower. How can a flower like this grow here? he thought. Then in a spark of realization, he recalled the conversation the two Nightingales earlier were having.

"How can you be lost? Don't you remember what she said? 'Follow the flowers'?"

Hmm... Phantom pondered, grabbing hold of the calming flower, and putting it into the pocket on his left hind-leg.

"Ya comin', Phantom?" Archer called, poking his head over a bush.

"Hm? Yeah, let's get out of here before more of them show up."

Archer disappeared behind the bush, and Phantom followed after him. Though, before stepping through the bush and back on the path, he gave one final thoughtful glance to the Nightingale behind him. Determining nothing more was left, he went to gather the remaining members of his team, and leave.

"Put me down! I said put me down! Don't you know I'm a prince!?" Prince Castor flailed his legs, making it difficult for Rainbow Dash to keep aloft, even as she mouthed his words mockingly.

"You've only told me about eight times... Look," she indicated with her head to an area of lights ahead of them. "We're almost there." Within minutes, the pair landed outside of the Glacien command tent in their forward operations base.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Prince Castor sung as he began kissing the snow. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

Hearing the ruckus outside, Captain Cypher emerged from the tent. "Prince Castor!" he bowed. "You've returned safe and sound! Your father will be overjoyed to hear!"

"All thanks to this mare, Captain." Prince Castor pointed to Rainbow Dash with a hoof.

The captain nodded at Rainbow Dash. "Thank you for your efforts. Please, the both of you, come in side." He held the flap open for the two as the trotted inside to the warmth. "I'll have one of my men bring you two some tea." Captain Cypher disappeared behind the flap, looking to fulfill his promise.

Now that Prince Castor was in decent light, he could see Rainbow Dash better than before, and was still just as awe-struck. Seeing this, Rainbow assumed that he merely wanted an introduction.

"Name's Rainbow Dash," she held out a hoof to him.

"Ahem, well, yes, Rainbow Dash," Prince Castor took her hoof, kissed it, and bowed before the pegasus. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire compared to the previous temperature they were at. "Thank you for saving my life from those rebels. Boreas knows what they would have done to me if they were allowed to take me back to their camp."

"Uhh... Yeah..." Rainbow rubbed her hoof along the ground, cleaning it of his kiss. "No problem. And I'm not the only one who save you, though."

"Oh but you were! It was you who swept me off of my hooves and out of danger! Though, it was to a peculiar position in the sky..." His gaze drifted towards the wings. Prince Castor caught himself, shaking his head. "I do apologize. We don't have pegasi or earth-ponies in Aquila. I've never even seen one outside of my teachings and books. You, you said you were from Equestria?"

"Yup. Me and the rest of the team I'm apart of. Princess Celestia sent us here to help you guys in your war."

"Well that was very kind of her." Prince Castor used his magic to pull out two chairs from under the command table, which featured a map of the area. He indicated for Rainbow Dash to sit in one, to which she accepted. While he sat in the other, he continued. "I would certainly like to hear more about you and you're culture while we wait on your comrades to get back. If, that's alright with you, Miss Dash."

"It is. And just call me 'Dash', 'Rainbow', or 'Rainbow Dash', please. Hm... where to begin... I was born in this city called Cloudsdale. Like you could expect, it's made completely out of clouds! Only pegasi can live there because of that, and it's at least a mile in the sky! That's where we make all of the weather for Equestria, like the snow, clouds, storms, and rainbows!"

Author's Note

There ya have it, another chapter down! :D *I'm liking this story far better than the first, by the way*
I can't really think of much to say other than my usual: Hope you guys enjoy it! Also as usual, any ideas you guys may have are appreciated! I'd also LOVE to hear your skepticism on the story so far.
Right, moving on. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with the next chapter specifically, BUT, I do have the rest of the story planned out and I know what I'm going to do with the rest of the characters blah blah blah. Anyway:
What's coming up: What does our resident Glacien truly know? And what the hay is going on back in Ponyville, anyway?

More Than Meets The Eye

Canterlot
Earlier that morning

Twilight Sparkle and her remaining friends sat in Doughnut Joe's doughnut shop in Canterlot. After receiving a letter from Princess Celestia yesterday afternoon, she had gathered up all of her friends and the next morning they boarded a train and headed to Canterlot. Since the Princess was in the middle of her court duties, her and her friends were stuck waiting until they were finished.

Pinkie Pie seemed to be the only pony with a high level of enthusiasm, jittering up and down in her booth suffering from a sugar overload from the at least thirty-six doughnuts she had already eaten. Doughnut Joe made his way over to the grils, another dozen doughnuts set atop a pan within his magical grip. The tan coated stallion set it down on their booth table.

"Cheer up, Twilight," he tried to uplift the alicorn, seeing the worried expression that dominated his muzzle. "I'm sure everything is just fine."

"But what if it isn't!?" Twilight threw her hooves into the air. "We haven't heard anything from at all since she left, and she was supposed to arrive today and now Princess Celestia wants us to meet with her. What if something happened? What if their ship crashed? Or the rebels got them when they arrived?"

"Ah'm sure it'll be alright," Applejack comforted her. "It's Rainbow Dash we're talkin' 'bout; ain't nothin' can keep that mare down. 'Sides, Pinkie's Pinkie Sense hasn't shown anythin' yet. So don't ya worry."

"Quite right, dear," Rarity added, taking a sip of her tea. "I'm sure Princess Celestia has some good news and would just like to tell us in person, that's all."

"The princess probably just wants to see you all in person," Doughnut Joe said.

"I guess you're right..." Twilight sighed. "You've been pretty quiet, Fluttershy. Anything on your mind?"

"N-no..." she replied softly. "Well, I-I mean yes. I-I'm just worrying about Rainbow Dash, same as you. She's so far from home, in a country she's never heard of before, and with three stallions she doesn't know."

"She know's that Phantom feller," Applejack said. "Sort-of, Ah guess."

Twilight sighed again, looking towards the wall on the clock. It was almost noon, soon Princess Celestia's court would be over. "By the time we get there, they should be finished," she said, climbing out form the booth. "We best not keep her waiting."

Twilight Sparkle and her friends entered the Canterlot Castle throne room. At the end of the red carpet they were on, sat Princess Celestia, next to her was Princess Luna. On either side of the alicorns, were a pair of Royal Guards. Shining Armor stood at the base of the throne's steps. Twilight shot him a worrying glance, to which he nodded, signaling her 'They're okay'. The lavender alicorn breathed a sigh of relief.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student," Princess Celestia greeted, looking up from her parchment and quill. "I am happy that you could make it."

Twilight stopped in front of the throne and bowed. "We would have been here sooner, Princess Celestia, but I didn't want to interrupt your court."

"An interruption would have been most appreciated. Prince Blueblood was particularly... irritating... this morning."

"He insisted on lowering taxes on the rich, and raising them on the poor," Luna continued. "We... tried... to show him why that system would have problems, but he was insistant."

"Needless to say," Princess Celestia resumed, "I had my guards remove him for disorderly conduct. Now, I assume you are wondering why I called you here?"

Twilight nodded. "Is Rainbow Dash alright?"

Princess Celestia turned to look at her sister, who nodded in confirmation. "My sister has been maintaining a subconscious link with Rainbow Dash ever since she entered her dreams. She has assured me that young Rainbow Dash, and the rest of my Task Force, has arrived safely."

The present elements of harmony breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"As for the reason behind our summoning of you, there was been a development in the Glacien civil war." Twilight's ears fell back against her mane. This doesn't sound good... she worried herself. "I received a letter today which concerns me. It's not from King Centauri, or another Glacien Royal; instead, it's from the leader of the rebels, Nightingales, they call themselves." Princess Celestia levitated out a new piece of parchment from behind the throne. She cleared her throat, "Ahem,

Dear Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Sparkle, of Equestria,

I have received word that you have sent Equestrian Royal Guards to Glacies with the intention of helping to Glaciens in their fight against us. You have just put those four ponies, and the crew of that ship, in grave danger. I regret to tell you that they will likely not survive. It is not me you should worry about for being the cause of this, but instead blame the Glacien Government. They are not to be trusted. They are lying to you.

They claim to fight for justice, to restore peace and harmony in Glacies. This is not so. They claim that we torture and kill innocent civilians, that we ruthlessly burn villages and attack cities. It is quite the opposite, in fact.

In Glacien culture, there is a class known as 'Caren', it means lacking. Lacking as in somepony is not a true Glacien. Meaning, if you're not a pure-blood unicorn, and you and your entire family was born in Glacies, you're Caren. Caren makes up every class outside of nobility and royalty. Those who are considered Caren are looked down on, beaten, abused, extorted, foalnapped and murdered without a single glance from the king. Caren are not even allowed in the capital city of Aquila except as workers in the castle. The outlying towns and villages are supposed to be run by elected governments, but are run by corrupt guard chiefs instead.

As for me, I am the leader of a group known as Nightingales.

We are an ancient order tasked with the protection of the 'mythical' town of Palmyra, and the secret kept within it's castle. I won't bore you with the legend, I'm sure you're libraries contain the knowledge you seek. As you will learn, two thousand years ago, an ice dragon ruled over this land, his name was Boreas. After then Glaciens overthrew and imprisoned him in granite, much like you and your sister did to Discord. It is said that on the two thousandth anniversary of his imprisonment, if the ice crystal that was used is returned to it's receptor within the stone, he will be freed, and destroy the world. However, what is not said in those texts, is that King Centauri plans to free Boreas, with the hopes that he can control him, and take over the world. Nightingales are sworn to keep this from happening.

Princess Celestia, you are fighting for the wrong side. If King Centauri finds Palmyra, if he gets past us, if he gets the centerpiece jewel of his crown into the stone, Boreas will be released and the world will turn to ice. We can not allow this to happen. I beg you, princesses, help us. Please accept the gift included with this letter as food for thought. Despite what your books may say, Palmyra is very real. We do not have much time. The two thousandth anniversary of Boreas' imprisonment is in six days.

"I had my sister inspect the libraries for more information, and she tells me that the Legend of Palmyra is, unfortunately, a real legend."

Princess Luna nodded. Her eyes and horns lit up with blinding light. Everypony in the room suddenly found themselves in a magical sphere that depicted what the princess had read. "Boreas was an ice dragon that lived thousands of years ago. He is responsible for the ice that covers the region. During his reign, he used the unicorns of the area as his slaves in his home castle of Palmyra. One day, the unicorns decided to rise up. Seeking the help of other elemental dragons like Psyche, Wind, and Lightning, the unicorns received a special crystal, that once they used their collective magic with, along with the other dragons, managed to imprison Boreas in granite. They had hoped that once Boreas was gone, that Glacies would return to it's once fertile self, a state similar to Equestria. This didn't occur, so the legend says that Boreas is still alive within the stone, and controls the weather and spirits of the Palmyra forest."

"Palmyra has never been found. So, over time the story was changed from non-fiction, to legend, and is now mostly regarded as a myth. These Nightingales were the ones to imprison Boreas, and apparently are they only ones convinced of his reality, and are the sworn protectors of the site." The magical sphere disappeared, and Luna returned to her normal self.

Twilight nodded in understanding, taking mental notes of what they said. "Princess Celestia, you said that this Nightingale leader included something with the letter?"

"Yes, this flower." Princess Celestia levitated out a small, pink flower with an emerald green stem from behind her throne, and levitated it in front of Twilight, who accepted it in her own magic.

"What is it?"

"Um, I know," Fluttershy whispered, stepping up to the lavender alicorn. Everypony looked at the yellow pegasus in anticipation, eagerly awaiting the news. This new-found attention ate at Fluttershy's shyness. "I-I-It's a Cherry Blossom."

"My, it certainly is beautiful," Rarity remarked. "I would love to have them on my dresses!"

"Ah assume this Nightingale gal got this 'ere Cherry Blossom from where ever she is?" Applejack wondered. "An' isn't that Glacies place completely covered in ice?"

"You're right!" Pinkie yelled. "They must be using their unicorn magic that you told us about last week to grow them in the cold!"

"That would require a lot of energy..." Twilight rubbed her hoof on her chin thoughtfully. "I doubt that they would use precious resources just to make flowers grow to make things look pretty."

"The Legend of Palmyra mentions these flowers," Princess Celestia said. "All of Glacies is covered in ice, and is very cold, except for one place: Palmyra. It's told that the town of Palmyra and it's outlying area have a moderate temperature, grass, and is covered in these Cherry Blossom trees. Why? we don't know."

"Oh oh oh!" Pinkie jumped up and down. "We can figure out for you!" Suddenly, an inspector's hat appeared on her head, and a magnifying glass in her hoof, along with a corncob pipe that blew bubbles in her muzzle. "It'll be like a mystery adventure! And we'll get to solve it and be super-duper-awesome-detectives!"

Applejack facehoofed. "Pinkie, Ah don't think that's what teh princess had in mind fer us."

Princess Celestial held a hoof to her muzzle to suppress her laughter at Pinkie Pie's antics. "Actually, Applejack, that's exactly what I had in mind for you and your friends."

"What!?" the group collectively gasped.

Shining Armor cleared his throat. "Lieutenant Echelon?" he called.

"Yes, sir?" responded the guard to Princess Celestia's left.

"Could you take the Elements of Harmony to the E.A.S. Constellation, please?"

"Aye, sir," the guard saluted, nodded at the girls to follow him, and proceeded to leave the throne room. "The Constellation is the fastest air ship in the Equestrian fleet. We'll get you to Ponyville to grab SOME things, then head to Glacies. We will arrive in about three days."

Glacies
Present time

Phantom, Stryker, and Archer arrived outside the Glacien command tent to the sound of laughter coming within. He pushed his way inside through the flap to see Rainbow Dash sitting in a chair across the map table from Prince Castor. She seemed to be telling a harowing story, judging by her tone and hoof expressions.

"So with all of my awesomeness," she told the prince, "I decided to charge head long into the cave, not once worrying about my safety, and I kicked that snot-nosed dragon in the nose! Wham! I kicked him right on the nose!"

Prince Castor seemed taken aback by her words. "Wow," he gasped, "you actually kicked a dragon in the face?"

"Hehe, yeah... It didn't go so well, though. I don;t even think that dragon felt it. He just swatted me away like I was some bug, into my friends, and into a rock."

"Kicked a dragon... wow... I've never heard any tale like that outside of my text books."

"That's what happens when you mess with my friends. Anypony who's anypony knows not to mess with my friends."

Prince Castor appeared to gulp, before taking notice that Phantom, Stryker, and Archer had walked in. "You must be the others who assisted in my rescue from those... Caren... I can't thank you enough."

"Just happy we found you," Phantom said, holding out a hoof to the prince. "Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight, Equestrian Royal Guard."

Instead of shaking his hoof, the prince merely stared at it with disregard. "I'll assume you'll wish to hear about my capture?" Phantom nodded. "Quite. You can take a seat and I'll use this map to help me explain what happened, and, indicate where I think I was. I was trying my best to keep track of my location."

Phantom took his seat at the head of the map table, with Prince Castor and Rainbow Dash across from each other on the opposite side. Stryker and Archer took seats between the others. As Prince Castor began to recount the day's previous events, Phantom could tell right off the bat that they were being egged on, and details were being stretched. Prince Castor was exaggerating and using wild hoof motions, all the time keeping his main focus on Rainbow Dash.

"My father sent me out here, being the greatest officer in our military, to help look for Palmyra. We have some leads, but they're deep within this harrowing forest." Phantom rolled his eyes. Wasn't too bad... "So when I arrived at this camp, I took my best guards, and we headed into the forest. At first, we found nothing. But it wasn't too long until we ran into a pack of wolves. Of course, my guards cowered in fear, but I, I stood alone, and made sure the wolves got no where near my guards—"

Done! Phantom mentally protested. Pulling out the Cherry Blossom from his leg pocket with his wing, he set it on the table in front of him, and began to slowly spin it counter clockwise. Phantom leaned back in his chair, continuing to carefully spin the flower. How did you get here?

"How can you be lost? Don't you remember what she said? 'Follow the flowers'?"

"Follow the flowers."

"Follower the flowers..."

Phantom grasped the flower in his wing, and held it near his muzzle. It seemed perfectly healthy given the environment. The smell that emanated from it, sweet. It's texture, soft. It seemed to radiate it's own, dim, soft, light that warmed him. He even took note that the two feathers that grasped the flower, were slightly warmer than his others.

"What are you?" Phantom questioned to himself in a whisper. As intended, no pony hear him. Setting the flower back on the table, he continued to recount the day's notable events.

"You know nothing of this war, Equestrian," the Nightingale's voice echoed in his mind. "We're the good guys. The Glaciens are tricking you. King Centauri wants to free Boreas! He thinks he can control him and conquer the world! We're trying to stop him! Just... ask... your Glacien... friend...

"Glacien... friend..."

Phantom's eyes moved from the flower, to the tan unicorn across from him. Stryker.

Said unicorn appeared to feel Phantom's gaze on him. He glanced back at the pegasus, down at the blossom, searched around the map before focusing on a single point, then glancing back at Phantom; quickly, he turned his attention to the story that Prince Castor was telling.

"I tried to fight back," the prince told, "but they all tackled me at once! I couldn't move! I managed to knock one of them out with a spell before they put a magin inhibitor on my horn."

"That's some tale, Prince Castor," Archer said. "Did you get close to their base?"

The prince shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Not long after they captured me, we got caught in a storm and became lost. They kept mentioning something about flowers. But we don't grow flowers in Glacies, and they've never known to be naturally growing. Except..."

"Except?" Rainbow asked. "Except what?"

"Well, in the Legend of Palmyra, it mentions something. Cherry Blossoms. The legend talks about how Palmyra isn't frozen. How it's a perfect utopia, with flowing grass and is covered by Cherry Blossom trees." He looked at the flower being spun by Phantom. "Cherry Blossoms like that." Now that every pony was looking at him, Phantom stopped spinning the flower in circles and at least pretended to pretend to pay attention. "Every Nightingale we've encountered has had one on them. We haven't been able to confirm the source, but... we think it's Palmyra..." The price looked towards the tent flap. "Captain Cypher?"

A moment later, the unicorn in question entered, bowing to the prince. "Your highness?"

"Captain, I assume you sent word back to my father that I'm alive and well?" The guard nodded in reply. "Very good. Prepare the train, if we leave now we should arrive early afternoon."

"As you wish, your highness." With a final bow, Captain Cypher once more disappeared behind the tent flap, into the dark and cold Glacien night.

Prince Castor cleared his throat, and rose from his chair. "I'm sure my father and mother have been worried." His gaze landed on Rainbow Dash. "It would do me a great pleasure if you would accompany back to Aquila. My father would likely enjoy meeting his son's savior."

"Uhh..." Rainbow Dash gaped, and looked to Phantom for an answer.

The pegasus stallion sighed. "Well... I guess our mission is complete... we did find you, after all. I feel like we could do more staying here, searching for Palmyra."

"Nonsense!" The prince shouted joyfully. "There's nothing more that you could do to aid the search than my guards can."

"Ahem..." Phantom flared his wings, reminding the prince that he had the capability of flight over the unicorns.

"Right, sorry. I'm not used to being around Car— I-I-I mean pegasuses."

"Pegasi..." Phantom growled, knowing full well what the prince was about to call him.

"Yes... pegasi... sorry." Again, the prince looked at Rainbow Dash. "Miss Dash, if you'll step outside, there's something I'd like to tell you."

Rainbow opened her muzzle to speak, but Phantom beat her to it. "We're a team, Prince. We stay together. Where she goes, we go. What she hears, we hear."

"Well I didn't say you couldn't come along, did I?" The prince indicated for Rainbow to follow him through the tent flap.

On the other side, Prince Castor, Rainbow Dash, Phantom, Stryker and Archer all emerged into the night, surrounded by a half circle of guards. It must have been at least every guard in the entire camp! Some stood with torches, illuminating everypony. In the center, Captain Cypher stood with a red velvet pillow in his magic, over top of it was a small red velvet blanket. Prince Castor moved to his side, and directed his attention to the same place as the rest of the guards: Rainbow Dash.

"Miss Dash, I can't thank you enough for what you did. You saved my life. I'm forever in your good graces because of it. Th-This is sudden, I know. But, there's only one way I can think to fully show my appreciation for you. Your bravery, compassion, charisma, loyalty, and... beauty... are all qualities of a position most befitting of you."

"He's not..." Archer gasped.

"He can't... can he?" Stryker groaned in reply.

"Rainbow Dash," Prince Castor bowed to the snow on a knee, along with the rest of his guards.

"He is..." both Archer and Stryker whispered in unison. Rainbow began to go slack-jawed, putting the pieces together. Phantom merely stood to the side, unamused by the pomp and faire.

"As the Prince of Glacies, by the power of my father: King Alpha Centauri; and my mother: Queen Omega Centauri; and the graces of my sister: Princess Adromeda. I, Prince Castor, declare you, Rainbow Dash, a Princess of Glacies!" Captain Cypher used his magic to pull the velvet blanket from the pillow, revealing a brilliant silver tiara, with a sapphire stone centerpiece.

the E.A.S. Constellation

Pinkie Pie woke suddenly from her slumber. She looked around the sleeping cabin as if searching for a strange noise. Her nose began to itch, and try as she might to scratch it, it wouldn't go away. Twilight Sparkle, who was sitting in the corner reading a book by candle light, noticed the distressed earth-pony.

"Something wrong, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.

"My Pinkie Sense is tingling!" Just as she finished her sentence, the pink mare began vibrating in her spot uncontrollably.

"Wha?" Applejack mumbled. "What in tarnation is goin' on?"

"It's my pinkie sense! It's a super-doozy, too! Something absolutely-positively-super-duperific-seriously-incredible is happening!"

"Tell us, dear," Rarity spoke, waking from her sleep. "Is it good or bad?"

"I-I-I-I-I- d-d-d-o-o-o-n-n-n-t-t-t-t-t k-k-k-n-n-n-n-o-o-o-o-w-w-w!!!" Pinkie stopped vibrating, and for a brief moment nothing happened.

"I-I guess it's over?" Fluttershy dared.

"Huh," Pinkie wondered, tapping her barrel. "That wasn't like any doozy I've had befo—" Before Pinkie could finish, her friends watched as she took off like a rocket, bouncing at high speeds off of every surface aboard the ship. Glass broke, wood splittered, fabric was ripped. The ship itself began moving uncontrollably through the skies, banking left, then right, then completing a barrel roll before pulling off a back flip. "Now this is a doozy!" the mare cheered.

"PINKIE!" the passengers and crew of the Constellation managed to yell at the same time, their voice being lost into the ever-growing-cold sky.

Glacies

The Glacien guards errupted in boisterous cheer. "PRINCESS!?" Archer and Stryker yelled, their jaws dropping to the snow.

Phantom face-hoofed. "Celestia help me..."

Author's Note

Dun dun DUNNNNNN!!!!!!! Woo plot twists! Man I love those. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
As always: questions, comments, thoughts and concerns will be addressed ASAP in the comments. If you guys have any ideas or suggestions I'd love to hear them!
Up next: Wait, Rainbow Dash is a Princess!? THE Rainbow Dash?

Royal Rainbows

Rainbow Dash sat in a both on one of the train's cars with the lights off. Head on hooves, supported by the table in front of her, she just couldn't sleep. It wasn't the click-clack of the train wheels passing over the joints in the tracks, the cold air, the moon light shinning through the window and onto her face, or the noise from the celebration in the adjacent car that prevented this. It was the silver gleaming tiara that sat atop a red velvet pillow in front of her that was the problem.

'Princess of Glacies' Rainbow Dash recounted in her mind. Me? Rainbow Dash? THE Rainbow Dash? A PRINCESS!? Rainbow banged her head on the table, creating a loud thud. Remembering that Phantom, Stryker, and Archer were on the other side of the car attempting to sleep, she looked over to see if they had been disturbed. They hadn't. Her focus turned back to the tiara, the ever-dimming moon light reflecting off of the brilliant silver metal, and illuminating the sapphire center piece that Rarity would absolutely swoon over over.

These Glaciens like their crystals a lot... Rainbow was hypnotized by the stone's beauty, her eyes unable to avert from it. She could feel sleep approaching as the sounds began to meld together, and the fields of her vision begin to blur. Just as a dreamscape was upon her, she thought she heard something faintly.

"I will be free..."

"Huh?" Rainbow sat up, wide awake now. Looking around proved futile in discovering what had spoken. Phantom and the others were still sound asleep, the party in the next car over was still going on. Rainbow took note of the cracked window, and decided to close it completely, stopping the breeze from blowing into the car. "Celestia, I'm tired..." The pegasus attempted once more to sleep, but was again interrupted. This time by the car door sliding open, letting the full volume of the party next door enter into the once peaceful cabin, then slide shut, muffling the noise.

"Prince Castor," Rainbow Dash greeted, craning her neck to see who had entered. The grey coated, black maned unicorn was wearing a red formal suit.

"Princess Rainbow Dash," he replied with a smile. He looked past the mare as she shuddered under his words, at the tiara which sat atop it's velvet home. "I... I hope the tiara fit."

"About that..." Rainbow looked from the tiara, then back to the prince. "I don't think I can be a princess. That's... that's just not me, ya know? You seem like a good pony, but I don't think I can be a princess."

The prince seemed hurt by what the mare said. His ears and head lowered, and he took a step back. "Oh, well... Maybe if you saw how beautiful you would like wearing it you would change your mind?" Prince Castor lifted the tiara into the air with his magic, and levitated it towards the mare's head.

Rainbow quickly made her way out of the booth, backing away from both the Prince and the jewelry. "You know, I-I-I actually think I'll pass on that... Tiaras and crowns and jewelry, really anything that's girly like that isn't exactly my thing..."

"But princess, if you're worried about it not fitting that's not a big deal. We can see how it fits now, and then have it resized for your coronation ceremony."

"Coronation ceremony!? Look, pal, I'm not a princess, and I'm not going to be a princess. I'm a weather pony and a guard from a small town in Equestria." Eventually, Dash's retreat was halted by the wall of the train car. Much to her displeasure, Prince Castor continued his advance.

"Ahem." Both ponies looked to the side to see Phantom standing there, void of his armor. "She said 'no'."

"But I was merely saying that her highness—"

Phantom swiftly moved between Prince Castor and Rainbow Dash, using a wing to knock the tiara out of the prince's magic and onto the floor where it spun in several circles before coming to a halt. "She is not your princess, she's my guard, my responsibility, and she can't do anything without my permission. That includes becoming a princess. Am. I. Clear?"

Prince Castor stiffened up. "You forget your place, Staff Sergeant. I am a prince, and you are a guest in my country. I can have you thrown out, or worse, with no justification, just by saying the words."

"Is that a threat?"

"Merely a reply to your threat." Prince Castor seemed to relax, and make like he was about to head to the other car. Phantom also relaxed, though not as much, and took several steps towards the prince.

When Prince Castor reached the door, Phantom made a remark. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

The prince stopped, and faced the pegasi, a sly grin on his muzzle. "No, it wasn't."

Before Phantom could react, the prince's horn lit up. He heard a startled shriek from behind him. When he turned around, he saw that the tiara was placed on Rainbow's head. She merely sat there in shock for a moment before realizing what happened.

She got up, and made her way towards the prince, angrily. "What in Equestria is the big idea?" she demanded to know. Phantom quickly noticed that Dash was starting to sway from side to side, her speech slurring. Just as she fell to the ground, Phantom flew to her side, catching her. "Somethin's... somethin's n-not right... here..."

Rainbow Dash could feel the migraine in her head growing in severity. The tiara felt like it was comprised of ice, and and was turning the fur around it to ice. The cold was so intense, that it felt like fire. Dash could feel herself slipping out of consciousness.

"Dash? Dash!" Phantom yelled, waking Stryker and Archer - who stared in wonder at the scene. Phantom directed his anger at the prince. "What the hay is this thing doing to her?" he growled, advancing menacingly at the stallion. Prince Castor stumbled into a table, shuffling the glasses that sat on top of it.

"I-It's a side effect of the bonding," the prince nervously explained. "She'll be okay."

"What do you mean 'BONDING'!? You're saying this thing won't come off?" Phantom zipped back to Rainbow's side, and tried in vain to pull the tiara off of her. Judging by her groaning, it only seemed to make it hurt that much more.

"It ensures that she will always be royalty. At first it'll be uncomfortable, but in time she'll get used to—" Prince Castor suddenly found himself with a minimal amount of air in his lungs, and being pressed against the ceiling of the passenger car. Phantom kept flapping his wings to keep the two of them aloft, along with the pressure on the prince's neck.

"Take it off of her! Now!"

"H-Hey Phantom?" Archer called. "M-Maybe you should calm down just a little bit."

"Yeah," Stryker agreed. "Just enough for us not to be arrested by the Glacien guards watching you strangle their prince?"

Phantom looked to the door. There, stood just about every guard on the train, along with Captain Cypher. All of them had their magic charged up and ready to use. Reluctantly, and slightly happily, he released his pressure and let the prince fall to the floor of the car with a thud. He made sure to land softly between the guards and Rainbow Dash.

"I can't do anything, Staff Sergeant," Prince Castor coughed, shakily rising to his hooves. "Once the tiara has bound with it's wearer it is bound for life. It will only come off when she dies."

Phantom looked back at the mare, her blurry eyes were only visible through small slits as she laid on the floor. "Dash..."

Rainbow Dash watched the scene unfold before her through blurry, loosely shut eyes. She could only make out parts of what they everypony was saying. Their words blended together, and everypony resembled colored blurs of rain drops on a window. This was the coldest she had ever been in her life. At one point, Rainbow could have sworn she saw her own breath, knowing full well that it actually wasn't that cold in the train car.

Eventually, most of the blurs disappeared, leaving only three. The midnight blue figured moved in front of her, and looked like he was trying to communicate to her, but she couldn't hear him. The only thing Rainbow Dash could hear was a dull droning, like flowing water. Barely even noticing, she was levitated into the air by somepony's magic, and set down on the bed that Phantom had been sleeping in earlier. Then the blurs seemed to move together towards the booth she had been sitting in not long ago.

"Soon, I will be free."

The demonic sounding voice echoed through her head. Rainbow tried to wake herself up, and investigate the voice further, but she was already caught in Luna's grasp. Her eyes slowly shut.

"What do you know of this?" Phantom asked, his question directed at Stryker.

Stryker shrugged. "Not much. I had heard stories about the magic that enchanted the royal jewels but I never saw any for myself. Queen Centauri became royalty when I was a foal so I don't recall too much."

"Can they even make her become a princess?" Archer wondered. "It's not like they like us 'Caren' too well, anyway. So why would they make on of us royalty? Can he even do that?"

"There's a really, really vague law on that," Stryker rubbed the back of his mane.

"And that would be..." Phantom wanted to know.

"I kid you not, it says 'Any prince or king of Glacies has the authority to name anypony as his consort'."

"So... that includes Caren?" asked Archer.

"That's the thing. Glaciens are known for technicalities. The law doesn't say that the consort can't be Caren. Therefore, they can."

"More importantly," said Phantom, "you're saying that Rainbow Dash is now married to this clown?"

Stryker rolled his head in a sort-of way of saying 'yes and no' "Eh... Kind of... She's, to put it bluntly, engaged to him. They're not married, yet."

Phantom sighed. "Lemme guess. The coronation ceremony is just a fancy way of saying wedding?"

"Eeyup."

"Faust." Phantom banged his head against the booth seat several times, cursing under his breath. Sighing, he fought to think of a solution. "You're an egg head, right, Stryk?"

"Heh, you mean like Archie's marefriend back in Equest— Ow!" Stryker's joke managed to get him hoof-punched in the shoulder by the white earth-pony. "But if you're asking me if I like to read and would be willing to scour a Glacien library for texts that my lead us to a solution to get Rainbow Dash out of this predicament, then yes, I'm an egg head."

"Will they let us into the libraries?" Archer posed the question that Phantom had also been wondering about. "Or anywhere, for that matter. You yourself, Stryker, said that they don't allow Caren into the city. And I'm sure the only reason we were let in last time was because Captain Cypher escorted us."

"Rainbow Dash now being a princess provides us with some advantages," Stryker explained. "For example: We're now technically apart of her court. So, we technically hold a Glacien rank. Meaning, Caren or not, we can do whatever some of the highest members of the Glacien nobility can do."

"Going to the library had better be on that list," Phantom commented. Sighing, he looked over at Rainbow's now sleeping form. "We'd better rest up. The morning will prove interesting..."

Morning

"How are you feeling?" Phantom asked Rainbow Dash. The two pegasi stood at the exit of the train car, waiting for it to come to a complete stop. Phantom made the final adjustments necessary to make his cloak look right. Dash, however, didn't seem to care to much about how well her armor was put together, so Phantom decided to fix her cloak for her.

"Hung over..." the mare moaned. "So I'm stuck being a princess, huh?"

"Eeyup."

"And I'm engaged to this idiot?"

"Eeyup."

"And there's no way this stupid tiara's coming off without me dying?"

"Nope." Rainbow sighed. "But, we're going to use your newfound authority to help find you a way out. Once the train arrives in Aquila, Stryker and Archer are going to go find some libraries and all books on Glacien law they can find." The train's whistle blew, and the brakes were applied. Rainbow's inertia caused her to bump sides with Phantom. She didn't seem to notice too much. Though, she did spontaneously start laughing to herself. "What?"

"Heh, heh, it's just-it's just never in a million moons did I think I was going to become a princess"

"I don't think any of us saw this coming."

"The prince could at least credit us in his rescue, as well," Archer pointed out.

"Not if it meant marrying him..." said Stryker.

The outskirts of Aquila began to zip by the windows of the train car. Everypony aboard could feel the breaks slowing the train down steadily. The door to their side opened as Prince Castor and a few guards, including Captain Cypher, entered the passenger car.

"I hope the tiara fits alright, m'lady," Prince Castor said cheerfully, adjusting his suit to make sure it was perfect.

"A little too well... See, the thing is, it just won't come off."

"You'll get used to it in time. Everypony before you has."

"I hope not..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

When the train finally crawled to a stop at the Aquila train station, Rainbow Dash nearly broke through the door in front of her before it could open completely. Though, her rapid acceleration was brought to a halt at the sound of trumpets playing a royal fanfare. Phantom was the next off of the train. While angling his ears away from what he considered an awful noise, he helped Rainbow Dash lift herself off of the platform. The two pegasi were shocked to see what was in front of them.

It seemed as though everypony in the city had shown up. All where whooping and hollering, clinging for Rainbow's attention. Guards were on crowd control, keeping everypony back on the side walks. The Glacien Honor Guard flanked on either side of Phantom and Rainbow, creating a small path for them to walk through. Wearing their red formal uniforms, some played a royal fan-fare while others stood at attention holding banners of their national flag. At the end of this biological tunnel, Queen Omega Centauri stood in wait of their arrival.

Prince Castor stepped down from the strain, resulting in an even more boisterous cheer. "They're not cheering as much for me as they are you, m'lady," he yelled over the roar.

"I'm not your lady..." Rainbow grumbled. A part of her wished that Prince Castor had heard her.

"Oh, look, my mother's here! Best not keep her waiting."

Rainbow Dash hesitated as the prince trotted ahead. "I don't think I can do this..." she griped to Phantom.

"Think of it like this," Phantom offered his advice. "You joined us with the idea of becoming a spy. You showed this by protesting against us wearing armor, asking: 'How can we do that if everypony here knows we're Equestrian?' Which I can only assume is you think we're spies."

"Which we are."

"Normally I would agree with you. But like I said when we arrived, the king doesn't want us out of uniform. So, we're no longer spies as much as we are expeditionary guards."

"How's that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, because only Stryker, Archer, and myself can't be spies. You on the other hand, can. Now that you've been declared a princess, you can get close to the royal family, find out what they know about Palmyra and the Nightingales. Pretend it's a school play and just go with it until we can figure out how to get you out of this. Humor them."

"I guess I could try... No gurantees though." Rainbow took a step forward, stopping immediately. "Wait. You want me to spy on our allies?"

"Call it what you want, but something doesn't sit well with me and these Glaciens. It's probably nothing but I want to be absolutely sure. I doubt you'll have to do anything out of your way. Just keep your ears and eyes open. C'mon... you'll be like Daring Do!"

Rainbow laughed at his joke, but stopped when she heard Prince Castor call. "Lady Dash, are you coming?"

Phantom nudged the mare forward. "Go, we'll get to work on getting you out of this predicament. And don't get caught."

Rainbow nodded with a sigh, and glided over to Prince Castor and the queen. Stryker and Archer stood by Phantom, watching the royals communicate with Rainbow.

"Think she'll do okay?" Archer asked.

"She'll do fine," Phantom repled. "And there's been a change of plans. They're probably going to put us in a suite in the castle—"

"The Sapphire Suite," Stryker confirmed.

"Yes, anyway. Archer, I need you to go back to the Aurora and get our stuff and bring them to those rooms... where ever they are. Stryker, surely there's a royal library somewhere in the castle, like the one in Canterlot, right?" The unicorn nodded. "Go there, and get every book you possibly can that you think may contain some loophole to get Rainbow out of this. Got it?"

"Aye. And what'll you do, sir?"

Phantom let go of his breath. "Wait till night when everypony will be either sleeping, or eating, then do some snooping around of my own."

"Something on your mind?" asked Archer.

"Look, I don't want to speculate on it too much until I can confirm or deny it. I've given you your assignments, head out."

The two ponies nodded, and pushed their way past the Glacien Honor Guard, slipping into the crowds. making sure to avoid a conversation with Captain Cypher, who was just now dismounting from the train, Phantom flew over to Rainbow's side next to Queen Centauri and Prince Castor. When the Queen took note of him, he politely bowed.

"No need to bow, mister..." the Queen said, asking for his name.

"Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight," the pegasus replied, "your highness."

"Mr. Knight, thank you for your help in saving my son's life. The lady Rainbow Dash here says that you are the leader of the group who saved my son?"

"Yes, your highness. We are Equestrian guards sent here by Princess Celestia to assist you in your civil war."

"That was very kind of her. But only four guards?"

"With all due respect, your highness. We're the best. Though, we do have a support ship with us."

"Yes, I saw it from my balcony when you arrived. A nice ship indeed. Tell me, you said that there are four of you?" Phantom nodded. "So where are the other two?"

"I sent them to gather our things from the ship so it could be on it's way home," he half-lied. "I assumed that with the new status of Rainbow Dash here, that we would be staying in the castle. If this isn't the case then I'm sorry and I'll—"

"Oh, it's nothing to be sorry about. In fact, my son and I were just discussing your new living arrangements."

"I believe the Sapphire Suites will do," Prince Castor spoke as-a-matter-of-factly.

Heh, Phantom thought, Egghead was right.

"So it will be. I'll send a squire to make the necessary arrangements. It would be an honor if you would join us for dinner tonight." At first, Phantom thought that the Queen was speaking to Rainbow Dash, but the unicorn's attention was focused on him.

"Uhh... Absolutely, your highness. It would be my pleasure." Faust. There goes my plans for sneaking around while everypony was occupied.

"Great, you and Lady Dash will get to meet the rest of our family, and tell us some of your adventures in Equestria. My son informed me that Lady Dash has already told him of some that are... interesting. What's this I heard about kicking a dragon?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her mane. "Wasn't my greatest moment for sure..."

"Well, I'll have to hear more tonight. Captain Cypher will show you to the Sapphire Suite. Come, my son, we have much to discuss."

Queen Centauri and Prince Castor turned tail and trotted through the crowd towards the castle. A troupe of guards followed, making sure that nopony got near them. Phantom and Rainbow Dash stood with their cloaks flapping in the cold wind as a trio of reporters tried to push past guards to interview them. From behind, Captain Cypher moved past them, motioning for the pegasi to follow. During the canter towards the castle, realization hit Phantom square in the muzzle.

"Did she say 'dinner'?"

Author's Note

Update! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lay down in a ditch and die from exhaustion. I wrote this chapter in........ 2... days? I think? I wrote 2,000+ words yesterday, and about a thousand today, so, yeah. I'm going to go to sleep, (funny joke, right?) and wait for tomorrow morning.
Speaking of tomorrow morning... Anypony else excited for Season 4!? You can bet Celestia I am. I'll probably watch it multiple times throughout the day. And, for the record, don't expect much writing to get done this weekend... I'm pretty sure I've expended my imaginative reserves for the year and I'm completely out of ideas. You could probably see about half way through this chapter that the quality dropped severely and it became pretty cut and dry. So yeah, for the sake of story quality I'm going to take it easy for a bit. If you want somepony to blame, blame PinkieCydni since she threatened me with everything but an easy death to get this chapter published.
Oh, and once I hit 1,000 total story views I'll release a teaser at a future scene in the story.
Up next: Uh.... give me a minute so I can figure that one out... please? I have an idea but suggestions are MUCH APPRECIATED AND HIGHLY WELCOMED. IF YOU HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA PLEASE SENT IT BEFORE I DO SOMETHING SOMEPONY WILL REGRET. Anyway, thanks for enjoying the story! :pinkiecrazy:

Preparations

"Rainbow!" Phantom gasped, waking violently from his sleep. A bead of sweat ran down his neck, and his breathing was ragged. He desperately looked around for the pegasus mare, relaxing only when he found her where she had fallen asleep previously that night.

The mare in question looked up at him from her resting position, a wondering look in her eyes. "Everything alright?" she tentatively asked.

"Just a dream," Phantom sighed, standing up and stretching out his limbs and wings.

"You were shuffling around a lot, and breathing really hard. Then you yelled my name..."

"Don't worry about it," he yawned. "It's not your burden to bear." Phantom sniffed the air. "Somepony making breakfast?"

"Uhh... yeah... They brought up a cart with pancakes, apples, and orange juice."

Phantom left Dash's room, heading into the main lobby of the Sapphire Suites. Stryker and Archer were there waiting by the fireplace, the former drinking some orange juice while the latter bit into a pancake. Both looked up from the books they were reading, interested by the new occupants.

"So, what was it about?" Rainbow asked as Phantom plucked an apple from the tray.

Taking a bite out of it, Phantom replied. "It was just a dream, Dash."

"You said my name though!"

"What's going on, now?" Archer asked.

"Phantom said my name in a dream."

"Ohhhhhh..." Archer and Stryker both said, looking at each other mischievously. "Pay up!" Stryker demanded of the earth pony.

"Faust..." Archer sighed, pulling out a bag of bits from some random place behind him and handing them over to Stryker. "This is the last time I bet against you... Ever."

"What'd you guys bet?" Rainbow questioned the two.

"That Phantom here has a crush on you," Stryker explained, counting the bits in the bag with his magic.

"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON RAINBOW DASH!" yelled Phantom, throwing his hooves into the air.

"Celestia disagrees," Archer countered.

"And Luna," included Stryker.

"When did either of you talk to Luna? Or Celestia?" Phantom was hoovering just a few feet infront of the two stallions.

"We talked to Luna in our dreams, like most other ponies," explained Archer. "She dropped by to see how things were going."

"Guess you didn't get the memo on that." Stryker mumbled, returning his attention back to the book.

"I don't sleep, remember?" Phantom deadpanned.

"Oh, that's right..." Archer sarcastically gasped, "but when you do it's about Rainbow Dash, apparently." The earth pony and Stryker shared a victorious hoof-bump.

Phantom looked at the ceiling and groaned in frustration. "I'm going for a flight!" On his way to the window, the pegasus grabbed an other apple. "Twits..." Feeling the air roll over his fur and mane, the relatively warm thermals rising along the side of the castle and into his wings, Phantom took flight into the Glacien skies.

Below, Glacien citizens were milling about in their morning routines. Shop owners were tidying up their recently opened venues. Pedestrians wondered through their streets heading to schools, workplaces, coming home off of grave-yard shifts, out shopping or simply lounging at one of the many street-side café's. There was also an increase in overall security. At least one guard was stationed at each street intersection, with patrols of at least two guards wondering between them.

Another thing that was noticeable: what looked like castle workers were out and about, decorating the streets. They placed blue and white ribbons all along buildings' gutters. From the street lamps hanged blue banners with white trimming and the Glacien royal crest. Chains of red flowers were being spiraled around the lamp poles, and set up as borders along the frames of windows. Lights were being hung in the branches of streed-side trees, and stretched across streets between lamp poles. Glacien flags were being flow above the entrances to buildings.

Phantom landed at a street corner just outside of a bakery. The warm smells wafted through his nostrils, inciting hunger to grow in his stomach. To quell this feeling, he took a bite out of the apple he had been carrying from the castle, simultaneously watching the citizens of Aquila interact with each other. By about his third bite of the apple being held in his left wing, Phantom felt a tug on his right wing.

Craning his neck around, he saw a young unicorn filly holding onto his wing with his fore-hooves. Seeing that she had been noticed, the foal sheepishly smiled but still hanged on.

Still eating from the apple, Phantom maneuvered his wing-and the foal- around in front of him.

"Can I assist you in something?" Phantom asked as if it were an everyday experience. In his past as a run-of-the-mill Royal Guard in Canterlot, children had shown an innate fascination with him for some reason.

"You look really cool!" the filly squeaked playfully. "Can you fly?"

The pegasus took another bite of the apple, finishing it off and throwing the core into a nearby disposal bin. He had to remind himself that in the city, Caren like him were not allowed. "That would be the purpose of the wings, yes."

"That's so awesome. I've never seen a pony with wings before!"

"Never?" Phantom wasn't sure why he asked. This should have been something expected by how Stryker described Glacien culture.

"Well... our school books have pictures of ponies like you, and ponies without wings or horns but they're always bad ponies that beat up other ponies. But I don't see you going around beating everypony up! You seem pretty cool!"

"Got that right, kid," Phantom set the filly down and rubbed her mane gently. "What's your name?"

"Sunshine!" Phantom raised an eyebrow. The answer didn't come from the filly, but from an older mare further down the street. There, a dull blue unicorn pushed and shoved her way past pedestrians, trying to get to Phantom with an urgent look in her eyes. "Sunshine!"

"Mom?" the filly called out, looking around. Though try as she might, she couldn't see past the crowds to see the mare calling her name.

"Here, kid," Phantom bent down and picked up the filly so that she sat atop his head, getting a great view of the area around them. It didn't take too long afterwards that the filly located her mother, who was now only a few meters away.

"Mom!"

"Sunshine!" The mare took her daughter in her magic, bringing the filly into a tight hug. "Oh, I thought I wasn't going to be able to find you!"

"It's fine mommy! This nice stallion found me!"

The filly's mother followed her daughter's hoof to Phantom, who was standing not too far away, watching them. Phantom hadn't expected much, but he did expect for the mare to react in at least the slightest way. But she didn't. She just stood there, gaping at him.

"More like she found me, actually," Phantom spoke up after a brief pause.

"..." but still, the mare didn't speak. She just... stared in awe...

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... CAREN!" the sudden caterwaul that pierced Phantom's sensitive pegasus ears sent pain streaking down his spine. Everypony stopped what they were doing to gaze on the forming scene. The guards in particular to special notice. "GUARDS! GUARDS! THERE'S CAREN IN THE CITY! ARREST THIS PONY!"

"Whoa, ma'am, calm down," Phantom tried to diffuse the situation, but guards were closing in. "I'm apart of Rainbow Dash's court, alright? I'm not a bad pony."

"Stay away from me and my daughter! Guards! Guards! This Caren tried to foalnap my daughter! Guards!

Seeing the guards rapidly approaching, and how nopony would listen to him, Phantom's hoof was forced. "Hey, kid. You seem like a good pony. Stay the way you are!" Ducking to avoid a Glacien guard from tackling him, Phantom flared his wings open, much to the awe of the young filly. "Don't let anypony change that!" Those were Phantom's final words as he pushed off of the ground and into the cold sky, leaving behind him a group of guards that ran into one-another in the place Phantom had just been.

Turning back towards the area near the castle, the pegasus continued his exploratory flight.

"Ugh, this is becoming painful!" Archer groaned with a resigning sign. The white stallion closed the back cover on the third book he had finished that morning, pushing it off into the file of other books that had already been read through.

"Not much of a reader then, eh?" spoke Stryker, not lifting his gaze from his fourth book for that morning. He idly flipped the page with his magic. "If that's the case then I can't see you being with Twilight."

Archer tried to stare daggers into the unicorn's eyes, but Stryker didn't bother to look up, opting to instead just smile.

"You're just jealous because you can't find a mare."

"I'm perfectly capable of finding myself a suitable mare, but I'm perfectly content with how my life is now."

A rapping on the silver doors made it's way through the Sapphire Suites, and to the ears of everypony present.

"It's your turn to get the door."

"How many bits are you planning to bet this time that it is?" This time, Stryker looked up at the earth-pony, making sure that Archer knew how confident he was in his winning."

"Fine." Semi-glad that for the moment he no longer had to read, Archer rose to his hooves to make for the door. After a short exchange with whoever was there, Archer finally said something that was audible. "Follow me, then."

Archer led a group of young unicorn mares into the room, much to Stryker's perturb. The last time the earth-pony had done something similar to this, they-and Phantom-found themselves hung over, in the Canterlot castle dungeon, looking through cell bars at a very, very unhappy Princess Celestia and Shining Armor.

But, Stryker's initial fears passed when he saw that the mares were towing behind them chests and hangars full of clothes and supplies. They had practically broken down a boutique and brought it with them!

The group made their way towards Rainbow Dash's suite, where the pegasus was trying to catch up on lost sleep from the night's previous events.

This isn't going to go well... Stryker thought just as the group entered the room. Everypony stopped and looked in one direction, presumably where Rainbow Dash was. Archer was speaking, but Stryker couldn't hear what he was saying. But by the easily understandable and violent reaction by Rainbow Dash, he probably said something along the lines of 'These are dresses, and you're they're here to put them on you.'

"You want me to wear WHAT?"

Stryker sighed, rising to his hooves. Most ponies would have expected to go to the room to help avoid any unnecessary quarrels, but not Stryker. No, the sensible unicorn decided it was best to completely avoid the situation entirely by going to his own room.

Expecting to be greeted by silence, solace, and comfort, Stryker was instead greeted by Talon - who was perched on the windowsill.

"Talon," Stryker greeted with an idle nod.

"Kleek," the bird-of-prey chirped back in reply.

"Did you bring back word from the Aurora?"

Talon nodded, using his wings to hop over to the edge of the bed next to the unicorn. Gently, and securely, tied to the back of the eagle was a small messenger scroll similar to the first one they had received earlier from the Aurora. Stryker carefully used his magic to untie the message and break the blue seal.

From: EAS Aurora
To: Task Force 247
Subject: Palmyra

We believe we have find Palmyra. There is an area in the forest ahead of our current position where the snow slowly disappeared and is replaced by pink trees. According to your descriptions, these are the Cherry Blossom trees we are looking for. They appear to be located approximately ten miles north of where you located Prince Castor. Scouts report both Glacien and Nightingale patrols in the area, and several skirmishes have already taken place while we've been here.

They have more than likely spotted the ship, though to help avoid further detection were are climbing above the clouds. We will remain here and await your reply.

— Captain Spectrum Dash.

"Found Palmyra, huh Cap?"

"Kleek kik ik ik."

"You think they did?"

"Ik."

"You did?

"Kik."

"No you didn't..."

"Kleek!"

"Prove it." Stryker mocked with a grin, knowing full well that the eagle wouldn't be able t—

To the unicorns amazement, the bald eagle reached for something that was tucked under it's wing. When Talon's head reemerged, it did so with a Cherry Blossom flower in it's beak. Stryker took the flower in his magic to examine it.

"Ik ik ik kleek kik ik."

Stryker's grin fell. Replaced instead by vexation. With a sigh, he held both the flower and the the dispatch next to each other, between him and the eagle.

With an ever-so-slight pulse of magical energy, the two items were reduced to cinders. They didn't even have time to fall to the floor before they vaporized out of existence. Talon looked from where the remnants would have fallen if they survived, then to the unicorn who destroyed them, giving him a stare that would have eclipsed Fluttershy's.

"No, you didn't find Palmyra."

"Kleek kik!"

"Oh don't you give me that look."

"Ik!"

"You know why I did it." Talon gave Stryker a look of disenchantment. "You'd do the same thing. The Glaciens musn't find Palmyra. If we go there, they'll follow us. We just need to hold them off until after Hearth's Warming."

"Kleek."

"What about it?"

"Kik."

"No, Phantom doesn't know. And he isn't going to find out. So what if it's here, he's not one to go looking around in libraries. I won't let him find it. If he does, he'd head straight for Palmyra. He would be the first one to go there—well, second, Rainbow Dash would go there first because of that filly."

"Ik ik ik!"

"We would never hurt Scootaloo. We didn't hurt you, remember?" Talon bowed his head. "Exactly. You trusted me then, you can trust me now." Stryker lifted a piece of parchment and a quill in his magic, writing something down. "Take this back to Captain Dash. It tells him to stay clear of the forest due to hazardous weather conditions." The unicorn placed it on the eagle's back, gently tying it to him.

"Kleek ik kik?"

"No. Don't tell anypony..." Stryker moved close to Talon's beak, looking into his raptor eyes with resolution. "You're one of us, remember? You can't tell anypony, it would doom the order. Destroy everything we've done, and the world. Understand?"

Talon nodded.

"Good. Now go, deliver the message and remember what I said..."

"Kleek." With his final chirp, the bald eagle took flight, clearing the window and banking to the north. Stryker glanced at where the ashes of the parchment and flower would have landed, then went back into the main lobby of the Sapphire suites.

From a perch atop the highest point of the Aquila castle, Phantom rested, observing the ponies bellow. They were working in the castle courtyard, feverishly setting up similar decorations to those he had seen around the city. Except here, they were also adding hundreds of chairs, all facing towards a balcony at the end of the courtyard, two stories above the main entrance to the castle. By his experience with doing security at Equestrian royal engagements, it seemed that that was where Rainbow Dash would be crowned.

Prince Castor was leading the decorating operations from the center of the courtyard, giving directions to everypony that approached him, and occasionally barking at their mistakes. The operation was going by smoothly, by Glacien standards... On the other side of the castle, in an identical courtyard, however, was a completely different construction process.

Captain Cypher was leading a group of guards with lumber in creating a platform and raised framework. At the center of the platform, a guard was using a saw to cut a hole for a trapdoor to be made. Another guard above him tied one end of a rope to the cross section of a horizontal beam.

The gallows.

"Make sure there's plenty of room to fall!" Cypher ordered his stallions. "She mustn't survive."

They're really holding an execution on the same day as the coronation? These Glacien's won't cease to surprise me. But, I guess that this really shouldn't surprise me. Just as Phantom expanded his wings to bring him in closer on the construction project, a flapping noise behind him put a stop to that.

"Kleek."

The pegasus turned around to see Talon perched on his back. "How did you..."

"Kik ik."

"Did you bring word back from the Aurora?" Talon nodded. "That the message on your back?"

Much to Phantom's curiosity, the eagle shook his head, reaching under his right wing for a smaller note. Tilting his head to the side slightly, Phantom took it from the bird-of-prey.

Phantom Knight,

I know you already have a heavy weight on your wings, but I am sending the remaining Elements of Harmony to assist, they will arrive tomorrow. Not too long after you left, I received a letter from the Nightingale leader explaining that we were fighting for the wrong side. It is likely that these are false tales meant to trick us, but I want you to investigate anyway.

If what their leader said is true, then the Glaciens will do everything in their power to find Boreas, and free him. If they do, the world will be cast under a blanket of ice. Find out from Stryker everything you can on the legend, and how to prevent it from taking place. According to the Nightingale leader, the two thousandth anniversary of Boreas' imprisonment will take place in four days.

Good luck,

— Princess Celestia.

The pegasus sighed. "Is she kidding?"

"Ik."

"I was afraid not... How can she expect me to babysit the Elements of Harmony? I'll have to protect them and their necklaces now. On top of it all, they're arriving tomorrow! The coronation is tomorrow!"

"Kik kleek."

"Yes, and the anniversary is in four days."

"Kleek?"

"Of course I know what day it that is."

"Ik..."

"Hearth's Warming."

Author's Note

Not my best chapter, I'll get that out of the way. It feels like this one is just another filler chapter... I need to stop making those... Though I did manage to put somemore tension in the group, and give Talon a larger role.
And for those of you who are wondering what those sounds were that Talon was making, those are actual eagle calls. If you remember from 'May the best pet win' when Rainbow Dash hears the eagle call, that's not an eagle call. That's the stereotypical 'eagle call', which is actually some kind of falcon. An eagle actually makes short, high pitched clicks. An actual eagle call. sorry, just a pet peeve I have hahah.
Up next: The coronation.
(I have the next few chapters well thought out so they will hopefully be written quickly. Hopefully.)
As usual, I hope you guys like the story, like the chapter, and will continue reading! Tell me what you think so far in the comments. Ideas, theories, criticism and thoughts are welcome.

Coronation

"What's this guy's problem?" one Glacien guard asked another.

"Dunno," replied the friend at his side. "He's been here all morning. Last shift said he showed up before the sun and he hasn't moved since."

"Huh..."

Which was true, for the better part of the pre-dawn darkness and thus far in the morning, Phantom Knight had been standing in wait outside of the Aquila city gates. The gate guards had tried to figure out why he was standing there, why he was wearing his white cloak and armor with the hood up, and what he was waiting on. But Phantom had done nothing in response, instead opting to take on his previous Royal Guard training in standing completely still with absolute discipline.

Standing guard at the gates to Canterlot castle had always been his least favorite duty. Any morning he went to the ready room in the guard barracks and saw his name next to 'front gate' was the first flag of a terrible morning. Over the years it had become a game amongst the school foals of Canterlot to see who could get a guard to flinch from their neutral position. For the foals, any who managed this instantly became a member of their own 'elite' class. For the guards who flinched, well, after a day with Captain Armor or Major Light they never broke attention ever again.

Though no guard seemed able to resist Princess Celestia's antics. Nopony ever expected them, either. They had all figured the princess would be too busy with royal duties, and over-all wouldn't have an attitude for pranks and mischief. And nopony could resist her antics. Powder in the armor, suddenly teleporting you or using her magic to ever-so-slightly to adjust helmets and plates into uncomfortable positions. Once while on duty, Princess Celestia turned Phantom's helmet completely around, blocking all vision. Fortunately for him it occurred only an hour before the shift change. Unfortunately for him, however, Major Light had trotted by right afterward. Needlessly to say, from the amount of wing-ups he was forced to preform kept him on the ground for the better part of a fortnight.

All of that experience was paying off in dealing with the Glacien guards. Through their harassment and endless attempts to get Phantom to flinch, he never moved. To their annoyance, he just stood outside of their position gathering a decent build up of snow from the light flurries.

"Why is he even here?"

"Dunno. He won't talk."

"Why?"

"Won't say."

"We'll see about that... Bet you twenty bits that I'll be able to get him to move." The guard confidently trotted up towards Phantom, standing in front of the pegasus and blocking his line-of-sight.

"I don't think that's a good idea... He's Euqestrian Royal Guard. They're really really good..."

"Please. He's Caren. Evil, pathetic, worthless Caren." To the unicorn's indignation, Phantom didn't bat an eye to the his 'verbal lashing'. "Maybe you need physical influence." The unicorn pretended like he was going to strike Phantom, raising his hoof and moving it at speed towards the pegasus' muzzle, only to stop short by an inch or two. Still, phantom didn't flinch.

"Hey, I went to Canterlot once and saw some stallion harassing one of their caste gate guards like you are, and the guard didn't do anything. Until he touched him. Dude, the guy didn't get back up while I was there."

"Relax, he isn't going to do anything. He doesn't have any power to do anything here, this is our nation, not his."

"But he's apart of the princess' court."

"The new one?" The other stallion nodded. "Hah. All the more reason to get rid of him."

The wind picked up briefly, blowing the unicorns hoof into the side of Phantom's muzzle. Before the glacien could blink, Phantom grabbed hold of his hoof, rolled backwards and bringing the unicorn over him. Using his hind legs to push, Phantom propelled the guard over the surface of the snow before impacting into the side of the city walls.

Nonchalantly, Phantom stood up, casually trotting over the the fallen pony. The unicorn was quick to get to his hooves, intently gazing at the approaching pegasus while charging his horn for an attack. Phantom pushed forward with his wings, moving to tackle the opposing unicorn. Using a trick he had learned over his years of service, the pegasus grabbed hold of the unicorn's horn, slightly twisting and putting the stallion in extreme discomfort.

"I wouldn't hold yourself to such a high level," Phantom spoke into the stallion's ear. "Makes the impact with the ground that much harder."

"Why can't I use my magic?" the unicorn grunted, trying to break free of Phantom's grip.

"I'm trained in ways of getting past unicorn magic. Comes in handy when we come across a criminal and they try to use it."

The wind steadily picked up. Slowly, at first, then gradually becoming more powerful. However, it didn't sound like wind. The noise being produced was more like a collection of rapidly spinning fans. Phantom's cloak flapped to the side. The once steady snowfall picked up into a blizzard, pelting the exposed ponies with it's bitter cold. But Phantom ignored it. Squirming in his grip, the unicorn struggled to look over at was causing the wind.

Not far from the city gates, in the large open field where the Aurora had landed, another airship was descending. This one was not as large as the Aurora, but was faster, sleeker, and more aerodynamic. Just above the ground, it turned slightly so that it's port side faced the city, revealing the name 'Constellation' on the side. Landing struts descended from the bridge, hard-points at the center of the ship, and and the rear rudder to provide a stable landing matrix.

The propulsion fans along the side of the envelope powered down, cutting their influence on the air around the ship and returning the snowfall to normal.

"Now get out of here," Phantom scolded, "before my friends begin to think that I'm not all that nice."

Quickly nodding, the unicorn slipped out of Phantom's grip and hobbled away into the nearby guard shack. His friend who had been standing off to the side watching the unfolding scene took several slow steps backwards, then turned to follow the other guard inside.

By now, the rotors on the Constellation had slowed to a stop. A door on the side of the gondola slid open, from which a ramp extended to the snowy surface below. Phantom moved over to wait by the base of the ramp for ponies to exit, but quickly regretted that decision.

Before his mind could register what happened, the pegasus was blown back head over hooves into the snow by a blur of pink. The cotton candy colored blur streaked out from the ship, carving a path in the snow into a nearby collection of trees. It bounced off of each one, somehow creating a chiming sound as their green needles flashed white.

Phantom watched the scene unfold before him from his up-side-down position, his jaw struggling for a definitive position.

"Sorry," a mare's voice apologized. "Pinkie Pie being contained within an enclosed space is not a good thing."

Recognizing the voice, the pegasus hopped to his hooves, bowing when he came face-to-face with Twilight Sparkle.

"Princess," the stallion greeted dutifully.

"Please, don't bow, I-I'm still not used to that yet..." Her words were almost spoken bashfully.

"Very well, princess. I assume you would like to be taken to Miss Rainbow Dash?" Twilight nodded while her friends: Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy descended the ramp, all toting saddlebags with them. A small purple dragon jumped up from Twilight's back, landing on top of the mare's head.

"You'd better take us to her." the dragon spoke hostilely.

Phantom regarded the creature with idle curiosity. "Who are you, now?"

"That's Spike," Twilight Sparkle explained, lifting the purple dragon off of her head with her magic and setting him down on the ground between the two ponies. Phantom lowered his head to the dragon's level, almost as if he were about to sniff the creature. Spike stood defiantly, trying to make himself seem larger.

"And you had better not have done anything with Dash!" Spike shouted.

"What's his deal?" Phantom asked, not moving his head but still looking up at Twilight.

"He was in Canterlot as my envoy for the past several weeks," the alicorn explained, pulling the dragon back with his hoof. "So when he came back and I told him everything that happened... he sort-of stopped trusting ponies he has never met before. Spike, this is Phantom Knight, the pony that I told you who saved Rainbow Dash from falling."

The little dragon poked out from behind the mare. "I still don't like him," Spike scolded. "At least not until we see Rainbow."

Phantom rolled his eyes and turned for the city gates. As he and his group tread past the guard shack, the Glacien guards could be seen watching the group from behind curtains, trying to hide themselves. Smirking, Phantom let himself through the gates of the city. Behind them, the mare's 'oohed' and 'awed' at the city scape, which by now had been transformed into a winter wonderland.

"These decorations are marvelous!" Rarity swooned, barely being able to keep a straight path. "I can't believe that you and Rainbow have been in such a beautiful city for sooo long and I haven't!"

"Trust me," Phantom began. "It wasn't like this when we got here. This is one of the worst, most oppresive places I've been to. And I've been to Saddle Arabia."

"Surely it isn't that bad." Twilight commented.

"Remember what Princess Celestia said about the social order in Glacies and the class known as 'Caren'?" The Princess of Magic nodded. "She was spot on. Corruption, intolerance, anything negative that happens is immediately blamed on Caren. Look around, they're starring at and gossiping about you even now."

Listening to the pegasus, the present Elements of Harmony gazed from one side of the street to the other. On both sides, unicorns - mostly mares - sat at street-side cafés, looking in the direction of the Equestrians and whispering amongst each other. Some of the looks they Elements received were similar to those Rarity received after making a fool of herself in Canterlot during Twilight's birthday. Their observation was broken by a pink flash spontaneously appearing in front of them.

Pinkie Pie stood with the widest grin on her face, with a beard made of snow. Somehow, she managed to get hold of a red hat with a white poof-ball on top. "Hey guys!" the pink mare cheered. "What'cha doing?"

Phantom stammered for words while Applejack sighed, bowing her head. "On our way ta see Rainbow Dash, Pinkie."

"Neat-o! Where is she?"

"We've been in the castle," Phantom explained, resuming his trek through the streets of Aquila. "Rainbow got all of the credit for saving Prince Castor's life, so he decided that we would be rewarded with being put up in the Sapphire Suites of the castle, among other things..."

"Like?" Twilight inquired further.

"I'll... I'll let Rainbow Dash explain that... It's... yeah, no, I'll just let her try to explain."

All along their journey through the royal castle, the present Elements of Harmony stared in awe at the elaborate castle and its decorations, idle-mindedly following Phantom to the Sapphire Suites. Rarity most of all took a heavy interest in the Glacien decor.

The ponies climbed the spiraling staircase to the level that housed the Sapphire Suites. Phantom knocked thrice on the silver doors before entering into the main lobby, which appeared to have had a tornado blown through.

"Nelly! What'd ya reckon happened here?" Applejack whistled.

Most everything in the room had been thrown about or completely overturned. The only thing completely intact was the fireplace, but that was primarily because it was a part of the wall. Racks and hangers laid atop bits of fabric that covered the stone floor. Rarity nearly fainted, putting a foreleg up to her brows. In the center of the disaster, Stryker and Archer were trying to pick up what they could of the mess.

"What. Happened." Phantom demanded, stepping into the room, ready to kick Glacien guard flank.

"Calm down," Archer replied, "nopony went through our things. After you left, some royal stewards came by to make a dress for Rainbow Dash."

"It didn't go so well..." Stryker continued, using his magic to turn the carts and racks right-side-up. "Tartarus broke lose once they started pulling out fabrics and trying to take measurements for her dress—"

"Dress?!" Rarity snapped back to attention, zipping in front of Stryker and shaking the unicorn. "Did you say dress?!"

"Yeah?" Stryker looked at Phantom. "Did I say it wrong?"

Phantom shook his head. "I... I haven't told them about the coronation."

"Coronation?" Twilight Sparkle tilted her head slightly.

Sighing, Phantom called out to a certain rainbow maned pegasus. "Rainbow Dash! Visitors."

"I don't want any visitors!" replied a scratchy voice from the room on the ponies' immediate right. "Not after what's happened."

"I think you'll make an exception for these ponies."

"Pfft, and why is that?"

"They're from Equestria."

An intense commotion came from the mare's room. After waiting patently for several seconds, occupying their time with any little thing they could find, the group of ponies were finally greeted by the sight of Rainbow Dash stumbling out of her room. Rainbow Dash took one look at her friends before jumping into the air and flying towards them.

"Girls! Wha-what are you doing here?" Her friends didn't immediately reply. Their gaze was focused on the sight of the object on her fore-head. Rainbow didn't notice and instead flew up to hung each one of them, beginning first with Twilight.

"Is... is that a..." the alicorn stuttered for words in shock. Rainbow left the embrace, moving on to her other friends.

"AJ!" Rainbow flew to her farmpony friend, picking her up in to the air and doing a backflip with her. Surprisingly the mare's stetson hat managed to stay on.

"Hey Rainbow," Applejack replied once on the ground, "what's that on yer—"

"Rainbow Dash!" yelled a certain hyper-active pink mare.

"Pinkie!" the pegasus zipped over to her party friend with the intention of giving her the same hug she gave Applejack, but those plans were interrupted.

Pinkie Pie reached into her saddlebag, pulling out an olive colored backpack looking bag that didn't seem like it would fit into her saddlebag and set on it the ground in front of her. Jumping on top of it, the mare pulled a cord. In a shower of fireworks and confetti, the bag exploded open, shooting the earth pony high into the air, nearly hitting the ceiling. Pinkie fell back to the floor, landing softly in front of a bewildered group of ponies.

"Yay! You're back!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Now we can have a party! Ohh!" the excited mare jumped and paused in the air with her sudden realization. "Why aren't we having a party now?"

"We have more important things at the moment," Phantom explained, walking over the mare and using his forelegs to pull her back to the ground.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash rushed over to her butterscotch friend, hugging her for a brief moment.

"Oh-oh, hey, Rainbow," the mare quietly replied. "Umm. It's good to see you too."

"Yeah, I'm glad you guys could come." Rainbow rose into the air above the group of ponies. "Why exactly did you come?"

"Princess Celestia got a letter from the Nightingale leader," Twilight Sparkle explained as-a-matter-of-factly. "So she sent us to help where we could."

"Plus we really wanted ta see ya," Applejack said with a smile, leaning to one side.

"Yes dear, and..." Rarity spoke hesitantly, "why is there a tiara on your head?"

"Why is there a—" Rainbow Dash felt around her forehead, her hooves stopping on the tiara that adorned her head. "Oh, that. Umm..." The pegasus fell to her haunches, tapping both of her forehooves together nervously. "I saved Prince Castor, with the help of Phantom and the others, and, well... he sort-of made me a... uhh... princess..."

"Ah didn't quite catch that. A what now?"

"A Princess! Okay?"

The newly arrived Elements of Harmony gasped in unison. Twilight's left eye began to twitch. Rarity nearly fainted, as expected. Applejack's jaw hit the floor. Fluttershy mouthed the words 'Oh my' and Pinkie Pie looked as if she was trying to control and bottle up an overflow of emotions.

"P-p-p-p-p-princess?!" Twilight shouted. She was about to go into a lecture on how that could have possibly happened and how it couldn't have happened because they were talking about Rainbow Dash, but a knocking at the door put an end to that.

Phantom Knight glided over to the pair of silver doors, opening the one on the left. On the other side of them stood Captain Cypher, adorned in his highest tier of formal uniforms, a stoic expression on his muzzle.

"Lady Rainbow Dash," he spoke in a mono-tone, "it's time."

Phantom Knight stood on the edge of a balcony, three stories above the castle courtyard on the east wing, the wind lightly blowing through his cloak. To his right, on the north end of the court yard, connected to the second floor, was the royal balcony, where the ceremony would be taking place. The court yard itself was covered by a sea of ponies. It looked as if most of the capital city had turned out. From his angle, they all looked like a dull blur, most of them having grayish coats.

"Is this really happenin'?" Applejack asked loud enough to be heard over the intense murmur of the crowd. She stood to Phantom's left, gazing out over the crowd. Twilight Sparkle was on Phantom's right, eyes fixated on the royal balcony. To her right, was Archer, shifting from side to side. On Applejack's left was Rarity, taking in every detail she could from the court yard's decorations and the fashions of the Glacien ponies below. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stood behind the rest, there not being enough room to accommodate all of them. The former of the two was waiving back and forth a rather large cyan flag with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark on it, yelling 'Yay Dashie! Go! Fight! Win!'. Stryker stayed farther back still, sitting up against the arch of the entrance and reading an anonymous book.

"Eeyup," Phantom replied with a hint of frustration. Could be out doing our job right now... but nooooo...

"I can't believe Rainbow Dash would agree to something like this!" Twilight Sparkle threw her hooves up in exasperation.

"She didn't," corrected Archer, looking at the alicorn. "Prince Castor tried to force the crown on her but we intervened, but, when we were paying attention he got past us. That thing is stuck to her head."

"What do you mean, 'stuck'?"

"Bound," Stryker answered, closing his book and stepping up behind the two. "I was just reading about the significance of the bonding and this coronation. It signifies Rainbow Dash being bound to the people, becoming one with the people, as unscientific as that sounds.

"So... she's going to become Glacien?"

"Eh, sort-of. It's difficult to explain..."

Rainbow Dash stood in front of a mirror, start at a reflection of herself that she could never have before conceived of. The manifestation in front of her depicted a mare in an airy, white dress, with a sapphire blue tinted trip along the edges and collar. Silver patterns and designs criss-crossed and swirled over the slightly transparent surface. Atop her head, sat the same tiara she cursed every time she felt the chill from it, every time somepony else looked at it, every time she felt it, saw it, thought of it. She tried everything short of a crowbar - only because she didn't have one on hoof - to remove it. But it never came off. Instead it sat on her head, slightly glowing, almost mockingly.

The edges of the mirror in front of her fogged up, precursors of what was to come. Slowly the fog spread. As it did, the points where it originated from began to frost over with ice. Eventually the faster moving ice caught up with the slowly consuming fog, reaching a point that surrounded the primary sapphire jewel of Rainbow's tiara in her reflection. The sapphire stone shone brighter and brighter, all the while a chill bit at the air, accompanied by an all-to-familiar voice.

"I will be free..."

"Huh?" Rainbow looked around in search of the source, only to come up empty.

"Because of you... it is your place..."

"I'm getting really tired of you... whoever you are..."

"Release me..."

"Coward!"

Rainbow turned her attention back to the mirror, which was now covered in a complete sheet of ice. But somehow, a reflection stared back. She only caught a glimpse of two blue, draconic eyes.

"NOW!" the voice, in combination with the unexpected sight of the eyes and the shattering of the icy glass, forced a shriek out of Rainbow Dash as she fell back on her haunches.

"Lady Dash?" Captain Cypher spoke, entering into the room. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Rainbow was on the ground, surrounded by shattered glass. "The coronation is beginning."

"Basically, she will become Glacien, but through magic, not blood," Stryker explained while Rainbow Dash walked through a long corridor. It was dimly lit, save for the blinding light of the entrance ahead of her. The tunnel amplified the roaring of the Glacien crowd gathered outside. Normally this was something she experienced in her dreams as a Wonderbolt, heading out into the arena for a grand performance. But this, the circumstances surrounding this were much, much different.

"There is a certain magical energy that flows through the air here, one I can not explain. One that connects all of these ponies together, and two the Sapphire crystals." Phantom idly listened to Stryker's explination, watching the royal box carefully as King Centauri and Queen Centauri stepped out; the crowed cheered even louder.

This is really happening, isn't it? Rainbow Dash questioned herself as she got closer to the royal box. Still, she could see nothing but a blinding white light. I don't want this to happen. Me? A princess? No no no no, there's no way that can be happening. Please tell me this is just Luna playing a prank on me and when I step through this light I'll wake up...

"It touches each true Glacien, keeping them together and united. It's the reason they're able to survive, and it's all channeled through a conduit."

"Conduit?" Twilight Sparkle asked, taking mental notes.

Stryker nodded. "It's the 'Paramount Crystal' if you will. Without it, everything would fall apart. Basically, this coronation will connect Rainbow Dash's very essence to to the conduit via her tiara."

Okay Rainbow... just calm down... the mare took deep breaths, attempting to cool her nerves. Wait, why is this even making me nervous? I don't even have to do this, do I? The pegasus stopped and turned around with the full intention of going back to her room. Instead, she almost ran into Captain Cypher, who was flanked on either side by Glacien guards. Guess not... Contemptibly, the cyan mare proceeded forward towards the light.

"So where is it? The conduit?"

The unicorn shrugged.

Rainbow Dash continued forward, getting ever-so closer to the corridor's exit. As she neared, the roar of the ponies outside became near deafening, she could sense the air pressure changing. In a whooshing rush of air and noise, she emerged into the outside.

"Oh look!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. "It's Rainbow Dash!"

In a strange phenomenon, the murmur of the crowed, and the small talk amongst the Elements of Harmony ceased at once. Everypony attending collectively gazed up at the royal balcony where Prince Castor stood dressed in an elaborate formal uniform. Just behind him was his father: King Centauri; his mother: Queen Centauri; and his sister: Princess Andromeda. Behind them all, stepping through an arched opening, was the white-gowned Rainbow Dash.

"The dress doesn't really suit her..." Rarity judged from her place.

Under Cypher's direction, Rainbow Dash stepped up onto the balcony next to Prince Castor. That's a lot of ponies... A sea of Glaciens was laid out in front of her. Not caring much for their attention, she instead focused her eyes on searching for a different group of ponies. Not long after she found them on her upper left, one story up on a seperate balcony. She could see all but Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, even from this distance, but could still see a giant cyan flag that had to be originating from Pinkie Pie.

King Centauri stepped up to a podium to Rainbow's side, ready for a speech.

"Glaciens, we gather for a momentous event. An addition to our family, unlike any before. A pony capable of flight, from a land far away. With the rescue of my son, she has proven her worth to our great nation. Now, we show our appreciation by accepting her amongst our people, and allow her to become one of our family."

The King closed his eyes, applying his magic to his horn. The crystals that made up his crown began to glow brighter than ever before. Queen Centauri, Princess Andromeda and Prince Castor did the same, their crystals also glowing. Rainbow Dash nervously looked around, as did the rest of her friends on the balcony.

Moments later, the glows of unicorns apply their magic through their horns could be seen through the crowd. Thousands of ponies, collectively casting the same, light blue spell at the same time. This focus of energy was creating a static-like 'hum' through the air.

The glowing became brighter and brighter. It spread to the primary support columns along the edges of the 'H' shaped castle. Sapphire light shot up to the roofs, tracing along to the center of the castle, focusing on the spire. Spiraling around the tall steeple, the light collected in a ball at the pinnacle before firing up into the sky.

A booming thunder echoed through the air as what seemed to be blue lightning shot out from the beam, spreading outwards towards the horizon in all directions, vaporizing any clouds that were hanging in the sky. The once azure sky itself began to turn a darker shade of blue, almost a cobalt.

Rainbow Dash was now more nervous than ever, unable to think of what these unicorns might possibly be doing. Her own crystal was beginning to glow extremely bright, so much so that she could see the light just by looking up. The mare cast a worried glance at her friends' balcony. To her relief, her friends were staring back with supporting looks.

"What's all of this about?" Phantom asked Stryker, turning his head slightly but not breaking his sight with Rainbow Dash.

"This blue light you see coming off of these ponies is a kind-of aura," Stryker explained. "This is a visual representation of their connection to everything." Now, the stones themselves that made up the castle were beginning to emit a soft blue glow. "They're going to connect Rainbow Dash to the conduit through this process. Normally, Glaciens are born connected to it, but since Rainbow Dash is Caren, this is the path that must be taken."

"Would they have to be close to the conduit for this to happen?" Twilight wondered aloud.

Phantom broke his gaze, transferring it, and his full attention, to Stryker in hopes that he would answer. The unicorn, however, maintained a stoic and silent expression.

"Stryker," Phantom spoke harshly. "Do they have to be close?" Still, silence. "Stryker." The unicorn closed his eyes and bowed his head. "You know where it is, don't you?"

Stryker didn't reply. Instead, he teleported away in a white flash, disappearing from the balcony. Phantom stared at where the stallion once was, sighing.

"Boss? What's going on?" Archer ventured.

"That's what you're going to find out, Archer. Follow him."

The earth pony nodded, leaving the balcony and heading inside in search of the unicorn who had mysteriously teleported away. In the castle courtyard, the glow off of the crowd was steadily increasing, pulsating along the veins it ran through up the walls and to the spire, eventually pumping itself into the sky. The hair on the back of Phantom's neck slowly stood up, though nopony could see it through his raised hood.

"Anypony else feel that?" Applejack asked, seemingly sniffing the air.

"Feels like a static charge..." Twilight Sparkle replied, leveling her wings with the ground to get a better sense of the air. "There's no thunderstorms around, are there?"

"Not quite a thunderstorm..." Phantom commented. He was the only pony present who had the thought to look up.

High in the sky, higher than he could have flown, dark, billowing clouds were gyrating around the shaft of blue energy. Eight curved arms of dark cirrus clouds spiraled in a counter-clockwise pattern. Bolts of cobalt blue lightning arched between the arms, across the arms, eventually zapping the beam of energy in the middle.

The hay is this... Rainbow thought to herself, staring up into the same storm her friends were. Though from her angle it was much, much more menacing. Rainbow Dash was gazing straight into the eye of the massive weather phenomenon. Each time a pulse of energy shot out of the storm and down the shaft of light, the pegasus could feel a small charge shock her where the tiara touched her head.

Suddenly, the storm stopped moving. Even the air itself seemed to stop. Phantom push a hoof out, touching the balcony rail in front of him. He found that the amount of force to complete a seemingly simple task was astonishing. The air felt like it had been condensed into a thick muck like you would find in swamps in the Everfree. This thickness was the primary reason behind it now being difficult to breathe. Even his cloak, which was once fluttering softly in the breeze, now moved in slow motion, resting on the air itself.

"This is cool!" Pinkie Pie cheered. When everypony turned to see the mare, the pink pony was climbing higher and higher, a seemingly invisible stair case beneath her hooves. She casually walk beyond the protection of the balcony, and out over the crowd.

"Anypony else havin' a hard time breathin'?" asked Applejack, breathing in and our heavily.

Rainbow Dash tried to look from side to side, but couldn't. She tried to blink, tried to speak, tried to spread her wings and fly away but couldn't. She was trapped, frozen, barely able to breathe. The only thing that told her that time itself hadn't stopped was the still flowing energy around her.

There was a sudden gush of air as the resistance in the air was removed, and everypony could move about normally. Twilight was quick to catch Pinkie Pie in her magic and move her to safety over the balcony, cheering in glee the whole way.

But that wasn't the end of it. The air started flowing in the opposite direction it once was. Phantom's cloak was being pulled lightly towards the storm, but didn't have enough force to actually move him anywhere. The same was happening with the manes and tails of everypony. High above, the Cirrus Nimbus clouds began to turn clockwise, instead of counter-clockwise like they once were. When it reached the speed it previously rotated at, it didn't maintain it, the storm kept speeding up, spinning faster and faster and faster.

The dark mass of clouds which had to be miles long, spun like the blades of a pinwheel that a foal would play with. Still, the paradoxical speed increased. A suctioning effect was pulling harder at the lose clothes and hair of the Equestrians, threatening to pull them into the vortex.

"Well this is a thing!" Phantom yelled, trying to get as close to the floor of the balcony as possible as not to be sucked up into the growing intensity of the storm. The rate at which the lightning bolted, and the thunder clapped increased.

Rainbow Dash was slightly panicking now. She could see her friends moving, and feel the air rushing past her and up into the storm, but she still couldn't move. Must be this stupid tiara, thing! she thought. As much as she tried, the rainbow maned pegasus couldn't move, grunting here and there with every push, struggling to break free. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see that Prince Castor was still in his meditative state, even slightly smiling now. The wind seemed to completely ignore his existence. The crowd of Glaciens strewn out before her showed the same plight.

Everything stopped. The Cirrus Nimbus clouds collapsed in on themselves, being sucked into the beam of energy in a single, massive blue ball of light. This same light was absorbed into the beam of energy, traveling down it at near mach speeds, plunging into the spire of the Aquila castle and disappearing.

After a few moments of nauseating silence, the castle itself shook ever-so-subtly. From behind Rainbow Dash, a bolt of energy shot out of a sapphire crystal that hung above the tunnel archway. It split into two separate beams, each striking a pillar on either side of the pegasus and Prince Castor. The light traced along the half circle of the balcony's rail, gathering at a central point in front of the mare, collecting in another ball of blue light.

It then beamed straight into the primary sapphire stone of Rainbow's tiara. The mare's eyes widened in shock, and pain. The searing sensation she felt on her forehead was unbearable. It felt as though somepony was drilling into her skull. A loud crack signaled the end as the beam retracted into Rainbow's tiara. There was an explosion as a blue tidal wave of energy shot out from the sapphire, spreading over the Glacien crowd. The force from the blast was enough to knock Phantom's hood down.

Phantom spread his wings, ready to leap to the aid of Rainbow Dash - who had fallen backwards from the force of the explosion - but stopped, seeing that she stood back up.

The tidal wave of energy faded away once it reached the outer perimeter of the castle. From the sky that once held a viscous storm, small flakes of blue light fell down like soft snow. When it landed on the Equestrians, it merely rolled off of them. However, when it landed on anything other than the Glaciens, including Rainbow Dash, it was absorbed.

"Th-this is... pretty..." Fluttershy spoke in a whisper.

"What do you think it is?" asked Rarity.

"I don't know..." Twilight Sparkle quickly summoned a glass vile in front of her in an attempt to capture the energy, only to be disappointed when the glass soaked it all in. In frustration, she banished it back to her bags.

The Glaciens, both nobles and royals, exited their meditative trance. King Centauri opened his eyes and began another spiel.

"Rejoice, Glaciens! For we have another. Please welcome to the family: Princess Rainbow Dash!"

The crowd gathered in the castle court yard erupted in a massive uproar, some using their magic to launch firework spells into the sky. Those effects, combined with the blue snow-like substance that was falling, combined to form a truly amazing spectacle.

"Which family is he talking about?" Phantom asked both quizzically and hostilely.

Raising his hoof, King Centauri quieted the ponies.

"Now, my son, Prince Castor, would like to say a few words." The King nodded to his son, who nodded back, stepping in front of Rainbow Dash and onto an elevated part of the balcony for everypony to see him.

"My ponies!" The prince called, using magic to amplify his voice. "No greater thing as happened in my life, than my meeting of the young Rainbow Dash." Both Phantom and Rainbow Dash rolled their eyes, unbeknownst to each other. "Now, she has the honor of being a part of all of our families, one of us, for all of us."

"So he was speaking of the Glacien nation as a whole as his family," Phantom commented. "That's what I thought."

"Glacies, join me in extending that same invitation to the royal family. Princess Rainbow Dash," he turned towards the mare, a sly smile on his face.

"Is he about to—" Rarity spoke, but he question was quickly answered.

"Will you marry me?"

The Glacien crowed cheered, as did Pinkie Pie. As for the rest of the Equestrians, each of their jaws hit the floor.

"That's not the family I was hoping for!" Phantom cursed himself, taking to the air and flying towards the balcony.

"What are you doing?" Twilight called out to him.

"Ending this! Now!"

Rainbow tried to formulate a coherant reply, but nothing was said. Her jaw opened and closed uselessly as she gasped for air. For some reason, Prince Castor took this as a 'yes'.

"Brilliant!" he took a step towards the mare, but that was as far as he got. Before he could take a second step, Phantom Knight stood between him and the rainbow-maned pegasus.

"She. Will. Not. Marry. You."

"Well I believe she just said—"

"She didn't say Tartarus. Now back off."

"You'd dare defy the throne?" Now, Glacien guards were approaching along with Captain Cypher from the tunnel. Phantom knew full well what was to come, and braced himself accordingly.

"All I see is a pampered foal who abuses his own citizens, lies to them and brainwashes them."

"This is treason! Do you know that?"

"Don't you mean espionage? Treason would imply that I'm a citizen of this wretched place, which, by the way, I've had plenty of. This entire time we've been here dealing with this pointless a fair, we could have been out stopping the Nightingales. But you think this is more important?"

"Move. I have business to attend to. Like ensuring that my blood line continues..."

Phantom raised a hoof to strike the prince across the muzzle, but Rainbow speaking caught his attention, and instead he chose to listen.

"I-I-I..." the mare mumbled. "I can't take this... This... this is too much..."

With what appeared to be a tear leaking from her eyes, the pegasus tore off her dress, spreading her wings and soaring to the skies above. A rainbow trail was the last thing anypony saw of the mare as she arched over the top of the castle and disappeared, flying towards the north.

"Great, now see what you did?" Prince Castor accused Phantom, who let out his anger in one telegraphing sigh.

The Staff Sergeant spread is own wings, fleeing an assault by the unicorn guards, chasing after the mare.

Twilight Sparkle and friends watched the event unfold before them. "What just happened?" Spike asked.

"I don't know..." Twilight replied to her dragon assistant, "but I need you to recount all of it in a letter to Princess Celestia and send it to her please." The drake saluted before jumping down and running inside.

"What now, Twi?" Applejack wondered as she and the other present Elements of Harmony formed a circle with the alicorn.

Already, the mares could hear somepony bagging on the silver doors from within the Sapphire Suite, yelling 'Royal Guard! Open up!'

"We try to stay out of trouble..." Twilight answered, heading inside to open the door. "Keep our heads low and try to survive whatever fallout comes of this..."

"Rainbow Dash!" Phantom yelled over the rushing wind. He was in hot pursuit of the distraught pegasus, and losing ground. "Stop!"

She didn't listen to him. In her flurry of emotions, Rainbow Dash flew on, blinding heading in what she thought was the right direction. All that was going through the mare's mind was that Scootaloo was out there, and she needed her. She didn't want to remember what had just transpired, she wanted to ignore it completely. I'll find Squirt, then go home. Easy.

"At least tell me where you're going in such a hurry!"

Rainbow shook her head enough so that Phantom could see it from his position twenty yards behind, and slightly to her left. The stallion was flying at full speed, knowing full well he couldn't catch Rainbow Dash, especially when being weight down by the armor, and pulled back by the drag of the cloak.

Relenting only slightly, Rainbow Dash slowed down just enough to allow Phantom to get within a few feet of her tail, but sped up so he still couldn't catch her. In her brash state, the pegasus didn't even realize that she was leading the pair into a storm. It was still far, far away, but it still looked close.

Short flurries of snow whipped by the pegasi, increasing steadily increasing the closer they got to the storm. The flight was starting to blend together, with both ponies losing track of time and how long they had been flying. Above, the sun had already reached it's peak during the coronation. Acting as their only source of time, Phantom kept track as it descended to just above the horizon during the duration of their flight.

"Rainbow! We're hours away from Aquila! We need to land and rest and stay away from that storm!"

"No!" Rainbow shouted back. It may not have been the answer Phantom was loking for, but he was at least happy that he got something out of the mare. "I'm never going back there!"

"So you're going to just abandon your friends?"

"That's why you're going to go back, and send them home. They don't need to be here for any of this."

"I'm not going back without you!"

"Guess you're never going back, then!"

Rainbow Dash lifted her wings up for one final push to send her away from the pursuing stallion. What she didn't consider was the drag this produced, and now that she was no longer flapping, she slowed down. Phantom took advantage of this opportunity, grabbing onto the rainbow tail of the mare. With the added weight, Rainbow Dash quickly lost altitude and speed.

The two pegasi started plummeting to a forest below, passing through the outer edge of the storm. Phantom pulled himself closer to the mare, flapping his wings in an attempt to stop the decent but keep hold of the pegasus. Fate seemed to disagree, blasting the pair with a violent downdraft. In a shower of ice and snow, the pegasi fell through the higher tier of the tree line, knocking loose chunks of ice, snow, and lose branches with them. Using his wings, Phantom rolled the pair so that he was on the bottom, falling back first with Rainbow Dash in front of him.

Seconds later, they impacted with the snow of the forest floor in one massive dull thud. An eiree silence ruled. Even the snowfall lacked snow, and the trees were for the moment blocking the wind.

Rainbow Dash was the first to recover, immediately trotting away. Phantom climbed out of the whole next, crawling to his hooves and chasing after the pegasus.

"Rainbow! Stop!"

"I'm going to find Scootaloo."

"No, you're not. We don't have the resources, or the ponypower to mount a search and rescue operation, especially when a storm is on it's way!"

"There's no storm."

"Don't lie to yourself, Dash. You and I both feel it coming, it'll be here in a few hours and we need shelter! We need to go back! You. Need. To. Stop!"

Surprisingly, the mare did as told. In an instant her forward momentum was cancelled, and she stood in her tracks. The mare turned, staring spears into Phantom.

"Stop? STOP?! You want me to stop looking for my sister? You know what my Element of Harmony is, right?" She took a few more steps towards the stallion, who had also stopped. "If you had the chance to find Nyx, would you? I will not lose my sister like you lost yours!"

Rainbow tried to cut herself off, but was too late. Too late did she realize what words had come out of her mouth, and she couldn't take them back. Phantom's once stern expression feel, along with his wings.

"Ph-Phantom... I... I-I am s-so sorry... I—"

"No..." the stallion didn't really know what to think. He picked his head back up and moved forward past Rainbow Dash. "You're right... come on, let's see if we can find your sister."

Author's Note

*exhales* It was a rough journey, but here it is. The longest chapter ever. Along with another chapter immediately following it. I... I can't think right now, so I'll leave everything up to you guys in the comments. Ask away!

This is what I imagine that creepy voice that keeps saying 'release me' sounding like: 'Release me' voice from Independence Day except without the alien tentacle mind controlling human part... that can go away. Just interested in the voice

Sisters at Heart are Never Alone

Several hours later

The storm's rage grew exponentially. The wind alone drove the temperatures far below freezing. That, factored in with the falling sun, made the cold bite that much more. The cold on her forehead from the tiara was not helping. Even as night fell over the Glacien forest, Phantom Knight and Rainbow Dash continued to power through the snow. The only warmth they had was from their feathers, but Phantom had the added advantage of insulated armor.

"Phantom!" Rainbow Dash yelled over the fierce winds. "We need to find shelter!"

"That's what I'm looking for, Dashie!" Phantom responded. "If we could find Palmyra, that'd be great!"

"I'd prefer it if we found Scootaloo..."

"But if we find Palmyra, we can stop Sky and Soarin'! Save thousands of innocent ponies and end this civil war once and for all! We'll probably find Scootaloo in the process, too! Especially if Sky really is the one who took her."

"We're going to find Scootaloo!"

"Yes, we are. I never said we weren't. Now keep you're eyes open for shelter, the storms getting worse."

The pair of pegasi pushed on in silence for awhile. Being a pegasus, Rainbow Dash's feathers naturally insulated her from the cold. Rainbow stayed close on Phantom's flank, careful not to lose him in the decreasing visibility of the ever growing storm, and to try to use his body heat to warm up. At several points, lightning leapt from the clouds, striking a tree around them every-so-often.

The pegasus groaned in frustration. "I'm a weather pony for Celestia's sake! I could take out this storm in no-time!"

"I told you before, Dash. The storms you're used to dealing with are made by ponies. There's are naturally made, and therefore much more powerful! The storm may seem bad now, but most of it is being blocked by the trees. I'll be it's a thousand times worse above us."

Rainbow looked up. Phantom was right. Above them, small cyclones of snow swirled about, and the tops of the trees were nearly being blow on there sides. if the winds picked up any more, they might start to be ripped off entirely. Though she would never admit it, this storm scared the color out of her. There was another crack of thunder. Rainbow Dash quickly found herself pressed up against Phantom's flank, trying to duck under his flapping cloak.

The stallion looked over his shoulders with a smile. "What's the matter, Dashie?" he laughed. "Scared of a little storm?"

With rosie cheeks, Rainbow Dash got out from under his cloak, trotting a few feet to his right side. "N-no! Nothing can scare me! I'm Rainbow Danger Dash!" Phantom sarcastically mimicked her last statement, having heard it more times than he could count. She was about to continue, but was abruptly interrupted.

"Look out!" Phantom called, pushing the mare into the frozen snow. Rainbow shut her eyes, and covered her head with her hooves amidst a deafening roar that was definitely not thunder. Once the noise subsided under the raging storm, Rainbow Dash looked around to make sure she was okay.

She was laying on her side in the hard packed snow, with Phantom protectively covering her. Rainbow Dash crawled out from under him. A large tree had fallen just feet from them. Then she started pacing back and forth in a panic. "Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohymgosh!" The back of Phantom's cloak was stuck into the tree, and it looked as if his tail may have been caught as well. She shook the stallion, bringing him out of his daze.

"Wha-What?"

"Phantom! You alright?"

The stallion stood up, and tried to move forward, but was stopped when his cloak tugged at his neck. Turning around, it was revealed to him that the back part of his cloak was caught under the trunk under the tree, unable to move. Thankfully, his tail was free.

"... I was hoping to keep this thing intact for once..." Phantom leaned down, grabbed a bit of the cloak closest to the tree trunk, and tore it, freeing himself from the tree. Instead of having a crisp, new looking cape like, it was now torn and tattered. "This was my favorite one, too..."

"I think we've got bigger things to worry about, Phantom." Phantom turned to see Rainbow Dash pointing off in the distance. On the darkening horizon, what little light was left revealed a monstrous thunderhead storm, the top of which was strobing solid white with lightning. To make thing's worse, it was heading their way. Being pegasi, they could both feel the barometric pressure rappidly dropping.

"Agreed. I do not want to be caught in that storm. C'mon, let's go find shelter."

The pair plowed through the growing storm. It was nearly impossible to see. Visibility had dropped to only a few feet at the most. To keep the wind off of their faces, both ponies had to keep their heads bowed; with the added benefit of making them slightly more aerodynamic. Phantom had only a gut feeling guiding him, while Rainbow Dash had nothing but his now ripped cloak to guide her.

"Through the loooonggng and loooonnnnely niiiiiggghhhts,"

"You hear that!?" Rainbow yelled ahead to Phantom.

"Hear what!? All I hear is the wind!"

"To the daaarrrrk and stooorrrrmy dayyyssss,"

"There it is again!"

"I think this cold is getting to you. I don't hear anything!"

"Be quiet for a second, and listen!"

"From the moooouuuntains tooo the praaaiiirrries,"

"Hear it?"

"No!"

"For everrryyy word III sayyyyyyy."

"Now?"

"I'm seriously wondering if you're going crazy, now."

"Just... Gah!" Rainbow Dash zipped up to his side. She pulled Phantom's hood down, and used her hooves to make his ears point straight up. With the snow and wind blowing straight into his ears, the stallion was becoming very uncomfortable.

"No maaaaatterrrrrr whaaaaaattttttt the troublllleee," That time, Phantom heard it. Very faintly. The sounds of somepony... singing? Whoever they were, they sounded far away. Their voice was being carried by the winds.

"Well?"

"I heard it that time! Where's it coming from?"

Rainbow released Phantom from her grip, and took off galloping into the storm. "This way!"

"Dash! Wait— G-gah!" The sensation of snow, ice, wind and rain in his ears became too much for Phantom. He used his forelegs in an attempt to rub the particulates out of his ears.

"No maaattttttttteerrrr whaattt'ssss aattt staaaaakkeeeee,"

By the time Phantom regained his composure, Rainbow Dash was nothing by a polychromatic blur disappearing into the vicious storm. "Dash!" he cried, giving chase.

"Even if the proooobbllleeem douubbllleeesss,

And I'm not sure whatt too maakkee,

I'll have yooouuuuuu."

The two ponies struggled through the storm, straining as if they were pulling a lead filled carriage. The only thing guiding their direction, was the angelic sounding voice, echoing through the wind.

"I see you fllyyyyinnng oovveeeer moounnntainnnss,

Leaving oooobbbbstiiclllesss at bayyyy,

Living liiiifffeeee withoooouuutt your woorrieesss,

No maaattteeerrr whaaatttsss atttt staaakeeee."

Rainbow Dash seemed to have all of her attention on those lyrics. She was honed in on it, determined to follow it to the ends of the world. The bite of the cold air and wind seemed to have no affect on the determined mare.

"I see you fllyyyinnng oovveeer moounnntainnss,

Leaving ooooobbbbstiiclllesss at baayyyy,

Living liiiifffeeee withoooouuut your woooorrieess,

No maaattteeerrr whaaaattttsss attt staaaakeeee."

"Dash! You need to pace yourself! This storm will drain everything out of you! Slow. Down!"

He was ignored.

"You're my alllll, myy everyyyythhiiiinnnnnng,

Exaactllllly what I want to beeeee,

Onneeee daaayyyyy I'll fly up moountaaiiiinnss,

One dayyy I'll reeaachh myy peeaak.

And I'llll haavveee yoooouuu."

The voice was becoming more clear. It carried with it a distinctive echo, telling the two pegasi that it was coming from inside of something. Phantom could now hear that the voice belonged to a young filly. Rainbow apparently made the distinction too, as her pace picked up. Phantom did what he could to keep up with the experienced weather pony, but the wind shear was making it difficult.

"Ohhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhh,

Ohhhh ohh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhh ohhh ohhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhh ohhh ohhhhhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhh."

"Soarin' thrrooouuuggghh the skiiieeessss wiiitttthhhh biiirrrdddddss,

Innn the soooooffftttt eemmmbrrraaaccceee off clloouuddddsss,

With my wing, stttrreeecheedd too thhheeee suuuuunnnnn,

The siilleeennncccee rooooaaarrriinnnggg lloouuuudd."

"Inn my miiiinnnnndd I'm clearrrrlllyy thereeeeee

Reeaaacccchhhinngg oooutttt tooo yooouuuu,

IIIII open up my eyyyeessss

And IIIIII sweeaarrr that I flleewwww.

And III haaaddd yooooouuuu."

"When niiiiiiiiiiight is allllllmooosst ovvveerrrr,

To find reeeaaalllityyyyy,

Myyy wiinngs cannoooot bee yoooourrrsss,

But innnnn myyyyy dreeeeeaaammmmsss,

IIIIIIIII caannn fllyyyyy besssiiiiiiddeee yoooouuuuu,

Togeeettthhheerr weeeeee caaannn soooaaaarrrr,

And just until I waaakkkeee,

I'm alone noooo moooooooooooorrrrrrrrreeeeeeee."

The newly crowned princess and armor-clad Knight followed the singing to a snow covered cave. Warm air and smoke drifted from inside.

"Dash," Phantom spoke in a relatively quiet voice. The cave was breaking most of the wind, so it was no longer required to yell over the storm. "You alright?"

"That voice..." Rainbow mindlessly staggered into the cave, mesmerized by the singing. Phantom warily followed her.

"Ohhhhh ohhh ohhh,

Ohhhh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhh,

Ohhhh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhhhh ohhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhh ohhhhhhh,

Ohhhhhhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

Ohhhhh oh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhh ohhhhh,"

Ahead of the two ponies, the light from a small fire shone through the darkness. Next to it, sat a young, orange pegasus filly, with a purple wind-blown mane, and violet eyes. Upon seeing the filly, Rainbow Dash froze in place, gaping at what she saw. Her mind was having trouble processing it.

"Fooorrr IIIIIIII haaaavveeee yoooooouuuuu..." The filly sighed, continuing to stare at the fire. Feeling another presence in the cave, she looked around. Immediately, her eyes fell on the polychromatic mare. "R-R-Rainbow?"

"Scootaloo?"

"Rainbow!" The filly shot to her hooves, using her wings to zip over to Rainbow Dash.

"Scoots!" Rainbow embraced the filly, taking to the air and completing a quick backflip with her in her forelegs. Landing back down on the ground, Rainbow held the filly at leg's length to see if it really was the filly she thought she was then brought her back in for another tight hug, sing her wings to completely envelope the young pegasus.

"I'm so happy you're here," Scootaloo's voice was muffled in Rainbow's fur.

"And I'm so, so happy that I found you."

Phantom removed his hood, and sat by fire for warmth. Rainbow Dash carried Scootaloo to the fire, placing herself across from Phantom.

"Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked pleadingly, leaving their tight embrace and sitting on her own. "Why are you wearing a tiara? And how did you find me?"

"Because I was willing to go to the ends of Equestria and beyond to find you, Squirt. Phantom here," she pointed to the stallion who was now lying on all fours, "gave me the chance to. So, we're here, and we found you!"

Scootaloo seemed to have her gaze fixated on Phantom. She found something in him fascinating. "Wait..." she said in a suspicious tone. "Aren't you the pony who saved Rainbow's life that one day?"

"Eeyup, that was me alright. Name's Phantom. Phantom Knight," he politely introduced himself with a smile. Though, he was completely caught off guard when Scootaloo quickly hugged him, rubbing her muzzle into her neck. For a second, the experienced guards-pony had frozen in place.

"You look really cool, Phantom. A lot like the pony who saved me, actually. Except, your coloring is backwards... and you have different eyes!"

Phantom tilted his head to one side, gently pushing the filly back towards Rainbow Dash. "Saved you? Who saved you?"

"Well, after that meanie head foalnapped me, I eventually managed to escape. I was wondering around in the woods for awhile, completely not scared at all. I even felt like Daring Do! But there I was, bucking away every pack of windigos and wolves that tried to attack me! When all of a sudden, this mare showed up in a hood and cloak, like yours, but it was black! She took me to some old looking town with a bunch of her friends and took care of me."

"Can you describe her?"

"Yeah! She had hair like yours, except it was blue then black instead of black then blue. And her coat was black with blue tips, the same as her wings! And her eyes were this really pretty red that seemed like they glowed in the dark, too!"

"... Did... did you get a name from her?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "She said it wasn't important or something like that. I fell asleep a bit after that..." the filly yawned widely, spreading the contagion around to the other two pegasi.

"C'mere Scoots," Scootaloo did what Rainbow Dash instructed. The filly snuggled up against the mare, comfortably covering herself with the larger feathers. Then, Rainbow did something Phantom had never expected. She began to sing.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Scooooooooooooootttaaaaalloooooooooooo,

Don't you crrrrrryyyyyyyy,

We'll get byyyyyyyy.

IIIIIIIIII-I neeeeeed you toooooo,

More than III kneewwwww,

Before I met yooouuuuu.

Scooooooooooooottaaaalloooooooo,

Don't you feeeeeeaaaarrrr,

I aaammmm heerrreeeeee.

My woooooooorrrrllddd waaaassssss grrraaayyyy,

But we found a waaayyyyy

A brand neewww daayyy.

I'll be there by your side,

Remember you're not alone,

You'll always have a place to cal hooomeee,

When I'm with yoooouuuuu.

Never to far away,

Don't forget that all it takes,

Is to call on myy naammmmmeeeee,

And I'll be,

I'll be riiiiiiggghhhtt neexxt to yooouuuu.

Scooooooooooooooootttaaaallooooooo,

Don't youuuuu seeee,

I'm right heeerrrreeee.

We'lllllllllll chaaasssseeee theee suuuunnn,

Just for our fuuuuuuunnnn,

And when we're doooonnneeee,

I'll be there by your side,

Remember that you're not alone,

You'll always have a place to call home,

When I'm with youuuuuuu.

Never to far away,

Don't forget that all it taaaakkkes,

Is to calllll onnnn my naaameee,

And I'll be,

I'll be riiiiiiggghttt neeeexxxt tooo youuuu."

Scootaloo was by now well asleep. Rainbow Dash herself was nodding off but refused to fall asleep until she had finished the song. Phantom, meanwhile, stared thoughtfully into the fire.

"I'll be riiiight neeeexxxxttt to yoooouuuu......"

"Hey, Dash?" Phantom whispered after a brief pause.

"Hm?"

"You... You'd make a great mother. You know that?"

"Heh, thanks."

Silence fell between the ponies. The only sounds to be heard was the popping of the fire, the distant wind and thunder of the outside storm, and the light breathing of the now two sleeping ponies. Phantom wanted to sleep. Every part of his body screamed at him to, but, his mind kept him awake as he stared into the fire.

That mare Scootaloo had described to him. She said she looked like him, but with a black coat. Apparently with brilliant red eyes. Can't be... he thought to himself. Could it? Could it have been Nyx? Phantom shook the thoughts out of his mind, continuing to stare into the fire. Several times he could have sworn he saw his sister's image in the flames. Hours seemed to pass, when finally Phantom fell asleep. For awhile, he dreamt of finding Nyx. What she would look like, act like, and catch up on each other's history. But eventually they slipped from his mind, leaving the stallion in a dreamless slumber.

Rainbow Dash was the first to stir, her eyes fluttering open. Soft morning light illuminated the still cave. Wisps of smoke rose from the ashes of the now extinguished fire. A smile formed on Rainbow's muzzle when she saw the sleeping filly under her wing. Careful not to disturb the foal, Rainbow Dash slowly rose to her hooves. Suddenly, she found herself shivering. Having been used to the warmth of the fire for most of the night, and no longer having the comfort, made the chilliness in the air have that much more bite. Her thoughts drifted to the filly at her hooves.

Gently, Rainbow Dash picked Scootaloo up, and flew her over to Phantom. Oddly enough, there was a frozen trail of water under his eye. The stallion was curled up in a ball next to the wall, with a perfect space next to him that looked like it would suit the filly well. Rainbow placed the filly in the grasps of Phantom's legs, and covered her with his wing, using it as a sort-of blanket. To her surprise, Phantom didn't even stir. She had expected somepony like him to react if they were disturbed while sleeping. But he did nothing.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but gush at the cuteness of the scene. A big, bad, protective guardspony who liked to maintain his 'I-don't-do-that-emotion-girly-fru-fru-stuff' more than Dash herself did, snuggled up with a filly like Scootaloo? Dash found the scene all too enjoyable.

The pegasus headed over to the snow cave entrance, where she sat and watched Celestia's rising sun. The wind from last night's storm had smoothed the snow on the ground, creating a perfectly flat, untouched plain. That, paired with the thin layer of ice that covered the snow, and the morning sun, created a brilliant sparkling crystal-like effect. Rainbow Dash sat captivated at the scene worthy of an artist's rendition.

Her attention was diverted from the scene upon feeling the presence of another pony. Expecting it to be Phantom, Rainbow didn't bother to confirm. "Phantom," she said, "we need to talk..."

"Okay, what?" Had Rainbow paid any attention, she would have noticed something severely off about the voice that replied.

"I... I... I—Wait!" Rainbow looked to the pony that was now at her side. Instead of seeing a larger, midnight blue pegasus stallion, she saw a little, orange purple maned filly. "Scootaloo? S-shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I slept most yesterday. So, what'd you want to tell Phantom?" The filly leaned against the larger mare, giving her mischievous smile.

Rainbow blushed, and Scootaloo didn't fail to notice. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it."

The young filly gasped. "You have a crush on him, don't you!?"

"Wha-What!? No! No I don't!"

"You have that same look Big Mac and Ms. Cheerilee had when we gave them a love spell!" The filly began to bounce in circles around Rainbow Dash. "You do! You've got a crush on Phantom!" Back in her starting place, Scootaloo turned to face into the cave. Sucking in a large amount of air, she yelled."PHANTOM! RAINBOW DASH HAS A CR— Hmmpf hmph hmmmf!"

Rainbow Dash wrapped a leg around Scootaloo's mouth, turning her yells into muffled mumbles. "Okay, okay, okay!" She hissed. "Fine! I have a crush on Phantom. Happy?" Scootaloo nodded, and was released from Rainbow's grip. "Just.... just don't tell him, okay?"

Scootaloo turned to reply, but her ears fell, and an expression of shock formed on her face. "Be... be... be..." Rainbow tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Behind... you..." The orange pegasus was trying to make herself smaller than Rainbow's shadow.

The cyan mare turned back to face the cave entrance. There, stood five new ponies of various types, all wearing black armor and cloaks. On the front of each of their chest plates, was the symbol of two wings cupped together to form a heart. Rainbow scowled at them. "Nightingales..."

Author's Note

Updates! I brought presents! Aren't I nice? Now excuse me while I hibernate...
Sorry if this chapter seems... different... Style wise. I wrote this like... back when I was on chapter 3, so there many be a style change.
As for the songs that were sung? Here:
SIsters at Heart - TheDashDub ft. Feather
Never Alone - TheDashDub ft. Feather
Two incredible songs by two incredible artists! Go check out the rest of theirs!
note for moderators: contact me via PM for proof-of-permission

These chapters took a lot of works so please, please tell me what you thought of them in the comments below, thanks! Hope you all have a nice holiday season.
- Sam.
(Predictions of what's to come? :P Put 'em in the comments! Let's see whose right!)

Encounter — Part One

"Stryker!" A voice called down a corridor. The recipient of said noise slowed his gait and turned to face a white stallion fast approaching him. "Stryker! Wait up!"

The tan stallion rolled his eyes, continuing towards where he was previously heading. A white earth pony trotted up beside him, trying to gain his attention.

"Stryker, what's going on?" Archer asked. "You've been acting weird lately. Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Stryker replied sternly, paying the stallion no-mind.

The two ponies traveled through a dark damp corridor, deep within the bowels of the castle. Archer had spent the last half hour frantically running up and down the halls and passageways of the labyrinth of a castle in search of Stryker. Now, he has found him, at the lowest level, far below the ground. The pair was even below the dungeons that Stryker had searched the pervious day.

Stryker only found the passage because he nearly ran over a guard who was exiting it, and Archer only found it because of the incompasitated guard he found outside of it.

"I think Phantom is starting to get agitated at you," Archer told him. "Just tell me what's going on."

"Nothing is going on."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you're a fool."

"No, because I'm your best friend."

Stryker ignored him, instead continuing to lightly trot down the cold stone path. A dampness hung in the air, seemingly sticking to the coats of the stallions. If they had known any better, they would have told you that clouds were forming next to the ceiling. Every few seconds, a droplet would fall, splashing onto the floor.

The unicorn's trot was interrupted by a white leg appearing in front of him, blocking his path.

"Why didn't you answer Phantom when he asked you where the conduit is?"

"Because..." Stryker sighed. "Because I don't know where it is."

"Then why not tell him that?"

"If I told him, then he would go looking for it. If he finds it, he'll turn it into the Glaciens. And the Glaciens must. Not. Find. It."

"I see. And you ran down here er— teleported down here because..."

"Because I overheard some guards talking about a pony they captured. From what they said, she sounds like a high level Nightingale. If it's who I think it is, then that means that the Glaciens have the Conduit. But I fear the worst. Without it, the Glaciens couldn't have connected Rainbow Dash to it."

"So again... why are we down here?"

"To find out if I'm right."

Sighing, Archer lowering his leg from the wall and allowing his friend to pass by. He trotted next to the unicorn, following him to where ever he was going.

The two ponies eventually came to the end of the dark hall. Lanterns hung from the walls, illuminating the black iron walls of a cell dug deep within them. Inside, it was completely dark, out of the way of the light provided by the lanterns. The only thing that was visible to the two stallions, was the dim reflection from a pair of red eyes.

"We've failed..." the voice whispered. "They have it. They have it and there's nothing we can do."

Stryker closed his eyes, powering his horn and firing an illumination spell into the cell, revealing the pony to the two stallions present.

"Stryk..." Archer began, shocked. "Isn't that Phantom's s—"

The unicorn quickly turned to the earth pony. "No." The final thing that Archer saw that day was a blinding white light.

"Where do you think Rainbow went?" Fluttershy asked. Her and her friends sat on comfort pillows, courtesy of Rarity of course, in a semi-circle around the the lit fireplace. After the two pegasi had left the castle, the remaining friends - and dragon - retreated to the lobby of the sapphire suite in silence. Only now, an unknown amount of time after the events, has one of them spoken.

"Ah'd like ta know where the other ponies went as well," Applejack replied, setting her stetson down on the ground in front of her. "That tan one was actin' kinda strange ta me."

Twilight nodded, turning to her drake friend, who was quickly writing something on parchment. "Hows the letter coming along, Spike?" she asked him.

The purple dragon quickly added the final word and punctuation mark. "Done and done!" Spike inhaled deeply, blowing a green flame onto the parchment that consumed it, carrying the letter away and out a nearby window. "Once she reads that, Princess Celestia will know everything that we know."

"Which is what, exactly?" Rarity wondered, carefully taking a sip of her warm tea.

"Nothing..." sighed Twilight, laying her heads down in defeat.

At one end of the circle, Pinkie Pie was furiously scribbling away at a crazy assortment of notes.

"Um, Pinkie, darling," Rarity began, "what are you doing?"

"Planning the reception for Rainbow Dash's wedding!" Pinkie replied, bubbling with joy. There was a stunned silence from the present ponies, and dragon. "What?" Pinkie stopped and looked between her friends, confused.

"Uh... Pinkie," Applejack said in a comforting tone. "Ah'm pretty sure Rainbow is gonna say no ta Prince Castor..."

"Pfft!" the pink mare laughed. "Obvious, much? I'm not talking about that wedding! Silly ponies and your crazy theories..." On the word 'crazy', pinkies pupils looped around in a full circle... in opposite directions...

"Then... what wedding are you talking about?" Twilight speculated.

"Rainbow's and Phantom's!" Again, a stunned silence. "What now?"

"Well..." Rarity mumbled. "It's just that... I don't really think that they're all that..."

"Infatuated?" Fluttershy added.

"Yes, exactly. Thank you, Fluttershy."

"Oh come on!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her hooves to the air. "Haven't you been paying attention? Sheesh! They can't keep their eyes off of each other but are too afraid to admit it to each other! First one will stare at the other, then when the other looks at the first, the first looks away and the other stares! It keeps going back and forth like that! I can't believe you guys haven't seen it yet. Especially you, Rarity!"

The unicorn in question gasped. "Wha?! Me? Gossip in the love affairs of other ponies? Never!" Rarity turned her head away from her friends. looking up in the air and closing her eyes. After a few moments of nothing happening, she opened an eye to see her friends staring dubiously at her. She sighed. "Okay, maybe just a little."

"Ah doubt it'll happen," Applejack commented. "We may not know that Phantom feller, but we do know Rainbow, an' Rainbow would never get married."

Twilight quirked an eye brow, but not because of what Applejack said. A smell in the air caught her attention. "Anypony else smell ozone?"

"Smell a what, now?"

"Ozone. You know, that smell in the air before after a lightning strike?"

"Yeah, Applejack!" Pinkie cheered, hopping up and rapidly shuffling a long a nearby carpet, refusing to pick her hooves up. Quickly, her mane and hair began to stick up, and small bolts of electricity arced from her hooves and along her hairs. The pink pony shuffled her way to Applejack's side, reaching out with a hoof to shock her. Applejack let out a 'eep' as the static charge transferred from Pinkie Pie to her, shocking her. "It smells like that!"

"Pinkie!" Applejack huffed. "Was that nessi—"

A bright flash eminated from the adjacent room, with enough force that the resulting shockwave blew back the manes of everypony in the lobby.

"What in tarnation..."

Just a few seconds later, Stryker calmly trotted out of the room. Once he saw the mares, and the dragon, sitting around the fire place, he stopped in his tracks like a deer about to get hit by a chariot. His eyes drifted between each of them.

"Um..." mumbled Stryker. "Hi?"

"Hi?" vexed Twilight. "Hi? You teleport away during a crutial time when we needed your expertise, to mysteriously disappear, then reappear," she looked a nearby grandfather clock, "over a half-hour later! Where. Have. You. Been."

By the end of her tirade, Twilight was standing feet in front of Stryker, an enraged look in her eyes, her wings at full mast, and a slight glow in her horn.

Stryker sighed. "I don't like giving out false information. When Phantom asked me if the Conduit was here, I truthfully didn't know. So, I went to go find out."

"And did you?"

The unicorn shook his head. "I searched through every passage and room I could find. Nothing."

"Ah'm still more interested in where Rainbow Dash flew off ta,"

Stryker tilted his head slightly. "She left? What happened with the coronation?"

"Prince Castor asked her to marry him!" Pinkie bounced around the group. "Then Rainbow flew off, and Phantom went after her!"

"Which direction did they go?"

"North-East, I think," Twilight suggested. "Why? It's not like we'll be able to catch up to them."

"It's not us I'm worried about catching up to them. It's the—"

Stryker was interrupted by both silver doors of the Sapphire Suite being bucked open. In trotted over two dozen Glacien guards, armed with spears. Most of the guards surrounded the Equestrians, while a few others searched the rooms. Moments later, Captain Cypher trotted in, and judging by the look on his muzzle, he wasn't there for tea.

"Where is Princess Rainbow Dash and your friend," he demanded, getting face to face with Stryker.

The tan unicorn stood taller in difiance. "I. Don't. Know. What is the meaning of all of this?"

"She is property of the Glacien people, and now your friend has her. That makes it ponynapping, and conspiracy against the crown. He, like the rest of you Caren are being charged with conspiracy against the crown, and detained as such." There was a collective gasp from the Equestrians, save for Stryker.

"Sir," a guard called, emerging from the room Twilight Sparkle had kept her things, carrying a saddle bag, "you may want to see this."

Captain Cypher trotted over the guard, and peered inside of the bags. Using his magic, he pulled out five golden necklaces and one crown. "What are these?" he asks.

Stryker leaned in next to Twilight's ear. "You brought the Elements of Harmony?!"

"Just in case we needed them!" she whispered back.

"Great. Just great. Now the Glaciens have them."

"I said," Captain Cypher cut in, stepping towards the ponies, "What. Are. These?"

"Don't tell him if he doesn't know..." Stryker ordered the alicorn.

"They're our..." Twilight began, searching for an excuse. "Well... that crown is mine. I am the Princess of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, of Equestria." As if for emphasis, Twilight flared her wings and lit her horn, showing that she was indeed an alicorn. The jaws of the guards dropped. Captain Cypher remained stoic, however.

"You can't hide behind political influence for ever, Princess, not here," the Captain seemed to growl. Her trotted towards the door, his guards in tow. "You are all being detained in this room while I confer with the King. Leave this room, and you will be charged with espionage and conspiracy against the crown, and you will be sentenced to death."

The door slammed shut behind him as he and his guards left the Sapphire suite. Twilight ran over to the Elements of Harmony still spinning on the floor and put them back into her saddle bags.

"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Stay here," Stryker replied. "Cooperate, do what the ask within reasonable bounds, and wait for Phantom and Rainbow Dash to get back."

"Scootaloo, get behind me!" Rainbow yelled, putting herself between the filly and the Nightingales.

"Rainbow, wait!" Scootaloo intervened, jumping between the two groups. Interestingly enough, it was the foremost Nightingale that replied next.

"Scootaloo, what are you doing? She wears the crown of our enemy!" His voice was gruff, worn down by the harsh environment. This pony has obviously been in this forest for awhile. The stallion took an aggressive stance, charging his horn for some kind of a spell.

"No! She's not the enemy, she's my sister!"

"Get back, she's tricking you!" The unicorn lifted the young filly in a telekinetic field, into the air, then onto the back of a Nightingale nearby.

Before somepony could say something else, a dark blue streak zipped by Rainbow Dash, colliding into the lead Nightingale.

"Get her out of here!" Phantom ordered Rainbow Dash, wrestling at the cave entrance with the Nightingale.

His breath was waisted though. Rainbow Dash didn't need the verbal indication; Phantom intervening was what she had been counting on. The moment that she saw the colored streak impact with the unicorn, she flared her wings, flapping them and propelling herself towards a certain filly.

The Nightingale that Scootaloo sat on saw Dash coming for him, and ducked, expecting an impact, But Rainbow Dash didn't intend to hit the Nightingale. Instead, she angled herself so that she could simply soar over his head, reaching down and picking up the orange filly. Rainbow held tight onto the smaller pegasus, promising herself to never let go. A promise that was soon to be broken.

"Stop them!" a Nightingale yelled.

A fraction of a second later, Rainbow found herself hovering in air, trapped within the telekinetic bounds of a white, magical aura. All the while, Scootaloo was being ripped from her grasp.

"Rainbow!" Scootaloo cried.

"Hang on, Scoots!" Rainbow yelled back, struggling within the magical bonds of the aura. "Lemme go, ya jerk!" Her demand was directed at the Nightingale unicorn, who was revealed when he turned the mare around. It was the same unicorn that Phantom had tackled only moments earlier. But where is Phantom?

"Now, now, now," the Nightingale spoke. "Imagine how badly it would reflect upon you to be seen acting so uncouth. Mind your position, dear Princess."

"What did you do to Phantom?" Rainbow Dash growled. "Where is he?"

"Oh, him?" The Nightingale turned, looking towards a Nightingale earth pony nearby who was carrying the limp form of the stallion on is back. Instantly, Rainbow could feel herself pale. "As for his condition, eh, we'll see when—sorry—if, he wakes up."

"Sentry, stop!" Scootaloo barked. The unicorn looked at her with a curious regard. He hovered the filly onto the back of a Nightingale pegasus to his side. "Don't do anything to them!"

"They're the enemy, Scoots," Sentry replied softly.

"They're my friends!"

The unicorn appeared shocked, taking a hesitant step backwards. Whether or not it was the statement that shocked him, or the ferocity by which Scootaloo uttered it, Rainbow couldn't be sure. Either way, it seemed to have a devastating effect on Sentry.

"She was crowned last night, we all saw the flash. Now she's a Glacien; she's connected to the Conduit. We told you this was happening."

"Look," Rainbow tried to say, "I can explain the crown..."

Sentry gave Rainbow a deathly stare, sighing heavily. "You'll get your chance Glacien."

Glacien? Rainbow thought, Weird being insulted as a Glacien instead of being called 'Caren'.

Another heavy sigh as he looked between the mare and the filly. The unicorn moved Rainbow closer to him before growling, "Fine. I will give you one chance. Just because your a friend of Scootaloo, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. But so help me, Celestia, if you betray that trust..." He moved Rainbow off to the side, next to the pony who was carrying Phantom. Briefly, she cast him a worried glance before returning her attention to Sentry. "Rose, put restraints on her, make sure she doesn't go anywhere."

A earth pony mare nearest the cave entrance nodded, advancing towards Rainbow Dash. As she did so, she pulled out a series of straps from her saddlebags. Rainbow tried struggling out of the magical grip once more, but once more failed. While Rose approached, Scootaloo confided in Rainbow.

"They're not bad ponies," she said. "In fact, they're really really nice! Just give them a chance..."

Rainbow sighed in submission. "Fine... I'll trust you Scootaloo."

By the end of her phrase, Rose had arrived. She took a strap and wrapped it around Rainbow's wings, securing them to her barrel so that she couldn't fly away. The pegasus tested the bonds. Using all of her strength, absolutely nothing happened. Rose then took out another strap, this one smaller, with a silver ring at one end.

"Don't worry about choking," Rose said, clasping the collar around Rainbow's neck and securing it. "It's only a precaution to ensure cooperation with prisoners. You font suffocate, unless your reset." The instant it was secured, Rainbow could already feel the changes in her ability to breathe. Although it wasn't impossible, or a struggle, it was still an inconvenience.

Rose pulled out an iron chain. Attaching one end to the silver ring on the collar, then wrapped the other end around one of her fore legs. "The more you cooperate, the easier it will be to breathe. Got it?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, but immediately regretted it, nearly choking herself. After a few coughs, she finally replied, "Yes."

"Good," Sentry said. "Let's get out of here before another storm hits. Skylar, how long we got?" The unicorn's question was directed at a pegasus high above, circling the group.

"A few hours before the next one hits, sir!" The pegasus called back down. Rainbow could feel it in the tips of her wings: the pressure was dropping again, another storm was approaching.

Sentry nodded. "Keep her close, and make sure that stallion doesn't wake up.

Several hours had passed. Several hours had passed, and Rainbow Dash was sill prisoner of the Nightingales. Several hours had passed, and Phantom Knight had yet to wake. Several hours had passed as the ponies made their way through the icy forrest, towards a location unknown to the Equestrians. The leading edge of the storm was moving in, just as the sun was setting on the top of the tree line.

Rainbow Dash had been making a conscious effort to maintain the exact speed of Rose, the pony who held her chain in front of her. If she slowed down just the slightest, the chain would go taut, and the collar around her next would tighten, disrupting her breathing. It was bad enough that the binding around her wings and barrel were also making it difficult.

To her right, Scootaloo had been keeping her company throughout the journey. The young filly had explained what happened to her since they last saw each other. How Sky was standing in the middle of her room when she got home, and that the last thing she saw that day was a blinding white light. How she found herself in a carriage caravan going through some back-hills road, and how it was attacked by ponies in black armor and cloaks. According to her, it was Sentry that had found her; hiding behind a stack of crates in one of the wagons for shelter from the ambush.

Sentry had apparently taken the filly with him back to a place that Scootaloo described as having more beauty than 'Rainbow Falls'. She made particular note of the pink trees, the warm temperatures, green-flowing grass, and an elaborate white castle. Though Rainbow Dash should have connected to dots as to what these pieces belonged to, in her current exhausting state, she was unable to do so. Then she went on to explain how she was out for a trot in the blooming trees, admiring their beauty, but eventually strayed away without paying enough attention and got lost in a cave system that ended up with her in the middle of a snow storm.

"I had to fight my way out of the cave," Scootaloo told in a dramatic, action-y voice, "but the Windigoes where becoming too much! I fought them off the best I could, which is, twenty percent better than anypony else could have done. But they were too powerful, and I had to retreat back into the cave! Using some rocks and sticks that blew in, I managed to start a fire. Then, I started singing because I got bored and well... you guys showed up!" The orange filly hopped from the Nightingale, using her rapidly moving small wings to give her an extra boost, and landed on Rainbow's back, nuzzling the mare on the back of the neck, just above the collar.

"Really..." Rainbow spoke dubiously. "Twenty Windigoes, eh?"

"Well..." Scootaloo shied, "more like... five."

The prismatic mare laughed, but didn't respond back with words, feeling that the conversation had ended. The whole time, she could see Sentry giving them an occasional glance, particularly while Scootaloo was describing the place she had been taken to by the Nightingales. Either he was leery of Rainbow Dash, or the information being given to her by Scootaloo.

But Rainbow Dash never glanced back. When ever she did have a chance to look around, it was to her left. There, Phantom Knight's limp body was being carried on the back of some Nightingale stallion. She kept reminding herself that he was repeating what he had done in the tunnels beneath Ponyville; faking unconsciousness to gather intelligence on what was going on, or waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. As much as she wanted to believe that that was the case, and that the midnight blue pegasus could hop up and save them all in a wing beat, he didn't. He just laid there, doing nothing. Not even his ears moved around to better hear what ponies around him were saying. Part of Rainbow Dash's mind was telling her that he was actually unconscious, and that he could do nothing for her; that she was on her own. But another, darker, deeper recess of her mind held within its realm of possibilities a fate she dare not bring to fore-thought.

She hadn't seen the spell actually hitting the pony, since she was busy trying to escape with Scootaloo. Hay, she didn't even hear it. So this gave her the bliss of ignorance in that he truly was okay. And as much as she hated it, only time would reveal the answer.

"Skylar, how are we lookin' up there?" Rainbow's thoughts were interrupted by Sentry called up to his eye-in-the-sky. Normally Rainbow would have looked up at the other pony being addressed, but she already tried that once, and immediately felt the effects on the collar she was really hating by this point.

The pegasus Nightingale preformed several corkscrews down to the group, landed directly beside Sentry. "The storm will be here in about fifteen more minutes. At this pace, we should make it just in time to get out from under it."

Sentry nodded. "Very well." The pegasus next to him spread his wings, and was just about to take back off into the air before Sentry stopped him. "No need to go back up. We're going to take a short cut to make sure we stay out of the storm."

Nodding, the pegasus followed Sentry as he turned, changing the groups direction towards an inconspicuous cave opening. It was just barely wide enough for all of the ponies to fit inside in their current formation. Quickly the light faded, and darkness began to take over. Sentry lit up his horn with a white light, effectively illuminating the cave.

Their new course had many twists and turns, along with changes in altitude. This system of caves brought back memories for Rainbow Dash of the tunnel she was in under Ponyville. This one, however, was longer. If she had to guess, it was about double the length. Sentry led the group of ponies through the tunnels, the only light emanating from his horn. The only sounds where the clip-clopping of the ponies' hooves, and the dripping of melted water from the ceiling.

A blur of time passed by before Rainbow Dash saw natural light from Celestia's descending sun once more. But before she knew it, the group made it out of the cave system, and were standing in the midst of an alien environment compared to what she had entered the cave through.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Scootaloo commented. But Rainbow couldn't reply. She was mesmerized by the vast change in scenery. It was as if she had stepped through some kind of portal!

Snow no longer dominated the ground, it was now lush, fertile, flowing emerald green grass. The trees weren't dead husks of grey branches, they had healthy brown trunks, and soft white flowers tainted by light pink on the ends of their pedals. Occasionally, one would fall gracefully from their branch, landing softly on the grass below. Up high, the sky was a perfect azure, with just the right amount of the most amazing, soft, puffy looking clouds that Rainbow Dash had ever seen in her career as a weather pony; even though now there should have been a storm on top of the ponies.

As she glanced around some more, just over the tops of some of the trees, she could see the storm that was supposed to have hit them. It was circling around the area they were in, completely avoiding it as if some kind of a forcefield was in place.

The thing that caught Rainbow's attention the most, was the temperature. The cold that once nipped at the tips of her primaries and nose, that once froze her mane to her coat, was gone. It was actually warm here! Just as warm as it would have been during a spring day back home in Ponyville.

Home... Rainbow reminisced. It only felt like a few days ago she was out with her friends, hanging with them in the park, laying up in a tree with her sun glasses and being as awesome as she could. Now, as Rose tugged on her chain, ushering her foreword with the rest of the group into this brilliant forrest of unknown; home was far from her mind.

As the group trekked through the forest of pink and white trees, the trees themselves began to thin out and disperse. Rainbow's jaw dropped moments later. It wasn't the swaying, curving fields of crops and the occasional mill turning in the soft breeze. It wasn't the cobblestone path that followed the curves of these field. Nor was it the occasion black silhouette of a pony who was working those fields. It was the destination that the cobblestone path led up to.

A town was outlined on the top of a series of hills, one about the size of Ponyville. From this distance, Rainbow could make out it's pre-Equestrian architecture; cobblestone walls covered by hay and straw roofs. In the center of the town, the sun reflected off of white marble walls of the largest structure; what had to have been a castle. It looked extremely similar to the Castle of the Two Sisters.

All at once, Rainbow Dash remember. She connected the dots. The grass, the clear blue skies, the Cherry Blossom trees and the warm weather. The booming crop fields, the ponies who worked them that looked similar to the Nightingales escorting her. The town stretched out before her and the castle that rose from the center of which. This. All of this. Palmyra...

Sentry led Rainbow Dash and the Equestrians along the cobblestone path. All the while, ponies came out from working in the fields to line up on the side of the road, getting a better look at her. She accredited this mainly to her rainbow mane. Or the crown that rested atop her head. It could have been any number of things. Either way, she didn't want that kind of attention

It got worse when a young, gray coated colt ran up to the group, saw Rainbow Dash, and ran off towards the city gates—which by now, Rainbow could see that the entire city was surrounded by a white wall, with only a few buildings outlining it as farm houses. The wall seemed to outline the city in an octagon pattern, with turrets rising from each point.

It was only a matter of time before the group reached the city, gates; massive iron bars like that of an oversized cell door. Instead of opening straight up, rising into the top of the wall like Rainbow had expected they would, they parted ways down the center, which each half retreated into their respective side of the city walls.

When Sentry led his group inside, even more ponies lined the streets to view them. Rainbow felt as if she were apart some kind of circus parade, and she was the attraction. As much as she wanted to shy away from all of the ponies, much like what Fluttershy would do, the chain that connected her to Rose prevented any of that.

The castle grew larger as they approached. It appeared to her to be similar in design to that of the Castle of the Two Sisters, back in the Everfree Forest. The pairs of doors that made up the main entrance managed to be elegant, yet simple in their design; inviting, even. That was, until somepony stormed out of them, using his magic to nearly break them off of their hinges.

This pony was dressed similarly to the Nightingales: black chitin-like armor, and a black cloak. Unlike the others, however, he was not wearing a hood, nor anything to conceal his face. He was a light tan pegasus, with a dark brown mane. His sapphire eyes bore holes into Sentry.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The stallion yelled, his rage directed at the leading unicorn. Sentry seemed to shrink in size at the ferocity of the other stallion's voice. "I told you not to bring her here!"

"I-I-I-I—" Sentry mumbled before being interrupted.

"Care to speak coherently?!"

"S-S-Sorr-rr-y, sir. It's just that she had Scootaloo with her."

The filly who was mentioned jumped off of the back of the Nightingale, onto the street. She comfortably hopped in front of the raging stallion. "Hiya, Syntax!"

"Squirt!" Syntax looked down a Scootaloo, and his mood seemed to instantly improve.

"Hey!" Rainbow yelled at the pegasus before she knew what she was doing. "I'm the one who calls her Squirt, not you!" She tried to advance towards him with intimidation, but Rose pulled on her chain, stopping the brash mare.

"Well well well," the pegasus moved closer to the cyan mare. "This must be the new Princess that caused that flash we all saw last night."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "That's Rainbow Dash! The fastest flier in all of Equestria! And only the greatest sister ever!"

"She's the pony you told me about?"

Scootaloo nodded. Syntax directed his attention back to Rainbow Dash, scrutinizing her.

"Who's this, then?" he asked, looking towards the still unconscious form of Phantom.

"My body guard," Rainbow explained. "Well, he was my body guard. Now he's my boss, I guess you could say."

"Hm. Sentry, wake him."

"Sir?" Sentry questioned.

"You hear me. Wake him."

"He's dangerous, though! He attacked me! He's in league with the Glaciens."

"He's also Equestrian, so he'll help us. Now, wake him."

Sentry sighed, turning to the unconscious pony who had now been placed just before the steps of the castle entrance. There was a quick pulse of white magic, centered on Phantom's form. Rainbow watched as the pegasus groaned and shuffled a bit. She could see his eyes moving rapidly under his eye lids. In one gasp of air, his eye lids flung open, and he quickly scanned his environment. Realizing that he was still surrounded by Nightingales, Phantom opened his wings and took flight.

He only got about four feet off of the ground.

A paralyzing white aura of magic surrounded him, restricting his movements to nothing. Sentry turned the frozen pegasus so that he and Syntax were looking at each other.

"Now, who would you be?" Syntax asked the guard.

Phantom spoke, but not to him. "You doing okay, Dash?"

"A little hard to breathe, but sure," Rainbow replied.

"Good. Now, who would you be?" asked Phantom, using the same words as Syntax.

The Nightingale laughed to himself, enjoying Phantom's wit. "Okay," he said, "I'll play along. I'm Syntax, second in command of the Nightingales. You no doubt know who we are. Your turn."

"Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight, Equestrian Royal Guard. Is it safe to presume you know why we're here?"

"Yes, Mr. Knight, it is. You're here to help the Glaciens stop us. We don't have much time, so I'll explain this as quickly as I can. You are going to help us. Our current leader has been captured by Glacien forces and is being held in the capital city, likely in some dungeon in the castle. You are going to go rescue her, and have her come back here by nightfall tomorrow. Since her execution is scheduled for tomorrow, I'd advise you to hurry. Princess Rainbow Dash here will remain here with us as collateral in the event that you fail, and our leader doesn't return. Oh, word of advice, don't trust the Glaciens. They tend to betray those that do."

"So that's it? Save your leader and come back? How will I find my way, follow her?"

"No. Just set her free and stay there. You will not be coming back. If our leader arrives, then I will have Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo teleported to you."

"If you hurt her while I'm gone..."

Syntax rolled his eyes. "We're not Glacien. Remember? Sentry, send him back." The unicorn nodded, closing his eyes and preparing to use a spell that would take up a sum of his energy. "Oh, say hello to Stryker for me, will you?"

Phantom opened his mouth to question what Syntax had said, but lost his chance when Sentry fired his teleportation spell.

There was a crackling in the skies above the Aquila castle. Just above the west wing, a loud pop and flash emanated from above the rooftops. Phantom Knight found himself falling from the skies at the destination of a misaimed teleportation attempt for the second time that month. Too shocked to correct his fall, and still recovering from the effects of the paralyzation spell, he could do nothing to stop himself.

"Faust..." he muttered as the clay roof approached rapidly. Less than a second later, Phantom crashed through it with resounding noise.

Author's Note

'An update!' you say? 'Can it be?' you ask? And I tell you, 'It is!'
Rejoice my fans! For an update has come! After the bleak emptiness of the winter chill, I have made a rebound and finished this chapter! Thank you sooooo so so so so soooo much for all of those who checked in to see how everything was going, and those of you who stayed through the drought. I can not tell you how much that means to me.
As always, your comments give me the motiviation to go on so they help so so much. I love to hear what you guys think about the story, and what you think is going to happen. Believe it or not, it's your comments and your suspicions in those comments that help me gauge where the story is and how to adjust properly! Overall, your comments complete the story! So send 'em in!

Up next: Encounter - Part Two. We find out who the leader of the Nightingales are, and Prince Castor isn't at all happy that Rainbow didn't return with Phantom...

ps. My birthday is next week so no guarantee on how quickly I'll get the next chapter done, but I'll endeavor to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
pps. We broke 50 thousand words! This is now my longest story with the least amount of chapters! WooO!
Thank you all so much!
-Sam.

Encounter — Part Two

"I'm sure you have lots of questions," Syntax spoke to Rainbow Dash kindly. "Rose, remove the collar."

"S-Sir?" the mare stumbled. "A-Are... are you sure?"

"Please do what I ask."

"Uhh... umm. Yes, sir." Rose apprehensively removed the collar from around Rainbow Dash's neck, putting the device back in her saddlebags. Feeling free, Rainbow stretched out her neck, and took several deep breaths.

"Thank you, you are all dismissed. You've done a good job. Now, go home, see your families." Each Nightingale was glad to heed Syntax's words, trotting off in separate directions towards their homes. This only left Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo, who had hopped onto her back, and Syntax. "Could you follow me please, Miss Dash."

Seeing no other option since her wings were still bound, Rainbow complied, hesitantly. Even with Scootaloo reassuring her about the stallion's integrity, she still didn't trust him. Part of her wanted to trust him, if only a little. After all, if he had been taking care of Scootaloo like she said he had been, then he couldn't be that bad.

Syntax calmly walked down a stone path, heading away from the castle. Rainbow was expecting them to head inside, not head the other direction. The mare trotted up to his side, then matched his pace.

"Before I answer your questions, I have one to ask you."

"Didn't Scootaloo already tell you about me?"

"It is not about you yourself, Miss Dash. It's about me, well, the Nightingales as a whole, really. Tell me, what does Princess Celestia think of us?"

"Uh, I don't know. When she talked to us about what we would be doing up here, she didn't tell us too much about you guys, not even your names. She just called you guys rebels."

Syntax sighed. "Princess Celestia doesn't know who we are... Doesn't surprise me, King Centauri tries to keep knowledge of us to a minimum, pretending we don't exist. So tell me then, what do the Glaciens think of us?"

"They say you murder ponies, that you burn villages, attack convoys, stuff like that. You... you don't. Do you?"

"Oh, heavens no! I assure you, Miss Dash, that it is the other way around. It is the Glaciens that are committing those atrocities. I've been to Equestria, believe it or not, and we are much like your people." Syntax's path strayed from the road, catching Rainbow off guard. She quickly adjusted herself and followed the other pegasus. The Nightingale stopped outside of one of the houses next to a street. The three pegasi looked in through the windows, over a hedge, to see inside.

There, a family of four: a unicorn stallion, an earth pony mare, an earth pony colt and a unicorn filly. Two parents, and their two children. They sat on a carpet, in front of a cozy, lit fireplace. The mother and father were cuddled next to each other with warm smiles, watching their two foals run around in circles, playing with one another. Rainbow could feel her own smile growing just by looking at the peaceful scene.

"We're far from what we're portrayed," Syntax spoke softly, trotting away from the window. Rainbow chased after the stallion. "Most of us are normal, everyday ponies. Shop keepers, barbers, farmers, merchants, doctors, nursers, lawyers, guards, fireponies, craftsmen, artisans, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. We've all made a choice. A choice to do something greater. A choice to make Glacies a better place, a place that it was intended to be when the Nightingales first stopped Boreas. Very few of us are even related to the original Nightingales. When Boreas was stopped, and nothing changed, we were the ones who were blamed and cast away from the rest of the Glaciens. Most of the families died off centuries ago, but a few remain, like my own.

"Everypony you see here has chosen to be here, to defy the oppressive government, to rise up, to fight back, to protect and save the others who can't. They risk their lives, so others won't have to. Look around, Miss Dash, these are the same kinds of ponies you'd see in your home of Ponyville."

Rainbow Dash followed the pegasus' advice, looking around her at the ponies who were milling about on the streets and sidewalks. The difference between Palmyra and Aquila was respectively the same between day and night; between warm and freezing; between soft grass and scratchy sand.

The residents of Palmyra had bright, colorful coats, dazzling manes, and radiants eyes. Had Rarity been here to see it, she would have fainted on the spot. More noticeable than their physical appearance, their buoying emotions, apparent warm hearts and kind spirits, was their cutie marks. They all had cutie marks! Even most of the foals had them! Hoofballs, musical notes, half painted canvases, stars and constellations, clouds, scooters, lightning bolts, flowers, trees, fruits of all sorts and kinds, insects, mammals, birds, candies, confectionaries, other foods, chalk boards, everything one could imagine as something being somepony's special talent.

All of the homes and buildings were in excellent condition. Hedges, flowers, bushes, small trees and other plants decorated the lawns of the homes. Families gathered on the porches to intermingle with one another, enjoying their presence. There seemed to be no signs of crime or disruption anywhere throughout the city. Everything seemed to be in perfect harmony. Even the cats, who played with the mice and vise versa. Nothing was out of place as perfect clouds floated overhead, and birds flew by in perfect V formations. It was a veritable Utopia.

"You may not take things at face value, but I assure you that this is our true nature. Not the nature that the Glaciens depict us with."

"I..." Rainbow was stumbling around for words. Finding Palmyra and meeting the Nightingales up close, it wasn't anything like what she had been expecting it to be. "I had no idea..."

"Yeah," Scootaloo commented, "this place is pretty awesome! All of the other foals are really nice and friendly. They even helped me try to get my cutie mark!"

"Yes, it is a pretty amazing place." the pegasus stallion added on. "I'm lucky to have been born and raised here, like every other in my family, stretching all the way back to the original Nightingales. These are just the most active and devoted of the group, too. There are hundreds more lying in secret in towns all throughout the nation, recruiting new members and spying on Glacien activities."

"Too bad it wont be like this for ever..." The cyan mare could feel Scootaloo cross her hooves and lay her head on them, pouting to herself.

"What?" questioned a confused Rainbow Dash, "Why?"

Syntax let out a tired sigh. "We're losing this war, as much as I hate to admit it. The Glaciens may be stupid but they're not completely stupid. It's called the Palmyran Forest for a reason, not that hard to figure out what's here. All they have to do is send out patrols in all directions and eventually they'll come across something. We've been sending out our own patrols to intercept theirs but... there's not enough of us..."

The trio of ponies stopped at the edge of a small park. Fillies and colts alike mingled on the playground equipment while their parents watched from their nearby picnics. Syntax watched them with a tired regard. "It's only a matter of time..." he whispered with a heavy heart. "Especially with you here. That crystal you wear, it can be tracked through the Conduit. The Glaciens know where Palmyra is now. I've already ordered the evacuations to begin once the caravans arrive."

"Where will you go?" Scootaloo asked.

"Everywhere. Like we usually do. We'll spread out and blend in, and wait."

"You mentioned something called a 'Conduit'," Rainbow recalled, "what's that?"

"A good question, that's what that is." Syntax turned and headed down the road once more. With Rainbow caught back up to his side, he continued. "The Conduit is the crystal that we used to imprison Boreas with two thousand years ago. It's what has to be placed in the statue in order to awaken him on the anniversary. The Conduit controls all of the 'Shards of Ice' which are Sapphire Crystals that broke off from the original Conduit and were spread throughout Glacies. One of those shards makes up your crown, and the crown of every other royal.

"That migraine you got when it was put on you was Boreas establishing a connection with you. The ceremony where you 'officially' became a princess connected you to the rest of the crystals, and in turn, to Boreas himself. Tell me, Miss Dash, have you been hearing voices in your head lately?" Rainbow nodded. "Something along the lines of 'free me'?"

"Yeah," Dash replied. "How do you know?"

"You're not the first the Glaciens have done something like this to. Queen Centauri was once a normal pony, too. She was even trying to help us out when she met the pony who is now the King. He tricked her, and now she's one of them."

"That's terrible!"

"That's Glacies. Every thing has led up to now. Two thousand years of fighting and struggles, and it's all coming to an end."

"When is the anniversary, anyway?"

"Heart's Warming. Two days from now. Two more days and we can finally stop being defensive. We can finally leave Palmyra and take down this wretched regime."

"Well, if it counts for anything Syntax, I'm convinced you're the good guys."

"I just hope your friend comes to the same realization..."

"How could you have done this?" Archer demanded with a hostile tone. "We were best friends, all of those years fighting side-by-side and this is what it comes to?!"

"Things change over time, this was inevitable!" Stryker shouted back across the lobby. "I made mistakes, and nothing can change them now. All we can do is end it!"

"You can still be saved! There's never a point of no return! Help me, and maybe we can resolve this cliché!"

"This is a trope, not a cliché," Stryker's voice was suddenly much softer.

"Are you sure?" Archer asked, matching his tone.

"Pretty sure. Well, I mean fairly sure."

"So we're in agreements, then?"

"I guess, why not."

"So be it. Now die!" the anger from before was back in his voice, along with the volume.

The two ponies charged at one another, with all of the fury and hatred they could gather pushing them along. Archer started at the bay windows of the Sapphire Suite, while Stryker began at the dual silver doors. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy stood by the fireplace in horror as the two stallions teared towards one another. They were too stunned by the fight between the two ex-friends that none of them could stop what was unfolding. Years of pent up frustration and anger barreled to a collision of epic proportions, the outcome of which had the potential to destroy most of the room.

Several stressful moments passed, and finally the time of reckoning arrived. Stryker and Archer met with each other head on. Both stallions closed their eyes, gritting their teeth, tensing up their muscles in preparation for the opening, and potentially final blow of their duel. Fluttershy covered her eyes with her hooves, cowering in terror. Rarity swayed as if she were about to faint. Pinkie Pie nervously trotted in place. Twilight and Applejack were leading towards the two ponies in eager anticipation.

Stryker skidded to a halt, stopping in the place that Archer had once been. He was panting, trying to catch his breath from the sprint. A pressure on the front of the chest had confirmed he had been hit, but was he able to hit his target? The little distance that was between the two ponies left no room for error in that aspect.

The unicorn turned around. There, in the center of the floor, laid his old friend, limp and emotionless. Stryker took great solace ask he trotted up to the white stallion. Archer remained still, laying with half-shut eyes and a shallow breath. Looking up at the unicorn above him, a slight smile crossed his lips.

"Heh," the earth pony snorted, "you win again... I guess..."

Stryker stopped above the stallion, looking down at him with resignation. "I always win, remember? I thought you would have learned that long ago."

"Never really took 'no' for an answer all that well. So, this is how it ends, huh?"

"Eeyup. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Archer sighed. "I'm not."

Stryker raised a hoof, strategically placing it over Archer's head. He knew that this was something he would likely forever lament as he brought his hoof higher up, ready for the final strike. The unicorn brought his hoof down with all his might...

...only to stop a few inches above the stallion's head.

"Stryker wins!" Pinkie cheered, firing off party cannons and releasing balloons, streamers, and confetti into the air. Fluttershy peaked out from between her hooves, checking to see if what Pinkie had cried was true. Realizing it was, and that everything was okay, she took a relaxed stance by her friends. Rarity wiped away a bead of sweat from her brow, breathing a sigh of relief.

Applejack threw down her iconic stetson, stomping in rage, yelling something along the lines of "Consarnit!"

Twilight leapt into the air, using her wings to help her gain height. When she landed again, she turned towards the farm mare with a cocky smile. "Pay up!" she demanded, holding out a hoof.

The orange pony picked up her stetson, grudgingly she trotted over to her saddlebags to grab a small bag of bits. On her way back, she was mumbling several lines of incoherent profanities. "Here ya go," she sighed, placing the bits in Twilight's hoof.

"Thank you," the alicorn replied, teleporting her winnings to her own saddlebag.

Archer grabbed onto Stryker's hoof, accepted the assistance back up. "That was a good joust," the earth pony said, whipping the dust off of his makeshift pillow-armor.

"Had you stayed on your hooves, you would have won," Stryker admitted, pointing to the indentation on the pillow that was strapped to his chest. It was the spot that the rubber tip of Archer's improvised lance had connected. "For once."

The white pony looked around at the shatter remnants of his lance, then at the intact form of Stryker's. The unicorn had made contact, but his lance had glanced off of one of Archer's side armor, but still had enough force to knock him down. His lance broke, so he got one point; but Stryker managed to knock him down, even though his lance didn't break, so he got three points. Stryker was telling the truth. Had he maintained balance, he would have won against the stallion.

"So close this time..." Archer muttered with a shallow voice.

"You've been getting better."

The two ponies trotted over to the awaiting mares. Since they were all detained in the Sapphire Suites until further notice, boredom was quick to reign supreme. After Stryker's confession as to his whereabouts to Twilight, they set on the next task of figuring out what they were going to do; a series of contingency plans. Early in the morning, Archer had stumbled out of his room, complaining of a headache, wondering what had happened. Stryker explained to him that they were ambushed by a pair of Glacien guards and they only barely managed to escape. All the while, Spike had gone out by instruction of Twilight to see what he could find, with some directions given to him by Stryker, and wouldn't be back until mid afternoon.

After that, the next priority on the groups list concerned what exactly they were going to do while they waited for... something. Pinkie had been the won to provide the winning suggestion: Games. The next phase consisted of trying to figure out what they were going to play in the first place. Stryker had suggested a chess tournament, but nopony, save for Twilight, seemed keen on the idea, especially Archer. Pinkie Pie spewed out some of the most ridiculous and abstract ideas for games that any of them had ever heard.

However, she eventually landed on one that caught most ponies' ears. Jousting. More specifically, pillow jousting. It took some explaining, but eventually Archer got in on the idea, and immediately challenged Stryker to a jousting match, sure that this would be the game he finally defeated his long time friend at.

Applejack had created the lances out of the broken bed posts from Rainbow's room, tipping them with rubber stops from the underside of nearby chairs. Rarity used some of the excess pillows that she found laying around and used them to fashion some make shift armor for the ponies. Twilight set the rules as standard jousting rules, and that Stryker was unable to use any magic of any kind to assist him, or interfere with Archer. Fluttershy watched from the sides with quiet joy, and direct the betting that was going on between Applejack and Twilight.

"So what now?" Stryker asked, trotted up to the group of mares, taking his makeshift armor off. "Another game?"

"I'd rather look for Phantom and Rainbow," said Archer.

"It's a pretty safe bet that they're no where in the castle," Twilight reasoned. "It's entirely possible that the Glaciens have guards out looking for them, and us should we decide to leave. I'd rather not create an international incident by disobeying their orders, and further straining the already delicate relations between our two nations."

"Well we can't just abandon them," Applejack spoke up, "Rainbow wouldn't abandon us."

"Neither would Phantom," Stryker chimed in.

"As much as I'd rather not get dirty," Rarity spoke, rising to her hooves, "I completely agree with you. We shouldn't leave our friends behind."

"Ah'm in," agreed Applejack.

"Me too!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

All eyes turned on Fluttershy, awaiting the quiet mare's response. "Oh! Umm, uh, yes. I-I-I'll go..."

"It's settled then!" Twilight announced, floating over her saddlebags and placing them on her back. "We're going to go find our friends." Securing them, she trotted towards the Sapphire Suite doors. Her friends, including Stryker and Archer happily followed her, knowing full well what could happen should they be caught snooping about in a foreign country like they are.

But just before she got to the doors and had a chance to open them with her magic, something stopped her. It was a sensation that tugged at the back of her neck. One that she just couldn't put a name too, even though she had felt it before on several different occasions.

On cue, there was a loud crashing noise that reverberated throughout the room. Everypony stopped, turning to see what was the cause of the noise. A large whole now called the elegant ceiling its home. Dust floated down to where a pile of stone and debris now laid on the tinted marble floor.

"What was that?" Stryker asked, hesitantly drifting towards it.

"No idea..." replied Archer, half shocked by the suddenness of what-ever caused the ruckus.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down towards the mass of stone. "I'l find out for you guys!"

Ignoring the warnings from her friends, and any common sense that might have been trying to talk her out of it in her own head, the pink mare continued to skip towards the site. The mare seemed to be humming to herself some song that only she knew the name of.

When she reached the pile of ruble, she bent down and stared at it with a happy regard. Her eyes quickly traveled over the pile, taking in every single detail of it. After a moment of searching, she removed one stone, as gasped.

"Found him!" Pinkie Pie cried, bouncing yet again into the air.

"F-Found w-who?" Fluttershy cowered behind her mane.

The pile of ruble quivered, with several of the smaller pieces tumbling down the sides. Large pieces at the top exploded off to the sides like the mountain top of an erupting volcano, punched open by a black tipped midnight blue leg. Groaning in pain, Phantom Knight pulled himself out of the pile of shattered stone. The dazed looked in his eyes alone told the condition he was in. Everypony nearby rushed to his side, but one in particular was hesitant, maintaining a decent distance away from the forming group.

"That really, really hurt." Phantom stumbled his way off of the pile, with the assistance of Applejack. Trying to ignore his searing headache, which wasn't being helped by the ponies bombarding him with questions in regard to his current state of being. The pegasus blinked heavily several times, looking around his environment and regaining his bearings. His eyes landed on the still semi-blurry form of one tan unicorn in particular standing in the back of the group, away from everypony else.

Stryker saw his gaze, taking several steps back.

"You..." Phantom growled, wings flared, moving towards the retreating unicorn. Nopony had been expecting the harshness in the pegasus' voice as the gaped at the unfolding scene. It was like the beginning of the joust all over again, but this time it was real.

"H-Hey, there, um... boss," Stryker fiddled around for words, trying to stall Phantom and figure out the origins of his attitude. The thought of him being a Changeling about to strike crossed his mind, but the real Phantom wouldn't be all that kind to having a spell used on him. "Where... where have you been? We've been looking all over for you and Rainbow Dash. Uh, where is she, by the way?"

"Palmyra!" Phantom's shout practically shook the windows as he put emphasis on each syllable.

Nopony could see it, but Stryker's heart dropped, and his skin paled. He could feel his jaw slowly opening, but couldn't bring himself to hide it as much as he tried.

"Are... are y-you sure?" the unicorn stammered, finally backing himself against the wall with no where to go. I should just teleport and get out of here... his mind reasoned with himself. Maybe he'll help you, he has shown doubts on who to believe is the real enemy... his subconscious reminded his conscious.

"Yes! Yes, I am sure. Warm temperatures? Farm and grass fields? Cherry Blossom forest? And Nightingales? Yeah, Stryk, I'm pretty sure I know where I was!"

"Easy now..." Applejack tried to calm from her position off to the side. "Maybe we could take it down a few notches here..."

"I-I agree," Stryker said. "I mean, you found Palmyra, right? Mission accomplished? This mean we can head home now?"

"Not until you explain to me," Phantom barked, growing even more hostile, "who Syntax is."

"Name doesn't ring any bel—"

Phantom lunged forward, using his wings to propel himself faster. Stryker cut himself off mid-sentence to gain an extra bit of focus for the defensive barrier he put up between him and the raging pegasus. However, just before the two stallions could physically clash, Twilight used her magic to separate the two; grabbing onto Phantom's cloak and dragging him back, while holding Stryker in the air away from the wall.

"Liar!" Phantom accused when the alicorn positioned the two in the center of the room.

"Now," said Twilight, "we're all going to calm down, and take this one step at a time like reasonable ponies. We are not going to try to rip each other's throats out, understood?" Both stallions nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Good. Now, Phantom, care to tell us what happened?"

"Stryker's the one who's been lying to us, he should have to expl—"

"We will get to him. But I want you to explain yourself first."

Phantom sighed. "Fine. Rainbow left the coronation, and I flew after her. We both eventually got to the Palmyran Forest and got caught in a storm so we had to land and look for shelter. There was this cave that we found, which had Scootaloo in it. Once the storm died down in the morning, we were planning to leave and come back, but a Nightingale patrol was standing outside.

"I tackled one of them in the hopes of allowing Rainbow to escape with Scootaloo, but I got knocked out by some spell. When I woke up, I was in the middle of Palmyra, surrounded by Nightingales, and being ordered by this pony named Syntax to rescue their leader, or else he'll keep Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo there. What I want to know, is how he," Phantom motioned the to levitating unicorn beside him, "is known by name by the second in command of the Nightingales!"

"Care to explain your side of the story, Stryker?" Twilight asked the tan stallion.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag, so to speak," Stryker said solemnly. "Could you make sure that you hold onto him, please?" Twilight nodded. "Thank you. Yes, I know who Syntax is. As unoriginal as it sounds, he's my brother. Remember how I told you I grew up in that forest? And how my siblings and I would run around and play games? Well, we were growing up in Palmyra. For generations my family has been born and raised there, ever since the defeat of Boreas."

"So you're one of them Nightingales, then?" asked Applejack.

"Yes. My family is one of the last descendants of the original Nightingales. Most of the Nightingales nowadays are ponies who believe in our ideals and fight for us. My family in particular was tasked with the defense of Palmyra. So yes, I know who Syntax is. Yes, I know where Palmyra is. Yes, I have been lying to you the entire time, and I'm sorry."

"But why?" Phantom wanted to know, along with everypony else. "You knew I had doubts about who was truly the bad guys, why didn't you just tell me so we could work it out? So much could have been avoided."

"I couldn't risk it. I'm sorry but I just couldn't risk the Glaciens finding out, as much as I trust you."

"Why come to us in the first place? Why didn't you stay with the Nightingales?"

"You're implying that I stopped being a Nightingale. Truth is, I still am one. For years now we've known we were losing this war with the Glaciens, and we needed help. We had called to Princess Celestia on multiple occasions, asking, even begging for help. We tried to send ponies to meet with her in person, but they were always stopped at the borders by the Glaciens. At one point we even went to the Griffons for help, but they merely laughed and shooed us away. Eventually my father came up with an idea, but only one Nightingale could go.

"Boreas' statue doesn't just act as a prison. It still contains a large portion of his magical energy. The same goes for what's known as the 'Shards of Ice', pieces of the original Conduit that was used to imprison him. Not many remain, and most of those make up the royal jewels like the one on Rainbow Dash's crown. They amplify the magical energy produced by a unicorn along with allowing them to cast spells the once didn't have the skill for. Eventually we managed to gather a few Shards of Ice, enough to make happen what my father had envisioned.

"I volunteered, and stood by as the elders wielded the shards, and applied their magic to Boreas' statue. When the spell was cast, I was teleported a great distance, further than possible by that of conventional means. All the way from Palmyra to Canterlot. Per my father's instructions, I was to enlist in the Glacien Royal Guards, become the best I could, get close to many as high-level officials and the Princess as I could, then reveal to the Princess the truth about everything in the hopes that she could see our plight and help us. It was a long shot, that in the end only sort-of worked.

"But now it means nothing. Hearth's Warming is in two days, and the Glaciens have the Conduit, and surely know where Palmyra is by now. We've lost."

The silver doors swung open, and a little purple head poked inside. "I'm back, everypony," Spike called, walking inside. He stopped in place once he registered the scene before him: Two stallions being held in the air next to each other by Twilight, one looking royally ticked, and the other on the verge of tears. A mix of emotions ran through everypony else, but they barely even registered Spike entering the room. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, Spike," Twilight said, turning her attention to the drake who was now fully entering the room and walking up to her side. "Just having a little discussion. What'd you find out?"

Spike's gaze drifted from Phantom and Stryker, the former of whom refused to look at the latter, and Twilight, then back and forth between the two. "Uhh... well I found a room with a map, and it looks like they know where this Palmyra place is and are moving towards it."

"How long until they get there?"

"Looks like tomorrow night."

"Phantom," Stryker said softly. "I know you probably don't trust me anymore, and that you probably hate me. But you have to believe me. We need to stop the Glaciens from reaching Boreas. We need to find the Conduit!"

"We need to save Rainbow Dash," Phantom replied sternly.

"What do you mean 'save' Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. "She's... she's not in trouble... is she?"

"Syntax is holding her in Palmyra along with Scootaloo. If I don't find and free the Nightingale leader from the Glaciens, then we won't see them."

"He wouldn't hurt anypony if it could be avoided," said Stryker. "I doubt any harm will come to them."

"But the Glaciens are on their way there," Archer spoke. "That whole place will turn into a battlefield."

"I guarantee that it's already being evacuated of civilians."

"Civilians?" Rarity asked. "There's civilians there?"

"They are civilians, Miss Rarity. Civilians that believe in our cause, and can see past the lies of the Glaciens." Stryker turned to look at Phantom. "Will you help us, or not?"

"Can you let us down, now?" Phantom asked Twilight. The alicorn gave him a suspicious look before complying, releasing her magical hold on the two stallions. Stryker fell a few feet, landing on the ground with a 'thump' but still on all hooves. Phantom used his wings to slow his decent. The pegasus walked past the unicorn, making his way towards the suite's bay window. "We'll see. I have to plan how I'm going to free your leader. There isn't much time; her execution is tomorrow.

"Her dungeon is probably heavily guarded... so I'll strike when they bring her out."

"Okay. How can I help?" Stryker offered his assistance, trotting up beside the midnight blue pony, sure to keep a leg's length distance away.

"Stay here with the Elements. Make sure none of hem leave, they'll have plausible deniability that way."

"You don't trust me... do you."

Phantom sighed. "For the first time in my life, I don't know where to put my loyalty and trust." The pegasus turned around, trotting towards his room. A plan was already forming in his mind as to how he would do it, but it wouldn't be easy, nor smart. A lot was to be organized if this was going to work, especially without any help. He wanted to have help, but the Elements of Harmony were not soldiers - Princess Celestia wasn't here to tell him otherwise - and he wasn't sure if he could trust Stryker or not. Archer could have been helpful, but Phantom knew that the moment he acted on his plans, the Glaciens would come for them.

So, he was going it alone. If he were to fail, only he would fall, and the other's could reorganize themselves. In the end, all that mattered to him at that moment was saving Rainbow Dash, again.

Author's Note

Well, here's my birthday present to you guys! (thanks for all of the wishes a head of time, by the way :P)
Yes, I realize there's a lot of dialogue and I apologize for that. I don't know why, but that's my strong suit in writing. I guess when I think about it, it's because a lot of things got explained this chapter. Then again, a lot of things NEEDED to be explained. And those said explanations basically turned around everything I had built up thus far, so I apologize for that hahah.
I do hope you enjoy these two parts, and the more in-depth look into Palmyra, the Nightingales, and the workings of what I now call the 'Shards of Ice'.
Keep up those comments with your opinions of what's going on, and what's going to happen! I love to read them!
(incase anyone has been wondering, I know I have, I haven't forgotten about Soarin', Sky, Cloud Maker and the Changelings.)

Up next: We find out who the leader of the Nightingales is, and Phantom probably gets way in over his head, again. It's Hearth's Warming Eve, and everything comes down to the next day.
Thanks for reading!

Return

The night passed the same as any other night for Phantom: excruciatingly slowly. Realizing that a lot was to be done the next morning, he had gone to sleep in the canopy of his bed before Celestia's sun had set, before anypony else had gone to sleep. But this did not help him. He still laid there, tossing and turning for hours, his mind still reeling from the previous day's events: Getting up to find Nightingales at the entrance to their cave and attacking them, only to get knocked out; waking up in the middle of Palmyra, then getting teleported back to Aquila and crashing through the roof; and finding out that a pony under his command, and a friend, was lying to him, hiding invaluable information that could have solved so many problems early on, and likely feeding him false information.

Sleep eluded him as usual. When it finally managed to envelope the pegasus, it did so in the form of a vengeful nightmare. When Phantom woke up in the dead of night, he found himself sweating and panting. He was unable to recall what the nightmare was about exactly. All that was left over was a lingering sensation of cold. Most ponies would have gone back to sleep afterwards, relieved that it was over, but Phantom did not. He knew that if sleep returned, it would bring with it yet another nightmare of some sort.

So instead, the pegasus glided down from his bed canopy, and over to his equipment which sat in the corner next to the door. This time he put it on, he did so without the pride of wearing his uniform. Tightening the straps, locking in each piece, tying on his hood and cloak. Phantom did so knowing that it was to be used today as an instrument of war, not pride. Once it was on, he stood in front of the mirror for several minutes, seeing himself for perhaps the last time.

Looking out the window, he saw that the sun was just beginning to crest over the distant horizon. Few clouds were in the crisp morning sky, save for the wispy cirrus clouds up high, being carried south by way of jet streams. A part of him wondered if these clouds would grace the skies over Ponyville. But those thoughts soon left his mind as another object of interest filled up the window. An eagle, flapping his wings to come in for a soft landing on the ledge. Talon. This was Stryker's friend from a time before he knew him. At first, Phantom had thought that the idea of having a bird as a companion like he did was a silly idea, but several times over the majestic eagle has proven valuable, especially when it came to spying, gathering intelligence, and sending messages. Speaking of which...

"You have something for me?" Phantom asked with a soft voice, not wanting to potentially wake anypony else, although that was unlikely.

Talon nodded, letting out a quick "Kik," before gliding over to the edge of the bed. He leaned over slightly, revealing a note. Phantom took the parchment and unraveled it with a wing, holding it it in front of him to read.

SSGT Knight,

As instructed we have left the area of the Palmyran Forest and are maintaining position just beyond sight range of Aquila. We will await further orders.

Captain Dash

Phantom sighed. "Stryker told them to stop looking for Palmyra... didn't he?" Talon merely nodded, albeit slowly. "You have a stronger connection to him than I originally had thought, am I correct?" Again, a slow nod. Phantom trotted up to the bird, extending a hoof and rubbing it up and down the back of his neck. "At least you were loyal, if not to me."

"Kleek!"

"Yeah, loyalty is a difficult subject indeed. As much as ponies want to believe, it's never black and white. Never."

"Ik ik ik."

"I know, I'm terrible at following my own advice..." Talon stared at Phantom. "Guess I was a little harsh on Stryk... he was only trying to protect his family and home." Again, the bird stared at him. "You're going to ask 'What would I have done in the same situation?', aren't you..." Phantom already knew what the eagle's answer would be, so he continued. "You know, I probably would have too."

Them midnight blue pony got up, and trotted into the main lobby of the Sapphire Suite. Talon glided over to the pony, landing on his back, careful not to grab too hard with talons. The two winged creatures headed into the lobby. There, everypony was asleep around the hearth of the smoldering fire place. Having decided that it was safer to be in a group, particularly after events like Soarin' getting into Rainbow Dash's room, everypony now slept around one another. They had initially planned to have a 'lookout', but that has apparently failed.

One thing Phantom noticed, was that Stryker had a significant distance between him and the other ponies, who were cluttered next to each other to the point that they were barely touching, heating one another from the cold air. Stryker, meanwhile, appeared to shake subtly, shivering in his sleep. Talon hopped off of Phantom, and onto the back of a nearby couch, examining the ponies that he did not know.

Phantom trotted over to the same couch, pulling off a light blanket with his mouth. Heading back to the other end of the hearth, he draped it over Stryker with a sigh.

"I should give him a second chance, shouldn't I?" Phantom whispered. Knowing that any call he made would have woken up somepony, Talon resorted to nodding again. "We'll see how this endeavor goes, first." Phantom trotted over to the silver doors. He was halfway through them when he stopped and remembered something. "Oh," he said, turning back to Talon, who had now begun to lay down on the back of the couch, "watch out for the pink and yellow mares, they'll just love you."

Smiling to himself, Phantom set off down the stairs that led down to the main lobby of the castle.

Phantom Knight eventually found his way to where he was going: a balcony similar to that from which he watched the coronation from, except this one looked over the courtyard on the opposite side of the castle, the one that housed the newly constructed gallows. The sun had barely risen when he arrived. For the past few hours, the pegasus watched and waited, letting the wind lightly flutter his cloak as he contemplated exactly what he would do when the moment came.

During this time, guards has begun to show up in and around the courtyard, their number increasing as time went on. First, they stationed themselves along the rooftop of the castle, overlooking the entire area. More guards stood in pairs by the entrances, while other pairs moved around slowly in seemingly random paths. Ponies filled into the yard, one by one. With nowhere specific for them to sit, they congregated around the gallows in no specific form.

By the time the sun had reach a level so that its light could shine over the roofs and into the courtyard, even more Glaciens had shown up. Now, it was bustling with movement as ponies tried to get comfortable and talk to each other while they waited. Phantom hadn't expected as many ponies to show up that had for the coronation, especially considering the extra space that the gallows showed up, but he was still surprised that a significant number had shown up. Some were even foals, standing on the backs of their parents so that they could get a good view on the noose that swung in the breeze like a deserted swing.

Guards now stood on the wooden platform of the platform, one at each corner, looking out over the crowd for any sign of trouble, and a pair at the base of the stairs. Several craftsponies were working on the rigging of the gallows, making sure the knot in the rope was good, and that the trap door was working properly. To test it, one floated up a bag of sand that probably had a similar weigh to that of a pony, tied it to the rope, and released the trap door.

Even from his distance, Phantom could hear the gears turning as the level was pulled and the hinges moved, opening the door. The bag seemed to float for a split second before the bag fell. When the rope went taut, it did so with a loud 'SNAP!'. Phantom physically recoiled, taking an uneasy step back at the sound. His gut churned jus thinking of what that contraption was designed to do in the way of killing its victims. He rubbed a hoof around his neck, hoping to never have to be subjected to the hangpony's noose. Often times, ponies were under the interpretation that the gallows were ineffective to pegasi, given their significant weight difference between unicorns, and particularly earth ponies. A teenaged colt could usually lift up a grown pegasus into the air, given the pegasus was willing and that the pony doing the lifting put every ounce of energy into it, but they usually could. But what a lot of ponies didn't realize, that it was even more violent for pegasi.

A pegasus' light weight was primarily due to their hallow bones. Because of that, they were weaker. Phantom had heard stories, and even saw an example while he was in Saddle Arabia, of pegasi being hung. Since during most hangings, ponies didn't make any kind of adjustments for the weight of a pegasus, they were usually met with rather... grotesque... results... What happened was that when the pony dropped, the noose did its job a little too well. Instead of simply breaking the neck, and the spinal cord, they were shattered, even disintegrated. The neck and head above the rope would stop falling, but the rest of the body would drop a few inches more, ripping open muscles, tendons and veins. Needless to say, although it was a quick kill, it was a messy one.

Phantom took several deep breaths to keep the contents of his stomach in check, even though they consisted of practically nothing. Expecting not to survive for too long, he hadn't exactly ate. Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused back at the task in hand, just in time to feel the air next to him shift. Looking out the corner of his right eye, he could see the tan tip of somepony's muzzle.

"I thought I told you to watch over the girls," Phantom spoke blandly.

"You did," the unicorn replied. "They're safe. I sent for the Aurora. When it gets here, they'll be on it, and on their way home. It should arrive in a few hours."

"You really think it'll get that bad?"

"I know it will."

Phantom looked over his should to further regard the stallion. Stryker, for the first time since their arrival in Glacies, was clad in his white armor. His was in better condition than Phantom's, simply from a lack-of use. The colors were brighter, and the cloak wasn't tattered like Phantom's was. The plates of armor themselves didn't have the cuts, scrapes, or dents that the pegasus' had; Stryker had obviously been doing a much better job at avoiding being hit while in combat.

"Why are you here, come back to earn back my trust?" Phantom asked, turning his attention back to the ominous rope.

"I've... accepted that that is an impossibility. I'm merely here to provide my assistance in the rescue. She is the leader of the Nightingales, after all."

"And who is 'she', anyway?"

"Sorry, boss, but if I told you now, it would shatter your plan and you'd try to save her now instead of waiting for the proper moment."

"You're trying really, really hard to stay on my bad side, aren't you?"

"He's just trying to look out for you," said a third voice. Looking over his left shoulder, Phantom saw as Archer trotted up along side the pair, completing the formation. He too was wearing his armor, even going without a jacket underneath it to help fight off the cold. Unlike Stryker and Phantom, Archer's hood was up, primarily to help find off the cold wind.

"Let me get this straight..." Phantom began. "You're both here."

"Eeyup," the pair replied.

"So nopony is in the suite with the Elements of Harmony?"

"Nope."

"So they're alone?"

"Eeyup."

"WHY?!"

"The fight's down here, boss," Archer said.

"And we wouldn't miss it for the world," finished Stryker.

Phantom sighed, bowing his head slightly, "If I survive... you're both fired."

Nothing more was said as the three guards waited. They hadn't learned exactly when the execution was to take place, but judging by the amount of ponies present, it had to be soon. More guards had shown up, too, but this group was focus around a pair of wooden doors that connected to the main section of the castle. In front of them, Captain Cypher waited.

Stryker explained how Captain Cypher had come to the suites with the intentions of arresting everypony. How he discovered, and nearly confiscated, the Elements of Harmony, and how Twilight used her status as a princess to send him away. The captain was speaking with somepony by his side: Prince Castor. This was the first time any of the Equestrians had seen him since the coronation. Instead of looking sad like most ponies might have expected him to, he had a mixed appearance of anger and... satisfaction?

He was looking out over the crowd, seeing how many ponies had showed up for the execution. Then his gaze drifted towards the balconies, stopping on the one that housed the Equestrian guards. The prince's smile rapidly deflated, and, not breaking his gaze from the ponies, he mentioned something to Captain Cypher. The guard then too looked up at the balcony, nodding. Prince Castor turned and exited through the double doors, a pair of guards behind him.

Phantom wondered how long it would take the prince to get up to the balcony. Hopefully the prisoner would be brought out before he showed up, that way the pegasus could avoid talking to him. He knew exactly what the first words out of that stallion's mouth would be when he finally showed up. 'Where's Rainbow Dash?' the annoying stallion would demand, but if Syntax was to be believed, then Prince Castor would already know.

Then again, if he already knew where Rainbow Dash was, and that the Glacien army was already marching there, why wasn't he with them? In fact, why wasn't Captain Cypher there, leading his troops? Perhaps they stayed behind to make sure that the execution went off without a hitch, and then would head out to the field of battle by train afterwards. If that were the case, then they would fail in the first aspect. As for the second part of that hypothesis, if true, then the execution should be taking right about...

Before Phantom's thought could be completed, it was interrupted by the cadencing of snare drums. Two sharp taps, with a beat of rest between them, followed by a roll that lasted just about a second, before another pause that proceeded its repetition. The source of these noises were coming from an unknown location that the pegasus could not see, which he found interesting since there was no echo to them. But, he did see that the double wooden doors were open now.

Now. Out marched a pair of guards, neither of whom bore weapons. Instead, they wielded a set of snare drums, on which they preformed their steady cadence. More pairs of guards marched out behind them, continuing forward as they marched in different directions off to either side of the doors. On guard had a rope attached to him. Phantom traced it back to inside the building, where the rope seemed to drag out with it the shadows from inside.

Phantom regarded the shadow with idle curiosity, tilting his head slightly as he watched it walk outside, failing to disappear. It took him a moment to consciously realize that it was a black cloak that covered somepony from head to hoof. As the group proceeded forward, the guards that once stood by at the doors fell instep behind the hidden pony. Everypony in the crowd was silent, all eyes focused on the scene unfolding before them. Those who were standing between the guards and the gallows stepped to the side, giving them a wide berth.

When the leading guards reached the stairs of the gallows, they stopped, each column taking a step to the outside, then turning in towards one another, creating a tunnel. The cloaked pony was pushed along the tunnel by a pair of guards. Under the cadence of the drums, they climbed the steps that led to the platform of the gallows. The apparent executioner, somepony who was wearing a different colored set of armor from the others, lead the prisoner to the noose.

Captain Cypher wasn't too far behind the ponies. He took center stage in front of the crowd, clearing his through and using his magic to amplify his voice.

"My fellow Glaciens!" his voice boomed out over the crowd. "Today, we celebrate a great victory! For years, we have been at arms with the Nightingales. For years, we have fought and battled theme, struggling to keep our fellow Glaciens safe. But no more! We have captured the Nightingale leader," he thrusted a hoof at the cloaked pony, "and our armies are marching on their base as we speak. By tomorrow morning, this war will be over, and we will be victorious!" The crowd erupted in a thunderous applause.

"He's right about the war being over part, at least," Stryker yelled over the noise.

"Weren't you the one who said that you were going to lose?" Phantom yelled back.

"The Glaciens won't win in the end, either. Boreas will."

Contemplating the stallion's somewhat cryptic answer, Phantom turned his attention back to Captain Cypher's boring 'speech'.

"And that victory begins today, now! Behold! The leader of your enemies!" Using his magic, he ripped the dark cloak off of the Nightingale leader.

Phantom physically paled, as if he saw a ghost. Simply put, it was because he did see a ghost. When the cloak was removed, it revealed a pegasus mare, one who had a jet black coat, midnight blue hooves, feather primaries and muzzle. Her mane was half and half: midnight blue in the front half, and jet black in the back half. Her tail was also jet black, but had a streak of the same midnight blue running through the middle. On her hip, was a cutie mark that depicted two wings in the same of a heart. The most striking feature about the mare were her bright, scarlet red eyes.

Nyx. It had to be. The coloring, the eyes, everything. But how could it be? Every rational part of Phantom's mind told him that this was just some illusion, that he was seeing things and that this wasn't his sister. The last time he had seen her, she was just a filly, the morning before she had disappeared from their apartment.

Phantom trotted over from a table, carrying on his wings several plates. Discarding the dishes into the sink, he turned back to his sister, who had just finished eating her breakfast. The filly rose from her seat, cantering over to the corner next to the door to retrieve her blue school bags.

"Ready to go?" Phantom asked.

"Yeah!" Nyx replied with a squeal of joy in her voice. "Today's going to be the best day ever!"

"Oh? Why's that?" the older pegasus moved towards his sister, leaning down next to her so that she could hop onto his back. Although Nyx was in her mid-teens, she still had a bit of trouble flying, particularly when it came to distances. Phantom did his best to teach her, but he wasn't the best at explaining things and passing on knowledge. He had managed to get her into the air, and over time they worked on her abilities more. At first, she could only cover short distances, like in and around buildings, up stairs, and over obstacles. By now, she was able to fly herself over to the Royal Guard base not far away from the apartment. She still had yet to gain the strength to fly across Cloudsdale, where their school was located on the upper district.

"Because it's career day! And the teacher said that we should bring in family members to talk about their careers. And I want you to come."

Phantom extended his wings, pushing himself and his sister off of the floor and out into the cool pegasus sky. The two soared over the bustling morning streets of the cloud city, carrying on their conversation.

"I'll have to find time, I have class too, you know."

"You had better be there. Rainbow's dad is going to be there. You guys practically have the same jobs!"

"I don't think there's too much in common between his being the Captain of the Royal Air Guard, and me being a janitor."

"One could say that raising me like you did is a... is a..."

"Full time job?"

"I would have said career," the mare tapped Phantom's head with her hoof thrice to emphasize her point.

Phantom sighed. "Fine, I'll be there. Just for you though."

"I know. It's like you said all those years ago when I asked if you'd ever leave me! And what did you say?"

"Never!" The pair shouted as Phantom dove a little bit, gaining speed to get to the school faster, his sister laughing on his back as he did so.

Little did either of them know, that that day in class, with Phantom standing in front of everypony talking about what kind of a brother he had been all those years, much to the smiles of Rainbow Dash, Spectrum, and Nyx. His sister always had the tendency to get home early, even though she wasn't a strong flyer. She would glide from the school's cloud, to the lower one of the downtown city below, walk across that cloud while using her wings where she could, then use a series of clouds to hop back up to the apartment complex.

When Phantom arrived home to rest up before going to work at the base, Nyx was no where to be found. Her room, like much of the apartment, was completely destroyed. From that moment forward, he swore to join the guard, and find her.

Now, it seems, that day has come.

The pegasus' mind was completely blank as he silently watched his sister be trotted up to the noose. Stryker seemed to shift from side to side nervously as the noose was tied around the mares next.

The door behind the three Equestrians flew open. Prince Castor stood as menacingly as he could get, tow Glacien guards by his side. "Phantom Knight!" he yelled. "You are under arrest for the foalnapping of a member of the Glacien Royal Family! Guards! Arrest him!" There was a short pause as the two Glacien guards casted each other uncertain glances.

"Go on," Stryker urged, using the delay to his advantage. "We can take 'em. Go get your sister back." As if a sign of reassurance, Stryker used his magic to pull Phantom's hood up over his head, just so that the end laid level with his eyebrows. The pegasus gradually recovered from his lose, shocked expression, assuming a more disciplined, attentive one. Flaring his wings open, the pegasus stallion charged forward, jumping over the balcony railing and diving straight down towards the crowd several stories below. "You got 'em, right?" Stryker asked Archer.

"You kidding? This'll be easier than that bar fight back in Genovia."

Stifling a laugh, Stryker put his hooves on the railing of the balcony, pushing himself over the edge just in time to see Phantom pull up a few feet above the crowd, continuing forward towards the gallows at high speed. Just before Stryker hit the ground, he used his magic to teleport himself closer to the stage, next to the ring of guards that surrounded it.

Back on the balcony, Archer stretched his neck and legs, earning a satisfactory series of pops out of them before turning around to face the prince and his two guards. The white stallion readied himself.

"Ha!" Prince Castor snorted. "You dare challenge me? You're nothing but a mere earth pony!"

Archer smiled. "No. That would imply that this fight will be a challenge." Prince Castor growled, applying magical energy to his horn as his two guards rushed towards the Equestrian.

Phantom wasn't sure of how much time had passed. All he knew, was that he needed to hurry. Finally, he found his sister, but if he wasn't quick about it then he may lose her again, this time forever. Halfway across the courtyard, he saw Stryker materialize next to the gallows out of the corner of his eye. The unicorn immediately began firing bolts of magic at nearby guards, focusing their attention on him instead of Phantom.

Captain Cypher stood from his position, barking orders at his subordinates, who seemed to be coming out of the woodwork from everywhere. The unicorn's magic enveloped his horn, then the lever that controlled the trap door of the gallows. Phantom put every ounce of strength he had into his wings. Just before he reached the gallows, he put himself on a slightly upwards direction, tucked his legs close to his body, and turned his head away. This minimized the damage as he tore through the supporting beam of the gallows, breaking it and the rope tied to it. At the same time, Captain Cypher pulled the lever, and the trap door swung open. Nyx fell through it, expecting the end...

...only to feel the impact of the cobblestone on her haunches. She looked around, shocked by the fact that she wasn't yet dead. Behind here, Phantom rolled end over end on the cobblestone, skidding to a painful stop. He was the last pony that she had expected to see, here of all places. Phantom stood up, casting a worried glance at the gallows. A thousand pound weight felt like it was lifted off his chest when he saw that his sister was laying on the ground instead of dangling from a rope; her head was up and she was staring back at him with those scarlet eyes that he so fondly remembered.

He quickly limped to the mare under the platform, countless wooden splinters digging into the front-left portion of his body. Stopping just feet in front of her, the two froze, examining one another from head to toe to make sure that they were real, and actually there.

"N... Nyx?" Phantom asked.

"Ph-Ph-Phan... Phantom?" Nyx's words practically stumbled out of her mouth. There was a split second pause, then both ponies ran and embraced each other. Feeling the splinters dig further into his body, Phantom broke the embrace much earlier than he would have wanted to. "What are you doing here?!"

"What am I going here? What are you doing here?!"

A blast of magical energy sounded out through the area. Anypony in the crowd who wasn't running in terror before, certainly was now. It was caused by some explosion on the balcony the Equestrians were at, one that completely destroyed the feature, propelling stone out in all directions. There was another series of explosions as Stryker slid on his back along side the gallows, all the while firing his own magic back at somepony.

Looking over at the two pegasi, he yelled, "I get that it has been awhile," Stryker had to cut himself short in order to roll out of the way of an incoming spell, "but some help would be nice!"

Both ponies nodded just as a section of the wooden platform above them vaporized. There, stood one very, very ticked off Captain Cypher, his horn radiating with magical energy. "You!" he huffed, "I should have never let you step through those gates!"

Phantom and Nyx glanced at one another. "Another time?" Nyx asked.

"S-Sure?" Phantom replied, still reeling from the revelation that his sister was alive. Nyx, on the other hand, had seemed to have gotten past that as she flared her wings open, propelling herself through the newly created hole and tackling Captain Cypher. Shaking his head to get out of the daze he was trapped in, Phantom used his wings to hop through the same hole and land on top of the platform. Just in time to see his sister thrown off by a magical force.

Phantom charged forward, ramming himself into Captain Cypher, who was just about fire a spell at him. Narrowly missing the spell, the two ponies tumbled end over end off the edge of the platform, landing on the cobblestone below. Though Phantom was on top of the struggle at first, Cypher was quick to kick the pegasus off of him and away from the gallows.

Nyx meanwhile rose to her feet only to find that she was completely surrounded by Glacien guards. She lunged towards the guard directly in front of her, jabbing him in the chest with her left hoof, then immediately rolling to the right, sweeping with her right hind leg to knock out the hooves from under another guard. Once those two ponies were down, she moved on to take out the rest.

Captain Cypher ducked to avoid a stray spell fired by one of his own guards, who was knocked to the side by a powerful buck from Archer. The captain galloped towards Phantom just as the pegasus got to his hooves, latching onto the pony. The pair rolled around, punching and jabbing at one another as best they could. Once again, Phantom ended up on top of the struggle, wrapping his forelegs around Cypher's neck, slowly squeezing the air out of him. But Phantom got hit in the side from somepony's spell. Even though his armor absorbed much of the damage, he was still thrown a good distance away from the Captain of the Glacien Guard.

Nyx flew over to her fallen brother's side, bringing him to his hooves.

"You need to get back to Palmyra!" Phantom shouted, bucking away a pair of unicorns that were running towards the two pegasi.

"How do you know about Palmyra?" Nyx replied, rolling over Phantom's back after he bucked the two guards away to knock out another Glacien who was running up on them.

"Doesn't matter!" Phantom grabbed hold of his sisters neck, pulling her down as low as they could get to avoid a barrage of spells being fired at them from the rooftops. "I'll explain later, but you need to get to Palmyra!"

The two pegasi flew in a tight formation towards the unicorns on the rooftops who were firing at them. They ducked and weaved to avoid the potentially deadly spells, both from in front of them, and below them. Archer and Stryker were fighting along side one another, trying to keep the attention of as many ponies as possible, which was unfortunately working for them.

Stryker and Archer were completely surrounded by a sea of Glacien guards. The only thing that protected the two was a shield that Stryker had put up, protecting them from the spells that would have bombarded them otherwise. Archer was fighting hoof-to-hoof with anypony who ran through the shield, trying to keep them away from Stryker as long as possible. The tan unicorn was trying his best to keep the shield up, but the force of the Glacien attack was taking its toll. Stryker was crouched, putting all the energy he had into the spell, which was showing signs of cracking.

Phantom and Nyx dodged a barrage of blasts from the rooftop Glaciens. The pair flew side by side, pushing the guards off as the came upon them. Once that threat was eliminated, the two siblings rushed back down into the courtyard to help their allies.

"We can stop them here! Now! Take out the Royal Family and end it all!"

"The Glaciens are marching to Palmyra!" Phantom had to break off their formation to avoid yet another spell. Quickly, he rejoined along side his sister. He put a hoof over her shoulder, catching her attention and looking her straight in the eye. "Go back to Palmyra, and keep Rainbow Dash safe." Nyx slid to a stop mid-air. After continuing forward a few feet, Phantom also stopped, flying back over to her. "Yes, that Rainbow Dash. Nyx, please. Do this for me."

The pegasus mare looked around at the growing number of Glacien guards, and the seemingly futile defense the two Equestrian s were putting up against them, then back at the pleading eyes of her brother. "Fine," she sighed. "But I'm coming back for you."

Her brother nodded, "I know," then flew on his back a little distance away from Nyx before turning upright towards the shield. She only watched Phantom for a few seconds when a series of spells were fired at her, prompting her signal to leave. Within moments, she disappeared over the edge of the castle wall, on her way to Palmyra as fast as her wings could carry her.

When Stryker's shield was finally broken, it did so with an impressive explosion that sent a wave of energy through everypony. The blast had enough force that it knocked Phantom out of the sky, sending him sliding across the cobble stone ground to his destination instead of landing their softly. He struggled to get the air back into his lungs that was knocked out by the fall. Coughing and sputtering, he craned his neck painfully to look around.

Archer appeared to be in a similar situation. He too was on the ground, but in a slightly better situation. At least he had the strength to fight some of the Glaciens who were running towards him. Stryker, on the other hoof, was completely out cold. Lying limp on the ground at the mercy of the Glaciens that stood over him. While one put on sets of hoofcuffs, another slipped on a magic incapacitator on his horn. Looking back over to Archer, Phantom watched as the white stallion began trying to crawl towards his downed friend, only to be stopped short by a guard striking across the muzzle with a hoof, knocking him unconscious.

Phantom tried to cry out, but nothing happened, he still hadn't yet caught his breath. He tried to crawl towards the two, but didn't make it very far. After only moving a few feet, the pegasus was kicked in the gut with enough force that he was rolled over onto his back. Above him, stood a very satisfactory looking Captain Cypher. The captain's horn lit up, pulling Phantom's right wing out from under him and painfully sprawling it out.

"This is your one and only chance," Captain Cypher said, placing his left off on Phantom's wing joint. The pegasus tried to struggle his way out, but found himself pinned down by the magic of several other nearby guards. "What are the Nightingales have waiting for us in Palmyra?"

Phantom stopped struggling, looking the Glacien above him dead in the eyes. "One way tickets to Tartarus for you and each of your guards."

Captain Cypher shook his head. "Tisk tisk tisk." The pony raised his hoof. "Shame, too. You were a really good flyer from what I could tell." And with all the force he could bring to bear, he brought his hoof down on the pegasus' wing joint.

Author's Note

She's back!
Of course you all knew that already... didn't you... I'm actually surprised that it took you guys that long to call me out on this decision, but then again I'm disappointed in myself because now it eliminates the shock value of her big reveal. Oh well. You still don't know how she got there! Which reminds me, I messed up BIG time in the whole her-getting-ponynapped thing, so I'm going to try to fix that...

In other news, the story shall receive a gore tag! Why? Because that whole describing of a pegasus getting hung (which is iffy as to its validity, I know) kinda puts that on edge and I wanted to be careful. Plus, I had the full intention of somepony being stabbed with a sword during the final fight scene, but that clearly didn't happen. Why? I freaking hate fight scenes, that's why. So don't expect them to have as good a quality as the rest of the story.

No Rainbow Dash in this chapter. I know, you're disappointed, but hey, she comes back next chapter! Speaking of which:
Coming up: Broken Feathers (Part 1? I'm not sure. Probably. But still not sure), a lot o things go down. Will Boreas be freed? Will the Nightingales prevail and fight back the oppressive Glaciens? Will Phantom live long enough to celebrate his birthday? If so, what flavor will the cake be?

Pinkie Pie: Uhh... Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry Grape Cherry Lime? Duhhhhh!!!
Sam: Ah! Geez!
Phantom: Ah! What is it?!
Sam: I don't know! She came out of nowhere! *desperately tries to push her back through the 4th wall.
Stryker: Hey guys, what's going on— WHOA BOREAS! What's she doing here?!
Phantom: Don't worry about it! Just help!
*the three desperately try to push Pinkie through the fourth wall, meanwhile Archer stands by eating a muffin.*
Archer: Uhh, what are you guys doing?
Sam: Trying to send her back! What's it look like?!
Archer: Like you're trying to send Pinkie Pie back to the human universe...
Phantom: What do you mean?
Archer: Well, you're trying to push her through the fourth wall, correct?
*everyone nods*
Archer: Well, you're trying to send her into the human world. We're in the pony world, where she belongs, so it won't work like that.
*Silence, everyone stops*
Sam: So... I'm the one breaking the fourth wall?
Archer: It would appear so, yes.
*another pause, everypony turns to stare at Sam.*
Pinkie Pie: Ohh! Come on! Lets go have a human party!
*Pinkie wraps her hooves around Sam and starts pulling him through the hole she created*
Sam: No! Noooo! I will have my revenge!!
*The two disappears, and the hole zips itself back up.*
Phantom: Did that just happen?
Stryker: Eeyup.
Archer: What do you think he meant by 'I'll have my revenge!!'?
Stryker: Knowing him? I don't think we're going to make it.
Phantom: Well, I've got main character immunity, so there isn't much to worry about.
*Archer and Stryker breathe a sigh of relief, brohoofing one another.*
Phantom: Whoa whoa whoa. I said I have main character immunity.
*The two ponies look at one another nervously and gulp, then look at the door to the side that says 'Writer's Room'*
Archer: He... he wouldn't do that... would he?
Stryker: Well, he did make everypony think Applejack died, turned a Wonderbolt into a viscious character, broke Rainbow's wing, broke Phantom's wing—
Phantom: Thanks for the reminder...
Stryker: — Brought back the Changelings, created an oppressive nation because of reasons, brutally described the hanging of ponies to the point where we now have sensors on the set, made Phantom think his sister was all but dead, only to bring her back in front of him in the worst possible way, only to then again rip her from him. Yeah, I could imagine us as being expendable. Well, you more than me, at least.
Archer: What do you mean...?
Phantom: Well, the readers at least know something about his back ground... but nothing has ever been said about yours..."
*the white stallion paled*
Archer: Faust... guys! You're right! The fans don't know anything about me! We gotta tell 'em! Let's go!
*He runs towards the writers room and tries to break through the door, only to stop mid air by some invisible wall*
Stryker: I don't think we can break the fourth wall...
Phantom: Or is it that we can't break it while we're already on the other side...?
*everypony stares at one another with great suspicion, then slowly turns to look at a half open book on the floor between them all, one page with words and the other blank, but words form slowly one by one, describing the scenes of the future.*
Archer: So... if we're here, in the human world, then we were wrong about Pinkie...
Stryker: Which means that Sam's now in the ponyverse...
*Phantom sighs*
Phantom: Great... another human in Equestria...
*sighs again*
Phantom: Whelp, let's go get 'em.
*Phantom jumps at the book, getting sucked into a white vortex that appears from within the crease of the two pages. Stryker and Archer quickly follow, and the book closes behind them.*

Hope you guys liked that little bit! Just something I had to do, haha.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed everything! Tell me what you think, and your predictions of what's to come! Ah, you guys have read long enough that you know what I want, so send it in the comments!
-Sam.

Broken Feathers — Part One

"You need to relax."

"I am relaxed."

"You are not relaxed. Your muscles are tightening up around this thing and it's going to make it harder to pull out."

"Then just pull it out!"

"I can't pull it out because you're not relaxed!"

"I'm relaxed!"

"Just hold still."

"Fine, make it— Gah! Faust!"

"Yeah, see? That's what happens when you don't relax."

Stryker spat the tiny splinter out of his mouth. Phantom rubbed the spot on the side of his neck from where it came from painfully. Though the pain was dwarfed by that coming from his right wing, which now hung limply on his side. Anything the pegasus would do to cause the wing to move, even slightly, sending a trill of pain through his nerves that brought him to his knees.

The three ponies had been brought into the cell not long after the end of the fight in the courtyard. Stryker and Archer were both still unconscious upon their arrival to the cold stone box that was to be their home for the night. During the late twilight hours, Stryker finally woke. Archer, however, remained unconscious in the corner.

"Why bother? We're just going to get hung anyway." Stryker stopped for a minute to glare at the stallion. Then he smacked the pegasus across the muzzle with his hoof, stunning him. "The hay was that for?!"

"The Phantom I knew wouldn't give up that easily. He was the most stubborn pony I had ever met."

"The Phantom you knew is broken." Stryker pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. Phantom continued his lament. "My best friend who was dead, is alive, and is the bad guy... My sister, who was missing for years, is back, and is the leader of some mysterious force against my ex-best friend. An innocent filly got ponynapped. Rainbow Dash is alone in a place that is probably on fire now. On top of it all, you were lying to be all this time."

"I know it isn't much... but I'm sorry for what I did. We can't just give up, not like this. Nyx got away, back to Palmyra, and back to Rainbow Dash. If they're anything alike, then they won't sit idly by like we are."

There was a pause between the two as they each contemplated their own ideas about the current situation. A quick movement off to the side caught Phantom's attention. He looked over at Archer, who's hooves were twitching slightly. That, and his eyes moving rapidly under closed lids, were all signs that he was in the middle of some intense dream. Which was a better sign than his previous state which consisted of the earth pony moving less than your average boulder.

Archer's breathing increased, and the pace of his hooves picked up. Every few trots, a hoof would catch a piece of stone sticking up from the floor, and he would rotate slightly. Normally it would be something to laugh at, but it was downgraded by the current circumstance. All of his movements abruptly came to a halt, leaving the entire cell as still as could be. Archer greedily sucked up a large quantity. His eyes flew open, and his pupils dilated. He shot to his hooves, backing himself further into the corner with ragged breaths.

The pony slowly calmed himself down, steadying his breathing and soaking in his environment. When his vision finally focused and he better saw the two ponies in front of him, he calmed down further.

"You're awake," Stryker pointed out.

"Indeed," Archer replied. "What happened?"

"Um... I'm not sure... the shield broke and I was knocked unconscious." Stryker turned to the pegasus. "You know what happened?"

"You got punched," Phantom said. "Hard."

"Ah." As if to relieve any pain, Archer rubbed his jaw with a hoof. "That explains why my head hurts so much. What happened to you, boss?"

Phantom began to rise from his laying position, only getting to a sitting position before a twinge of pain brought him back to his stomach, putting the stallion in even more pain. Stryker shot over to the ailing stallion, trying to stop him by saying 'Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Just stay down." The unicorn motioned with his head for Archer to walk over to the other side of Phantom, to which the earth pony obliged.

The thing that had once been Phantom's pristine, clean, powerful wing was now a limp, ravished collection of feathers and bone that barely held onto his midnight blue body. The sight alone forced Archer to look away, gagging.

"Celestia..." Archer said, quickly trotting over to the other side of the two ponies. "What happened to you?"

"Cypher clipped me, that's what happened," Phantom explained.

"Ah." The earth pony trotted back over to his corner and sat down, once again taking in the details of their little abode. "Once again we find ourselves stuck in a cell."

"With no princess to bail us out this time," Stryker said, looking through the cold, black, iron bars, as if somepony should have been standing there.

Bang! An iron bared cell door slammed shut, locking three stallions inside of a small, dark room. Immediately, the white earth pony of them staggered into a wall, collapsing onto a bed a laughing to himself. A tan unicorn sat in the center of the cell, facing hoofing and cursing under his breath at the events that had transpired. Meanwhile, the midnight blue pegasus turned back towards the cell bars to confront the guard who had closed them.

"Flash..." Phantom hiccuped. "Come on... You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do," Flash Sentry replied sternly. "Breaking up a bar fight between Royal Guard and Night Guard is not how I wanted to start my shift! What in Equestria were you thinking?!"

"Hey! They... They ins—" the pegasus hiccuped again, "ulted me."

"You attacked a platoon of Night Guards over an insult?! Stryker, you're sober, right?" The unicorn he was addressing turned around, nodding. "What happened?"

"Phantom's telling the truth," Stryker said. "We were sitting at the bar, getting ready to leave when those Night Guards showed up. Naturally, tensions rose. One of them said that Phantom couldn't guard anything, not even his own sister." Flash Sentry found a new interest in the stone floor. "So, Phantom nocked the guy out. The other Night Guards went after Phantom, then Archer got involved, then more Night Guards, then I got involved... and now we're here."

Flash nodded, filling in the end pieces of the story in his head. Just a few minutes into his shift, a pony ran up to him and told him about the fight in the bar a few blocks from him. By the time he arrived to the scene, the inside of the bar had been destroyed, and a platoon of Night Guards were strewn along the ground. Standing in the center of the carnage: his three squad mates, broken pieces of glass and table legs in hoof. Now, he looked at his friends through iron bars.

"What do you think will happen when Captain Dash finds out, Phantom? And you two," he said, nodding to Stryker and Archer, "what about Captain Armor? Better yet, what about Princess Celestia? We're supposed to be the best in the Guard."

"Right!" Archer called from the bed. "We are the best! We took out a platoon of Night Guard!" Both he and Phantom tried stifling their laughs, but failed. The latter of the two even swayed from side to side, threatening to fall over.

"The princess will not be happy."

"No," said a feminine voice that echoed through the dungeon, "I'm not."

Flash Sentry took a step to the side, allowing the owner of the elegant voice to be seen. A tall white alicorn whose sparkling mane was caught in an eternal breeze stood before the ponies. Her magenta eyes were usually the kindest you would ever see, but tonight, they made the stallions feel very, very small.

The three imprisoned guardsponies bowed, with Stryker being the only successful one of them. Archer attempted to roll out of the bed and onto his hooves so that he could properly address the alicorn. That much he accomplished. However he didn't stop rolling once on his hooves, so he fell onto his other side with a thud. Phantom managed to bow for the most part, but in his drunken stupor he didn't stop until with his jaw connected with the cobblestone floor.

Pick himself back up he said, "Hey there—hic—Sun Butt."

Both he and Archer guffawed, uncontrollably falling to the floor despite having just picked themselves back up. Princess Celestia's already angered expression fell even more as her eyes narrowed. Flash Sentry facehoofed. Stryker slapped Phantom across the muzzle, bringing the pegasus back to his senses.

"I am very disappointed in you three ponies." Princess Celestia's words contained a harshness that forced the three jailed guards to look away. It was, essentially, the vocalized version of Fluttershy's Stare.

"Look, your highness," Stryker began, "they technically star—"

"I do not care who started it, I care only that you attacked fellow members of the Guard. Insult about your past or not, Phantom, you had no right to do what you did."

"But my sister—"

"I am fully aware of the history surrounding your sister, and I am truly sorry. But acting on violence, against your fellow Guards, at least, will not bring her back." She paused, glancing over the three ponies. "I am having you released, on the promis that this will not happen again. Stryker, you are the sober pony amongst the group, correct?" He nodded. "Then I trust you will keep the members of your squad in check. Let this serve as a warning: should any of you," she casted a glance at Flash Sentry before returning the majority of her attention back to the others, "do something like this again, you will be stripped of your rank and service. Am I understood?"

"Yes, your highness," the four replied in unison.

"Good." Using her magic, Princess Celestia unlocked and slid open the cell door. "Lance Corporal Sentry, take the Sergeant and his guards back to their barracks and watch over them, they are not to leave until the morning, and only then if they have sobered."

"Yes, your highness," Flash Sentry bowed, leading the three released ponies down the hall of the Canterlot dungeon. Princess Celestia watched for a few minutes as they slowly left her view. Once they did, she snorted to her self and headed in the other direction, wondering what trouble those four would get into soon.

The three ponies sat in their cells, all staring at the ground, apparently having been thinking about the same moment in time.

"Come on," Stryker said, "let's get the rest of these splinters out."

"How many more?" Phantom sighed.

Stryker took a moment to himself, inspecting the pegasus' neck and legs for splinters.

"One hundred and three."

Again, Phantom sighed. "Alright," he took a breath, "get it over wi—FAUST!"

Stryker turned his head to spit the splinter out. "You need to relax, there's still a hundred and two left."

Ba. Ba. Brrrraah.

For the umpteenth time that morning, the snared drums repeated their cadence of death. There was a short pause before it played again. Each tap and roll echoed through the courtyard, deterring any birds from landing nearby.

Ponies stood in front of the newly repaired gallows, though there wasn't quite as many as the previous day. However, that was compensated by the much larger Glacien Guard presence. Atop the platform, stood what appeared to be a Glacien Lieutenant. With Captain Cypher disappearing, presumably to the Palmyran Forest, one could assume that this was the next in command; other than the king, who, watched the proceedings from a balcony connected to the main part of the castle on the other side of the courtyard.

"We have been betrayed!" the guard shouted. "By these Caren who pretended to be our allies. Pretended to fight the Nightingales with us. They dare turn on us! He! dares turn on his!" he thrusted a hoof to the pony standing beneath the gallows.

Phantom Knight ignored the unicorn, choosing only instead to muse himself with the gently swaying rope that dominated his vision. In a back recess of his mind, he wished that they would go ahead and execute him now instead of rambling on. He briefly considered running forward, sliding his neck through the rope, and keep running forward so that he would hang himself, but the bindings on his legs had prevented that.

"For their crimes," the guard continued, "they shall be executed on this day."

"Heh," Stryker snorted. "Some birthday, eh, boss?" The unicorn was standing behind Phantom, with Archer directly behind Stryker. During the march to the gallows, they were told by a guard that they were going to watch each other die one by one, with Phantom being the first.

"Equestria has declared war on his!" The guard paused. "We must make the first strike! And—"

"Look, pal," Phantom interrupted. "I know you're monologuing and all, but listen, we've got two options: either hang me now, or give me some food. Because I'm going to starve by the time you get done."

The guard's face twisted and skewed with annoyance. But as much as he thought Phantom was joking, the pegasus was not. Even now, his stomach growled. It had been sometime since he had eaten, let alone eaten anything decent. Last night's jail 'supper' consisted of a single stale biscuit, that was shared amongst the three of them.

"And we make that strike here! Today! Now!" The guard moved in front of Phantom, levitating the rope in his magic and sliding it around the neck of the pegasus, tightening it. "Any final words?"

Phantom felt the tips of his feathers twitch, and the hairs on his spine slowly rise. A small smile crossed his lips. There was a dull, buzzing sound, something like what a swarm of parasprites would make. It started off quietly at first, quiet enough for the Glacien to fail to notice it. Slowly it grew in volume. Phantom spoke over the noise in the hopes of disguising it further.

"You, my dear sir, may follow me to Tartarus."

The guard open his mouth to speak, but was cut off by an explosion of light and sound directly behind him. For a brief moment, Phantom shut his eyes tightly, turning his head to the side. When he looked back, the Glacien was falling to the platform. In front of where he stood, a cyan mare with a rainbow mane. Her hoof was outstretched to where the stallions muzzle had just been. Beside her: Twilight Sparkle, whose horn was fading light. To the her right, was a black pegasus. All, save for Twilight, were wearing black armor partially covered by a black cloak and hood.

Nyx ran forward, knife in hoof. With a single slash, the rope fell from the cross beam.

"What are you guys doing here?" Phantom asked. He held perfectly still so that Nyx could cut the remaining rope around his neck.

"Uh, Element of Loyalty, remember?" Dash said, stepping over the guard and moving towards them.

By now, alarms had been raised, and unicorns were advancing on them in mass numbers. Bolts of magic sailed past the platform, fired by the Glacien guards. Any that would have hit the Equestrians were blocked by a lavender bubble that surrounded the gallows.

"Can't keep this up for long," Twilight grunted with tightly shut eyes. She opened them and looked at Stryker and Archer. "I can only take two back with me."

Nyx nodded. "You get them out of here, Dash and I will take Phantom back." She turned to her brother. "You good to fly out of here?" Phantom shook his head, turning to the left so that the three mares got a good look at the wing that hung limp at his side. Both Rainbow and Twilight developed a slightly noticeable green hue to their faces. "Okay, that complicates things. Dash, you get his good side."

The pegasus nodded, moving to Phantom's left side for support. Nyx braced herself on his right, minding his injured wing, she wrapped hooves around his right leg, while Rainbow Dash did the same to the other fore leg.

"We'll see you guys there," Twilight said. Under the cover of a white flash and snap, Twilight, along with Stryker and Archer, disappeared.

Her forcefield went with her. A torrent of spells flew past the three remaining pegasi, with a few bolts connecting with the support beams of the gallows just to their sides. Nyx counted down. On one, she and Rainbow Dash pushed down on their wings, rising to the air. Phantom's face twisted and contorted. He groaned through clinched teeth in an effort to expel the pain shooting up his side.

Rainbow Dash and Nyx carried Phantom into the skies above the courtyard. Spells followed them, directed by unicorns who were desperately trying to strike the fleeing pegasi. Nyx led the maneuvers, calling out directions for Rainbow Dash to help carry the stallion in. Each time they moved, more pain tugged at Phantom's nerves.

With in a minute, the three were clear of the castle and out of range of the unicorn guards. Rainbow Dash and Nyx settled into a stable flight at about the same height as the area's cumulous clouds.

"Nyx!" Phantom yelled loud enough to be heard by the two pegasi over the rushing wind. "You've got some explaining to do!"

"Me?!" Nyx looked down at her brother. "You have some explaining to do! Why are you here?"

"Why am I here? I'm here to stop a Changeling attack and stop a civil war! Why are you? here?"

"I'm leading that civil war! What are Changelings doing here?"

"Sorry to interrupt guys," Rainbow Dash said, "but can we maybe save this for later and focus on getting back in one piece?"

"Fine!" Phantom and Nyx replied at the same time.

The group continued flying on in silence, trying to stay as stable as possible. With each round of turbulence, Phantom felt a new spike of pain. His eyes narrowed, and he clinched his teeth. When his eyes were open, his vision was surrounded by swirls of black and red. He felt as though his head was filling with helium. A tingling sensation started in his hooves, crawling up his legs. The same feeling also began in the base of his broken wing and he quickly lost feeling in it.

"H-Hey..." Phantom's voice was barely audible over the wind. "Something's not right..."

Nyx kept her attention forward on the horizon. Rainbow Dash barely noticed, briefly looking down at the stallion. His head was bobbing up and down while his jaw hung open. Phantom's eyes were drooping but it was clear that he was trying to keep them open.

"We need to land, Nyx!" Hearing Rainbow Dash's words, Nyx looked at her brother and quickly nodded. With a free hoof, she pointed down to a white field below them that would provide ample room to land.

The pegasi directed themselves towards it with a sense of urgency. Landing in the field, Rainbow Dash moved off to the side and let Nyx lay her brother in the snow on his good side. She quickly took mental notes, trying to identify the problem aside from the obviously broken and dislocated wing.

"What's wrong with him?" Rainbow asked.

"I think he's going into shock," Nyx said, lifting open one of her brother's eye lids to look into his pupil. Reaching into a pouch on the side of her armor she pulled out a small bag filled with a clear liquid and a thin tube that had a thick needle at the end. Extending Phantom's front right leg she found a spot were a vein ran through his forearm and stuck it in. "Here." She handed the bag over to Rainbow Dash. "Keep the tube beneath the bag and make sure the fluids keep dripping. Can you do that and fly?"

Rainbow Dash took the bag in her mouth and nodded.

"Good. Now, help me get him up." The two mares braced themselves beneath Phantom, spreading their wings and preparing for flight. "Hang in there for me, okay Phantom?"

Nyx casted a glance to her brother whose breathing had began to slow. His head and eyes were also starting to droop.

Phantom couldn't hear what his sister had been saying; her words came to him in the form of dull mumbles, along with every other sound. His eyes were closing against his will and what he could see were only blurs and were quickly fading to black. He only barely felt himself being lifted off of the ground before losing complete consciousness.

Phantom's fluttered open. The firs thing he noticed was that he was no longer flying. The second thing was that his armor was missing. The third thing was that he was laying down on a soft white sheeted bed in the back of a wooden room and next to a semi-transparent silk curtain that was the only source of light. The room itself was barren, like a backwoods cottage with its wooden floor, walls, and ceiling. A nightstand stood to Phantom's left, on top of which was a plate of several sandwiches.

He reached over to grab them, feeling the incessant growling in his stomach. A tube pulled on his foreleg, asking it to stay where it was. Phantom traced the tube out from his foreleg and up to the top of a silver metal pole, where an I.V. bag was hung, dripping a clear liquid into the tube which followed it down and into his foreleg. He grimaced slightly, not being a fan of needles in the first place, let alone a large bore needle like that of an I.V.

Phantom placed his chin on his foreleg above where the needle was and pushed down, using his other hoof to pull the needle out of his arm. He found a first aid box on the nightstand to his right, from the inside of which he retrieved a ball of cotton and medical tape. Phantom placed the cotton over the entry point for the needle then wrapped the tape around it and his foreleg several times. Flexing his it to make sure it wasn't too tight, he reached over for the plate of sandwiches and eagerly bit into them.

The taste from the sandwich caught Phantom off guard. He had expected it to be something that he had tasted before, like a daisy sandwich or maybe ever one with roses, as was common for pony food. It was sweet, extremely sweet but not too much so; almost like a warm buttery-sugary-cinnamon feeling. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the taste. The sandwich even left a warmth behind that spread through out the pegasus' body, relaxing him.

Opening his eyes he saw what was making the sandwich taste so great: Cherry Blossoms. The pink and white petals stuck out from between the bread in jagged edges where Phantom had just bitten into. Satisfied, he bit into it again and again until it was gone before proceeding to eat the remaining three.

He spent the time quelling his stomach's anger by looking around the room more. The wood was a light brown, indicating that the floors, walls, and ceiling were made of oak. A certain musk hung in the air, giving the room a slight haze. It seemed to be the result of burning candles, one of which laid on the nightstand to his right and had appeared to burn itself out. The door directly across from him seemed to be made of a similar wood, with a wooden L shaped knob. Light shone under it, with the occasion spot being covered up by thin, spaced shadows, likely the effect of ponies moving about on the other side of the door. Looking through the window provided no evidence as to Phantom's location; the angle of the light was blinding enough that it concealed any details other than a blue sky, even if he looked through the gap in the curtains.

The option of escape came to the forefront of the pegasus' mind. He was in an unknown area with no idea of what was going on. Since Phantom could hear the faint voices of ponies on the other side of the door, he couldn't tell what they were saying, and there for wasn't sure o their identities. Instead, Phantom chose to see about climbing out of the window with the hopes that he would be able to open it without having to break it.

Phantom sat up and turned himself to the left, accompanied by a series of pops in his back and neck as he did. He leaned forward to climb off of the bed and stand next to it. A sharp pain shot through his right side immediately afterwards. Phantom looked towards the source of the pain, noticing a series of white bandages that wrapped around his right wing and barrel. Slowly memories tricked back to him.

There shouldn't be any reason for him to run, he had already escaped the Glaciens thanks to Rainbow Dash and Nyx.

His eyes widened, and his jaw opened. Nyx!

Phantom bolted for the door, not caring that he was going too fast or a room of that size. Seeing his lapse in judgement, Phantom tried to stop but ended up sliding across the wooden floor, his hooves bouncing over the cracks like train wheels over track joints. Just as he skidded to a halt in front of the door, it swung open and smacked into his nose.

Nyx stood on the other side, hoof covering her gaping mouth.

"Celestia!" she said. "I'm so sorry, I thought you'd still be in bed! You alright?"

Phantom held a hoof on the tip of the muzzle and his eyes remained shut as he sighed. He let the metallic smell and taste of iron sink in as a wetness pushed up against his nasal cavities and hoof. His teeth ached with a head pounding pain. Pulling his hoof away to examine it, he saw the tip covered with a crimson ooze and felt a thick liquid trickle down to the floor.

"Oh my." Nyx reached into a pouch on the right side of her armor and pulled out a hoofkerchief and handed it to her brother. "I am so, so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

Phantom took the hoofkerchief, holding it against his nose with his already stained hoof. "Sit rep," he said.

Nyx tilted her head to the side. "I beg your pardon?"

"Situation report."

"Oh, I see."

Nyx turned and left the small room with Phantom following close at her side. They entered a larger room of a similar design of the first. This one had multiple windows on each side, covered by curtains of similar design. Ponies in white gowns milled about stretchers that had ponies laying on them with bandages wrapped around bloodied wounds. Nyx kept her eyes forward as her and Phantom continued past the wounded ponies and out a set of double doors.

They found themselves in the middle of a cobblestone street, bustling with activity from ponies in similar black armor as Nyx. Pegasi flew in formations of three above the city, coming and going every so often. Earth ponies carried carts up and down the streets with haste and unicorns were marching in formation towards the city walls.

"How's your wing feeling?" Nyx asked.

"Nyx..." Phantom's voice was muffled, still covered by his hoof and the bloody hoofkerchief.

"Right, right, sit rep, I know. You started going into shock on the way back so Rainbow Dash and I landed and gave you an I.V. and flew you back here to Palmyra—"

"I'm well aware of that. You know which situation I'm talking about..."

"My disappearance... of course it's that one." She turned to head down the street towards a large castle, Phantom at her side. "To be honest, I don't remember all that much, it was a long time ago and I was fairly young.

"Really all I remember is I came home, and I went to make something to eat, and somepony came up behind me and grabbed me. We struggled around a bit and I got they injected me with some kind of sedative. When I woke up, I was in some kind of dark cell on what I think was a train. I don't know how long it was... it felt like weeks... but finally it stopped and I was brought out in Aquila. The ponies who were guarding me brought me to the castle and I spent a couple of days with the royal family, still don't know why."

Phantom and Nyx reached the entrance to the great white Palmyran castle: a pair of finely crafted white wood doors. Nyx held one open as Phantom entered inside.

The interior struck him much the same way the interior of the Canterlot castle had; polished marble floors, white stone walls and ceiling. A blue carpet trimmed with gold stretched out to an elevated stone platform in the center of the room. From the ceiling hung a massive chandelier, lit by sapphire blue flames. Black banners hung from the walls, crested with a pair of blue wings cupped in a shape that resembled a heart, or when a pegasus was hugging a foal with them.

While Phantom stood and marveled at the purity of the castle compared to the rest of Palmyra, Nyx walked past him. When he didn't follow after her, she flicked her tail in his face to get his attention. Snapping out of his trance, he trotted up along side the mare while she continued her explanation.

"They kept teaching me these things about Glacien culture and history, it was weird. They wouldn't let me leave the castle and I had a guard on me at all times of the day and night. One day though, Queen Centauri took me out for a walk in the garden and for what ever reason I don't think she thought that I would try to escape.

"It took me several hours to build up the courage to actually do something, since I was actually growing feelings for the queen; she'd protect me from the guards who had been treating me like crap. Now that I think about that, it was probably their plan the entire time. Some kind brain washing if I were to guess."

Nyx led Phantom to the other side of the platform, which by now looked to be solid white marble like the rest of the floor. She placed her hoof on a very specific tile that gave way to her touch, sinking in deeper than the rest of the stone. A grinding sound echoed through out the hall, giving indication that stone was rubbing up against stone.

In front of the two ponies, the marble platform split in two and the halves drifted away from one another, revealing a series of marble steps lit by evenly spaced torches that also had the seemingly common place blue flame. The steps didn't extend for too long of a distance, at the bottom Phantom could see where they stopped and led to a small corridor. Light from another room was just barely visible.

Nyx took the first steps once the the divided platform stopped moving, continuing her story.

"Eventually I worked up the guts to actually try something but as you know, I wasn't the greatest flier. All I could manage was a short hop over the garden wall on the roof of the castle and fell. There was a cart of hay in the street below that caught me and I hid there, too afraid to move. Somepony came by and took the cart out of the city, following some gravel road.

"It felt like I was in the hay for hours when the cart finally stopped. I heard screaming, yelling, and the sound of metal hitting metal. Then it all stopped. I waited and waited for something to happen when somepony started removing the hay. It was some mare wearing the same black armor that I'm wearing now, she was in a group with a bunch of other ponies who had just attacked the driver of the cart. She and the others started arguing, I don't remember what they said exactly but I think it was about me.

"She took me in and raised me along side Stryker and Syntax, telling me about what the Glaciens had done and how they were fighting back. For whatever reason, I believed them and started training with them. Don't ask me why, I just don't know. After awhile, I kinda forgot about coming home... then the mare who took me in got sick. Before she died, she said that I had the greatest potential to end the war and restore peace to Glacies once more, then named me the leader of the Nightingales."

The pegasi reached the bottom of the stairs. It was a short walk to another door, this one made from simple wood and a black iron latch. Nyx opened it and allowed Phantom to enter the next room first.

It was a large rotunda made of a similar white marble with ivory columns sat atop plinths that supported the ceiling along the edges of the walls. On each column was a blue flame lit torch. Ponies of all tribes and colors sat around sleeping bags that were spread throughout the floor. Some were sleeping, some were reading or writing, some were simply relaxing and some were sharpening weapons.

Phantom noticed what sat in the center of the room: a dragon. Specifically a granite statue of a dragon. He was particularly large, no where near the size of the one he had heard that was reported in a mountain cave outside of Ponyville not that long ago. He wasn't small, either. The creature was probably thrice the size of Discord; somepony could easily fit inside of it's mouth. Scales covered its body and a pair of horns extended from the top of the dragon's head and stretched towards its back. Hiss tail had a tip that resembled a single edge blade.

The dragon was reared up as if it were about to strike and its wings were extended, the tips of them touched the edges of the walls. He was caught in a silent roar that showed his sharp teeth and slithering tongue. Around the dragon's neck was an indentation, like there was once been some kind of a necklace that had been removed. What struck Phantom the most was the eyes of the granite statue: they were glowing a bright blue that he had trouble looking at for too long.

Twilight Sparkle sat at the bace of the statue, staring up at it with an investigative eye while scribbling down things in a notebook. To her side was the rest of the Elements of Harmony, all in a circle chatting amongst themselves. Phantom's eyes quickly found Rainbow Dash, both with the help of her rainbow mane and the glowing crystal on her tiara. She seemed to notice him at the same time.

"Phantom!" she cheered, flapping her wings and rocketing towards him. Within moments she was embracing the stallion in a tight hug, one that shot pain through his side. "You're awake!"

"Yea—Gah. Yeah," he grunted. "Rainbow, watch—the wi—wing, please?"

Rainbow Dash quickly stepped back, bowing her head slightly and rubbing one hoof on the other. "Oh! Sorry. How is it?"

"Fine. Nothing I haven't felt before." He looked past Rainbow Dash and into the eyes of the stone dragon. "That him?"

She looked over at the dragon, then back to Phantom. "Yeah, that's Boreas. Twilight's been having a field day since she came back from your rescue."

"And the glowing in his eyes and in your tiara?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Haven't figured it out yet," Nyx said. "Twilight seems to think that it has something to do with it being the day he can be released; something about his resonant magical energy being at its fullest or something."

A Nightingale ran up to Nyx, urging her attention. The two whispered to one another so that nopony else could listen. Phantom tried his best to eaves drop on the conversation but something else caught his attention from the nearby wall.

"Faust!" some stallion yelled. Phantom turned towards the disturbance and saw Archer flip a crate, spilling the cards that rested on its top, and Stryker sliding away from the mess while sitting on a smaller crate.

"You were close, though," Stryker said, calmly raising to his hooves.

"That what you say ever time!"

"So that's a 'No' on another game, then?"

"Yes, that's a 'No.'" Archer huffed away from the unicorn, trotting past Phantom while on his way to the other side of the rotunda. "Hey, boss."

"Thanks," Nyx said to the other Nightingale as they departed. She turned her attention back to pegasi next to her. "We've got a pretty big problem on our hooves."

A dull bang sounded throughout the room. The bass of the noise was intense enough to shake the floor and everypony present. Once the reverberations were finished, silence reined. Everypony looked around as dust fell from the ceiling, waiting to see if the noise returned. It did. This time in shorter, more rapid successions.

"That the problem?" Phantom asked.

"Yup."

"Glaciens?"

"Yup. They have cannons with them; they've begun their attack."

"How long until they breach the walls."

"That's the big part of the problem; they already have. This city is over two thousand years old, it doesn't pose much of a defense against the Glaciens' weaponry. They've already breached the walls and are being delayed by our inner forces but they won't be able to hold them long."

All the Nightingales throughout the room were standing, putting on the rest of their armor and taking up their weapons.

"This is our last stand," Nyx continued. "We must hold the Glaciens off until at least after midnight, when they will no longer be able to free Boreas. So, Phantom, you in?"

He looked around. To his right, Archer slung a bow over his shoulders and put a few extra arrows into a quiver on his back. On Phantom's right, Stryker tied the last knot on his cape, pulling the hood up and smiling at the pegasus. Turning back to his sister, Phantom gave his reply.

"Where's my armor?"

Author's Note

Ding ding ding! Let the fight begin!

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I'm keeping a journal now on the story update blog on my user page, so feel free to go check that out and see what's going on with the story!

What'dya guys think is going to happen? Tell me in the comments! And hopefully I won't have another pause this time! >:P

Thanks for your support!
— Sam.

Broken Feathers — Part Two

Explosions rocked the city. Their pressure waves reached a balcony on the front of the Palmyran castle, rustling Phantom's cloak. He stood with a contrasting calm to the chaos, watching the ancient city before him burn. Plumes of smoke rose from the forest fires. What appeared to be ashes fell from the sky. However, when Phantom held out a hoof to catch one and examine it, he saw that they were Cherry Blossoms that had burned up and floated into the sky, then fell back down.

Every-so-often, a cannon ball would fly over the balcony, impacting the side of the castle somewhere above it. Dust and debris showered down towards the already ruined streets. More cannon balls found their way over the walls and into homes and other buildings, usually collapsing them in only a few impacts.

Formations of Nightingales flew over, on their way to the Glacien lines in an effort to hold them off. Some were armed with bows and arrows, firing at the advancing Glaciens while others were burdened with some kind of incendiary device that was to be dropped on the cannons. Some were successful, judging by the plumes of fire that rose upon impact, but others were shot down by Glacien anti-pegasus spells, and they fell to the forrest.

Phantom bowed his head slightly, sighing. They were losing. They were losing and there wasn't anything that he could do, particularly with his wing broken. He knew that his feelings paled to compare to those of his sister; these were her ponies, after all. Phantom looked to the mare standing to his right. She stood with closed eyes, carefully listening to the sounds of the approaching battle.

"This sucks," Phantom said, turning back towards the city.

Nyx opened her eyes. "What, losing, or not being able to change anything about it?"

"Both, but in particular, the latter." Phantom glanced at his bandaged wing, the white bandages matching the cloak that mostly covered his silver armor.

"Agreed. It kills me to be up here, watching, instead of down there, fighting along side them."

"I feel the same way, but like you said, the fight will be here."

"I could go down and help," Rainbow Dash said. Phantom and Nyx both looked to their left at the mare, who stood wearing black Nightingale armor. She had remained silent for most of the time they had been up there, her thoughts clearly somewhere else. "You know, if you guys are—"

"No," Phantom and Nyx said at the same time.

"What? Why?"

"You're my responsibility," Phantom said, "you're going to be in as little danger as possible. The only reason your on this balcony and not in that bunker is so I can keep my eye on you."

"I can take care of myself, you know. I found Scootaloo and rescued you, didn't I?"

"Dash, you managed to rescue Scootaloo out of sheer luck after putting all of us in grave danger. The only reason you rescued me, no offense, was through the great help of my sister. You aren't a trained soldier. You. Will. Not. Fight."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash accosted him. "I'll have you know that I've fought off manticores, dragons, saved Ponyville so many times I've lost track, defeated Nightmare Moon, battled Discord, saved an entire empire from Sombra, and kicked Chrysalis and her Changelings out of Canterlot! On top of that Princess Celestia said I could come with you."

Phantom turned to face the mare, taking on his own 'steel facade'. Rainbow Dash tried to stand strong, but was faltering.

"Listen," Phantom said, "Princess Celestia ordered me to bring you so you could find Scootaloo. That part of this mission is done, your part of the mission is done. This wasn't even our fight to begin with. We were sent here to deal with Soarin', and Sky and the Changelings, not this! Not some secret order, not some two thousand year-old prophecy, not some dragon that can freeze the world! None of it!

"Furthermore, you never did those things alone, which is exactly what you would be if you went out there right now. Alone. Both the manticore and the dragon swatted you away like you were nothing. All those times spent 'saving Ponyville' only succeeded in inflating your ego to the point that it put even more ponies in harm than you saved! Yeah, you defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Sombra; only with the help of your friends and a magical super-weapon. Chrysalis? That wasn't you, that was Princess Cadence and Captain Armor. As for you kicking the flanks of those Changelings? Any foal could have done the same thing; they're Changelings, not trained, sentient soldiers like the Glaciens are.

"Even that worries me. I know what happened on your birthday, Dash. You let the Changelings trick you, lure you to some secluded cave, and drain the life out of you, steal your Element of Harmony, and nearly cause the topple of the Royal Sisters! If your friends hadn't irgnored you and come save your flank, I doubt Glacies would be anywhere near our problems!"

By now, Rainbow Dash had lost her facade. She had taken a step back and relaxed her muscles; her ears fell and her wings went limp. She couldn't keep her gaze on the stallion in front of her, instead focusing on the ground just in front of his hooves. Rainbow Dash's jaw hung slightly open as she searched for words. None came to her.

"The only successful thing you've done on your own was the Wonderbolt Academy, and look how that turned out! You quit in the end! You quit, Rainbow Dash! You quit! Then Spitfire, with the goodness in her heart, decided to 'reinstate' you. What ever happened, anyway? They haven't gotten back to you since then, have they? Hay, Soarin' tried to kill you, and Spitfire hasn't even tried to contact you, so what do you think they're thinking?

"You're just a civilian, Dash, and I have never lost a civilian on mission. I will not let that happen to you."

Phantom took a breath and turned towards the city, keeping his eyes forwards. Rainbow Dash looked up at the side of his head, trying to say something. Failing, she bowed her head once more and took her leave through the balcony doors. When they shut, Nyx reached over and smacked the back of her brother's head.

"What the hay was that for?" she asked. "Was any of that necessary? At all?"

He sighed. "No... No, it wasn't. I... I over reacted." Phantom rested his head on the balcony edge and lowered his ears.

"You know you have to go and apologize, right?"

"Yeah... I know..." There was a pause. "I messed up big time, didn't I, Nyx?"

"Yes. If you manage to remedy this, and actually get into a relationship with her, I'll be impressed."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh don't give me that." She pushed on his shoulder. "We may not have been around each other a lot since the other day, but I've still had enough time to see how you look at her. You like her, don't you?"

"..."

Nyx gasped. "You do! Ha! I knew it! Does she know?"

Phantom shook his head, still refusing to pick it up off of the balcony.

"You should tell her sometime, before you lose your chance. Come on, we should head inside before we get nailed by artillery."

He nodded and followed Nyx inside, the door shutting off the chaos behind time.

The three pegasi had traveled back to the rotunda under the main throne room. Nightingales had set up defensive positions and traps all along the corridor leading to the entrance, which had been fortified. Now closed with most of the ponies inside of the rotunda, it was secured to be nearly impossible to open from the other side.

Nyx had put Archer in command of the Nightingale archers who were present. He had set them up in a semi-circle from wall to wall with tables turned on their sides, hiding behind them with their bows drawn, aiming at the door, waiting for something to attempt to break through. Nyx has leading her Nightingale pegasi, perched up near the ceiling of the rotunda, waiting. Stryker had been given command and of the unicorns who formed a perimeter around Boreas, should the archers and pegasi fail, they would be the last line of defense.

Phantom, on the otherhoof, hand been tasked with watching over the Element of Harmony bearers and what other Nightingale civilians that hadn't made it out of the city. They were taking shelter in a room on the side of the rotunda, the door barricaded and several Nightingales keeping watch outside of it. Phantom was inside with a few already injured Nightingales. He was sitting in front of the door, waiting for something to happen.

As quickly as they had come, shaking walls, the distant thuds and the falling dust had stopped. There was a moment of eerie silence as everypony looked around the room, wondering what was to come next. Fluttershy tried to hide herself under her hooves while Rarity wrapped a leg around her to comfort her.

"What's going on, sir?" somepony asked; a Nightingale with a broken hind leg, supporting himself against a wall and a crutch.

"They've stopped shelling the castle," Phantom said. "They'll be moving their forces in soon."

The Nightingale nodded but didn't say anything further.

Phantom looked around the room. Most ponies hung their heads low, their eyes either looking at him or the door. Twilight sat in the center of the room along with the rest of the friends. Most of them looked nervous, except for Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The latter bore a look of defeat, while the former stared at Phantom with hostility. Quickly, Phantom put his attention back on the door as he continued pacing. When Phantom turned around, he bumped into what he thought was a brick wall. Taking a step back, he saw that it was a pony that he had run into.

"Now, listen here," Applejack said, pushing a hoof against the front of Phantom's armor. "You're gonna apologize ta Rainbow Dash, ya here?" Phantom didn't reply, but found his eyes drifting towards the ground. "Don't you think she's been through enough without the pony she likes goin' an' a hurtin' her feelings?"

Phantom looked up. "Rainbow... Rainbow Dash... li-likes me?" He turned to look at the cyan mare who had buried her face in her hooves. Her ears had laid flat and her mane had seemed to lose some of its color. Something that stood out to him was the Cherry Blossom that was placed between her left ear and mane. It had been given to her by Nyx as a show of appreciation, and by her words prove that she was a Nightingale. Phantom, Stryker, and Archer had also received one, but their's were placed in a join in the chest plate of their armor. Now, Rainbow Dash's flower had seemed to degrade as much as she had.

"How do you know? Did she tell you?"

"No, she didn't tell us. She didn't have ta tell us. We're her friends, we know what she feels and understands, even if she won't admit them. That's what friends do; they look out for one another."

Phantom directed his attention back towards Applejack. "I know I crossed the line. Those things I said to her were uncalled for... and terrible. How can I possibly apologize for those things?"

"That's somethin' for you ta figure out. Alls I can say is be honest."

"It can't be that simple... can it?"

She put a hoof on his shoulder. "It usually is." Applejack trotted back towards her friends, leaving Phantom to stare at the space she had just occupied.

He watched her sit down next to Rainbow Dash out of the corner of his eye and speak with her, but his ears failed to pick up any bits of the conversation. Sighing, he trotted over to the mares. Phantom wasn't sure about what he would say. He just knew that it had to be something, and that it had to be something good. Before he got even half way to them, something pink flashed in front of him.

"Oh no you don't!" Pinkie Pie said, eyes inches away from Phantom's. "Rainbow Dash doesn't want to talk to you."

"I... I just wanted to apologize to her."

"Oh, okay!" Pinkie resumed a cheerful smile and bounced away. Phantom only took one step forward before the mare returned. "Hey! Wait a second! She said she doesn't want to talk, so you're not going to see her!"

"But I—"

"No buts, mister meanie-head! Just flanks! Your flank heading back to where you came from."

Phantom didn't bother with protesting. Instead he bowed his head and trotted back to the door where he sat and leaned against it. Only half his attention was put on actually guarding the door. The rest of it was spent thinking about what he would actually say to Rainbow Dash the next time they spoke, if they ever spoke, that is.

Occasionally he could catch a few less-than-welcomed glanced from the mares out of the corner of his eyes. Each time they bore feelings of dread and regret into him. Each time, Phantom wished that he could go back in time and stop himself from saying those words. Whenever he looked over at Rainbow Dash, he felt a sensation grow in his stomach that was not all that common to him.

There's those feelings you warned yourself about... he mentally kicked himself.

Some time passed since Phantom's run-in with Applejack. A significant enough length that put everypony on edge. They were all expecting something to have happened by now but nothing came. Some discussed amongst themselves the possibility of the Nightingales fighting off the attacking Glaciens, which they all knew was highly unlikely. Phantom pointed out that the Glaciens were probably just searching for the entrance to this place. To the others, his words unfortunately made sense, and they shut up.

Periodically Phantom would open the door to make sure everything in the rotunda was okay. The pegasi had stopped hovering and had landed in the highest places that they could find. The rest of the ponies were visibly straining at their positions to keep ready, struggling in a half-relaxed half-alert type pose. When ever he came back into the side room, everypony would stare at him, desperate for an answer. Each time Phantom would give them the same answer, "No change."

Falling victim to the same boredom as the other ponies, Phantom found himself leaning against the door, day dreaming. He couldn't shake off what he had said to Rainbow Dash and the scene wouldn't stop unfolding over and over again in his mind. The mare had by now pulled herself out of her hooves, but appeared to be resting, her head laying on Applejack's side for comfort.

A series of dull thuds broke Phantom out of his thoughts. It sounded like somepony was knocking on stone on the other side of the wall from him. He pressed his ear to the door in the hopes to make the sound more clear, but it stopped. It was replaced by the sound of numerous ponies shouting, their words mixing together into an indistinguishable clump. Those who were in the room with Phantom must have heard the commotion too, as their ears and heads perked up.

One voice's yell coming from inside the rotunda sounded as if it were rapidly approaching. It just kept getting louder and louder until Phantom had to pull his head away from the door. Something in the back of Phantom's mind told him to move out of the way of the door. Phantom tucked and rolled to his left just as the door burst open, splinters flying everywhere. Most ponies in the room let out a startled screech.

Phantom recovered and searched for answers as to what had happened. He saw a Glacien guard on the floor, unconscious, having apparently been thrown through the door. The newcomer was immediately surrounded and detained by the present Nightingales. Phantom got back on his hooves, moving towards the door that was now barely hanging off of its own hinges. He poked his head through it to see the chaos that laid on the other side.

Ponies screamed and shouted as metal clanked against metal. Unicorns in golden armor squared off against the Nightingale forces. Spells were fired towards the pegasi who had now dived down on the Glaciens from above. The unicorns on both sides battled each other will spells that often collided and pushed against one another in air. Nightingale earth ponies either drew swords to charge or fired arrows from afar.

Phantom ducked to avoid a group of stray arrows flying just over his head, digging into the wall behind him. He desperately look around the rotunda, searching for someway to help. Over by the once fortified door that now laid on the marble floor in a pile of dust, Prince Castor and Captain Cypher stood, basking in the chaos with ear to ear smiles. Cypher held in his magic an object Phantom hadn't seen before; a silver necklace, with several sapphire jewels imbedded on the sides and in the front.

"Stryker!" he called the attention of the unicorn.

Stryker was in the middle of grappling with a Glacien unicorn. Both were firing their spells randomly in the hopes of at least nicking the other. Lying on his back, Stryker kicked the other stallion, sending him into a nearby support column of the rotunda. He hopped to his hooves and fired one last spell, striking his opponent in the center of the chest. The Glacien fell to the floor, slumping over to the side. The remaining unicorn turned towards Phantom and spoke.

"What is it?" he spoke, trotting over to the pegasus while dodging fire from both sides.

Phantom pointed over to the Glacien officers. "What does Cypher have?"

Stryker took a moment to inspect the object. "Oh no."

"I don't like hearing you say 'Oh no.' What is that thing?"

"That's the Conduit! Phantom, they can not be allowed to get that thing to Boreas. We still have a long time to hold them off." He through up a protective barrier around Phantom and him, blocking a powerful spell that had been barreling towards them.

"Got it."

Stryker dropped the shield to allow Phantom to pass through. The pegasus was only a few meters away when Stryker yelled again. "What ever you do," he said, "do not touch it!" He had hoped that Phantom heard him, but without his acknowledgement and with the chaotic noise of the room, it was impossible to tell.

Don't touch, got it. Phantom had heard him. He repeated the instructions over and over in his head as he ran towards the two Glaciens for which he held so much hatred. The pegasus cursed his broken wing and how he had to resort to moving around like a common earth pony or unicorn. No offense, guys.

Phantom slide under the barrel of a Glacien who was locked in a magical duel with a Nightingale. He put his hooves down in front of him and vaulted above a collection of arrows that were heading his way. Landing on the back of a Nightingale, Phantom hopped from one pony to another, making his way towards the center of the rotunda. He landed on Boreas' granite tail, running along the top of it and onto the dragon's back. He ran all the way to the top of Boreas' head, stopping there to gather his bearings on the battle, and specifically two certain high ranking Glaciens.

"Castor!" he said, locating the two between the statue and the doorway.

Captain Cypher and Prince Castor slid to a stop, following the voice to the top of Boreas.

"Ah," Prince Castor mused, "you're alive! How interesting, I could have sworn I thought I told the guards to execute you."

"You forget that I have friends, your highness. If you and Cypher leave the conduit here and leave, I promise to consider letting the true Glacien ponies give you a fair trial."

The two Glaciens spoke amongst one another so that Phantom couldn't hear. Finally, they turned back towards the pegasus.

"After some careful deliberation," Cypher said, "we've decided that you can buzz off—Oh! I'm sorry, you can't! My bad!"

Phantom furrowed his brows. Prince Castor and Captain Cypher continued forward, flanked on all sides by Glacien Guards who were fending off advancing Nightingales as best they could. The conduit remained in Cypher's magical grip, and Phantom resolved to knock it away, somehow.

He jumped down from his position atop Boreas' head, but without his wings it was nearly impossible to control his fall. Prince Castor was the closest to him, leading the charge and clearing space for Captain Cypher to follow through. Phantom continued falling, hooves outstretched, ready to grapple onto the prince. Within moments, that's exactly what happened. The prince lost all of the air in his lungs as he was tackled to the ground. Phantom gave him one good punch to the stomach in an attempt to temporarily incapacitate the unicorn.

The pegasus got up and turned around. Captain Cypher was sprinting away from him, heading directly for Boreas, the Conduit still in his magical grip. He was faster than the unicorn and they both knew it. Cypher appeared to be trying to push the conduit away from him, towards the slot on Boreas' neck, as he ran. Thought it appeared to be taking a tole on him, the necklace itself absorbing his magical energy.

Phantom caught up to the Glacien as fatigue from the magical drain began to set in. He tackled the unicorn, breaking his concentration. The Conduit slipped from Cypher's magical grip, bouncing and sliding across the floor. Each time it touched the marble, the stone was covered in ice. The air around the jewelry became a misty vapor, creating a slight fog that surrounded the ornament.

The two ponies wrestled with one another on the floor, punching and jabbing in an effort to defeat the other. Prince Castor had meanwhile recovered. He sprinted past the two, preparing a spell to grab hold of the Conduit not far in front of him. Just as he released his telekinetic magic, a sharp pain sent fiery tendrils across the nerves in his right flank. Castor limped to a stop and inspected the source.

An arrow with green fletching stuck out of the spot where a cutie mark should have been. The crimson blood that trickled down from the wound contrasted sharply with his snow white coat. Following the arrow's trajectory back, he saw a white earth pony drawing another arrow from his quiver and steadying it in his bow, preparing to fire again. Castor blasted the pony with a powerful spell before he had the chance to release the arrow. When the Glacien turned back to go after the Conduit once more, he found that it was missing.

Stryker swung his hoof, hitting Prince Castor in the side of the jaw and dropping the regal pony to the floor. In his tan magic, he held the Conduit. He ran for the door, checking over his shoulder to make sure that Castor was immediately getting back up. Failing to realize what was in front of him, he tripped over the hooves of somepony laying on the ground. Captain Cypher had managed to get away from Phantom just long enough to trip the Equestrian unicorn.

A magical aura surrounded Cypher's horn as he watched the Conduit tumble through the air, a distinct trail of vapor following behind it. Phantom grabbed onto his horn before he could grab ahold of the necklace in his magical grip, breaking his concentration. As Phantom kneed the back of Cypher's head, he looked up to find the Conduit, still falling. It was snatched out of the air a few feet above the ground by black hooves.

Nyx had dove in from high above the rotunda floor. She brought with her a flight of other Nightingale pegasi, who went after the Glacien guards that had once provided close protection for Prince Castor.

"Nyx!" Stryker yelled, sitting up from his fall. "Drop it now!"

The pegasus looked at him, then at the Conduit in her hooves, which were growing colder by the second. Frost had covered her where the Conduit touched her hooves. The cold was so intense that she could have only described it as a burning sensation. She dropped the necklace as though it were on fire but the sensation didn't stop. It even spread. First the fur above her hooves paled, losing their color and turning from black to white. The discoloration trailed its way up her forelegs, closely followed by an ever consuming ice.

Everything that the ice wrapped itself around instantly became numb. As much as she tried, she was unable to move her hooves. The ice spread faster. Within moments it consumed the rest of her forelegs and was moving onto her chest and barrel. It covered her wing joints, freezing them in place. Even though she was only about a meter above the ground, she was completely frozen, head to hoof, mane to tail, before she hit the floor. She bounced and rolled, her body unmoving. With each hit the ice let out a loud "Tink."

Phantom was up and sprinting to her before she stopped sliding along the floor. As he got closer he noticed that there wasn't a single scratch on the ice, but as it slid across the floor it left grooves in the white marble. When Phantom reached the block of ice that surrounded his sister, he jumped up on top of it in the hopes that his weight would somehow break it. When that failed to work, he ignored the cold and pain and proceeded to dig with his hooves. He had hoped that flakes would form at the least. All he got instead was a bit of condensation on his hooves.

"Nyx!" he screamed into the cold crystal. She was just inches below the surface, her eyes open in fear and shock. Behind them there was a tinge of pain. Phantom resorted to using his warm breath to melt the ice but that also didn't work. He reared up and slammed down with his forehooves as hard as he could. Still the ice didn't break, let alone crack or scratch. The only thing he did do was sprain his hooves with the down force.

The pegasus was just about to try again when he was tackled against the wall by somepony. Captain Cypher held Phantom against the wall by placing a foreleg across his neck, using his magic to restrain the pegasus' hooves.

"Hm, what a shame," Cypher said. Phantom put up his hooves to resist, but the pain hampered his efforts against Cypher's brute strength. "Just when you found her after all those years, you lose her again. It's a sad story, your sister and you."

"How do you know who she is to me?" Phantom gasped in intervals for air.

"We know a lot of things about you, more than you can imagine. Your dear friend Sky told us all about you..."

"Cypher!" Prince Castor called. Phantom looked past the Glacien Captain and towards the prince. He was standing directly in front of Boreas, the Conduit wielded in his magic, floating only a few feet away from its receptor in the stone. "Time to go."

"By all means, you're highness." Releasing his grip, Cypher let Phantom fall to the floor as he walked over to his prince.

"Don't do this!" Phantom coughed, climbing to his knees. He looked around in the hopes that somepony would do something to stop them, but they were all being overwhelmed by the Glacien forces. Phantom took a few steps forward in pursuit and immediately fell down under the pain in his sprained hooves. "We'll all be killed!"

"You're right!" Castor said. "You, the Equestrians and the Nightingales will all be killed. Boreas will lead us Glaciens to world domination, to our rightful place! Today marks the beginning of our conquest, and you will be among the first to fall!"

"Stop!"

Phantom's plead blew over the other stallion's head. Prince Castor moved the Conduit into position within its receptor. Both the crystal and Boreas' eyes emanated a blinding flash of blue light. They quickly dimmed, but continued to glow brightly. The Conduit had frozen itself into the receptor, the stone around it slowly turning white. Vapor seemed to roll out of Boreas' open mouth as the temperature in the room quickly dropped.

"Goodbye, Phantom," Castor waved, charging up his horn with another spell. "I'll see you in Tartarus, someday." With his final words, Prince Castor teleported Captain Cypher and himself to some unknown location. Just before they disappeared, Phantom noticed something about Castor's wound. The blood had been wiped away and the arrow removed. Under it all, his fur had seemingly turned blue, and a cutie mark tried to show itself but was too obscured to be identified. Before he could take in any more details, the stallion disappeared amongst a flash of white.

"Everypony find cover!" Stryker yelled. He had projected a shield around himself and a group of Nightingales near him. Archer and a few of the Nightingales that he commanded managed to make it within the protection, and together the two forces fended off the still advancing Glaciens. They were too far away from Phantom for him to reach; clear on the other side of the rotunda.

Boreas was nearly completely white by now. All that was left was was his head, tail, and the tips of his wings. Phantom looked from side to side for someplace to duck. The only thing that suited his needs was the side room he was supposed to be protecting in the first place. It was to his left about twenty meters, and he knew that each step would be a painful one. A growling sound that emanated from the dragon's mouth coincided with a further drop in room temperature. This served as new motivation for Phantom to get moving.

Step after painful step, Phantom limped his way to the shattered remains of the door. Finally reaching the room, he collapsed in the doorway and rolled into the room. Applejack was next to him, and seeing that he was in trouble, pulled him off to the side and away from the door.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked, rushing to his side along with the other Element bearers.

Phantom propped himself up against the wall, his back facing it, allowing his forehooves to stay off of the floor.

"Boreas," he grunted. "The Conduit is in place, he's being released."

"We gotta do somethin'," Applejack said.

"Agreed, but I don't think there's anything we can do. Stryker's the one who would know what to do and he's stuck out there."

"I have an idea," Twilight said, trotting to her saddlebags in the center of the room. When she came back, she held the Elements of Harmony together in her magic.

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "Do you solve all your problems with the Elements of Harmony?"

"Just the ones that involve the fate of Equestria."

"Yeah," Rainbow spoke up, "and it's not like you're coming up with a better idea."

Phantom opened to mouth to protest, but the air inside his throat felt too cold to move. He coughed several times in an effort to get it out and so did some of the other ponies present. His nasal passages were also freezing up, making it difficult to breathe in general. Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated, casting a spell that brought a highly welcomed warmth to everypony.

An explosion echoed in from the rotunda; one that sounded like a nearby clap of thunder. A bright flash of white made its way through the doorway. Everything that the light touch instantly turned to ice, including a few of the Nightingales that had the misfortune of being in front of the door.

An intense growl sounded off next, forcing everypony to plug their ears with their hooves for protection from the deafening noise. The entire room seemed to shake with the base of the voice. The longer it rang out, the more the temperature felt like it dropped. By the time the growl had ceased, Phantom estimated that the room he was in was about twenty degrees below zero; he and everypony else were quivering in their spots for some type of warmth. Twilight's spell was becoming powerless.

A winter silence filled Phantom's ears, and the room went still. Everypony's eyes shifted back and forth, waiting for something to happen.

There was a dull thud that wasn't quite as loud as the explosion from earlier. With it, everything shook for a breif moment. Then another, and another, then a fourth. It kept happening over and over... Something big is moving out there, Phantom thought. Though why he bothered, he didn't know. He already knew what was the source of the noise, the source of that flash of light, the source of this deathly cold.

"Now I am free..." A low, draconic voice hissed. "Your world shall be mine!"

Author's Note

Update! Hurray! Finally, I know. Whelp, onto the first ever Part 3. Frankly I've been putting all of my thoughts into that journal thing-y that I'm doing now so I don't really have anything left for this... Oh!
When I was writing the last part, something great happened. This video started played as I wrote the last few scenes. At 0:20 I started writing the part about the explosion echoing in from the rotunda. 1:56 marked the spot I talked about the dull thuds; and at 3:03 I wrote "Now I am free..."
So that worked out nicely :P

Tell me what you guys think below! As always, comments are highly appreciated!
Upnext (Trying to get back into doing this thing again): Broken Feathers — Part Three. The Battle for the End of the World.

Broken Feathers — Part Three

The voice sent new chills down Rainbow Dash's spine. Her mind reeled with the dragon's words. Everypony else seemed to be under similar affects; they were covering their ears with their hooves in the hopes that it would be blocked out.

"Was that..." Twilight's hushed voice trailed off.

"Boreas," Rainbow Dash finished. She looked over at Phantom and rose to her hooves. "What do we do?"

Phantom was still propped against the wall, taking slow, long, breaths. He was staring down at his hooves, his jaw hanging open.

"Hey!" she barked. "What. Do. We. Do?"

His eyes drifted upwards. They looked empty... unsure...

"I... I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know what to do. I've never been up against anything like this before."

"Aren't you like one of the best guards?" Pinkie asked. Not surprisingly, her tone was still a chipper one, even in this dire situation. "Like, ever?"

"Princess Celestia didn't exactly task me with dealing with super-natural powers; she gave all of those assignments to you guys. This?" He pointed a hoof at the door. "This wasn't in hoof camp."

"Well we have," Rainbow Dash said. Phantom briefly looked at her, then found something else to focus his attention on, knowing she was making a point. She walked over to Twilight and grabbed hold of her Element of Harmony. Placing it around her neck, it let off a soft red glow. With furrowed brows, Rainbow Dash began stomping towards the door, grumbling something under her breath.

"Rainbow Dash, wait," Applejack said sternly. "Now you aren't gonna go runnin' off on your own, fightin' some dragon we know nothin' about. We saw how that worked out last time."

"Last time, the dragon was the size of a mountain. Have you seen how small this one is compared to the other one? This'll be a piece of cake!"

She tried to walk away again but Rarity used her magic to grab onto her tail and stop her.

"Rainbow," Rarity began, "the last dragon threatened Equestria with a thousand years of smoke and didn't poses apparent magical abilities. This one has an entire prophecy behind it that says the world will be turned to ice for the rest of eternity—"

"Unless we stop him!" Rainbow Dash tried to get away but Fluttershy stopped her. The yellow mare wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow's shoulder.

"Rainbow," Fluttershy spoke softly, "it's already started." She used a hoof to point to the frozen ponies in front of the door. "We can't just run out there and expect to fix everything."

"Fluttershy's right," Twilight said, trotting up to her friends, placing their respective Elements of Harmony on them. "We don't know how powerful this dragon is. Spike?" All eyes turned to a table that was on its side. The purple dragon whose name was called poked his head up over the edge.

"Yeah?" he said in a shaky voice.

"Do you know anything about Boreas?"

"Why would I know anything about him?"

"Well you said you were going to try to learn as much as you could on dragon culture and history. Plus you've been spending more and more time around other dragons; surely you heard some stories."

"Not too many. I think I heard one about Boreas though..." Everypony leaned a little bit closer to the small dragon as he stroked his chin with a claw. "Someone at the migration mentioned him. They were talking about old legends and how he was one of the Elemental Dragons, how Boreas is one of them. Basically he got corrupt and went crazy with power. He enslaved the ponies that he was supposed to be protecting."

There was another series of thuds. Boreas was still moving around the rotunda, searching for something.

"Um, maybe we could hurry?" Fluttershy asked. "If, if that's okay with you guys."

"I'll go see what he's doing," Phantom volunteered. He leaned forward to stand. The moment his forehooves touched the cold floor, they gave way, and her nearly landed face first into the marble had Rarity and Pinkie Pie not caught him.

"Oh no," Twilight said. "You're not going anywhere, not with those hooves."

Phantom was about to reply when a resounding crash sounded out from behind him. Twilight reacted in a split second, creating a magical barrier around everypony. Rainbow Dash watched as the wall that separated their room from the rotunda was turned to dust. A large claw, easily larger than the biggest pony in the room, caused the destruction. She could see the sharp, black points scrape across the leading edge of Twilight's shield, turning the points that they touched into ice. The force from the blast forced Twilight to drop her protective barrier, but it had done its job and shielded them from most of the ruble and debris.

Everypony had instinctively covered their heads with their hooves. When the dust settled they dropped their hooves and turned to see what was the matter. On the other side was a great dragon, freed from a two thousand year imprisonment. His looks were both uncommon for what you would expect in a dragon and at the same time menacing.

He had the traditional dragon features: the razor sharp claws, teeth you wanted to stay miles away from, powerful wings that made it look like he could carry a train, a tail with a blade like tip, eyes that bore a hole into your soul, horns as jagged as your average tree limb, and breath as rank as a rotting onion. However, instead of scales that were seen on most dragons, this one's armor appeared to consist of plates that often times over lapped one another. The plates that took the place of eye brows, just above his black and blue eyes, for example, extended forward like the brim of a ball cap, and backwards in the same fashion.

The majority of Boreas' armor plating was white, with exception for the ones on his undersides, which were slightly grayer, and the ones on the top of his head and body, which had a bluish tint to them. His teeth, claws, and horns were black, giving the appearance that they were made of obsidian, along with the bones and veins of his wings. With each exhale, his breath touched the air, turning to water vapor. In fact, most of the air that touched him seemed to turn to vapor. Small bits of snow floated around his claws and wings. Anything he came into contact with that was solid was immediately frozen solid.

What was most stunning was his size. With all of the legends, lore, mythology and fear that surrounded him like the snow, somepony would have expected him to be much, much larger than he actually was. Even though they had already seen him, he was incased in stone. Now that he wasn't, his size seemed different, slightly smaller than what the granite form made him look. There was no doubt in anypony's mind that he could still easily eat one, or two, of them whole.

His eyes caught the most attention. The shone a bright, sapphire blue that surrounded black slits. The same glowing effect was mirrored within the sapphire jewels of the silver necklace that wrapped around his neck.

"There you are," Boreas said. Even with as little effort as he put into his voice, he still managed to very nearly topple everypony over with its voice. "I was wondering where you had gone!

Fluttershy yelled with enough force to propel herself into the air a few feet. Everypony else took the opportunity to bolt out of the room in varying directions. Several Nightingales didn't make it out; they were caught in a blast of icy air and frozen in place, much like Nyx and the others had.

Rainbow Dash took to her wings, intent on fighting in someway while flying out of the room. Instead, her attention turned towards Phantom, who in the time since Boreas speaking had only hobbled a few feet; his sprained hooves and un even terrain threatening to topple him over with each step. She dove beneath one of Boreas' sweeping claws and latched onto the other pegasus' back. Grunting, she picked him off of the ground, if only a few inches, and proceeded to carry him away from the raging ice dragon with haste. Rainbow Dash looped around the pillar in the center of the rotunda, landing on the opposite side of it from Boreas.

"What are you doing?" Phantom whispered harshly, looking around the edge of the base to see where the dragon was. "I thought you hated me now!"

"Not enough to let you die!" Rainbow got as low as she could and looked around to make sure it was safe.

The entirety of the rotunda, from floor to ceiling, had been turned to solid ice. A large white dome sat in one of the corners. Rainbow Dash didn't know it, but that is where Stryker had put up a magical barrier to protect himself, Archer, and a number of Nightingales. Boreas' power had hit the shield and wrapped around it, creating a dome of ice along its surface, trapping the ponies inside. Neither her or Phantom knew what their physical state was, whether or not they were normal and trying to get out of the ice or they had been turned to ice like the others.

More disturbing was the piles of shattered ice around the room. It looked as though somepony had dropped a bunch of glass chandeliers. The immediate conclusion that Rainbow Dash made was that these were the remains most of the Nightingale pegasi. They must have been higher up in the room when Boreas was freed, so when they were frozen they simply fell and shattered into pieces. Some of the pegasi had landed intact, their wings still in mid flight positions. They must have been lower to the floor, close enough to have survived the drop.

The Glaciens were also frozen in various positions. Some had their focus on dome of ice and looked as though they were getting ready to charge it. Others were spread out in the rotunda, looking fearfully at the statue base that once supported Boreas. A smaller group was crowded up near the side room that the ponies had just run out of. They were set up in a position indicating they were about to breach the room.

Phantom had been staring out across the room, towards the main door that led to the throne room of the castle. There laid the still frozen form of Nyx, exactly how he had left her. Without realizing it he had begun limping towards her. That is until Rainbow Dash grabbed hold of his tail and pulled him back behind the cover just in time to be missed by an icy blast from Boreas.

"What are you doing?" she barked.

"I'm trying to save my sister!" He tried to push her away, but the pain on his hooves was unbearable.

She pulled Phantom's head down so that it was level with hers. Rainbow Dash stared deeply into his eyes.

"Phantom, she's gone." The stallion in front of her closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. "Now come on, we need to stop Boreas before he can hurt anypony else."

The black tips of one of Boreas' massive claws swept past the two pegasi. His claw grabbed hold of the pedestal they were hiding behind, the sharp ends digging into the marble stone. The pedestal was ripped from its place, bringing parts of the floor with it. Rainbow Dash and Phantom's eyes followed the small chunks of stone that fell off of the pedestal, all the way up to where Boreas held it in the air, then followed it through his arm and straight to his head. Boreas was staring at the two pegasi, his eyes fixed on them and his jaw hanging slightly open. A soft growl was coming from within the dragon's lungs.

Rainbow Dash and Phantom's ears fell back as they went slack jaw, staring into the face of their destroyer. Boreas inhaled, preparing to blast the two with a jet of icy air.

"Dash?" Phantom said, closing his eyes.

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash turned her head away from the dragon, also closing her eyes tightly.

The two ponies braced themselves for the final blow.

"I love you."

A blow that never came. Just as Boreas was about to unleash his icy breath, he took a hit of lavender magic to the side of his head, knocking his aim off. A jet of white snow and ice was blown out of the dragon's mouth, impacting the wall and carving chunks out of it. Twilight Sparkle stood a fair distance away from the dragon, most of her friends in formation behind her. Rainbow Dash and Phantom opened their eyes to see the group of mares distracting Boreas. She quickly picked Phantom up and flew him behind the ice dome on the other side of the room.

During their escape, Twilight was speaking directly to the dragon. "Hey! Ugly! Over here!" Boreas turned his attention towards her, growling. Immediately everypony took a step back.

"An alicorn..." he mused. "Interesting. Tell me how many of your species are left?"

Twilight tiled her head to the side. Taking his advantage, Boreas attempted to swing at them with a claw but Twilight saw this coming and stopped him with her magic, holding his claw in place only a few feet before it would have collided into them. She held her eyes shut, tightly, beads of sweat running down her face as she struggled to keep the appendage in place.

"You are powerful, young alicorn, but you forget that I am a god, and you are in my domain!"

He swung at them with his other claw. The ponies barely had time to escape when they saw the movement. Fluttershy flew up into the air while Applejack and Pinkie Pie actually ran towards Boreas, passing under him and emerging on the other side, narrowly avoiding his swinging tail; Twilight released Boreas' other claw, channeling her magic from a telekinetic spell to a teleportation spell. She reappeared next to Rainbow Dash and Phantom, behind the dome of ice. She took note that they were both acting awkwardly around one another.

"Did... did you mean what you said?" Rainbow Dash asked.

After a brief pause, Phantom replied, "Uh... yup."

"I see." Rainbow Dash rubbed one hoof in front of the other. Looking up, she noticed the alicorn in front of them. "Hey Twi, how's the battle going?"

"It's barely begun," Twilight said. There was a high pitched scream that sounded like Rarity. A jet of ice impacted the wall next to the ponies and made its way towards them. The only thing that stopped it from turning them to ice was the dome behind them, which blocked the blast as it continued on the other side and quickly came to a stop. Several pillars that he had hit were cracking at their bases, a few of them were already falling to the marble floor. The parts of the ceiling that they had once held up were beginning to collapse. "Come on, Rainbow Dash, we're ending this."

The two mares flared their wings as Twilights horn began to light up, along with her crown. Rainbow Dash and her flew up and over the dome of ice, heading directly for the raging dragon that was still harassing their friends. At the moment he was attempting to knock Pinkie Pie off of his back, who was riding him like a rodeo pony.

"Come on girls," Twilight called out, coming to a hover over the spot where the statue base had once been in the center of the room. "It's time to stop him!"

Phantom leaned around the corner of the ice dome and watched as the mares gathered around one another in the center of the room. Their Elements of Harmony glowed, with Twilight's crown shining the most out of all of them. They were each lifted into the air, floating about half way between the floor and the still crumbling ceiling. Auras that matched the color of their coats surrounded them. Boreas flared his wings. Pushing down on them, he propelled himself towards the mares. Phantom couldn't turn his eyes away, as much as he wanted to.

Twilight opened her eyes, revealing solid white orbs. A current of air was rapidly moving around the mares, behaving as if it were about to create a tornado. Phantom could feel the rest of the air throughout the room being affected by it, and got as low as he could as not to be picked up by the wind. Twilight's horn exploded in a blinding light, firing high towards the ceiling, trailing behind it rainbows that emanated from the Elements of Harmony. The beams of energy slowly arched over and came down on the dragon with an immense force. They wrapped around Boreas over and over in a vortex of light and rainbows.

All the while the six mares were slowly defending from their position in the sky. When they touched the ground, all of the energy disappeared from the Elements, and Twilight's eyes faded back to normality. Boreas let out a thunderous roar and the mares erupted into cheers of victory. Phantom's training alone told him that this was a mistake. More often than not, you lose the moment you think you have won.

The rainbow colored vortex died down. The mares had expected a stone form of Boreas to be left in its wake. Instead, they were greeted by the very menacing, very, very, angry sapphire of his blue eyes. Just as he inhaled, getting ready to unleash another chilling blast of ice, the mares scattered.

"The Elements of Harmony," he said, "very interesting indeed. A shame your only chance didn't work!"

Boreas swung his sharp tail around, narrowly hitting Applejack with it. The farmpony ducked beneath it and went about running around the dragon in an effort to confuse him. The others seemed to be doing the same, waiting until one of them came up with a better idea.

"Why didn't they work? Fluttershy shouted across the dragon to her friends.

"I don't know!" Twilight replied, hitting Boreas with another spell. The dragon recoiled and fired a blast of icy air at her, but she managed to use her magic to shield herself in time.

"You arrogant ponies. The Elements of Harmony only affect those that have some good in them. You see me as I really am: a demon of death and destruction. I have no good. I am the apotheosis of evil!"

Boreas dug his claws into the frozen marble floor. Throwing his wings back, he gave them a single, powerful beat, blowing the air in front of them into the mares gathered before him. The mares were sent tumbling backwards by the force of the artificial winds. They landed around the ice dome, with Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack sent hurdling over it and into the wall; Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy flew past the dome on the left side, relative to Boreas, with Fluttershy scraping against the the ice dome; Rainbow Dash slid on her back along the icy marble floor on the right side of the dome, coming to a half directly where Phantom was standing and watching the battle.

For a brief moment, the two awkwardly stared at one another. Rainbow Dash on her back looking up at Phantom, and Phantom standing over Rainbow Dash, looking straight down at her.

"So," Rainbow Dash began, stretching out the vowel sound. "About what you said earlier?"

Phantom gulped. "Uh, yeah, about that..." A beam of ice roared above the ponies and the ice dome, crashing against the wall and a support column. It came crashing down, separating Phantom and Rainbow Dash from the rest of the group. "Later? There is a God trying to kill us, after all."

"Yeah, we can do this la—agh!" Rainbow Dash's sentence was cut off by her own startled scream. Phantom watched, helpless, as she slid away from him, pulled by her tail by Boreas.

The dragon dragged her into the air, pitching her tail between his claws so that she hanged upside down in front of him. His eyes were drawn to the silver ornament around her neck, its sapphire gems glowing brighter and brighter the closer she got to Boreas. He tilted his head to the side, surprised that he hadn't seen it, let alone felt its presence, earlier.

"Tell me, pony, where did you get this?" Needlessly emphasizing what he was talking about, Boreas barely tapped the center gem with his other claw, causing Rainbow to swing slightly and a blinding light to pour out that nearly blinded her.

All the while Phantom ducked slightly more behind his cover, debating his options.

"What's it to ya?" Rainbow Dash spat in his face forcefully. Immediately on contact, her saliva froze, sticking to the dragon's armor like a dried tear. Remembering the dragon's freezing affects, Rainbow Dash checked her tail where he had latched onto her. Her stomach dropped. Ice was beginning to form at the tip of her tail, just beneath his claws. She hadn't much time, and Phantom recognized this.

"Well you wear one of my Shards. I would like to know how a pony like yourself, not from this land, obtained such a thing. Surely you heard me speaking to you... Calling to you..."

Twilight leapt over the fallen stone column and stopped at Phantom's side, her head next to his, starting at what he was staring at.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

Phantom nodded once. "Just one. When I say, teleport me above his head."

"Wait, what?" Twilight's words of question went unnoticed by the stallion as he limped out from behind the protection of the ice dome. He continued trotting until just before the spot above which Rainbow Dash was hanging. The dragon seemed too focused on Rainbow Dash to notice the new comer.

"Hey, you!" Phantom called. "Ah," he stumbled, searching for an insult. Boreas raised Rainbow Dash a little higher in the air so that he had an unobstructed view of the stallion. "Uh... yeah! You! Drop my—er, that, mare!"

"You dare attempt to order a god? Do you know who I am?"

"I know you're a cranky lizard who woke up on the wrong side of a two thousand year nap. Also, your breath stinks."

Boreas furrowed his brows, if that was even possible. Inhaling, he unleashed a tremendous roar, sliding the stallion back across the ice a few feet and forcing him to rear up slightly to keep his balance. Phantom blinked his eyes several times to regain focus.

"Yup. That's pretty rank."

"So, pony, you know who I am, but who are you?"

"Oh, nopony really... just the harbinger of your coming imprisonment. Twilight, now!" The mare Phantom was signaling was still confused about what she was instructed to do earlier, and hesitated. There was an awkward pause as nothing happened. Boreas kept glancing between Phantom and Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash between Boreas and Phantom, and Phantom between Boreas and Rainbow Dash. "Any day, Twilight?"

The alicorn snapped back to attention, realizing that that was her cue to take action. With a simple teleportation spell that she had used hundreds of times before, she followed the instructions given to her by the pegasus moments earlier. Phantom disappeared before Boreas, leaving the godly dragon confused for the moment in advance to something landing on top his head.

Knowing that there really wasn't much that he could do, Phantom was becoming desperate. The ice was consuming Rainbow Dash's tail, now at about the half way point, and still consuming; he hadn't long. He did his best to do something that would at least occupy the dragon so that she could escape. By slamming a hoof down on Boreas' left eye, he did just that. Although the eye felt like it was made of crystal, it seemed to have an effect. Boreas dropped Rainbow Dash, reared onto his hind legs and slowly backed up, using his arms in an attempt to swat Phantom off of his head.

Twilight used the opportunity to teleport Phantom off of the dragons head, bringing him to her side. She casted a powerful spell, one that shot out of her horn in a lavender colored beam that smacked into Boreas' now exposed upper chest. Twilight braced her self as best she could, but even still the force from her own spell was pushing her along the icy floor. However, Boreas was under more effects. The blast hit him in the chest, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall onto his back. The impact of his full weight slamming into the marble cause the entire room to shake, lifting the ponies into the air slightly while more pieces of stone fell from the ceiling.

Pinkie Pie saw her chance and went for it. She ran across the room and jumped atop Boreas chest, bouncing up and down playfully. The other's tried to help out the best they could, doing something. Applejack obtained her lasso and was quick to rope Boreas jaw shut while Rarity used what little magical spells she knew to attack the dragon. Fluttershy buzzed around his head, asking him to stop in a kind and shy voice. Twilight used her telekinetic spells to attempt to keep his limbs on the ground.

All the while Phantom had run over to where Rainbow Dash was laying on the ground, gathering herself after being thrown like a rag doll.

"You alright?" Phantom asked, sliding to a stop along the ice next to her.

"Yeah," she said, looking down at her tail, "but not for long..." The ice was still making its way up Rainbow Dash's tail, passing the half way mark. Phantom tried picking up the chunk and throwing it against the ground, hoping that it would break. It did not. Rather, it made an impressive thud and bounced a little. Seeing that his tactic had failed, Rainbow Dash lamented, "Oh, great. Now I'm going to turn into a popsicle."

"No you won't." Reaching into a sheath attached to his gaskin and pulled out a small knife.

"What're you doing?" hesitance was the key tone in Rainbow Dash's voice.

"Keeping you from ending up like my sister." Knife in hoof, Phantom held the chunk of ice in his free hoof and lined the knife up with the part of her tail just above the chunk. With one motion, the silver blade cut into her polychromatic tail. The chunk of ice fell to the frozen marble with a thud, and stray pieces of rainbow hairs floated away. There was a brief silence between the pegasi as Phantom resheathed the knife. "It... doesn't look too bad?"

Rainbow Dash stood up and turned so that she could see her now shortened tail, but only barely. In order to be sure to stop the spread, Phantom had to cut nearly three fourths off.

"Great," she sighed, "Rarity is going to flip."

"I think she's got something else on her mind right now!"

Phantom grabbed hold of Rainbow Dash's head and directed her attention to the other side of the rotunda. In the time that he had been cutting most of her tail off, the other mares had been back at work, trying their best to fight Boreas anyway they could, but all efforts were proving to be futile. Rarity was backed into a corner, feverishly putting all her effort into the spell that was doing nothing to the dragon that was bearing down on her. Everypony else was still recovering from Boreas' previous strikes.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash flared her wings open. Phantom stretched a hoof out to her as she lifted into the air that she grabbed. Together, the two pegasi flew over towards the distressed unicorn.

Phantom instructed Rainbow Dash to fly up above the dragon, then to come down in front of him to pick up Rarity on her way out. Once overhead, Phantom let go of her arm, falling once more onto the ice dragon's head. The stallion had enough force with him that he pushed Boreas' head down, narrowly smacking it into the floor. The dragon back away from the corner and once more tried using his arms to swat the assaulting pegasus off of him. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash had swooped in, grabbed hold of Rarity, and flow away to the relative safety of the ice dome.

Phantom ducked beneath each of Boreas' swipes, taking cover and holding onto his obsidian horns. The dragon changed tactics, leaning forward and running for the wall. Seeing what was about to happen, Phantom slid down Boreas' neck, stopping his fall by grabbing onto one of his icy wing joints. A moment later, Boreas slammed head first into the frozen wall, bringing all of his momentum to halt. He stumbled away from the new indentation in the wall, disoriented by the blow.

"How do we stop him?" Applejack called out from the center of the room.

"You can't!" Boreas swung his tail, narrowly missing the earth pony.

From the other side of the room, Twilight fired a spell that hit the Conduit, still around the dragon's neck. Sparks of blue electricity shot out from the main sapphire stone as the spell it, spreading in all directions. Boreas let out a terrific cry, the support of his legs and arms giving way. He laid on the ground for a few seconds, struggling to get up. Phantom tried to keep his balance on the dragon's back as he regained his strength and stood back up. The sparks flying from the Conduit had died down, with only a small tendril of electricity sparking out every so often and running along the surface of the necklace.

Phantom remembered what Stryker had told him earlier, that the Conduit was the key to everything. The Conduit is everything, he repeated to himself. He looked from the where he stood by Boreas' wings towards the Conduit. He couldn't see very much, just the leading edges since it didn't wrap completely around the dragon's neck. So then how do we stop the Conduit?

His mind drifted back to when Prince Castor reanimated Boreas with the jewel, how it was the spark to this powder keg ordeal. The Conduit brought Boreas back to life... and in the legends, it's what he was imprisoned in in the first place... by powerful dragons we don't know how to get a hold of... Boreas started to run in a circle counter clockwise around the room, chasing after Rainbow Dash. He would have flown, but being that he was trapped in this rotunda, he had no room to do so.

Phantom struggled to stay on, with every step the dragon took, the world around the pegasus shook violently. He struggled to keep ahold of Boreas' wing. When the dragon skidded to a stop to avoid slamming into the ice drum, Phantom lost his grip and flew forward, propelled by his inertia. He would have been flung off of Boreas completely had he not stretched out with a sprained hoof and latched onto the dragon's icy neck.

Dangling in front of the Conduit like some ornament on a Hearth's Warming tree, Phantom noticed something.There was a tiny gap between the jewel and Boreas' armored skin. Hanging on with one hoof, he reached into his sheath to pull out his knife again. The blade was just thin enough to slip into the gap. He had to use both hooves in order to push the blade through. Boreas cried out louder as the blade plunged in deeper. Bolts of blue ice started firing in all directions, threatening to strike Phantom and the other ponies.

Phantom put all of his weight onto the knife, but it stopped half way in, unable to go on. Ice was beginning to consume the blade, working its way up to the hilt. He positioned his hind legs so that they were just under the Conduit and pushed, applying leverage to the knife in the hopes that it would pop the Conduit off of the dragon's neck. The gap slowly grew in size. With every inch that formed between the Conduit and Boreas' neck, the sparks grew more and more intense.

Boreas was stumbling around the rotunda, trying to fight off the pain of the Conduit being ripped off of him and being attack by the Element of Harmony bearers. Phantom noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a large section of the lasso that Applejack had attempted to shut Boreas' jaws with. For the most part it was intact, one end of it was caught in between the dragon's razor sharp teeth, while the other end dangled within reach of Phantom. An idea came to the pegasus' head.

"Somepony distract him for a minute!" he called out.

Rainbow Dash heard him and dutifully saluted, "I'm on it!" She flew down to Boreas' face, hovering just in front of him. With one kick to the front of what she guess should have been his nose, she caught his full attention. "Bet you can't catch me!"

"That was unwise, pony." Boreas roared at Rainbow Dash as she turned tail to fly away, leading the fuming dragon on a chase around the rotunda.

Taking one off of the knife, Phantom reached out towards the swaying rope, catching it when it swung close to him. He threaded it through the gap of the Conduit, tying it around the necklace. Phantom pulled on the other end of the rope, managing to free it from Boreas' mouth.

"Hey, ice lizard!" Phantom taunted the dragon. Boreas skidded to a halt and looked down at the pegasus clinging to his neck. "Want a piece of me?"

"No. I want all of you!""

Boreas reached for Phantom with one of his powerful claws. Oh I hope this works... Phantom thought to himself. He raised his forelegs into the air as the dragon wrapped his claws around him. Instantly, Phantom was colder than he had ever been in his life, visibly shaking in a vain attempt to warm up. His teeth chattering, he managed to wrap the end of the rope around Boreas' wrist, tying it tightly.

When Boreas pulled Phantom away from his chest, the rope went taught, and he unknowingly pulled the Conduit off of his own neck. A blinding blue flash consumed the visions of everypony. As it faded, they noticed small blue balls of energy falling from the ceiling like snow. Phantom was thrown from Boreas' grasp, hitting the wall on the opposite side of the rotunda and falling to the marble floor.

Boreas collapsed. The Conduit slid along the ice in front of him, just out of reach. He was writhing with pain. The tips of his tail, wings, and horns appeared to be dissolving, joining the collection of particles of blue energy around him. Phantom watched the scene unfold before him from his position on the ground, laying on his right side in a semi-conscious state. However, his attention could not be held on the dying dragon long, Phantom was in a world of pain of his own.

Slowly lifting his head so that he could look down, he saw that his armor had shattered and fallen off at some point. Around his barrel were five thin evenly space strips of ice in the shapes of claws. His fur around them was beginning to fade to white as frost covered them. "Oh, great," Phantom mumbled to himself softly. He felt like his midsection was on fire, an odd sensation but not one who was unfamiliar with. Usually he experienced it after frost build up from high altitude flying.

He noticed a numbing sensation emanating from his forehooves. Looking at them, he saw that they they were already frozen solid from their contact with the Conduit and the knife he had jammed behind it. Well this is going to suck.

Rainbow Dash heard a magnificent roar that brought pain to her ears. Turning around in the air, she happily watched as Boreas fell to the ground, the Conduit flying from his neck. As he began to dissolve at the ends, he desperately crawled for the Conduit, his claws swinging wildly for it. But when he should have grabbed hold of it, his claws merely phased through the ancient jewel as if it were made of vapor.

"No!"

Rainbow Dash landing in front of Boreas, joining the rest of her friends as the watched him squirm. The color in his eyes had turned to white and their light grew in brightness until they shined with bright beams of light. Boreas continued to dissolve into the air, letting off a soft blue glow. His claws and legs began to disappear next. Eventually he was nothing but but a torso, neck, and head.

With his final breath before disappearing, he whispered harshly to the mares, "I will return..." And just like that, the last bits of Boreas vaporized into a glowing blue dust, swirling up into the air like the rest of him. The collection of blue balls of light gathered in the center of the room, revolving rapidly around one another. They began to spin around the room in a column that resembled a swarm of bees. The Conduit began to glow bright as the particles of energy neared. It let out a beam of light that seemed to suck the particles into it one by one.

As the the last blue particle was sucked into the Conduit, a voice whispered out in the still cold room. I will return... Once the last particle disappeared, a vortex of wind swirled around and followed it into the sapphire centerpiece, snuffing out all of the light in the rotunda. That is, until Twilight casted an illumination spell that hung in the air at the top of the room, restoring the previous light levels.

The mares let out elated cheers of joy, only stopping when Pinkie Pie jumped into the air, slipping on the ice when she came back down. Wait, ice?

"Why is the ice still here?" Rarity complained. Everypony looked around. None of the ice had disappeared, even the massive ice dome was still there and all of the ponies were still frozen.

One in particular caught Rainbow Dash's eye. The pony was laying up against the wall, and wasn't completely frozen, yet. Then she recognized his midnight blue fur.

"Phantom!" She zipped over to his side, landing early and sliding along the ice for the final feet. She gasped when she saw what had become of his hooves and barrel. Thankfully, though, it appeared that the ice was no longer spreading, cut off from its magical influence by Boreas' reimprisonment in the Conduit. Twilight and the other's were quick to join Rainbow Dash by Phantom's side.

"Oh my," Fluttershy held a hoof up to cover her mouth.

"Sweet Celestia," Applejack said, "is he okay?"

Twilight lowered her head to his, tapping his forehead with her glowing horn.

"Thankfully I think the ice has stopped spreading," she informed everypony, much to their sighs of relief. "But it doesn't show any signs of reversing. The damage is already done."

Rainbow Dash held her hoof in Phantom's frozen one, ignoring the cold chills. She couldn't take her eyes off of the scars of ice around his barrel.

"Phantom, I'm sor—"

"You don't have to be sorry..." Phantom interrupted her, although weakly. His voice was barely above a whisper. "We stopped him." He angled his head up so that he could see his sister's frozen form not that far away. He couldn't take the feeling off seeing her like that so he forced himself to turn his attention back. "Where's the Conduit?"

"It's back there," Rainbow Dash indicated by motioning her head so that she could continue to look at him.

"Somepony needs to make sure it's safe..."

She nodded. "I'll go get it."

Phantom's eyes widened once he understood what she had said, but she already turned around and left.

"No!" he called out. Nopony heard him in his weakened state, not even Fluttershy, who was hovering over his side to examine his wounds. She merely saw his rapid swing of emotion and petted his mane, whispering to him that he should calm down. "She mustn't touch it!" Still, nopony heard him.

Rainbow Dash trotted up to the Conduit, its main sapphire stone still shinning brightly from the intake of energy. Beautiful she thought to herself. It was one of the prettiest things she had seen, more so than the famed Rainbow Falls. It was hypnotic, even... She lowered her hoof to grab the jewel, her hoof getting colder the closer it got. When she touched it, there was a silent flash of white light.

Everypony looked over to where Rainbow Dash was standing; there was a collective gasp amongst them. Her eyes were solid white orbs, her jaw hung open and her wings were fully extended as though she was frozen in a shocked state. Her cyan coat was beginning to turn white, starting at her hooves, the discoloration made its way up her legs. At the same time, her namesake mane and tail seemed to turn to some kind of rainbow colored vapor that merely hung in the air where her hairs once were. Around her neck, the Element of Loyalty had disappeared entirely, only to be replaced by the Conduit itself.

"What's happening to her?" Pinkie sighed. No longer was a cheerful voice omnipresent in her voice.

"I don't know..." Twilight whispered. She took a step towards her changing friend, only to be stopped by one of Phantom's frozen hooves. She looked back at the stallion, who simply shook his head slowly. When she turned her attention back to her friend, she could no longer recognize her.

The Rainbow Dash that was once stood there no longer existed. All that was there was a tall mare, one the size of Princess Celestia herself. Her coat was a solid snow white. Streaks of ice jetted out from where her hooves touched the floor, adding a second layer of the cold material to them. What used to be her rainbow mane had dissolved into streaks of rainbow colored vapor that hunger were their physical counterparts once were. On her flank, he once revered cutie mark had faded into grayscale, becoming semi-transparent. A pair of fangs showed themselves through the end of her closed muzzle. Around her neck, the sapphire jewel of the Conduit was brightly illuminated. When she opened her eyes, blue reptilian orbs with deep black slits were revealed.

This new creature turned its head slowly to the collection of ponies against the wall. The air around them immediately dropped a few degrees in temperature. Fluttershy made herself as small as possible. Rarity took a few steps back, nearly tripping over Phantom. Pinkie merely deflated, her jaw hanging open. Applejack and Twilight both took protective stances in front of everypony, trying to protect them. Phantom couldn't believe his eyes, nor could anypony.

What ever it was, it kicked something shiny on the ground, sliding it over to the group. It slid between the legs of the mares, stopping only when it hit Phantom's frozen hoof. Upon recognizing the object, he felt a pit in his stomach grow further. It was the jewel that had once been the centerpiece for Rainbow Dash's Element of Harmony: the ruby lightning bolt. Its edges had been frosted over, and several notably cracks streaked down the middle. The gem had lost all of its luster.

"You have failed," the beast's voice was a demonic hybrid between Rainbow Dash's and Boreas'. "Your friend is no more, as is your world, and soon, your lives."

Author's Note

Remember those teasers I put out? Oh yeah:

And so we reach the apotheosis the story. Now go! Discuss! Take to the keyboards! FlyingClaw, Shadow of a Former Brony, you two were SOOO Close! When I saw your comments I really, REALLY wanted to say something but couldn't. When you finally do leave my mind, don't forget to turn the lights out! :P

Coming up next: "Behold! A Pale Horse!"

Prism to the Soul

Phantom slowly opened his eyes.

"Ugh, my head," he groaned, slowly bringing himself to a sitting position and resting his forehead against a hoof. He scratched the fur above his eyes briefly before running his hoof through his mane. The stallion smiled at the feeling; it had been awhile since he felt his own fur and hair with his hooves. Wait, feeling?

"Huh?" Phantom looked down at his black tipped, midnight blue legs. There was no ice covering them! Elating in joy, he bounced to a standing position, glad to once again be able to feel the grass beneath him. But that was something else that was different: he was standing on grass, not snow, not ice. In fact, he wasn't even cold; he was warm. A cool breeze ran through his mane that he closed his eyes to enjoy. Birds even sang happily in the distance. All of his senses told him that this was spring; the sounds, feeling, sights, smell.

Feeling his stomach growl, he bent his head towards the fresh smelling, luscious green grass below and took several bites. It was easily the best field grass he had ever tasted in his life. And that was saying something. Being a guard, he had traveled all around Equestria and other nations and had to eat grass right out of the ground. Normally he would have been keeping a lookout for any danger as he did so, especially since he was all alone. But something about this place told him that it was perfectly safe to let his guard down. A feeling that betrayed him.

His ears perked up at the sound of something shuffling nearby. Phantom froze in his place, mid chew, listening to see if it would happen again. After what he estimated was half a minute later, he heard it again. The noise sounded like paper being over turned, something he didn't at all expect in this open field. He dropped the grass out of his mouth, picking his head up and looking around.

The pegasus was standing in the middle of rolling, grassy hills with a few spots of light colored flowers here and there. A fair walking distance in front of him was the leading edge to a peaceful looking forest, its trees apparently regaining their leaves after losing them for a winter. He had expected sounds, if any, to have been coming from there. But the one he heard had come from behind him, on the other side of a small hill. Despite the danger, Phantom wondered to himself how fun these hills would be during winter.

Phantom crouched low to the ground, so much so that the grass was rubbing up agains his underbelly. His wings were flared out, controlled by his subconscious in a primal effort to make himself look bigger and more opposing to any potential threats. Phantom raised an eye brow, crinkled his nose and raise a corner of his mouth as he turned to look over his shoulder at his right wing. Just like the left wing, it was fully extended outwards.

My wing... its... its healed? To test it, he moved his wing around in a circle, folded and unfolded it, and flapped it a few times. A grin slowly plastered itself on his face. I can fly again! He bent down and prepared to take off into the air as fast as he could. He would have, too, had he not heard the sound of paper rustling again. Remembering that something was just over the hill, Phantom kept in control his flight instincts, remaining on the ground.

Phantom practically crawled up the hill, keeping his eyes trained for any sight of danger. His ears also swiveled around in a practiced motion so he could hear everything possible. As he reached the top of the small hill, her heard the paper-y sound again. Ducking behind a small collection of roses and violets, Phantom parted them with his hooves so that he could see on the other side.

He couldn't believe what he saw. It was Rainbow Dash. A very, yellow, Rainbow Dash. She looked like someone had painted over her coat, mane, tail, and cutie mark with canary-colored paint. Several things about her were even more striking that how she was colored. Her mane had been put up in a pony tail in the back, she was wearing a pair of thin, black framed glasses, and she was glued to a book that was held in her forehooves. The Rainbow Dash laying in the middle of a quite field, reading? No way...

"Dash?" Phantom said, bringing himself to stand at the top of the hill. "Dash? Is that you?" He made his way towards her on a rather indirect path, making sure to keep a safe distance, at least until he looped around enough so he was in front of her. Part of him reasoned that the only way to tell if this was actually Rainbow Dash, however unlikely, would be by looking at her eyes. When he stopped about fifteen feet in front of her, he braced himself, ready for anything. "You feeling okay?"

"Hang on, Phantom," she replied. He half expected her voice to be Boreas', but instead he was delightfully surprised; it was her voice. Now if only she could see her eyes...

"What are you doing?"

"Reading, give me a second." While he waited a few moments, Phantom looked around to make sure nothing was sneaking up behind him. The sound of a page turning brought his attention back to her. She placed a book mark in the crease of the book, and folded the top cover of the book. Phantom barely got a glance at the title: The Advanced Cosmology of the Universe(s); Volume VII. Phantom considered himself an above average pony when it came to intellectual abilities, as condescending as that sounded, and even the title of the book made his head hurt.

Rainbow Dash finally looked up, giving Phantom an excellent view of her eyes. Thankfully, they were hers, even though they were yellow hued.

"I'm sure you have some fairly significant inquires..." Rainbow Dash's voice trailed off as she took her glasses off, folding the supports on them and resting them on the book. She remained in her laying position behind the book, looking up at him with a slight smile as she crossed her forehooves over the book.

Phantom quirked an eyebrow. "You didn't answer my questions..."

The yellow mare adjusted herself slightly before taking in a breath. "Yes, I'm Rainbow Dash. Yes, I'm feeling okay. Now, I'm sure you're confused—"

"Which I am."

"—but I'll explain. Perhaps you'll take a seat before I begin?"

"I'm fine with standing, actually."

"Of course you are... Mister I'm-a-guard-and-I'm-independent-and-perfectly-fine-on-my-own. Which, as we both know, is a lie." Phantom squinted his eyes. He just couldn't figure out what was going on with Rainbow Dash. "Oh well, your loss. Anyway, you're in Rainbow Dash's, or mine, if you prefer, mind. To be specific, her sub-conscious. I am a piece of her personality, one of the traits she exhibits, however little she does..." The yellow Rainbow Dash growled the last part. "To be exact, I represent Knowledge, which is why I appear in a way she would describe as an 'egg-head'."

Phantom stood gaping, a thousand yard stare ever present in his eyes. His jaw hanged open slightly, twitching up and down in a failed effort to communicate. It didn't take long before he fell onto his haunches. Rainbow covered her tittering with one of her hooves.

"I always knew it was easy to throw you off balance," she said. "Anything you're confused about? Or should I just try again?"

"I... I think I miss heard you. Did you say we were inside Rainbow Dash's mind?"

"Technically her subconscious, but in Layman's terms, yes. Like I said, I'm a piece of her personality."

"A piece? So there's more of you?"

"Correct. We each represent an emotion, and said emotion's appropriate color. I am Knowledge, so I am yellow. There is also Red, her rage, or anger. Orange, rudeness, selfishness. Green, bravery, courage, and sometimes ignorance..." The tension in her voice when she talked about green signaled to Phantom that there was tension between these two... personalities... if they ever spoke to one another. "Blue, calm and hope. Violet is Rainbow Dash's love, her happiness." The yellow pony put her glasses back on and stood up. She picked the book up with a hoof. Throwing it into the air, it vaporized into millions of extremely small but bright particles that spread throughout the sky.

Phantom was so captivated by the brilliant display that he barely caught when the yellow Rainbow Dash began speaking again. "And Violet never showed herself much around here until you showed up that day in Ponyville."

"So..." Phantom began, trying to think, "Rainbow Dash... likes... me?"

"She is quite infatuated with you, actually. I wonder where she is..." The mare put a hoof against her chin and looked around. "Haven't talked to her in sometime."

"You personalities talk to one another?"

"Don't yours? Personalities talk to one another all the time. It's why we have emotional conflicts, and are often torn between decisions."

"I guess you're right. Does this mean you have names, then?"

"You can call me Kay. Neither Yellow nor Knowledge are practical names, so I decided that Kay would suffice. Unfortunately I'm the only one who makes any active attempts to contact the other personalities, and thus they apparently have yet to create names for themselves. To counter this issue, I have given them verbal designations of my own. I refer to the personality representative of Rainbow Dash's rudeness as, well, Rude."

Phantom tilted his head to the side.

"No, it doesn't make sense," Kay acknowledged, "but she doesn't like it very much and I quite frankly find that to be an entertaining notion. An eye for an eye and whatnot. The Rage personality I call Red, for the obvious reasons of her appearance. Green, the personality of Bravery, I refer to as Em; as in Emerald. She insists that she's green, which she's not technically incorrect, but she's not right either. I continue to contest that she is an emerald color, and thus call her Em.

"Then there's Hope, the blue personality with calming and hopeful qualities. She seems taken with that name, so that's what I use. And then the personality that represents Love and Happiness I've named Violet."

"I see... But as much as I enjoy talking to this side of Rainbow Dash, I would like to meet the entire Rainbow Dash. The one I got to know and love."

"You want to know how to save her from Boreas, don't you?"

"Yeah. I assumed since you're the knowledgable one, after all, you'd be able to help me."

"First off, don't assume, it rarely works out. Deduce instead, it usually ends better. Secondly, I'll help. I really have no choice; Boreas is slowly consuming this place. Rainbow's consciousness as already been compromised and we're running out of time. I've been trying to gather the personalities in an effort to stop him, but a few aren't really being helpful. With you here, though, there may be a chance."

"Great! Where do we begin?"

Kay opened her wings. "We find the others, and bring them to Rainbow Dash. Only she can vanquish Boreas from these realms. Follow me." With a single flap, the yellow pegasus took to the sky. She banked to her left, flying towards the wooded area he had seen earlier.

Phantom hesitated before remembering that he was healed; he could fly. With great haste and joy, he spread his wings. In a well practiced flap, he shot himself into the air, easily catching up to Kay. Though if she had any of the physical attributes as the full Rainbow Dash, then she was merely letting him catch up to her. Without even blinking she could take off at super sonic speeds, leaving him behind.

The pair flew several good, relaxing miles into the forest. Phantom had to control himself to keep a steady flight path rather than soar. It had been ages since he had taken a peaceful flight, and never had he gone on one with Rainbow Dash, even though it was just one part of her. Phantom watched her out of the corner of his eye with a coy smile, enjoying what he could take. That is, until her expression changed from one of peace to one of alertness. Her ears perked up, even against the resistance created by the wind.

"What is it?" Phantom asked, his guard instincts taking in. While he awaited a reply, he began scanning the sky and ground around the two pegasi for any potential dangers, particularly those in the form of a interdeminsional god that could control ice.

"Something's happening outside..."

"Outside? Like, the real world outside? How do you know? What's happening out there?"

"I... I'm not sure. I just know that we are no longer in the same position we were when we began this conversation. Somepony, or something has moved us. Unfortunately, I am only vaguely aware of it and cannot provide any other details. It is doubtful that the other personalities have picked up on the change; they are not as acute to Rainbow Dash's senses as I."

"Could it be Twilight and the others?"

"This is a possibility, one that I hope is true. It is impossible to tell, though; Rainbow Dash is knocked out and now resides in her own consciousness, in what you would call a dream. Well, what she is experiencing now would be better described as a nightmare."

"So would Luna be able to help us then?"

"She cannot. Boreas remains alive, and has encased Rainbow's mind in some kind of shield. The only way you were able to get in was because you were touching the Element of Loyalty when it connected with the Conduit. The two counteracting magical energies temporarily disabled one another and you were sucked in. Come on, we're here."

Kay banked right, with Phantom staying in formation at her side. She led him towards a small shack in the forest, smoke floating from its chimney. It seemed unassuming enough to the stallion. Nothing came to mind as to why this would be important. The pair landed in front of the unpainted wooden door.

"Rude is on the other side," Kay said. "You can imagine why she will likely be a hoofful. Her temper and attention span is about as same as Red, so be warned. I wish you luck." She motioned towards the door with a sweeping hoof.

Phantom looked at the door and put his hoof on the knob. "Are you coming with—" he looked to the side and noticed that Kay was no where to be seen, "—me? Guess not." He sighed and looked back at the door. "Well... Tally-ho!"

Phantom opened the door and quickly stepped through, unsure of what laid on the other side.

The experienced guard was forced to take a step back with sensory overload. A bright contrast of light blinded him. He tucked his ears as low to his head as he could in an effort to protect them from going from a silent environment to an incredibly noisy one. Strong smells wafted into his nose, giving the stallion an instant migraine. Finally, his body was able to adjust and return to a state of equilibrium. Taking in his environment, he couldn't believe where he was. Although considering what he's already been through in the past ten minutes alone should have left him open to any and all possibilities that might have shown themselves.

Phantom Knight stood on the side of a busy street in what appeared to be a densely populated metropolitan city. Earth ponies and unicorns alike traveled about at brisk paces in seemingly random paths. High above, pegasi criss crossed with one another at higher rates of speed than they should have been. He turned around and saw that he had emerged from a small, unmarked shop. The door had already closed behind him.

Looking around, Phantom noticed that everypony was a dark grayscale. This'll be easy, he thought, bright orange in this crowd? Piece of cake.

"Not quite." Phantom jumped at the sudden appearance of a feminine voice. He instinctively hovered several feet in the air and face the pony who had startled him.

"Oh, hello, Kay," he said, dropping back down to the ground next to the yellow mare. She still had her glasses, and no book. "What'd you mean by 'not quite'? Wait, can you read my mind?"

"Yes I can. And I mean this isn't going to be as easy you think it will be."

"How so? Everypony else is gray, and she's orange, right? It'll be easy to find her."

"Correct. But this is a city; she could be anywhere here."

Phantom rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. "Great. Whelp let's get started, then."

"Like I said, it won't be as easy as you think—"

Phantom let out a grunt as he ran into something fairly solid, specifically somepony. "Ow..." he groaned, picking himself up off of the cobblestone street. Rubbing his head to clear his vision, he saw that there was color to the mare he had run into. An orange color.

"Watch it, bud!" The mare hissed. She looked exactly like Rainbow Dash, but an orange hue to everything about her, except for the jet black sunglass that covered her probably orange eyes.

"Because it'll be easier," Kay continued. "She's right there."

"Dash?" Phantom asked the orange pegasus. He had never seen her with those sunglasses before, which wasn't surprising since he's never see Rainbow Dash as portrayed by Kay before, either.

"The greatest one," Rude replied. "Now I'm busy, buzz off." She shoved her way between Phantom and Kay, following her original course. The pegasus seemed to completely ignore the presence of any other pony around her, hissing insults left and right as "they bumped into her" and not the other way around.

Well, Phantom mused to himself. At least she lives up to her name,

Kay spread her yellow wings, taking flight. Phantom was quick to follow and within moments the two pegasi were hover above the crowd beside Rude.

"Rude, Rainbow Dash is in trouble, we have to help her!" The intelligent pony pleaded.

Rude stopped where she was in the middle of the street and looked up at Kay with a quirked eyebrow.

"Why should I?" she demanded. "She's never done anything for me." Not bothering to wait for a reply, she continued to push her way through ponies.

Kay seemed dumbfounded for a brief moment, hovering in place and staring in the place Rude had just occupied. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then chased after orange pegasus. Phantom stayed with her, waiting for any point where he may be able to help.

"She's never done anything for you?" Kay said. "Rude, she is you! Look, something's happening and if we don't do something about it neither one of us will be around long enough to say anything in protest!"

"Yeah, right. Is this like that trick you were trying to get me to fall for earlier? No thanks! I'm the king of pranks, remember? I can see through your lies."

Phantom was sure that Kay's face would be red with anger by now. Even though it didn't change from the canary yellow, she was clinching her teeth with glaring at the orange mare with soul splitting eyes. He took a mental note to not bring that side out of Rainbow Dash very often. Kay grabbed hold of Phantom's hoof, dragging him in front of Rude and forcing him to land, and making the orange pony look at him. Rude's expression was a plain one; she was bored.

"So?" she said in a monotone. "It's the bozo who ran into me. Big deal."

"Yes, Rude, big deal!" Kay said, landing at his side and pointing at him. "He's not a product of Rainbow Dash's, our, mind. He's from the outside world! The real world! Boreas' magic and the Element of Loyalty brought him here. We need him to save Rainbow."

Rude wrapped a hoof around Kay's neck, bringing their faces in close. "Kay," she said with a faked tone of concern, "maybe you should see a shreek."

"You mean shrink."

"Yeah what ever. Either way, you need some serious help. I don't think those books are doing anything for you."

"Dash," Phantom said, interjecting himself between the two personalities. "Or Rude, or whatever your name is! Listen to me. Kay is right. I'm not apart of Dash's imagination; I'm real!" As if to emphasis this, he grabbed hold of one of her orange hooves and put it up against his chest. He waited a moment for his heart to beat. Its pulse was strong and healthy, powerful enough to move Rude's hoof, however slightly.

This seemed to have some kind of an effect on her. Rude physically relaxed. Phantom let go of her hoof.

"Listen," he said, looking into her eyes, pleading with her, "we've got to save Rainbow Dash. If not for my sake, or her friends' sake, then yours!" Phantom and Kay waited several silent moments for some kind of a reply from Rude. The orange pony merely stood and blinked, her eyes shifting back and forth in careful thought.

"Nah," Rude shrugged, pushing her way between the two other pegasi, "I'll manage on my own."

"Is she always like that?" Phantom asked, craning his neck around so that he could watch Rude shove her way through the crowd and away from him.

"Yeah." Kay took to the air in chase, Phantom following close behind.

"Rainbow Dash usually isn't this rude."

"Personalities conflict, interact, suppress, and amplify one another. Normally this personality of Rainbow Dash is mitigated by Calm and I, although we don't do a great job, admittedly."

Phantom and Kay quickly caught up with Rude. Instead of being passive as she was before, Kay dropped down in front of Rude and wrapped her hooves around Rude's forelegs. With several powerful flaps of her wings, she dragged the pony into the sky with her. Despite screams of protest from the orange pony, Kay continued on until they were both well above the tallest sky scrapper. Phantom was quick to join them in their hover over the city, which seemed to stretch on beyond the horizon.

"Look!" Kay said, turning Rude around in her arms and forcing her to look in a particular direction. Looming on the horizon, a wall of white clouds stretched from the lowest point on the ground to as high as he could see in the sky. At this altitude, the pegasi could acutely sense the low pressure the wall brought with it. The wind carried its powerful and cold breeze. Lightning leapt from one part of the cloud wall to another, its thunder reaching the ponies almost a full minute later.

Rude's jaw hung open as her ears fell flat against her head. "What... what the hay is that?!"

"That is what Boreas is doing to Rainbow Dash! To us! That is what her conscious mind is already like. Our Rainbow Dash, is trapped inside that storm!" Now that Kay was explaining what it was they were looking at, Phantom felt a pit growing in his stomach.

I gotta save her... he resolved to himself. Somehow...

Phantom floated in front of Rude so that she was looking into his eyes instead of the approaching storm.

"Please..." he begged her. "Will you help?"

Rude sighed, bowing her head and looking at the distant ground below them. "Alright," she said, much to the joy of Phantom and Kay. "I'll help."

"That's great to hear!" Kay cheered, spinning the orange pegasus around and bringing her in for a close embrace.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's get this over with. The less time I spent with you guys the better."

Rude pushed herself away from Kay. She flew back down towards the busy city streets, the two ponies following close behind. She landed in what looked like a small park, decorated with grass, bushes and various kinds of trees. Phantom and Kay were quick to join her on the ground next to a magnificent looking fountain.

"Where's the portal, Rude?" Kay asked, scanning the area. "We need to get moving and get the others."

"Oh," Rude said with a coy smile. She turned her focus on Phantom. "Good luck with that."

With a flick of her hips, Rude bumped into Phantom, knocking him off balance and pushing him into the fountain. Underwater, he could hear her snickering. Not having enough time to prepare to be submerged, the pegasus was short of air. In a desperate bid to swim to the surface he found that he sank with each stroke. The light of the sky was quickly fading, along with the colors of the yellow and orange ponies leaning over the fountain. Phantom tried to scream for help, but only a few bubbles and a muffled sound escaped his mouth. Within moments, he was surrounded by blackness.

Phantom opened his eyes. Everything around him was dark, cold. There was a heavy pressure pushing against his ear drums. He felt like he was floating upside down in the air. Opening his mouth to say something, he immediately shut it, feeling a rush of cool liquid fill the space. Phantom moved his hooves, an action that took more effort than normal. All over his fur he felt cold, wet, even. Then it clicked. Memories of what had occurred seconds before came rushing back to mind. He was underwater!

For a moment he panicked, trying to figure out which way was up and which was down. Something told him to calm down; a voice that wasn't his own. Phantom blamed the voice as a part of his mind playing tricks on him as it starved for oxygen. He decided to go for broke and swim in a single direction. Flapping his wings provided him with some assistance in moving. However, the more he pushed forward, the more it felt like he went back.

Calm down, Phantom, the voice said again. Phantom quirked an eyebrow.

Kay? How... how are you—

I am omnipresent within this world; there's a lot I can do. Now, calm down.

I'll drown!

No you won't. Rude decided it would be funny to trap you between her portal inside the fountain and another. Hang on, I will see about getting you out.

Phantom did as told, relaxing his muscles and clearing his mind. He immediately felt the pressure on his ears and lungs clear away. Somehow, air was drawn into his lungs. The water around the submerged pegasus began to move in a vortex. It pulled at his tail and hind legs. Panicked by the sudden flurry of activity, Phantom lost all concentration, panic returning to his nerves. With a muffled scream and a copious amount of bubbles escaping his mouth, he was dragged downwards...

... or rather, upwards.

Looking down to see what was dragging him, Phantom noticed a pinprick of light. He couldn't be sure of its distance given the current stress-filled circumstances. But one thing was obvious: it was getting closer. Within moments it filled his vision with a blinding light that forced him to squint his eyes. Around the edges he could see a light blue. The further he was pulled, the warmed the water got, and the thinner it felt.

His hind legs breached the surface of the water first, quickly followed by his barrel, then the rest of him. For a brief moment the pegasus hung upside down in the air with his muzzle just a few inches from the water. Whatever force had dragged him here surrendered him back to the bonds of gravity. With only a minor splash, Phantom found himself back under water. But this time he was able to resurface under his own power.

He hungrily took in a selfish amount of air. Breathing out and repeating the process several times replaced his panicked nerves with calm ones. Feeling the warmth of a bright sun, Phantom's eyes opened on impulse. A world far from anything he had yet seen was revealed to him. One that he hasn't experienced even in the real world in several years.

Sand... Phantom growled in his own mind, looking around at the desert around him. He appeared to be in the middle of a small oasis pond, with a few rocks and a single palm tree gathered on what he guessed could be called the shore. I hate sand...

"Get used to it!" Kay called out, this time not within Phantom's head. She was laying on her back atop a white and blue striped beach chair. In one hoof she held, not surprisingly, the same book from before. In the other was a champagne coupe filled with a dark yellow liquid that was foaming at the rim. She sipped at it with a pink silly straw, not even looking up from her book to acknowledge the stallion's presence.

"That's all this place is!" Rude said. The orange mare was sitting in another beach chair on Kay's left side, this one with red and white stripes. She too had the same drink as Kay, but with a blue silly straw. Between the two was a large beach umbrella, keeping the sun off of the two ponies. Despite the shade, Rude was still wearing her sunglasses.

"What's you're problem?" Phantom yelled at her, swimming towards the shore. Both ponies looked at him over the tops of their glasses. "I could have drowned!"

Kay covered her tittering with a hoof while Rude smiled coyly.

"Relax... I wouldn't be worried about drowning, I'd be worried about her." She nodded her head at Phantom, indicating to something behind him. Phantom turned and discovered a pair of red eyes looking down to at him. They were connected to a red scaled Rainbow Dash, one with a very mischievous smile.

"Who's this?" the new mare asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh boy..." Phantom's own voice was barely above a whisper. His ears fell against his head as he tried to slip below the water. However the area he was in was shallow, and he stopped when the water reached his jaw.

"Play nice," Kay warned, her attention returning back to her book.

"Don't worry mom!" the red pegasus called back. She turned her attention back to Phantom. In one quick motion, she wrapper her hooves around the stallion's neck and lifted him up out of the water. With Phantom struggling to slip out of her grip, the red Rainbow Dash slewed over to where the other personalities were already waiting. She let go, allowing the stallion the unpleasantness of not only falling onto sand, but having said sand stick to his wet fur.

"You're Red, aren't you?" Phantom asked, to which the red pegasus nodded. "Okay, let's cut to the chase. Will you help us with saving Rainbow Dash?"

"No. I don't have to do anything for a pathetic little pony like you. If anything you should be helping me."

Phantom took several steps back, distancing himself from the personality of anger. Rude sighed to herself, turning on the beach chair so that she could stand up. With a look of boredom she marched towards Phantom and Red.

"Listen here, buddy," she started. "If we don't stop Boreas, we're all going to die. Frankly, I like life. So let's go."

"I'm not your buddy, friend," Red replied, landing and facing the orange pony. "And I'm staying. As much as this place sucks it isn't nearly bad as hanging around you"

"And I'm not your friend, pal. We are going to go with Phantom and stop all this nonsense. That way, I can go home, and you can go home, and he can go home, and we can all continue to survive."

"Look here, missy. I'm not your pal. Do you remember what he said to us, do you remember how they made you feel? We can't trust him."

Phantom positioned himself between the two mares, using a hoof to push them away from one another. "Nothing I can do can put those words back in my mouth. If I could, I would do it in a heart beat. Regardless, I love Rainbow Dash. And I will not stand by and watch her die because her own personalities couldn't work together!"

Red's wings flared. She put herself muzzle to muzzle with Phantom, looking sharply up at his eyes. "Who the hay do you think you are? Do you seriously believe you can just walk in here and be Rainbow Dash's knight in shining armor? Come in and swoop her off her hooves and to the safety of your embrace? That's not who Rainbow Dash is; she doesn't want someone to save her, she can take care of herself. She always has, she always will. Just like I'm going to go do right now; be by myself and away from you idiots."

When she turned to walk away, Phantom swore he could feel a nerve popping in his head from anger. He grabbed onto the mare's red tail. Using all of his strength he pulled her back towards him through the sand. She quickly turned in an attempt to punch him in the side of the muzzle. The stallion's guard training and instincts took over.

He ducked below the punch, batting her hoof away. She tried to punch again, but this time with her other hoof. Phantom raised his head up, allowing the hoof to pass under his jaw as he grabbed hold of it with one of his hooves. He pulled her hoof, forcing the red mare to land face first into the hot sand. Red quickly rolled over and attempted to buck Phantom's legs our from under him. To avoid this Phantom jumped, using his wings to gain an extra boost. He landed on top of the fuming mare, each of his hooves pinning down each of hers. As much as she struggled to throw him off balance and get him off of her, she couldn't. Rude and Kay stood nearby, ready to intervene should it come to that.

"Do you have an idea what's at stake?" Phantom yelled down to Red. "We're not just talking about your continued existence, or Rainbow Dash's life. We're talking about mine, too. And her friends. Equestria, and everypony else in the world. If we don't stop Boreas he'll destroy it all. He already got my sister. I... I don't want him to get you, too."

Red's breathing calmed down, and her aggressive looking eyes softened. Kay stepped up beside Phantom and looked down at the red mare still laying in the sand.

"He's right," the knowledgeable mare said in a soft tone. "If we don't stop Boreas, if we don't save Rainbow Dash, then this will happen to everypony else."

"Please," Phantom begged as the red mare turned her head away from the both of them, "please help us."

"My Loyalty is to Rainbow Dash..." Red whispered. "There's no guarantee that this plan of yours will save her."

"No, no there's not. There's never a guarantee with anything. But when I was young, my father told me something that I have never forgotten: 'Loyalty is nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.' You have to be willing to give up everything so that other's won't have to. He lived and died by his word. That's what being Loyal is about. That's Rainbow Dash."

Red sighed. "You're right..." she looked back at Phantom. "You're right. Do you promise to try your best to save her? To save me?"

Phantom nodded and stepped off of the mare. He held out a hoof which she accepted.

"I promise on the legacy of my fallen family that I will save Rainbow Dash. But I can't do it without you. Will you help me?"

Red nodded. "The portal's that way." She indicated to a nearby sand dune on the other side of the oasis. Phantom followed her hoof to see where it was.

"Thanks," he said, turning back around, "but where is it? All I see is—" He was talking to nopony. All three personalities, including their beach relaxation supplies, had vanished. Turning towards the sand dune provided the false hope that they were merely playing a prank and had moved behind him when he wasn't looking. Even the oasis had disappeared. "—sand..."

Phantom shook himself as if he were drying wet fur. But instead of water, the stallion was shaking off sand. For the most part it worked, save for small grains stuck in his mane and tail, along with other hard-to-get-to crevasses. He used his hooves to dig the finer grains out of his ears. Beginning his trek towards the sand dune, Phantom curse under his breath.

"I hate sand..."

He began his short trek. The sun beat down with its powerful rays, heating the sand to near unbearable temperatures. The sand burnt against his hooves with every step. In no time, Phantom reached the base of the sand dune. Once he took his first step he discovered that it was comprised of lose sand. His hooves sank in a few inches and slipped back almost a half foot with each step. Remembering something, the stallion pressed his face against a hoof.

"I can't believe I didn't do this in the first place..."

Phantom spread his wings and took to the air. In just a few seconds he was at the top of the dune. The stallion landed to look at the area around, expecting to see some type of portal. Instead all he saw was sand. Sand for days...

"Oh come on!" he shouted vengefully into the air. "It's not even here! You pointed me in the wrong direction!"

His only reply came from his echoing voice.

"Thanks, guys. You're a big help. Reeeeaaal big help." He sighed, sitting on his haunches. Looking around brought no evidence of where he should be heading in an effort to locate this portal. Perhaps the sky?

High above him, long trails of cirrus clouds indicated powerful upper winds. To some earth pony or unicorn, they would have looked appetizing. To an experienced pegasus like Phantom, who could tell the signs of dangers jet streams, knew otherwise. His ears picked up on a quiet hissing sound. But there weren't any snakes here... were there?

Phantom searched the around around him. No, no snakes. But there was a small river of sand flowing out from under him.

Faust...

The top of the dune he sat on gave way. In a shower of sand and dirt the pegasus stallion slid down the face of the dune, a much more steep and taller face than the one he had come up. Flipping head over hoof, he saw the following: sand, sky, horizon, sand, sky, horizon, sand, sky, horizon, sand, sky, rock. Wait, rock? Dirt, sand, sky, rock, rock, boulder, very large boulder! Then blackness as he came to a sudden stop.

Gee, Phantom thought, wonder where I could be this time. Judging by the last things he saw, along with the pain in the back of his head, he figured he was surrounded by rocks. He opened his eyes, blinking several times to clear his vision. Sometimes I hate being right...

The stallion was sitting up against a dark gray rock in the middle of a deep quarry. Forty foot near vertical slopes surrounded him on all sides. Signs of forestation were present, with a few leaves scattered about the quarry floor and what appeared to be tree limbs that hung over the edge far above him. Criss-crossing stairs lined the walls, providing paths of escape out of the abyss. What's worse: he wasn't alone.

Phantom stood up, shaking the stiffness and pain out of his legs. He craned his neck around in all directions, his bones rewarding him with several pleasant pops. Though while his head was sideways and facing to the left, a low growl instinctively opened his eyes. He froze, not wanting to do anything that might have provoked the beast he was looking at.

It was twice his size with a deep gray fur, paws the size of its head and claws the size of its teeth. Yellow cat-like eyes stared back at him. The creature was wearing a red vest with gems practically falling out of the pockets. A black collar was wrapped around its neck, with silver spikes. It took Phantom a few moments to search his memory for the name of the creature he was looking at. He had never encountered one or even read about one before. The only reason he was identifying it now was based off of Rainbow Dash's testimony from when she was telling him a story about her friend Rarity who had had an encounter with these creatures. Diamond Dog.

Phantom looked around with his eyes, not wanting to move his head. He saw no other Diamond Dogs around, but from the testimony he had heard he figured they usually ran in packs. His ears swiveled around, attempting to detect them if they were sneaking up on him.

"What are you doing here, pony?" the Diamond Dog questioned him in a mild yet rough voice.

"To be quite honest," Phantom said, "I haven't the slightest idea. But if you'd be willing to help then I'd be more than happy to leave—Gah!" A second Diamond Dog appeared, but not from behind him, instead it came up from below him. The newcomer wrapped a paw around the pony's neck, pushing him up against the large boulder he ran into earlier. Phantom coughed and sputtered, trying to suck in fresh air so that he could breathe.

"Oh, you'll leave," the second Diamond Dog said whilst pushing Phantom against the rock even harder. Cracks spidered out from behind him. Small bits of rock were breaking off from the larger boulder. Phantom felt like his eyes were bulging out of his head. "But not with your life."

Phantom tried telling at him to make him stop but no sounds escaped his gaping mouth. He swung and kicked with his hooves, trying to break the hold the creature had on him. The Diamond Dog merely sat there and smiled as the life was slowly sucked out of the pony in his paws. Behind him, the first Diamond Dog watched. The stallion's vision blurred. All he saw where two dark gray blobs surrounded by even more, yet lighter, gray blurs. Slowly his hearing began to fade into a single sound.

One of the dark gray blobs suddenly vanished amidst a green flash. He accredited it to his brain's lack of oxygen. That is, until the same occurred to the blob in front of him. Suddenly air returned to his lungs. Phantom fell to the ground taking in deep, ragged breaths. Small pebbles of rock would get sucked in and he would have to cough them out. He crawled forward slowly, trying to find somewhere to hide incase the Diamond Dogs came back for him.

Something kicked him onto his back. Looking with still semi-blurry eyes, Phantom could see the form of the first Diamond Dog standing above him, his sharp claws extended, ready for an attack. Just as he swung his paw he disappeared again. Phantom was able to watch him as he flew through the air. He landed almost thirty feet away where a boulder was easily crushed by both his weight and momentum. The dog was quick to stand up and whimper away from the downed pony.

Phantom groaned, turning to look up at the sky. The sun was covered by the silhouette of another creature. Much to his relief, this one wasn't a Diamond Dog. It was a pony. The newcomer was as pegasus, hovering over him. It landed at Phantom's side and extended a hoof towards him, offering assistance to his hooves. He was happy to oblige, although his legs were weak.

"Thanks," Phantom managed to say with a raspy voice.

"No problem," replied the new pony. Wait... he recognized that voice...

"Rainbow Dash?" Phantom rubbed the rest of the blurriness out of his eyes. In front of him stood the fourth Rainbow Dash he had encountered since this unimaginable trek began. This one was green scale, with no other extras to her, like how Red was. No books, no glasses, no modified mane styles. Just a normal, well, green, Rainbow Dash. Phantom tried to think of her name but couldn't. So he asked the mare.

"Kay calls me Em." It clicked in Phantom's mind. That's it! Em held a hoof to the side of her mouth and leaned in towards the stallion. "Between me and you, I think she's crazy. She seems to think that I'm an emerald green, when in fact I'm just normal green." Phantom opened his mouth to say something, but decided that since he wasn't an expert on the matter than he should just stay quiet. "Are you Phantom Knight?"

"Yeah, how'd you know—"

"I'm Rainbow Dash," she deadpanned. "Remember?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Phantom rubbed a hoof against the back of his neck. "Look, I'm going to cut to the chase because we're running out of time. I need your help. Rainbow Dash needs your help."

"I know." Phantom tilted his head, quirking an eyebrow. "Kay came to me awhile ago trying to enlist my help. This was before you arrived." She sat on the ground, motioning for Phantom to do the same. He agreed. "I said no."

"Why?"

"Kay has the tendency to... hype things up. She might be the most powerful of us, and the most knowledgeable, but sometimes I think all of that gets to her. More often than not she shows up every day trying to get us all together to help Rainbow Dash overcome some 'periling' obstacle in her life. I think the last time she talked to me before this Boreas guy took over her mind she was trying to unite us to take on her feelings over you."

Phantom slowly found himself leaning in so that he could be sure that he heard everything Em said.

"Of course," Em continued, "most of us said no. But she was talking to Violet for a long time..." The green mare tapped a thoughtful hoof against her chin before shrugging. "We all just ignored her this time. Frankly, I thought she was losing it. I mean, other creatures from the outside world coming in here? How the hay could they do that! But then I saw the storm..." She looked up at the skies, keeping her vision fixated there while she continued to speak. "I tried to get near that wall of lightning. Its impossible; the thing swatted me out of the skies while I was still over a mile away. Very, very cold, though. Coldest thing I think I've ever felt.

"Rainbow Dash is inside that thing, isn't she? Kay was right? I mean... you're here, in Rainbow Dash's subconscious. And you're real, you're not like the other ponies that wonder around aimlessly; you have color."

"And I intend to save Rainbow Dash," Phantom said. "Will you help me?"

Em seemed to think for a moment. "From what I've heard, and seen for myself, it's impossible. We've already lost..."

"No, it is possible! That's what Rainbow Dash does: the impossible." Em shied her head away from Phantom. "Who's the only pegasus to break the sound barrier? Who's defeated creatures once thought of only as myth? Who had the courage to stand up to her friends and kick a dragon square in the face? Who did those things?"

"I... I did..."

"Right. You did. Rainbow Dash did. So why don't you want to go into that storm?"

"I don't know..."

"Use her bravery to her advantage." Phantom jumped at the entrance of a new voice being whispered in his ear. Em seemed to not respond, still staring at the ground away from him. Phantom turned his head to see Kay hovering next to him, her mouth only inches away from his ear.

He dragged her to the ground, turning their backs to Em so that she could't hear what they would say.

"Stop doing that to me," Phantom whispered harshly.

"Sorry," Kay apologized. "Look, I'm here to help. She's the personality representative of Bravery and Courage, remember? Use that to your advantage. She doesn't like losing, and she doesn't like ponies thinking she'll lose."

Phantom nodded and turned back around to face Em, who was looking up, waiting for him to say something.

"You know why?" Phantom asked. Em shook her head. "You're scared."

"I'm sorry... what?" Em's tone was growing hostile. Her last word was practically spat out. The green mare slowly rose to her hooves, bringer herself closer to Phantom. A fire seemed to be growing behind her eyes. "Scared? Me? Oh hay no!"

She was so close to Phantom that their muzzles were touching. The stallion was slowly being pushed backwards in his sitting position by the still approaching mare.

"I have faced dragons, manticores, demons of temptation, mythical nightmares, gods of chaos, supernatural powers that made entire empires disappear, swarms of pests that could turn into anypony they wanted to, broken the sound barrier three separate times, and been there for my friends every turn along the way. And you call me a coward? The hay have you done?!"

During her tirade, Phantom had been thrown off balance by leaning back so far and fallen onto his back. Em now stood above him, her muzzle still bushing up against his, eyes wide with dilated pupils.

"Well nothing on that magnitude..." Phantom said. He hesitantly look over at Kay, who simply nodded. "but I can probably defeat Boreas before you can."

Em squinted at him. "Is that a challenge?"

"Yeah. You shouldn't accept, though. You'll lose."

"Very well then. Race ya there!" In a flash of green her wings opened and the mare took of into the skies, executing an Immelmann turn. Phantom rolled onto his hooves, chasing after her on the ground. Quickly spreading his wings, he streched them, then gave several powerful flaps to take to the sky. Em was leaving a green scale rainbow trail behind her, which provided an easy path for Phantom to chase after.

She had taken several twists and turns around boulders of various sizes, trying to lose the stallion behind her. But the pegasus guard, experienced and well trained in chasing down suspects no matter their flight path, was easy to stay behind the mare. She emerged through the boulders into a small clearing on the other side of the quarry. Phantom watched as she headed straight for the wall, showing no signs of pulling up. He was about to shout something to her when she tucked in her wings and legs, presenting herself as a small of a target as she could before disappearing into a tiny dark hole.

"That's going to be a tight fit, Phantom!" Kay shouted over the rushing wind.

"What the?" He looked over his shoulder. Kay was laying on his back, using his head as a pillow while she nonchalantly read her book. It was strange to him there didn't seem to be any weight to her. "What are you doing? Get off!"

"Oh I'll be on my way in a moment. I just wanted to make sure you did miss that!" She rolled over and extend a hoof past Phantom's face, indicating to the rapidly approaching quarry wall. Specifically, her hoof was point at the small hole that Em had disappeared through. "That's the portal. If you miss, or get stuck inside again, I don't know if I'll be able to help you, since we're getting fairly far away from my realm."

Phantom turned back to address the yellow mare, only to discover that she had disappeared. I really hate when she does that...

I can still hear you, you know... Now pay attention before you crash.

Right. The hole in front of him seemed to be just bigger than he was. Compared to him trying to fit through there, Em probably didn't need to fold in as much as she did. But in order for Phantom to even make it he would probably have had to suck in his chest.

Grumbling under his breath, Phantom gave himself one final powerful flap of his wings. He tucked them and his legs in as tight as they could. Just before passing through the threshold of the portal he took in a deep breath, hoping that it would somehow help him. He shut his eyes. His ears picked up on the change in pressure as he passed through the entry way. Out of the sun, his fur quickly cooled. Opening his eyes revealed a blackness all around him. Far below there was a small pinprick of light.

Guessing that that was the exit, he rolled over and pulled down, opening and flapping his wings to fire towards it at high speed. It came to him quicker than the previous portal entrance. In moments his eyes were once again forced closed by the resounding brightness.

Phantom reemerged in the skies above another world. This one consisted of rolling grassy hills and snow capped mountains on the distant horizon. Below him, a single mountain rose up towards him, not with a snowy peak, but with a spiraled cliff that reminded him of the one at the top of Mount Crumpit in those stories he had heard as a foal. A single tree stood at the top, or at least a shell of what was once a tree. All of the leaves had since fallen off and dissolved into the earth.

Beneath it, dangerously close to the cliff edge, the fifth Rainbow Dash laid, this one with a blue-scale coloring. Next to her were a collection of pink pedaled flowers. It was difficult to tell from this altitude, but she appeared to take one of the flowers in her hooves, plucking one pedal off at a time with her other hoof. When all that remained was a stem, she held it in the air to be claimed by the wind and carried away from the cliff. Even though he couldn't see her face, something about the way she laid there and move around told Phantom that she was completely different from the other personalities he had encountered.

He slowly descended towards her in a corkscrew motion. As he neared, the sound of a soft voice drifted up towards him. Is she humming to herself? Rainbow Dash? Humming? Phantom landed softly a decent distance away from her, about twenty feet. It was impossible to discern what exactly it was she was humming, but she was swaying her head from side to side. Each pedal that she picked off fell into a pile between her legs. By his estimation, Phantom guess that she had already gone through half a dozen flowers.

His ears twitched at the sound of grass being slowly pushed down behind him. Several guesses of who it was came to mind, one outcome of which resulted in a balloon popping neck to his ear; another with him being pushed off the cliff or shoved into the tree; or nothing would happen and he would simply have company to stand by him. Fortunately for both his physical well being, and mental sanity, the last option was the one that came to pass.

Kay stepped up to Phantom's side. The stallion didn't take his eyes off of the blue Rainbow Dash in front of him, instead opting to observe Kay out of the corner of his eye.

"What's she doing?" Phantom asked in a soft voice, leaning his heads towards the yellow mare.

"Trying to decide how the future will turn out," Kay replied, doing the same.

"What future?"

Kay shrugged. "Impossible to tell. It could be how this thing with Boreas turns out. She could be worrying about how this stint with the guard will go. Or, she could even be wondering about you."

"Why?"

"She's Hope, remember? It's what she does. Judging by the flowers, she's probably wondering about you." The two ponies turned their heads slightly so they could see each other better. Phantom raised the eyebrow nearest to Kay. "Remember what I said earlier? Rainbow Dash likes you. Right now, Hope is debating her options."

"With a flower..."

"Yup. It's not exactly the most effective method. Hay, I've tried helping her come up with better ways, like thinking about these things instead of leaving it up to chanced based on a random assortment of flowers. Apparently she ignored me, like everypony else..."

"Hey," Phantom put a hoof over her shoulder. "I haven't ignored you."

Kay sighed. "No, no you haven't. I, and Rainbow Dash, are thankful of that. Also, don't touch me unless you want to wake up with a broken leg." Phantom quickly retracted his hoof, apologizing. "It's fine. Go talk to her, but heads up, she's not like Rude, Red, or Em. If you break her feelings, I'll break you—"

She stopped mid-sentence, something that deeply concerned Phantom when ever he encountered it in anypony. He noticed that her ears were swiveling around, and she was looking around with a slightly open jaw. Phantom was about to ask what was wrong, but she was quick to shush him. A cracking sound like thunder resonated throughout the air. Looking up, Phantom's jaw dropped.

High above the cliff, where the cirrus clouds lived, a lavender colored plain floated. It stretched out far into the horizons, further than he could see. Something told him that it continued its reach even beyond that. It was hard for him to be sure, but it appeared to be falling. Unfortunately he was proven right.

The plain was semi-translucent and passed through the ponies and the cliff with an electronic-like buzzing sound. For a brief moment it seemed to touch the ponies' hooves, then rise to their heads and back down to their hooves before continuing down, disappearing below the earth far below.

"What was that?"

"Trouble. That was a magical scan from an outside force. What ever it was, it took readings on us, and the storm."

"Twilight?"

"I really hope so..."

"So I should hurry and recruit Hope, then, huh?"

"Yeah you should hurry."

"Alright." Phantom jogged up to the blue mare in front of him, slowing down to a soft walk when he was only a few feet away as to not disturb her or what she was doing.

"Hey Phantom," Hope said. Now that she knew he was there, for how long he couldn't be certain, he walked up parallel to her side and laid down, mimicking her position. She continued to pluck away at the pedals of the flowers, not paying the stallion any direct attention. He noticed that there was a pink flower placed between her left ear and her mane.

"Hello," Phantom said, using a soft, kinder voice than his default. "You're Hope, right?"

"That's what Kay calls me. It's an alright name I guess, fits, at least." There came a silence between the two ponies. Hope hummed something to herself as she plucked the last pedal off of the flower. Phantom tried to listen to what she was saying as she threw the stem off of the cliff and picked up a new flower.

"So uh..." Phantom scratched the top of one of his hooves with the other. "What're you doing?"

"Debating my options." She plucked the first pedal on the new flower. "I could either help you." Then she plucked another. "Or not." Another pedal. "We could either succeed," then again, "or not. The fate of Rainbow Dash, Equestria, rests on us."

"Rests on you." For emphasis, Phantom motioned towards her with a hoof. "There's no way in tartarus I can do this on my own without you, all of you."

She plucked another pedal. "We could fail..."

Phantom grabbed hold of her hoof nearest to him and held it tightly.

"So long as I'm alive, we. Will. Not. Fail. I will not let Boreas do to other ponies what he did to my sister. Especially not to you. We can stop him."

"We can only hope so..." Again, she plucked a pedal off of the pink flower. Not seeing any pony in letting her continue, Phantom grabbed what was left of it and placed it in front of him, out of her reach. She tried to grab another from the pile but Phantom was quick to sweep them out of the way with his wing. He could sense Kay stalking up behind him, a reminder to be careful.

"No... we can do more than hope. We can act. We can prevent this I'm sure of it!"

"Have you seen that storm?" She point a hoof out in front of her. Phantom followed it with his eyes and felt his heart sink. The storm that Kay had shown Rude earlier was directly in front of him. Still probably fifty some miles away, but still closer than the last time he saw it, and much closer than he would have liked. At the same time its cold winds struck the cliff, blowing back the manes of the ponies. The tree behind them groaned with each sway. "How do we stop that?!"

Phantom stood up, taking a single step forward. He craned his neck around to look at Hope, who was still laying on the ground, looking up at him.

"With your help."

Hope leveled her head, turning her focus back on the storm. Several bolts of blue lightning leapt across its surface. The intensity of the thunder that it emitted was enough that it shook the entire mountain they stood on, even crumbling away at the edge of the cliff where Phantom stood. Hope covered her ears from the deafening noise, letting out a shy yelp. Phantom watched with curiosity as the tree was literally turned to dust that then floated away in the powerful breeze. Had he more time, he may have noticed how poetic the scene was.

But he didn't have time. The mare in front of him had began acting like a scared filly, cowering as low as she could as to not be threatened by the storm. Phantom leaned down towards her, nuzzling her cheek. She seemed to calm down.

"You're right," she said, he resolve hardening. The blue mare wiped away from her eyes what appeared to be tears.

"I'm only right if you help." He looked into her eyes. "Will you?"

Looking back, Hope nodded. With Phantom's continued encouraging, she managed to be coaxed to her hooves. She stood against the wind in a pose that should have belong to a gallant statue, her mane and tail flowing like a flag. Overall it was a very confident looking pose that inspired even him, and he was the one supposed to be doing the inspiring at this point!

"Yes." Hope was staring at the storm defiantly. For a moment Phantom thought that her gaze alone would be enough to destroy it. "I'll help." She bent down and scooped up a cluster of the pink pedals in her hoof.

"Alright, so where to do I need to go next?" Phantom looked around, hoping that Kay would be there to answer his question and provide some guidance like how she had been. The canary-yellow mare was no where to be found. He turned back to Hope to ask her the same question. Before he could, the blue mare blew the pedals in his face. In an instant his vision was filled until everything went black and quiet.

The smell of fresh baked hayfries wafted into Phantom's nostrils. A smile grew on his face. It had been so long since he had himself a nice plate of them. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the brand new environment around him.

Phantom was sitting in what appeared to be an indoor café booth. The seat consisted of soft green cushions. In front of him was an oak table. On top of which sat a steaming plate of hayfries, along with napkins, a drink, and other assorted condiments. Looking around he room provided more evidence that he was indeed in a café. Well, a restaurant would be a better way of describing it. It was bustling with waitresses moving between tables and the kitchen, levitating trays in their magic, or on their backs or wings. The scene outside the restaurant however, could only be described as chaos.

It looked like a winter hurricane was moving through the streets. Snow was blowing sideways with the wind, picking up anything that wasn't tied down and throwing them into nearby shops. Pegasi toppled through the air while earth ponies attempted to take cover in the protective shields the unicorns were deploying. Ice was spreading through everything that the snow touched. Interestingly enough, Phantom couldn't hear any of the commotion from outside. Everypony inside the restaurant seemed to ignore it. Something about the storm gave him a bad feeling.

"Ahem." The sudden introduction of a mare's cough startled him, physically flinching in his seat. It brought his attention to somepony who was sitting in the booth across from him. The sixth and final, according to Kay, Rainbow Dash. This one had a violet or purple-scale coloring. She sat with her chin resting on both her hooves, staring dreamily into Phantom's eyes. "Hi there!" Her voice was a chipper one, reminding the stallion of Pinkie Pie.

"Hello?" Phantom quirked an eyebrow, unsure of how to handle this side of Rainbow Dash. "Violet, I presume?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" She leaned in close to him. "Are you stalking me?"

"N-No... Kay told me about you."

"Oh, okay!" And like that, the conversation appeared to be over. Violet dug into a plate of hayfries sitting in front of her, washing them down with a large glass of what looked like cider. Half way through her plate she froze, looking up at Phantom mid-chew. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Phantom looked down at the hayfries in front of him. Realizing what she said and that this was actually for him, he was more than happy to take his fair share of bites from them. The salt began to sting at his throat, so to counter it he took a sup from his drink, which also turned out to be cider. Thankfully not hard cider. Since his last drunken incident with Stryker and Archer that resulted with the three of them in jail, he had sworn off alcohol.

"What are we doing here again, exactly?" Phantom asked, wiping his mouth off with a napkin.

"We're on a date!" Violet was beaming a smile from ear to ear. Phantom gaped at her. "Didn't you know that?"

"No... I didn't know that. No pony told me anything about a date!"

"Surprise!" The mare threw her hooves in the air. After a confetti fell out of the ceiling she returned to what he guessed was a normal pose for her. "So were are we going after dinner?"

"After dinner... I... I don't know? I hadn't exactly planned on taking you on a date, particularly under these circumstances."

"Oh..." Violet seemed to deflate. "So you don't want to go on a date with me then, huh?"

"It's not like that. I mean I would like to take you on a d ate, yeah, but I just..." Phantom sighed, planting his face on a hoof. How he managed to get roped in to this one, or how he would get out of it with his life, he didn't know. Although he had never really dated anypony, primarily because he didn't have much time due to his full time guard job, he had heard stories. One of which, from Archer in particular, is that mares could be quite hostile if you did what they thought was the wrong thing on a date. For example, forgetting that you were on a date, or not having any plans afterwards. Essentially the scenario Phantom found himself in right now.

"Here's your check, sir," another mare stepped up to the booth. Unlike all the ponies who were Rainbow Dash that Phantom had seen in his time in her subconscious who were gray-scale, this mare was yellow. She was wearing a white button-up blouse with a little black book in one of the front pockets, and balancing several trays on her outstretched wings. Kay set the check down on the table with her hoof in front of Phantom. "I would advise that you make sure it's correct." She winked at the stallion.

Okay? Kay turned and walked away, disappearing in the kitchen. Apparently Violet had been so focused on staring at Phantom that she hadn't noticed the arrival of the personality of knowledge. Recalling what Kay just said, Phantom held up the check to examine it. The front gave the prices of the food and drinks the ponies had consumed, while on the back there was a note.

Phantom, Violet is the personality representative of Hope and Love.
She'll cling onto every word you say and
everything you do, and she'll do the same. If you really love her,
then it'll be easy to convince her to go on a date
with you to destroy Boreas and save Rainbow Dash.

"It's just that I need your help..." Phantom said.

Violet seemed to perk up. "Oh! With what? Planning another date? A party? Oh we could invite so many ponies! You're friends, my friends, maybe even a bunch of other ponies that could potentially turn into our fri—" Phantom pushed a hoof against her mouth, silencing the rambling mare.

"I thought it would be a good idea to throw a party for somepony else."

She gasped. "Who? Is it their birthday?"

"No, it's not her birthday, but she does need our help. It's Rainbow Dash." Phantom took a breath. "There's someone else, too, named Boreas."

"So it'll be a double party?!" Violet was practically sitting on the edge of her seat.

"... Sort-of...? See, Boreas and Rainbow Dash aren't exactly... friends. And Boreas has been hurting Rainbow Dash pretty badly."

"No! That jerk!"

"Right? Anyway, we need to get together with all of your friends to stop him, and make him leave. It's the only way Rainbow Dash will start feeling better about herself."

"Which friends?" Violet point a hoof to a booth across from Phantom's and her's on the opposite wall of the restaurant. "Those friends?"

The booth she was pointing at was filled with five other ponies. Specifically, the five other personalities of Rainbow Dash that Phantom had previously encountered. Most of them were eating away at various food, but all drinking the same drink: Cider. Phantom had some inkling that that was the only drink in this real. Which considering the apparent love for Cider that she possessed, it wasn't all that surprising. Kay was the only one not eating. She was instead reading a newspaper while drinking her cider. The headline of the newspaper read:

Boreas consumes Consciousness!

Below it, Phantom could make out the sub-headline.

Rainbow Dash is out of time!

Kay was watching Phantom out of the corner of her eye, making sure that the stallion saw, and read, the headline. She tapped her hoof as if she were motioning towards a watch. Then she rolled her other hoof in a circular motion, essentially telling Phantom to hurry up.

"Yeah, those friends," he said, turning back to face Violet. "Please, I really need your help on this. It... it would mean a lot for me."

"Okay, but only if you promise me one thing."

Phantom was hesitant. "What's that...?"

She leaned in with a coy smile, propping herself up on the table with her elbows.

"When you save me, take me out on an actual date."

Phantom looked down, taken aback by her request. Was she talking about herself as Violet, the personality of Love and Happiness? Or was she talking about the actual Rainbow Dash? Considering that this was Rainbow Dash's own subconscious after all, it was entirely possible that she would have no only a major influence here, but also some awareness of what was happening. Either way, he already knew his answer.

"I promise," he said, looking up. Violet sat back, he coy smile turning into a sincere one.

"That's all I wanted to hear."

Something interesting began to happen. Phantom was forced to rub his eyes clear of any debris to make sure that it was actually happening. The tops of Violet's ears were disintegrating to small bright purple orbs, about the size of rain drops. These orbs were hovering the same spots they formed, giving the appearance that her ears were still kind-of there. The phenomenon continued to spread down her head. Even her eyes turned to orbs, although they were white. Black orbs were created where her pupils were. Eventually the entire mare consisted of millions of these bright orbs.

Just as Phantom was about to say something about it, the even began to occur with everything, and everypony, else. The entire restaurant had turned into hundreds of millions of these bright orbs. The ponies had been turned into gray orbs that seemed to lag as they moved, a bunch of the orbs would stay behind and then rubber-band back into position. Even Kay and the other personalities had turned into these colors of their respective colors.

A gust of wind blew through, pushing away all of the orbs except for the ones belonging to Rainbow Dash's personalities. Phantom found himself floating in darkness with them. The five other personalities who were sitting at the other table floated over towards Phantom in separate groups that resembled swarms of bees. With each twitch of moment, the orbs affected would briefly flash brighter than the others who weren't moving. They formed up around him in the vague shapes of ponies standing on their hind legs.

Soon, all but the yellow orbs, which Phantom assumed was Kay, rose up above him. They spun around in a circle several times before following one another towards his left. It didn't take long for them to fade out of his view. A massive white flash burst out from where he lost saw the orbs. When it faded, a large white portal was revealed, with tendrils of all the colors of the spectrum extending out in all directions. Part of Phantom's mind wanted to believe that he was staring at the eye of the universe.

Phantom twirled around in the zero gravity, facing the orbs that made up Kay floating behind him.

"What happened?" Phantom's voice echoed through the open space, quite severely at that.

"Rainbow Dash's personalities have been united," Kay replied, her voice also echoing. Although she had no mouth to move, with every syllable that was spoke the orbs that made would flash. "That's the portal that leads to Rainbow Dash's conscious mind; the one that Boreas has consumed."

There was a brief pause as Phantom looked over his shoulder at the portal.

"So I just go in there and save her?" he asked, turning back to Kay.

"Essentially. Though I just wish it were really that simple. Boreas is powerful, very powerful. I... I just don't want to see you get hurt..."

Phantom placed a hoof on what he guessed would have been her shoulder. Although his hoof passed right through her. To compensate, he merely held it over her shoulder.

"Even if I get hurt, there's one thing I'll guarantee: I will save Rainbow Dash."

Kay moved floated forward and hugged the stallion, catching him off guard. Her yellow orbs embraced him in the slight form of a pony. Phantom couldn't help but return the gesture as best as he could.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice still echoing slightly. "For everything. You've come so far during this and adapted so well to a situation that nopony would have been able to conceive of. Not even Luna. And you did it all for me; for us." Kay pulled her head back and positioned it directly in front of Phantom, his muzzle inches away from what was represented as her muzzle. With one of her 'hoofs' she managed to brush away part of his mane on his forehead. "I'm so proud of you. If—"

"When."

"—When you succeed, I'll be so grateful. Rainbow Dash won't forget this."

The orbs moved in closer. Phantom thought he felt something soft touch his lips briefly before pulling away, but couldn't be completely sure with the physical state of the mare in front of him. Thought he happily accepted the notion that it was a kiss.

"Now," she said, pushing herself away from him. "Go get her back."

A vortex-like sensation that reminded him of the one from the pond earlier returned, pulling at his back. Before he could say anything, Phantom was sucked away towards the portal. Seeing no use in fighting it he turned himself around and opened his wings. Even though it didn't feel like flapping his wings helped, he did it anyway out of habit. He pushed a hoof out in front of him in the hopes that it would provide an aerodynamic advantage for when he broke through the portal.

Now far behind him, Kay continued to float, watching Phantom fly away. He didn't hear her whisper to herself.

"Be safe..." A single white orb feel from the others in her head, falling downwards into the dark abyss. "Please..."

Author's Note

I didn't feel like allowing one of my chapters to go over 15,000 words so I posted the final section in the next chapter.

Resolution

Phantom struggled to keep himself up right in the powerful cross winds. He was standing in the middle of a blizzard, the most powerful he had ever witnessed. Snow and small bits of ice were whirling about, biting at his fur. The ice had razor-like edges that cut into him, drawing out small trickles of blood that were instantly frozen by the cold air. If he were to guess, it was at least twenty below zero here, without the wind chill. Little did he know it was actually thirty below.

When he flew through the portal only moments ago, he was thrown into the ground. He was caught completely off guard by the ferocity of the storm. Part of him wanted to burrow beneath the snow to seek protection. But the majority of him reminded him of why he was here. Somewhere out there, in this storm, was Rainbow Dash. And she needed his help.

So he rose to his hooves and pushed on, head first into the fray. He shielded his face from the wind by putting up a wing. It helped a little, but not much. It was a struggle to keep his wing off of his face. Eventually he decided that it wasn't worth the wasted energy and folded it against his side. A steady current of air traveling at about forty miles an hour was superseded by gusts that went as fast as sixty miles an hour.

He was nearly blown over several times. To compensate he had to cross his hooves and basically crab walk in order to stay up during the gusts. Several times he was pushed all the way over. And each time he would pick himself back up and drag on.

“Dash!” he yelled as loud as he could, using all the air in his diaphragm. There was sufficient evidence to deduce that nopony would be able to hear him, even if they were standing in front of him. The roar of the wind was deafening, drowning out all other sounds. “Dash! Where are you?!”

Phantom stopped and looked around, trying desperately to find her. But it was hopeless. Nothing beyond several feet in front of him was visible. In the midsts of Boreas' storm of wrath, he was unable to find Rainbow Dash. So he did what any logical being would do in that situation; he pressed forward.

“Kay!” Phantom knew she probably wouldn't show up, but he still had some hope. However litter there was. “Rude! Red! Em? Hope! Violet?! Anypony?!”

The storm was beginning to take its toll on the stallion. He could feel the energy being sucked out of him. Finally he collapsed to the snow, half-buried in it. Quickly, the snow fall from the storm seemed to wrap itself around him, burying him even further. Phantom's heart began to slow as the cold entered his veins. His eyelids became heavy. The familiar feeling of melatonin taking over sank in. Just as his eyes were about to close for what would have been the final time in his existence, never to again rise, something he saw caused him to force them back open.

Off in the distance, a small, dim, red light. It seemed to call to him with a constant ringing sound, like that of a small coin being dropped on a floor. Not even hesitating to wonder what was emitting such a light, Phantom put one hoof in front of him, crawling out of the pile of snow that had accumulated around him. Then another, continuing to pull himself forward. Then another, and another. Using his wings to help prop him out of the snow, he was able to pick himself up.

Phantom continued to trudge forward, resembling a zombie pony from the recent string of horror flicks that had come out a few months ago, practically stumbling over his hooves. The light in front of him continued to shine. Its ringing sound seemed to grow slightly louder as he neared. The light also seemed to be growing in both size and intensity. After sometime of battle through the snow, Phantom noticed that the closer he got, the more the light seemed to move down, no longer sitting on the horizon. So whatever the source is, it's on the ground, he deduced, and I'm close.

Twenty more feet of travel brought Phantom to the source of the mysterious light. It was shining through the snow, whatever it was, illuminating the snow itself, making it look like a strawberry smoothie. Phantom could feel his stomach growl at the thought. Even though he had just eaten a full plate of hay fries, he hasn't eaten anything in the real world in a day and a half. This growling he was felling now must have been a sign that he needed to wake up and eat some actual food. With those thoughts, dehydration came to mind; this kind of inter-pony sub-conscious travel surely must be taking a large sum of energy out of him.

Back at the task at hoof, the light was directly below him, beneath the snow. Phantom dug away at the snow, trying desperately to reach the source. His hoof struck something solid. A metal 'tink' sound reached his ears, causing them to twitch. Taking in a deep breath, Phantom stuck his head in the hole he had just dug and blew away the thin layer of snow covering the object. The bright red light illuminated his face.

Buried in the snow, the Element of Loyalty stared up at him, its gem glowing brightly.

Phantom's jaw dropped. He tried to pick it up but couldn't, it was somehow connected to the snow. He pulled harder and found that the Element of Loyalty was stuck on some kind of white cylinder. He felt around the necklace, trying to identify what the object was. Its surface was cold, stiff, yet soft like fur. Then it clicked in his mind. It was fur. Phantom wrapped his hooves around the necklace and cylinder, pulling up with all his might. Part of it moved, lifted a familiar face out of the snow.

"No..." He fell to his haunches, holding Rainbow Dash's head in his hooves. Her eyes were shut and her breathing was light. Phantom was quick to dig the rest of her out of the snow, though it was difficult to see between the mare's now white coat and the equally white snow. The only thing that gave indication that a pony was even there was her eyebrows, and grayscale cutie mark, mane, and tail. "Dash!" Phantom pulled the mare close to him, trying to warm her up with his body heat. "Come on, hang in there. Wake up, Dash! Wake up!"

"Phantom...?" He could barely hear her voice over the wind and chattering teeth. Her eyes opened to barely more than slivers. Thankfully from what he could see, they were still her eyes and not the black slits of that demon. She wrapped herself in her wings as a reaction to being cold. Pulling her in closer so that she was basically in his lap, Phantom also wrapped his wings around her to help. "Wha... What are you doing here...?"

"Shh shh. It's okay. I'm here to rescue you. You're safe now, just hang in there." Phantom began rocking back and forth, rubbings his hooves along Rainbow Dash's side in an effort to build up frictional heat. "Just don't fall asleep. Stay with me."

"How'd... How'd you get here?"

"Your Element of Loyalty brought me here. I touched it with the Conduit and work up in your subconscious."

"Wha...?"

"I'll explain after I get you out. Just relax right now." Rainbow Dash nodded. For awhile the two ponies sat there, Rainbow Dash held by Phantom like a filly, cocooned in his feathers. His head rested on top of hers as he kept a weary eye out, ears swiveling in all directions. "By the way, where's Boreas?"

"He's everywhere... This storm is him." Phantom unknowingly held Rainbow Dash a little closer.

Kay, I could really use you right now... He knew she couldn't do anything, she was apart of Rainbow Dash's subconscious, and this was her conscious mind. Kay didn't have the control here like she did in the other realms. The only pony who would have control here was Rainbow Dash herself—

Phantom gasped with realization. Kay mentioned that this was basically a dream... a lucid dream...

"Dash... I think I know how to fight Boreas."

"All ears."

"Well this is really a dream for you. One that you can control. I don't think I'll be able to fight Boreas here; you'll have to. You can make anything you want happen here. This is your realm, not his. Fight back, Rainbow Dash."

Phantom pulled himself away from Rainbow Dash, standing up and moving in front of her, much to her grumbling protests. He offered the white mare a hoof, which she accepted. Once she was on her hoof, Phantom could see that she was weak. Her wings were dropping, her legs wobbling, and her head was hung low.

He stepped up to her side, draping a wing over the mare's back. Lowering his head so that it was level with her's, Phantom began to encourage Rainbow Dash. The pair took a careful step together. Not having moved around in some time, Rainbow Dash nearly fell over. But Phantom was there to catch her. They took another step forward, pausing afterwards so that she wouldn't fall. With Phantom's encouragement, they continued this process until they were moving at a semi-decent pace. As they did, Rainbow Dash's head slowly began to perk back up, and her wings were returning to her sides.

With apparently most of her strength back, it seemed time to move onto the next step.

"You control this place," Phantom reminded her. "You decide what happens."

Rainbow Dash looked up at him, smiling. "Okay," she nodded.

She slid out from Phantom's supportive embrace, moving ahead of him, standing on her own power against the storm. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, taking in a series of deep, calming breaths. The winds around the ponies began to die down. The blizzard that once bit at Phantom had dissolved into a simple snow flurry. Even that didn't last long. In no time the sky began poking through the clouds. Eventually the storm had completely cleared out, and the two pegasi were standing in the middle of a winter wonderland.

But Rainbow Dash wasn't done modifying her realm. The snow beneath their hooves melted away, the water disappearing into the barren, featureless round. Phantom felt something poking at the undersides of his hooves. He lifted them up to reveal grass growing beneath them. All around the green blades breached the surface until they turned the wasteland into a luscious field. Spots of flowers of all types and colors contrasted with the single green color. Forest's worth of trees grew in moment, their branches climbing high into the sky. Birds seemed to flock from nowhere to land in them.

The temperatures warmed up over this period of time, returning to a level equivalent to that of spring. Soft white clouds dotted the sky, completing the scene.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to view what she had just created. She turned in a circle with a wide smile, taking in all the new sights, sounds, smells, and feelings. When she stopped and faced Phantom, she was beaming from ear to ear.

"So awesome!" she practically squealed, running up and hugging the other pegasus. Phantom happily returned the embrace. They parted, putting a few feet between themselves. Rainbow Dash examined her coat and mane for any changes. "At least I still sort-of look like me, even though I'm still white..."

Phantom put a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure when we get back to reality you'll be better. That or Twilight will probably be able to come up with a way to fix you."

She nodded. "Speaking of reality, how do we get back, exactly?"

"If I were to guess? I'd say you have to wake up. Kay wasn't very clear on that part."

"Well how do I wake up then? And who's Kay?"

"She's—never mind, I'll explain later. And I think you need to defeat Boreas. Here. In your conscious mind..."

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?"

"Trust me, if you wen't through what I just did then nothing would be ridiculous ever again."

"Fine. Boreas!" Rainbow Dash shouted into the air, her voice echoing through the plains. "Come out here you bucking coward!"

"Dash, maybe you should chill out just a little... element of surprise and what not..."

"Oh no. I've had it with this guy. This is my dream right? I can control what I want? He doesn't stand a chance!" Rainbow Dash was hovering a few feet in the air, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Come out here and fight me like the girl you are you cold minded piece of—" She was cut off by an unfortunately familiar roar.

"Now you've done it..." Phantom lamented. He also took the air, putting his back to Rainbow Dash's so that they were watching all directions for any sign of the demon.

Rainbow Dash was the first to see it: a massive swarm of snowflakes coming over one of the forests she had created. They twisted and turned through the air as if they weren't exactly sure where they were going, but their general course was leading them directly towards the two ponies. She tapped Phantom on the shoulder, directing his attention to the rapidly nearing swarm. It cleared the tops of the trees, circling a small area not far in front of the ponies. They spun and they spun until they achieved a decent height in the form of a vortex. With a crack of thunder, the snow flakes shot out, disappearing. This revealed Boreas, standing where the vortex had been, in his dragon form, his eyes staring daggers at the ponies.

Not wasting anytime on some kind of a diabolical monologue, Boreas opened his mouth and sucked in a large gulp of air, enough that it actually dragged the ponies towards him a little bit. The two pegasi planted themselves on the ground, gaining enough grip to not be pulled towards the dragon. Rainbow Dash recognized what the dragon was preparing for and adjusted accordingly. Closing her eyes so that she could concentrate easily, she imagined a rock wall shooting up through the ground between Boreas, and her and Phantom. Then she pictured it continuing to rise such that it arced over them slightly, further deflecting the impending blast.

Boreas icy breath traveled out of his mouth with a large amount of power, impacting the rock wall. The blast was for the most part deflected up and over the pegasi. What wasn't deflected froze the stone through to the other side. Between where Rainbow Dash and Phantom had ducked, a sharp ice sickle the length of a pony had pierced the rock, narrowly missing the two ponies.

Phantom moved from his crouching position, flaring his wings open. Just as he took off, Rainbow Dash caught him by the tail and pulled him back on the ground.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Giving you some time to figure out how to defeat him." Phantom pulled his tail out of her grip and took off, flying backwards then up to get out of the protection of Rainbow Dash's rock wall. His trajectory brought him above the dragon, who had ceased to use his ice breath and was just about to bring a powerful claw down on the wall. Phantom dove down, putting both hooves in front of him.

He slammed into the top of Boreas' head. His force caused the dragon to miss his attack, slamming the ground next to the wall instead. Phantom followed through with his punch by flying down and pulling up just above the ground, the grass tickling his belly. When he turned around to see what he had done, Boreas was preparing to take to the air and give chase. The great dragon only managed to get off one flap, rising a few feet into the air, before a massive boulder fell from the sky, crushing him.

Rainbow Dash leapt into the air, hoof pumping. "Yeah!" she cheered. "Take that! Who's the mare? I said 'Who's the mare?'! I am! That's right! Uh-huh! Yeah! Who kick a god's plot? Rainbow Dash did! Woohoo!" Phantom was about to express his concerns over premature celebration, especially since they still hadn't awoken, when a more pressing matter was created.

Boreas had turned back into his icy form immediately after the boulder crush him, the snow flakes slipping out from under it. They slithered across the ground, reforming into a vortex behind Rainbow Dash. This time the vortex dissipated without any excess noise, silently reforming Boreas without the white mare's knowledge. The dragon raised his claw, ready to swap her out of the air. And she would have no idea that it was coming; she had her back turned to him and was too busy celebrating 'her' victory to notice his escape.

"Dash!" Phantom charged forward towards the mare. Hearing his voice, Rainbow Dash stopped celebrating and turned to face him, but took the long way around. She stopped when her eyes fell on the looming form of Boreas, his claw already coming down. With no time to imagine a way to protect herself, she did all she could: hold up her legs in front of her face, squeeze her eyes shut and hope that he some how missed.

Boreas' claw came down with unrelenting force. Although it did actually manage to miss Rainbow Dash, it wasn't the fault of poor aim on the dragon's part, it was because Rainbow Dash was pushed out of the way. Phantom had grappled onto the stunned mare, using his momentum to knock her out of the way just in time. However, he became the target for Boreas' strike. His black claws sliced along his side and wing, knocking him out of the air. Phantom hit the ground, rolling head over hoof before coming to a painful stop.

Rainbow Dash hovered over him protectively and closer her eyes. She used her new found abilities to create various rocks, trees, and other natural items to hurl at the god. She viciously attack the dragon, forcing him to duck and weave around the objects. He tried to blast the mare with a quick blast of ice from his mouth, but she countered by creating a wall of ice of her own in front of her, completely disabling the effects of his power.

The winter god flew up, doubling his height. He let out a terrific roar before turning around flying off. Within moments he disappeared to some unknown destination. Rainbow Dash surprised her urge to celebrate, remembering what had happened just seconds earlier. Realization struck her like a freight train. She spun around and looked down. Below her, Phantom laid on his side, bleeding.

She quickly landed next to him, desperately checking over his wounds to see if there was anything she could do. They were three large gashes that ran down his neck, barrel, left wing, and left hind leg. Each was bleeding profusely. The fact that his wing was still attached to his body was short of a miracle. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and imagined the stallion healed. But when she opened her eyes, the wounds were still there.

"Bu... but I don't understand! Why aren't you healed!" Her breathing picked up, becoming shorter. Phantom laid there, not writhing in pain, but instead with with a relaxed jaw and heavy eyes. His breathing was calm. Unusually calm. She recognized these side effects from when Nyx and her rescued him from the gallows. He was going into shock. Not knowing what to do, she held his hoof in hers, sitting next to his head and petting his main with her free hoof.

"I..." Phantom panted, "I'm not apart of your mind... You can't... you can't directly affect me, just like you can't directly affect Boreas."

"So how was all that stuff working on him?"

"You hit him with objects you created... you didn't directly attempt to affect him. It won't be possible to just imagine him out of your head, just like you won't be able to imagine my wounds to be healed. Though you can bandage them."

"How?"

Phantom smiled. "Simple, imagine some bandages."

Rainbow Dash nodded, closing her eyes and imagining a group of bandages appearing next to her. She quickly took hold and wrapped them around his wounds tightly, hoping that that would stop the bleeding. Part of her began to panic when the blood started to soak through the bandages, silhouetting the gashes.

"It's not working!"

Phantom reached up with his left hoof and put it on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. Unable to pick his head up, he instead looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "It's okay," he whispered. "Just defeat Boreas, go back to your friends. See them again. Do it for me; for Nyx. Please..."

Rainbow Dash bent down and wrapped her hooves around his neck. "No! No no no no no! Don't you dare say anything like that! You're going to come with me, dang it!"

"Dash, think about your friends. They need you more right now than me."

As she closed her eyes and did so, apparitions of the other Bearers of Harmony appeared around the pegasi. Rainbow Dash lifted her head off of Phantom's and looked around at all of her smiling friends. They each gave her kind smiles back and nice words of encouragement. Twilight, Spike, who was sitting on Twilight's head, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, who was floating above the ground by several balloons. Rainbow Dash felt reassured almost immediately, confident that she'd be able to see them again.

They parted ways so that three more ponies could join the ring: Archer, Stryker, and Nyx. Out from between Nyx's legs, Scootaloo revealed herself.

This is who I have to fight for... Rainbow Dash thought in awe to herself. These ponies love me... and I love them... I owe it to them to beat Boreas.

All the apparitions moved on the other side of Rainbow Dash so that Phantom was between her and them. The mare tilted her head to the side, curious as to what the were up to; she wasn't the one making them do this. On their own volition, the ponies took several steps backwards. She was just about to ask what they were doing when she got her answer.

From the air, another pegasus aspiration descended gracefully. This one was midnight blue with black tipped hooves, nose, and primary feathers, with a black and midnight blue mane and tale. His cutie mark was a black, pixilated striking eagle. His cobalt blue eyes were the kindest she had ever seen. Pha... Pha-Pha... Phan...

"Phantom?! What're... What are you... How?!"

The stallion sighed. Without saying anything, he pointed at the ground in front of Rainbow Dash. She looked to see that Phantom was still there, although his eyes were closed, and his barrel was no longer moving up and down with each breath.

"No..." she gasped, realizing what this meant. Phantom Knight, was dead. "No! You can't die! Twilight!" she looked up at the lavender alicorn. "Can't you bring him back? You're supposed to be smart."

"Rainbow," Twilight replied solemnly, her voice seeming to echo through some kind of an ether. "I'm not actually here... There's nothing I can do... I'm sorry..." The alicorn, along with everypony else, evaporated into the air in thin wisps. Phantom's aspiration was the only one that remained.

Rainbow Dash looked up at his ghostly form, tears welling up at the bottom of her eyes.

"For what it's worth," Phantom's voice echoed to her ears, "I'm sorry. But even though I'm gone, your friends are still out there, waiting. Waiting for you. My legacy may have ended here, but yours still lives on. I believe that you will defeat Boreas and awaken from this nightmare." He began to fade, a detail that Rainbow Dash did not miss on.

"No, you can't leave me! No! Please!" Phantom returned her words with a humble smile. "Phantom, don't do this! Please!" Just before he faded out completely. "I love you..."

Rainbow Dash bowed her head, her eyes just slightly open. All she could see was Phantom's limp form and his peaceful expression. The mare, ever confident and stone faced no matter the circumstance, finally reached her breaking point. She lost all feeling in her forelegs and collapsed on them, her head falling atop Phantom's. Rivers of tears flowed from her eyes as her sobs reigned over all other sounds in the grassy plain.

She heard the sound of grass rustling. Looking through bleary eyes, Rainbow Dash noticed that small streams of snowy particles were slithering towards Phantom. She quickly got on her hooves, tracing the white tendrils back to the source. Towering over her was that blasted ice dragon that has been haunting her since her and the rest of Celestia's task force reached Glacies.

"Boreas..." Rainbow Dash growled. "You will pay."

"This is unlikely," the demon-god smirked. "I am invincible.

"You're in my head..." She took a step towards him, the earth beneath her hoof cracking. "You've trapped me here." Another step, this one destroying even more ground than the last. "Kept my friends from me." Storm clouds began to form overhead, firing bolts of lighting into the plains and forest. Several trees caught on fire, the flames spreading quickly. Smoke rose up to choke out the sun. "Froze countless ponies..." Rainbow Dash's eyes glowed white as a final tear leaked from one. Electricity was zapping between the feathers of her erect wings. Boreas took several steps back, unsure of the pony.

"And you killed Phantom."

The wind in the area picked up, spinning around in a clockwise pattern. The vortex was at least fifty feet in radius, easily creating a large ring between the pegasus and the dragon. Boreas tried to push through the barrier with his tail as a test, only to be shocked with powerful lightning. He was quick to retract his smoking tail close to him. The rest of the ground inside the vortex that wasn't supporting the two beings fell away, reveal molten pits of lava.

"You will hurt nopony else!"

"Just try to stop me!" Boreas fired an ice beam at Rainbow Dash. She did nothing to prevent his attack. The full force and chilling effects of Boreas' ice hit her head on, and seemed to ignore her. "How... How did you do that? No one has ever done that!"

The Element of Loyalty around her neck was shining brighter than ever, giving the answer Boreas demanded.

Rainbow Dash screamed. From the vortex, a stream of small Yellow orbs streamed in, wrapping around Rainbow Dash. They were sucked into the red Element. The yellow in her mane, tail, and cutie marked returned, glowing brightly. Next came a steam of Orange orbs, following the same path as the yellow. Her orange highlights also returned. Red orbs followed suit, closely trailed by Green, Blue, and then Violet orbs. There was a flash of white light that blinded Boreas.

When he lowered his shielding claw from his eyes, the mare in front of him was not the same as she had been before. Now she had a cerulean coat, with bright magenta eyes that seemed to be on fire, and a pulsating rainbow mane and tail. Rainbow Dash crouched, building up a mass of strength in both her legs and wings. With a powerful kick and flap, she shot into the air, aiming directly for the Conduit around Boreas' neck.

A rainbow trail followed the pegasus along her flight path. Just as her leading hoof connected to the Conduit, she broke the sound barrier. A deafening roar lead by a powerful shockwave destroyed the vortex, snuffed out the fire of the flames, and vaporized the clouds. Dirt and rocks were torn up from the ground, pulverized to dust. There was a massive rainbow ring that spread out in all directions, destroying anything that remained.

Nothing else happened. The echoing explosion faded from existence. All light emitted from the beautiful yet deadly rainbow darkened to an eternal blackness.

Author's Note

We did it! We finally broke 100,000 Words! Wooooo!

So we finally reached the end of that story arc. Damn that was fun. Feel free to tear me from limb to limb because of that ending, it'll get worse, trust me. Just wait a few chapters and see when our dear old friends the Changelings come back.

I noticed something interesting. For what ever reason, Broken Feathers: Frozen North has become significantly more popular than Broken Feathers, which has nearly double the likes. Dunno how, but BF:FN has exceeded BF in view count, and has breached 1,200 views! I don't understand how this is possible! Was it featured somewhere and I just wasn't made aware of this or something? That's the only explanation I can come up with because it's been averaging 40ish views a day.

So here's the personalities that were represented in the last chapter, and sort-of in this one:
Yellow - Kay
Orange - Rude
Red - Red
Purple - Violet
Green - Em
Blue - Hope

I hope you guys liked them, I've had that idea for awhile and I hope that they turned out well. Personally, I liked Kay the most, which I guess is why she had the biggest role of them all. Then again, her's was the most important role.

So tell me what you guys thought of all of this! I know it was a hell of a chapter set, but I think it was worth it if you read to this point. Also, we only have 3 More chapters in the story! Almost done! And depending on when I finally finish this story, I MIGHT, might, might, start the third story. But remember if I do that it won't be done for a VERY long time.

Again, take to the comments and start discussing! You guys should know the drill, and know how much I love seeing the wonderful feed back.

Can't say thanks enough!
- Sam.

Redemption

Spike the dragon sat on an improvised chair made from stacked pieces of ruble. His attention was focused on the three ponies in front of him. Phantom Knight and Rainbow Dash laid on their backs, side by side, with some space between them. Rainbow Dash, although she didn't look like the demon she had become earlier, still didn't look like herself. Her coat was white, and all the color had faded from her mane and tail. The magenta pearls that were her eyes became a milky-white, like those of a blind pony. On her flank, her cutie mark had all but disappeared. Phantom didn't seem to change, with the exception of a few additional scars, primarily focused around his face and neck, the areas closest to the Conduit during the explosion. His hooves were still covered in ice, and he still had three stripes of ice running down his side from Boreas' claw. Twilight Sparkle was standing in the middle, using some kind of spell to check on the two unconscious ponies' conditions. The alicorn sighed like she had the last time she checked the pegasi, signaling to the dragon that there was no change in their condition since this ordeal began.

After the explosion occurred when Phantom touched the Element of Loyalty with Boreas' Conduit that destroyed Palmyra, Twilight and her friends brought Phantom and the now normal sized, but white, Rainbow Dash back down to the rotunda. It seemed to be the only place that survived the blast. Twilight was discouraged to find that everypony was still frozen. They put Phantom and Rainbow Dash in the auxiliary room of the rotunda, where they hid when the attack began. Applejack had cleared out a space and found a couple mats to set the pegasi on in the corner of the room. Rarity founds some blankets in her saddle bags to drape over the ponies in a vain attempt to warm them up.

The Element of Loyalty sat between Rainbow Dash and Phantom, floating in the air. It was surrounded by a red aura. Magical tendrils of the same color reached out from the gem and touched both ponies in the center of their chests. The Conduit was still attached to Rainbow Dash's neck, it's gem glowing brightly, and it's own white tendril of magic stretching out to the Element of Loyalty. From the time they were brought down here, Twilight had been periodically scanning them with her magic to see how they were doing. With Spike's assistance, she was monitoring them closely.

At first her preliminary scans told her that they were simply unconscious. But over time, it was getting worse. The second one, taken only a few minutes after they arrived in the room, told her that they were both stuck in a deep coma with non important organs shutting down and their body temperature rapidly dropping. A third scan provided evidence of intense brain activity in both ponies, but more-so in Rainbow Dash's. When Twilight investigated further, she found that she couldn't sense anything in the parts of her brain that controlled her conscious self. Twilight herself felt a chill run down her spine when her magical energy hit whatever was obstructing her readings. The subconscious parts of Rainbow Dash's mind were lit up like Hearth's Warming trees. So much so that Twilight's own mind began to hurt.

"Anything?" Spike asked, jumping off of his improvised seat and taking a weary step towards the hard thinking alicorn.

Twilight sighed again, turning to face her purple assistant while slowly shaking her head from side to side. She sat by Spike's side, holding him in between her forelegs as she looked at their two unconscious friends.

"I don't know, Spike..." she whispered. Not because she didn't want to wake them, but because if she spoke any louder than anypony who heard her would have known she was crying. "I've never heard of anything like this. It's like their minds have been combined, and the Element of Loyalty is acting like a catalyst to keep them together. This is way out of my league... Did you send that letter to Princess Celestia I asked you to?"

"Yeah." Once Twilight found Spike hiding in the rotunda after the explosion, she had instructed him to send a detailed letter to Princess Celestia, updating her on the current situation. That was almost an hour ago.

"No reply?"

Spike shook his head. Twilight debated having him send another, but couldn't see what good that would do. Those Dragon Fire letters were supposed to be able to reach her from anywhere in the world in an instant. Celestia promised that she would always reply in some form, at least giving an indication that she had received the letter in the very least. It wasn't like the sun princess to be late with replies, especially with something as urgent as this. Then a new theory came to Twilight's mind. What if everypony is frozen... Twilight opened her mouth to tell Spike about the possibility of such a thing, but closed it and remained quiet. If he, or any of their other friends found out that they might possibly be the only ponies unfrozen in the entire planet, then morale would take an all time low. So she kept the information to herself.

They continued to watch their friends in silence. The only thing that kept their hopes alive was the sight of their chests moving up and down with every breath. Although Phantom appeared to be having some trouble. His breathing was unsynchronized, with some breaths that were over in less than a second, and others that seemed to drag on for eternity. Twilight let go of Spike and slowly made her way towards the ailing pegasus. Just as she reached his side, his chest ceased to move. A small trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his lips, falling down the side of his face and landing on the mat below. Twilight used her magic to scan his body in an attempt to figure out what had gone wrong, but with no medical supplies there wasn't much she would be able to do. When the scan came up empty, she pressed one of her hooves against his neck to feel for a pulse. Nothing.

The alicorn feel back on her haunches, covering her gaping mouth with a hoof. Spike took a leery step forward, clutching a jaw to his chin in worry.

"Twi... Twilight?" he managed to mumble. "What's wrong?"

When she turned to face the dragon she didn't say anything. The water welling up in her eyelids told Spike everything he needed to know. Phantom Knight, who had just been breathing just seconds before, had died. Spike felt a pit growing in his stomach. His own eyes were beginning to swell. Seeing this, Twilight rushed over and picked him up, bringing her assistant into a close embrace. They sat there for a moment before Twilight put him back on the ground.

"I'm going to inform the others." She gave Spike a few pats on the back before setting him back on the ground. With her head hung low, she walked towards where the door separating the two rooms used to stand.

Out in the rotunda, the other ponies eagerly awaited some type of news. They were surrounded by a small fire that Applejack had created as a source of warmth. Fluttershy was curled up against Rarity, who was brushing the kind mare's pink mare to help her calm down. Pinkie sat staring into the flames, her mane straight as an arrow. Applejack sat up right, eyes glued on the doorway. Since Twilight took Rainbow Dash and Phantom in there and the others had moved out here, the farm pony had kept her eyes there, awaiting news. And finally, over an hour after the explosion, her patience paid off...

... although it wasn't the news she was waiting for.

When Twilight crossed the threshold of the doorway, everypony shot to their hooves with booming smiles. They all immediately deflated upon seeing her sullen expression.

"I'm sorry, girls," Twilight lamented, drawing near the fire.

Applejack took a step forward. "Who?"

"Phantom..."

Fluttershy let out a quiet 'eep', burying her face in Rarity's chest. The unicorn embraced the pegasus tightly. Pinkie Pie immediately fell back to a laying position, the same she was in before Twilight came out. Applejack took her stetson hat off and threw it to the ground in frustration. She took her leave from the rest of the group, walking around in random patterns near the center of the room, mumbling to herself. Twilight approached the fire, explaining the situation on their remaining friend. She told them how her subconscious seemed to be battling her conscious mind, however that was possible, and how she was connected to the Element of Loyalty by that magical tendril. Rarity seemed to be the only one who was really listening to her, while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie where stuck in a daze by the recent events. Applejack was still off to the side, cursing to herself and whatever else she thought deserved blame.

All the while Spike was standing in the middle of the auxiliary room. He had heard Twilight tell the other's about Phantom's passing, and hearing it again just hit the dragon all that harder. He took several uneasy steps forward, bringing himself closer to the two pegasi laying on the floor. It seemed to take forever, but eventually Spike was standing in the middle of them. To his left, Rainbow Dash's chest was still steadily moving, and she was still connected to her Element of Loyalty by those magical tendrils. To his right, Phantom was eerily still. The thought that the pony next to him possessed no life sent an unknown feeling through the little dragon. He had been to funerals before, but those were usually for those of extremely old ponies that he barely knew, and they always looked so peaceful and serene, surrounded by flowers and ornate decorations, dressed up in their finest wares, and surrounded by tons of friends and family. But Spike had never been there when somepony had died in front of him. And Phantom looked like he had been through tartarus, riddled with scars, and an expression of pain. The dragon stared at the pegasus' midnight blue chest, hoping to see it move. But it didn't.

Spike opened his mouth. He wanted to say something, but wasn't exactly sure on what that would be. Or even what good it would do. The dragon took a deep breath and looked at Phantom's closed eyes.

"Thanks," he said, rubbing a claw against the back of his head, "I guess... I know we didn't know each other real well, and we only met not that long ago, but everypony else seemed to like you, so that makes us friends in my book." Spike looked over his shoulder, then back at Phantom. "Rainbow Dash liked you, a lot. It'll be rough for her when she finds out about this... Thanks for saving her back in Ponyville, by the way." There was a pause as he hoped for an answer. Wanted an answer. Nothing. Spike sighed, reaching for the edge of one of the blankets that covered Phantom and using its corner to wipe the blood off of the side of his mouth. He then pulled the blanket further up, fully draping it over the stallion's body, a display that meant he was truly gone.

Spike's ear picked up to the sound of glass cracking behind him. He quickly turned around, his eyes falling on Rainbow Dash. The Conduit around her neck was no longer shining as brightly as it was before, and had several cuts running along the primary and secondary gems. Before the dragon could react further, the Conduit completely shattered, dissolving into thousands of little crystal shards that seemed to melt into the icy floor. Spike was about to run off to get Twilight when something else stopped him.

Rainbow Dash's mane was starting to turn colors. First her yellow stripe returned, glowing slightly. Then came the orange, then red, green, blue, and purple. Once her mane and tail returned to their polychromatic forms, the pegasus' cutie mark glowed, its colors also returning. Slowly her white coat faded to an ice blue, with the color slowly darkening to an azure color before returning to her normal cyan. The white magical stream that had gone from the Conduit had been fully absorbed by the Element of Loyalty. Said Element had apparently healed itself, fixing the scratches on its surface and creating a golden necklace to fit inside of. The gem floated over to Rainbow Dash, attaching itself to her neck where the Conduit just was. Once it attached, it gave a quick burst of red light.

"Whoa..." Spike took a step back in shock. Rainbow Dash suddenly took in a large gulp of air, filling her lungs to their fullest. The muscle reflex was enough that it arched her spine off of the mat a little. Her body relaxed and she let out the air as her breathing settled into heavy set like the kind of a pony who had been working out. The mare's eyes began to flutter slightly, although they remained shut. The sudden movement from them startled Spike, who jumped and took another step back. "Twilight!" he yelled, running for the door.

Rainbow Dash's vision swam. She couldn't open her eyes beyond small slits they felt so heavy. But what she could see where just blobs of colors. A migraine pulsed through her head, the worst she had ever experienced in her life. She felt like she was plummeting uncontrollably from the sky. Her mouth was so dry it felt like she swallowed sand. On top of all of that, everything sounded like she was deep under water. When she tried to move, her limbs wouldn't respond. She felt so tired that she could sleep for several eternities over again. In her chest, she could feel her heart pounding heavily, seemingly vibrating her body with each pulse.

Slowly she became consciously aware, her mind waking up from the nightmare it had been forcefully thrusted upon. Memories of those events came rushing back. With her body and mind both adjusting to being awake, and rid of Boreas, Rainbow Dash slowly regained control. Her eyes fully opened back up, and she was able to look around. The room was rather unimpressive and looked like it had undergone some serious renovations. But she recognized it. It was the auxiliary room in the rotunda under the castle throne room. But how did I get back here?

Rainbow Dash reassumed partial motor function in her neck, allowing her to look around slightly. She noticed that she was laying on some kind of a soft mat, covered with a dark gray blanket that went up to the bottom of her neck with her forelegs on the outside. In the opposite corner of the room was a collection of ponies who had been frozen in place. Tilting her head to the side, or rather letting gravity take over and let it fall, revealed to her a large hole in the wall that led to the rotunda. Although her vision had mostly cleared, brighter lights were still blurred, including the orange glow of a fire. Below the hole in the wall, several feet parallel to her side, there was another mat. She couldn't tell what was on top of it, just that what ever it was was covered by a blanket similar to hers. Rainbow Dash looked down at her own body and tried to pull herself up, but she didn't have much control over her own body yet. She could now move her forelegs, but only slightly, and they weren't very strong.

Several ponies ran in through the doorway, Twilight in the lead, with Spike bouncing around and holding onto her mane. The Bearers of Harmony arrived at their friend's side in an instant. Rainbow Dash tried to pick herself up, but Applejack's orange hoof carefully pushed her back down.

"Easy there, sugarcube," she said. "Be careful, now, ya only just woke up."

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered. "That was one doozy of a nap!"

"How do you feel?" Twilight asked, already beginning another magical scan. It told her that Rainbow Dash still wasn't good, but she was getting better. Some motor functions were beginning to return, but her blood pressure was still really high.

"Where's..." Rainbow Dash tried saying. Her voice was extremely quiet and forced, a side effect to her dehydration and physical condition. "Where's..." She was trying to ask where Phantom was, but didn't have enough energy to do so. It wasn't helping that at the same time she was also trying to sit herself back up. Applejack again helped her friend stay on her back. Nearby, she found a pillow to put under the pegasus' head.

"Rainbow," Twilight said, "you need to calm down and relax. You're blood pressure is sky rocketing and if it doesn't come down you'll have a heart attack." Although what the alicorn was saying was true, there was another motive behind her words: she didn't want Rainbow Dash finding out about Phantom until she had the strength for it. The pegasus kept trying to turn her head towards the object she saw earlier, and each time Rarity stepped in the way. Everypony knew that it would be better for Rainbow Dash if she didn't find out just yet. "You've been through a lot, take it easy."

"Gotta get up... Boreas... Glaciens..."

"Boreas is gone, Rainbow. The Conduit's been destroyed."

"Everypony's still frozen, though," Fluttershy spoke up from the foot of the mat. Twilight turned her head to answer the canary colored mare, but instead of her focus landing on her, it landed behind her, on the frozen ponies in the corner. Their icy surface looked shinier than when they had just entered the room, and the ground below them was darker. Something fell from the bottom of the pony, splashing on the floor. It almost looked like a droplet of water.

Because it is a droplet of water...

Twilight rushed over to the frozen pony, careful not to alarm Rainbow Dash. Putting a hoof up against their icy surface confirmed what she thought, it was covered in water. The ice was beginning to melt, and it was picking up pace. Twilight took a step back as cracks began forming on the pony's hooves. They shot their way up the legs and across the pony's barrel. Several went up their neck, reaching a midpoint on the bridge of their nose. Rarity took a cautious step up to Twilight's side, the two mares wearily watching the scene in front of them unfold.

Large chunks of ice began to fall off of the pony. At the same time, the other ice covered Nightingales were starting to thaw out. In hardly any time, patches of the first pony's fur were exposed to the air. Once his head was freed from the cocoon, he took a deep breath, and opened his his. He looked around rapidly, taking in his surroundings. Twilight recognized the signs of a looming panic attack.

"Just hold on a second!" she pleaded with him. "You were frozen, just hang on. Everypony else is getting unfrozen now."

The stallion earth pony she was addressing simply nodded, calming himself down. As the others were freed completely from the frozen prisons, Applejack joined the developing scene.

"'S going on?" she asked.

"All the Nightingales are being unfrozen," Rarity responded.

"What 'bout the Glaciens?"

Twilight froze, though not literally. She had completely forgotten about the Glaciens. "Oh no..." she gasped. Quickly turning around, she threw her hooves on Rarity's shoulders. "We completely forgot about the Glaciens!"

"Your point, Twilight?" Rarity asked, taking the alicorn's hooves off of her.

"The fight!"

At once, everypony remembered, even the recently unthawed Nightingales. Twilight knew that if they didn't do something then the battle would continue and even more ponies would die. The alicorn bolted for the door, along with everypony else, save for Fluttershy, who stayed behind to watch Rainbow Dash, hoping that it wasn't too late to do something. In the rotunda, the other ponies had already been unfrozen, their process clearly starting before the ponies' in the auxiliary room. Unfortunately the pegasi who had been so high up when they were frozen that they shattered on the ground, merely melted into water and evaporated, leaving nothing behind. The giant dome of ice in the corner had also melted away, freeing Stryker and Archer who were now helping the wounded. For a brief moment, Nightingales and Glaciens stood where they were, carefully looking around the room in an attempt to find out what had happened to them. But then almost at once, they noticed who was in front of them: the enemy. Before they could charge at one another, somepony intervened.

"Nightingales!" a mare's voice called out. "Glaciens! Everypony! Stop!" Everypony's eyes were directed to the center of the rotunda, where a black pegasus with midnight blue accents hovered above everypony. Nyx, the only Nightingale pegasus to survive being frozen and falling from the sky, got the attention she demanded. From her position in the air, she spotted the Princess of Magic standing below, and motioned her to fly up towards her. Twilight joined the Nightingale commander in the air. "What happened, your highness?"

"Boreas was freed," Twilight explained aloud so everypony could hear her. "Prince Castor unleashed him on the world, and you were all frozen. Glaciens, your own leaders betrayed you, they left you here to die while they retreated to safety. But Boreas had been defeated; the Conduit has been destroyed. Please, I don't know what effects being frozen had on you all, but I want you to remain here and remain calm. Please don't fight. You're all ponies. Who knows, some of you could be the best of friends? Please, no more violence."

"Nightingales," Nyx commanded. "You are ordered to stand down."

A Glacien who was wearing white trimmed gold armor used his magic to stand on a purple platform and rise to the air next to Nyx. "Glaciens," he said, using his magic to amplify his voice, "drop your weapons. All hostilities against Nightingales are to cease. We have been betrayed by our own. They are our next targets."

The clanking of weapons against stone sounded out. Stone! Twilight looked down. All the ice that once covered the stone and walls had since melted away, evaporating into the air. A smile grew on her face. Everything was returning to normal.

"Twilight," Nyx put a hoof on the alicorn's shoulder, "where's Phantom?"

With one question, Twilight's smile disappeared. "Nyx..." She didn't know where to begin. She grabbed onto the pegasus' hoof and held it in her own. "I think you'll need to come with me..."

Twilight let go of the mare's hoof and glided towards the broken doorway, Nyx warily following behind her. The mares swooped in and landed in the room. Since the time Twilight had left, the other recently unfrozen Nightingales disappeared, rejoining their comrades in the rotunda. Nyx took note of Fluttershy and Spike sitting next to each other on one side of the room. On both sides of them were a set of mats. On top of one, Nyx recognized the mostly covered up Rainbow Dash. On the other, she could see the form of what was clearly some other pony, but they were completely covered by a blanket.

"Where's Phantom?" the ebony mare asked, looking around. Nyx didn't miss seeing Fluttershy and Spike shooting each other uneasy glances, then looking down at the floor. When she gave Twilight a nervous glance, she saw that she was also bowing her head slightly. "Twilight. Where?"

"I..." Nyx could hear the sorrow in Twilight's voice. "I'm so... so, so very sorry."

Nyx new what was behind those words all to well. Too many times she had to tell the families of Nightingales under her command what had happened to them. And all too often she had the same exact tone. She gave another look to the covered body on the second mat. The black tip of somepony's tail hung out from under the covers, though there was the beginnings of a midnight blue streak that she could see. Nyx almost mindlessly walked towards the side of the mat. Fluttershy picked up Spike and scooted closer to Rainbow Dash, making sure to give the Nightingale plenty of room.

The pegasus sat next to the mat, staring at where the face of a pony would be under the cover. Part of her wanted to pull back the blanket to prove to herself that it wasn't Phantom under there. Another part said to not pull it back for fear that it actually was him. She barely registered Twilight sitting be her side, wrapping a wing around her back. Although Nyx had lost family members before, she was too young to remember. Her mother died given birth, and she had been kept at home with a foal sitter while Phantom went to their father's funeral. She had lost ponies under her command before, some of them even in her own hooves, but this felt like it was something completely different.

"It's him, isn't it?" Nyx asked, some strain in her voice. Twilight embraced her with her wing even tighter. It was all she needed as an answer. Nyx took in a deep breath, and moved a foreleg forward, grabbing hold of the edge of the blanket. There was a brief moment's hesitation.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Twilight reassured her.

"No... I do." Giving herself a few short breaths of encouragement, Nyx built up the strength to pull the cover off of the body completely in one motion. Her worst fears were confirmed. In front of her, cold and still, was her brother. Although the ice had since melted away from him, scars were still visible along his face and neck, more so the three main gashes running along his side. His jaw was hanging slightly open, with a line of dried blood running own the side of his face and head. She put a hoof on his chest, hoping to feel the pulse of his heart she so often heard when resting her head there as a foal. Nothing. Her hoof didn't move.

Nyx fell back on her haunches, letting herself fall into Twilight's embrace. The alicorn wrapped another wing around the mare for extra comfort, along with both of her forelegs. The pegasus buried her face in Twilight's neck, hiding away her tears from anypony that might have seen it for fear of ridicule. But everypony gave her only sorrow. Applejack and the other Bearers of Harmony had dropped into the room, but once they saw what was going on Applejack pushed them all back outside.

"How did this happen?" Nyx asked, pulling her head out of Twilight's comforting neck and looking at the mare.

"Honestly, Nyx, I... I don't know."

"You don't know?" Nyx pulled herself away from Twilight's embrace. Her voice changed from one of sorrow to one of tension. "You don't know? How can you not know?!" The sudden rise in anger in the pegasus' voice caused Twilight to take a step back.

"I mean, I don't know. He just... he just died. Something happened with Boreas." Twilight went onto explain what had happened during the battle with Boreas, and how the demon had taken over Rainbow Dash. She described to Nyx how her brother had stopped the hybrid creature by touching the Element of Loyalty to the Conduit. Nyx seemed to be in shock when Twilight told about the resulting explosion. Then she informed the pegasus on how she found them laying in the ruble before bringing them down here to do what they could to help. After that, Twilight didn't know what had happened.

Rainbow Dash, having been listening to what Twilight was saying, remembered what happened after that point. She ignored it at first, thinking it was just a dream. Only now did she realize how real it really was. The cyan pegasus pushed down on the bed, propping herself to sit up against the wall behind her. Overcoming the stiffness of her body was difficult, but she managed to do it with a grunt. The noise she emitted attracted the attention of the others in the room, who turned to look at her.

"I know what happened..." Rainbow Dash said, her voice gaining some of its strength back. She went on to recount the details of what she could remember to Nyx and Twilight. How she was buried in the snow when Phantom found and dug her out, and how he held her in his hooves and protected her from the cold. While she recounted the short lived battle she and Phantom fought against Boreas, Twilight seemed to be taking mental notes, nodding ever so often. Nyx tentatively stared into Rainbow Dash's eyes, hanging on every detail. When she spoke about Phantom pushing her out of the way of Boreas' strike, himself being mortally wounded, both Twilight and Nyx bore solemn expressions.

"He really did all of that, huh?" Nyx asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Help me up. I... I want to see him." She managed to sit straight up and slide her hind legs over the edge of the mat, getting ready to stand.

"Are you sure?" Twilight wanted to know, holding the pegasus in place with a hoof. Rainbow Dash seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "Well... alright then..." With hesitation, Twilight helped her polychromatic friend up. Nyx provided no assistance. Instead she stared where Rainbow Dash just was, running the sequence of events through her mind once again, trying to envision it.

Twilight had to keep Rainbow Dash balanced once the mare was on her hooves. Having gone through what she had, it wasn't hard to guess that she would be disorientated. Putting one hoof in front of the others the mares walked the short distance to Phantom's side. For a moment, Rainbow Dash didn't do anything. She merely stared down at the stallion with a blank expression. Although this action concerned Twilight, the alicorn didn't act on it. Then it happened all at once. Rainbow Dash fell to her knees, burying her head in Phantom's motionless chest, crying.

"I told you you couldn't leave me!" Rainbow Dash bawled. "This isn't fair! You saved me, and I was supposed to save you!" Nyx approached from behind and put a shoulder on the mare. Rainbow Dash violently pushed it off of her, clearly not wishing to be disturbed. "I loved you..."

"Dash..." Nyx said, "we all loved him. But he's gone. As much as we hate to admit it, that's what happened. We need to go before Prince Castor returns."

"I don't care anymore..."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, 'I don't care anymore'. Scootaloo's safe, and Phantom died... I don't have anything left here for me."

"Dash, if we don't do something then more ponies will die."

"Then you better get working..."

A twinge of anger shot through Nyx's nerve/ She was just about to unload on Rainbow Dash when Twilight stopped her with a hoof, shaking her head. Motioning for Nyx to follow her, the two mares left Rainbow at Phantom's side.

"It might be best to let her sit for awhile," Twilight proposed. "I don't think she's accepted this yet. It'd be best to wait a little bit. Don't worry; she'll come around." Nyx didn't protest. She nodded and followed Twilight to the rotunda, with Fluttershy and Spike behind them. There, Twilight updated the rest of her friends on what was going on. She also had Spike send another letter to Princess Celestia (whom she hoped was unfrozen now) to update her on the situation. Meanwhile, Nyx found her next in command to begin organizing the Nightingales' next move. They established that they needed to regroup with the other Nightingales that had evacuated from Palmyra. When they confronted Twilight about their intentions, the alicorn agreed, and with the help of her friends, began gathering their supplies.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash still hung her head over Phantom's chest, staring down at it in hopes that it would move. She could feel water welling up in the bottoms of her eyes.

"Phantom you fool!" she put her head on his chest again. "Why'd you have to save me again? I'm supposed to be the Element of Loyalty." Little did Rainbow Dash know that said Element of Loyalty was beginning to glow around her neck. She picked her head back up off of his chest and looked at the stallion's lifeless face. Part of her wanted to give him a kiss of resignation. But then another part of her told her that if she did, then it would mean that he was well and truly gone. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice a tear leak out from her right eye and fall onto the stallion's chest. When the salty droplet of water touched his fur, it was absorbed, emitting a soft red glow. Rainbow Dash saw the dull red flash and looked for its source as another tear fell, creating the same effect.

"What the hay?" Another tear fell. And again, another red flash. Had she not been transfixed on the strange phenomenon, then Rainbow Dash might have noticed the three large gashes on Phantom's side becoming smaller. Then she saw that the Element of Loyalty around her neck was glowing. But she put it off as Twilight's doing. I should go see what she's up to. Rainbow Dash stood up and took a step away from Phantom's side before stopping to give him one last glance. "I guess... I guess this is goodbye, huh?" No reply. "Thought so..."

Rainbow Dash continued to walk towards the door, past the giant hole in the wall through which everypony was apparently watching the exchange took place. Her friends prepared themselves to give her all the support she may have needed.

"Never say goodbye," came a mild voice. Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks, thinking she was just hearing things. Her ears swiveled towards the mats, the source of the sound. She couldn't believe it. Phantom was sitting up against the wall, his eyes as full of life as ever, a coy smile on his muzzle. He was alive?

"What..." Jaw gaping open, Rainbow Dash started taking steps towards the 'dead' pegasus.

"Well it's just that saying "goodbye" implies that you'll never see that pony agai—"

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, closing the gap between the two pegasi in a heart beat. She brought Phantom into a tight embrace, wrapping her hooves around his neck and burying the side of her head into his. Phantom had to take several steps back in order to keep his balance. He returned the embrace, wrapping a hoof and wing around the mare. Rainbow Dash pulled back to examine him, making sure that she wasn't just seeing things. All of the scars on his head had healed, and the gashes along his side closed up. Phantom craned his neck around to grab hold of the bandages wrapped around his right wing. Giving them a good tug, the white cloth fell to the stone floor. Finally freed after what seemed like an eternity, Phantom stretched out his once broken wing.

"You're healed?" Rainbow Dash gasped.

"Heh," Phantom snorted, "yeah, guess so. It's funny how rejuvenating death can be." The cyan mare glared at him. Raising a hoof, she punched him in the side of the leg. "Ow! What was that for!"

"For dying in the first place!" Rainbow Dash was again on the verge of tears. "I... I thought lost you. I don't know what I would have done."

Giving her a sympathetic look, Phantom held out a hoof, offering her a hug. Which she greedily accepted. The two stood in their embrace for sometime, wings wrapped around one another, creating a cocoon of black, midnight blue, and cyan feathers.

"Ahem."

Rainbow Dash and Phantom parted, looking at one another, thinking that their opposite was the source of the noise. Phantom looked past Rainbow Dash and saw Twilight standing in the doorway, with the rest of the Bearers of Harmony behind her. They all returned scandalous looks, save for Pinkie Pie who looked overjoyed, as usual. The two pegasi quickly took a side step away from each other, with Rainbow Dash rubbing one off on the front of another and Phantom scratching the back of his head, looking around at the edges of the wall. Phantom let out a long breath of air, while Rainbow Dash struggled to hide her now rosy cheeks.

"I can explain this," Phantom said.

"You can start by explaining how you're alive," Twilight deadpanned.

"Well, see. Um... Fillies and gentle-colts, Rainbow Dash!" Phantom was clapping his hooves as he pointed to the mare with his wing and took another step to the side, as if he were some announcer bringing a comedian on stage. The weary gazes of the other ponies, and dragon, slowly drifted from Phantom to Rainbow Dash. The polychromatic mare fumbled for a logical explanation, settling on telling them what she saw. About how when her tear hit Phantom it flashed red, like the Element of Loyalty, which has by now died down.

"Huh," Twilight mused. "So the Elements have healing properties. Interesting. Spike? Can you update Princess Celestia on what's going on?" The dragon nodded, jumping off of Fluttershy's back and running into the rotunda to gather writing materials.

"What's everypony doing in here?" Phantom's ears perked up at the sound of Nyx's voice. The ponies who were standing by the door cleared a path so that the black pegasus could get in. Standing in the center of the room, she and Phantom stared at one another. Similarly to Rainbow Dash, Nyx lunged forward. But unlike her cyan counterpart, Nyx was able to throw Phantom off balance and the two pegasi tumbled backwards into the wall. They quickly got to their hooves, brushing the dust off of their coats.

Phantom opened his mouth to say something to Nyx when she inexplicably slapped him across the face. He rubbed the now sore spot with a hoof.

"What the hay was that for!" he demanded to know.

"For dying on me, you jerk!" Then she slapped him again. Everypony else flinched at the sound it emitted. Nyx smiled and hugged her brother. "But I'm happy you're back."

"I am too. Where's the Glaciens?"

"We've stopped the fighting between the two sides in the rotunda," Twilight explained, "but we don't know where Prince Castor or Captain Cypher have gone. They disappeared. Probably back to Aquila, if I were to guess."

Nyx nodded. "More than likely. We need to get to our camp, in the north-west forests by the capital."

"Is that where you sent everypony who evacuated?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. It was supposed to serve as a forward operating base for when we attacked Aquila, if ever. Now that Palmyra is destroyed, and the majority of Nightingale forces have been killed, it's our only base."

"We should get moving," Phantom suggested.

"Don't you think you should rest for a little bit? You know, since you were dead and all?"

Phantom looked upwards for a moment in thought. "Nah."

"That's what I thought. Come on, I'll rally the remaining Nightingales." Nyx led the ponies out of the rotunda. Rainbow Dash fell instep beside Phantom.

"Do you ever take a day off?" she asked him.

"Nah."

"Why? Don't you think it would be nice to just sit back and relax somedays?"

"Meh. Not really. Besides, I don't have the time."

"Of course not..." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as the two pegasi followed the others into the rotunda.

Nyx was already standing in the middle of the room, a half circle of her Nightingales in front of them. She was giving them detailed instructions on what they were about to do, and a new sort-of peace-pact she had made with the commanding Glacien officer who was standing by her side. The two had agreed to cease hostilities until they could fully figure out what was going on. For the most part, the Glaciens were leaning in favor of the Nightingales, having been just betrayed by their own leaders. Nyx was using this to her advantage to rally the Glaciens around her. Stryker and Archer were both hanging around the edges of the Glacien group, making sure that they didn't try to ambush the Nightingales.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the others were gathered around their supplies, repacking them into their bags. Once the bags were filed and shut, they slid them onto their backs. Since Rainbow Dash was still relatively weak after waking up from her coma, Phantom offered to carry her things instead. Both her and Twilight issued their protests, that although Rainbow Dash may have been weak currently (though Rainbow Dash disagreed completely), that she was only in a coma, not dead like Phantom was. The stallion rebuttal with the evidence that the Element of Loyalty had apparently healed him. He ignored their insisting and picked up both his bags, and Rainbow Dash's. Spike sat on Twilight's back as usual, and the group moved over to Nyx. After a brief discussion, everypony was ready to go.

Phantom and Nyx led the ponies out of the rotunda, walking up the stairs with the Elements of Harmony following behind, tailed by the Glaciens, then the Nightingales. Nyx was keeping a wary eye on her brother, making sure that he didn't over exert himself and cause some immediate health issue. Similarly, the Element Bearers were doing the same for Rainbow Dash. Thought it wasn't needed. Now that the stairs were unfrozen Phantom had an easier time walking up them. Sun light poured through the stairwell entrance, now that there was no roof, or rather no building, to cover the hole.

Phantom was the first to emerge into the fresh air. He happily sucked in a large breath, slowly letting it out. He looked around. The castle, and most of Palmyra, had been nearly flattened. The only things that really remained were severely destroyed support columns that just barely stuck up through the ruble. Interestingly enough, all the grass and trees that had been burned then frozen during the attack, had almost immediately grown back. The scorched bark of the trees were slowly beginning to return to their white color. Though he wasn't alone on the surface. Standing not far in front of the tunnel entrance, where the throne used to be, a sky blue pegasus stallion stood. The wind was blowing slightly through his dark blue mane. His emerald green eyes stared at Phantom's cobalt blue ones. Phantom recognized his cutie mark almost immediately. So didn't Rainbow Dash when she surfaced a moment later. When Nyx saw who was waiting for them, she ordered everypony back down the hole, while she joined Phantom and Rainbow Dash on the surface. Phantom was the first one to make a move, taking a step forward and extending his wings so that the two mares on either side of him were safely covered behind them.

"Soarin'!" Phantom growled. "What in tartarus' name are you doing here?"

"Saving your flanks," the now probably ex-Wonderbolt said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Why would you be saving us?" Rainbow Dash demanded, pushing her way past Phantom. All the while, Nyx was taking a circular path to move to Soarin's side, gaining a tactical advantage on him. "You betrayed everypony you knew! You betrayed Equestria! The Wonderbolts! Me!"

During Rainbow Dash's tirade, Stryker and Archer both had emerged from the ole and were now flanking around the other side of Soarin', basically encircling him. They sat passively by as the scene unfolded.

Soarin' bowed his head. "I know... and for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I had motives, and I can't take those back, as much as I want to. Let's just say I didn't have much of a choice and leave it at that, alright? Now look, we're running out of time, you need to get out of here—"

"And go where?" Nyx cut him off, slowly moving herself behind him. "Walk into some trap?"

"Just listen to me! There's more going on than you think. Boreas was apart of Sky's main plan. Even though you guys got rid of him, he has a contingency. If you don't worry, he's going to invade Equestria, and he'll win."

"How so?"

"His mother's Queen Chrysalis, remember?"

"How can we trust you?" Phantom asked.

Soarin' sighed. "You can't. But you can give me a chance. I want this to end as much as you do; none of this was supposed to happen like it did."

"Then how was it supposed to happen, then?"

"I... I don't know anymore. But look, Sky's heading back to Aquila. He's injured. If you hurry, you may be able to catch up to him and take him off guard. Look at me," he spun around in a circle so everypony could get a good look at him. "I have no weapons. I bring only my word. Sky instructed me to lead an ambush against you as you guys left. But I sent them off on a wild chase to the south-east. If you head straight north, you should be able to make it."

"What do you think Phantom?" Nyx asked, raising her voice to make it heard over the distance between the two.

"I don't know. Dash?"

The cyan mare stepped up to Soarin', carrying pent up anger and frustration from the last several weeks with her. With one good thrust of her hoof, she hit the stallion in the face, knocking him on the ground. Soarin' spat up blood, and looked up at her.

"I understand your motive," he said, standing up. "And if there were time I would allow you to do more. But please, save yourselves. My troops will be coming back at any moment, you all need to leave. Now."

"Fine..." Rainbow Dash growled, punching him again. This time, he didn't fall. "But if I ever see you again..."

"And I'll let you," Soarin' answered her statement before she was finished. "Please, go be safe."

Firing him one more glance, Rainbow Dash began walking back towards Phantom. Nyx flew over the other pegasi, heading to the tunnel and telling them to come out. Within moments, everypony else had arrived. Phantom and Nyx led them through the other side of the castle, now accessible since there were no walls, away from Soarin'. Several Nightingales who were taking up the rear of the formation were under strict orders to keep an eye on him until they were completely out of sight. Soarin' waited a few minutes and flew up into the air. Looking around, he couldn't find him. The mass of about forty ponies had disappeared into the forest. Satisfied, he landed back in the same spot.

At least they're safe, he thought. For now...

"Soarin'..." a voice rang out sternly behind him. "You let them get away."

"No sir, they escaped." Soarin' turned around to address the pony behind him. He was a cobalt blue unicorn stallion with a red and white mane, and a magnifying glass as a cutie mark. His soulless yellow eyes bore holes into Soarin's. "To the East. I think they might be retreating to Equestria."

The unicorn sighed. "You're a terrible liar."

"I try, at least."

"Indeed."

Soarin' flared his wings and charged the pony with all intentions on killing him. He didn't stand a chance. Before his wings got a chance to flap once, he was hit by a red spell. The resulting scream scared off all the birds for a quarter mile around.

Author's Note

So Soarin' made a 'return' and actually kind-of helped the characters. Frankly, I tried to redeem him better and thus have a legitimate excuse to call this chapter "Redemption," but I'm trying to speed through these final chapters, that's why the end seems so rushed. Frankly, the word count snuck up on me. I was not expecting to be at 7,000+ Words already.

And yes, I did the 'kill-off-the-main-character-and-bring-him-back-in-a-few-minutes' cliché, sue me. Brownie points if you can guess who killed Soarin'! And yes, Soarin' is actually dead. He won't be returning. From hence forth, if they die, they're dead.

In other story-related news! I came up with a title for the next story!

Broken Feathers: Desert Storm

and it won't be connected to these two stories other than maybe one or two characters. I might start working on the cover soon... I should sketch that out....... hm....

Anyway. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Only 2 more PLANNED chapters left!

Up next: "Who We Really Are," Not everypony is who you think. Wink wink nudge nudge reference to characters we haven't seen directly since the previous story.

Hope you guys have all enjoyed the story and will like how it ends!

Who We Really Are

Nearly a week had passed since Palmyra was destroyed. What was left of the Nightingales, along with a few turn-coat Glaciens; Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, followed by Phantom, Archer, and Stryker, had to walk from the Palmyra Forest to the east of Aquila, clear to another forest on the north-west side of the same city. The Glacien officer was kind enough to give Nyx what patrol patterns he knew, making their trip that much easier. But a few times they were very nearly spotted.

The Nightingales were used to walking through snow. Since they left tracks behind, they were also fast, having to get from Point A to Point B in as little time was possible. But since Boreas' destruction, all the snow had melted. Everypony was aware that this happened in Palmyra, but they summed it up to it being apart of the explosion. But they kept walking, and the miles kept adding up. Still, no snow. Stryker told them the legends about how Boreas controlled the weather, and as a result brought snow upon the land. He deduced that since Boreas was destroyed, there was no longer any force to kept the snow on the ground. Temperatures even began to rise. Nopony expected it to get too high this far north, and it eventually settled at a relatively cool forty degrees above zero compared to twenty below. The usually gray sky changed to a normal azure, with brilliant puffs of white clouds dotting it. All around vegetation began to return to the land. Animals of all sorts seemed to be drawn out of the woodwork, usually by Fluttershy's encouragement.

When their long trek was said and done, night had fallen and the ponies arrived at the Nightingale camp buried in the forest. Talon, the eagle messenger, had managed to find Phantom and dutifully informed him that the Aurora was waiting for them there. Sure enough, it was the first thing they saw when they arrived. Even though its canvas envelope had been covered with green and brown camouflage, it's impossible to miss something that close up. The Nightingales had moved their camp slightly so that it surrounded the airship. Perimeter patrols made sure that the area around the forest was clear of Glaciens. There was nearly a friendly-fire incident with the Glaciens in Nyx's group until the Nightingale leader settled the dispute.

At the camp, Scootaloo was the first pony Rainbow Dash saw, her orange coat and purple mane easily standing out from everypony else. Rainbow Dash surprised the young filly by sneaking up behind the filly and scaring her. But Scootaloo didn't mind, she was just happy to see her unofficial big sister again. Together with Phantom, the two sat down with Scootaloo in front of a campfire and recounted their story. Several empty tents were nearby and would provide adequate shelter for them during their stay in the camp. Twilight, Spike, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had their own tent, while Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Nyx were in another. The third tent was occupied by Phantom, Stryker, and Archer, none of whom went to sleep that night. Phantom never even went into his tent according to Stryker, the pegasus stayed outside and wondered around.

When day rolled around, everypony left their tents and mingled about, eating various meals as they came. For most of the time, Phantom had wondered into his tent and fallen asleep. Rainbow Dash asked Stryker and Archer about it, and they explained that he tended to be nocturnal. They encouraged her to leave him be, seeing as how he never slept anyway. In a command tent on the other side of camp, Nyx held a meeting with the present senior officials.

A few Nightingale Lieutenants and Captains, the defected Glacien Officer, the Elements of Harmony, Stryker and Archer; Rainbow Dash's father, Captain Dash and a few of his officers, met to discuss the plans of their coming attack. It was Captain Dash who came up with the plan that they eventually decided on. They would take the Aurora over the city and drop in from the sky. His pegasus guards would carry some ponies that the unicorns on hoof couldn't teleport down with, whilst providing support from the air. Meanwhile the Aurora would provide overhead support with a newly installed cannons. The primary object would be to find and capture the Royal Family and bring them back to Equestria for questioning. Sky, Cloud Maker, and Soarin', being that they were Equestrian traitors, would be spared no such mercy. Little did they know they had nothing to worry about with Soarin'.

During the meeting, Spike belched out a series of letters. They were all messages from Princess Celestia. She explained how she was on her way to Glacies, with support. Several of her best Royal Guard units, led by Captain Armor, would be sent in. Since they had the potential of deal with Changelings, Princess Celestia herself and Princess Luna, while Princess Cadance would stay back and watch over Equestria. Luna's highly trained Night Guard had apparently already been sent in earlier in the week, and were now waiting outside the city. With reinforcements on their way, a wrench was thrown into the plan. Wait for them to arrive? Or strike as soon as possible. The ponies went with the latter option. They would wait for nightfall before boarding the Aurora . Captain Dash would take off a night and fly towards Aquila. Then, in the waking morning hours, they would attack. Following Twilight's instructions Spike sent their plans back to Princess Celestia in a letter carried away by his dragon fire.

The Elements of Harmony, along with any other civilians that made it out of Palmyra, occupied the rest of the day with random activities they could find to keep away the boredom. Phantom and Nyx took the remaining Nightingale Pegasi and most of the Royal Guards and boarded the Aurora early. Rainbow Dash volunteered to go with them, and much to Phantom's grumbling, Captain Dash approved her. The pegasi met in the cargo hold to go over their more intricate plans. Some of them would be carrying explosives to take out the upper walkways or towers of the castle, eliminating the high ground. The rest would be carrying ponies in their legs as they dropped from the Aurora, landing in the castle courtyard. Hopefully by the time they got down there, the unicorns would have teleported themselves and the rest of the ponies down. From there, they would storm the castle and capture the Royal Family. Changelings, and the traitors, were not to be spared.

With everything planned out, all they had to do was wait.

Several hours later, everypony was about the Aurora as it took to the air. In just a couple more hours they would arrive at Aquila. A majority of the ponies were in the cargo bay preparing themselves. It was here that Rainbow Dash looked for Phantom but couldn't find him. She did manage to spot Stryker, however, and approached him.

"Where's Phantom?" she asked. Stryker and Archer were standing side-by-side, helping to put on each other's armor. Rainbow Dash, with Applejack's help, already had her silver armor on.

"Can't say for certain," Stryker replied, tightening one of Archers straps. "Before every mission he has the tendency to just wonder off somewhere."

"All we know for sure," Archer added, "is that he isn't inside the ship."

"Any guesses where he'd be then?" Rainbow Dash inquired further.

Stryker thought for a moment. "Probably flying around the ship somewhere," he shrugged. "Hard to tell. You'll just have to look."

Rainbow Dash thanked them for their help and moved towards a side door on the cargo bay. She opened it and stepped onto a small platform outside the airship's envelope in the cool night air, shutting the door behind her. With a powerful thrust of her wings, she took flight. Though Rainbow Dash wasn't yet used to the extra weight of her armor, and it tended to drag her down. Her eyes scanned the skies around the Aurora. Several aerial patrols of two or four pegasi were flying around, making sure nothing approached the ship. Rainbow Dash flew up to one of them and asked if they had seen Phantom out here. They replied generously, pointing their hooves at the top of the airship. She followed their instructions and found the stallion laying down on the top of the rear tail fin. His head was resting atop his crossed hooves, eyes shut. Was he sleeping?

The mare approached the tail rudder from behind. With quiet hooves she landed on the painted canvas, which moved slightly to her weight. It felt almost like a bouncy castle to walk across. The rudder itself was just barely wide enough to hold the two pegasi. Phantom moved closer to the edge as Rainbow Dash neared, allowing her more room to lay down beside him.

"So you're awake," Rainbow Dash mused, laying down beside the stallion.

"I was never asleep," Phantom calmly said, continuing to look forward.

"Then what was with the closed eyes?"

"Thinking. Meditating, if you will." Rainbow Dash raised a brow, and Phantom saw out of the corner of his eye. "I do it before every mission, clear my mind of distractions, mentally preparing myself."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash bowed her head slightly, "so I should leave then, huh?"

Now Phantom looked at her, though still not moving his head. "I don't mind. Your presence is actually calming."

"I see..."

"Something on your mind?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You're adding ellipses to the end of your sentences."

"Well it's just... It's just..." Phantom looked over at her, giving her an impassive look. "Ugh, I don't know how to say it!"

"Then just say it." Phantom looked back forward.

"It's not that simple!"

"Yes, it is, actually."

"Do you even know what I'm trying to say to you?"

"I have a fair idea. Remember that I was inside your head for Celestia knows how long."

"So if you know, then I don't have to say it?"

"Everypony knows, Dashie, not just me. And you still need to say it. If you don't, it does nothing to help you."

"Fine... Phantom, I... I..." Rainbow Dash hesitated. Phantom rested the side of his face on a hoof so that he was looking at the mare, waiting with a bored look. "I... I like you." The mare instantly turned her head away, trying to conceal her blushing. But Phantom snorted to himself, rolling his eyes.

"No you don't."

Rainbow Dash shot the stallion a questioning glare. Did he just call her a liar? "I'm sorry?"

"You and I both know that it goes beyond that." He moved one of his hooves and put it on top of hers. "You know it, I know it, everypony else knows it; just say it."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she let out a breath of air. Opening them again, she looked into Phantom's waiting eyes. "I love you."

A smile grew on Phantom's face. "See? That wasn't that hard, was it?"

"I guess not..." Rainbow Dash and Phantom both looked forward again, staring out oat the starry horizon. Little did she realize that she was slowly shifting towards him, a detail Phantom didn't miss on. When she was in range, he acted. In one quick motion he lifted his left wing up and draped it across Rainbow Dash's back, pulling the mare close to his side. At first she was startled by the suddenness of it, but wrapped in his warm embrace against the cool air of the night she quickly welcomed it, tucking her head against his neck. Phantom tilted his head to the side slightly so that it was resting atop hers. "Wait," Rainbow Dash began, though not moving from her comfortable position, "why didn't you say it first?"

"I did say it first, remember? The fight with Boreas? He kicked your flank and you landed in front of me then I said it. Remember?"

"Oh yeah."

The two pegasi continued to lay against one another as the Aurora sailed through the air. They didn't say anything, instead opting to remain in silence and enjoy each other's embrace. Some time had passed that they were like that. Eventually Phantom could see lights on the distant horizon, lights that they were heading towards. It had to have been Aquila. It was the only city of significant enough size this far north that they would be able to see the street lights at this distance. Rainbow Dash felt her adrenaline begin to pump. With her ear pressed against Phantom's neck, she was able to hear his heart beating, and it didn't even change its calm pace. Though he was staring out at the lights with a firm expression.

Their ears picked up on the echoing sound of Captain Dash's voice from the ship's intercoms inside the cargo bay. It was faint, but they could still make out what he was saying. Everypony was being ordered to their battle stations, and the strike teams were being called bak inside.

"Good talk," Phantom commented as he opened his wing, allowing Rainbow Dash to stand.

"Yeah, it was pretty nice," she said while standing up. She offered Phantom a hoof to help him get up, to which he happily accepted.

"We should do it again sometime." Phantom flared his wings, Rainbow Dash mimicking him. Both ponies took to the air, gliding down along the side of the Aurora's envelope, Phantom's leading feathers brushing up against the canvas.

"Did you just ask me on a date?"

"Perhaps."

The pair swooped in through a large cargo bay door that had been opened. Uniformed members of the ship's crew were running about, frantically trying to get to their stations, some carrying supplies back and forth between them. In the center of the cargo bay, members of the strike teams, the ponies who were going to be going into the castle and attack, were gathered up in groups. Several earth ponies would be gathered around a single unicorn, the one who would teleport them down; among them was Stryker. Other unicorns who didn't know how to teleport and extra earth ponies had met up with a large group of pegasi, the ones who would fly them to the ground; Phantom found Archer here. Another group of pegasi were loading out with explosive devices and bows and arrows; Nyx had apparently taken command of this group. All the groups were circled around Captain Dash, who was going over the final details of the plan, and who would be where.

Phantom and Rainbow Dash found that they would be with the group of pegasi lifting the other ponies down. Stryker was leading the unicorns who would be teleporting themselves and the earth ponies down, and Archer was leading those earth ponies. Nyx had taken charge of the pegasi who would be flying around, providing support for the others. Meanwhile Captain Dash, with the assistance of Twilight Sparkle and Spike, would be orchestrating everything from the bridge of the Aurora, with Twilight teleporting down orders to team leaders as needed. The remaining Elements of Harmony would not engage unless the Changelings were to show up. Captain Dash informed everypony that they were less than an hour away from the city. All that was left was to go over final preparations, gather equipment, and wait.

"Everypony ready up!" Phantom yelled over the noise of rushing wind.

"Aye sir!" responded a chorus of voices.

Two hours after briefing, Phantom and the rest of the pegasi under his charge were lined up along the edges of the cargo bay with the doors open. The only way to tell between the Royal Guards and the Nightingales was armor color, with the former having white or gold armor, and the latter have black. Attached to their armor via harnesses that Rarity had crafted were other unicorns and earth ponies. Paired with Phantom was Archer, the white stallion holding a bow also had a quiver of arrows on the back of his armor instead of a white cloak like Phantom and the others. They had all been eagerly awaiting this moment; a moment that was late. Originally Captain Dash had expected the ship to arrive in an hour, but there were unexpected cross winds that slowed them down severely, and now they were two hours late. It killed their opportunity to drop under the cover of the early morning darkness. Now, the sun had risen above the horizon and was beginning to light the city. More importantly, it illuminated the Aurora, exposing it to prying eyes below.

Though at their current altitude it was unlikely that even if they ship was spotted the Glaciens would be able to do much about it. Captain Dash had brought the Aurora above the first level of major clouds. So high in fact that ice was beginning to develop along the sides of the envelope. Phantom, the rest of the pegasi, and the ponies they were carrying had to wear goggles to protect their eyes. In addition to those, Phantom also carried with him a small sheathed sword, something he rarely did unless he went into a situation with the full intention of ending somepony's life.

Below the ponies, clouds blocked out their full view of Aquila, leaving only patches they could see through. But they all know it was there. Ponies were probably going about their daily routines, completely unaware of what was flying high above them. Phantom looked around the bay. The pegasi under his command were determined, especially that of Rainbow Dash next to him. In the cneter of the cargo bay, Stryker sent him a reassuring nod as the unicorn prepared his troops for the mass teleportation of themselves and other unicorns and pegasi. Outside, Nyx's squadrons of pegasi flew parallel to the airship, explosives, bows and arrows strapped to their armor.

Over the intercom, Captain Dash called out their time-to-target. "Thirty Seconds!"

"Good luck everypony!" Phantom could hear Twilight shout in the background just before the Captain hung up.

"Sky Streak is mine!" Phantom called out to his troops, who all nodded in confirmation.

"You really want him, don't you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That bastard will not survive our next encounter." Phantom slid his goggles down on his face, counting off the remaining time in his head. Twenty seconds to go. A red light on the side of the cargo bay wall next to them came on, signaling them to get ready. Everypony else secured their goggles. Ten seconds. Phantom scooted closer to the edge of the cargo bay. Because of the awkwardness of having another pony strapped to their chests, the pegasi had to sit up right with their hind legs dangling outside the cargo bay, the ponies that they were carrying were essentially sitting in their laps doing the same. The light turned green. At the same time a loud buzzing sound rang through the cargo hold.

Nyx and her pegasi rolled onto their backs and dove for the ground, using their wings to stabilize their dive. Time seemed to slow down as Phantom leaned forward after them. He and Archer slowly slipped from the metallic edge of the cargo hold. For a breif moment they seemed to hover in the air before gravity took over and began pulling them down. Phantom and the rest of his pegasi fell hind legs first before rolling backwards and falling head first towards the clouds below. Phantom was in the lead, with the other pegasi behind him in a V formation. They glided into the slip streams that Nyx's pegasi were creating, allowing them to go faster despite their extra drag. Rainbow Dash was close to his right side. He and the other ponies tucked in their wings and legs, trying to make them as small as possible to pick up more speed. It would have been impossible to yell over the noise, so Phantom hoped that everypony would follow his lead. He found himself panting heavily in the thin air, his breathing accelerating as his altitude continued to drop. In a couple of moments they were already several hundred feet beneath the Aurora, which was now banking away from the city while dropping it's own altitude.

Captain Dash was bringing the Equestria airship around so that its broadside cannons would be able to fire on the castle. Standing in front of the large forward windows on the bridge he was barking his orders.

"Right full ruder, down forty-five degrees!" he commanded. "Bring us to five hundred feet."

"Ride full ruder, down forty-five degrees, aye sir!" the pilot repeated as he and the copilot turned two separate wheels to the right. In the back of the bridge, another officer controlled the helium in the ballast tanks, releasing some so that the ship dropped faster.

Twilight stood next to him along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony and Spike, who was taking notes of what was going on for after action report records. "I hope this works out..." she said hesitantly.

"Me too..." Captain Dash turned towards a pony on the side of the bridge who was looking through a glass outcropping with a pair of binoculars. "Corporal, what's their status?"

"Seconds from the clouds, sir," the corporal replied, not looking away.

"Celestia be with them now."

Down below, Phantom watched as Nyx and her formation of ponies disappeared inside the gray clouds. Seconds later, he was the first of his own formation to pierce them. The droplets of water that made it up started to condensate against the glass of his goggles and all along his fur. Before he knew it he broke through to the other side. Beneath them, the Glaciens has apparently initiated some sort-of scorched earth policy. Most of Aquila, save for the castle, was burning. The morning sun in combination with the glow of the fires gave a reddish hue to the air. The smoke was making it difficult for the ponies to see that castle, but changing wings cleared enough smoke so that they could catch glimpses of it. To make matters worse, the Glacien guards had spotted them, probably put on alert by Luna's attacking Night Guard forces on the edge of the city.

Anti-pegasi spells zipped up at them from the ground. Phantom opened up his wings so that he could maneuver slightly to avoid being hit but still maintain a low level of drag. Rainbow Dash stayed close at his side as several other ponies nearby were hit by the spells, spinning wildly out of control. Nyx's team flared their wings and leveled off several hundred feet above the castle, dropping their explosive payload. Plumes of fire and white smoke erupted from the castle walls and towers, taking the Glaciens who were firing the spells with them. Immediately Phantom felt the pressure from the flak lifted off of him.

"Get ready!" Phantom shouted directly into Archer's ear so the white stallion could hear him over the wind and explosions. Archer nodded and Phantom began flapping his wings for an extra boost. They were only a few seconds away from their destination: one of the castle's courtyards.

When the allotted time had passed, Phantom flared his wings, leveling off just above the ground. If Archer extended his legs then they would have caught on the cobblestone. Which was the plan. Phantom quickly pulled up an extra foot, allowing Archer to lower his legs. Phantom briefly slowed down and pulled a release cord on his harness. When he pulled up sharply, Archer was no longer connected to him. Instead the white stallion was now running along the ground, charging head long towards Glacien forces that were storming out of the castle to intercept. Behind him, the other pegasi who were carrying ponies, including Rainbow Dash, did the same thing. Within moments dozens of earth ponies and unicorns were on the ground, beginning their portion of the assault on the Glaciens. At the same time, Stryker's team of unicorns teleported in from the Aurora with the remaining unicorns and earth ponies. They had waited until the surprise attack had begun, and hooves were on the ground before they rushed in in force.

Phantom again leveled off, dipping and dodging arrows and spells fired towards him and his formation of pegasi. Rainbow Dash followed him as he dipped down below the castle walls to avoid taking more fire from them. Nyx swooped in on the wall Phantom was taking the most fire from with a small group of ponies. Flying overhead they dropped their explosive payload, completely decimating the top of the wall. Phantom took his opportunity and pulled up just before the wall, his hooves barely scraping the stone that it was made of. Cresting over the top he rolled onto his back looped over the wall towards the other side before leveling off again. Now over the relative safety of the city, Phantom checked behind to see how many ponies he still had with him. Of course Rainbow Dash was still there, but out of the forty some ponies he left the Aurora with, he now had about twenty-five. They all gave him reassuring nods and smile.

He turned back and brought his formation of pegasi higher into the sky. They began circling the castle walls in a counter clockwise motion, examining the developing battle. The walls were beginning to crumble. Pillars of smoke rose high into the sky. Near the perimeter of the city, the Aurora was opening fire with its cannons, the shots sounding like distant thunder. The cannon balls landed at the base of the castle walls in an attempt to bring them down to allow Luna's Night Guard to breach. Continuing to inspect the scene for someplace he could help, Phantom noticed something. On the back of the primary section of the castle where the main reception and throne room was located, was a series of stain glass windows.

"We're going to rejoin this battle!" Phantom rolled onto his back and flew backwards, yelling to the ponies flying in formation behind him. Now that the wind wasn't roaring past them like before, they would actually be able to hear him. "And we're going to be the first inside the castle!"

"Ooh-Rah!" replied everypony, save for Rainbow Dash.

"Damn straight! Now let's go kick some flanks!"

Phantom banked sharply and turned towards the castle, drawing sharp contrails on the tips of his wings. The movement was so sudden that Rainbow Dash barely managed to stay by his side.

"What was that about?" she asked, pulling up to be completely parallel with him.

"What? The 'Ooh-Rah' thing?"

"Yeah."

He smiled. "It's a guard thing. A rally call, if you will. A way to motivate everypony."

"Well it worked."

Rainbow Dash fell back in her original position on Phantom's five o'clock. The formation of pegasi continued at high speed towards the back of the castle. In a few moments, they were again taking fire from it. Phantom ignored the Glaciens and extended his hooves out in front of him. As they neared, Phantom could make out the art on the glass pain. It depicted Prince Castor standing proudly over his nation, black figures, probably Nightingales, running in terror. A mischievous grin crossed Phantom's face as he set that as his target. The pegasi following Phantom formed a single file line behind him.

The seconds that followed found Phantom breaking through the stained glass hooves first. Now protected by armor, it didn't cut him very much. He immediately dove to the floor, coming in for a hot landing. Tucking his wings in, he slid across the marble with Rainbow Dash swooping in for a soft landing behind him. The other pegasi who had followed him stayed in the air, circling the room a few time before most of them split up and spread out through the rest of the castle.

Phantom skidded to a halt in front of the throne, pushing the carpet out of place. At the door, a group of Glacien guards were propping the door closed, keeping the opposition from breaking in. They all stared at the newly arrived pegasus in shock. On the throne itself, the Royal Family sat and also stared at him. Phantom gave them a defiant smile in return, particularly directing his attention towards Prince Castor.

"Prince Castor," Phantom began as Rainbow Dash trotted up to his side, her wings flared, taking on an offensive stance, "by order of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria, you are hereby under arrest for crimes against ponydom, and harboring fugitives of Equestria."

The gray coated unicorn stood up and applauded. "You survived Boreas, I see," he mused. "Impressive." His gaze turned to Rainbow Dash. "Ah, I see you've been freed of his influence... A shame, really. You would have been an excellent pet."

"Enough talking," Phantom cut in. "Where are the Changelings and the fugitives we're looking for? If you tell us, Princess Celestia might cut you a small break."

Prince Castor, along with the other Royal Family members, began laughing.

"Are you really that dense that you haven't figured it out?" Prince Castor was slowly walking down the steps. "We've been here the entire time!" Phantom's ears fell back at the specific use of the word 'we'. A large pit grew in his stomach as he took a step back, preparing himself for anything. "Now you will see us for who we really are."

Prince Castor's horn began to light up with magical energy. But instead of being white like it had been before, the magical aura was red. The field surrounded Prince Castor's body. Starting at the tip of his horn, it began to disintegrate away. Working its way down, it revealed a red mane and white mane, red eyes, and blue fur. Phantom felt intense rage building up inside of him as the rest of the stallion was revealed, including his magnifying glass cutie mark.

"Sky!" Phantom barked. "You were Prince Castor?"

His transformation complete, Sky Streak continued to walk down the stairs, stopping in front of the first step.

"Quite."

Phantom reached for his short sword, but Sky used his magic to rip it out of the pegasus' grasp. Sky maneuvered it so that the tip pressed lightly against Phantom's neck, stopping the pegasus from making any further movements. Rainbow Dash started moving forward to attack, but Sky also stopped her.

"Ah ah ah, my dear," he said with a coy smile. "Not one more step. The big stallions need to have a conversation." Rainbow Dash sent a nervous glance at Phantom.

"Easy, Dash," Phantom said, "do what he says. What do you want, Sky?"

"Everything!" the unicorn shouted. "And no pony will stand in mine, or my mother's, way."

"Hm. Speaking of parasites, where is your deal old mum?"

At this point, Queen Centauri stood up with a stern expression. Phantom rolled his eyes. Oh you've gotta be kidding me. And just as he thought, the Glacien Queen's horn began to shine with magic, but this time instead of white, it was an eerie, yet unfortunately familiar sickly green. Just as what had happened to Sky Streak, the Queen wrapped herself in the magic. As it faded away it revealed a black, chitin plated mare the size of Princess Celestia, with a jagged horn, green eyes, holes in her legs, and insect-like wings. Queen Chrysalis stood at the top of the throne steps, looking down at the pair of pegasi before her. The maniacal laugh she let out did nothing to help the nerves of the ponies. The remaining Royal Family members transformed into normal Changeling drones. Much to Phantom's discomfort, the Glacien guards in the room did the same.

Little did any of them know, a brown coated black maned pegasus was watching these events unfold from a high window in the corner of the throne room. Syntax gasped at the sight, unable to believe it.

"I've gotta tell Princess Celestia," he muttered to himself, remembering his orders. Pushing off from the window ledge, he took to the skies, and steered himself towards the still circling Aurora. On his way he passed over the courtyard, where he could see Nyx speaking with Archer and Stryker. A moment later, the trio headed off towards an adjacent wing of the castle. Normally Syntax would have joined them, but now he had a more important mission to tend to.

The Aurora appeared through a cloud in front of him, its cannons blazing away at the Glacien city. Syntax flew up to a platform on the side of the airship's gondola. An ensign officer working inside the bridge had to let him in. Captain Dash motioned for the pegasus to approach him and Twilight.

"What do you have, Lieutenant?" Captain Dash asked.

"Sir, ma'am," Syntax addressed him and the princess of magic. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Twilight turned towards him.

"The Royal Family, the Glaciens, they're... they're the Changelings."

Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the nearby Elements of Harmony gasped, meanwhile Captain Dash merely smiled.

"Great!" he elated, to the confused looks of everypony on the bridge.

"How is that great?" Twilight demanded to know.

"Well, now instead of two armies we have to fight, it's just one. Talon?" Said eagle flew down from his perch near the ceiling of the bridge and landed on the captain's back. "Find Princess Celestia, inform her of these developments. Tell her to expedite her arrival if possible."

Talon gave an understanding nod before spreading his wings and taking to the air. He flew out an open window towards the back of the gondola. Captain Dash thanked Syntax for the updated information and instructed him to rejoin the fight, to which he followed, leaving through the same doorway he had entered from. When Twilight asked Captain Dash what she should do, he asked her to fire the spell that Shining used to reveal the Changelings and to banish them. Twilight told him that she could reveal the Changelings, but she wouldn't be able to banish them without being next to the Queen with her in a weakened state. Captain Dash thought for a moment before giving the alicorn the okay to head down there, with special note to take care. Charging a spell, Twilight and her friends teleported to the castle below. Spike was left on the bridge to assist

They reappeared in the middle of the castle's main courtyard, where most of the battle was occurring. Twilight had put up a shield to protect them while she prepared another spell. A white dome rapidly expanded outwards from the tip of her horn, quickly passing through everything and everypony. For a brief moment, everypony affected looked around in shock as the battle came to a stand still. In that time, all the Glacien Guards' fur had dissolved away in a green mist, leaving behind Changeling drones. The same happened across to half of the civilians in the city, catching the normal civilians and Luna's Night Guard off guard. Said Night Guard had pierced the walls of the city and were moving in with no opposition. But with this revelation, more battles broke out across more of the city. Once realization struck the ponies in the courtyard, they also continued their fight.

Now that they had been found out, Changelings seemed to be crawling out of catacombs built into the castle walls. They were using their sheer numbers to try and overwhelm the ponies. The Elements of Harmony began fighting back as best they could. Luckily Twilight had the foresight to bring the Elements themselves with her. Her and her friends were already wearing theirs, they just had to bring the Element of Loyalty to Rainbow Dash.

"We need to find Queen Chrysalis!" Twilight shouted over the war, firing an immobilization spell at a small swarm of Changelings that were flying directly towards her.

"And Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy poked her head out from behind her mane. "If that's okay with you."

"It certainly is okay with us," Applejack remarked, bucking an approaching Changeling in the face, knocking it unconscious.

The five mares charged forward, heading for the main doors of the castle that led into the throne room. Several members of the Royal Guard were already pushing up against the door.

When Syntax had left his overlooking position in the window sill, the events unfolding in the throne room had not waited for his return.

"Care to monologue?" Phantom asked. It was a long shot, but he hoped that if they talked long enough it would buy Rainbow Dash and him enough time to get help. It wasn't like he had many other options since there was a sword poking up against his throat. Even though Sky had nearly completely changed from what Phantom used to know of him, he still knew that the unicorn was egotistical as tartarus; a trait hopefully derived from his mother. During this time, Changeling drones were positioning themselves so that they surrounded the two Equestrians. Most other guards that Phantom brought with him had gone to secure other parts of the caste and let in reinforcements of their own. What guards stayed in the throne room were engaged in small skirmishes with the Changelings.

"To put it simply," Queen Chrysalis began. "Glacies has for a long time been a nation of Changelings. The isolation helps us to hide from the likes of your kind. Changelings have for awhile been low on numbers, and the stupid ponies of this region help to gain that back. Once I thought we had enough, we attacked Equestria—"

"He's stalling, mother," Sky cut in. "We need to kill them now before more of them show up!" At the same time he was pushing the sword slightly more into Phantom's throat. A small trickle of blood steadily flowed out.

"Oh relax, do you really think they can stop me?"

"They did last time..."

"These ponies did not. That witch Cadance did. Moving on... We attacked Equestria, but failed. We were not yet strong enough. So while we retreated back here to build up our armies once more, I came up with a plan. I would use your brashness," she said directing her attention to Rainbow Dash, "to break up the Elements of Harmony, ruining any chance at defeating me. But those blasted friends of yours showed up!

"I narrowly escaped the tunnels and retreated into the forest. There I envisioned another plan. I would take advantage of the fair being hosted in Ponyville and use that to try again at breaking up the Elements of Harmony. But you showed up!" Now, Queen Chrysalis had directed her attention towards Phantom, who still didn't move due to the fact his life was resting on the tip of a sword. "My son had said that you wouldn't be a problem. Obviously that isn't so..."

"I told you he was stubborn," Sky retorted. "But no, 'everything will go according to plan' you said. It never goes to plan with you! They would have never even shown up here if you had destroyed those documents like I told you so!"

"I'm the one running this Hive, not you. And you will listen to me."

Sky craned his neck towards his mother. The motion was enough that the sword moved just an inch away from Phantom's neck, allowing him a to relax a little bit and take a normal breath.

"We're running out of time, mother."

"Yes yes, I know. There's just a few things I want to finish up here and then we can leave."

Out of the corner of his eye, Phantom watched another unicorn step into the room from behind the throne. It was Captain Cypher, glad in armor, flanked on either side by Glacien guards.

"Let me guess," Phantom said, continuing to watch the unicorn with his eyes, not moving his neck for fear about being cut. "Soarin'?"

"You really are stupid," Sky focused back on Phantom, "aren't you?" A spell of red magic left the stallion's blue horn, zipping towards Captain Cypher. It struck him and surrounded his body in a red glow. When it disappeared, it revealed a white maned, green coated pegasus.

"Hello, Phantom," Cloud Maker greeted, nodding to him, "Miss Dash."

"So where the hay is Soarin'?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

Cloud Maker stepped forward. He reached beneath one of his wings with a hoof, and tossed something towards her. The series of objects didn't go far. Due to their composition, they only moved forward maybe a foot, foot and a half. They were feathers. Sky blue feathers. Specifically they were primaries, the main feathers that comprised a pegasus' wing to allow for flight.

"He didn't make it," Cloud Maker said. "He decided to have a conscious and let you guys escape. We could have ended this all in that castle instead of this one if not for him. Shame, really, I was just starting to like him, too."

"Either way," Queen Chrysalis continued, "no pony will stand in our way. Especially once we kill you two."

"Can I just do it now?" Sky practically begged. "You wouldn't imagine the grudge I've been holding against his guy."

"Yes yes, go ahead. Just clean up. This carpet is starting to grow on me after all."

A maniacal smile grew on Sky's face as he used his magic to pull the sword back, moving it off to the side in preparation for a powerful swing. The sword was unexpectantly knocked out of his magical grip. It fell to the cobblestone, clanking as the metal blade bounced up and down. By its side landed an arrow with green fetching. Everypony looked in the direction the arrow came from, searching for its owner.

Archer jumped down from a small balcony, bow in hoof, already loading another arrow. Stryker appeared from the tail end of a teleportation spell next to Archer. Another tan and black pony, this one a pegasus, flew down and hovered next to them. Rushing down the stair well behind them was a large group of Royal Guards, armed with swords. Syntax took a small group of the guards and flew off towards the door to deal with the Changelings who were blocking it. Stryker commanded the rest to engage the remaining Changelings at will as he and Archer started moving towards Sky and Queen Chrysalis.

"Finally!" Sky breathed a sigh of relief, a great weight apparently being lifted from his chest. His tone quickly went from satisfied to a monotone. "Kill them."

Suddenly a white energy passed through the throne room. For a brief moment, everything stopped while the ponies tried to figure out what had happened. But Queen Chrysalis instantly recognized that spell.

"The elements!" she shouted. "They're here! Find them!"

Sky craned his neck to look at this mother and see what she was yapping on about. Phantom took advantage of the now disarmed and distracted ponies. He charged forwards and tackled Sky to the ground. The pair wrestled around on the stone, with Sky firing off random spells here and there, a few nearly hitting other ponies. A few came close to hitting Phantom, who had to duck in order to avoid them.

At the same time, Rainbow Dash, Archer, and Stryker made their moves. Archer fired another arrow, this one aiming for Queen Chrysalis. But it merely bounced off of her chitin armor. Cloud Maker spread his wings and took to the air while Stryker fired spells meant to bring him back down to the ground. After Archer fired his arrow, Rainbow Dash flew forward at the Changeling Queen, but was easily picked up in the Queen's green magic and thrown uncontrollably across the room. Chrysalis flared her insect wings to take flight in an attempt to retreat. Archer prevented her from doing this buy leaping and latching onto one of her dangling legs, dragging the distorted alicorn back down the cobblestone.

Phantom wailed his hooves at Sky's face. As long as he could keep the unicorn distracted, he wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to cast a spell that was worth doing anything. At the moment he was just firing them off randomly. Some were heat spells, that melted the stone they hit; some were ice spells that froze what ever they touched. He even casted a few teleportation spells, which sent him, and Phantom, to different parts of the room. At one point they were struggling with one another on top of the thrones themselves, another they ended up in the castle kitchen, then the dungeons, the ruby suites, a garden out back, then back in the throne room in the thick of the battle. Both stallions had managed to land several kicks and punches on the other, and but knew that that wouldn't be enough. Sky bucked the pegasus off of him, sending Phantom to crash into the stone above the door.

As he fell down, the doors burst open, letting in more members of the Royal Guard in. Following close behind where the Elements of Harmony. Phantom landed on Applejack's back as the mare continued to run forward as part of the charge.

"How's it going?" Applejack calmly asked.

"Better, now," Phantom replied, catching his breath. "I'm really glad you guys are here to help."

"What'dya need?"

"Everything you've got."

Phantom jumped off of her back and took to the air. He rose high enough that his back was scrapping along the ceiling before diving back down at Sky, who was busy defending himself from a small group of Royal Guards. The unicorn looked up just in time to see the pegasus diving down on him. He tried to teleport away, but Phantom managed to connect with Sky just as he activated the spell. In a small burst of sound, light, and smoke, the two stallions disappeared.

Rainbow Dash saw the two teleport away. She was just about to go and try and find them, but her attention was called by Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn was standing halfway between the doors and the thrones with the rest of her friends, now encased by a protective shield. Rainbow was quick to join them.

"Here," Twilight said, floating over the Element of Loyalty to Rainbow Dash. As the pegasus put it on, the jewel emitted a small red flash.

"What's the plan?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We're going to stop the Changelings before this gets any further out of hoof. No more delays. No more chances of escape. I am ending it today."

"Won't we be easy targets in this mess?" Rarity brought up a valid point.

"Hmm... You're right. I'll have to drop this shield in order to gain enough mana to activate the Elements of Harmony."

Stryker appeared from nowhere, landing in front of the mares on his back, sliding to a halt just before their hooves. He and Twilight awkwardly stared at one another for a moment before he spoke.

"Princess Sparkle," he began, "might I make a suggestion? Archer and I," at the mention of his name, the white earth pony landed next to Stryker, thrown off by Queen Chrysalis, also landing on his back and sliding to a halt in front of the Bearers of Harmony and staring up at them from his up-side-down position on the ground, "we can distract Queen Chrysalis whilst you guys do your thing."

"That sounds really dangerous," Fluttershy helped the two stallions to their hooves. "Are you sure?"

"Just tell us how long you need," Archer replied with a smile.

"Not very long," Twilight replied, "about twenty seconds, maybe?"

"Plenty of time!" Stryker elated. He turned to Archer and the two stallions nodded at one another. "Guards, form up! Protect the Elements of Harmony!"

Nyx flew in at the same time with a small detachment of her pegasi. They arrived just in time to hear Stryker barking out his commands, and were quick to follow them. They broke off into several smaller groups, engaging the Changeling lines that were advancing on the Elements of Harmony. Stryker and Archer ran down the carpet towards where Queen Chrysalis had landed. Twilight dropped her protective shield and started applying her magical energy to her Element of Magic. Their elements began to light up as they were lifted off of their hooves and into the air.

Stryker fired a spell at Queen Chrysalis. It was string like and wrapped around her barrel multiple times, binding her wings to her body so that she couldn't use them to fly away. Continuing to run towards her, he put up a shield in front of him in order to protect himself from her counter-attacks. Archer ran off to one side. Maintaining a fair distance, he began firing arrow after arrow at the Changeling Queen, even though he knew all too well that it would do nothing to her. Once Stryker got close enough, Queen Chrysalis merely swatted him to the side with a hoof, sending him flying into the king's throne, breaking the back of the chair. She directed her attention towards Archer and casted a spell directly at him. At the same time, Archer fired another arrow at the queen. The two projectiles collided in mid air. The arrow was disintegrated by the spell, falling to the floor in a pile of ash. Regardless, the spell continued forward. Archer had no time to dodge. The green spell struck him in the center of the chest, some of its energy passing through him as the spell knocked him into the stone wall behind him, cracking it.

Even though their attack had failed, Stryker and Archer's mission as a distraction had succeeded. Twilight had applied enough magical energy into the Elements of Harmony to activate them. Her and her friends closed their eyes as they focused their own energies into their elements. After a moment, Twilight opened her eyes, revealing solid white orbs that glowed brightly. Small rainbows rose out of their jewels, wrapping several times around each mare before colliding together in the center of them to create a single, larger rainbow. It shot up towards the ceiling before slowing down and arching over slightly. Diving down on Queen Chrysalis, it picked up its speed once again.

"No..." Queen Chrysalis gasped as she watched the attack coming. She casted a green shield in the hopes that it would protect her. "No!" It did nothing. The rainbow beam shattered her magical barrier. As the power of the Elements of Harmony hit the Changeling Queen, a bright white light was emanated, blinding the visions of everypony.

A small crack of thunder sounded out from the top of the Aquila castle, accompanied by a small flash of lightning. From the flash fell two ponies: both stallions, a pegasus, and a unicorn. They tumbled head over hooves in a struggle for life. Much like their previous fight in Ponyville several weeks ago. Except this time, nopony was around to intervene. Nopony was there to save another's life. This time, only one would walk away.

The tallest tower was directly below them and rapidly approaching. Within moments they would be apart of it, with deadly results. Phantom and Sky had played this chicken game before in their previous fight. Sky would teleport high into the sky, and fall with the pegasus in his legs. At the last minute he'd let go and teleport to safety, leaving the pegasus no time to recover from the fall. But Phantom never let go and it caused Sky to have to teleport back up to high altitudes in order to try again. Phantom came up with a different plan; he would reverse the tables on his old 'friend'.

At the last possible moment, Sky's horn lit up, the signal of a coming teleportation spell. Phantom head-butted the stallion, temporarily stunning him and throwing off his concentration. With Sky's grip loosened, Phantom pushed himself away, kicking the blue unicorn down even faster. He spread his wings and leveled out his decent just before impact with the tower, just barely being able miss the ledge with his legs. Sky impacted the top of the tower with a thud, the spider cracks extending out from the point of impact in the stone. Phantom flapped his wings and turned back around towards the tower. Sky was just climbing back to his hooves, several streams of blood running down his face and neck. Phantom dived down on the unicorn as he powered up yet another spell. The pegasus managed to tackle Sky just before he was able to cast it accurately, and its red stream fired harmlessly into the air.

Phantom rolled off of him and up against one part of the tower wall, while Sky leaned up against the opposite part. The two stallions stared at one another, trying to catch their breaths.

"This is it, huh?" Sky asked.

"Yup," Phantom replied. "Years of friendship, crumbled down to this."

"If it helps, we were never friends. I was just using you the entire time to get close to the Princess."

"That doesn't help, actually."

"At least I tried."

"I guess."

Another pause. The two ponies checked over themselves to see what injuries they had. Soon a distraction came along, this one in the form of an eagle landing in between them. It looked at Phantom, who recognized the bird instantly: Talon.

"Kleek!" the eagle screeched, pointing up to a section of sky a ways away from the city that was now occupied by a large number of airships, the Equestrian seal emblazoned on the rudders. Princess Celestia's reinforcements had arrived. Phantom nodded his thanks and Talon took off, heading for his perch aboard the Aurora. Both the stallions watched the approaching airships for a moment, waves of already flying out from them. Below, outside the castle walls, Luna's Night Guard could be seen rapidly approaching. The city was surrounded. There was no where to run; no where to hide.

Both ponies felt a massive energy pulse through them. A mix of white and rainbow light shined out from the throne room windows, illuminating the skies. A sphere of white energy radiated out from the same point, quickly expanded out beyond the horizon. Sky looked around dejectedly. They both knew what had happened: the Elements of Harmony had been used. Odds are, the Changelings were gone.

"So this is it, huh?" Sky asked.

"Seems to be..." Phantom replied, turning back towards the stallion.

"You know you won't take me alive, right?"

"I didn't plan on it."

"Do you plan on walking away?"

"I'd like to, but you should know I'm a pessimist. I never plan on walking away."

"It does help in the end."

"Indeed."

"So should we end this?" Phantom stood up, slowly expanding his wings. Sky did the same, but instead of extending wings he didn't have, he starting applying magical energy to his horn. "Very well then."

Phantom kicked his hind legs and flap his wings, pushing himself forward in a charge. Sky dug his hooves into the stone and lower his head so that his horn was pointing directly at Phantom. The cap between the two stallions quickly closed. Both let out battle cries the moment before they collided. Phantom's hoof connected with the top of Sky's head as the unicorns spell was casted. In another crack of lightning and thunder, the two stallions disappeared leaving the tall castle tower empty.

Sky and Phantom reappeared on the ground in the middle of the throne room, wrestling around with one another. Phantom bucked Sky off of him and began crawling away on his back. Sky was quick to return, stepping on one of the pegasus' extended wings, bringing his crawl to a halt. The two stared at each other for a moment. Phantom's punch right before the teleportation had been enough to break Sky's blue horn off of his head. The stump was now leaking sparks of red magical energy. In his hooves, Sky had a small dagger, and was bringing it up to thrust into the center of Phantom's chest.

Just as he reached the top of his draw back, Phantom quickly reached off to the side with one of his hooves and picked up his sword from earlier, which he had happened to land next to. Bringing it in front of him, he centered his aim, and let Sky fall on its blade. The steel tip went through the stallions chest, and out the other side.

Everything came to a halt.

Sky coughed and sputtered a few times, grunting in pain. Then he merely smiled and rolled over, limp. He fell to the ground on his side, never to move again.

Phantom brought himself to his hooves, looking around the room. Indeed, the Changelings were gone. But everypony else had apparently been blasted into the walls by the force of the magical blast.

"Everypony okay?" Phantom called out, his voice echoing throughout the room.

Ponies began to mumble as they slowly picked themselves up. The Element of Harmony bearers were in a ring around each other, descending from a hovering position in the air by their Elements of Harmony. Wisps of black smoke rose from the spots were Changelings had apparently been standing, fading away when they hit the ceiling.

Considering the extent of the battle in the throne room, it was remarkable not many ponies were hurt severely. A good amount were bleeding from cuts and scars from blades and spells, but for the most part everypony seemed okay. Little did he know there was an exception.

"Stryker?" Phantom hadn't seen him yet. "Stryk, where are ya?"

"Over here, boss!" came the unicorn's voice. Phantom's attention was directed at the throes in the center of the room. There, Stryker was crawling over the back of the king's chair, having apparently been blasted into it. "I'm fine."

Nodding, Phantom approached the Elements of Harmony. They were panting from the use of magical energy, but for the most part were completely unharmed, save for Rainbow Dash who had a few cuts from her fight with Queen Chrysalis. Looking around, he took a head count. Rainbow Dash was by his side, she was fine. Stryker stood atop the throne platform, also looking around.

"You seen Archer?"

Stryker shook his head. "He was with me on the last charge; I don't see him now."

"He's over here!" Nyx called. Phantom swiveled his head in the direction her vice came from. She was hovering next to a significant hole in the wall, waving him over. Both Stryker and Phantom quickly rushed to her location. Laying on the floor next to the wall was the motionless, white form of Archer. Stryker bowed his head while Nyx landed next to him. Phantom took several steps forward and put his hoof on the stallion's neck, waiting for a pulse. A pulse that never came.

"Is he...?" Fluttershy began to ask as she and the rest of her friends joined them.

Phantom turned around, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah..." he mumbled. "He's gone..."

Two pegasi from the Royal Guard with red crosses on the sides of their armor swooped over with a stretcher by Phantom's command. They put the stallion's body on it, covered him with a blanket, and took of towards the Aurora which was now hovering just outside the castle.

A crack of thunder signaled the arrival of more ponies with a teleportation spell. Phantom and the others around him quick rushed to the center of the room, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waited. When they arrived, they, along with everypony else, dipped them respectful bows. The Royal Sisters looked around the room, and at the ponies before them, examining the condition of everything.

"Is everypony okay?" Princess Celestia asked softly. She took note that Phantom and Stryker looked away.

"For the most part," Phantom finally replied, turning back towards the Princess. "Corporal Archer... didn't survive."

Nyx stepped forward. "Several of my Nightingales and your Royal Guards were killed in the initial assault, as well."

Princess Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that... They will all receive my highest blessing, and proper honors. Even your Nightingales, Miss Knight."

"Where are the Changelings," Princess Luna asked, "and Queen Chrysalis?"

"We used the Elements of Harmony on them," Twilight reported them. "They seem to have vanished into thin air."

"Not vanished," Princess Celestia said. "Cured."

"Huh?" Everypony displayed some sort of a confused look, not fully understanding what the regal princess meant.

The white alicorn slowly walked forward along the main carpet, heading towards the throne's steps. The group of ponies around her followed. Soon they noticed that there was a pony unlike most of the them laying on the ground, the upper half of her laying on the first step. She was another alicorn... a white one. She was about the same size of Princess Celestia, with a sapphire blue mane that seemed to glow. There was a sapphire jewel as her cutie mark on her flank. She looked up at the approaching Princess Celestia with a dejected expression. Her bright blue eyes seemed to twinkle.

Princess Celestia's expression remained stern. To Twilight and her friends, this was deja-vú for when Nightmare Moon was vanquished, leaving behind Princess Luna.

"It has been too long," Princess Celestia spoke. "It is good to see you as you truly are once more, Queen Nevei." (NEE-Vay)

"What?!" everypony gasped.

The alicorn that Princess Celestia called Queen Nevei put her hooves beneath her and stood up.

"My little ponies, meet Queen Nevei: the original ruler of Glacies."

"But..." Twilight stammered. "How?!"

"It is a story I am not proud of," Queen Nevei finally spoke. Her voice was kind and soft. Nothing like that of the creature she had been not long ago. She sounded like you could go up and tell her anything.

"I shall explain on the trip. For now, we must make repairs, and return to our homes, our families." Princess Celestia extended a hoof to Queen Nevei, who accepted it. The sun goddess then helped the other alicorn to her hooves, and the pair began to walk away, leaving the others, including Princess Luna, behind in shock.

Author's Note

And that's the way the cookie crumbles. Yeah, a lot to talk about. This was a longer chapter than I would have liked, but oh well, it works.

Sky and the Glaciens were Changelings the whole time. Yes, Soarin' is dead. He's not coming back. Same as Archer, (insert crying here). I feel like it was rushed, honestly. This should have been multiple chapters. Even this author's post is rushed, but that's because I said I'd post this chapter today and it's 11:30 at night...

Queen Chrysalis... huh? Lemme explain this little bit of head cannon: I honestly believe that at one point Queen Chrysalis was a good alicorn... perhaps the ruler of Equestria before the Royal Sisters? Maybe. But in my headcannon she's a different Queen. I'll explain further on the next chapter. Which is the last chapter. It was a fun ride, and I'm happy to have gone on it with you guys. So while I'm still on this trip to Branson, I'll attempt to write some on the final chapter. Afterwards, I'll begin work on Desert Storm, of which I'll still need to come up with an idea for.

So here goes... the final time I do this...
Up Next: Once More Unto The Breach
The final resolution and closure of this story.

Once More Unto the Breach

A week had passed since those events in Glacies. The ice had thawed, and the snow had melted. What was left behind was a lustrous nation full of its own natural marvels. Boreas' corrupting influence had been vanquished from the land. Citizens, once known as Caren, began leaving their isolated towns and homes deep in the Glacien landscape and returning to the now nearly empty capital city of Aquila. As it turned out, the Changelings were using the city, and the nation, as their Hive, feeding off of the ponies who lived there. Most of the ponies in Aquila turned out to be Changelings. They all just... disappeared... when the Elements of Harmony removed their presence.

Queen Chrysalis had been transformed into a new pony, or rather as Princess Celestia put it, reverted back to her own form. And as such, the Changeling power had been destroyed. The Changeling drones turned out to be condensed magical energies, so when the Changeling power was dispelled, the Drones disappeared. Queen Nevei was the ruler of Glacies long ago, just after the formation of Equestria in the pre-Celestial times. She was apparently one of the Nightingales who had originally helped to banish Boreas the first time, but something happened. The ice demon had split his magical energies amongst the jewels of the nation. Since Queen Nevei wore a sapphire crown, it was the sapphire that was affected, and thus her mind that was to be corrupted. According to the Queen, she was slowly consumed by her own emotions, particularly that of envy. She envied Equestria, and its lush, unfrozen land; their natural crops and liquid water. The fact that the Glaciens even managed to survive at all in their wasteland environment was astonishing.

Princess Luna had stayed behind when most other ponies left to head home aboard the Aurora and the various other airships. Among the others who stayed were the Nightingales, and Nyx, who lead them; a few airships, some peace-keeping Royal and Night guards, and some of Luna's administrative staff. Since now that Nightingales made up the majority of the Glacien population, Nyx had been elected as the leader of the Glacien Military, essentially second in line to the throne. Although Queen Nevei was now in charge, everypony was leery of her, much as they had been leery of Princess Luna after her reformation. For now, while Glacies was being rebuilt, Equestria would be keeping a keen eye on its newly freed neighbor.

The remaining ponies had since loaded up aboard the airships and headed home. A week after leaving, they arrived in Canterlot. They were welcomed by parades and gathered ponies at the aerial docks, streamers, banners, and confetti. Husbands and wives of the Royal Guard had made their way down the gangplanks to be rejoined by their respective partners and families. Though the mood of the Bearers of Harmony, Spike, Phantom, Stryker, Captain Dash, and Princess Celestia were less enthusiastic about being home.

Phantom, Stryker, Captain Dash, and three other members of the Royal Guard, all dressed in their most formal uniforms, were the first to walk down the gangplank after the Aurora had docked. The six ponies walked on three hooves. With their other hooves, which were covered by white gloves, they held onto a silver, rectangular box. Draped over the watch was the Equestrian flag, it's corners tucked underneath the lid. Phantom held onto the front right portion, with Captain Dash behind him, then another Guard. Stryker had front left corner, with two guards behind him. The six ponies walked down the plank, taking careful and synchronized steps. At first when the Aurora arrived there was a roar of elation. But once those six ponies emerged with the covered casket, there was silence.

On the dock, ponies bowed their head as the small precession past. Princess Celestia, Twilight, and the others followed close behind. The casket was loaded onto a waiting carriage that had been painted black, part of a small caravan. The ponies who had known Archer in his life, boarded them. Phantom, Stryker, and Captain Dash rode with the casket, along with Archer's widow: a mint green mare now veiled in black. The Guard cemetery was just outside of town, on the other side of the mountain, and thus didn't take long to get do.

Friends and family had already gathered at the cemetery when the precession arrived. They were standing in a half-circle around an open grave. Phantom, Stryker, Captain Dash carried the casket over to the awning-covered location. The other ponies had already arrived, and were waiting with bowed heads as the casket neared. Princess Celestia was standing behind the tomb stone, with Captain Armor at her side. In the front row of the crowd, Princess Cadance was standing next to Archer's widow, holding her in her pink alicorn wings.

Phantom guided the casket over the hole. The six ponies guided one rope each through the hoofholes on the side sos that the silver box was suspended in mid-air. Phantom and Stryker stood on either long end of the flag, and took it off of the hood. They kept it unfurled as they stepped off to the side with it. While Stryker held taught onto his ends, Phantom started folding it down from his. By the time Phantom reached the unicorn with the flag, it had been folded into a small triangle, the Equestrian emblem showing predominately on the front. Holding it in his white-gloved hoof, Phantom walked the folded flag over to Archer's widow. With a bow he handed it to her, then stood at her opposite side as Princess Cadance while the elegy began.

Princess Celestia spoke first. She gave praise to his years of dedication and service to the crown and ponies of Equestria. The Princess also announced that for his actions that led to the Changelings being stopped, he would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor. Her elegy was short, so Phantom half expected her to leave to tend to other duties left in the wake of recent events, or to tend to other funeral.s But surprisingly, she didn't leave.

Captain Armor was next, endorsing what Princess Celestia said and seconding her announcement of his award. He was followed up by Captain Dash, who not being Archer's commanding officer, didn't have much to say aside from praise for his excellent conduct and leadership aboard his vessel. Stryker went next. He talked about all the good memories he shared with the late stallion, how they always had each other's backs, and how even though Archer always lost every game that they played against one another, he never gave up. Phantom went up and expressed what he could about his subordinate. Though he quickly ran out of things, and went on to express his regret in not getting to know Archer better. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle went up to attest to the white stallion's wonderful character. The former said that he was one of the most competitive ponies she had ever met, white the latter expressed her thanks in him helping to save her own life when the events began to unfold in Ponyville.

In all, the sermon lasted several chilly hours. Over that time, various other friends and members of Archer's family had spoken about his character. In the end it was concluded with a three volleys of seven arrows that were lit ablaze and fired over the cliff edge. The ponies who had carried Archer's casket over stepped back up to their positions and grabbed hold of the white ropes suspending the box in the air. While taps were played on snare drums, the six ponies used the ropes to carefully lower the casket into the ground.

The silver casket disappeared below the surface. Two nearby earth ponies of the Royal Guard began filling the hole with white shovels. Ponies who had attended the funeral were shuffling out, paying their respects to Archer's family as they left. In time, the only ones left were Stryker, Phantom, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Celestia.

"Thank you," Princess Celestia said, stepping up to the three ponies dressed in blue, "for everything. You have done an exceptional service to both Equestria, and the world."

"So what's next, your highness?" Stryker asked after a brief moment of silence.

"I am holding a press conference at the castle in an hour to address the media on recent events. It would also double as a small awards ceremony; I would like you three to attend."

Rainbow Dash picked up on a wary glance that that Stryker shot to Phantom. The pegasus stallion's gaze drifted down further as he sighed. Wonder what that was about... she thought.

"We're be there."

A smile grew on the corner of Princess Celestia's mouth. "I'm sure you will," she said, looking specifically at Phantom. But the smile was short lived. The ponies who were filling in Archer's grave dropped in the last scoops of dirt, and the hole was completely filled.

"I must take my leave and prepare for the conference," Princess Celestia said, turning and taking a few steps away before stopping and craning her neck back towards the ponies. "Would any of you like to join me for tea?"

"Why not?" Stryker moved towards Princess Celestia.

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment before hesitating and following the pair, "I guess."

The three started to walk back towards the castle. After a moment or so, Rainbow Dash stopped, realizing that they were missing someone. She turned and saw that Phantom was still standing where he was, staring at Archer's marble tomb stone. She was just about to speak when a hoof was placed on her shoulder.

"Don't," Stryker shook his head, "he needs his time."

"Has he done this before?"

Stryker sighed. "Unfortunately... It'll take a bit for him to come out of this. I've found it's best to leave him alone."

"If you say so..." With that, she and Stryker rejoined Princess Celestia i her walk through the beautiful mountain side on their way back to Canterlot.

Phantom sat down next to the fresh grave. He reached into a pocket on the side of his uniform and pulled out a small black velvet bag. From with in it, he retrieved a perfectly intact cherry blossom. He set the pink flower down at the base of the tomb stone.

"So..." he said. "We didn't get to know each other much... You were really more of Stryker's friend than mine but, better late than never, right?"

After the allotted time had passed, the ponies of Canterlot began to convene at the castle courtyard. Princess Celestia's press conference was set to start soon. Already the media had positioned itself in front of a second story balcony, from which the royal mare would be giving her address. It was a rather large and square balcony that could fit a decent number of ponies. Some of which who were up there waiting on the princess were the Bearers of Harmony, Stryker, Captain Dash, Captain Armor, and a few other members of the Royal and Night Guard who had apparently done their own actions worth of award.

Rainbow Dash looked around. She scanned the crowd, checked the balcony, examined the castle walls, watched the skies. The conference was already running ten minutes late and there was still no sigh of Phantom anywhere. She would have said something about it if Princess Celestia hadn't stepped out.

Instantly the noisy murmurs from the crowd died down. Everypony shuffled in their spots so that they could get comfortable. Camera ponies, reporters, journalists, and writers alike readied themselves to write down her words.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts of Equestria," Princess Celestia began, her voice booming out with a magical boost. "Some of you may have heard about the events that have taken place over the past several weeks. The purpose of this conference is to clarify those events.

"Several weeks ago, Changeling forces entered Equestria and hid out in the Everfree Forest. Under the direction of Queen Chrysalis, they began operations to secure the Elements of Harmony, so that their bearers would not be able to use them against them." At this, Rainbow Dash bowed her head slightly, still feeling some blame for this incidents. "Thankfully they were defeated, but unfortunately managed to escape to where we now know was the nation of Glacies."

"At about the same time, a fair was to be held in Ponyville to formally congratulate my student in becoming a princess, and an alicorn. One of the performances that was to be scheduled, was by that of the Wonderbolts. In preparation for that event, the second in command of the Wonderbolts, Soarin' Skies, was tasked with the preparations. He was too help Rainbow Dash. And with her trust that he had gained, Soarin' Skies attempted to take the life of Rainbow Dash. If not for the actions of one of my guards, Phantom Knight, whom I had assigned as a precautionary guard in the event something would happen, then Soarin' may have very well succeeded.

"After which, the Element of Honesty, Applejack, was ponynapped, and her barn burned down. We have reason to believe that Soarin', along with Cloud Maker, and a previously thought-to-be-deceased by the name of Sky Streak, were behind these events, and the events that proceeded them. With careful investigation on the parts of both Phantom, and Rainbow Dash, were able to locate, and rescue, Applejack. During the rescue, evidence was gather that suggested that the Changelings may have had a factor in the incidents. Though they escaped, warrants for the arrest of Sky, Cloud Maker, and Soarin' were issued throughout Equestria.

"Several engagements occurred in the the days following, in which their plan was discovered, and the connection to Glacies was revealed. After contacting the Glacien government and gaining permission, I ordered my best ponies to board an airship and head to the ice nation. There they were dragged into a civil war on the side of the Glaciens, against a force of local ponies known as Nightingales.

"Unfortunately, the Glacies betrayed them. The Glaciens had planned to release a demon god of ice known as Boreas, who was destined to turn the world to ice. With the help of Princess Twilight, Phantom and his team was able to stop him, freeing the land of his curse. Afterwards they began operations in conjunction with the Nightingales to bring down the corrupt Glacien government. As it turned out, the Glacien government was controlled by Changelings, and the capital city, Aquila, was their primary Hive. Upon receiving word of these developments, I sent reinforcements into the country in an attempt to stop the Changelings once and for all.

"When I arrived, I found that the Elements of Harmony had been used, and that the Changelings were destroyed." Princess Celestia waited as the applause and cheers died down. "Queen Chrysalis was transformed into the pony she once was: Queen Nevei, the original ruler of Glacies. We are currently watching over her carefully, helping her to return the newly freed Glacies to a self-sustainable point. I am sure that Glacies will become an excellent friend in the future. Does anypony from the media have any questions?"

"What of the Nightingales, your highness?" a pegasus asked, using his wings so that he could hover a bit over the crowd and be more noticeable by her. "Will they become apart of the Equestrian Royal Guard?"

"No. The Nightingales are an entity comprised of Glacien citizens, in the nation of Glacies. Seeing as how Glacies now lacks its own unified defensive force, it's likely that the Nightingales will become that force. We do, however, plan on keeping close relations with both the Nightingales, and the Glaciens."

"What about the Wonderbolts?" an earth pony raised his hoof. "What'll happen to them?"

"While I personally do not believe the rest of the Wonderbolts to be an issue, they are to remain under suspension pending further investigation.

"Your Highness," a pegasus stepped forward from the front row, "what'll happen to the Glacien citizens who aren't Nightingales, and turned out to not be Changelings?"

"Again, that is for Queen Nevei to decide. It is likely that Glacien Citizens who are unaffiliated with Changelings will remain just that: Glacien Citizens."

"Another question about the Wonderbolts, your highness," a unicorn from within the crowd used his magic to amplify his voice. "Will they be looking for a replacement now that Soarin's spot is vacant?"

"That is by Captain Spitfire's discretion. Although the Wonderbolts are under suspension, that only prevents them from preforming and leaving their barracks pending investigation. Once the suspension is over, they are free to resume their usual activities, including recruitment."

At this point, Princess Celestia went on to talk about how brave the ponies where that she sent in, and speaking praise about the success of the adventures. Rainbow Dash began to tune her out, not really feeling the need to hear things multiple times over. To occupy her time, she continued to look around in search of a certain midnight-blue pegasus. With no luck. He wasn't in the crowd, he wasn't on the balcony, he wasn't in the skies, along the castle walls. He wasn't anywhere.

"Something wrong?" Stryker whispered to her, sensing her tension.

"Why isn't Phantom here?" Rainbow Dash whispered back. But before Stryker could reply, Princess Celestia's address became inclusive to them once again.

"For their exceptional acts of bravery, with the endorsements from both Captain Shining Armor and Captain Spectrum Dash, I would like to present these," she held up three medals in her magic for all to see, "Medals of Valor to the members of Phantom's team. Rainbow Dash?" As commanded, Rainbow Dash stepped up next to the princess so that she was completely visible to everypony in the courtyard. She bowed her head as Princess Celestia slipped the medal around her neck. "For extraordinary bravery and acts of courage beyond what the situation called of you, I award you this Medal of Valor in the hopes that you may remain a pinnacle of the standards held to you, and so that others may be inspired by you."

Rainbow Dash gave Princess Celestia a formal bow, which was respectfully returned. She left the edge of the balcony and returned to her spot next to Stryker just as he was called up by the Princess. She said to him the same scripted words as she said to Rainbow Dash. In just a few minutes he was back in his original spot.

"So where's Phantom?" Rainbow Dash asked him again upon his return.

"Dunno," he replied.

"You don't know? Weh—Well why isn't he here then?"

"He's got this... thing... against awards ceremonies. It's something you'd have to ask him about; I have no idea. But he's never once showed up for an awards ceremony."

"Phantom Knight?" Princess Celestia called out.

"Even if it was his own...." Stryker sighed, making his way towards Princess Celestia. Something about the way he was handling it told Rainbow Dash that he had done this several times before. She also got the same impression from the Princess, who looked back and nodded at the approaching stallion.

"Accepting for Phatom Knight, with the promise to deliver it to him: Stryker." There was a short applause as Stryker stepped up and took the medal, which had been placed inside a blue velvet case, and walked back to his spot with it suspended in his magic.

"So where is he?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Stryker shrugged. "Rumor in the barracks says that he goes for walks, or flights, more than likely the latter, around the city. Nopony really knows exactly where to. But, I have a few ideas."

"Like?"

Instead of replying verbally, Stryker looked up and nodded towards the top of the Canterlot mountain; it's peak hanging high over the city like a watchful protector.

"He's up there? Why? Isn't that completely off limits to ponies?"

Again, Stryker shrugged. "Can't say for sure why he goes up there, or even if that's where he goes. I guess there's some connection up there that allows him to clear his mind? Hard to say with him, honestly." There was a pregnant pause. "Take this with you," he said, using his magic to hold the medal's case in front of Rainbow Dash without looking away from the mountain peak.

"Huh?"

"You're going up there, aren't you? Take this with you and give it to him."

"But how are you even sure that he's up there?"

"Oh, he will be," Princess Celestia intruded on their conversation as she stepped up to the two ponies. "I'm the one who granted him permission to go up there in the first place."

"But why? What's up there for him?"

"Why don't you go find out?"

Rainbow Dash looked down at the medal that was still being suspended in front of her. Casting a quick glance at the mountain peak, she took the velvet case in her hooves and spread her wings. With a few flaps, she took to the air, circling up towards the top of the mountain.

The peak of the mountain was slightly arched over the city, most of the reason that it was blocked off to the public. Princess Celestia had engineers go up and reinforce it some years ago in fear that it would collapse and fall to the distant streets below. The thought that Princess Celestia gave Phantom express permission to be up there intrigued the mare all that much more. As she neared she could see that there was a single, pink flowered tree on the peak. When she got closer she easily recognized it as a cherry blossom.

Instead of flying directly up to the peak, she flew a little bit above it to see whether or not Phantom was even there. Laying in the grass was the form of a midnight blue pegasus. He appeared to be sitting in front of two white stones that were of equal size. Curious as to what he was up to, she beat her wings softly and glided towards the cherry blossom tree, landing so softly in it that its branches hardly even moved. Using her forehooves to part open a group of pink flowers, she sat in her perch and watched the stallion.

Phantom laid in front of two equally proportioned and rounded white stones that had writing chiseled into the front of them. He wasn't looking around. His head appeared to be bowed slightly, focusing on the bottoms of the stones.

"Hey, Mom," he said, looking at the center of the stone on his left. His voice was barely audible from Rainbow Dash's position. "Hey, Dad," again, but this time looking at the stone to the right. The two stones had names written on the tops of them. On the left, it was Spirit Knight, and on the right, Spectre Knight. "I did it. Finally saved the world... just like you said I would some day. Honestly, it doesn't feel too great. Yeah I saved a whole bunch of ponies, even found Nyx up there, but I also lost some. Some that shouldn't have been lost in the first place. Too many ponies were put in danger when they shouldn't have. All because I was an idiot and didn't realize what had really happened with Sky sooner."

He sighed.

"Now I'm sure that you guys would say something like 'There's nothing you could have done,' and, 'You did the best you could with the cards you were dealt,' blah blah blah. But in reality I should have known sooner. All those years ago when Sky died the first time, I should have seen the signs of his corruption; his attempts at pushing me away. For some reason he kept wanting to take someone else as his partner when he went on duty as Celestia's body guard. I guess my persistence in being his partner saved her life..."

There was a pause as a few birds in the tree next to Rainbow Dash chirped.

"I know, I know. Forget It and Dig On. F.I.D.O., just like you used to always say, Dad. It's just hard to, ya know? I regret not getting to know Archer better... I didn't even know he had a family! No idea! Worked with him since I got put behind that damned desk and I had no clue in tartarus! Feel bad for Stryker, too. Archer and him were as close as Sky and I... though I'm sure that Archer isn't going to turn out to be alive, the son of a demon bent on the genocide of an entire race, and try to kill Stryk. Do you guys think you could do me a favor and take care of him up there? Thanks.

"I guess this is the part where you two would be interrogating me about the mare that I met. Well, I don't know what all I can say..." Rainbow Dash felt her face start to turn with frustration. Doesn't know what he can say? she thought. I'm the Rainbow Dash! There's loads of thing he could say about me! I'm awesome!. "Frankly, she's incredible. I don't think I've ever met a mare quite like her. I guess this is something I should have been experiencing for the first time in flight school, with support and you help from you two; not for the first time while I'm in the prime of my Royal Guard career, alone..."

You aren't alone... Rainbow Dash thought. Rising to her hooves whilst perched on the branch, se jumped down and used her wings to soften her fall, barely landing on the grass without so much as a sound.

"If you're going to say something, say it," Phantom's voice was much more clear and pronounced even though he was still facing the grave stones, "Dash."

"How did you hear me?" Rainbow Dash asked, calmly stepping up beside the stallion.

"You weren't as quiet as you thought you were when getting into that tree."

"Ah..." she rubbed one hoof in front of the other. "Sorry for eavesdropping."

"It's alright," Phantom stood up, "somepony was bound to find out eventually."

"Find out what, exactly?"

"Why I come up here." Phantom pointed at the two grave stones in front of them. Rainbow Dash looked at them closely. "Now you know."

"To see your parents?"

"Yeah. I've always come up here and talked to them after a major event in my life, or after I complete an assignment. Sometimes both. Like today."

"I see..." There was a slight pause between the two ponies as they continued to look at the grave stones. "Why where they buried up here and not like other pegasi?"

Rainbow Dash was referring to the traditional pegasi burial. The pony would be placed in a cocoon of clouds, surrounded by the feathers of friends and family, then lifted into a jet stream to be carried away. When the clouds were over the ocean, they would dissolve. Rarely were pegasi buried in the ground like this.

"Your father and mine were pretty good friends. As the story goes, one time while our dads were having drinks together, mine said that he and Mom always wanted to be able to watch over Nyx and I, no matter what. Well, when Mom died, your dad pulled some strings with Princess Celestia and somehow managed to get them buried up here; where she and my dad first met. Then a few years later when my dad died, we came up here to burry him. Now they can watch over me, no matter where I go."

"That's really sweet. I wish I could remember more about them." To show her support, Rainbow Dash draped a wing over the stallion's back. Phantom slid it off of him before wrapping his own wing around her, much to the rising excitement in her cheeks.

"They were great. Those times were great, too, back when our families knew each other. Even after Mom died. Heh, I can remember this one time when we were foals: Firefly, Nyx, and you were in the kitchen getting ready to make cookies and you fell into the bowl and were practically swimming in the dough. You smelled like cookies for a week. I'm sure your dad could tell you more stories than I."

"I think I'll do that sometime." Another quiet pause. "Oh, and you're not alone."

"Huh?"

"What you said earlier? You aren't alone. You've got more friends now than you ever had."

Phantom sighed. "Perhaps, but they won't be going with me..."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Princess Celestia asked for an experienced volunteers to conduct an investigation for her in the southern deserts."

"And..."

"And... I volunteered. I leave at the end of this week."

"You volunteered? What the hay for? Don't you want to hang around a bit with your new friends? With me?"

"Well I'm not leaving tonight. And I'm not leaving forever. There's still a chance for you and I. Besides, someday Princess Celestia will call you up to save the world for the umpteenth time; the Wonderbolts will come knocking on your door, asking you to join."

"What makes you think that I'm going to join the Wonderbolts after everything that's happened?"

"Because that wasn't the Wonderbolts, it was Soarin'. And with Soarin' gone, Spitfire is going to need somepony to take over in his place. And because the Wonderbolts have been your dream your entire life; nothing is going to be able to take that away."

"I guess you're right... Oh!" Rainbow Dash reached for the velvet box and present it to Phantom. "This is yours. Stryker wanted me to give it to you if I found you up here."

Phantom nodded and took the box in his hooves. Opening it up, he examined it revealed to him the golden medallion, with a blue and gold strap.

"Medal of Valor, eh?" he mused to no pony in particular. "Seems a bit excessive, but it's not really my decision to make."

He took a step forward so that he was standing just before the space between the two stones.Setting the box down, he dug briefly into the dirt. A few inches in and Rainbow Dash could see the glint of brass. A few more inches and she could clearly see that the hole was filled with several other medals, none of them the same as the other. Phantom took his Medal of Valor out of the box, placed it in the freshly dug hole on top of the other medals, then filled it back up wit dirt.

"More medals?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yup. Every medal I've earned." He patted the broken surface a few times so that the dirt was tightly compacted. Phantom then kissed the tops of each stone. "See ya, Mom, Dad."

Phantom stepped past the graves and up to the edge of the cliff. There was just enough room for Rainbow Dash to stand at his side. The two pegasi stared out across the horizon. From this vantage point, they could see everything from the unicorn ranges, to Fillydelpphia; from Ghastly Gorge, all the way to the Neighagra Hills.

"Would you like to have dinner sometime?" Phantom asked suddenly, tilting his head towards Rainbow Dash.

The cyan mare smile and gave Phantom a quick peck on the cheek. "I was wondering when you were going to ask. Yes. Yes I'll have dinner with you. Any idea when?"

"I was thinking tomorrow at seven, maybe? I'm not real big on dates, so you'll have to bear with me."

"Works for me. Just... don't tell Rarity, please? She'll have a cow and go completely overboard."

"Heh, deal." Phantom opened his wings and flapped them so that he was hovering just off of the cliff face. He turned so that he was facing Rainbow Dash, who was still standing on the cliff.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Well I do have a deployment coming up. Figured I'd go get ready to save the world again." A coy smile was growing on his face.

"So you like saving the world? Because by the way you were talking earlier it sounded like you didn't enjoy yourself much."

Phantom's smile grew even more. "Not so much saving the world as it is getting the mares."

"Just remember," Rainbow Dash took a few steps forward. Small pebbles fell away from the cliff under her shifting weight. "You're mine now."

Phantom gave her a salute. "Yes, ma'am. See ya at seven." Before she had the chance to reply again, Phantom tucked his wings in and let gravity take over, pulling him towards the city. He leaned back so that he was following head first. Sightly opening his wings allowed him to pick up speed and keep some maneuverability while he was rapidly skimming the edge of the cliff. The last of him that Rainbow Dash saw was him tucking his wings in and disappearing under her line of sight, cutting her line of sight with him. She leaned forward over the edge of the cliff in an effort to see him flying away, but couldn't see him anywhere.

Rainbow Dash began laughing to herself, Phantom's sudden disappearance reminder her of his sudden appearance when they first met all those weeks ago in Ponyville.

The next time Rainbow Dash saw Phantom was when he appeared at her front door the next day with a small collection of roses. Something that would have been relatively difficult to get a hold of considering it was the middle of the winter season.

He took her to a small restaurant in Cloudsdale, just a short flight away for the two pegasi. It wasn't anything too special. The food was fairly simple, with Rainbow Dash ordering a hay burger with a side of fries, and Phantom calling on a lush salad, something the mare didn't expect him to order. Thankfully Rarity didn't hear about the date until it was too late, and thus didn't have time to prepare a dress for her, or a tuxedo for Phantom, and insist on them going to some five-star fancy restaurant.

For most of the time, the two ponies chatted together about what they thought about the previous few weeks' events. About their plans for the future. Phantom managed to convince that the Wonderbolts were worth sticking with, and that odds were Captain Spitfire would be taking interest in her in taking over the vacant spot. When Rainbow Dash asked about his own plans, he said that he didn't really have any. As far as he knew he was going to stay in the Royal Guard; make a career out of it like his father. He didn't know if he was ever going to be able to settle down with some mare, or her. Though that part of his response managed to get him kicked in the shin under the table. Phantom quickly revised his answer to say that he wouldn't be able to do anything until after his upcoming assignment, and that after that he would try his best.

After the meal, the two ponies when for a midnight flight, diverting their path through the unicorn ranges and rainbow falls. Flying beneath Luna's stars, they enjoyed each other's company for what would be the last time in a while.

Rainbow Dash didn't get home until the early morning hours, where she decided to sleep in. Phantom had turned back towards Canterlot after a parting goodnight kiss. Once Rainbow Dash woke up and proceeded to town, her friends swamped her with questions as to where she had been all morning and where she had gone the previous night. Eventually they were able to pry the details out of her. At the Royal Guard barracks in Canterlot, Shining Armor and Stryker were having a similar conversation with Phantom, with similar results.

A few days of relative peace had gone by. Rainbow Dash hadn't heard anything from Phantom, and by his advice, wasn't expecting to. Twilight said that she talked to her brother about it to see if she could get any information, but he regretted to say that it was all classified.

At the end of the week, the doorbell rang. Rainbow Dash had flown down her stairs and to the door in the hopes that it would be Phantom standing outside, a hope that she knew was misplaced. Openining the door revealed Ditzy Hooves standing there, mail bag at her side.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" she said, handing the cyan pegasus a copy of the daily newspaper and a few letters. "I heard about you and Phantom! How's it going between you two, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, hey Ditz. It's going alright, I guess, he got deployed so I'm probably not going to see him for awhile."

"Sorry to hear that. Hope it goes well between you two. Look, I gotta go deliver the rest of this mail. See ya!"

"Later." Rainbow Dash waved goodbye to the gray mare and shut the door. Walking towards the kitchen table, she shuffled through the letters. Bills... Bills... More bills... Junk... Oh, what's this? One letter caught her eye. The only thing on the front of the blue envelope was a golden lightning bolt with white wings. Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!

She set the rest of her mail on the table and was just about to rip into the envelope when something else caught her eye about her mail. It was the newspaper, specifically, which was odd considering that she rarely ever looked at it. The only thing she usually used it for was as apart of nesting for Tank's home. Looking carefully, she took in every detail of the front page news.

A smile tugged at the corner of Rainbow Dash's mouth.

Author's Note

Got the idea for this ending from this movie, and this song. Watched it again a few months back and went, "That's going to be how I end it..."

And thus, we come to the end. It was a long, and fun journey, and I don't think there's another group of people I would have rather carried with me through it.
Thanks to Dashieluvzcandy, and Shadow of a Former Brony for the questions, and allowing me to put them into the story itself. If you anyone has any other questions, go ahead and ask me now, and I'll do a sort-of AMA (ask me anything) in the comments right here!

In the end though, the story didn't exactly turn out how I wanted it to. Hay, Frozen North wasn't even supposed to exist. Ever. Even this story differs a fair amount from it's original notes. Here are the original notes, exactly as I originally wrote them, unedited. If you'd like to see them, just click this.

As for the third story... Broken Feathers: Desert Storm, *looks at watch* Yeah, I guess I've got some time to write a few chapters of it. BUT. BUT I have to plan it. Which may take some time. A lot like how I started the Broken Feathers series, I have no idea where I'm going with it. Well, that's not true, I have some idea. But I'm going to have to draw it out, get the characters and their roles togethers etc etc.

Anyway, now that this is completed, I'm going to go do some user page maintenance, make a few bog posts to alert all my readers from this series, and the first Broken Feathers (there's 50 some of them over there haha) and alert them to these developments, and the beginning of the new story. I wonder what happened to a few of them, especially NekoTheCat, they were a pretty cool reader/commenter. Too bad they didn't make an appearance for this story. Oh well.

Thanks so, so so sooooo much for being there, guys. It was a pleasure writing for you, and I hope I can continue to please you for the next few months until I leave.

Signing off on this story for the last time,
— Sam.

The First Night

The sapphire suites of the Aquila castle were as grand as you would expect. They occupied the top floor of the castle manor. The stone that made up the floors, walls, and ceilings had a slight blue hue to them. Torches that lined the walls glowed with a blue flame, changed by unicorn enchantments. Of course, there were small blue crystals above the doors and windows, each of which provided their own magical glow. The general appearance created by all of this emphasized the cold air, making it seem like somepony was stepping through an ice cavern.

Ten bedrooms made up the sapphire suite. They lined the outer edges of the level, with grand windows that gave an incredible view of Aquila and the surrounding kingdom. Each bedroom included a blue canopy king sized bed, with white sheets, blue pillows and covers, and a thin blue curtain that hanged down from its frame, offering the occupant extra privacy. Nightstands on either sides of the beds, along with grand chests and dressers that dotted the walls. Paintings depicted what appeared to be grand moments in Glacien history that were over dramatized. A tall mirror stood in the corner of each room. Hung from the high ceilings, chandeliers lit the rooms with their blue flames.

Other rooms were apart of the suites, as well. A lobby with a large fireplace, an ornate blue carpet, and several sofas and chairs greeted anypony when they first entered through the silver doors. A dining room sat at the end of the suites, with a curved primary wall with bay windows, giving a perfect view to the northern lights high in the sky. In the corner of the lobby, the items belonging to Celestia's Task Force 247 were being placed next to the door.

Phantom stood in front of a mirror in the first bedroom on the right side. Making sure the golden sash on his formal uniform was perfect, he went about inspecting the rest of it for any imperfections. Ribbons? Check. Buttons? Check. Collar? Straight. Sash? Nice and shiny. Equestrian crest on sash? Glorious, as usual. Let's see here... fits properly... no damage or moth holes... I'd say it passes. Not like I'm actually trying to impress anypony—well, that's a lie. But the Glaciens are NOT at the top of that list.

"Hey, Phantom!" Rainbow Dash called from her room on the other side of the lobby. "Get your phanny over here, hehe."

Phantom rolled his eyes. He had been wondering how long it would be until Dash called him that. Everypony did, eventually. The kids did while he was in school. Recruits at the Guard academy, along with the drill instructors. His partners while serving. Friends that he made. Archer and Stryker have. His superiors, including Shining Armor all have at some point. Hay, even Celestia did once!

"Nopony is allowed to call me that anymore, Dash," Phantom replied, making his way towards her room. "What do ya need?" he asked, poking his head in.

Rainbow Dash stood infront of her own mirror, staring at the reflection of her in her brand new cobalt blue Equestrian Royal Guard formal dress uniform. It was identical to Phantom's, with the exception of the ribbons, rank insignias, and the appropriate cutie mark on the silver lapel.

She looked at him with a quizzical expression. "Is this even on right?"

Phantom tilted his head to the side, examining the uniform. For the most part, she did a good job.

"Yeah..." he replied tentatively, "but, your sash is on up-side-down."

Rainbow groaned, stomping a hoof to the ground. "Ugh! I've been trying to get this right for the past twenty minutes!" Phantom pulled the sash over her head, turned it around, ad put it back on. As he made minute adjustments to it, she continued. "If I'm a princess now, then why aren't I in a dress?"

"They never sent anypony up for that. Probably because they don't have your measurements and didn't think there woud be enough time to make one for you."

"I guess." She examined herself in the mirror as Phantom finished. "Speaking of measurements... why does this fit so well?"

"We got yours from Rarity before we left. Normally, it takes about three days to make one of these things. Rarity offered to do it and she made yours in about a half-hour. Apparently with a lighter materials than mine, so you'll even be able to fly better." From the room, the two pegasi could hear the main doors open, and shut a few moments later.

"Phantom?" called Archer's voice. The two pegasi left the room to greet the earth-pony.

Archer was standing in front of the silver doors, with the last of the equipment he had been bringing in in trips to the room. Exhaling in relief, he bucked them off of his back and into the corner with the rest. Looking up, he saw the two pegasi exiting the room together. "Should I leave you two..." he began to say mockingly.

"No," Rainbow and Phantom deadpanned together.

"Have too much trouble bringing everything here?" Phantom asked as Rainbow Dash went back to her room.

"At first, yeah," Archer replied. "The gate guards took a little convincing about what I was doing. After that though, it was fine. They even offered to help at one point after I told them the ship would be leaving. Stryk back yet?"

Phantom shook his head. "No, haven't heard anything. And we haven't been arrested yet, so that's a good sign."

"Think he's found something that can help?"

"Hard to say, but, I do know that he won't stop until he does. What's the word on the street?"

"Us. Everypony that saw me, stared and gossiped with others around them. Those that didn't see me, talked about how Caren were being allowed in the city; how the new princess was Caren. Caren this, Caren that, blah blah blah. You know, I'm really starting to hate that word."

"Not much we can do, though."

"Yeah. Oh, hey... are you and Rainbow...?"

"No—" Phantom began, but a startled scream interrupted his scorn, coming from the room occupied by said mare.

Phantom's wings flared open before the noise could ring out of existence. He jumped up into the air, pulling off a perfect Immelmann turn, he pushed with his wings once more to propel himself towards her door. Turning sideways and kicking off of the doorframe, he launched him self off of it and into the room. Archer rolled head over hoof into the room, ready to kick anypony proving to be hostile. Phantom hovered near the ceiling, ready to dive.

He saw Rainbow Dash sitting on her haunches, backed up against her bed, staring at the window sill. There, perched on the edge staring into the room, was nothing more than an eagle.

"Really, Dash?" Phantom deadpanned, slowly lowering himself to the floor and bringing his wings to his side. "You are THE Rainbow Danger Dash, right? Not some Changeling?"

Rainbow Dash stood in a faze. "No I'm not a Changeling! This bird just scared me, that's all. What the hay is it doing here anyway?"

"He is our messenger with the Aurora while it's airborne," Archer explained, stepping over to the white-headed bird. Attached to the top of its body, between its wings, was a blue-tape-sealed scroll. Taking it in hoof, he quickly skimmed through it. "It appears that the Aurora is leaving the city air space, and is heading north east. Got anything you want them to look for specifically, boss?"

"Cherry Blossoms, Mr. Archer," Phantom replied, exiting the room to tend to the rapping on the silver doors. "Cherry Blossoms."

When Phantom opened one of the silver doors, he saw that the pony on the other side was Captain Cypher. The unicorn was armor glad, along with a pair of guards who also had helmets and swords. Stryker, I swear to Celestia if you were caught...

"Something the matter, Captain?" Phantom questioned, bracing himself.

"King Centauri as requested the presence of Princess Rainbow Dash and yourself. It's time for dinner."

How in Equestria can I be lost...? Stryker thought to himself as he stalked through a dimly lit corridor, deep within the Aquila castle. He decided that the best way to find the library, would be to pick a hallway, and follow it. That plan hadn't gone accordingly. At the main entrance to the castle, instead of going straight to the throne room, or down the right hall towards the rooms, he went left. Now, he found himself in what appeared to be the dungeon, lost, at risk of being captured and potentially executed.

Daring Do ain't got nothin' on me! he mentally encouraged himself, rolling past a pair of distracted Glacien guards. Turning a corner, Stryker was greeted by the sight of an exceedingly long, dark, corridor like the one he had just been in. The unicorn let out a reserved sigh. This obviously wasn't the right direction... maybe it's on one of the upper floors. Whelp, back to square one.

In an envelope of tan magic, Stryker disappeared with a flash. The unicorn reappeared in the entrance of the castle. To his side, a group of Glacien guards surrounded an iron bared cage on wheels, that had a black cover keeping anypony from peeking inside. The guards were shocked at the sudden appearance of a random pony at their side, and gaped at Stryker.

After a pregnant pause, Stryker finally broke the silence. "So uh... Yeah... I'll be going now."

"That's probably a really good idea..." the guard closest to him tentatively spoke.

With another flash, Stryker disappeared once again. This time, he appeared in the stair well that led up to the Sapphire Suites, but at a door that gave way to the second floor. By the sounds of it, several ponies were coming down the stairs, so the unicorn ducked through the door quickly. The sheer amount of red that decorated the hallway he now stood in was overwhelming for his eyes.

Red carpets, red flames from the torches and chandeliers, red curtains, red doors, red tinted stone for the floor, walls, and ceiling; red red red red red! Even the normally sapphire crystals were red. "Lemme guess..." Stryker sighed to himself aloud. "The Ruby Suites?" Hearing someponies approaching from around the corner ahead of him, the unicorn used a spell which disguised him. His coat brightened until it was white. His mane turned blue. And the Glacien guard armor appeared on him. Just as the spell completed, two Glacien guards rounded the corner ahead.

"You, recruit!" one of them yelled at Stryker. "You aren't supposed to be here. These are the Royal Family's quarters. Where are you suppose to be stationed?"

Faust! "Uh, sorry sir!" Stryker saluted the real guard, stumbling for an excuse. "Captain Cypher told me to uh... watch over the... umm... library?"

The two guards looked at each other. "The library needs protecting?" asked the other guard.

"Well, we did get that new artifact earlier today..." replied the first.

"Captain Cypher wants it protected?"

"Maybe... I dunno, the thing looks valuable. And did you see what it did to Siri? Turned the guy to ice!" Stryker raised an eyebrow. "They're still trying to thaw him out in the infirmary."

"Geez... something like that? Yeah, I can see why Captain Cypher would want it under guard."

"But send this recruit?"

"Canon fodder, I guess."

"Ahem," Stryker cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the two guards. "Library? Location?"

"Diamond suite. One floor up. Second door on the right. Can't miss it."

"Thanks." Slightly annoyed, Stryker teleported back into the stair well, one floor up. Exhaling, simultaneously dropping his disguise, he pushed through the doors thinking to himself. Diamond Suites, eh? Gee, wonder what this'll look like...

"What do you think that thing is, anyway?" the first guard asked his partner as they headed back to where they came from.

The second guard shrugged. "Dunno, all I know is that it was brought in with that Nightingale prisoner."

Sure enough, the hall Stryker stepped into represented everything diamonds. White colored stones, white curtains, white flames on the torches, diamonds embedded into the stone all around. Eeyup! Just as I thought... Stryker stepped into the suite, making a beeline for the second door on the right, which was of course, white.

The room it led to matched the hall way, with its white, well, everything. Even the book shelves were white. Stryker was pleasantly surprised to see the the books themselves weren't white! There were two levels to the room, sections A-M on the first, and N-Z on second.

Thought the most noticeable thing about the room was the sudden change in temperature. The glass on the windows was showing signs of frosting, and with each exhale his breath was visible. Stryker even coughed a couple of times from the sudden change of air in his lungs.

"Is there something I can help you with?" an unexpected voice asked, startling the stallion. To Stryker's left, an elderly looking mare with a dull pink coat, a grey mane, and gold framed glasses stood midway through restocking a bookshelf.

"Umm," Stryker looked around for some kind of reasoning as to why he was there, without revealing his true intentions. "Yes, I was looking for a book."

"Hun, you're in a library. I could figure that much."

"Right, sorry. I was looking for a book for Princess Rainbow Dash. She wishes to learn more about Glacies if she is to be apart of the Royal Family."

"Ah, I see. You are apart of her royal court?" Stryker nodded in response to the mare's question. "Last row on the right: Glacien culture, mythology, legends-particularly Palmyra- society and government." As Stryker began following the mare's directions, she shouted a final bit of instruction. "And could you send my deepest blessings to the Princess? We haven't had anything this good happen in the city since the royal children were born."

"Will do, ma'am."

Stryker set off down the middle of the library, eyes focused on his destination. So focused in fact, that he ran into a white marble pedestal, nearly knocking over the glass case on top. The unicorn caught the glass case in his magic, carefully setting it back where it rested and examining it closely. The box was two by two feet of glass which was frozen solid, making it impossible to see in. Wisps of air were visible floating from the glass, vaporizing and condensing back down to the floor.

Well well well... This must be what's causing all of the commotion.

Using his magic, the unicorn heated up the top pane, and the pane directly facing him to see inside. Water vapor rose to the ceiling. Once the fog on the glass faded away, it revealed what lied inside. The object began emanate a bright blue glow, changing the color of Stryker's face and reflecting as pinpoints of light in his eyes. "No..."

"Introducing the Lady Rainbow Dash, and her escort, Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight, from Equestria!" announced the royal squire. That same squire used his own magic to open the Grand Dining Hall Doors.

Phantom and Rainbow Dash stepped through the doors into the dinning hall behind the throne room. Its decor was the same, the centerpiece of which was a large, rectangular stone table capable of hosting up to thirty-two guests. At the head of the table, clear on the other side of the room, sat King Centauri, a red cape tied around his white neck. His golden and sapphire encrusted crown sat atop his dull, yellow mane. The king's glossy, golden eyes watched the pair incredulously as they came closer, making their way towards two open chairs on the right side of the table. Rainbow noted that as she got closer to the Royal Family, her tiara felt as if it was getting slightly colder.

"Your highness," Phantom greeted when he and Rainbow had arrived at the head table and bowed.

"Sit, sit," King Centauri commanded, an air of annoyance in his voice. Phantom and Rainbow Dash sat as instructed. Across from them was the rest of the Royal Family: Queen Centauri, Prince Castor, and Princess Andromeda. "Steward! Bring the food! Now!"

In a flurry of motion, unicorns wearing black tuxedos and ties trotted into the room with silver platters in their magic. The stewards swirled around the table, placing the silver platters in front of everypony. It certainly was a meal fit for royals. Salads, daisy sandwiches, apples-that didn't look as good as those from Sweet Apple Acres, but still looked appetizing- all sorts of berries, and a mixture of other foods that normally Rainbow Dash or Phantom wouldn't eat in a week, let alone a single meal. Rainbow Dash was just about to dive into a daisy sandwich, but Phantom stopped her with his wing.

"The King eats—" Phantom was interrupted mid explanation by King Centauri rudely burying his muzzle into the salad in front of him, send a few leaves flying everywhere. "first..." He released Dash, allowing her to dig into her sandwich. While everypony ate, Phantom slowly chomped on an apple, observing the scene before him.

Queen Centauri was using her magic to manipulate silverware, carefully picking up small bits of her own salad to eat. The blue crystal on her silver tiara-which was more ornate than Rainbow Dash's- appeared to glow softly, but Phantom couldn't be sure. It was about the same color as her frost colored mane, but not as blue as her cobalt coat.

Prince Castor was wearing the same red formal suit over his gray coat from earlier, while a gold, basic crown, sat on top of his gray mane. The unicorn split his daisy sandwich into small bits, combining it with his salad, consuming both at the same time. Even the blue crystal on his crown seemed to glow.

Princess Andromeda looked similarly to her mother, but with her father's red eyes. Her silver tiara was identical to Rainbow Dash's. Its crystal too was glowing. She didn't pay too much attention to her food. She merely moved it around with her silverware.

A few minutes of silent eating passed by with no words spoken between the ponies. Though, King Centauri changed that once he greedily finished his salad. "Fly." The single word was directed at the two pegasi before him.

"Uhh..." Phantom stumbled, looking between Rainbow Dash and the King. "Wh-Which one of us?"

"Her."

"Father," Prince Castor interjected, "I don't think now's the best time."

"Nonsense!" King Centauri slammed a hoof on the table, nearly spilling the cider drinks. Phantom had to catch his to prevent it from tipping over. "We do not have pegasi in the castle, nor have I seen one in person. I wish to see a pony fly!"

"Dear, I don't think that this is something that should be done at the dinner table," reasoned Queen Centauri. "Perhaps at the ceremony Lady Rainbow Dash will be more willing—"

"I want to see a pony fly," he interrupted his wife, turning towards Rainbow Dash. "Can you fly, or not?"

"Can I fly?" Rainbow stood on her seat. "I'm the greatest flyer in all of Equestria!"

"Dash..." Phantom mumbled, face-hoofing. "You're not in Equestria... and you're in front of the Royal Family... behave, please?"

"Then go on!" King Centauri urged her. "Show me what a pegasus can do."

"Fine." Rainbow replied sternly.

With a single flap of her wings, she soared to the ceiling high above them. Flipping her hooves upside down and planting them on the roof, she pushed off of the ceiling, diving straight down at the opposite end of the table. At the last second she pulled up, flying directly towards King Centauri, the airflow that followed her dragged with it the white table cloth. Inches away from the king, she flared her wings, bringing her to an abrupt stop that pushed the King's mane back.

Rainbow flapped her wings again. This time, she flew on her back over the table, backtracking her previous path. Once she reached the end of the table, she rolled two-hundred-and-seventy degrees clockwise relative to the king, banking and pulling a sharp ninety degree turn, zipping out the open window.

"That was... something," muttered Princess Andromeda.

"Isn't she?" swooned Prince Castor.

"Though I wonder where she's gone," stated Queen Centauri.

"Probably to get a cloud and show off some more," Phantom answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

Captain Cypher burst through the doors, and trotted up to the king at a brisk pace. Phantom rolled his eyes, thinking that Rainbow hadn't even been gone thirty seconds and she's already in trouble. The Glacien Captain began to whisper into the kings ears. Tuning in his well trained ears, Phantom could pick out tid-bits of the conversation.

"Your highness... we captured..."

"Good work, Captain. Make sure... dungeon. After the coronation...gallows..."

"Aye, sir. She had... on her."

"Very well, thank you, Captain."

Captain Cypher left just as abruptly as he arrived, leaving the King to sit and ponder his thoughts.

When Rainbow Dash returned, she brought with her a storm cloud. In a brilliant display of pegasus magic, she kicked it, releasing a bolt of lighting, a booming clap of thunder. Rain soon poured from the dark mass, falling straight on Phantom's head. Lowering his head, ears falling on his mane, Phantom sighed. This is going to be a long dinner...

The dinner didn't end until at least an hour later. Most of the time was spent with the Royal Family familiarizing themselves with Rainbow Dash, and her telling dramatized versions of adventures she had gone on with her friends. Princess Andromeda, turning out to be a pony who likes their studies, took a particular interest in the story of the Elements of Harmony and how they were used to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord. Queen Centauri payed close attention when Rainbow Dash was explaining the vents surrounding the Crystal Empire, of course. Prince Castor hanged on every word she spoke, seemingly memorizing every syllable. King Centauri, however, was the polar opposite. Only ten minutes into Rainbow's stories, he had leaned back in his chair and drifted to sleep. Phantom didn't blame him, about a half hour in he was ready to hit the hay himself.

But now in the Sapphire Suites, everypony had returned. Stryker brought with him a large collection of books and encyclopedias, anything that might contain information about Rainbow Dash's predicament. Archer had long since retired to his room, exhausted from bringing in all of the gear on his own. Rainbow, who had missed her usual naps and was suffering from an inflated ego, also went to bed. That left Stryker and Phantom sitting in front of the lit fireplace, skimming through books.

"Find anything?" Phantom asked, turning the page on his book and bringing him to section P volume three of the Glacie Law Code. Hearing no reply, he looked up from the blurring pages.

Stryker had his muzzle buried into the crease of the book, literally. His eyes were shut softly, and his breath was slow.

And you were supposed to be the egg head... Phantom laughed to himself.

The pegasus tried to get back to his reading, but couldn't. Something was nagging at him. It was what he had heard Captain Cypher tell the King earlier at the dinner. About somepony they had captured, and the fact that she was mentioned along with gallows. And something was found with her? Why would he mention that unless t was extremely important?

Seeking to answer these questions, Phantom stood up, and silently left through the silver doors, gliding down the stair case and ending up in the main lobby of the castle. Stryker had told him about his misadventure in the dungeons, so he went through the appropriate doors thinking it would be a good place to start to find the new prisoner.

Phantom flew close to the ceiling, taking to his namesake and moving about the dungeon completely unnoticed by passing Glacien guards. Whenever the pegasus came across a cell, he would lower his altitude to look inside. Most of the cells were empty. The few cells that had occupants were all 'Caren', making it difficult to tell which was the pony the Glaciens had brought in that day. Phantom would have asked the occupants, but didn't want to risk being discovered in the near absolute silence of the castle dungeons.

Yielding no results in his search for the pony they had brought in, Phantom headed back up in search of the artifact they allegedly recovered. Stryker mentioned his encounter in the Ruby Suites, and how he had learned that that was the Royal Suites. So, with a moronic ambition, Phantom set that as his next destination.

Always getting in over your head... Phantom thought, pushing open the doors and stepping to Ruby Suites. The flames from the torches and chandeliers had been weakened so that they didn't provide blinding light in the darkness.

"From what we've been told, you've always had that tendency," spoke a soft, feminine voice from behind him. The unexpected visitor sent Phantom airborne, seeking cover behind the light of a chandelier overhead. Coming to his senses and recognizing the mare's voice, he landed at her side.

"Princess Luna," the pegasus bowed.

"We are not actually here, Staff Sergeant Knight, so there's no need to bow. We are merely in a spirit form, sent by our sister to see how everything was going."

Phantom continued searching the Ruby Suites while carrying on the conversation. Poking his head through doors every now and then to look inside. "Rainbow Dash is now a princess. We've got some clues as to where Palmyra is. And we're running out of time. Nothing too major."

"Rainbow Dash is a princess now? Interesting."

"Yeah, my guess is Prince Castor has a crush on her." Phantom poked his head through another door, seeing both the King and Queen lying in bed. Nothing else caught his attention, so he went back into the hall.

"Art thou jealous?"

Phantom face-hoofed. "Celestia, not you too..."

"We are Luna..."

"It's an exclamation—you know, never mind."

"Our sister has told thou that it's fine if thou get close to her. Art thou afraid of losing her?"

"Shouldn't this be a conversation reserved for dreams? Not sneaking around a place where I'll be executed if caught?"

"Normally, we would agree. But the problem is, thou doesn't sleep."

"And you of all ponies should know why I can't sleep, Luna." Becoming slightly annoyed, Phantom pushed his way into another room. This one with a large map of Glacies sitting on a table, with pieces marking Glacien troop positions around the nation. Princess Luna was already standing by the table, knowing that Phantom would investigate it.

"We tried our best to help thou through them."

"And I appreciate it, but it has never worked. The ponies I've lost, ponies I've killed... Nyx... I keep seeing them in my dreams. And it just keeps getting worse..."

"How so?"

Phantom sighed, looking over the map. The Glacien military seemed to be focused on the Palmyra forest, with several areas of the maps highlighted as 'possible rebel locations'. "On the train back from the Palmyra forest. I had another nightmare. This one was different, though. This had Rainbow Dash in it. She... she didn't make it. Why is she here, Luna? She should be here! She shouldn't have to deal with becoming a princess, or any of this!"

"She's here because she cares about Scootaloo."

"We don't even know where Scootaloo is, nor do we have any leads. We don't even know where Sky is, or Soarin', or Cloud Maker, or Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings! We haven't encountered any evidence of them at all! We've been dealing with this stupid civil war and haven't been able to focus on the real threat."

"Of what threat? Some far fetched idea that the Changelings can conquer Equestria on there own? Perhaps thou is closer to Sky than thou thinks... This legend... Palmyra. The dragon in it is capable of turning the world to ice should he be freed. Maybe Sky is trying to free him?"

"Aren't the Nightingales supposed to be the ones protecting Palmyra? Why would Sky help them?"

"We didn't say Sky was helping the Nightingales..."

"The Glaciens..." Phantom's ears fell against his mane. "We've got it backwards... Sky is trying to find Palmyra, isn't he?"

"This is a decision thou must make alone. We are merely providing a suggestion. Doth thou have evidence to support this new claim?"

"That Nightingale I fought... he said the Glaciens were tricking us. That King Centauri wants to free Boreas and take over the world."

"We think that you must find and confront the Nightingale leader, and see what they believe."

"But how do we do that? They're in Palmyra and we don't even know for sure if it exists!"

Princess Luna levitated up a flower from the corner of the table, holding it in front of Phantom. A Cherry Blossom to be specific. "Like you said. Follow the flowers."

The pegasus nodded, taking the flower in hoof. He was just about to say something, but Luna shushed him. She closed her eyes as her horn lit up softly. "What is it?" Phantom asked in a lower whisper than before when her eyes opened again. Her fearful look concerned him.

"Rainbow."

It took nothing more than that to get Phantom to flare his wings open. Before Luna could blink, Phantom disappeared, his airflow ripping the map off of the table and towards the window he exited through.

Moments ago

"Rainbow."

"Mmrphf..." the pegasus groaned, rolling onto the opposite side she was sleeping on. The bed had been to uncomfortable, so instead she moved up into the canopy of the bed for a more cloud-like experience.

"Rainbow."

"Hmm.. wha... what?" Rainbow's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she noticed was a pegasus hovering above her. "Ph-Phantom? Go away, can't you see I'm trying to sleep."

"I'm not Phantom."

"Wha?" Rainbow rubbed the sleep out of her eyes to get a better view of the owner of the deep voice. First she saw his green eyes. Then she recognized his voice. "Soarmph!" Before she could finish his name, she found herself with a mouth full of hoof.

"Sh! Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you! I want to explain."

Rainbow kicked up on his barrel with her hind legs, catapulting the Wonderbolt into the ceiling. Rainbow dashed up to him, ready to strike again. "You tried to kill me!" she yelled, hoping to wake somepony. "There's nothing to explain!"

"It wasn't my choice!" Soarin' rushed out of the way, narrowly missing Rainbow's punch.

"To Tartarus it wasn't!" Rainbow again charged at the stallion.

"Sky is blackmailing me!"

"Sure he is." There was a dull thud as Rainbow's hoof connected with the side of Soarin's muzzle, sending him into a bed post, shattering it into a thousand splinters.

"He said that if I didn't do what he wanted," Soarin' coughed, standing up, "that he would kill the other Wonderbolts! I didn't have a choice!"

"Why the hay should I believe you?"

"You need to trust me on this, Rainbow. I don't have much time, and I know it isn't much, but you've got to believe me. Sky is working with the Glaciens!"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm trying to get your trust back. I messed up. I know that. I'm trying to fix that but you've got to believe me! Sky is working with the Glaciens, he's trying to find Palmyra and he's using you guys to do it. He's in disguse."

"As who?"

"I don't know, he won't tell us. He's been having us stay at the Glacien camp in the Palmyra forest until we saw you guys there last night." Hoof steps sounded from the hall outside of Rainbow's door. "Trust me, Rainbow, please."

The door busted open. Rainbow looked over to see Stryker and Archer rush in. When she turned back to where Soarin' was by the window, he was gone, replaced by Phantom's figure rushing inside.

"Rainbow!" he yelled, flying to her side. "You okay? What happened?"

"Soarin'."

"He's gone now," Stryker said. "We didn't get here in time to catch him, sorry."

"No, don't be sorry," Phantom encouraged. "I shouldn't have left in the first place. You should all get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

Archer and Stryker nodded, leaving the room. Rainbow Dash flew over to a couch in the corner and curled up.

"Hey, Phantom?" she called as the pegasus made his way over to the window.

"Yeah?"

"You're not going anywhere, are you?"

"Never."

Author's Note

Longest. Chapter. To. Date......

Sorry for taking over a week, but like I said, this is the longest chapter yet. Plot wise I think a lot of stuff happened. And Soarin's back! Dun dun duuuunnnn! No, I didn't forget about him, or the main bad guys from Broken Feathers, or Scootaloo, so ya'll need to chill. You guys should also tell me what you think so far because I love getting feedback! :D
I noticed that my writing is becoming fairly Phantom based, so I'm going to try to orient that back over to Rainbow's side a bit more, too. But no promises!
As usual, hope you guys liked it and I'd love to hear back from you on it!
Up next: What do we know?

Behold, A Pale Horse!

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, her voice shaking. Nopony had an answer for her; they were all trapped in a stunned silence. This creature in front of them, this thing that had once been their friend, their enemy, had combined to form some demonic hybrid born from the depths of tartarus. It was bearing down on them, slowly, a chaotic grin covering its muzzle.

"You will bear witness to the end of your world; the loss of all you love. There is no hope; no chance of stopping me."

"Hey, that's not true!" Pinkie Pie protested. She rose to her hooves and shoved her way past Twilight and Applejack, walking towards the pale being. Pinkie stopped a leg's length away from it. "We're all friends, so we can stop you. Rainbow Dash can stop you, too!"

The creature snorted. "Fool! The mare you called Rainbow Dash is gone forever; I have consumed her. She is nothing but a collection of memories in my head, which will soon be erased, just like your existence!" It lifted its front leg, hitting Pinkie Pie with it. The mare flew backwards through the air, landing next to her friends who then rushed to her aid. When they looked back to the pale being in the center of the room, its eyes were glowing a bright sapphire blue.

"I shall leave you here so that you may contemplate your end. All the while, I will reap everything you once knew. I... I think I shall start with a place you refer to as Ponyville."

"If we're going to fight you," Twilight said, "what do we call you?"

"I am know by your race as Boreas."

"But... but Boreas was the dragon! We just sent him back to the Conduit! You can't be Boreas!"

"You are unwise as to the legends, pony. I, Boreas, am not a being like you; I am a spirit, a god. I consume and control all I wish. I do not need a physical body." The air around the creature began to swirl in a light blue hue colored vortex. It became so intense that it was impossible to see through. Boreas, as it referred to itself, flared its wings, pushing down on them. It shot up into the air at a high rate of speed, trailing behind it was a rainbow colored mist and the swirling vortex it had produced. There was a bang as Boreas broke through the ceiling of the rotunda, making its way into the castle throne room.

As the echoes from the breaking stone faded away, everypony hesitantly looked around at one another in silence. Pinkie Pie picked herself up, seemingly unscathed from Boreas' strike. Rarity and Fluttershy were there by her side, making sure that she was okay. Unlike Phantom or Rainbow Dash when they were touched by Boreas, Pinkie Pie didn't show any signs of affects from being hit by the creature.

Phantom struggled to pick himself up but his movements only caused him more pain in his sides. Although the ice had stopped spreading, at least they all hoped it did, it had already caused its damage. He let out a grunt, finally managing to put his icy forehooves underneath him. The noise was enough for Applejack and Twilight to notice him, quickly rushing to his side to assist if they could.

"Take it easy there," Applejack said.

There was a brief pause as Phantom sat up straight, collecting his breath and strength, "I'm fine. Everypony else okay?"

They all looked around at one another. Other than signs of dehydration and exhaustion, everypony appeared to be okay. The only one who had taken physical damage was Phantom, who now had a slightly labored breath. He was staring up at the god's rays the light made when shining through the newly created hole in the top of the rotunda. He looked over to Twilight.

"Where's Spike?" he asked.

Twilight's eyes grew big. She took in a big gulp of air and began looking around frantically.

"Spike!" she called out, her voice echoing throughout the icy cavern. "Spike! Spike, where are you?"

The sound of stone moving around sounded out into the rotunda from the side room the ponies had take cover in earlier. A small purple dragon covered in gray dust stumbled out of the room, holding his head.

"I'm here, Twi," Spike called out. The alicorn teleported over to him in an instant, bringing the dragon into a close embrace. "I'm okay." He looked around the room and noticed two things: Rainbow Dash was no where to be seen, and Phantom was clearly hurt. "What happened?"

Twilight used her magic to lift Spike up into the air and onto her back. She trotted back towards her friends, explaining to him along the way. "We fought Boreas and we thought we defeated him; he was sent back into the Conduit. Rainbow Dash went to go grab it and it... it... it transformed her."

"Transformed her? What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it, honestly. Boreas took control of her somehow."

The pair arrived back to their friends, all gathered around Phantom now. He was leaning up against Applejack for support and still obviously depleted of his own strength. Spike's eyes were fixated on the scars in Phantom's side.

"So what do we do now?" Spike asked. Everypony kind of looked around at one another hesitantly.

"Now?" Phantom said, clinching his teeth as another bolt of pain shot through his nerves. "Now we get Rainbow Dash back."

"But how do we do that?" Fluttershy spoke up quietly. Silence took over the group as everypony searched their minds for an ideas. One conclusion was for sure, one that none of them liked: They were going to have to fight Rainbow Dash. Nopony said anything about it directly, instead they just glanced at one another with worried looks.

Phantom, however, showed no real expression. He sat up against Applejack in quiet thought, staring down at the ground between all of the ponies. Something caught it eye, something a different color than the rest of the floor. The object was just in front of his hooves. He saw his own reflection in the ruby lightning bolt gem, even through the several large cuts and scratches on the surface of it. It seemed to call to him, plead to him. The Element of Loyalty had lost its luster, and Phantom resolved to get it back.

"We'll use this," he said, picking the Element up in his mouth and holding it in front of the mares. Twilight grabbed hold of it with her magic, holding it in the center of the group so everypony could see it better.

"How will it work, though?" Rarity brought up a valid point, one that Phantom didn't have the immediate answer to.

"We will figure out a way, but right now she's out there, trapped with that demon." His gaze drifted around the rotunda, briefly stopping on every frozen pony he saw, the ice dome, and more so on his frozen sister. Then he looked up to the newly created hole in the top of the rotunda. "And I'm going to save her, and stop Boreas before this happens to Equestria."

Letting out another grunt, Phantom stood and slowly limped his way towards the broken door of the rotunda that the Glaciens used to get in through. The mares didn't immediately follow him. They stayed in their circle a bit longer, watching as the wounded stallion moved away, shifting their eyes at one another.

"For Rainbow?" Fluttershy hesitantly asked, switching from a sitting position to a standing one.

Rarity nodded, "For Rainbow."

"We're going to throw her the best surprise party ever when we show up to save her!" Pinkie Pie bounced around the group in a circle.

"She'd do the same her anyone of us," Applejack said.

Twilight smiled. "Hey Phantom!" she called out. The pegasus stopped were he was in front of the broken door and looked at her. "We're coming with you!"

His expression didn't change. He simply said, "I know." Phantom limped his way over the debris and through the doorway. After a few seconds, he poked his head back through into the rotunda and looked at the mares, who hadn't yet moved. "Are you coming?"

The ponies hesitated for a minute before shaking their heads and running up towards him. The hallway on the other side of the room was iced over like the rest of the rotunda. Making it through the short hallway with no problems, the group came upon the first steps of the icy stairs. When Phantom's front hooves touched the first frozen step, they slipped out from under him. He would have completely fallen over had Twilight not used her magic to keep him up right.

"Thanks," he said, trying to step forward again but encountering the same result. "Whelp, this is going to be a problem." Before he could come up with a solution of his own to overcome the obstacle, Applejack slid herself underneath him and lifted him up so that he was sideways on her back. "I really don't think this is necessary. Twilight could just teleport us back up there."

"Of course it is!" Applejack said as she easily climbed the icy stairs, even with Phantom draped over her back. The other mares followed behind, with Fluttershy hovering over the steps and Pinkie Pie happily sliding around on the ice. "What're friends for?"

"Besides," Twilight said, "with the way everything's changed, I can't teleport us anywhere without seeing it first; things may have changed too much."

Phantom tilted his head to the side and quirked and eye brow. Friends?

"You think we're friends?" he asked.

"Well yeah?" Applejack replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Look at all of the things you've done for us, for Rainbow Dash. I'd say we're friends."

"But I yelled at her, and you guys yelled at me!"

Twilight trotted up next to the two ponies, lowering her head slightly so that it was level with Phantom's. "Look," she said, "Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville to study the magic of friendship. During that time, I learned something important: friends fight. And Applejack's right, you're a friend of ours."

A look of bewilderment dawned on Phantom's face. "Seriously?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie practically cried. "Why, is that surprising or something?"

"It's just... It's just... I've never really had any friends before."

"What about that Stryker fellow?" Rarity asked. "And Archer?"

"They're brothers to me, not friends." Everypony looked at him with quirked eye brows.

"There's a difference?" Twilight questioned, subconsciously fulfilling herself in her quest for knowledge on friendship.

"Archer, Stryker and I would go out partying with one another all the time. We'd hang out after work and do all that sort-of stuff, a lot like what I think friends do. Only difference is, we work together. In our line of work, the pony next to you isn't your friend, they're your brother, your sister. You girls probably know everything there is to know about each other; but as I found out not too long ago, I don't know as much as I thought about them."

"So you've never had any friends before?" Fluttershy hovered backwards in front of Twilight but still staying at Applejack's side. "Not even in school?"

Phantom shook his head. "I wasn't in school long enough to make friends. Long story."

The group of ponies arrived at the top of the stairs and exited from the stair case, entering the lobby of the castle behind the throne. The once grand throne room had become just as bland as the rotunda. The once glowing flames of the sapphire torches had turn to icy crystals, frozen in time. In the center of the room, the chandelier had fallen, hitting the floor and shattering in to several thousand pieces of ice. A faint, fog like haze hung in the air. It was just think enough that it was visible, but thin enough that the ponies could still see through it. Glowing white orbs floated in the haze. When one reached Rarity, she noticed that it was an intricate snow flake, moving about as if there was no gravity.

What hit the ponies most was the oppressive silence of everything. There were no sounds of life moving around or interacting with one another. Not even the wind gave proof of its existence.

"There's something very wrong about everything," Applejack said, lowering herself so that Phantom could stand on his own. Up on the surface, the ground was covered in a few inches of snow, so he was able to stay and not slip around. He nodded thanks to her when she slid out from under him and stood at his side, ready to catch him in the event he did fall over again.

"You think everything is like this?" Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her soft pink mane.

"Only one way to find out," Phantom said, limping towards the large, now frozen, silver doors.

He and the group of ponies carefully moved past the broken chandelier, traveling down the long hall. The doors in front of them were completely frozen shut. Phantom tried pounding on the joint running down the center with one of his own frozen hooves, but all his actions did was create a 'ting' sound that rand out through the otherwise silent castle. He tilted his head towards Twilight, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"I'll see what I can do," she said, understanding his silent question.

Phantom took a step back so that Twilight could have a more clear shot. Her horn lit up as a tendril of magic slowly floated towards the handles on the silver doors. They attached and their magical energy spread across the joints and towards the hinges. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Pushing to the point she was grunting, the alicorn did what she magically could to open the doors. They shook on their hinges while small bits of ice feel from them. A crack shot up the joint, creating a separation between the two doors. With one final push, Twilight managed to swing the doors towards her, allowing the pressure in the room to equal that of the outside realm.

What laid in said realm was completely different from what they had previously seen earlier that day. Palmyra, the oasis in the land of snow, a place of green grass and pink cherry blossoms had been turned to snow and ice. The ancient town was frozen in time and space. Much like the rotunda and the rest of the castle, everything, and everypony, was covered in ice. Small piles of broken ice laid strewn in random places in the streets, indicative of where frozen pegasi had fallen from the sky and shattered on the ground bellow. Ponies stood frozen in place, unable to move. There were several spots where Glaciens were stuck in combat positions as they did battle with Nightingales just moments before they were trapped. Even spells had not escaped Boreas' wrath. Several beams of magical energy hung still in the air, connected to the unicorn that had casted them.

Yet there were some areas that hadn't yet been affected by the demon. A couple areas in the forest were still aflame, and occasionally the group of Equestrians could catch sight of a few ponies running around, trying desperately for someplace to hide. One such pony, a unicorn wearing Nightingale armor, charged his way up the castle steps towards the Equestrians. Noticing them just in time to avoid hitting them, the pony came to a halt a few steps below them.

"Sir," Syntax saluted, "what's going on? Who is this creature attacking us? Where's Nyx?"

"That's Boreas," Phantom explained. Just as he did, there was a high pitched shriek like that of a banshee that echoed through the air. Over the side of town across from them, the ponies watched as the Boreas-Rainbow Dash hybrid swooped down from the clouds, emitting a powerful and icy breath that froze another group of ponies in their place. "And Nyx is frozen."

Syntax visibly took a step back. "I'm sorry to hear that..." He looked down in remembrance for a second before turning his attention back to Phantom. "What are your orders, sir?"

Phantom tilted his head slightly to the side. "Orders? What do you mean what are my orders, you're the second in command."

"No sir," Syntax shook his head. "The rule of Nightingale succession is relation, not position. I might have been second in command, but you were her brother; you're the leader of the Nightingales now. If no relation were to be found, then yes, I would be in command. " Phantom stood gaping at the distance for a few moments. The unicorn finally interrupted him. "Orders, sir?"

Phantom's jaw struggled for a moment to work. "Gather up everypony you can," he said in a firm voice, one that was used to ordering other ponies around, "head for that camp you took all of the civilians to. Keep them safe as long as possible."

"Aye sir!" Syntax gave the stallion a farewell salute and turned tail, trotting down the stairs at a brisk pace.

Suddenly there was another banshee-like shriek. A blast of ice came from the sky, striking the Nightingale. In an instant, he was a pony-shaped block of ice. His momentum continued to carrying him down the stars, flipping head over hoof and bouncing off of every third step. He stopped at the bottom with a terrific thump. The Equestrians looked up to see the Celestia-like form of Boreas circling the area over head, confirming its kill.

"Boreas!" Phantom shouted up to the creature with a strong of a voice he could muster in his weakened state. Said creature slowed to a hover, directing it's icy gaze on him with a maniacal smile. "Give us our friends back."

It descended to land at the base of the stairs, just behind Syntax's frozen form.

"Why don't you make me?" Boreas spoke with its hybrid voice. A voice that still sent chill down the backs of the ponies.

Phantom stiffened his stance and furrowed his brows in preparation for an attack. In the mean time, Applejack charged past him, leaping off of the top step. She quickly tackled Boreas, and the two rolled a few feet backwards towards town. Boreas managed to buck the farm pony off of her, sending her further towards town. When Boreas turned back to face the remaining ponies at the top of the steps she was greeted by a little blue cannon that had apparently appeared out of no where, behind it: a little pink party pony.

"You need to lighten up a little!" Pinkie shouted as she pulled the white nylon cord. A resounding bang echoed through the air. Confetti and balloons were fired at high velocity at Boreas, who had no way to anticipate what was coming. The confetti stuck to the snowy coat of the demon-pony hybrid, hardening together with glue and limiting its movement. As the balloons floated by, they built up a static charge, shocking Boreas. Pinkie stood by with a cheeky grin as all this happened.

Boreas stood in shock for a moment, trying to understand what had happened. When it came to, it looked at Pinkie Pie for a moment and let out a ear-piercing banshee-like cry. Pinkie was pushed backwards along the ice by the force of the yell. When she slid to a halt against the bottom step, her mane and fur were ruffled. She reached into her tail and pulled out a small container filled with white pill-shaped objects.

"Tic-Tac?" Pinkie asked genuinely, offering the container to the god who stood before her. Boreas growled in response. "Guess not, huh?"

Boreas leapt forward, opening its jaws and clamping down on where Pinkie's hoof would have been had she not vanished the instant before. The pink mare seemed to reappear out of no where on top of the creatures back. She bounced up and down, throwing off Boreas' balance. As the creature tried to buck Pinkie Pie off of her back, Fluttershy and Rarity, had run up to Boreas' side.

"Sorry, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy apologized as she and Rarity kicked Boreas in its side, throwing it further off balance to the point it fell on its side.

Phantom stood by during the fighting, mentally beating himself up. Why can't you fight!? his conscious screamed. He knew there would be no reply, so he was fairly surprised when he got one. Not from some super-natural power, or from Luna, but from his subconscious mind.

That's Rainbow Dash out there... it said.

We have to save her though. My standing here and doing nothing isn't helping!

What if she feels each it from her friends, and you? What if she can see everything that's going on? What will she think of you if she is freed?

Then she'll know that we did it for her... she'll be okay with it...

So why are you standing here? Go rescue your marefriend!

Rainbow Dash isn't my marefriend...

Well not while she's under the control by an insane god she's not! Go get her back!

Phantom galloped down the stairs, carefully, making sure that his icy forehooves didn't slip out from under him on the steps. At the same time, Pinkie Pie grabbed hold of both of Boreas' wings, keeping them as close to the creature as possible so that it wouldn't be able to take off. Twilight used her magic to bind Boreas' legs together. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy jumped on random points of the creature's body in an attempt to keep it weighted down. Phantom slid to a stop in front of Boreas, bending his neck so he could look straight into the black slits of its eyes.

"Rainbow!" he cried out. The creature's ears seemed to flinch at the force of his voice. "Are you in there? Rainbow!"

"You waste your breath, pony!"

Boreas' eyes lit up. A sphere of incredible power expanded from its head, blowing the Equestrians away from it. Applejack landed behind where Boreas was, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy landed in a pile atop one another in front of the door. Rarity crashed through the weakened roof of a nearby building. Twilight landed in the middle of a frozen garden next to the castle steps, while Phantom was launched back into the castle throne room. He tried desperately to suck the air back into his lungs as Boreas glided menacingly after him.

"According to this pony's mind... she has feelings for you... I think I'll destroy you slowly so she can watch!"

Phantom crawled on his back, barely regaining any breath. He bumped up against the broken chandelier as Boreas landed softly between him and the door. With no were to go, and an intense pain in his chest that would have kept him grounded even if he had a place to go, Phantom remained where he was and waited. Waited as Boreas took slow, soft steps towards him.

"It's a shame she holds you so dearly." Boreas whispered, seemingly in his ears even though the creature was still several feet away from his tail. "Since you two will never see each other again."

"Do her memories tell you how stubborn I can be?" he managed to cough out. Though something about that cough had seemed weird. He had coughed up blood plenty of times in his life before, usually more so in bar fights rather than anything directly related to guard activities, and this didn't feel like blood; it felt like glass. When he turned his head to cough out the substance in his throat, he saw that it looked like small shards of ice, mixed with blood from where it had cut him. "What's this?"

"Pieces of your lungs." The creature said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Soon your lungs will freeze, and you will gasp for air, only to have them shatter.

Boreas lifted up its left forehoof and placed it on the center of Phantom's chest. The fur that it touched instantly turned white, covered with a thin layer of ice. Phantom could feel the could from the touch all the way in the center of his chest. The coldness even traveled as far as his eyes, so much so that it was difficult to blink or look around. Everything below where Boreas had touched him had gone numb. Fearing the worst, Phantom assumed that his lower half was already frozen. Even more so since the lack of sensation was slowly spreading upwards.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Phantom wanted to stall the demon so that somepony would have a chance to intervene.

Boreas managed to hear him, even though his voice was barely audible. The only indication that breath was coming out at all was the visible vapor slowly drifting from his mouth.

"It is my nature. This world was supposed to be my frozen home... but then my brothers found life here, and I was ordered to stay only within the poles were nopony resided. As they lived on their own worlds of fire, water, earth, air, magic, I was stuck with barely anything, and the constant disturbance of ponies wondering about. Now I am claiming what is rightfully mine, and you ponies stand in my way!"

"You're... you're from another world?"

"Another dimension! By the will of Time and Space, they allowed me to come here... but They did not know about your race."

"So there's more like you?"

"Much, much more."

Phantom heard a small tink sound, like a piece of metal hitting stone. He looked to his right. Just in front of one of his mouth, was the severely beat up Element of Loyalty. It was no longer as dull as it had been a little bit before. Now, it was shining brightly, illuminating the ice around it and even melting it. Phantom grabbed hold of the gem in his mouth. Compared to everything else that was cold, the gem seemed to be on fire.

Practically screaming through the pain, Phantom sat up. He could feel, and hear, things inside him cracking, shattering and overall breaking apart. He managed to lean forward far enough that the tip of the lighting bolt of the Element of Loyalty touched the center jewel of Boreas' Conduit.

Everything seemed to stop.

A brilliant white flash filled the visions of everypony for miles upon miles around. Wind swept through the land, collapsing buildings and knocking down trees. Massive walls of snow were blown high into the sky, clearing the land of the what once covered it for thousands of years. The sound of an explosion silenced all other sounds.

Twilight managed to protect her and her friends with a shield just in time. Dropping it, she ran to where the castle once stood. In the center, Boreas laid on the ground, eyes shut. Directly across from the god, Phantom laid facing it, his eyes also shut. Some kind of stream of white magical energy flowed between the foreheads of the two. She looked around, everything had seemingly been vaporized. The rest of the Equestrians slowly stepped up to Twilight's side, looking at the two unconscious beings in front of them.

Author's Note

A relatively short chapter. And a short Author's note since I'm in a rush.

Hope you guys like where this is heading! I thoroughly enjoy your comments and speculation so keep those up!

Up next: Prism to the Soul.