The Stormgate Diaries

Chapters

Chapter One: The Stars Smiled Down.
Chapter Two: Then the Bell Tolled
Chapter Four: And a Lover Was Lost
But the Stars Will Shine Again
Chapter Six: When the Sister's Away.
Chapter Seven: The Brother Will Play
Chapter Eight: The Messenger Returns
Chapter 9: The Healing Begins
Chapter 10: But the Damage is Done
Chapter Three: A Battle Was Fought

Chapter One: The Stars Smiled Down.

The school bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. The fillies and colts burst through the front doors of the building in their excitement to go home, while the young mares and stallions of the higher grades followed slowly behind, chatting idly with their classmates. In the schools front yard, a young blue unicorn stallion stood with a slightly younger silver mare, also a unicorn.

"Shimmey, why are we hanging around here? We both know you don't have the guts to talk to her, so why aren't we going home?" The silver mare said to her brother, flicking her white hair out of her face.

"Because, Mirror, I think I can do it today." Shimmercoat replied, chafing at the nickname his sister always used.

Mirror sighed, settling in for another long wait. Shimmer was a handsome stallion, with his long navy mane and deep purple eyes, but he was far too shy to take advantage of his looks. He had had a crush on a mare in his class for several months now, but he could never work up the courage to talk to her. Well, at least she's a cute little thing. Mirror thought to herself, picturing the fire-themed pegasus that was the target of her brother's affections in her mind. What was her name? Fizzy? Fizzer? Ah, right. Fizzle Flare.

Mirror was brought out of her thoughts by her brother suddenly standing up straight, trying to see over the crowds of ponies. She sighed again. Why does he get so excited? He's not gonna do it. She loved her brother, but sometimes he just needed to pony up and jump in head first.

Shimmer finally spotted Fizzle among the throng of brightly colored ponies, and quickly turned to his sister. “Wish me luck, sis.” He said before turning back and pushing into the river of ponies. Luckily, he managed to make it to his destination without much incident, ending up right next to Fizzle.

She was talking to the Keys twins, Ebony and Ivory. The twins were quite an odd sight, they were both missing a front leg from the knee down, Ebony's left, and Ivory's right. They also played piano, Ebony taking the high end while Ivory took the low. Ivory noticed him right away, the butter colored mare smiling slightly. She had seen the poor colt trying to get Fizzle's attention several times before, but it was all in vain. His subtle methods were completely slipping past Fizzle's notice. After a moment, Ebony noticed Shimmer as well, the large black stallion suddenly looking stern. He had no real issue with Shimmercoat, but he was very protective of Fizzle, who he viewed as a younger sister even though they had only known each other a week. Shimmer stumbled a step at Ebony's look, but quickly caught his balance and pressed on. However, the stumble was enough to get Fizzle's attention, and she looked at him in surprise.

“Oh, hi Shimmercoat. I didn't see you there. What's up?” She asked, locking her deep blue eyes to his amethyst ones.

He stammered a bit, suddenly becoming very nervous. “I-I-I was w-w-wondering if y-you would be interested i-in joining me for dinner...” He trailed off, losing his nerve.

She leaned closer to him, flashing a friendly smile. “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. Wondering if I'd be interested in what?”

Shimmercoat froze, his heart hammering in his chest, and his mind went blank except for a single thought: She's right next to me...

Mirror watched him freeze and hung her head. So close, but yet so far. She thought to herself.

Fizzle stopped a step after he did, turning to face him completely. “Is something wrong, Shimmercoat?” She asked politely, wondering why he suddenly froze.

Suddenly he turned tail and ran several yards before his horn started glowing and he disappeared with a quiet pop.

Fizzle turned to the twins. “Do you know what that was about? I hope he's alright...” She said, a little bit of worry creeping into her tone.

Ebony chuckled a bit before Ivory bumped him with her flank. The butter colored mare looked at Fizzle with a smile. “Ah don't know, why don't y'all go after 'im and check? He's the blacksmith's boy, so just head on over to the forge an' see.” She said in the southern drawl that the twins shared.

“Alright. I will. See you guys later.” Fizzle said before spreading her wings and taking to the air, heading towards the forge that sat on the town's edge.

Mirror was close enough to hear the conversation between the three ponies, and as soon as Fizzle took flight she immediately turned and ran towards home, hoping to beat the pegasus there.

Shimmercoat appeared in the front yard of his home, upside down and extremely embarrassed. His mother, Starshine, looked out the kitchen window when she heard the small pop of Shimmercoat's teleportation spell. She finished drying the dishes as he righted himself and walked towards the door.

The gray pegasus mare smiled as he made his way into the house. “Hi, Shimmer, how was school?” She asked, looking back out the window and noticing the absence of her daughter. “And where is your younger sister?”

Shimmer walked over and sat next to his mom. “School was fine, mom. Mirror should be here shortly.” He said, anger evident in his voice.

Starshine looked at her son. “Is something wrong, Shimmey?” She asked, motherly concern creeping into her words.

He sighed. “Well, there's this mare, right? I've had a crush on her for awhile now, but every time I try to talk to her, I freeze up, and every time I try to get her to notice me, it's like I don't even exist.”

Starshine smiled. “A mare, huh? What does she look like?”

Shimmercoat immediately smiled. “Well, she's a pegasus, she's yellow with some orange on her flank, she's got a really nice dark red mane, and she has the deepest blue eyes I've ever seen...” He rattled off quickly, a dreamy look on his face.

His mother giggled. She recognized that look. Her son had it bad for this pegasus. “So, why don't you just go up and talk to her? You've never had this problem with a filly before.”

Shimmer quickly shook his head. “Something is different this time. I can't help myself around her. I just get nervous and my heart starts pounding and I can't think straight and-”

“I think I get the point, son.” His mother cut him off from his rambling. “You really like this mare. What are you planning on doing about it?”

He stopped. “I don't know.” He said slowly, shaking his head. “Right now, though, I think I'm gonna go take a walk.”

His mother smiled at him. “Alright. Just be back before dark.”

No sooner had he walked out the back door of the house than his sister ran in the front.

“Where's Shimmey?” She asked, breathing hard.

Starshine looked at her daughter and raised an eyebrow. “He just left. Why, is there something wrong?”

Mirror laughed. “Not for us, but Shimmer's crush is on her way here. The way he ran from her earlier made her worry about him and now she's coming to check on him.”

Starshine chuckled. “Well, he just went out for a walk. He's got it bad for this filly.”

Mirror nodded. “Yeah he does. She's all he talks about on his way to and from scho-”

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Starshine walked over and pulled the door open, revealing Fizzle.

“Excuse me, ma'am, does Shimmercoat live here?” Fizzle asked, hoping she was in the right place.

Starshine stepped back from the door, motioning for Fizzle to follow. “Come on in. Yes he does live here. Are you a friend from school?”

Fizzle followed her into the house and sat down in the living room. “Well, we have a couple of classes together, but we haven't talked all that much.”

The gray pegasus chuckled. “With how much he goes on about you, I'd think you two shared all your classes.”

Fizzle's eyes widened. “The w-way he goes on about m-me?” She stuttered out, surprised. “B-but we hardly ever say anything to each other.”

Mirror spoke up. “That doesn't matter to him, he's got it bad for you. If you'd like, I can take you to where he usually goes when he needs to think. Should be interesting to see his reaction to you just showing up.”

Fizzle thought it over for a second, then nodded. “A-alright.”

Starshine looked at her daughter. “Be back before dark, and make sure your brother is as well.”

The silver mare chuckled as she lead Fizzle out the back door. “Okay, mom. Will do.”

Mirror led Fizzle down a path just behind the house that lead into the light forest bordering the town. As they walked, Fizzle asked her questions.

“Could you tell me more about Shimmercoat? I know we share classes, but we don't really talk all that much...” She asked.

Mirror chuckled. “He's a nice pony, and he usually has no problem talking to fillies. Something about you gets him all embarrassed and nervous. It's adorable, but really odd. He sometimes helps dad out in the forge, and he makes these cool little shield bubbles.”

Fizzle cocked her head. “B-but I'm nothing special. Of all the mares at school, why would he be so nervous around me?”

The silver mare shook her head, stepping over a fallen tree. “I dunno. I mean, you're cute, but like you said, you've hardly ever spoken to him.”

The fire-themed pegasus stopped and looked at Mirror, blushing. “C-cute? Y-you think I'm c-c-cute?”

Mirror looked back at her, grinning. “Yeah, you're pretty cute. You have really cool eyes, and it's adorable how much you stutter.”

Fizzle shook her head. “I never thought you were into mares, Mirror.”

The silver mare leaned forward and kissed her. Fizzle fell back on her rump, surprised. Mirror leaned back, licking her lips. “Are you kidding? I'm into both, hun. Best of both worlds, and all that. Come on, we're almost to my brother's little hiding spot.” She said before pushing her way through some undergrowth.

The surprised pegasus shook her head and followed. After a few minutes of pushing through undergrowth and getting lightly snagged on branches, they pushed into a clearing. Mirror smiled as she heard Fizzle gasp at the sight that lay before them.

They were standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking an ancient impact crater. A massive waterfall fed into the bowl-shaped impression, splashing into the lake that now sat there. The water drained out into a river that flowed right past the town into the ocean. The surrounding area was alive with vibrant colors, from the green of the grass and trees to the bright colors of the flowers in bloom. Birds flitted between the trees and the undergrowth, chirping their songs. The gentle thunder of the waterfall added a constant background noise. Fizzle inhaled deeply through her nose. The area smelled of an untold number of plants and flowers mixed with the gentle smell of the fresh water. It was a forgotten paradise, untouched by ponykind. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the whole place was the color surrounding the waterfall. Instead of the typical rainbow, the entirety of the glow was a deep amethyst. Fizzle stood in awe for several minutes, before Mirror nudged her.

“I know, it's incredible, isn't it.” She asked, smiling.

“How did I never see this? I've lived here my whole life and never noticed that this place existed.” Fizzle asked, still sounding stunned.

“Well, I'd imagine it would be pretty hard to see from the air, and there is no real reason to build on the lake when the ocean is just a couple miles downriver.” Mirror replied, walking down a path that led to the waters edge. “Come on, Shimmer should be right down here somewhere.”

Fizzle followed the silvery mare down the path until they arrived at the shores of the lake. Mirror looked around a bit before turning to the yellow pegasus. “He should be around here, hold on.”

She took a deep breath and bellowed. “SHIMMER! SOMEONE IS HERE TO SEE YOU!”

Birds took flight to get away from the sudden sound, and after the echo had died out, only the sound of the waterfall remained.

There was a quiet pop and a small flash of light as Shimmercoat teleported near them. As usual, his spell had him turned upside-down, and he landed on his back with a thud. He rolled onto his hooves and started talking before he looked at his sister.

“Mirror, how many times have I told you to not go around yelling in this place. You know I come here to sit and think, and I can't do that if you-” He suddenly noticed Fizzle standing next to Mirror, and his rant immediately cut off. “O-oh. H-h-hi, Fizzle. W-what are you d-doing here?” He asked, starting to stutter again.

“Well, after you ran off earlier I came to your house to see if you were alright, and...” Fizzle trailed off as she thought of why he had run off.

“And I brought her here to see you. We both know you like her, and she knows you like her, and it's getting embarrassing the way you keep acting. So just pony up and ask her out, already.” Mirror said, trying to finally get him to just break down and stop running away.

Fizzle and Shimmer both blushed and looked down. Shimmer swallowed heavily and looked up at the blushing pegasus.

“Miss Flare, would you like to see something incredible with me?” He asked, his voice suddenly confident.

Mirror grinned as Fizzle blushed. It's about time Shimmer did this. I think I'll leave them alone for awhile. She thought to herself as she silently slipped off into the forest.

“Shimmercoat, I would be honored to join you.” Fizzle replied, locking her deep blue eyes onto his amethyst ones.

Glancing around, Shimmer noticed that his sister had disappeared. He shrugged and motioned for Fizzle to follow him. He led her into the shallow water, then looked at her.

“Just follow me, and stay close. I won't let anything hurt you.” He said, smiling at her. His gaze was confident, and she nodded, stepping closer to him.

Shimmercoat's horn started glowing, and a shimmering bubble appeared around the two. He began walking into the lake and she followed closely, making sure to stay inside the bubble. As they walked deeper, Fizzle noticed that the water was lapping against his shield but wasn't getting through. Fizzle followed him and watched as the bubble became completely submerged. Under the water, they could hear the gentle thunder of the waterfall. The fire-themed pegasus looked around in wonder. Just outside the bubble she could see the bottom of the lake, and she gaped at what she saw. Fish swam around them, lightly tapping the shield. She giggled at how silly they looked, bumping the shield and then milling about for a moment before doing it again. She looked around at the underwater plants, waving slowly in the current. Through the bubble she could smell the clear water, and the temperature inside the shield was dropping slightly. Something glinted at the edge of her sight, and she walked towards it. Shimmer saw her turn and walk, and he quickly changed his course to make sure she stayed inside the bubble. He mentally checked his magic, the water's constant pressure pressing against his shield, and the fish gently tapping the bubble. The real drain on him was the air recycling spell he had going, making sure the air in the bubble stayed fresh and breathable. He didn't care about the stress it was putting on his magic, though. He was happy seeing her enjoying herself.

As they approached the glinting area, the surrounding water started to get brighter as if they were heading back up to the surface, but they were walking along the flat lake bed. Shimmer smiled, he had explored this whole area before, and he was pretty sure she was going to like what she saw. When they got close enough, they could see that the glow was coming from and underwater cave sunk into the cliff face. She entered it first, and Shimmer followed her, smiling. They quickly found themselves walking up a slight incline, and soon they were no longer underwater. Shimmer dropped his magic and looked to see her reaction. Fizzle was staring at the cavern in awe. The cave was completely covered in gemstones. Amethysts, rubies, emeralds, and every other kind imaginable were growing together in a beautiful mix of vibrant colors. In the back of the cave, there was a small crystal formation that shone with a bright white light. The light was refracting throughout the gem formations, casting multicolored spots of light on the ground. Fizzle slowly walked forward, looking back and forth at the walls and the reflections of color that danced over her body. Shimmercoat sat at the cave entrance, looking at her, stunned. He thought she was beautiful already, but seeing her walking amongst nature's treasures floored him. He watched her spread her wings, giggling at the motes of color moving across them. To him, she was a fiery angel, walking amongst mother nature's tribute to her beauty. Fizzle turned to see Shimmercoat staring at her in wonder, and she blushed.

“What are you staring at?” She asked him, snapping him out of his stupor.

“Only the most beautiful creature that has ever blessed Equestria with her presence.” He replied, his tone ringing with sincerity and love.

Fizzle blushed harder, looking down. “I-I-I am not...” She said quietly, embarrassed by his words. She heard him move, and looked up just in time for him to press his lips against hers. She stiffened, surprised, before melting into his touch, wings flaring. They stood for several minutes, just enjoying the moment. Finally, Shimmercoat broke the kiss, leaned back, and looked deep into her eyes.

“You are. And don't let anyone tell you differently.” He said, his tone brooking no argument.

She nodded, blushing, and looked around at the cavern again. “How did you find this place? This is... Incredible.”

The azure unicorn walked over to the glowing crystal. “Same way you did. I was walking along the bottom of the lake and I noticed this light. I don't know what kind of crystal this is, and the books at school don't have anything on a clear stone that glows white. I think I'll call it a flare diamond.” He said, looking back at her.

She looked down at her hooves, embarrassed. “I-I guess that's a nice name...” She said, trailing off. She glanced up at him. “These gemstones are rather large, and they're perfect. Why haven't they been mined out?”

Shimmer laughed. “As far as I know, we are the only ones that know about these. And I'm not liable to tell anyone, either. Somepony else will discover them eventually, and then they'll get dug out, but until then I'll just keep it a secret. I've been picking up the crystals that fall to the ground, and either selling them off or using them in my father's armor. He doesn't know where I get them from, but they're high quality, so he doesn't complain.” He pointed a hoof at the glowing patch. “This one hasn't dropped any crystals, so I've thought about gently knocking off a bit so that I can take it home and study it. Problem is, I dunno if damaging it in any way will affect it's light. You probably can't tell, but this whole cave hums with magic. With my luck, damaging that crystal would make this whole place explode, or collapse, or something like that.” He said, walking back over to her and sitting down.

“Really? He's never asked you where these high quality gems?” She asked.

“Nope. As long as I keep bringing them in, he doesn't ask. What's he gonna do to make me spill it? Tail me under the lake without the benefit of my shield? Until somepony drills in here from the cliff, these gems are almost completely inaccessible. Besides, if I had told him about this place, I wouldn't have gotten to see you like this. Standing amongst nature's bounty, you are as flawless as these gemstones.” He said with a grin, causing her to blush again.

“Well, Shimmercoat, where did your sudden confidence come from? A couple of hours ago you couldn't even say a full sentence to me, and now you are speaking to me like you've thought about this a lot.” She replied, looking him in the eyes. Such pretty purple eyes he has... She thought absentmindedly.

He blushed and looked down, scratching the ground with a hoof. After a moment he stood and looked back up at her, fire in his eyes. “That is because I have thought about this a lot. And then, just when I was about to give up hope, you come to my most sacred place to see if I'm okay. In this hidden sanctuary, I am the only one that can see everything to be seen. I realized that the only chance I had to have you as my own was to show you the entirety of my world.” He waved a hoof around him, gesturing to the cavern around them. “This is, without a doubt, the very definition of a home field advantage. If after all this, you aren't even remotely interested in me, then I have no chance.” He sat back down. She blinked, surprised by his sudden honesty. She knew he was trying to impress her, she was impressed, but she never thought he'd just sit and admit it to her.

“What would you do if I rejected you? Leave me here until I begged you to take me back?” She asked, eyes glinting with mischief. Normally, a pegasus such as herself would be a little nervous inside of the cave due to the lack of sky, but she felt completely safe around Shimmer.

Shimmercoat flinched backwards as if she had slapped him. “No! Never! Never would I harm you. If you rejected me, I would take you back to the town and we would continue with our lives.” He shook himself, as if the idea of harming her had physically harmed him.

She darted forward to kiss him. “Relax, I was only joking. You aren't the kind of pony to do something like that.” She shivered. In all the discussion, she hadn't realized that the temperature in the cave was dropping, and she suddenly realized that she could see their breath in the air.

He noticed her shiver, and motioned towards the cave entrance. “Come on, it must be night already. We should get out of here before we freeze.”

They made their way back out to the shores of the lake, and Luna's night was in spectacular form. Stars twinkled against the blackness of the infinite sky, while the moon held dominance over the heavens, glowing brightly enough to see by. Shimmer, instead of leading her back towards the town, motioned for her to follow him and led her up a steep path towards the top of the waterfall. When they reached the top, Shimmer sat on a patch of grass and looked up at Fizzle.

“Care to join me, miss Flare?” He asked her, patting the grass next to him.

“I think I will, mister Shimmercoat.” The fiery pegasus replied, moving over and sitting beside him.

Shimmercoat grinned. "Mister Shimmercoat, eh? Sounds so... Proper. Call me Shimmer or Shimmercoat. Mister is too... Formal.” He said, looking up at the heavens.

Fizzle also turned her head to the night sky. "Well, if I am to just call you Shimmer, then you should just call me Fizzle or Fizz. No 'miss' stuff."

He smiled as he looked over to her. “Old habits die hard. Mom always told me to address a mare by 'miss.' She said it made me sound more like a gentlecolt.” He said, smiling fondly at her.

Fizzle caught his gaze for a split second, and blushed. “I can tell you must be quite the mare's stallion, Shimmer.”

The blue stallion blushed. “I don't know about that. I just try to be a nice pony.”

She nudged him. “Your sister told me that you had no trouble talking to other fillies, everything points to you being a very charming pony.”

He shook his head. “Well, I try to be nice, but far too often fillies think I'm just trying to sleep with them. Mainly because I speak to mares like I'm from Canterlot and I guess I'm not bad looking. In any case, I quickly get the 'you're a great guy, but...' And that's as far as it goes.” He looked down as he finished speaking, sorrow tinging his voice.

She nudged him again. “Well, that's their loss, and I'm better off for it. Now I get you all to myself, huh?” She said, smiling.

He blushed and looked away. “I-if you w-want me all t-to yourself...”

She giggled at his blush and looked back up into the sky. “So, how did you get your cutie mark?” She asked, changing the subject.

His blush and stutter left as quickly as they came, and he laughed as the memory came flooding back to him. "Well, when I was younger, I was taught by an old unicorn who blew bubbles. One of my dad's old friends. I had a small problem though; my bubbles just wobbled and broke. It wasn't until he told me to picture myself in a bubble that I finally got it. Well, sorta got it. I can't blow bubbles like he did, my bubbles are small shield spells. Cool, until I concussed myself on one."

She giggled. “How do you concuss yourself on a shield?”

He smiled broadly, a light flush on his cheeks betraying his embarrassment. “Well, I made one that floated a few hooves above the ground, and when I saw it stay, instead of popping, I was overjoyed. I was jumping around, and yelling, and laughing, and I jumped right into the darn thing. When I woke up, I had my cutie mark, and I've been practicing my shield ever since.”

She laughed. “Do you know why the waterfall glows purple?” She asked, looking off of the cliff.

He shrugged. “Nope. Pretty amazing, though, isn't it?”

She nodded and they sat quietly for a moment. Fizzle broke the silence with another question. “Tell me more about your sister? She seems like a nice filly.”

Shimmer smiled warmly. “Yeah, she is. Mirror Shines. Her talent is shapeshifting. It's really cool, but she likes to cause me trouble by doing things while looking like me. The trick of it is, when she copies somepony, the cutie mark is backwards, like your reflection in a mirror. Kinda poetic, and most ponies don't notice it, but I've lived with her long enough to realize how to tell her from somepony else.” He laughed. “She's a flirt, though. Hits on anypony that she feels like. Most of the time she does it to just mess with ponies, but sometimes she gets in a little too deep. Heck, once she even hit on me, looking like somepony else. She almost got me to kiss her before I noticed the filly she was mimicking standing ten hooves away. I about had a heart attack.”

Fizzle looked sideways at him. “You don't think that her behavior was odd?”

“She was just trying to mess with me. She didn't mean anything by it.” He replied, confident that his sister wouldn't actually be trying to kiss him.

The yellow pegasus shook her head. “If you say so.” She smiled mischievously. “I think she may have actually been trying to steal a kiss. I can see why, you're a cute stallion.” She giggled as he blushed. “Especially when you blush.”

Shimmercoat felt like his face was going to catch fire. “And you, are quite beautiful when you smile.” He chuckled as her face grew red. “And when you blush.” He added.

Shimmer looked back up into the night sky, smiling. “Luna's night is spectacular tonight. I wonder what inspired her to make one such as this.” He said, thinking aloud.

“Lovers. I bet she was inspired by lovers. When they would gallop together in the night the stars would guide them along the path of their love. The moon a beacon that hides them from the cruelty of the day and the sun." She looked up at the dark blue air, the white stars and creamy moon.

Shimmercoat smiled over at her. “That was beautiful, Fizzy. You're probably right, though. The night has always been a refuge for lovers, and lonely souls looking for that which matters most.”

She scooted over right up next to him, their bodies lightly touching. “Which matters most? What do you mean?”

He smiled at her. “My dear, what matters most, the thing worth more than life itself. Love. Money gets you nowhere, power the same. In the end, love is the most powerful, most precious thing this world can offer.”

"Hm... Love. Quite the proclamation there, Shimmer. And 'dear'? When did we get to pet names?" Fizzle wondered idly before looking him in the eyes. "Sometimes love is worthless, too. You have to make something out of love for it to matter. It gets passed around too easily. The truest forms of it don't exist anymore, the kind where a pony would give their life for their love's. That doesn't happen anymore. Love now is the word for simple affections."

He blushed, lowering his gaze to the ground in front of him. “I may have gotten a little carried away with the 'my dear' thing.” He brought his gaze back up to hers. “Love is painful, sometimes, but is never worthless. Wasted, perhaps, but never worthless. Where did you pick up such a cynical view of the world? The truest form of love lies dormant, but can never truly die. You may not be looking in the right places.”

“Where did I get such a cynical view? The world gave it to me.” She laughed, the sound completely devoid of mirth. “The right places? Where am I supposed to look, Shimmer? Life isn't a fairy tale, where a couple meets under the stars and falls in love. Life doesn't work like that. My life especially, doesn't work like that.” She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes and looked at him evenly.

In a flash, he darted forward and stole another kiss. “Is it not interesting, that you say that under the stars? Life could work like that, but it takes two, and I've always been but one.”

A blush spread across her cheeks like wildfire, her eyes going wide. “H-huh. I didn't even realize that there were stars here...” She looked back up into the heavens. “We're always one, we have to find our other half. The goddesses gave us two ears, two eyes, but only one heart. We have to find our other heart.” She leaned up to the taller pony and kissed him, her eyes sliding shut. Shimmercoat's mind blanked at the intensity of this kiss, his eyes closing as well. They sat like that for several moments, before she broke the kiss, leaning back. She looked up at the stars and smiled. “A sky for lovers, huh?” She said quietly, wondering aloud.

Shimmer sat stunned for several moments before shaking his head. He looked back into the sky and spoke quietly. “A sky for anypony that wants it, but few, if any, can appreciate it like lovers do.”

She looked back over at the blue pony and tilted her head to the side slightly, puzzled. “Why do you think lovers understand the sky more than other ponies?”

He smiled, still looking at the stars. He took a deep breath and spoke. "Lovers understand the night sky better because they are what it is made for. The moon to provide light enough to see by, but not enough to overpower. The stars to guide lovers to each other. Astronomers look at it with too much science, and lonely souls can't grasp the full meaning. The darkness of night was made to be frightening to those alone, so that ponies would take comfort with each other, and welcoming to lovers, for they have nothing to fear from the night as long as they have each other to guide them through the black."

She looked up at the sky, the light of the moon reflecting off her deep blue eyes."But what of the lovers that part ways in the night? Such as you and I, I will be returning to my house and you to yours. The breadcrumbs can only help so much, as with the light of the moon and stars. And what of meeting? How can the lovers guide them selves to each other to meet? The dark can hide them from the day and yet still hide them from each other. And still, lovers take the path that could make themselves lost just to find their love basking in the moonlight."

Shimmer looked deep into her eyes. "Parting is such sweet sorrow, but if love is true, then lovers will always reunite. That reunion is one of the greater joys in life. In the end, love will find a way. Through any obstacle that this world can put between them, love shines. Lovers guide themselves to each other through the connection they make, the feelings for each other. The darkness cannot truly hide them.” He smiled , looking back up at the moon. "And the path least traveled leads to the greatest rewards."

“Great rewards? What rewards do you speak of, Shimmer?” She asked, still looking at him.

He grinned and looked back down at the yellow mare. “Only the greatest of rewards. Love.

Fizzle looked up at the blue pony with glittering eyes. She scooted herself closer to him so that her body was pressing against his. "This is kinda crazy..."

Shimmercoat looked down at her with warmth in his eyes. “It is kinda crazy. Then again, who ever said that love is sane?”

Fizzle saw the trust in his eyes and smiled with a light blush, looking down. That was a look of love, and it heated her like the sun did. A gentle warming sensation, along with tingling and a twisted stomach. "I think sane love would be boring. It has to be insane to really be alive." She paused as a thought hit her. “What path were you talking about earlier? The one least traveled?” She asked, puzzled.

“The path least traveled, yes. Who would walk to get lost? Lonely souls, letting an invisible line draw them to their other half.” He nuzzled her. “And that, is why so many ponies are unhappy. They try to control everything in their lives, and it backfires. The best things in life come from the insane, the chaotic.”

Fizzle sighed happily and leaned into his touch. “Too much chaos is bad, though.” She said.

He glanced at her with love in his eyes. “True, but too little is just as bad, if not worse.”

Fizzle met eye contact and blushed a little. He was an attractive pony; long blue mane, light blue coat and purple eyes. Shimmercoat was an attractive pony, indeed "So you need the perfect balance. Chaos and tranquility."

As soon as she met eye contact with him again, he stared deeply into her blue pools, losing himself in them. Her coat and mane were pretty, but her eyes... He blinked, then spoke again."Balance. Neutrality. Yin and Yang. Yes. One cannot exist without the other. For example, I am the color of water, and you are the color of fire. Funny how the world works, is it not?”

Fizzle looked down at his observation. She hadn't thought about that. her yellow coat met with his blue, her red mane with his navy. But his eyes were so close to hers. Sapphire to amethyst. “Huh, I hadn't noticed that until you pointed it out.”

Shimmer smiled and nuzzled her again. “Just little things I've noticed. Opposites attract, but similarities bind. Our coats may be opposites, fire and water, but our eyes are quite similar. And, your eyes are quite breathtaking.”

She giggled and looked down, blushing again. “You know what they say, eyes are the windows to the soul.” She said before looking back up and meeting his gaze.

He smiled down at her again, that same, warm smile. “Then what a beautiful soul you must have.”

She blushed heavily. “You are quite the charmer, aren't you, Shimmer?”

A blush to match hers grew on his cheeks. “Not usually, but something is different tonight.”

Fizzle laughed at his blush. “What could possibly be different about tonight? The moon and stars are out, just like always.”

He chuckled.”Tonight is different, because never before have I had somepony like you to share the night with.” He lifted his gaze back up to the heavens. “Tonight is different, because I think I finally understand the night.” He nuzzled her again. “A night made for lovers, indeed.”

She lightly swatted his flank with her tail, smiling. “I think I know how you feel.”

He grinned at the touch of her tail. They sat, enjoying each others company for several minutes, before Shimmer pointed up at the moon, which was making it's way towards the horizon. “It appears that it's getting quite late, and it's starting to get really cold out here. Would you like to accompany me back to my house? I don't want this night to end. Not just yet, anyway.” His face turned red as he realized what he just said. “I mean, uh... Not like that, I mean we could talk, or uhh... Something. I dunno.”

Fizzle bumped her flank into his, a smile making it's way onto her face along with a slight blush. “Sure. I would like that.”

Shimmercoat stood, and bowed to her. “If you would follow me, miss Flare, I will lead you back through the forest back to my house.”

Fizzle stood and shook the dirt off of her belly, and walked a little ahead of Shimmer, her hips swaying slightly. "And we're back to the 'miss' thing again. You're persistent." She looked back over her shoulder, her gaze smoldering. "I'd love to join you at your house, mister Shimmercoat."

He grinned ear to ear. “Right this way then, miss Flare.”

X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Shimmercoat and Fizzle Flare walked into the back door of the house. Shimmer looked around for his parents and found a note telling him that they were out, mom stargazing and dad at the pub. He turned to the fiery pegasus and grinned. “Looks like we've got the whole place to ourselves. Want something to drink?” He asked, slowly walking towards the kitchen.

“Water, please.” Fizzle replied politely. She looked around, taking in the rather sparsely decorated house. “Why are there no decorations in here? It's almost like nopony lives here.” She asked him, still observing her surroundings. She heard a fridge opening and shutting, then Shimmer reappeared. He handed her a bottle of water before answering her.

“Well, this is the living room, we don't usually do much in here. Dad's usually at the forge, and mom's usually stargazing. You should see my room, it's packed with stuff.” He said lightly, looking around the room.

“Okay, show me, then.” She said, smiling at him.

“Uhhh... O-okay. I-if you want...” He said, his face flushing with embarrassment. He hadn't actually expected her to want to see his room when he said that. He motioned for her to follow him and walked towards the staircase. She giggled at his embarrassment as she followed him up to the second floor of the house. They walked up to a simple wooden door, and Shimmer opened it with his magic. The room beyond was exactly as he said. Not messy, but just packed full of stuff. The only pathways through the items stacked on the floor led to a desk across the room and to the bed right next to the door. She could see the edge of a mirror partially obscured by the open door. Shimmer turned around and looked at her. “See what I mean? Full of stuff. We've been meaning to build another section onto the place, but we just haven't gotten around to it yet.” He said, gesturing to the room.

“Wow, you weren't kidding. Why do you keep all this stuff?” She asked him.

“Well, I'm a packrat. I like to keep everything I pick up and such.” He replied, looking embarrassed.

Fizzle laughed. “There's nothing wrong with that.” She looked him in the eye and grinned. “Have I mentioned that you are really cute when you are embarrassed?”

He blushed. “You might have mentioned it before.” He said, not breaking eye contact. He leaned forward and kissed her, deeply and passionately. She melted into his touch, her wings snapping out to their full width. After a moment, Shimmer leaned back and grinned. “Seems like you have a small problem, there.” He said, nodding towards her wings. She blushed a bright pink at the unintended display. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, “I could help you with that. If you wanted.” He looked down nervously as he spoke, one hoof motioning towards the bed.

Fizzle looked at him, surprised at his sudden request. “Uhh... I-if you want...” She replied, her voice trailing off. While a 'wingboner' was a common occurrence with pegasi, she had never had anyone offer to 'help' her with it before, she smiled nervously as she stepped over and laid on his bed. Shimmercoat swallowed heavily before climbing on the bed behind her. He tentatively leaned up and put his front hooves on her back, right between her wings. He pressed his hooves out away from each other, each pressing into her wing joints. She gasped, the touch sending shocking waves of pleasure up her spine. He immediately backed off, looking worried.

“I didn't hurt you, did I?” He asked quickly, concern in his voice. He quickly continued before she could reply. “I'm sorry, I just thought if I gave you a back rub your wings would go down and-” He was cut off by her smacking him lightly on the cheek with a wingtip. She looked over her shoulder, her gaze smoldering.

“Relax, you didn't hurt me. Quite the opposite, in fact. That felt amazing.” She said, trying to get him to stop panicking. Lowering her voice seductively, she continued. “Keep going?” The question came out a little more needy than she intended.

He had never given a pegasus a wing rub before, so he hesitated for a moment before leaning forward again. He gently pressed his hooves to her back, and slowly started to slide them towards her neck. She let out a slow breath as his hooves moved up her spine. As soon as Shimmer's hooves reached her neck, he reversed directions, now heading down towards her flank. As his hooves moved towards the base of her wings, he was struck by an idea. Instead of continuing down her body, he gently ran his hooves over and started rubbing her wing joint before moving his hooves across the feathered appendage. Fizzle gasped again and shoved one of her fore-hooves into her mouth to stop herself from moaning. Shimmer noticed this and grinned, becoming bolder in his ministrations. He moved off of the wing and then slid over to the other. She had to bite down on her hoof to stop herself from making noise. She felt her body reacting to his actions. If anything, he was making the 'problem' worse, not better. Not that she was complaining. She stifled another moan as he worked back down her wing and finally continued down her flank. As he reached her cutie mark, he caught a breath of something... Interesting. After a moment of confusion, he realized that the sweet smell permeating the air was coming from the mare he was currently massaging. Shimmer's face turned red as he realized the implications of what he was doing, and he paused in his ministrations for a moment before continuing. As he worked out the knots of muscle in her flank, his body began reacting to the smell that was starting to cloud his mind. His now slightly addled brain started throwing thoughts and ideas around. One of them stuck, and he leaned down and gently nipped her left wing joint with his teeth. Despite her best efforts, Fizzle couldn't stop a moan from slipping out around her hoof at his nibble. After the massage and now the nip, Fizzle felt herself rapidly approaching her peak, and she gasped as his hooves kept caressing her body. He froze for a moment at her moaning, but kept massaging her flank as he leaned down and nipped at her other wing joint. Fizzle couldn't help but moan again at the feeling of his teeth on her wing. He smiled as he leaned down and licked a line from just above her cutie mark to her neck, where he topped it off with a nip to one of her ears. The fiery pegasus let out a breathless cry as she came, her body drenching the sheets beneath her. Shimmer leaned back and looked down, grinning broadly at the results of his work. Fizzle rolled over, legs splayed lewdly, treating the azure unicorn to a show that he never imagined that he would ever see.

“Please.” Was the only word she could muster, glancing down at his member now standing at its full length before looking up at him, her gaze full of desire. Shimmercoat met her gaze for a moment, before looking down at her soaked marehood. He leaned down and tentatively licked along her slit, causing her to moan at the explosion of pleasure that rippled through her body. Smiling again, he continued lapping at her need, eliciting more noises. His tongue ran across her clit, and she gasped. He grinned at her before flicking his tongue across the sensitive nub of flesh. After a moment, he slipped down and started lapping at her tunnel, pressing his tongue as deeply into her as he could. Her juices covered his face as he delved ever deeper, drinking up as much of her nectar as he could wring from her quivering body. Shimmercoat's senses were completely overwhelmed by her, filling his mouth, his nose, his ears. To him, it was sweet music, the master musician summoning the most wonderful sound out of the most inspiring instrument.

Fizzle felt herself speeding towards her peak again, and she reached down and grabbed his head, interrupting his tongue's rapid strokes and his brain's rapid thoughts. She dragged his face up to hers and trapped him in a passionate kiss, tasting herself on his lips. She was surprised as he shoved his tongue past her teeth, overpowering her own organ's attempt at defense. She gasped at the feeling of domination, and pressed herself up against him. The yellow pegasus felt the tip of his stallionhood pressing against her body, and she broke the kiss, looking down at his modest length. Shimmer followed her gaze and looked away, blushing. Fizzle grinned mischievously, and quickly snapped her back legs around his body, pulling him all the way into her in one quick thrust. Both ponies moaned in unison, neither moving as they rode out the pleasure. At this point, Shimmer's instincts took over. He barely waited for a nod from her before he picked her up, pressed her against the wall, and started slamming himself into her body as hard as he could. Fizzle moaned as he pounded into her, unable to do anything but hold on as the blue stallion pinning her to the wall ravaged her body with wild abandon. She threw her head back and cried out as she came again, her release spilling over his cock and down his legs, adding to the mess already on the sheets. He groaned in her ear as her inner walls clenched and gripped at him. Shimmer felt his release mounting, but fought it as he thrusted into her spasming body. She panted in his ear as she rode him, tongue hanging out of her mouth as he fucked her roughly. His mouth met hers again and they shared another sloppy kiss, tongues wrestling for dominance. Hers won this round, and she shoved her tongue past his to explore his mouth. He groaned around the invading appendage and redoubled his efforts, pressing his hooves against the wall behind her to stabilize himself. She leaned back to look him in the eyes, grinning wickedly before pushing off the wall, causing them to fall over and land with her on top. He lay on his back, looking up at her as she started slamming herself down onto him, moaning and gasping all the while. Shimmer felt his orgasm rapidly approaching, but continued to resist it, wanting her to cum one more time before he finally let go. Fizzle angled herself so that his shaft struck her most sensitive spot on each thrust, and pressed her front hooves to his chest as she bucked her hips wildly. Her tunnel felt amazing, and Shimmercoat was fighting a losing battle trying to stop his release. He groaned through clenched teeth as he rapidly approached the point of no return, trying to draw out the moment as long as he could. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, and he reached up and grabbed her hips, pulling himself as deeply as he could as he reached his peak. She felt his member twitch once, twice, and then she felt his thick cum spray into her body. The feeling of his seed spilling into her sent her over the edge for the third time, and she arched her spine and let out a breathless cry as a mix of her juices and his cum flooded over his groin.

Fizzle collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily, and he wrapped her in a hug. Neither of them spoke, both content to just bask in their shared afterglow, perfectly happy laying in a panting, sweaty heap. After they had both caught their breath, he leaned down and nuzzled her, whispering in her ear.

“I love you.”

She looked up at him, eyes full of warmth, and whispered back. “I love you too.”

He gently squeezed her as he leaned in and kissed her. She sighed happily and laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, quick and strong. Her movement caused their still-connected bodies to slide against each other. Shimmer groaned in her ear as the slightest friction caused him to start to harden again, his shaft still trapped inside her. She gasped as she felt him stiffen, slowly filling up her dripping tunnel once more. She looked back up at him, eyes wide and full of surprise. She didn't think he would be able to go again so soon after the furious pounding he delivered to her. The fiery pegasus wasn't sure how much more of that kind of treatment she could take before passing out. As if reading her mind, he leaned down and softly kissed her again before slowly moving his hips. She sighed as he gently rocked himself into her, enjoying the simple act of making love, in contrast to the raunchy sex they had enjoyed earlier. He rolled over to place himself on top of her before he leaned down and nipped at her neck in several places. She sighed contentedly, relishing the attention he was lavishing upon her. Shimmer smiled at her sigh as he continued gently biting her, running his tongue over each spot that his teeth grazed. She started slowly rocking her hips in time with his thrusts, pushing him into her as far as she could. He trailed his nibbles up her neck to her mouth, where he kissed her passionately before he nipped at her bottom lip. She gasped and wrapped one leg around his head, trapping him against her lips. She pressed her tongue against his teeth, and he opened his mouth to give her access. There was no fervent wrestling this time, just gentle pushes and slides, the two young lovers just exploring each other in every way they could think of. Fizzle felt her body reacting strongly to Shimmer's ministrations, and she pulled his head off to one side so she could moan directly into his ear. The blue unicorn responded by licking along her ear, then trailing a series of light bites up the yellow appendage. Fizzle couldn't figure out which she liked better, the primal lust or the passionate lovemaking. In either case, she felt herself on the edge of her fourth orgasm of the night. Shimmer groaned into her ear, his own release mounting again. He wasn't fighting it this time, he just kept rocking into her body, her tunnel slick with her own juices and his seed. He leaned around her to nip at a wing, gently tugging at the sensitive appendage. She wrapped her back legs around his hips again and pulled him into her as the tug on her wing sent her over her peak, gripping him tightly as she came again, her cum flowing down her thighs. Shimmer once again fell prey to her body's talented muscles, and he pressed himself into her as deeply as he could, his member twitching as he painted her inner walls with his essence for the second time. She moaned at the sudden spray of warmth into her most sacred of places, and his cock twitched again in response, shooting another ribbon of seed into her body. He could feel his jizz leaking out of her around his stallionhood, and he pulled completely out of her, a flood of his cum following his retreating member. As she felt the flood of warmth flow out of her, she looked down at her ravaged slit, and her eyes widened in surprise at the sheer volume of his seed leaking from her. He noticed her look, and gazed down at his handiwork. The sight before him was possibly the hottest thing he'd ever seen, his white cum blending with her clear nectar, leaking out of her well used marehood and running down her yellow thighs to his bed. At the sight of it all, his cock immediately sprang back up to full attention. Fizzle noticed this and looked at him incredulously.

“Wow. Don't you ever get tired?” She asked him.

Shimmer blushed at her question, and shrugged. “I uh... Don't know. I-I've n-never done this before, s-so I have no idea.”

She blushed at his response. “I-I'm your f-first?” She asked. To her, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing, she had automatically assumed that he had done this before.

He nodded. “Y-yeah. You are.” His blush intensified, and he looked away. “W-what about y-you?” He stammered out.

She reached over and pulled his face back towards her, and she looked him in the eye. “Yes, and it was amazing.”

He grinned, her words bolstering his confidence enough that he stopped stuttering. “Good. I'd hate to leave you unsatisfied. It wouldn't be very gentlecoltly of me if I did.”

She looked pointedly down at his groin. “What about me? A lady should never leave her colt in such a state.”

Shimmercoat looked away at her words. “Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.” He heard her move, and he felt a warm wetness caressing his stallionhood. He gasped and looked down. He saw that Fizzle had taken his member into her mouth, and was slowly bobbing her head up and down on his shaft, and he could feel her tongue lapping at his tip. He groaned and leaned back to give her better access to his sensitive flesh. She smiled around him as she continued to run her tongue across his stiffness, cleaning him of their combined juices. She licked him with vigor, enjoying their mixed tastes. He groaned again, her enthusiasm pushing him towards a third orgasm faster than he thought it would. She pushed herself as far down on him as she could without choking, bathing his length with her tongue. She remembered hearing about a trick when giving oral to a stallion, and she pressed herself down on him a little farther before humming. The vibrations from her humming buzzed along his erection, and he moaned loudly, pressing his front hooves to the back of her head. She was happy he enjoyed it, but found it hard to breath around his full girth. As he drew nearer to his release, he started lightly bucking his hips, gently fucking her mouth. Fizzle kept humming, excited about the prospect of getting to taste him from the source. She started bobbing her head in time with his little thrusts, swirling her tongue around his tip.

He realized that he should warn her of his impending orgasm, so he leaned down a little bit and spoke, voice shaking. “F-Fizz, I-I don't know how m-much longer I-I'm gonna be able to h-hold o-o-out.” She hummed a little harder in response, looking up at him while bobbing her head. She felt him twitch in her maw as she looked him in the eye. With her increased humming and enthusiasm, he felt his climax approaching at alarming speed. His thrusting pace increased as he sped towards the point of no return, and she hummed harder in response. He grabbed her head and pushed himself into her mouth as far as he could. She felt his cock jump against her tongue before she her first taste of his sweet cum. She tried to swallow it as it came, but after a few spurts she couldn't keep up. It leaked out of her mouth and dripped down her chin. She leaned back and closed her eyes as his member continued to spray his essence on her head and neck. Spent, he flopped back on his pillows, panting, and looked up at her cum streaked face.

“That. Was. Amazing.” He managed to say in between breaths. She reached up and scraped off as much of the sticky stuff as she could, before licking it off her hoof. She repeated this a few more times before she was satisfied that she was as clean as she was going to get under the circumstances. Fizzle looked down at him, noticing that his stallionhood was finally shrinking and staying that way.

“There we go. Nice and satisfied like you should be, right?” She asked him, smiling.

He nodded. “Very much so.” He sat up and grabbed her in a hug before falling back to his pillows, pulling her with him. She squeaked in surprise as he pulled her into his tight embrace, nuzzling at her neck. “You didn't have to do that, you know.” He said, speaking quietly into a yellow ear.

She giggled. “I know. I wanted to, though. It was fun getting to have you entirely at my mercy.”

He flushed and nipped at the ear he was whispering into. “Well, I suppose turnabout it fair play, seeing as you were completely helpless when I was touching your wings.”

She gasped at the nip and smiled. “I suppose I was.” She murmured as she closed her eyes.

They lay like that for a few minutes before her breathing deepened, and Shimmer realized that she had fallen asleep. He decided that she had a good idea, closed his eyes, and was soon slipping into slumber, curled up with the mare he loved.

Chapter Two: Then the Bell Tolled

Mirror Shine walked through Stormgate, enjoying the gentle sunshine that warmed her coat and the breeze that carried with it the scent of the sea. Shimmer was off in his sanctuary with Fizzle, so Mirror had decided to walk through town and see what she could find to amuse herself with. As she walked past the fountain in the center of town, she paused, noticing a moving cart next to a previously vacated home. As she watched, a pair of almost monochromatic earth ponies came out of the house, walking oddly due to the fact that they were each missing a part of one of their forelegs. Mirror quickly recognized that it was Ebony and Ivory Keys, the piano playing twins that had recently joined the school. Mirror hadn't realized that they weren't settled in yet, and wandered towards them to see if she could help.

Ebony looked up as Mirror approached, and nudged his sister, who was pulling bags off of the wagon. She turned and smiled at the gray mare, setting the bag in her mouth down so she could talk.

“Howdy, sugarcube. What can we do for ya?” The butter colored mare drawled.

Mirror smiled at her adorable drawl, and motioned towards the cart with a hoof. “Well, I've been strolling about, and I noticed that you guys aren't moved in yet. I was wondering if you wanted some help.”

Ivory grinned, looking at her brother. The black stallion shrugged, grabbed the bag that Ivory had set down earlier, and took it into the house.

“We'd be happy for yer help, sugarcube. I'm Ivory, the big guy is my brother, Ebony. He don't talk much, but he's a nice fella.” She said, sitting down and extending a hoof.

Mirror shook it and smiled, “I'm Mirror. I live in the forge on the edge of town.”

Ivory raised an eyebrow, “D'you know a blue colt? Purple eyes, long mane. Fairly good lookin' guy?”

Mirror laughed, “Yeah, that's my brother, Shimmercoat. Why?”

“Just wonderin'. He's quite taken with our friend Fizzle, and he lives in the forge, so I figured you two must be related.” Ivory replied, smiling.

“That's the understatement of the year,” Mirror said, smiling, “He's been talking about her constantly for the last few months. Up til today, though, he's never had the courage to talk to her.”

Ivory frowned, “Til today? Hun, he ran off and disappeared when he tried to talk to her today.”

Mirror giggled, “Yeah, but then she came out to our house, and I led her out to his little private garden. When I left, he seemed to have found his confidence just fine.”

“Well, I hope he doesn't mess it up. Fizzle's been awful lonely since we've known her.” Ivory said, smiling.

Ebony reappeared from inside the house and walked up to Mirror. He looked her in the eyes and raised an eyebrow, “Miss, I want you t' be honest with me. In th' short time we've known Fizz, I've come to see her as another sister. I just wanna know, is yer brother a good pony?” He asked in a flat voice

Mirror was silent for a moment, looking up at the large black stallion.

“Yeah. He's a pain sometimes, but he's a good pony. He's also hopelessly in love with her. The last thing he'll do is hurt her.” She said at last, meeting Ebony's eyes.

Ebony nodded, relaxing. “Good. I don't mean t' be like that, but somebody has to.”

“I understand. She seems like such a nice girl, and I'm really glad Shimmer was finally able to talk to her.” Mirror said, smiling.

Ivory cleared her throat to get everypony's attention, smiling. “Well, now that we're done with that, ah think ah could use a break. How about y'all?”

“I haven't even helped you guys yet.” Mirror said, laughing.

Ivory shrugged. “Well, you cin help us after we rest fer a spell.”

Ebony turned and walked back into the house, chuckling.

“Hey, what's so funny?” Mirror said at the black stallion's retreating back. Looking him over as he walked away, she couldn't help but notice how good the muscular stallion looked. Not overly muscled, but obviously used to doing hard work. Ebony glanced over his shoulder at her, chuckled again, and kept on walking. Ivory nudged Mirror with her side when she walked past, and followed her brother into the house.

Mirror followed Ebony and Ivory into their home. She looked around at the sparsely decorated interior, and followed Ivory into the living room, while Ebony walked towards the kitchen, his gait surprisingly steady despite his mostly missing leg.

"Y’all want anythin', sugar cube?" He asked in the southern drawl he and his sister shared as he vanished around a corner. Mirror sat down and looked towards where the big stallion had disappeared.

"Water would be great, thanks." She called after him absently, looking around the room. The twins were still moving in, but there was still very little in the way of decoration. There was a couch facing the fireplace, and a couple of pictures on the mantlepiece. Save for those few things, there was nothing but blank walls and empty floorspace.

"So, do you guys have any plans on what else to put in here?” The gray mare asked finally, returning her gaze to Ivory, who was looking around the room as well.

"A piano." The twins spoke at the same time and both broke into laughter, Ebony's deep chuckling coming from the kitchen. He then reappeared with a medium sized bottle of water, handing it to Mirror with a smile. She accepted the water and took a drink, looking between the two of them again.

"With a name like Keys, I suppose that makes sense. I take it that you both play?" She asked, smiling.

"Together, as a matter of fact. He plays the high end, I play the low end." said the butter colored mare. Meanwhile, Ebony couldn't help but stare at Mirror as she drank from the bottle. Something about the little gray mare fascinated him, and he couldn't tear his gaze from her.

Mirror noticed him staring at her, and glanced at the coal stallion, smiling, "Is there something I can do for you, hun? Pose for some pictures, perhaps?" Ivory glanced over at the pair and noticed the smug look on Mirror's face. She sighed, shook her head, and moved over to sit on the couch.

Ebony shook his head and laughed. He looked down at her and smiled, “What a silly little mare you are, Mirror Shines.”

Mirror laughed. "And just how am I a silly mare?" She asked with a grin, looking up to meet the eyes of the large stallion.

"You are so very sure of yourself, sugarcube." Ebony said, leaning down towards her with a matching grin of his own.

"Well, so are you," She giggled, "Sugarcube."

Ivory turned her head and smiled at Mirror. "It ain't the same without the drawl, darlin'." Ebony looked over at his sister, still grinning. Mirror giggled at the siblings.

"You're right, the drawl makes it better." She smiled, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Darlin', huh? I don't think I've ever had anypony call me that before."

Ebony smiled at the giggling mare. "Country's a nice place to grow up in. Gives you a nice drawl and a pretty good physique."

“That may be true fer you, but muscular mares ain't very attractive." Ivory said, glancing at her flank.

Mirror looked the two ponies over, grinning.

"I think you both look fantastic. Besides, hun, you aren't big and bulky, you've got a really nice figure."

The siblings laughed simultaneously again.

"That's what happens when you work on a farm plowin'." Ebony said, smiling.

"And chasin' after small animals." Ivory added.

"Plowing? Plowing who, I wonder." Mirror said, glancing between the two, smiling mischievously.

The twins traded a quick glance and started laughing loudly.
"Ain't no time to plow nopony, sugar cube. Lots of time taken up by lessons and work." Ebony said quickly.

Ivory looked over at her brother, "Ah don't think you've ever had a marefriend, have you?" She asked him.

"Nope." He replied almost instantly, shaking his head to emphasize the point.

Mirror looked between the two of them again, and cocked an eyebrow at their odd behavior. Wait, she thought to herself, have they...? She shook her head to clear it and looked up at Ebony.

"What? A handsome stallion like yourself, never had a marefriend?" She asked, surprised.

Ebony moved over and nudged Ivory with the end of his left leg.
"She thinks Ah'm a handsome pony."

Mirror looked over at Ivory.
"I guess that means that you haven't had any companionship either, huh?" She asked, smiling.

Ivory laughed and smiled at Mirror., "Nope, jus' me an' Ebony."

Mirror glanced at his leg when he poked Ivory, immediately snapping her gaze back to their faces.

"So, what brings you to Stormgate?" She asked them quickly, hoping that they didn't notice her glance. She didn't know what happened, but she knew it was rude to stare and she didn't want to offend her new friends.

Ivory got up and stretched, then turned to reply to Mirror.

"We came for a change a' scenery, and to perform in local cafes and such. Start makin' a name for ourselves." She said.

Ebony had noticed Mirror's glance at his leg and smiled.

"You can ask wha' happened, if ya'll wanna." He said gently.

Mirror flushed, embarrassed, "Sorry, I wasn't sure if it was a sore subject or not. What happened?"

"Don't worry, darlin'. Complications in ma's pregnancy, we grew sorta weird, my leg attached to his leg in ma's womb. When we were birthed, she had problems and when we came out... Whoo, what a surprise." Ivory chuckled at the silver mare's embarrassment.

Ebony broke in at this point; "We were still tiny foals when they decided it would be best t' remove us, but the lower half of our leg had the same bone, so the doc took it all off at the knee. We've pretty much been like this forever.”

Ebony bumped his sister with his flank, she replied by jabbing him in the ribs with a hoof,
"Learned to play piano early on, found it to be our talents."

"I would love to hear you play when you get a piano in here. Also, if you need any help with moving stuff in, me and my bro would be more than happy to help you." Mirror said, grinning at the twins' antics

"The only thing we're gettin' from home is the piano. Ma' and pa' said we should take it with us, but all else we have is some clothin' and knick-knackers." Ebony said, walking over to the couch, flopped down on it's surface, and closed his eyes with a happy sigh.

Ivory looked at her relaxed brother and giggled, shaking her head.

"Mirror, how do y'all think we should decorate our place, here?” She asked, returning her gaze to the gray mare.

Mirror looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head, "I have no idea. Bro isn't gonna be much help, his stuff is just kinda scattered about his room. How do you want to decorate it?”

"Oh, darlin'. I have no idea, I'm more of a colt than a mare." Ivory said, grinning at her brother.

"It's the truth." Ebony whispered, leaning towards Mirror conspiratorially. She giggled at him
"You look more like a mare to me," The sliver mare said, grinning, "Maybe a demonstration is in order."

Ivory smiled and turned towards Mirror. The slow, limping canter she made to across the room wasn't exactly attractive, but the spark in her eyes shined with a certain lust. Her hips swayed from side to side as she drawled, "Ah look like a mare to you? Demonstration? I think I can do that..."

Ivory bent her head to meet lips with Mirror, sliding her eyes closed. She forced the little mare's mouth open and gently pushed her tongue past the barrier of her teeth. Ebony whistled while watching, a smirk on his face.

Mirror pushed back against Ivory, attempting to repel the invading appendage with her own. She felt her body begin react to the pale mare's advances, her breath and pulse quickening. Ivory smiled as Mirror pushed back with her own tongue, a sweet tangle of the muscles. She pushed the little mare on her back, using the strength she got from working on a farm. Mirror let herself get pushed over, and after laying on her back for a moment, she rolled the two of them over, putting her on top. She started gently grinding her marehood against Ivory's, gasping at the shocks of pleasure shooting up her spine. Ivory gasped in her ear, bucking her hips back against Mirror's.

Ebony sighed and looked at the two ponies twisting together, a lusty glint in his eyes. He stood and went behind the small mare, his nose rubbing against her neck, occasionally nipping and then licking spots on the silver pony's throat. Mirror gasped and looked over her shoulder at Ebony. She looked him up and down, grinning.

"Hello there, handsome. Glad you could make it." She said. She then leaned back down and started nipping at Ivory's neck and ears.

He grinned as he stepped back and leaned down. Mirror heard him moving around and idly wondered what he was doing, until she felt his tongue on her nether regions. She moaned loudly into Ivory's ear. A moment later, she was surprised to hear Ivory moan loudly. She looked down in between their bodies, and saw Ebony going back and forth between the two of them. Watching him plunge his tongue into his own sister turned Mirror on more than anything else they had done so far. As he switched back to her, she felt her release building. Ebony used his tongue to probe as deep into Mirror as he could get, lapping up her sweetness. The smell of the two mares was driving him crazy, and he wanted nothing more than to sink himself into one of them and rut them into unconsciousness. But, he was a gentlecolt at heart, and was going to make sure that they both were satisfied before seeing to his own needs. Judging by the sounds the two were making, he was doing his job rather well. Both mares were engaged in a sloppy kiss, tongues dancing. Mirror broke the kiss and started nipping along the butter colored mare's throat. Ivory moaned, reached down with her good hoof and dragged Mirror's lips back up to meet hers again. The silver mare smiled into the kiss, and started grinding her hips against Ivory's as hard as she could. Ivory moaned again, then gently started nipping on a silver ear. Mirror gasped as Ebony flicked his tongue over her clit, and cried out.

Ebony smiled as his face and his sister's groin were covered in Mirror's release, then he quickly went back to his task of getting Ivory off. He lapped at her clit, tasting the mare's mixed juices. The butter colored mare's moans intensified as she approached her peak. Ivory wrapped her back legs around Ebony's head, and pulled him as far into her as she could as she came, showering her brother with her sweet nectar.

Ebony licked the juices off his face as he stood back up. Mirror looked over her shoulder, panting.

"That was... Amazing." She said between breaths. "What are you planning for an encore?"
He silenced her with a sloppy kiss, sharing both mares taste with her. Mirror gasped and kissed him back fiercely. The coal colored stallion broke the kiss, stepped up behind her, and prodded her entrance with his stallionhood.

"What'd ya'll think ahm gonna do?" He drawled. She gasped and flicked her tail out of his way.

"What are you waiting for, then?" She asked, pushing back against him gently.

Mirror moaned loudly as Ebony pushed himself into her. She looked down at Ivory to see her grinning. "Your brother is-ah!- is massive!" She gasped out, feeling him finally hilt himself in her body.
Ebony smiled at her outburst before he started slowly thrusting into her hot, wet tunnel.

Ivory slipped herself out from underneath Mirror, placing her marehood in front of Mirror's face. "Tongue or horn. You choose, but choose quickly." She demanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. Mirror gasped again from the sensations shooting up her spine, and tilted her head down, pointing her horn at Ivory's entrance. Ivory reached down and guided it in with her good hoof. She moaned loudly as Mirror started gently pushing it in with each thrust from Ebony. The coal colored stallion watched as Mirror's horn completely disappeared into his sister, then ramped up the pace, pulling himself almost completely out of Mirror before slamming back in. The impacts pushed Mirror's horn into Ivory with each thrust, and both mares were groaning and gasping. Mirror was moaning with the sensations from her horn. Ivory's tunnel felt amazing, and Mirror felt some of her magic sparking along her horn. Ivory gasped as every spark shot bolts of pleasure through her body. Mirror's vision started going black in spots as her mind was completely overwhelmed by the pleasure coursing through her body.

Mirror finally couldn't take it anymore, and she yelled out as she came again, her body coating Ebony's cock with her cum. Her magic exploded into Ivory, triggering her release as well. Mirror felt Ivory's juices running through her mane and down her face as her spasming body tried to milk Ebony for all he was worth. He groaned as he felt his release quickly approaching, and he sped up his thrusts as much as he could without losing his balance. After a moment more of pounding into her, he slammed himself in to the hilt. Mirror felt his cock twitch before she felt his warmth spill into her, filling up her body before spilling back out of her tunnel and running down her legs, mingling with her own juices.

The three ponies separated themselves and laid in a heap, panting.

"Princesses above, that was incredible." Mirror said. Ebony looked over at her.

"Y’all ready for round two?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ivory looked at him.

"Uh-uh. Yer gettin' me next, big boy." She said, standing and turning her rump towards him.

Mirror looked between the two.

"Wait, really?" She asked, surprised.

The butter colored mare looked over at her while Ebony got up and moved behind his sister.

"Yeah, really. Hearin' you moanin' and groanin' like that made me a lil jealous."

Mirror watched as Ivory flicked her tail to the side, and Ebony pressed himself against her body.

"Y’all ready, sis?" He asked. In response she jerked backwards, almost knocking both of them off their hooves, slamming his cock deep within her body. Mirror felt herself start to moisten at the scene playing itself out before her. She went over and laid on her back in front of Ivory, splaying her legs to reveal her well used cunt. Mirror took a breath to give Ivory a command, but before she could speak, Ivory buried her face into Mirror's marehood. Mirror let out the breath she had taken as an explosive gasp as Ivory started to lap up her brothers seed that was still dripping out of Mirror's body. Just then, Ebony caught his balance and started pounding his sister's cunt, the force of his thrusting shoving Ivory's nose even deeper into Mirror. Ivory pressed her tongue into the writhing mare as deeply as possible, scooping out as much cum as she possibly could. Mirror bucked her hips into Ivory's face, and wrapped her back legs around the mare and her talented tongue. Mirror felt herself rising to the peak for the third time that night, gasping and moaning towards the ceiling. Ebony was nipping and licking at Ivory's neck and ears as he proceeded to stuff himself into his sister's tight wetness. Ivory moaned into Mirror's body as she was stuffed from behind by her brother. Ebony felt his sister's walls tighten around him as she came again, showering both of their lower bodies in her cum. He continued pounding into her, fighting back his own release. It was a losing battle, and he felt himself quickly reaching the point of no return. Mirror cried out again as she finally reached her peak, showering Ivory's face in her cum. Ebony heard Mirror cry out, and he couldn't hold back and longer. He slammed himself into his sister one more time and groaned as he started to deliver his seed into his sister's willing body. She felt his warmth spray into her body, and she moaned loudly, pushing herself as far onto his shaft as she could. After he stopped, he pulled himself out of her and sat down heavily, watching as Ivory walked over the panting Mirror and lined up their bodies so that each mare was looking at the others dripping marehood. Ivory then lowered herself down and continued lapping at Mirror's body, while the silver mare returned the favor. Mirror enjoyed the taste of the incestuous twins mixed juices while Ebony just sat back and watched, content for the moment.

After a moment of licking, gasping and moaning, Mirror rolled the pair of them over. She took one last lick of Ivory's slit, and quickly stood up and turned around. She leaned down and kissed Ivory, tongues dancing, giving her some of her brother's cum that Mirror had licked out of her tunnel. Ebony was sitting back on his haunches, leaning against the wall, his shaft quickly coming back to attention as he watched the mares swap his seed back and forth. Mirror broke the kiss and leaned up to whisper into Ivory's ear.

"Hey, we should double-team your brother."

Ivory grinned and nipped at Mirror's neck.

"Sounds like fun, darlin'"

Ebony watched as the mares whispered to each other, then they turned and started walking towards him. He moved to stand back up, but Mirror pushed him back over as Ivory ran her tongue up the underside of his stallionhood. Mirror slid back down and joined Ivory in cleaning his cock of both their juices. They started off in sync with each other, but they switched to alternating their licks, one going up while the other went down. Ebony groaned at the feeling of their silky tongues caressing his member. Both mares smiled at his groan, and sped up their ministrations. He liked to think that he had a good amount of stamina when it came to sex, but the both of them working on him was bringing him to his peak faster than he expected. He groaned again as the mares started frenching each other around his shaft, their tongues dancing back and forth across his flesh.

"Girls, Ah'm gettin' pretty close." He said in a shaky voice. The mares responded by redoubling their efforts, licking and sucking along his erection. The girls felt him tense up a moment before strings of thick pony cum erupted from his tip, landing all along the mares faces and necks. They kept licking at him until he finally stopped showering them in seed. Mirror licked his tip clean while Ivory got to work licking up all the cum that had landed on the silver mare. As both mares got to cleaning each other, Ebony leaned back and relaxed for a moment. After the mares had cleaned each other, they leaned back down to Ebony's member and licked it a few more times. Ebony flinched at the contact with his now oversensitive stallionhood, and waved his front leg to get them to stop. Ivory got the message and pulled Mirror into another cum-swapping kiss while her brother recovered. The mares broke apart a moment later, and Mirror leaned over to look at Ebony. He groaned as he sat up. "Ah'm awful sorry, girls, but Ah think Ah've had enough fer now."

“Aww...” Mirror said, climbing off of him, and looked over at Ivory. “Hey, you up for getting stuffed again?” She asked the light mare.

“Yeah, but m' brother's all tired out. Who do you suppose we find to stuff us?” Asked Ivory, raising an eyebrow at the silver mare. Mirror looked down for a moment and blushed.

“M-me, t-technically...” She said, trailing off.

“You? Hun, I was just down there, and y'all don't have the right stuff to be stuffing anypony.” Ivory said, confused. Mirror blushed even harder before speaking.

“I never t-told you what m-my special talent was, d-did I?” The silver mare replied.

“No, but what in tarnation does that have t' do with anythin'?” Ivory replied.

“W-well... I-I can shapeshift. Turn myself into another pony.” Mirror said, looking anywhere but at either of the twins.

“You can? Darlin', that's pretty amazin'. Do it.” Ivory said. After a moment, she added, “Please?”

Mirror looked up at her, cheeks aflame, and nodded. She closed her eyes, and her horn started to glow. Her trim form started to blur and darken, becoming larger. Her mane's length and color changed to that of the large stallion sitting near her. There was a flash of light, and where Mirror was standing, now stood Ebony. The real Ebony leaned back and whistled in amazement while his sister just sat, frozen in surprise. Mirror, as Ebony, stood and tried to walk over to Ivory, but stumbled and almost fell.

“How do you guys do it?” She asked, looking at the stub of a leg that had caused her balance to fail. “This is weird.”

Ivory shook her head and laughed, “You just gotta get used to it, sugarcube. We grew up with it, so it don't bother us anymore, but Ah imagine that you've got t' work on it a bit.” She stood up and walked all around Mirror, looking her new form up and down. “Y'all did a pretty good job, you've got 'im almost perfect. Yer cutie mark is backwards, though...” She noted.

“Yeah, that's one thing I can't fix. I don't know why the cutie mark is always backwards, but it is. It's the only way that ponies can tell from a distance that I'm not who I look like.” Mirror said, speaking in Ebony's deep voice.

“And yer not talking right. You've gotta do his drawl.” Ivory said before leaning down and looking in between Mirror's legs. “You got something right down here, let me tell ya.” She said. Then she leaned down and gave Mirror's new member a lick. Mirror gasped as her new equipment reacted to the light mare's attentions, and quickly brought itself to its full length.

Ivory walked in front of Mirror and raised her rump into the air. “Y'all wanna test that thing out, darlin'?” She drawled, flicking her tail out of the way. Mirror grinned and stepped up, placing her tip against the buttery mare's entrance. With a quick thrust, she buried her newfound length into Ivory's dripping tunnel. Ivory cried out as Mirror hilted herself, and looked over her shoulder. “You did a good job, sugarcube. Feels just about right.” The stuffed pony said, fighting to keep her voice even in spite of the arcs of pleasure coursing throughout her body as Mirror gently started thrusting into her.

“Goddesses above, you feel amazing. My horn was one thing, but I think I like being a colt.” Mirror said, groaning into the now-smaller mare's ear.

Ebony chuckled. “Yeah, bein' me's pretty fun. Ah'm big, strong, missin' half of my leg, and I get to buck mah sweet little sister whenever I choose.”

Ivory drew a breath to reply to Ebony's remark, but Mirror shifted her stance a little, causing her shaft to hit a particularly sensitive area, and Ivory gasped in pleasure. “Oh, like that one, did you?” Mirror asked, leaning down to nip at a butter colored ear. Ivory tried once more to say something, just to have her breath turn into a moan. She could feel her juices dripping down her legs, gathering into little streams that pooled on the floor beneath her. Mirror grinned at Ivory's moan, and started quickening her pace as much as she could without losing her balance.

Ebony watched himself buck his sister, and shook his head. He looked down and noticed that his member stood at full attention once more, chuckling. “Y'all ready t' hit th' trenches again, soldier?” He muttered to himself before rising to his hooves. He walked over to the pair of rutting ponies, and, without a word, stuffed his erection into his sisters mouth. She moaned around his length and started flicking her tongue across the sensitive underside of his tip. In response, he started jerking his hips in short thrusts, fucking his sisters hot, wet mouth. Mirror grinned up at him as they rocked the little mare back and forth with their thrusting, and leaned forward to kiss him. As their lips met, Ebony's mind blanked for a moment to consider the fact that he was basically kissing himself. He felt her tongue press into his mouth, and as he moved his own muscle to intercept the invading appendage, he idly wondered if this was a form of masturbation, or of homosexuality. He mentally shrugged and pushed into the kiss a bit, leaning hard on his good leg to keep his balance. Ivory moaned around Ebony's shaft again, extremely pleased at being so stuffed. Mirror smiled into the kiss, listening to the sounds of the mare beneath her. The pleasure shooting through her groin caused her to groan, and she felt her release mounting. Ebony was in much the same boat, his sister's talented tongue teasing his tip. Ivory felt herself approaching her climax, but kept up her ministrations, idly wondering who was going to come first of the three of them. Her question was answered a moment later, as all three of the sweating, panting ponies cried out at the same time, the two colts filling Ivory's body with their seed, while she milked them for all they were worth. As she felt Mirror's cum fill her body with warmth and spill down her legs, she was rapidly gulping down her brother's load, enjoying the feeling of it sliding down her throat and pooling in her belly. All three ponies collapsed into a sweaty, exhausted heap.

Mirror shakily stepped away from the twins and concentrated, quickly reverting herself back to her actual body. “Well. That was fun. What do we do now?” She asked, her voice slightly unsteady, still a little light-headed from their fun.

Ebony walked over to his sister's side to support her as she got back on her hooves. She wobbled a bit before catching her balance. "I dunno. That was fun, though." He said, grinning at her.

Ivory looked around for a moment before speaking, “Well, Ah'm tired. Ah dunno about y'all, but Ah'm gonna go sleep.” Mirror nodded at her.

“That's a good idea. I'll just head out and come back later, after I've taken a nap.” She said, slowly walking towards the door. She was blocked by a large half-leg blocking her way.

“Yer much too tired t' be walking home right now. Y'all should stay here for th' night.” He rumbled, smiling at her. Mirror looked over her shoulder at Ivory, who nodded, smiling like her brother.

“Alright, I'll stay then.” Mirror looked thoughtful for a moment, then spoke. "I guess this means we're all one big love triangle, huh?"

Ebony chuckled at the silver mare, dropping his half-leg back towards the ground. "Ah guess yer' right." He said, moving over to stand next to his sister.

"'Course she is, hasn't anypony told yah that all mares are right?" Ivory said, flashing a smile at her brother.

Mirror laughed at the twins antics, then then decided to join in, moving to stand on the other side of Ebony. "Your sister's got it right, Ebony. Shimmer never quite learned, but mares are always right."

"What? Nu-uh. Mares ain't always right." Ebony said, shaking his head violently, his mane swishing from side to side. Ivory laughed lightly and bumped him with her flank.

"Don't be such a filly, geez."

Mirror bumped his other side with her flank, laughing. "Come on, repeat after me; mares are always right."

Ebony had a mare on each side, caging him. One strong, one nimble. Still, he wouldn't give in. "No, iffn' mares are so right all the time... Why are stallions the head ah' house?"

Ivory looked at him, an eyebrow lifted. "Really? Y’all are just muscle. We're the brains"

Mirror laughed. "Yup. We make all the important decisions, you're here to make sure that our orders are carried out." She bumped him again. "And, you're also here because you're real nice to look at."

Ebony let out a huff and leaned down to eye height of Mirror, a small grin on his face. "We let y'all think yer in charge, but notice that without us you mares would be weak an' helpless." Ivory laughed at his words, shaking her head. He shot her a glare, then continued, "Besides, y'all mares are much more... Enticin' to look at." He continued, winking at Mirror.

Mirror darted forward and kissed him. She leaned back and grinned. "That's just what we want you to think." She paused and considered his words. Then she added; "And yes. Yes we are."

Ebony's eyes widened for the second that little kiss took and a smile spread across his face. "Got a much purttier shape to y'all than us stallions, sugar cube."

Ivory leaned forwards to glance at the other mare. "He missed th' first part, din't he?" She asked wryly.
Mirror looked at Ivory and giggled. "Yeah, I think he did." She looked back up at Ebony. "Even though mares have a prettier shape, stallions are still nice and...” Her voice lowered, becoming more seductive, and she purred the last word at him: “Big.”

Ebony smirked and winked at Mirror. "How else we spo'sed to attract you mares?" Ivory shook her head and sighed, prodding a leg at his ribs. Mirror nudged his side again, grinning.

"You would have to be charming. Perish the thought."

"Charmin'? Charmin' stallions never get the mares, y'all want the 'bad colts'." Ebony said, swatting Mirror's flank with his tail.

Ivory chuckled. "He's got a point..." She said, looking over her brother at Mirror.

Mirror shook her head. "My brother could not possibly be a bad colt, and he got Fizzle somehow." She swatted him back with her own tail. "Besides, you aren't the bad colt type."

"Fizzy's always been the romantic type. Dreamed ah settlin' down and havin' a family, a few foals of her own. But she never trusted anypony, and so she'd never found her stallion. 'Til now, apparently." Ivory sighed out.

"I suppose my brother did something right, then." Mirror replied, gently bumping Ebony with her hip.

"He must've, Fizzy's never really been open with other ponies." Ivory said, stretching out her back legs.

"'Sides, I could be a bad colt." Ebony replied, leaning over and nipping one of Mirror's silver ears.

Mirror giggled at Ebony's nip, then she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I guess you could be, but you're quite charming without the bad colt attitude."

"Charmin', eh? You fancy me as charmin'?" Ebony leaned in close and nuzzled his dark nose against Mirror's contrasting coat.

Mirror nuzzled him back. "Well, you've got the same adorable drawl as your sister.” She said, slipped her neck under his, and nuzzled Ivory. "I think we make a good set. White, black and gray."

Ivory nuzzled back against Mirror, a smile on her face and her eyelids fluttering closed. "She likes our drawl, Ebony."

Ebony leaned back to get the right angle to gently kiss both mares' foreheads. "Well, Ivory and me were contrastin' and you've come to mellow us out. So yeah, y'all complete our set." He said, laying down on the floor in front of the fire. The mares joined him, settling in next to him on either side.

Mirror leaned into him. "A complete set. I like that."

Ivory smiled. She lightly kissed her brother's cheek and Mirror's lips before settling herself against Ebony's side. "We're complete... What a strange feelin', right darlin'?"

Ebony looked at his sister and the silver beauty leaned against his dark coat. "Yer perfect fer us, sugar cube." Mirror sighed.

"I like this feeling. A lot."

"The feelin' of bein' complete? Yeah, it's a purtty good feelin'." Ebony said, smiling, and gently kissed Mirror, a light blush on his dark coat. Ivory laid her head on her hooves, a smile on her face and a sigh escaping her lips.

Mirror grinned. "I think I might be spending a lot of time here. That way, Fizzle and Shimmer can do... Whatever it is they're doing."

Ivory opened one gray eye at Mirror, her smile wider than before. "Why, darlin'... That sounds like your brother is bucking our dear Fizzy."

Ebony looked blank for a moment then stared at his sister. "What?" He said after a moment.

Mirror laughed. "No, he's not. She wants him, but he's too shy to do anything. She'll have to jump him if she wants to ever get anywhere."

Ivory sighed and let her eye close again. "Poor mare."

The ebon stallion shook his head before looking at Mirror and nuzzled his nose into her white mane. “We should prob'ly be getting' to bed, girls. We've got a long day of unpackin' to do tomorrow.”

The silver mare looked over her shoulder down the hallway. "Hmm... There are only two bedrooms. Who will I be sleeping with, then?"

Ebony smiled at Mirror's question, and leaned down to kiss her. "Whoever y'all want to sleep with. Y'all can even switch beds when y'all want to, one night with Ivory one night with me, y'know?"

Mirror considered this for a moment, then perked up, grinning like an idiot. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't we just push both beds together and sleep in a pony-pile? That way, I don't have to choose."

Ebony laughed at the look on Mirror's face. "Sure, sugar cube. Whatever y'all want."

Ivory just hummed an affirmative in response. Mirror giggled and nuzzled Ebony. Then she stood up and walked over to his other side, and squeezed herself in between him and Ivory.
"Until then, though, I think I'm good right here." She said, sighing.

Ivory whined in complaint before snuggling up to the little mare, her nose smelling the light fragrance in her white hair. Ebony closed his eyes and laid his head atop of Mirror's, pulling himself closer to her and somewhat squishing her between himself and his sister. Mirror sighed contentedly.

"Our first day knowing each other, and look at us. This is gonna be great." She said lazily.

"It sure will be, sugar cube." Ebony said with a smile.

"Hush up, darlin'..." Ivory mumbled, swatting Mirror's flank with her tail.

Mirror giggled. She sighed again and fell silent, feeling the warmth of the ponies on either side of her. The silvery mare rested her head on her hooves and shut her eyes, thinking it was a good time for a nap. Ebony watched the two mares curled together fall asleep, a smile all over his dark face.

"Luckiest stallion in the world, all these mares lovin' me... An' I get to touch all of 'em."

"Shut up, Ebony." Both mares said simultaneously.

The coal stallion chuckled a bit before completely submitting to the draw of sleep, curled up with the two greatest things to ever happen to him.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Mirror woke the next morning in the midst of a monochromatic pony-pile. She sighed and just laid there for while, enjoying the comfort and warmth of the twins next to her. Ebony looked down at her, smiled, then kissed her gently. She sighed happily and curled up with him a little tighter while they waited for Ivory to wake. Soon enough, Ivory blinked her eyes open and looked around. Mirror leaned over and kissed the lightly colored mare, who smiled.

“So, should we actually get t' unpackin' today?” She said softly.

“Ah figure we cin' wait a bit before that.” Her brother replied, closing his eyes again.

They stayed where they were until the afternoon rolled around, content to sit in each others company and warmth, until Ebony finally hauled himself out of the warm embrace of the two mares.

“All right,” He said, stretching, “Ah guess we'd better get back t' work.”

The two mares staggered to their feet lazily, not wanting to move from their comfort. Then the three ponies walked out into the afternoon sunlight and moved over to the cart next to the building. They spent the next several hours moving and rearranging the Twins' possessions until Ivory was happy with where everything was situated.

“Ah think we should go somewhere to celebrate.” Ebony said, standing in the living room surveying their work.

“That's a good idea. Where should we go?” Ivory said, her voice echoing to him down the hallway.

Mirror poked her head out of the kitchen where she had been putting plates and cups away. “We could always go down to the cafe.”

Ivory walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow. “Cafe? What cafe?”

Mirror giggled. “The Stormside Cafe. It's a little building down near the docks, nice little place, and it's got some good food. It's pretty cheap, too.”

Ebony appeared behind Mirror. “Sounds good t' me, sugarcube.”

Mirror smiled over her shoulder at him. “Alright. Let's go, then.”

The trio made their way through the town, heading for the ocean and the docks that lay upon it. Mirror led them to a small structure immediately next to the Shipmaster's office. A large sign proclaimed it to be The Stormside Cafe. The building itself was a small brick structure, rising to a modest height of two stories. Windows sat on either side of the door, one looking into the dining area where ponies ate and talked, and the other looking into the kitchen, where ponies passing by could watch the employees cook. Sure enough, there were ponies crowded around that one, mostly little colts and fillies They gasped and laughed as the cooks put on a bit of a show, causing fire to leap into the air, flipping pans as they worked, and other such little things. The parents sat nearby, chatting with each other as their kids enjoyed themselves. The three monochromatic ponies walked past the crowd and entered the cafe, their noses immediately assaulted by the wondrous smells of whatever the cooks were making. Their mouths started to water, and they quickly found a table and sat down. A waiter appeared a moment later and took their order. They made small talk for a few minutes before the door opened again, admitting Shimmercoat and Fizzle Flare into the cafe. Mirror immediately waved to get her brother's attention. He noticed her, smiled, gently nudged Fizzle, and led her over to where the trio was sitting. Mirror stood up to embrace her sibling, and he snatched her up in a bear hug. Likewise, the twins got up to catch Fizzle in a group hug.

“Oof. Watch it, bro, you're gonna bruise something if you keep squeezing me like that.” Mirror said, laughing. He released her and laughed.

“Sorry sis, I'm just happy to run into you. After you didn't come home last night, both mom and dad were worried.” He replied, grinning broadly. His smile shrunk a bit and he looked away before he continued. “That and they were a bit... Surprised to find Fizzle in bed with me...” His voice trailed off a bit, and Fizzle hit him in the shoulder with a hoof, blushing.

“You didn't have to tell them that...” She said, looking away from the group.

The twins' mouths both opened in shock, and Mirror devolved into a giggling fit.

“Y'all did what now?” Ivory asked, a smile forming on her lips. Shimmercoat blushed and kept staring at the floor.

“Well, we were having such a good time, I invited her back to my place and things just sorta... Happened.” He said, his blush growing stronger as he spoke. Mirror's giggling intensified until she could hardly breathe. Fizzle hit him again.

“You didn't need to tell them that either...” She said, her voice trailing off. Shimmer shrugged.

“They'd find out eventually anyway.” He said quietly, looking like he'd just rather sink into the floor and be done with it all. Mirror finally regained a semblance of her composure and reached a hoof up to pat her brother on the back.

“Ha! You think that's good? You should hear about our night.” She said, grinning. The blue stallion looked up at his sister.

“Really? What happened?” He asked, glancing at the twins.

“Well, I was walking through town, right? When I hit the square, I noticed that Ebony and Ivory were still moving their stuff into their house, so I walked over to see if I could help. We took a break, went inside and talked for a bit, and now, I have a coltfriend and a marefriend, just like I told you I would.” She said in a rush, her memories of last night flashing before her eyes as she spoke. She looked back at him just to see him standing stock-still, his jaw slightly askew in surprise

“You d-did WHAT?” He said at last, shaking his head to clear it. He sat down and looked back to the twins. Ebony sat perfectly still, his face a mask, while Ivory had a look of smug satisfaction on her face that practically screamed mischief. Shimmer blew out a breath and brought his gaze back to his sister. Mirror was looking at him, her smile fading a bit as she started to worry about what he would think. She hadn't thought about what he would think about all this, she just went with what happened. She didn't regret a moment of it, though. Finally, her brother spoke:

“Well. You did tell me you were going to get both, and it looks like you did. Uhh...” He trailed off, trying to think of what to say. “Y'know what? As long as everyone involved is happy, it doesn't matter to me.” He said, looking his sister in the eyes. She looked at him for a long second, and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. She released him a moment later, and laughed.

“For a moment there, I thought you were going to lose your mind, bro.” She said, giggling.

“For a moment there, so did I.” He replied with a smile. “Still, as long as you're happy, I don't care.” He looked over to Ebony, and he cocked an eyebrow at the large ebon stallion, who nodded very slightly. Shimmer returned the nod, and looked back down at his sister. The two stallions didn't say a word, but Mirror felt like they had just had an entire conversation right before her eyes. She raised an eyebrow at Shimmercoat, confused. He grinned at her in response.

“Don't worry about it, sis. It's no big deal.” He looked around the restaurant and took a deep breath through his nose, stomach rumbling. “We came here to eat, right? Let's eat then!” He said, pulling a pair of spare chairs from an empty table with his magic. The group sat down, and the waiter, who had seen the whole exchange but had decided to not interrupt, reappeared to take the orders of the two newcomers. After fifteen or so minutes had passed, the group's food arrived and they fell upon it with a will. A few minutes after they started, Shimmercoat gently tapped on the table, drawing everyponies attention to him. He cleared his throat, and raised his glass.

“To new friends, and to new loves.” He said. The rest of the group gently tapped their glasses against his, and they drank. Fizzle leaned over to gently kiss him, and he blushed a bit before getting back to his meal.

After the group had finished eating, they ordered dessert, which they devoured as well. Once dessert was done, Mirror spoke up:

“Hey guys, wanna go to the park for a bit? A nice nap on the grass sounds like a great idea right about now.”

The rest of the group agreed, and they left the restaurant, heading for the park that sat just off the town square.

The day was a fine one, and there were many ponies out to enjoy it. Some ran about and played games, where some sat in the shade of the many trees scattered throughout the park. A gentle breeze blew over the park, bringing with it the smell of the sea. Mirror led the little mob of ponies over to a large tree and, without a word, plopped herself down in it's shade. Ebony and Ivory sat on either side of her, and Fizzle and Shimmercoat nuzzled together directly opposite her. Mirror traded looks with the twins on either side of her, and the trio grinned. Suddenly, all three of them surged forward and tackled the hapless couple in front of them. Or, tried to. As soon as the trio started moving, Shimmer brought up a shield around himself and Fizzle, and the monochromatic team bounced off of it with a light pinging sound to land unharmed in the grass.

“Aww... That's no fair.” Mirror said, rubbing her head. Ivory nodded in agreement.

“That's a nice li'l trick t' have up yer sleeve.” Ebony rumbled, smiling. “Ah bet that comes in handy a lot.”

The blue stallion shrugged. “Sometimes it is, other times it's not terribly great. Really depends on the situation.”

Mirror smiled at him. “Come on, bro, we were just gonna snuggle you guys a bit. You look so cute together we just wanna join in.” She said.

“Come on, Shimmer, let's make one big pony-pile.” Fizzle said, nudging him with her shoulder.

He looked at her for a moment, then sighed, conceding. His shield wavered and melted into the grass. As soon as it dropped, he got hit by his sister and the twins. They wrestled about for a few minutes before they were all comfortable, Ebony and Shimmer next to each other on the bottom, and all three of the girls randomly piled on top. Fizzle, Ivory and Mirror leaned down to kiss their respective stallions, and the three of them slipped into a state of contented sleep. Shimmer looked over at Ebony, and grinned.

“Life's pretty good right now, don't you think? Mares all over us, full bellies and a nice spot in the shade on a nice summer day.” He said quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauties.

“Eeyup.” Ebony murmured, his eyes sliding closed. Shimmer grinned at the large stallion, then settled down to sleep for a while as well.

When Shimmercoat awoke, the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, and the air was beginning to become cooler with the oncoming night. He looked around at the ponies stacked around him, and he smiled. He concentrated for a moment, his horn glowing slightly, and he brought a bubble up around the group. He willed it to keep the heat in and to block the wind, and let his mind wander as he waited for everyone else to wake up. First, he thought about his sister and her new friends. They were pretty close even though they hadn't really spoken to each other before that morning, but he couldn't really fault any of them, he and Fizzle were in the same situation. Just thinking about her made him smile, and he turned his head to look at her. He felt weird, watching her sleep like that, but she was so cute when she was asleep that he couldn't look away.

His thoughts were interrupted by a crash of thunder. A moment later, something connected with his shield, hard. His shield was directly linked to him by his willpower, and the impact caused him to slide a foot. He felt like he just got kicked in the head by a pony, and his addled mind wondered; did I just get hit by lightning? Dimly, he heard shouting and realized that the rest of his group had woken up due to the sound and his sudden movement. They were panicking, and he shook his head to clear it. As the world came back into focus, he noticed that his shield was blackened, same as a section of grass immediately around them roughly fifteen feet across. He stood and focused more of his power into his shield as he yelled; “GUYS!”

The panicking ponies came to a screeching halt and turned to look at him. He waited for a moment, and continued, “What the hell just hit me? And why aren't we moving for cover?” They traded looks with each other for a moment before turning and bolting towards the nearby Town Hall. The hall was arguably the sturdiest building in town, and was probably the safest structure that they could get to. The only problem was that the building was still several hundred yards away.

As they ran, Shimmer heard another crash, and this time, something hit the ground several yards to one side of the fleeing group, erupting in an explosion that tore up dirt and threw it twenty feet into the air and in all directions. He felt a series of small impacts slam into the side of his shield, and it threw him slightly off balance. He caught himself before he fell, and continued running to keep his bubble around his friends. A moment before they reached the safety of the hall, the alarm bell mounted on the top of the structure began to sound, a deep ringing that would echo for miles in every direction. The group got through the front door of the hall, and Shimmer collapsed onto the floor off to one side.

Mirror and Fizzle rushed to his side, and he smiled weakly at them.

“Don't worry about me, I'm just tired. I dunno what hit me, but it hurt like hell.” He said, breathing heavily. “Did I get hit by lightning or something?”

Mirror shook her head. “Nope. There are no clouds tonight. It's not inclement weather that's doing all this.” She said, gesturing outside where they could hear crashes and explosions as whatever it was kept assaulting the area.

Ebony turned and started walking up the stairs towards the bell tower, speaking over his shoulder as he went; “Ah'll be right back, y'all. Ah'm just gonna see what all is goin' on out there.” Ivory followed him while Fizzle and Mirror sat next to Shimmercoat. A moment later, they heard Ebony's deep voice echo down the stairwell.

“Y'all might wanna come see this.”

Shimmer looked at the two mares next to him, shrugged, and pushed himself wearily to his feet. The three of them made their way up the stairs, Shimmer leaning heavily on Mirror, and finally came out onto the roof of the Town Hall. They walked up to where Ebony and Ivory were standing with an older green stallion, probably the pony that rang the bell, and looked out towards the harbor. There, illuminated by occasional flashes of cannon fire and the passing beam of the town's lighthouse, was a ship with black sails.

Shimmer looked down and realized that in the first time in almost one hundred years, Stormgate was under attack.

Chapter Four: And a Lover Was Lost

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter gets really sad. Like, really, really sad. Like, I cried when writing it. Twice. I warn you fairly.

Iron Coat slammed bodily into Full Sails, knocking the descending blade from its fatal arc and sending the pirate captain tumbling. Behind him, the rest of the townsponies that had followed him attacked the pirate mob. One particularly enthusiastic mare was actually spinning into battle, shouting “EQUESTRIAAAAA!” around the grip of the sword in her mouth. Shimmercoat watched her deal a dozen strokes in half as many seconds, all painful but ultimately non-lethal. The rag-tag pirates, spirit already shaken at the nigh-unbreakable colt that had confronted them earlier, panicked and ran off at this turn of events, leaving their unconscious brethren behind.

Shimmercoat looked up at his father and tried to stand, but now that the adrenalin of combat had faded, he couldn't bring himself to rise under the weight of his armor.

“Are you alright, son?” Iron Coat asked, looking down at Shimmercoat.

“I'm going to be bruised come morning, but I'll be fine.” Shimmer replied, his voice strained, “But they've taken Fizzle, dad. I have to get her back!”

“And how are you going to do that?” His father replied, looking out towards the pirate ship,
“You can't even stand, and-” Iron Coat was cut off by the sound of a blade hitting a shield. Full Sails, forgotten during the short exchange between father and son, had shaken off the elder stallion's impact and snuck his way back up behind them. Iron Coat sidestepped the sword as the shield faltered, then slammed his forehoof into the captain's jaw, eliciting a crack and sending the blade flying. It hit point down in the rocky dirt, where it stuck, quivering. The captain staggered away from Iron Coat, stunned by the power of the strike. The blacksmith glanced over at Shimmercoat, who was apparently unconscious due to the strain of that last shield spell.

“You come to my town.” Iron Coat said, advancing slowly on the captain, “You destroy the houses of my friends. You attack my children.” He slammed another hoof into the captain's face. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you now and save the Princesses the trouble of hanging you?”

Full Sails spat blood before replying. “Because yer not a killer. Yer lad might be quick t' say otherwise, but he's not, either. No, ye'll tie me up an' call down the Princesses, or ye'll wait t' see if th' Adamant comes back, but neither ye or yer kin will be th' ones t' tie th' noose.” He flashed a crimson grin up at Iron Coat, who sighed.

“You're right. I'll let you in on a little secret, though. Just something to remind you to thank your lucky stars. If I had been later by ten seconds, and you had killed my son? I wouldn't be tying a noose for you, 'captain', and I guarantee that not one of the townsponies would testify against me. Nor,” He added, after a pause, “Would the Princesses ever find your body.” He leaned down towards the captain a little bit, “I suggest that you find some way to tell your crew that they should release the pegasus.” Full Sails thought about his options for a moment, then nodded, “All right. Ye've beaten me, and I know me mates on th' ship aren't gonna be doin' very much without me to be givin' them orders. Pass me th' lantern over by me boat.” He said, pointing a hoof towards the lantern in question. One of the other townsponies brought it over, and set it down in front of the captain. The lantern had two small tabs on the side opposite the door. The tabs were connected to thin sheets of metal, each with an arrow on it, one pointing up, the other down. When both were pushed in, all that could be seen was light pouring through a small rectangle cut unto the metal where the shafts of the arrows overlapped each other. The captain gently pulled one of the tabs out, the one with the arrow pointing down, and turned it towards the sea.

“I told them before I left that if they see me be showin' the up arrow, that they should just cut th' ropes on th' little birdie. Now we just have t' wait 'til one o' them actually looks this way.” Full Sails said, squinting out at his ship.

“You're behaving quite well, for a cut-throat.” Iron Coat noted, keeping a wary eye on the captain, “Why are you cooperating so easily?”

“Just like I told yer lad earlier; ye've got t' have some honor. Without it, all ye have is a bunch of angry thugs at sea fer months on end. Sooner or later, somepony gets hisself gutted fer no reason than th' fact that one o' the other lads liked his boots. We be thieves and cut-throats and th' like, but I try t' keep them from going too far.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “And I really don't want ye t' hit me again. What are ye, th' blacksmith?”

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Iron Coat replied smugly.

“Ah. I figured that'd be th' case. That also explains where yer lad got that fine suit o' tin from.” The captain said.

“Actually, that was all him. I taught him all he knows, but he made that suit all on his own.” There was an undeniable note of pride in Iron Coat's voice.

Full Sails nodded. “He's a good lad. A bit reckless, and he's got a bit o' a temper when it comes t' his ladyfriend, but he's got a good heart.” He shook his head and stared intently at the ship, “Now, why in hell hasn't anyone o' them bilge-rats looked this way? Next time I see them, be it in this life or th' next, I'll-”

The captain was interrupted by the pirate ship firing again. Everypony on the beach ducked, but after a moment they realized that there were no accompanying explosions of cannonballs hitting the earth.

“Why are they firin' back out t' sea? Did that Navy ship really finish off me other vessels?” The captain asked no one in particular. Sure enough, seconds later they heard another cannon barrage, this one farther off, and they watched as a pair of explosions rocked the pirate ship. In the distance, revealed by the flashes of cannon fire, was the proud white form of the R.E.N Adamant. The ship had lost one of its two masts, and only about half of its cannons were firing, but the Equestrian flag still blew proudly in the night breeze. As the crowd of townsponies watched, the pirates cannons landed a couple of hits on the royal ship, ripping a great deal of the stern off and throwing it into the air. The Adamant gave just as good as it got, and Shimmercoat saw the pirates mast fall into the bay. Screams of pain and terror echoed out from the pirate vessel as the crew fought for their very lives.

Shimmercoat, who had just regained consciousness at the first barrage, watched the scene in horror. “DAD! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! FIZZLE IS STILL ON THAT SHIP!” He yelled, trying to get his armor off with his magic. A few frustrating seconds and the sound of the ship's battling got him free of his steel casing and the leather jacket that lie underneath it. He staggered upright and started moving towards the water, his horn flickering as he tried to force his exhausted magic to teleport him to the ship. He had only gotten a few steps before his father tackled him. The blue colt struggled against his father, tears streaming down his face. He screamed as the Adamant fired again.

“LET ME GO! I CAN STILL SAVE HER! GET OFF ME! JUST LET ME-!” His words were drowned out by a roar and flash from the harbor that lit the world like Celestia's sun.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Fizzle opened her eyes to a featureless plain that stretched endlessly in every direction. She looked towards the gray sky and tried to figure out where she was. She remembered being tied to the deck of the pirate ship after one of the pirates had managed to throw a net on her. There was shouting, and the sound of cannons firing, followed by the ship shuddering. There was an explosion, then all she could remember was light, brighter than the sun.

The yellow pegasus heard hoofsteps behind her and turned.

“Princess Luna? What are you doing here? Where is here?” She asked the princess of the night.

“This is the land between life and death. When ponies die, they come here and wait until either I or my sister come to take them to the next journey.” Luna replied gently.

“Y-you... You m-mean I-I...” Fizzle stammered, tears welling in her eyes.

“Yes, my child. Your time has come, and now I will take you to your fate. Come with me, little one.” Luna pointed a hoof at the horizon, and a light appeared in the distance. She took a step forward, but stopped when Fizzle spoke again.

“B-but I don't want to leave him behind,” Fizzle said sadly, tears streaming down her face, “I only just found him. Why do I have to leave him so soon?”

Luna turned back to her and hooked a hoof around the smaller mare, pulling the crying pegasus into a hug.

“I am sorry,” The princess said, “I am so sorry. I wish it didn't have to be this way, little one. But the choice is not mine to make. Your knight tried, but your fate was sealed. Here, let me show you.” Luna's horn lit and a section of the ground in front of the two mares changed into a shallow pool of water. In it, Shimmercoat was engaging the pirate crew. “He tried so hard to save you. Fighting against overwhelming odds,” The picture changed to the fight against the captain, “And finally battling against the pirate captain himself. He risked everything, and almost lost it all, to save you. In the end, though, it was not enough.”

Fizzle watched the fighting through the tears in her eyes. He had meant everything that he said. It was one thing for somepony to say that they would lay down their lives for another, but it was a completely different thing altogether to actually do it. She cried out when Full Sails' sword nearly ended her love, and cried even harder when the cannons ended her. Luna waved a hoof and the pool returned to a section of featureless land.

“C-can you g-give him a m-m-message for m-me?” Fizzle stammered out in between sobs, looking up at the princess.

“Under normal circumstances I could not. However, I believe I will make an exception in your case. Losing love so soon after discovering it is the greatest tragedy of this world. What would you like to tell him?” Luna said, looking down at the heartbroken mare. The princess of the night hated this task. It pained her to see her ponies like this.

“T-tell him I understand. That I-I don't blame him, a-and that it wasn't his fault,” Fizzle said, “But most of all, t-tell him I l-love him. So v-very m-much. Tell him I'm s-sorry.”

“I will.”

“You p-promise?”

“Yes. I swear to you, I will make sure he receives your message. Come now, let us go.”
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Shimmercoat lay frozen on the rocky beach, still in his fathers grasp, looking out at the water as bits of flaming wood and other detritus fell to the rocky shore around him.

“No.” Was all he could say. The word kept chasing itself around in his head, over and over again. This couldn't be happening. He had fallen unconscious, and this was all a bad dream.

“No. No No NO NO NO!” He yelled at the flaming carcass of the pirate ship. Tears were streaming down his face as he struggled free of his father's grip. Iron Coat let his son go and stood back several paces. Full Sails was staring in shock at the wreckage of his ship. The townsponies were frozen in place looking out at the water.

Shimmercoat screamed. An incoherent, bloodcurdling scream of rage and sorrow that was heard for miles. It echoed back from the wreckage, the buildings of the town and the ponies around him took several steps back. It snapped Full Sails out of his stupor, and he barely ducked Shimmercoat's first swing.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” The crazed colt yelled at the pirate captain as he attacked, “IF YOU NEVER SHOWED UP HERE, SHE WOULD STILL BE WITH ME!” He paused in his assault, and his voice was suddenly very quiet, “I'll kill you,” He stalked forward, his voice still lethally low, “I'll rip you apart. I just found her. I JUST found her. The world was perfect, then you have to come and TAKE. HER. AWAY!.” Shimmercoat leapt forward as he screamed the last few words.

Full Sails was an experienced fighter, but Shimmercoat attacked with primal ferocity and ignored the pirate's return strikes. There was no time for technique or thought. Shimmer's assault was brutal, and the captain, off-balance as he was by the destruction of his ship and recent hammering by Iron Coat, couldn't hold off the vengeful colt for long. Full Sails dodged too slowly and Shimmercoat slammed a hoof into the top of his head, knocking him to the ground. Shimmercoat reared up on his hind legs and slammed both hooves down into the captain's side. Without his armor, Shimmer's blows were relatively weak, but rage and adrenaline gave him strength, and the strike knocked the wind out of Full Sails. Shimmercoat stomped down on the stunned captain again, and again, and again until Iron Coat slammed into his son's side.

“LET ME GO! HE DESERVES TO DIE! IT'S HIS FAULT SHE'S DEAD!” He yelled, struggling to get out of his father's grip and back to the pirate captain, who lay still but was still breathing.

Iron Coat's voice was very quiet as he spoke into his son's ear. “Is that what she would want you to do? Would she like looking down at you and watching you slaughter somepony in her name? Would she want you to be a murderer?”

Shimmercoat's thrashing began to lessen as his father's words made their way past the red haze of his emotions. After a moment, he stopped struggling altogether.

“She's gone, dad. She's gone. What am I supposed to do now?” He asked in a small voice, looking up at his father.

Iron Coat hugged Shimmercoat and shook his head. “I don't know, son. I don't know.”

Shimmercoat wept as Celestia's sun appeared on the horizon.

“It hurts, dad.”
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Stormgate's cemetery was a large fenced-in section of earth on the edge of town. Through the work of several gardeners and a touch of magic, the grass was always green, and there were several flowerbeds that were always blooming. Even in the winter, when snow would fall and the rains would come, the grass and flowers never withered, nor were they ever touched by frost. Also due to the careful maintenance and enchantments, the gravestones were seemingly untouched by time. They sat in the ground, perfect as the day they were planted. marking those who had gone before. They lay either in small groups where close friends or relatives rested, or alone where they had some solitude for their last sleep. Before discovering the lake in the forest, Shimmercoat would come here to think, sitting on unused plots and wondering about those who were buried there. After discovering his paradise, he hoped he wouldn't return here for a long time. Fate, it seemed, had other plans: two days after the pirate attack, the town put to rest Fizzle Flare.

The townsponies were unable to find Fizzle's body, so they buried a coffin with some of her personal items instead. At the head of her grave was a simple wooden grave marker that had her birth and death dates on it. Shimmercoat hated it. He felt it was far too simple and bare to show what she represented to him. He quietly vowed to make one that was fitting of his love.

Most everypony in town turned out for Fizzle's funeral. Ponies dressed in black surrounded the cemetery and bowed their heads as the town priest said his piece. He spoke of Celestia and Luna, eternal happiness and paradise for the dearly departed. Shimmer didn't like this aspect of the funeral either. He didn't think that reading from a script was fitting for someone so dear, but he remained silent. He glanced around at the other ponies there, and noticed the Keys twins leaning against one another. Ivory was openly sobbing against her brother's neck, while Ebony stood completely still, tears streaming down his face.

After the priest had finished, the twins stepped up to speak.

“Now, we haven't been in town all that long,” Ivory began, “So we don't know how much Fizz meant t' y'all. But Ah know how much she meant to us. Y'all have been friendly, but she was th' first real friend we made here in Stormgate, and in th' few months we've been here she's been like a sister t' us. Ah don't know about y'all, but Ah know th' world is worse off with her gone.” Ivory's voice wavered and broke as she finished speaking, and she buried her face against her brother's neck.

Shimmercoat sat perfectly still, looking at the spot where they had lowered the casket, now covered in earth. Tears ran down his face and dripped to the ground as a few of the other townsfolk said little things about Fizzle and how she influenced their lives. He thought about speaking, but he couldn't trust himself to not break down if he moved from where he sat. So there he remained, sitting at the foot of a pile of disturbed earth, until long after the rest of the town had left. Slowly, one drop following another, it began to rain, the sky crying to match the heartbroken colt. Mirror walked up and sat next to him.

“C'mon, Shimmey. Let's go.” She said gently, putting a hoof on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked at her.

“I... I dunno what t-to do, Mirror. I... I just...” His voice broke and he buried his head into his sisters neck, soaking her already drenched coat with his tears. She didn't know how to reply, so instead she pulled him into a hug. They sat like that for a time, then she spoke again.

“I don't know either, but she's not gonna be happy if you catch something and die after fighting off pirates.” She said, trying to lighten the mood.

To her surprise, he chuckled, but the sound was dark, full of scorn instead of mirth. “Yes,” He said sarcastically into her neck, “Because I was so effective against the pirates. I was stupid. I never should have told her to go scouting like that. It didn't make any sense.” He leaned back and looked his sister in the eye, “She trusted me and I failed her. I killed her. It's my fault. It's all my damn fault.” In his eyes, Mirror saw something terrifying. The full wrath of her older brother, turned inward. He hated himself right then. She knew she had to do something. Shimmercoat's shield spells were extremely powerful, but they didn't work against himself.

So, she slapped him.

Hard.

“Don't you say that. Ever. It's bullshit and you know it. You didn't kill her. You did everything you could. You did more than anypony else could do. It is not your fault. She didn't have to follow your orders. You... Y-you... I-I don't want to lose you, Shimmey.” Her voice quavered, and tears started making their way down her face. Shimmer's rage deflated. One thing in the world he couldn't stand seeing was his sister crying. He pulled her back into the hug.

“I'm sorry, sis. I just... I don't know what to do. It hurts. I...” He sighed. “Let's go home, sis.”
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

The next day, there was an award ceremony. It was held on a stage in front of the rubble that had been the town hall. Celestia and Luna had both come from Canterlot to award medals to “The brave sailors aboard the Adamant and the courageous townsponies whose valiant actions prevented unnecessary loss of life.” Everypony applauded politely for each pony called, and idly murmured about how amazing it was that only one member of the town and four sailors had been slain in the attack.

Shimmercoat sat at the back of the crowd, hating every second of it. Yes, 'only' one pony from the town was killed. Too bad she was 'only' the one that mattered most. Shimmercoat thought angrily.

“Afternoon, young stallion,” Came a deep voice from beside Shimmercoat. He looked and saw a green pony in a sailor's outfit standing next to him, “My name is Swiftwind, Captain of the R.E.N. Adamant. You seem a bit glum, lad. Was she a good friend of yours?” The sailor asked.

“More than that,” Shimmer replied, his gaze dropping to the dirt in front of him, “So much more...” His voice trailed off. He heard the captain move, and when he glanced back up he saw the captain sitting in front of him.

“I'm sorry, lad. I really am. I didn't know she was on the ship. We were charged with protecting the town and it's inhabitants, and we failed.” Swiftwind said, meeting Shimmercoat's gaze. The blue colt let out a bark of bitter laughter.

“Your charge? No. She was mine, and I failed. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have even been out there. They looked to me for direction, and I screwed up, and now she's gone.” He said

“It hurts, doesn't it.” The captain said sadly. It was a statement, not a question. “I lost four. I love those boys like they're my sons, but I know that no matter how well I do, I might have to order them to their deaths.”

“Does it ever stop?” Shimmercoat asked, fighting back tears.

“The pain? No.” Swiftwind replied. “It dulls a little, over time, but it never stops. In my career, I've lost thirty. I remember every single one of their names, their faces,” He paused for a moment, flickers of emotion crossing his face, “I even remember exactly what their families said to me when I told them that their husband, father, or son wouldn't be coming back. Some cried, some raged at me, some tried to attack me. They all blamed me, and in a way, they were right to. Every single one of the stallions under my command trust in me to keep them alive when the going gets rough. Thirty times, now, I've failed them.”

“How do you keep going?” The blue colt asked him.

Swiftwind's reply was cut off by the voice of Princess Celestia calling the captain's name. He looked at Shimmercoat.

“Looks like it's my turn. Goodbye, lad.” He said before working his way through the crowd towards the stage. Shimmercoat sat for a moment more, mulling over the conversation in his head, then turned and started walking home. He only got a few paces before heard something that stopped him cold in his tracks.

“And last, but not least, will Shimmercoat please come up here?” Said Princess Celestia. The blue colt turned around to find the entire crowd looking at him. He suddenly felt angry. He didn't think he deserved an award. He'd failed.

“Shimmercoat?” The Princess called again, scanning the crowd. Several of the townsponies beckoned him forward and he slowly made his way towards the stage, the sea of ponies parting as he approached. He stepped up the wooden stairs and stood in front of Celestia.

“Ah, here you are,” She began, “By throwing yourself in harms way, you valiantly drew the pirates' cannon fire away from the town, undoubtedly saving lives and preventing unnecessary damage to the town's buildings. Kneel.” She said, nodding her head to indicate the area in front of her. Shimmercoat didn't move, he simply glared at her.

“Why?” He asked. The question had an undertone that Celestia missed. Luna, on the other hoof, didn't.

“So that I may reward your bravery.” Celestia replied. Her sister glanced back and forth between the the two.

“Celestia...” She said warningly.

“Not now, dear sister.” Celestia replied quietly, never breaking eye contact with Shimmercoat.

“No, I mean why are you rewarding me at all?” The blue colt shot back angrily.

“I believe I just said why.” The Princess said patiently, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Don't play dumb with me, Princess. I may not have the ages of experience that you or your sister have, but I am not stupid. You know exactly what I mean. Tell me why you are doing this!” He said, glaring defiantly up at the ruler of the known universe. She chuckled, which only served to infuriate the colt more, while the crowd watched in silence.

“Because,” She said gently, “Heroes should be honored.”

“But I failed!” He cried, his voice full of anguish, “All I did was get her killed! Why should I be rewarded for that? I'm not a hero, I'm a fool! If anything, I should have been the one to die, not her.”

“Why? So that she could be the heartbroken one?” She asked him.

“Better heartbroken than dead.” He said flatly. Behind the goddess of the sun, Luna winced.

Celestia leaned in close to him so that they were the only ones that could hear what she said next. “Not necessarily.” She said quietly. Those two words had enough emotion in them to silence the angry colt. “Take it from somepony much, much older than you. When your heart is broken, it stays that way for a long time, where the dead have some measure of peace.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “This ceremony wont end until you have received your reward, so if you want to get this done and over with, kneel.” She said, drawing herself back up to her full height. Reluctantly, he dropped to his knees, head bowed. “In recognition of your bravery and selflessness,” She said, raising her voice and tapping his shoulders with her horn, “I dub thee Sir Shimmercoat, Knight of Equestria.” The crowd stomped, cheered, waved, whistled and generally made noise. Nopony from Stormgate had ever received such a prestigious title before. Shimmercoat rose as the sounds washed over him. He glared at the stage in front of him, hating every cheer, every whistle, and waited for the crowd to subside so that he could leave. After the noise died down a bit, Princess Luna came forward and spoke to him.

“Excuse me, Lord Shimmercoat, may I have a word?” She asked. Shimmercoat flinched at the title and fixed her with a glare so intense that she almost took a step back.

“With all the respect due to you by the station I now find myself in,” He said, his voice dripping with contempt, “No.” With a blue flash he was gone. The princess of the night stared at the spot where he had been standing and sighed. Delivering the message to him would be a much more challenging task than it first appeared.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Shimmercoat sat in the graveyard again, staring at the pathetic little wooden grave marker that stood over his lost love. In the days that followed the ceremony, he found himself drawn to the little patch of earth that was all he had left of her. Every day he sat in the same spot at the foot of her grave and quietly apologized, time and again, until darkness fell and he returned home to sleep. He would occasionally see other ponies come and visit their loved ones, and the Keys had sat with him once for an hour or so, but he rarely saw ponies more than once, with the exception of one stallion.

Mister Blues was a dark blue pony with a shaggy gray mane who most ponies thought was crazy. This belief came from the fact that he would randomly break into song. Normally, this wouldn't be out of the ordinary, as lots of ponies could sing, but he only sang one part of the same song, over and over. When asked about it, he would just quietly stare at the pony asking until they left, and he'd go back to whatever it was he was doing. Shimmercoat saw him every day at the same group of gravestones. He would come in, stand there for an hour or two, then leave, all while occasionally singing his broken song.

One day, Shimmercoat's curiosity got the better of him and he walked up to the stallion.

“Excuse me,” He said quietly. He waited until the stallion looked at him before he continued, “I see you in here every day at the same time. I was just wondering, who were these ponies.?” He asked. Mister Blues stared silently at him, then looked back at the row of four gravestones. After a moment, Shimmercoat figured that Mister Blues wasn't going to answer him, so he quietly apologized and turned to go.

“Y'know, kid,” Mister Blues said, causing the blue colt to stop and turn back towards him, “They say that as you age, memory is the first thing to go. To be honest, I don't remember their names.” Shimmercoat peered at the gravestones, and noticed that the names had been worn away. “I don't think I ever knew their names. All I remember is the music,” The stallion went on, “We were all a part of a singing group. A quartet, y'know? We were amazing. We played in all the greats, Manehattan, Cloudsdayle, even Canterlot itself, for the princesses.” As he spoke, the stallion's gaze became unfocused as he looked into the past, reliving his fondest memories. Shimmercoat sat and listened, enraptured by his tale.

“It was all so simple, back then. We made enough to get food, somewhere to sleep, and to get to the next town. When we got there, we'd just open up the wagon, start singing and watch the ponies flock to us. Anywhere, anytime, we'd sing. Never needed instruments, the music was always playing. It never stopped, really. Played while we ate, while we slept, while we traveled, everywhere.”

“Do you mean you had a band traveling with you?” Shimmercoat asked.

“Nah, kid. Like I said, we didn't need instruments. The music was in us. All of us. There's music in everypony, lad. Even you, heartbroken warrior,” He raised a hoof as Shimmer tried to interrupt, “I can hear it, kid. The bittersweet notes of a love lost. What was her name, lad?” He asked gently.

“Fizzle Flare.” Shimmercoat said, lowering his gaze. Mister Blues put a hoof on his shoulder.

“You blame yourself.” He said. It wasn't a question. “But you know it wasn't really your fault. You can't help but blame yourself, though. I understand, kid. He,” He pointed to the fourth gravestone in the line, “Was our transportation. He insisted on pulling the wagon, no matter what. I don't remember how he ended up with us, just one day he was there. This little colt barely old enough for his cutie mark. And one day, a few years later,” Mister Blues paused for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice wavered slightly, “He was gone. We were halfway to Appleoosa when he just... Dropped. The last thing he said to us was 'It's been fun, guys. Sing me off, yeah?' We buried him on the side of the road. We didn't know if he left family behind or not when he joined us, but we were family. That night when I pulled us into town, we sang a song just for him. He told us once that our singing helped him sleep, so we sung as loud as we could, just to make sure that he heard us. Had everypony in town in tears. After we finished, we sat in the wagon and cried. We all blamed ourselves. We figured that if somepony else had pulled the wagon every once in a while he'd have not gone so early in his years.” He shook his head. “But it didn't matter anymore. He was gone, and we had to move on. So we did. We sung for him in every town we visited. That same song, as loud as we could, every time, at the end of every show. We promised each other that we'd make sure he slept peacefully from then on, in honor of the years he was with us. Years we carried on like that. Then...” He shrugged and swept a hoof at the rest of the stones, “The rest of them went. Right after another. I'm the only one left. An orphan from a family without names.” He finished sadly. Shimmercoat suddenly thought of something.

“That song you sing, the song where you only sing one part, it's the song you sung for your driver, isn't it?” He asked. Mister Blues nodded.

“Yep. We only sung our parts. We never learned each others piece.” He said.

“Why not?” Shimmer asked. Mister Blues shook his head.

“Each piece of the song was each of us singing to him. It's personal. It'd be like me mourning over your filly as if I was you. It's just not what you do, y'know?” Shimmercoat nodded.

“How about you, Mister Blues? Did you have any marefriends on your tour of Equestria?” The blue colt asked.

“Not exactly,” The stallion replied, “There were mares, yeah. More than you'd believe. Heck, I may even have a few foals of my own wandering around out there. Don't get me wrong, kid. I loved every single one of them, but I loved the music more. It called to us. Our group didn't come together as a planned thing, kid. We just started singing together one day. I don't think we ever actually introduced ourselves to each other. We just sang, and we knew each other by our songs.”

“How do you keep going? After losing your friends, being alone. How can you keep going?” Shimmercoat asked, staring at the gravestones.

“Simple, kid. You honor them in some way, make sure you never forget them. Me? I sing for them. All of them. And one day,” Mister Blues added after a moment, “We'll all sing together again. I keep hoping that one day I'll be standin' here, and suddenly it'll be like it used to be. All of the sudden I'll hear singing and go on down the road again. Chances are, though, that my time is done, and I'll die here. Wouldn't be so bad, in the end. I've lived a good life, no regrets and all that. That's another thing you can do for her, kid. At the end, when the reaper comes to call, make sure you lived your life so that you can walk up to her in the afterlife and she'll look proudly at you. Because you don't want to reach the end of the story and have her disappointed. Make her proud, kid. Even if you don't make something grand with your life, make her proud.”

Shimmercoat nodded, his vision blurring with tears. “I will.”

Mister Blues looked down at the blue colt and smiled. “I'm sure you will, lad. I'm sure you will.”

The two sat in silence for almost an hour before Mister Blues left. Shimmercoat walked back over to the Fizzle's grave and stared at the grave marker, thinking about what the elder colt had told him. As he stared at the flimsy wooden gravestone, he began to feel angry at it. It was bland. Just a piece of wood with a name and some numbers carved into it. Nothing compared to how he felt about her. Nothing compared to what she meant to him. After a few quiet words, he turned towards the forge and ran. He knew how to honor her. He knew the perfect way. He just needed some steel.

But the Stars Will Shine Again

A knock at the door brought Mirror trotting down the stairs to answer it. She looked through the peephole and saw Ebony and Ivory.

“I'll be back later!” She called back into the house so that her mother would know that she was leaving. She stepped outside and nuzzled the twins that were standing on her doorstep.

“Howdy, sugarcube.” Ivory said, “How're y'all doin'?”

“I'm alright. I'm a little tired, though. Shimmercoat's been in the forge for the last couple of nights hammering away at something he wouldn't even show dad. It's really starting to bug me.”

“Maybe we should go ask yer brother if he wants t' come with us.” Ebony said.

“If you want to, go ahead. He's hardly even stopped to eat, let alone go anywhere aside from occasionally teleporting out for a few hours. There are books scattered about in there, so I guess he goes to the library, but I don't think that's the only place he visits.” Mirror said, gesturing towards the forge.

Ebony shrugged and wandered towards the forge while Mirror and Ivory stood on the porch talking. As he neared the structure the sounds of a hammer striking metal, faint from the front door that faced away from the forge, grew clearer. When he reached the door, the sound was almost deafening. Turning slightly, the large black stallion tapped on the door with a rear hoof. When there was no answer, he knocked a bit louder. When there was still no response from inside, he landed a solid kick on the door, shaking it in its frame. Finally, the ringing stopped for a moment, and Shimmercoat opened the door, a wave of heat rolling out. His mane was matted to his face with sweat, and Ebony only caught a glimpse of what was being worked on before Shimmercoat spoke, drawing his attention.

“Hello, Ebony. Is there something you need?” The blue stallion said. He sounded impatient, but was still being polite.

“Howdy, Shimmercoat,” Ebony replied, “Our sister's and I were gonna head to th' park t' watch a play bein' put on by some of th' younger colts and fillies from th' school. We were wonderin' if you wanted t' come with.”

Shimmercoat shook his head. “Sorry, Ebony. I'm right in the middle of something.”

Ebony nodded. “Yer sister figured as much, but Ah thought Ah'd ask. Oh well. Have a nice day.”

Shimmercoat nodded and shut the door. Ebony had only gotten a few steps away when the ringing started back up again. The black stallion walked back up to the giggling mares and smiled.

“Well, you were right. He's too caught up in whatever it is that he's doin'. Shall we?” He said, nodding towards the center of town.

The trio set off towards the park, making idle chatter as they passed the crews of ponies repairing buildings. As they walked, Mirror couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, but every time she looked, she couldn't see anypony looking at her. After a few times of looking over her shoulder, Ivory nudged her.

“What's up, sugarcube? Y'all see somethin' interestin'?” She asked.

“Nah, but I keep feeling like somepony is watching me. It's weird, and I don't see anypony when I turn around.” Mirror replied.

“If there is somepony watchin' you, Ah wouldn't blame 'em.” Ivory said, winking at Mirror, who grinned.

“Maybe they're watching the both of us. Two of the finest flanks walking through town.” Mirror said.

“And the luckiest stallion to walk Equestria.” Ebony added, smiling at the pair of them. The mares giggled and blushed as they walked, and Ebony chuckled at them.

As they approached the park, they noticed that the stage from the awards ceremony had been repurposed for use by the school and that a good portion of the town was sitting on blankets in front of it. The trio sat a little distance away from the stage, Ebony laying down first with Mirror and Ivory piling on top of him.

“Do y'all still feel like yer bein' watched?” Ivory said once they were comfortable.

“Kinda,” Mirror replied, “But it's not as intense as it was before.” She glanced around at the ponies in the park, but none of them were looking their direction. On a whim, she glanced up at the row of rooftops and saw something move. She nudged Ivory.

“Hey, look over there, on that rooftop,” She said, pointing, “Do you see something?” Ivory looked in the indicated direction and squinted.

“As a matter of fact, Ah do! There's somepony up there watchin' us.” She said. Ebony chuckled again. “What's so funny?” His sister asked him, poking him.

“Ah was wonderin' when y'all were gonna notice him. He's been followin' us fer awhile now.” The black stallion replied. Mirror jabbed him in the ribs with a hoof.

“Why didn't you tell me this earlier?” She demanded.

“Y'all didn't ask.” He said simply. She opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. He had a point.

“Well, I'm gonna go see who it is!” The gray mare declared before standing. She lit her horn and cast a teleport spell, disappearing in a silver flash and reappearing on the rooftop where she saw something. She looked down and saw a pony, but something was odd. This pony was a blue-gray color, with a lighter blue mane and emerald eyes. The odd part was the bat wings coming from his back and his slit pupils. He stared up at her for a moment in shock before emitting a high pitched squeak and launching himself from the rooftop.

“Wait! Come back! Who are you? What are you?” She called after him. He stopped a ways away and turned to look at her. He hovered there for a moment before turning and bolting towards the edge of town. The strange pony dove below the rooftops and Mirror lost sight of him. She stared towards where he had gone and shook her head. I've never seen a pony like that before. I wonder if the twins know anything about him. She thought to herself before turning and teleporting back to where the twins were waiting. As she appeared she stumbled and Ebony barely caught her before she fell.

“Whoa there, sugarcube. Are y'all alright?” Ivory asked as her brother gently lowered Mirror to the ground.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I never really practiced teleporting all that often, so it takes a lot out of me.” The gray mare replied, gratefully leaning against Ebony.

“So, did ya see anythin'?” Ivory asked her.

“Yeah, actually. It was the strangest thing. It was a pony, but not like I've ever seen. He was kinda this blueish gray, and he had wings, but they were bat wings. His eyes were odd, too. They were this really cool green color, but they had slit pupils, like a dragon.” She glanced up to the rooftop. “He headed towards that old shack near the edge of town. I wonder if that's where he lives...”

“Well, why don't we go check it out?” Ivory asked.

“Aren't we going to watch the play?” Mirror replied, nodding towards the stage.

“Sugarcube, y'all just discovered a new type of pony. Ah think we can stand t' miss a play.” Ivory said, smiling. Ebony helped Mirror back on her hooves and then stepped back. Mirror looked between the two of them, then started walking towards the edge of town.

As they walked, Mirror kept an eye on the rooftops, trying to spot the strange pony. She saw a few pegasi flying about, but no bat-winged pony. When they entered the town's main residential area, Ivory gently nudged Mirror.

“So, yer brother's a knight now. Knighted by th' princess fer distractin' the pirates. He's the reason this part of town is still standin'.” She said.

“I guess. So?” Mirror replied.

“So does that mean y'all are some sorta royalty? Gonna get a big house up in Canterlot, move in with a buncha fancy ponies?” Mirror giggled at her.

“I don't know. I don't even know what the title gives to Shimmercoat, let alone the rest of us. For all we know, we get a castle and maids and stuff.” Mirror said.

Ivory chuckled. “Could you imagine yer brother with a butler? That'd be funny.” The three of them shared a laugh as they cleared the last building.

The shack on the edge of town had been abandoned for years. The tin shack, rusted from the elements, was only standing due to the fact that nopony felt like tearing it down, and it wasn't impeding anything, so ponies just left it alone. Over the years, a number of ghost stories had started about the rusty structure, but nopony really remembered what it had originally been used for. Even the village records didn't contain anything about anypony ever having lived there, or if it had ever really been used.

Mirror opened the door to the shack, the rusty piece of metal grinding on its hinges. Beyond it lay a wooden ramp leading down into a large tunnel.

She glanced back at the Keys twins

“Should we go down?” She asked.

“If'n y'all are headed down, we'll go with ya.” Ebony replied. Ivory nodded her agreement. Mirror smiled at them before turning and stepping down the ramp. Their hoofsteps echoed loudly in the darkness.

They descended into the tunnel, the light from above fading until they were walking in inky blackness. Mirror lit her horn, the dim light of her magic pushing the darkness back a little ways. As they progressed, they began to hear odd squeaking noises echoing down the tunnel. Mirror recognized the sound. It was similar to the sound that the odd pony made right before he fled. The sounds they were hearing now were a bit more relaxed, almost as if it was some form of speech.

Finally, the tunnel ended in a large stone slab cut into the surrounding rock. In the middle of the stone was a small hole, with an image next to it depicting a tiny pony speaking into the door.

“It looks like the door needs a password of some sort.” Mirror said, bringing her horn closer to the door to get a better look at the picture.

Ivory stepped up to the hole.

“Open sesame.” She said. Her voice echoed oddly throughout the door, but it remained closed

“That's a strange door.” Ebony said, looking the slab up and down.

“Any ideas?” Mirror asked, looking back at the twins.

“Well, if'n the door is set up t' echo like that, it's prob'ly got somethin' t' do with openin' it.” Ivory said, peering into the hole in the door.

The trio sat in front of the smooth stone and racked their brains. Suddenly, Mirror perked up.

“Wait, listen for a moment.” She said.

“All Ah c'n hear is that squeakin'” Ivory said, covering an ear with a hoof.

“That's what I mean!” Mirror replied excitedly, “I bet that's how you open the door!”

“That's all 'n good, sugarcube, but none of us squeak like that.” Ivory replied.

“Not right now we don't, but give me a second.” Mirror said. She shut her eyes and called to her magic, her form blurring as she assumed the form of the odd pony from earlier that day.

“Oh yeah, Ah forgot that y'all c'n do that.” Ebony said. Mirror smiled at them, turned, and made the same squeak she heard earlier. It echoed through the door, and the odd squeaking noises they had been hearing stopped suddenly as the door slowly ground open. She changed back into her normal form and shook her head.

“I didn't hear that weird pony speak, so I can't talk when I'm him. It's a little annoying.” Mirror said.

“That makes sense.” Ebony said.

“What Ah wanna know is why the squeakin' just stopped.” Ivory said, her voice dropping to just above a whisper.

“I dunno,” Mirror replied, grinning at the twins, “But I'm gonna find out.” Without waiting for a response, the silver mare turned and continued onwards into the dark, the twins trailing cautiously after her. They had only progressed a few yards before Mirror noticed something.

“Hey guys, is it getting lighter in here or is it just me?” She asked over her shoulder. She extinguished her horn, cutting the light emanating from it. From down the passageway there was a faint blue light that illuminated the tunnel enough that the trio could see. A few yards more and they could see the end of the tunnel.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, the three ponies stopped in their tracks and gazed open-mouthed at the wondrous sight that lay before them. In front of them was an enormous underground city built in a vast cavern, buildings built both from the ground up and from the ceiling down, lights in windows carved from massive stalactites. Flitting up and down from these huge pieces of stone were more ponies like what Mirror had seen earlier. Gigantic, intricately carved staircases reached upwards to the hanging structures, providing a way for those without wings to access them. The group could see small groups of ponies walking up and down the staircases. Large white crystals growing on the walls of the cavern bathed the entire city in a soft glow, but the brightest light came from the center of the cavern. Dwarfing the city around it was a titanic pillar of the same crystal that adorned the walls. Easily a half mile in diameter, it was mostly untouched, save for a small archway cut into its base. Mirror glanced upwards, but the glow of the crystals didn't reach the ceiling anywhere but where the tower met the top of the cavern.

Three ponies, one each of earth, pegasus, and unicorn, quickly approached the stunned surface ponies. The three of them stopped, the unicorn a step ahead of the others. After a moment of the two groups staring at each other, the unicorn spoke.

“Hello, surface dwellers. I am Moon Star, the elder of this colony. Who are you, and why are you here?” She said in an oddly high-pitched voice. It sounded as if she were deliberately lowering her pitch to make herself understood without squeaking. Her eyes were a brilliant white that seemed mildly luminescent, and her dark blue mane was streaked with silver. Despite the color of her mane and tail, and her title, she didn't seem much older than Mirror.

“My name is Mirror, and these are my friends, Ebony and Ivory Keys.” The silver mare said, nodding her head to each of the twins in turn. “We were following one of your kind who was following me around.”

“What? Impossible. We are not allowed to be outside during the daylight. Are you sure that the one following you was indeed a Nocturnal?” Moon Star replied, her eyes narrowing.

“Yeah. He was a... What did you call yourselves? Nocturnal? He was a Nocturnal pegasus, with a light blue mane and deep green eyes.” Mirror replied, recalling what he had looked like. Y'know, she thought to herself, he was kinda cute, all embarrassed like that. I wonder what he'll do now that I've come to stalk him. Her train of thought was cut off by the elder speaking again, this time to the air above them.

“Report. Did one of ours leave or return today during the sunlight hours.?” She ordered. Mirror was confused for a moment before two groups of four Nocturnal pegasi dropped from the shadows above the cave entrance. They were all armored in dark purple steel, and they carried matching spears. The shapechanging mare was stunned. Not one of the three of them had even noticed the guards, and nor would they have stood any kind of chance if the elder had ordered them to attack. One of them, whose armor was lightly trimmed in silver, saluted and replied.

“Yes, elder. Keeneye was seen leaving and then returning earlier today.” He said, his voice only a little deeper than the elder's.

“Why was he not stopped? You all know that nopony is allowed to leave during those hours! He should have been detained!” The elder snapped, glaring at the guards.

“We didn't see him on his way out,” The lead guard replied, looking embarrassed, “And we didn't think that it mattered if we stopped him on his way back, though he did look rather panicked.”

“That would have been my fault.” Mirror said, sheepishly raising a hoof. When they all turned and looked at her, she continued, “I kinda spooked him when I caught him stalking me. I wasn't trying to hurt him, I just wanted to know what he was. I've never seen ponies like you before.”

The elder chuckled. Or, what Mirror thought was a chuckle, but it came out as a repeated squeaking noise. “Of course not. We are a secret colony for a reason.” The elder said.

“An' what reason would that be?” Ivory cut in, “It's not like anypony's gonna attack you or nothin', so why keep yerselves all cooped up down here?”

Moon Star raised an eyebrow at the pale mare. “We have had... Bad experiences in the past. Before we were selected as the ideal ponies to be Luna's Night Guard, ponies hunted us because we were different. Then, she was banished for a thousand years, and the old attitudes resurfaced, grew stronger. At first, they attacked us because they didn't understand what we were, then when Nightmare Moon appeared, we were attacked because we shared several of her characteristics. There was no connection, but at that point the ponies were in a state of panic. So, we hid ourselves underground wherever we could, starting colonies to wait out the thousand years of banishment. After a while, though, we just got used to it. We learned how to cultivate edible plants underground, and since then have been self-sufficient.”

“So you guys are all part of the Night Guard?” Mirror asked.

“No. If Luna knew we were here, she would be able to pick from the eligible volunteers that are in our own guard corps. It is the price for the gifts that she gave to us. But, being as far out of the way as we are, we are pretty sure she has no idea we exist this far away from Canterlot. So, we just keep the guards up to the standards set to us a thousand years ago.” Moon Star replied, waving a hoof at the guards hovering above them. “However,” She continued, glaring again at the eight pegasi, “We may have to set the standard a bit higher if the guards cannot even keep a single stallion where he is supposed to be!” The guards flinched at her words, and looked away.

“Anyway, you three are welcome here for the time being. You have done nothing hostile towards us, so you are allowed to wander the town. But,” She said, her piercing gaze coming to rest on the surface ponies again, “I ask that you tell nopony of our existence. I do not want any kind of trouble to befall my people.”

“That's fair, even if I don't think that you'll have any trouble with the ponies on the surface. We won't tell anypony that you guys are down here.” Mirror replied, looking back at the twins. They both nodded. The elder smiled, and the Nocturnal guards relaxed.

“Well then. Welcome, to the colony of Stormshadow.” She said. “My friend here, Crystal Rampart,” She pointed to the earth pony, who smiled and winked one of his ice blue eyes, “Will show you around the town. If you need anything from me, do not be afraid to ask.” She turned and walked away, being followed by the pegasus that had not spoken. Mirror suddenly noticed that the pegasus was wearing specially made armor, whisper silent and extremely form fitting. I bet Shimmercoat would love to know how to make stuff like that. She thought.

“Please, call me Crys.” The earth pony said, bowing, “Before I take you on the grand tour, is there anything specific you want to see or any questions you want to ask?”

“Yes, actually. I want to know where Keeneye lives. I've got a few questions to ask.” Mirror asked.

“Oh, and do y'all have someplace where ponies play music?” Ivory added.

“We have a concert hall, yes. I will take you there first, then we can go visit Keeneye.” Crystal said, turning. “Please, follow me.”

The group walked down the street, the surface ponies looking all around themselves, fascinated by all of the extraordinary craftsponyship required to carve out all of the houses.

“How long have y'all been carvin' these houses?” Ivory asked, waving her stump at the buildings towering around her.

“Out here is some more recent construction,” Crystal said, smiling at some of the Nocturnals they passed on the street, “This district is only a few generations old. Closer to the core, though, we have records dating back almost eight hundred years.” There was an undeniable note of pride in his voice.

“Y'all have been down here fer eight hundred years?” Ivory asked. “An' nopony knew about y'all before now? You've been here almost as long as Stormgate has.”

“As you've probably gathered from talking to the elder, we've been very careful about revealing our existence to the town above. In all the time we've been here, only about a dozen other ponies have discovered our home. So far, we've been lucky that none of them intended us harm.” The earth pony replied.

The group progressed through an intersection and Mirror noticed a market down a different street.

“Hey Crys, do you guys use bits or something else for money?” She asked him, stopping. He chuckled and stepped beside her.

“Yes. We still use bits. Most of them are collectors items to you and yours by now. A great deal of the ones we use are from the original mints.” He turned and leaned towards her conspiratorially. “Sometimes, if we see something particularly noteworthy about a pony, we sneak into their houses and replace one of their bits with one of our ancient ones. Who knows, if Keeneye was indeed stalking you, like you said, perhaps you should check your coin purse. He might have left you a gift.” He winked at her and turned to continue. She blushed and followed a step behind, Ebony and Ivory nudging her and smiling at her embarrassment. As they passed another intersection, Mirror levitated out her bit pouch and glanced inside. Sure enough, amidst the dozen or so relatively shiny coins was a dull one. She levitated it out and inspected it. An ancient of its breed, the date stamped on its faded surface was indeed over a thousand years ago.

Distracted as she was, she didn't notice the group stop, so she ran full-tilt into Crystal. She stumbled a moment before regaining her balance, but her magic wavered enough to drop the coin. Crystal caught it and stood there grinning at her.

“What did I tell you? One genuine grade-A ancient coin, given to you in secret by a pony that you've only seen once who belongs to a society that nopony knows exists.” He said, looking at the coin in the light of a nearby crystal. “Anyway, we're here at the concert hall.”

Mirror looked up at the building in front of her. The entirety of one of the massive stalagmites had been hollowed out to create the concert hall. One half of the hall was a stage, large enough to accommodate multiple orchestras comfortably, while the other half was rows upon rows upon rows of intricately carved seating. Mirror had no doubt that the majority of the Nocturnal colony could fit in here. The silver mare glanced over to the Keys twins, and noticed that they were leaning against each other staring up at the building in awe. While it was an impressive feat of architecture, she supposed that it would be even more impressive to somepony who knew more about music than she did.

“You guys alright?” She asked, gently nudging the both of them.

“Yeah. We're alright. Would ya look at that? Th' whole buildin' is rigged up as a huge echo chamber, like th' door was. If'n y'all were standin' on that stage, ya could talk in yer normal voice an' still be heard all th' way back here.” Ivory said. Ebony nodded, then added; “Just imagine what a piano would sound like in there. It'd be a thing o' beauty.”

“So, you two play the piano, then?” Crystal asked them. They both nodded without taking their eyes off of the hall. “You wanna play a piece? Later tonight we're having a free play night. Anypony that wants to can just come in and play.”

“Really?” Ivory said excitedly, turning to face him, “Anypony c'n just come on in and play?”

“Yup,” He said, nodding, “It gives a chance for new musicians to be heard. If you're good enough, you might even get offered to play here on a regular basis,” He laughed, “That would be something. Coupla surface dwelling Earthies coming down here to play concerts in secret.”

“D'ya really think that could happen?” Ebony asked him, hope in his voice.

“Depends. The elder's okay with you guys being down here, so it's really all down to you two. Or three. If you're good enough, anything is possible.” Crystal said, winking at Mirror again.

“Three? Whaddya mean three?” Ivory asked, missing the wink.

“I think he means me as well.” Mirror said.

“Shoot. Ah never asked. Do y'all play anythin' or sing, sugarcube?” The pale mare asked.

Mirror suddenly started blushing and she looked down. “I-I sing a little, but I'd just mess you guys up...” Ebony walked over and nuzzled her.

“Ya don't have t' do anythin' if'n ya don't want to, but Ah'd like t' hear ya sing sometime.” He said.

“Thanks.” She said, smiling up at him. “You guys have fun, I'll be back here later after I go talk to my stalker.”

“Y'all should drag him back here with ya. Ah wanna meet this stalker pony.” Ivory said.

“You only wanna see him because I made him sound cute.” Mirror teased, nudging Ivory's flank with her own.

“Because y'all kept going on about his eyes.” Ivory replied, pouting at the silver mare.

“I only said they were green.” Mirror protested.

“Y'all said deep green, sugarcube, Ah remember.” The pale mare said, grinning at her.

“Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later.” Mirror replied. Ivory leaned forward and gently kissed her goodbye. Mirror walked up to Ebony and kissed him as well. He grinned as she turned and walked away, Crystal following her.

The Nocturnal stepped up next to her while they were walking, opened his mouth as if he were going to speak, then shook his head and closed his mouth.

“Something you want to say, Captain?” She said, smiling at him.

“As a matter of fact, yeah.” He said snidely. Mirror's smile vanished as he continued. “I don't think it's right for you to be with both of them.”

“Oh, and why is that?” She said angrily.

“Look at them, their legs. For all you know it could be genetic. If he got you pregnant, you could have foals that are crippled like him. I don't really care about what you do with the filly, after all, she's probably easy to get on her back, but I don't think you should be with the stallion.” He said. Mirror stopped and stared at him for a moment. “If you two want some real male companionship, I'd be more than happy to oblige.” He continued, turning and winking at her. When he turned, however, he discovered Mirror had stepped up and placed her face mere inches from his.

“You asinine little prick!” She shouted, drawing the attention of some nearby Nocturnals, “You conceited bastard!” She yelled after a moment, slapping him. “Let me tell you something, those 'cripples' are two incredibly kind ponies who just lost one of their best friends, and I will not tolerate you slandering them!” He stood for a moment, eyes wide in surprise before they narrowed.

“I won't forget this.” He said quietly, glancing at the small crowd that had gathered around them.

“Good!” She said, gesturing back towards the direction they were headed, “Now, show me where Keeneye lives like the elder told you to.”

“Right this way, miss.” He said, his voice dripping with contempt.

The rest of the trip proceeded without either one of them saying anything, Mirror silently fuming at Crystal. Finally, they entered one of the massive stalactites only a few streets away from the core. Crystal Rampart walked up to one of the doors on the ground floor and knocked on it. Mirror heard a faint squeak from inside, and a few moments later the door opened to a Nocturnal unicorn mare. Mirror was immediately struck by the mare's eyes. One was a deep green, like Keeneye's, while the other was a crystalline purple color.

“Hey Siren. Your brother went topside and got the attention of some surfacers. This is Mirror. She's come down here to find out why he was stalking her.” Crystal said quickly, winking and cutting off the mare. Mirror was dumbfounded by the way his attitude changed.

Siren rolled her mismatched eyes, flipped her long purple mane out of her face, and turned back into the house. She immediately started squeaking angrily at somepony Mirror couldn't see. Siren winced as a door slammed shut, and she sighed, turning back to the ponies on her doorstep.

“Mirror, was it? Please, come in. Squeaks has locked himself in his room, and it'll probably take me a few to get him out.” She said, sounding annoyed at her brother's antics.

“What about me?” Crystal asked, smiling at her.

“Look, Cryssy, your little wink-and-smile routine may get the other mares to swoon, but we both know it ain't gonna work on me. And, we both know what you're after. And we both know you're not gonna get it, so lets just skip to the end, hmm?” She replied, stepping out of the way to let Mirror pass. His smile immediately vanished, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

“One of these days, Siren, I may just take what I want.” He said, his tone suddenly serious. She laughed mockingly at him.

“The only thing you're gonna take is abuse, Cryssy. Now get outta here.” She said, shutting the door in his face.

Meanwhile, Mirror was looking around the inside of the Nocturnal den. All of the furniture was carved from the rock that made up the majority of the city, while the chairs and couches had cushions woven out of some pale white thread. The table had the remains of a meal, probably lunch, still sitting on the surface. A light dusting of cobwebs sat in the corners of the room, and Mirror spotted a spiderweb, roughly the size of the table, stretched across a wall.

“Sorry about the mess,” Siren said, “I wasn't expecting guests today, or else I'd have spruced the place up a bit.”

“No big deal. I live with an older brother, and his room is not exactly what I'd call clean.” Mirror replied, smiling. “However, I don't think I've ever seen a web that size before. The spider that lives there must be huge!”

“Nah, he's still not fully grown yet,” Siren said, “Here, let me show you.”

Before Mirror could say anything, the Nocturnal mare disappeared into a room. A moment later, she reemerged carrying the biggest spider Mirror had ever seen on her back. Easily the size of a serving platter, the dark blue arachnid sat perfectly still, looking at her.

“Gaah!” Mirror cried, jumping back.

“Hey, don't worry. He's harmless. Well, mostly. Unless you either piss him off or are some form of insect, you should be fine. His name's Eril.” Siren said, turning to the side to give Mirror a better view. At the mention of his name, Eril waved his front legs at Mirror and made an odd chirping noise.

“S-so what, he's your pet?” The silver mare stuttered, still slightly shaken.

“Kinda?” Siren replied, “Omega lets us keep 'em as long as we treat them well. Eril here is more of a pet than some of the others. Heck, these guys are where we get our cloth from. Spider silk thread. Really durable stuff, and it's really soft, too. He's not a spinner, though, he just keeps us company.”

“Omega? Who's that?” Mirror asked.

“Well...” Siren replied, looking at the ceiling, “I think it'll be better to show you than tell you. Come on.” She turned and walked out the front door, immediately turning and walking up a staircase, Mirror trailing behind.

“What about your brother?” The silver mare asked.

“He'll come out after he realizes we've left. He's just shy. Especially around ponies he doesn't know.” The Nocturnal replied, “Here we are.”

Mirror glanced around and realized that they were now at the top of the cavern.

“How'd we get up here so fast?” She asked.

“Minor time magic.” Siren replied, “To you, it's only been a few seconds, but if you look at a clock, it was about five-ish minutes. Helps stave off the boredom of walking up and down stairs all day.” She walked down a short hallway onto a balcony. Mirror stepped up behind her and looked up. Now that she was up close, instead of on ground level, she noticed that the ceiling was covered in spider webbing. This webbing was unique, however, in that the strands were almost a foot in diameter. Off in the distance, she thought she saw something moving, and she could see that a couple of the strands passing over her head were twitching.

“Uhh... Siren. What are we doing?” Mirror said. She finally brought her gaze down from the webs to look at the Nocturnal, who was reaching up and gently plucking at one of the strands of web. “For that matter, what are you doing?”

“I'm just trying to call Omega over here. I don't think she's busy at the moment, but you never really know.” Siren said, squinting into the darkness. “Ah, here she comes.”

What Mirror saw next almost sent her running back down the staircase. Out of the darkness, hanging from the webs, emerged an arachnid that would have dwarfed any building in Stormgate. The stalagmite that they were standing on gently quaked as the enormous purple spider approached. Eril, still perched on Siren's back, suddenly became excited, waving his front legs and chirping. Omega settled onto the webbing directly in front of the two ponies, and looked down at them.

“Hello, Siren. How are you today?” She said, the words being oddly distorted and punctuated by chirping noises.

“I'm doing just fine, Omega. Oh, and Eril is too!” The Nocturnal replied, lifting the arachnid on her back up with her magic. Omega and Eril chirped at each other for a moment, and Siren gently put him on one of the massive web cables. He immediately scurried along and climbed up onto Omega's head, where he settled down and quietly started chirping repeatedly. Mirror thought it sounded a lot like the spider was purring. Then her thoughts were interrupted by Omega leaning down to take a closer look at her, eyes glinting with the light of the core.

“What is your name, child?” She asked

“M-my name is M-Mirror.” The silver mare stammered in response. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribs. Normally, she wasn't one to be scared of spiders, but this one was positively huge.

“Relax, little one. I have been watching you since you entered this place. You have nothing to fear. You have promised to keep the secret of the Nocturnals, so I will not let you come to harm.” The spider said gently.

“S-sorry, I j-just have never s-seen a spider so... Massive, before.” Mirror said.

“I am not surprised. My kind are rare, few and far between. Most of us live underground, in deep tunnels that your kind have no knowledge of. The rest hide in the heart of forests,” Omega said, “Despite our size, we have few difficulties hiding from the rest of the world.”

“Uh. If you don't mind my asking, what do you eat?” Mirror asked.

“I subsist mostly on the magic of this place. I also eat the unusually large rodents that the Nocturnals find in the lower tunnels.” Omega replied.

“So, you don't eat ponies,” Mirror said, “That's good.”

“Not usually.” The spider replied. Siren let out a forced laugh and started tugging Mirror towards the stairs.

“Let's go see if my brother has come out of his room yet.” She said, “See you later, Omega. Come on, Eril.”

“Goodbye, Siren.” Omega said as Eril bungee'd back down to where the ponies were standing.

“Nice meeting you.” Mirror said.

“Indeed.” Was all the purple arachnid said before she turned and wandered off, quickly vanishing into the darkness.

The two mares proceeded back down the staircase, Mirror trying to figure out exactly where the time spell triggered. As far as she could tell, it triggered the moment you weren't thinking about it, due to the fact that it happened when she was distracted by Eril chirping at her.

Siren opened the door to her house, then gestured for Mirror to enter first. The silver mare walked in and saw Keeneye, who was cleaning the table. He immediately let out a panicked squeak and ran for his room, but Siren cut him off.

“Hey. You were the one stalking her, so it's time for you to pony up and talk to her.” Siren told him sternly. Mirror was reminded of the time, not long ago, that she had told her brother that. I hope he's doing okay... She thought to herself, missing the fact that Keeneye had spoken to her.

“I'm sorry, what?” She said, shaking her head.

“Uh... I-I said h-hi. M-my name is Keeneye.” He said. His voice was much higher pitched than any of the other Nocturnals that Mirror had spoken to.

“But we all call 'im Squeaks because his voice is so high,” Siren said, nudging him with her shoulder. Eril took the opportunity during the brief contact to step over to Keeneye's back. The blue arachnid then climbed up and perched on the stallion's head. Keeneye looked cross-eyed up at the spider and sighed. Mirror giggled at the high pitched sound and Keeneye turned a bright crimson.

“Look at him blush!” Siren teased, “He's got it baaad for you.” Keeneye stammered for a moment, but couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence.

“Relax, hun. You're gonna pass out here in a minute if you don't remember to breathe.” Mirror said to him. He stopped stammering for a moment and took a deep breath. He exhaled in a long drawn out squeak, and Mirror couldn't help herself. She started laughing loudly at the adorable Nocturnal, who turned an even brighter shade of red and started staring fixedly at the ground. Siren started laughing with her, and the two of them collapsed to the floor together.

“I'm sorry,” Mirror said when she regained a bit of her composure, “That was just the most adorable thing I've ever seen.”

“Wasn't it?” Siren asked her, “He's got a sort of a fan club going on down here, but he's either too shy to approach any of them, or he's only got eyes for you.”

“So? Don't act like I'm the only one, Siren,” Keeneye said, finally finding his voice, “You've been spurning the advances of every stallion down here because you want to have some epic romance with a colt on the surface.”

“So what? Nocturnals are all the same basic colors. I like the bright variety of the ponies on the surface. Besides, when my choices are a bunch of dirtbags like Cryssy, what am I supposed to do?” She replied.

“What is that guy's deal, anyway?” Mirror asked.

“Who, Crystal?” Keeneye replied, “He's a jerk who does anything that he can to get with every mare that he can. In his world, every mare belongs to him, so he hates it when they form relationships that aren't with him. Unless it's with another mare, but that's because he thinks it's all for his pleasure.”

“Yikes,” Mirror said, wincing, “He's got some pretty strong delusions.”

“Yeah he does, but he's actually a competent guard, and he's not done anything against the law, so we just kinda tolerate him.” Siren said.

“But what about what he said earlier about taking what he wants?” Mirror asked.

“It wouldn't end well for him. It's mandatory for every stallion to serve as a guard for a couple of years, and mares can volunteer for the training as well, so we're both just as well trained as he is,” Siren said, “Not to mention the fact that there are some pretty severe punishments for rape.”

“Like what?” Mirror asked.

“Well...” Siren trailed off.

“You've met Omega?” Keeneye asked.

“Yeah.” Mirror said hesitantly.

“Shut it.” Siren said to her brother, who ignored her.

“Lunch.” Was all he had to say. Mirror's eyes widened in shock before she shut them tightly and shuddered.

“She protects good ponies. From other ponies, if necessary.” Siren said.

“But still, that's just messed up.” Mirror replied.

“Well, unless the laws have changed in the last thousand years without us knowing, rape is still punishable by death or banishment. Same thing, in the end,” The Nocturnal mare replied, “Down here, Omega is completely unbiased. If she does something, she has plenty of reason to do so. She's ancient and powerful enough that she can't be influenced by anything we can do, so even if a pony wanted to try to frame a pony that was innocent, she wouldn't fall for it. As a result, the only crime that really happens down here is theft, and even that's uncommon.”

“On to something completely different,” Mirror said, deciding that she'd had enough talk involving the spider on the roof, “Why were you stalking me, Keeneye?” At the subject change, the stallion's face, which had returned to it's normal color, flamed scarlet again.

“W-w-well I was o-on the surface one n-night and I saw y-you sitting on a r-rooftop.” He stammered out in response, “Y-you looked s-so p-pretty in the m-moonlight I just k-kinda...” He trailed off, looking off to one side.

“Just kinda what?” Mirror asked, leaning towards him.

“J-just kind f-fell...” He squeaked out.

“Fell? Fell off of wha-” She stopped as what he was trying to say hit her, “Oh.” Was all she could say.

“I was right, you do have it bad for her.” Siren said, pointing at her brother.

“As if you're any different!” He said loudly, obviously irritated by his sister's teasing, “You've got it bad for that blue colt you keep watching! You keep going on about his, and I quote; luscious amethyst eyes and pale sapphire coat!” Siren's face turned a shade of red to challenge her brother's.

“S-so?” She asked defensively. Mirror sat quietly, not wanting to get in the middle of the two siblings.

“So, you always say that you want somepony that's a different color than what you can find down here, but he's not that far off, is he?” He said.

“He's enough. He's cute and he's strong and he's so... Lonely.” Siren said.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Keeneye replied.

“He's so lonely, sitting on top of that waterfall,” She said, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling, “Every time I see him, he's sitting in the same spot, staring up at the stars. Like he's waiting for something. Somepony.” Neither sibling noticed that Mirror perked up at the mention of the waterfall.

“Then talk to him,” Keeneye said, his concern for his sister overriding his irritation, “If he means that much to you, then talk to him. There's no reason why you can't.”

“Except for the fact that the elder would kill me if I did.” She replied.

“Hold on a second real quick, here,” Mirror said. Both twins looked at her in surprise, having forgotten that she was there, “This colt you're talking about, is his cutie mark a shield?”

“Yeah, why?” Siren asked.

“Because the only stallion in the whole city who is blue with purple eyes and a shield on his flank is my brother, Shimmercoat.” Mirror said. Siren's eyes went wide, and before Mirror could do anything, the Nocturnal mare's face was only inches from her own.

“Tell me everything about him,” Siren demanded. “Uh. Please?” She added after a moment.

“Everything?” Mirror asked, raising an eyebrow at the other mare.

“What does he like? What does he do for fun? What kind of mare does he like? Is he single? Oh my goodness tell me he's single.” Siren said in a rush, barely even breathing.

“Uh. Yeah. He's single... I guess...” Mirror said, trailing off. Siren caught something off in Mirror's tone and she was suddenly very concerned.

“What's wrong? Did something happen?” Siren asked.

“He was with a pegasus, but... It ended poorly...” Mirror said, not meeting the Nocturnal's gaze.

“Ooh, bad breakup, huh?” Siren asked.

“No,” Mirror said, “The town was attacked by pirates. In the resulting battle, four sailors were killed. So was one townspony.”

“Oh no,” Siren said, covering her mouth with her hooves, “It was her, wasn't it?”

“Yeah. He's...” The silver mare searched for an appropriate phrase, “Pretty messed up right now. He blames himself for her loss. It didn't help that the Princesses gave him a title. He thinks he's been rewarded for her death. The last few days he's been hard at work in the forge, hammering away at something he won't even let dad see. He hardly eats, and I don't know if he's slept recently. I'm really worried that he's going to work himself to death in there.” She said.

“Then you should talk to him,” Keeneye said, “And don't let him refuse.”

“I would if I could, but he'd probably just teleport away or shield the doorway. He gets pretty stubborn when his special projects are concerned. You should have seen it when he was working on his armor. Dad taught him the basics, and he was in there for weeks. Wake up, go to school, rush home and dive right back into the forge. He made three sets of armor before he was satisfied with what he had, and even now he occasionally reforges a piece.”

“He made his own armor? That's pretty cool,” Siren said, “We've only got a couple of ponies down here that can do metalworking, and we don't have a whole lot of metal to work with.”

“I'll talk to him for you,” Keeneye said, “If you're worried that he won't speak to you, I'll try.”

“Keeneye, we both know that if we talk to the surface ponies that we'll be in deep trouble.” Siren said.

“I don't care.” Keeneye said defiantly. Siren raised an eyebrow at him. “I don't care if the elder tries to send Omega after me, I'll help Mirror if she needs it.”

“Wow,” His sister replied, surprised, “She means that much to you, does she?” Keeneye blushed, but kept his sister's gaze.

“Y-yes. And if this colt means as much to you as Mirror means to me, maybe you should be the one to talk to him.” He said.

“Keeneye,” Mirror said, “How come I mean so much to you? We've only just met.”

“W-well...” He said, barely meeting her gaze, “I-I don't really k-know, honestly. But, o-of all the t-things I've heard about l-love, I've never once h-heard that l-love was sane.” The silver mare blushed and smiled at him.

“Now that you mention it, I've never heard that either.” She said. She stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. He sat perfectly still for a moment, eyes wide, before squeaking and falling over.

“Now you've done it,” Siren said, “He's gone and fainted.” She looked up and raised an eyebrow at Mirror, who looked as if she was lost in thought. “Bit for your thoughts?”

“Well, I just realized something. A couple of things, actually. First thing, your brother certainly has a way with words,” Mirror said, “Second thing, I don't really know where to go from here.”

“What do you mean? He likes you, you obviously like him, what's there to think about?” Siren replied.

“The thing is, I'm currently in a relationship.” Mirror said.

“Really? With who?” Siren asked.

“Ebony and Ivory. A pair of twins that live topside.” Mirror replied.

“Oh. That does pose a bit of a problem. What are you going to do about it?” Siren asked her.

“I... I don't know. I know I don't want to hurt anypony here, but I don't know how to go about doing it.” The silver mare replied.

“Do you love them?” Siren asked, suddenly very intently looking at Mirror.

“Yes.”

“Do you care for my brother?”

“Yes.”

“You're a bit mixed up all the sudden, aren't you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Siren said finally, “Maybe you should try talking to the twins.”

“I think I will,” Mirror said, “When does the free-play at the concert hall start?”

Siren looked at a clock in the hallway. “About ten minutes, why?”

“Because they came down here with me, and that's where they'll be.” Mirror replied.

“They play an instrument?” Siren asked.

“Yeah, they play the piano. I've been dying to know what they sound like, I've never heard them play before.” Mirror replied.

“Then lets go!” Siren said, “I'll leave a note so that Squeaks will find us when he wakes up.”

One minute of hasty scribbling later, the mares wandered through the town towards the concert hall.

“What do the twins look like?” Siren asked.

“Ebony is a big black stallion, and Ivory is a petite white mare. Well, more of a really really faint yellow than white, but it doesn't really matter,” Mirror replied, “Their cutie marks are each one-half of a yin-yang.”

“Their special talent is being together?” Siren asked.

“Basically. It makes more sense when you hang out with them.” Mirror replied.

The two of them progressed in silence for a few minutes before Mirror spoke again.

“What's your cutie mark? I don't think I've actually seen it.” She asked.

“It's kinda hard to see, due to the fact that my coat is so dark, but it's just a single musical note.” The Nocturnal said, stopping near a crystal and turning to the side so that Mirror could see.

“Your special talent is music?” Mirror said.

“Nope. Just singing. Got it one night singing Keeneye to sleep.” Siren replied.

“What about your parents?” Mirror asked, hoping that it wasn't a sore subject.

“Dad was a guard, went down into the tunnels and never came back,” Siren said, making Mirror wince, “Mom's at work right now. She works nearby in a spinner's shop. She brings home all sorts of odd things that she makes on her breaks. Last week, she brought home a sweater for Eril. It looked good on him, but he wasn't happy about it. Had the whole house in stitches while he figured out how to get it off.” Both mares chuckled at the thought, and silence reigned for a few moments before Mirror spoke again.

“Sorry to hear about your dad.” Mirror said.

“Don't worry about it. It happened a long time ago, and it's part of living down here. About a quarter of the ponies sent down into the deep tunnels don't make it back. Some of the things in there are pretty nasty,” Siren said, “Since we're sharing, what's your cutie mark?”

“A mirror.” Mirror replied.

“Your special talent is reflecting things? Could I check myself out on your flank?” Siren said, giggling. Mirror chuckled.

“No, my talent is shapechanging magic. I can make myself look like any other pony I've met. It's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basis of it.” Mirror said.

“That sounds like far more fun then it should.” Siren said, smiling at the silver mare.

“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.” Mirror replied. She looked up and saw the familiar form of the concert hall not far in front of them. “Come on, we'll miss their performance.” She said and the two of them picked up their pace.

The mares walked into the concert hall and found a couple of seats about halfway to the stage. They had just gotten settled in when the twins walked on stage. At the sight of the surface ponies, the crowd started murmuring excitedly. Ebony stepped to the center of the stage and spoke.

“Howdy, y'all. M'sister n' Ah would like t' play ya a piece on th' piano if that's alright with y'all.” He said. The crowd started stomping their hooves and cheering at the twins, and Ebony flashed the crowd a smile before joining his sister in front of the piano. As they sat down, Mirror noticed that they were sitting on the wrong ends, with Ebony on the low end and Ivory on the high. They started to play, slowly, deliberately. The sound was odd. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good, either. The crowd around them started murmuring again, but this time it had an edge of slight disappointment. Just as the muttering reached the stage, the twins expertly swapped positions, waited a moment.

And began to play.

And the crowd was swept away.

Mirror's teacher had told her that all three types of ponies had magic, unicorns had regular magic, pegasi had weather magic, and earth ponies had a subtler type of magic, one that made them more in tune with the land. The twins had a completely separate brand of enchantment.

As she listened, Mirror closed her eyes and was carried away into the untamed frontiers of Equestria, life out in the country. She could suddenly smell woodsmoke, and taste dust in the air. A slight change in the notes, and she could see the rustic buildings, the ponies that carved out a living on the edges of civilization. The music changed and she was on the road, one town to the next, walking along a dusty trail, then a paved highway. Again the notes shifted and she was swept from one town to the next, then finally to her home of Stormgate. Mirror realized that the twins were playing their lives out, weaving their souls into the music so tightly that the audience was carried with them. She blushed and giggled when the music turned seductive, indicating the entrance of her into their lives, and she suddenly began to weep, for she knew what came next. The music crept into a dark, pounding sound that made the crowd shudder, then swept up into a triumphant crescendo that made her suddenly proud of her brother. Then it dropped. The heart wrenching sound that came from the piano made the crowd weep, and looking at the stage, Mirror could see that the twins were crying as well. Silent tears dripping onto their hooves as the twins played as one, spilling pain, raw and unforgiving into the concert hall. Mirror bowed her head and cried harder than anypony else in the crowd, weeping for herself, the twins and her brother.

This was their mourning. Most of Stormgate had done theirs at the funeral, Shimmer's was not yet done. This was the twins playing their souls out to bid farewell to their closest friend, and the power in the music they played caused an entire city of strangers to weep with them.

Chapter Six: When the Sister's Away.

After the concert, the twins stood and walked backstage amidst the silence following their performance. The only sound that could be heard was the occasionally sobbing Nocturnal as they tried to recover from the effects of the music. Mirror sat with her head down, silently shedding tears for the twins. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Keeneye standing next to her.

“W-when did you g-get here?” She asked him, her voice wavering.

“Just before they started, actually. I didn't really faint back home, I just acted like it to buy myself some time to regain my composure.” He said, gently wiping some of her tears away with the tip of a wing.

“You tricky little...” She started, then realization struck her, “Oh. That means you heard the conversation afterward, didn't you?” She asked tentatively.

“Yeah.” He said simply, making her wince.

“Look, I'm sorry, you were just so sweet and I didn't even think about it and you're so cute and now I'm all confused an-” She was cutoff mid rant by Keeneye's hoof on her mouth. As she met his gaze, she saw that tears were slowly rolling down his face.

“Shush,” He said, smiling sadly at her, “I knew you were with the twins since I saw you walking with them earlier. It's okay. After that performance, I think they need you more than I do. They're hurt really bad from this whole thing, and I won't make you choose. I'm just a lovesick colt, and they're two ponies who need a close friend more than they ever have before.”

“What are you talking about?” Siren said from the other side of Mirror, “You've spent months pining over her, and now you're just gonna let her go?” She asked, surprised. He let out a sad chuckle before he answered.

“What else can I do, sis?” He asked, “Make her choose between them and me, which will make her feel even worse? I don't think so.”

“Maybe you can-” She started, cutting off as Keeneye held up a hoof to stop her.

“No, just... I'll see you guys later, I'm going home.” He said, turning away from them. He stopped for a moment, spun around, and kissed Mirror. Her eyes widened in shock and before she could do or say anything else, he turned back and ran out of the hall. Mirror turned to Siren, who was sitting and staring open mouthed at the retreating form of her brother.

“Now what?” The silver mare asked. Siren shook her head before answering.

“I... Don't know. I definitely didn't see that one coming,” She glanced towards the stage, “I suppose you should probably go talk to the twins before anything else happens.”

“Yeah.” Mirror said before standing and making her way towards the stage. She walked through the door labeled 'backstage access' and found herself face to face with a large Nocturnal pegasus guard.

“Excuse me, miss, but this area is off-limits to the public for the open play night.” He said politely.

“Oh, uh... I'm friends with the twins that just finished playing. I came with them from the surface and I was hoping to talk to them.” She said.

“Please wait here for a moment, I will go see if they are accepting visitors right now.” He said. He waited until she nodded before turning and disappearing behind another door. Several minutes passed before he returned.

“Please follow me, miss. The twins are right through here.” He said. She nodded and they proceeded through the door. After passing several rooms full of miscellaneous props and other such theater equipment, they came to yet another door.

“This room is usually used as a dressing room for local groups, but the twins were rather... Emotional after their performance, so I'm letting them use it until they are feeling better.” The guard said, pulling a key from a pocket on his armor and unlocking the door. He opened it and motioned for her to enter.

“Oh, thank you.” Mirror said, walking through. After she was through, he shut it behind her and she heard him lock it again. The twins were laying atop one another on a couch, neither of them making any indication that they had heard her enter. She stepped forward and gently put a hoof on Ivory's head. The pale mare looked up sharply in surprise and Mirror was struck by the pain in her eyes.

“Hey, sugarcube.” Mirror said, smiling gently down at her. At her voice, Ebony, who moved far faster than she would have guessed he could, grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace.

“Ah dunno what happened out there, sugarcube,” He said, squeezing her tightly, “It was supposed t' be a happy tune, but when we started playin', it took on a life of it's own.”

“Relax, hun,” Mirror replied, squeezing him back, “It was just something you needed to get out. Everypony mourns in their own way. Shimmer's doing something in the forge, but your talent is your piano playing. You just needed an opportunity to play her off.”

“Enough about us,” Ivory said, nuzzling Mirror, “Did y'all talk to yer stalker?”

“Yeah,” The unicorn replied, her gaze fading into the distance, “Yeah. I talked to him.”

“What's wrong, sugarcube?” The pale mare asked, nuzzling Mirror again, “Is he all creepy an' such?”

“No, no. He's actually really sweet. It's just...” She trailed off, not sure where to begin.

“Aww... He seein' someone already?” Ivory teased, smiling at her.

“No, but I am.” Mirror replied.

“Really? Who?” Ivory asked, “Do we know 'im?”

“You two.” Mirror said, looking at her.

“Ohhh. Ah see the problem here,” Ivory said, smiling at Mirror, “Hun, we love ya, but we aren't in love with ya. Y'know what Ah mean?”

“I'm afraid I don't follow.” The silver mare replied, looking confused.

“What m' sister is tryin' t' say, is that the two of us are together,” Ebony rumbled, “You an' us are good friends, an' we're more than happy t' let you join in on our fun, but in th' end, we're friends. Ah'm sorry if we led y'all to believe otherwise, sugarcube.”

“Oh,” Mirror said simply, running it all through her head. She felt a twinge of pain at what Ebony said, but it was quickly smothered by a realization. “So that means...”

“Y'all cin go an' hook up with yer stalker if ya want, hun, we don't mind,” Ivory said, nudging her towards the door as Ebony finally let her go, “We still wanna meet 'im, though, so y'all gotta bring 'im back here.”

“You guys are still gonna be here, then?” Mirror asked.

“Yeah, we'll still be here. Ah figure we'll take a nap before we leave, so you should have plenty of time.” Ivory said.

“Thanks, guys. Here I came to make you guys feel better, and you guys end up solving my problem.” Mirror said, blushing.

“Don't worry about it, sugarcube,” Ebony said, “Y'all did make us feel better. Go have fun.”

“See you guys later.” Mirror said. She walked over to the door and noticed that the actual lock mechanism was on the inside, so she unlocked and opened the door. Stepping out, she found herself face to face with the guard from earlier.

“How did it go?” He asked her.

“Just fine, they're going to take a nap before they leave, so don't let anypony disturb them please.” She replied.

“As you wish, miss. Oh, I don't think I introduced myself earlier, my name is Winter's Knight.” He said, bowing slightly to her.

“Nice to meet you, Winter, my name is Mirror Shines,” She said, “Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got someplace to be.”

“Of course, miss Shines. Do you require an escort?” He asked politely.

“No thank you, I know the way.” She replied, smiling at him.

“As you wish. Be well, miss Shines.” He said before turning to shut and lock the door. After that was finished, he bowed to her once more and disappeared further into the building. Mirror walked back through the theater until she got back to the seating, where she collected Siren and they left to return to the Nocturnal's home.

X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

“Keeneye? You here?” Mirror called into the darkened house, pushing the door open, Siren following right behind her.

“I'm sorry, but the squeaker you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.” Said a stallion's voice from inside the house. Mirror frowned. That didn't sound like Keeneye...

“Get behind me, Mirror.” Siren said quietly. Mirror did as she was told, and Siren slowly walked into the house. “Show yourselves, cowards!” She yelled into the darkness.

“One thing I'm not, Siren dear, is a coward.” Crystal Rampart said, walking out of the hallway into the meager light spilling in from the cavern outside.

“Yeah? Then why are you here, and why are there another two stallions behind you?” Siren growled at him.

“I'm here because I'm finally going to get what I want,” He said as the two stallions walked out from the darkness as well, “These two are here for the show.”

“I don't think so, Chryssy.” Siren said, settling into a defensive stance.

“Relax, Siren, I'm not after you. I'm after that sexy little gem from the surface that's standing right behind you. I figure if she can make time with the cripples and the little squeaker, she can spare a little sugar for me. Am I right, sweetheart?” He said, smiling at Mirror, who narrowed her eyes.

“After our conversation earlier? You are the last creature I'd ever want to spend any time whatsoever with.” She spat angrily. His smile changed into a manic grin.

“You see, that's the funny thing. I'm not actually asking this time.” He said, taking a step forward.

“You know what's going to happen here, Chryssy. Rape is punished by Omega, so you might want to rethink what you're doing here.” Siren said. As she said it, the stallions flanking Crystal gave each other nervous glances.

“You really think she's omniscient? We're in a building, on the ground, and she's on the other side of the city, on the roof. How exactly do you think she's gonna find out?” Crystal asked. Siren opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't actually answer. She'd never actually seen Omega intervene in something, so she didn't know.

“Mirror, run,” She said over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off of the stallions in front of her, “Go up the stairs, start hitting the strands on the ceiling to call Omega over. I'll hold them here.”

“That would be effective, and very heroic, if it weren't for the fact that there's more than the three of us,” Crystal said. Mirror turned towards the door to find another pair of stallions blocking her way, “Now, if you'd be so kind as to come over here, miss Mirror, we can start the party. I promise that we'll make it fun for you too.” Mirror's heart hammered in her chest. There's no way we can overpower this many stallions. She thought to herself.

“Mirror,” Siren said, snapping her out of her thoughts, “I need you to teleport out of here. Don't worry about me, just go. I need to make sure my brother is alright.”

“The little squeaker is fine. Just taking a little... Nap, is all.” Crystal said, grinning.

“You think I'm going to just leave you here? Not happening.” Mirror said to the other mare.

Crystal Rampart looked at her, raising his eyebrows. “Oh really? You gonna come play, sweetheart? Or do you really think you can take all five of us on?” He said.

“Never know until you try, right?” She replied.

“Mirror, you should just run. Teleport out of here, go get the twins and get back to the surface.” Siren said, nudging Mirror.

“Not happening.” The silver mare replied, lighting her horn.

Crystal Rampart laughed. “All right, ladies, I think it's time to get down to business.” As he spoke, the four other stallions glanced between each other again, then hesitantly started to close in on the two mares. They paused in their advance as Mirror's magic started to warp her form.

“Oh, does the pretty little silver one have an interesting trick?” Crystal asked, looking intrigued.

“That depends on your definition of interesting.” Mirror said, her voice deepening. Her magic faded, and she stood in her brother's form. Siren gaped at her, blushing furiously at the appearance of the stallion of her dreams.

“You can turn into your brother?” The Nocturnal mare asked.

“Yeah, I grew up with him, he's the first pony I ever turned into.” Mirror replied. Siren opened her mouth to say something else, but Crystal Rampart cut her off.

“That's fantastic!” He exclaimed, his manic grin back on his face. “Do you realize what this means? You can be anything I want! Anypony I can dream of! Can you even imagine the possibilities!? You and I are going to have so much fun!” He cried happily. His sudden outburst caused Mirror to step back, fear creeping into her thoughts.

“I knew you were messed up, Cryssy, but I didn't think you had gone all the way to insane.” Siren said, leaning away from him.

“I AM NOT INSANE!” He bellowed, taking a step forward. “I am many things, dear little Siren, but insane is not one of them. My biggest fault is that I care too much.”

“You what now?” Mirror said, noticing that even the other stallions looked skeptical.

“I care too much. You see, I love mares. Not one specific mare, though you come close, but all of them. So, I figure they're better off with me than anypony else, right? But, they're all delusional.” He said with perfect confidence.

“They are all delusional? Really. How so?” Siren asked, glancing around at the other stallions, who were looking increasingly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“They all think that they should be with any stallion they choose. The problem becomes that they all choose wrong. They all end up with stallions who are mean to them, who abuse them. And they stay that way, like they like it. Like they actually enjoy getting abused. They're all confused though, you see, because they should be with me, because I love all of them, and I wouldn't abuse them, and shouldn't every mare be loved and treated well?” He said in a rush, looking at them intently. One of his eyes started twitching irregularly.

Mirror looked at him and realized what scared her so much about this one delusional stallion standing in front of them:

He actually believed every word of it.

The conviction he felt shone through the insanity in his eyes, and he looked at them like he fully expected them to just accept it, like it was the straight-from-the-princesses truth. The simple fact that he honestly thought he was the best stallion for every mare in the known universe terrified Mirror more than anything she had ever encountered.

Siren looked around at the other stallions, who were slowly edging away from Crystal Rampart.

“So, what'll it be, boys? Wanna join him in his 'glorious crusade' or do you think you should probably just walk away?” She said to them.

“Don't even think about it.” Crystal said, his voice suddenly very cold. “I don't think I'll take betrayal very well, my friends.”

The stallions looked back and forth between them for a moment. Mirror held her breath. If they decided to attack after all, she doubted that she would be able to do much about it.

“To hell with this.” One of them said, and the whole group turned and bolted out the door.

“You traitorous little backstabbing BASTARDS!” Crystal screamed after them. “You'll pay for this!”

“So, now what, Cryssy? You wanna just sit down a moment, and I'll see if I can get you some help?” Siren asked gently.

“What help do I need? If anything, you need help.” He said, smiling again.

“We need help?” Siren laughed, “Your buddies all just took off because you're fucked up in the head! Now there's two of us, and only one of you. What do you hope to accomplish?”

He chuckled. “The same thing I set out to accomplish. You, Siren, make it difficult, but I still love you. However, I can wait on having you. You, on the other hoof,” He pointed at Mirror, “Are too much of a wonder to pass up, even for a little while. So, I'll give you one last chance to come to your senses. Come with me, my pretty little shape changer, and we'll have such fun.”

“No. Not now, not ever. I think you need to be handed over to the elder, or Omega, or... Somepony that can lock you away.” Mirror said, returning to her own body.

“Omega can't help you this time.” He replied.

“What do you mean, Omega can't help us?” Siren asked.

“I mean she doesn't even know what's going on in here.” He said, fumbling with something around his neck. “Because my dear Alpha is hiding us from her.” The Nocturnal stallion held up a small spider charm that was hanging from a silver chain. The charm itself was made of the same dark purple metal that the Nocturnal ponies used for armor. In the spider's abdomen was a small, softly glowing emerald.

“Who is Alpha?” Mirror asked, staring at the pendant.

“Why don't you ask Omega who she is? Or, you can come with me, and I can introduce you to her personally.” Crystal said, offering his hoof. Mirror shook her head and stepped away from him.

“Like I said, not happening. You're going to the nearest guard we can find.” She said.

“First, though, you're going to tell me where Keeneye is.” Siren said, glaring at him.

“The squeaker is out in his room. He's going to have a headache, but we didn't do anything permanent. Though, he was rather upset, so we might have been doing him a favor.” He leered at Mirror. “I wonder what caused him to be so sad?” He asked innocently. Mirror glared at him.

“That's none of your business. Siren,” She said, looking toward the Nocturnal mare, “Do you have anything we can use to tie him up?”

“Yeah, I've got some rope in my room.” Siren replied distractedly, watching Crystal closely.

“Ooh, a kinky one, are you?” He said, sitting down. Siren ignored him, and went into the hallway towards her room. As soon as she was out of sight, Crystal Rampart stood back up.

“Now, once more. Come with me, my little shapechanger.” He said, his tone businesslike.

“Not. Gonna. Happen.” She said, lighting her horn.

“Well then, since I know I can't take both you and Siren, I think I'll take my leave, and come back for you later, my dear.” He said.

“And how do you think you're gonna leave?” She asked as Siren came back into the room, Eril riding on her back. The large arachnid started angrily chirping and waving his forelegs at Crystal Rampart as soon as he came into the spider's line of sight.

“Quite simply, really. All I have to do is take this pendant,” He said, holding the spider charm aloft, “And crush the emerald that sits in it.” Putting action to words, he slammed the hoof holding the gem into the ground. With a loud detonation that momentarily deafened everypony in the room, the Nocturnal stallion vanished in a cloud of foul smelling green smoke. After the smoke cleared, and the two mares had ceased the coughing fit it had caused, Mirror turned to Siren.

“So, uh. What the hell just happened? Who is Alpha, and why did he just run like that?” She asked.

“Well,” Siren replied, tossing the rope on the table, “He ran because even if you're not trained to fight, the odds were still against him. As for who Alpha is, I don't know. I think we should ask Omega on this one.”

“What about Keeneye?” Mirror asked, concerned.

“He's asleep on his bed. Or unconscious. Sometimes it's pretty hard to tell the difference with him.” The Nocturnal replied.

“Do you mind if I see him?” The silver mare asked.

“Not at all. I'll see if I can't get some of this mess cleaned up.” Siren said, looking around the room.

“Thanks.” Mirror said before stepping into the hallway. Keeneye's room was easy to find, as it was the only one with the door shut. She gently pushed the door open and stepped into the darkened room.

Keeneye's room was almost spotless, which surprised Mirror. She was used to dealing with Shimmercoat's room, which always looked like a disaster area, and so she thought that all colts had messy rooms. Now she briefly wondered if Keeneye was the norm and Shimmer was the exception. Once corner of the room was dominated by a rather large desk, and next to it was a door that presumably led into a closet of some fashion. On the opposite side of the room was a bed that dwarfed the Nocturnal stallion laying upon it. Mirror giggled at the difference in size between the bed and the pony. Do the ponies down here make everything huge just because they can? She wondered, stepping over to the bed.

Mirror looked down at the gently snoring Nocturnal and giggled at the high pitched sound. She leaned down and gently kissed him on the forehead and turned to go. Just before she could take a step, she felt something touch her side. She quickly turned back to see Keeneye sitting up in bed, looking at her and blushing.

“You were faking again, weren't you?” Mirror asked, smiling at him.

“Only a little bit. I woke up at whatever that banging noise was, but I was actually out before that.” He shook his head before touching it with a hoof. “And my head hurts. But, it's not the first time I've been unconscious. I'll live. How are you?” He asked gently.

“I...” She stopped for a moment, thinking about that simple question. She sat down on the edge of his bed, and he shifted over to make room. “I think I'm alright. That whole situation could have gone a whole lot worse. I'm a bit shaken, but it's nothing I won't get over,” She smiled at him, “Enough about me, though. How are you?”

“Like I said, other than a nice bump on the back of my head, I'm doing fine.” He replied, smiling at her.

“Liar,” She said flatly, “That's not what I meant, and you know it.”

“I'm...” He looked away. “I'm not. Doing okay, that is. I...” He shook his head. “It hurt, realizing that I'm...” He seemed to be struggling with words, and pain laced his voice. “That I'm just a daydreaming idiot. Hoping that I'd one day be able to hold you close. It was a stupid fantasy, and I should have known better.” He stopped, still looking down.

“Would you like to hear about the conversation that I had with the twins?” Mirror asked. When he didn't respond, she continued. “It turns out that while they don't mind letting others in on their fun, they're strictly keeping it in the family.”

“What?” He asked.

“Apparently I made a mistake.” She said. Keeneye looked up at her, hope mixing with the tears in his green eyes. “Apparently, they love me, but aren't in love with me. So that makes me an extra, not a permanent addition.” She smiled at him. “On one hoof, that kinda bothers me, because I think they should have made that a little more clear before anything else happened. On the other hoof, that means that I'm available. If only there was some cute, charming stallion who wanted my affections.”

Keeneye snapped straight up into attention, as much as he could do while sitting down. He ran a hoof across his eyes, clearing them of tears. When he looked at her again, there was a fire there that she couldn't remember seeing before. “It just so happens, miss Mirror, that there might be a stallion who matches that description. By your own words, I'm cute and charming, and I most definitely desire your affections.” He grinned at her. “If you'll have me, that is.”

“Will you two just shut up and kiss already?” Came Siren's voice from the doorway. They both looked over, startled, to see the Nocturnal mare leaning against the door's frame. “What?” She asked, smiling at them, “How is this difficult? You're single, he's single. You both obviously like each other. Why does this have to take so long?”

“Because maybe we'd like some privacy?” Keeneye yelled at her, smiling like an idiot.

“Oh? Privacy? Why would we need privacy, Keeneye? What nefarious things do you have planned for me?” Mirror said, giving the Nocturnal stallion a smoldering look that caused his wings to snap out behind him.

“Oh dear, I don't think I need to know that much about my brother. I'm going back to cleaning.” Siren said before retreating out of sight again. Mirror smiled at Keeneye, who was trying in vain to return his wings to his side.

“Need some help with those?” She asked, immediately undoing what little progress he had made.

“Uhh...” He glanced back at the offending appendages, “Probably, but I don't think you can really help with getting them back where they're supposed to be.” He said.

“Why don't we see about that, hm?” She said. She held up a hoof and rotated it in the air, signaling for him to turn around. He looked at her quizzically for a moment before he got it and spun, nearly knocking her off the bed with his wings. After a moment of repositioning she ended up behind him, with one wing on each side of her. “So. I've heard that these things are pretty sensitive. Care to comment?” She asked him, glancing back and forth between them.

“Yeah, they are.” He replied, looking over his shoulder. He suddenly smiled at her, causing her to pause. “Y'know what else they are?”

“No...” She replied cautiously.

“Very flexible.” He said, grinning. Mirror suddenly found herself grabbed by the leathery appendages and lifted a little bit off the bed. Keeneye leaned back, craning his neck so that they were muzzle to muzzle with his head upside down.

“You seem rather flexible yourself.” She observed before darting forward to kiss him on the nose.

“In the guard training, most earth ponies become really strong,” He said, blushing, “Big bricks of muscle, in some cases. Pegasi, on the other hoof, generally get really lithe and flexible. Airborne combat is a whole lot of strange twisting and such.” He looked uncertain for a moment before darting forward to kiss her. He forgot to take into account the odd angle they were at, and she gasped as his lips brushed her neck. He jerked back, his blush intensifying.

“I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning to do that.” He said.

“Mm... I don't mind.” She purred, smiling at him.

“Really?” He asked. Mirror just smiled at him and shifted in his grip. As soon as he noticed her movement, the Nocturnal pegasus shifted his wings so that he wasn't holding her so tightly. “Sorry about that. I'm not really used to holding ponies with them.” He said.

“It's alright. This is a lot more comfortable than you might think.” She said, tilting her head back and shutting her eyes. “I could almost fall asleep like this.” She felt Keeneye move, and let out a contented sound as he kissed her neck again. Instead of pulling back this time, he worked a trail of little kisses up to her jaw before reversing direction and tracing her neck down to her shoulder.

“You probably shouldn't. If you did, I'd have to figure out how to explain why I'm carrying an unconscious mare around town.” His mouth was still pressed against her neck, and she giggled as the movement of his lips tickled her.

“You could put me down, you know.” She said. “Not that I'm complaining about where I am, by the way. But it's hard for me to return any favors while I'm way up here. Your call.” She said lightly.

“Alright.” He said. Mirror found herself placed gently back onto the blankets, and Keeneye turned to face her. They stared into each others eyes for several moments.

“You have such pretty eyes.” They both said simultaneously. Keeneye blushed and looked away.

“I do not. They're just green. That's not a very exciting color. Siren's got prettier eyes than I do.” He said quietly.

“Hers are pretty,” Mirror conceded, “But I like yours more.”

“Yeah? Why?” He asked.

“Because they're yours.” She said, blushing. He looked up at her.

“Now you're just being sappy.” He said, smiling.

“But I'm not lying.” She replied. “They're like a forest. Bright and alive. Besides, why would you like my eyes? They're the same color as the light sources down here. They can't be all that interesting.”

“Have you noticed something about those lights?” He asked. “They generate no heat. They're cold and lifeless. Your eyes, on the other hoof, are warm. Inviting.” He leaned towards her. “Very inviting.” He pressed his lips to hers, and she smiled as she leaned into him. She pressed too hard, and he fell backwards onto his pillows. Mirror broke the kiss and looked at their position.

“Mmm... I think I like this.” She said, still smiling, “I think being on top could definitely have its benefits.”

“You never know unless you try.” He said, wrapping his wings around her back and pulling her closer.

“Alright, you two. I think that's as far as you get today. We've still got stuff to do and it's nearly nighttime.” Siren's voice came from the door again, “Come on, let's go.”

“Aw, come on! Really?” Keeneye said, his wings dropping back to his sides. He looked over at his sister. “We were just getting to the best part!”

“Were we?” Mirror said, looking down at him. “What's your definition of the 'best part'?”

Keeneye stammered for a moment before Siren cut him off.

“It doesn't matter, come on.” The Nocturnal mare said then turned and walked away.

“I guess we'd better go, she's not gonna let us have any fun.” Mirror said, grinning down at Keeneye.

“Are you kidding? I've only dreamed that I'd ever get anywhere near this far with you. I'm ecstatic either way.” He said, lifting his wings to pull her neck back down within range of his mouth again.

“Now stop that you,” She said, gently pushing at his chest with her hooves. “We've got things to do, apparently.”

“I know, I'm trying to do them.” He said, smirking at her.

“That's not what she meant,” She said, lightly smacking him in the chest, “And you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let's go.” He said, sounding depressed.

“Oh stop it. You'll get your chance. Eventually.” Mirror winked at him as she climbed off of him.

“Alright.” Keeneye chuckled as he rolled up to stand next to her. “I'm gonna hold you to that.”

“I bet that's not the only thing you're gonna hold me to.” She said. He grinned at her. “Also, I see that your stutter has disappeared.”

“Well, right about the time that my heart broke, the nervousness kinda left,” He said, making her wince again, “And then I've been riding the high of actually getting the mare of my dreams. So yeah, I'm not really nervous anymore.”

“I liked it when you stuttered. It was adorable.” She said, pouting at him.

“Then make me nervous.” He replied. “I don't stutter unless I'm nervous.”

“Hmm... What's the best way to make you nervous?” She asked.

“Like I'm gonna tell you.” He said, nuzzling her. “You're gonna just have to figure it out.”

“If you two don't get out here right now, I'm gonna tell her the most embarrassing thing I can think of, Squeaker.” Siren said from down the hallway. “And don't think I won't do it. I'm your big sister, which means I'm the first one to embarrass you in front of your new marefriend.”

“W-wait, you're my marefriend now?” He asked.

“No, I just felt like snogging you for awhile.” She said sarcastically, “Of course I am.” She smiled at him. “If you'll have me.”

“I would be honored.” He said, bowing.

“You look so adorable when you do that, you know.” She said, kissing the top of his head.

“I always look adorable to you.” He observed, stepping towards the door.

“It's because you're not a big and burly stallion,” Siren said, appearing in the hallway, “You're a fast little flexible thing. So, every mare that sees you do basically anything thinks it's adorable. Hell, even some of the stallions down here think you're cute.” Keeneye flushed scarlet.

“W-what?” He stared at his sister for a moment. “Now I know you're messing with me.”

“Nope. Not everypony is straight, you know.” She replied, beckoning the pair of them. “Come on, let's go see Omega about Crystal Rampart's insanity.”

“All right. Let's go.” Mirror said, nudging Keeneye towards the door.

The three of them, plus Eril, walked up the stairs to the balcony near the top of the cavern. As they stepped out onto the dark stone, Mirror looked up and froze in surprise as they spotted Omega hanging on the webbing at the top of the building.

“Oh, hey Omega.” Siren said in surprise, not expecting the spider to already be there. “We have something that you should know about.”

“Yes you do.” Omega said, leaning down towards the three ponies. “I have been unable to sense the inside of this building until very recently. What has occurred here?”

“First, a question.” Siren replied. “Does the name Alpha mean anything to you?”

Omega tilted her head and lowered her voice. “Where did you hear that name?”

“Crystal Rampart brought a group of stallions here to rape us, but then he went completely insane,” Siren began, “The stallions appeared to be okay with the initial plan, but then he started ranting about how he was the only stallion that mares should be attracted to. As he reached the pinnacle of his speech, his buddies decided that it wasn't worth it anymore and ran.”

When the Nocturnal mare paused for breath, Omega spoke again.

“I have those four in custody already. I noticed them running from the building that was hidden from me, and captured them. But that still does not explain how the building was shrouded from my sight to begin with.” She said, her voice beginning to sound mildly irritated.

“I'm getting there, Omega.” Siren replied calmly, “Crystal made mention that you couldn't see into the building, and when I asked him about why, he brought out a small metal spider charm. The charm had an emerald set in it, and he said he got it from Alpha. When he smashed the gemstone, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He also mentioned that this Alpha was the reason you couldn't see us.” Siren tilted her head up at the purple arachnid. “Who is Alpha, Omega?”

The spider was silent for several minutes. Mirror glanced around at the other two, but they just stood and waited. Suddenly, Omega started chittering, and Eril made his way up to her. He sat upon her head and she waved a foreleg at him.

“Eril here, just like the rest of my children that I have allowed the Nocturnals to keep, is male.” She said. As she talked, Eril waved his legs to mimic his mother. Mirror suppressed a giggle at the smaller spider's antics, but Omega appeared either not to notice, or care. “I am, obviously, female. I have had a number of daughters over the extent of my existence. Females of my race are larger, live longer, and are rather competitive. I have been forced, over the years, to send my daughters to the deeper tunnels so that they would not cause problems with the Nocturnal ponies. I knew not if any of them had survived or not. Apparently, at least one has.” She reached up with a leg and poked at Eril, who had to put all of his legs down in order to keep from falling off. “Now, it seems, she has decided to start being a nuisance to the ponies under my protection. I will have to speak with the Elder. Be wary, little ones. I do not think that Crystal Rampart and Alpha have finished their parts in this.” The giant arachnid chattered for a moment at Eril, who climbed off of her and made his way back down to the ponies.

“Alright, Omega. We'll be careful. We'll see you later.” Siren said, kneeling down so that Eril could crawl up on to her back.

After Omgea disappeared into the darkness, Mirror looked at the other two.

“I think I want to go back up to the surface.” She said. “I've been gone all day, and I wanna make sure Shimmercoat is okay.”

“C-can I go w-with you?” Siren asked, blushing.

“What?” Mirror replied, looking at her.

“Can I go with you?” The Nocturnal mare replied.

“You sure you can?” The silver mare asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Siren said confidently. “I can't let my little brother show me up, can I?”

Keeneye grinned at his sister. “Well, let's go, then.”

The three of them made their way to the music hall, where they found Winter's Knight standing in the backstage doorway.

“Hey Winter. Can I see the twins again?” Mirror asked, smiling at him.

“Of course, miss Shines. Please follow me.” The armored stallion replied. He turned and started down the hallway.

“I'll be right back, guys.” Mirror said before following him.

The Nocturnal siblings stood quietly for a moment before Siren leaned over and nuzzled her brother.

“I'm proud of you, Squeaks.” She said quietly.

“Huh? Why?” He replied, puzzled.

“Why do you think?” She laughed. “You just met the mare you've been pining over, and suddenly you guys are a couple. That, and you were going to sacrifice all of it for her happiness, if it came to that. I looked away for a moment and you've gone and grown up on me.”

He smiled gently and looked away. “Do you think... Dad would be proud?” He asked, his voice suddenly soft.

Siren reached over and pulled her brother into a hug. “Of course he would, Squeaks. He'd be really proud of you. But you're not done yet.”

“What do you mean, I'm not done yet?” Keeneye asked.

“Now you've gotta make her the happiest mare in the world.” Siren said, grinning at him. “Make her feel like she's the luckiest, most loved mare that ever lived.” She looked him in the eyes. “Do you think you could do that?”

“Absolutely.” He said. He grinned at her. “How could I do anything less, sis.”

“I suppose you couldn't.” She said, still smiling at him.

“Couldn't what?” Mirror said, appearing in the doorway with Ebony and Ivory in tow.

“Nothing.” Both Nocturnals said simultaneously.

“Uh-huh.” Mirror replied, looking skeptical. “In any case, Ebony, Ivory, this is Keeneye, my stalker, and Siren, his sister.”

“Pleasure t' meet y'all.” Ivory said, smiling at the two of them. Ebony nodded, not saying anything.

“Likewise.” Siren said.

“Shall we head back up to the surface now?” Mirror asked them.

“Yeah, let's go.” Keeneye said.

“Aww, yer adorable, sugarcube.” Ivory said at his squeaky voice. Winter's voice was higher pitched than most stallions, but Keeneye's was still a bit higher than that.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” He said, resigned.

The group walked towards the entrance, making small talk as they went. As they neared the tunnel, they heard a voice from behind them.

“Halt!”

They all turned to find the Elder striding towards them, flanked again by the pegasus in full armor.

“Yes Elder?” Siren said, “Is there something you need from us?”

“I need nothing from you.” Moon Star replied. “What I stopped you for was to warn you. Omega has just informed me on the situation involving Crystal Rampart. She has also informed me that there is a possibility that Alpha could have a way to the surface separate from our own. If she does, then she will most probably be hiding in an untraveled area, out of sight. Most likely in the forest somewhere. Be careful, and make sure your town's guard complement and knights are alerted.”

The twins and Mirror looked at each other for a moment in confusion.

“We don't have much of a guard, and the only knight we have is my brother. And, he's only been a knight for less than a week.”

“Shimmercoat is a Knight of Equestria!?” Siren blurted, her face red. “He just keeps getting better and better.”

The Elder stared at them for several moments. “Oh. That is not what I was hoping to hear.” She said, ignoring Siren's outburst. “It seems that the surface has changed much since the old days.” Moon Star turned to the pegasus in armor standing next to her. “You must go to their knight, and teach him. The threat is too immediate to wait until the Princess sends him a suitable staff.” The nameless pegasus nodded, and silently moved to join the group.

“Wait, what's going on? What staff?” Mirror asked.

Moon Star looked at her. “A knight is supposed to be attended by all manner of individuals. In this case, as he is a new Knight of Equestria without training, he would be taught by a master of arms. Most likely an older knight. On top of that, he would have an armorer, at least a couple of household servants, and a small complement of personal guardsponies, sworn to him. As he gains in experience and prestige, his group of guards would expand, and he would eventually take on a squire, to teach the ways of a knight.” She looked worried. “Your knight will require all the help he can get if this creature attacks.”

“Then we should probably go now.” Siren said. The elder nodded.

“Yeah, Shimmer's tough, but I don't know if he could fight a spider that's even half the size of Omega.” Mirror said. The group turned and ran for the surface, the pegasus in armor silently in tow.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Shimmercoat looked up at the giant green spider that sat in a web spun above the lake in his sanctuary and sighed. “And today was going so well, too.”

Author's Note

Uh, holy crap, it has been a while. I'm sorry this one took so long. I got caught up in real life and kinda got stuck on a part in here. I've already started the next chapter, and I'm going to try to not take so much time between chapters. I do have an idea of where this whole thing is going to go, but getting there is the hard part.
In any case, thanks for reading.

Chapter Seven: The Brother Will Play

Shimmercoat shut the door and sighed. As much as he wanted to go with his sister and the twins, he felt compelled to complete his project. He looked around the forge at the scattering of materials, books, and the cloth wrapped object that was his work. He walked over and removed the cloth, tossing it to the side and revealing what lay beneath.

A sword, in the final stages of completion. The steel blade had been easy, it was just metalworking. The hilt, on the other hoof, was a pain. The grip and pommel had been made out of gemstones, which were extremely difficult to work with. Shimmer had been forced to teleport out to the library to find books that contained spells to work crystals. He shook his head to try to dislodge the dull pain behind his eyes from overexerting his magic. He smiled down at the completed hilt and felt a flush of pride.

“I hope you like it, love. This is for you. It's not done yet, but it's real close.” He said aloud, his voice soft. As he reached over to continue his work, he was interrupted again by another knock on the door. The blue stallion sighed as he tossed the cloth back over the blade, and walked back over to answer the door.

Opening it, he saw Iron Coat standing there.

“Hey dad. What's up?” Shimmer asked.

“I just wanted to come see how you were doing.” Iron Coat replied, looking concerned. “You've hardly eaten or said anything to your mother and I for several days. We're both worried about you, son.”

“I'm fine, dad. I just need to finish what I'm doing, then everything will be back to normal.” Shimmer said.

“Liar.” His father said flatly, making him wince. “We both know that things are going to be different. First and foremost, you're a knight now. Which is odd, because there hasn't been a knight here for at least a hundred years. Why the Princess would make you one now is anypony's guess.” He looked intently at his son. “Do you even know what being a knight entails?” He asked.

“No.” Shimmercoat said, eyes narrowing. “In all honesty, I don't care. I don't want to be a knight. I don't deserve it. All I did was get Fizzle killed.”

He reeled as Iron Coat smacked him.

“Stop that right now.” The elder stallion said sternly. “You know what? Come with me. We're going to put an end to this bellyaching right now.” He stepped to the side and pointed out the door.

“I have to finish this, dad.” Shimmercoat said, rubbing his face with a hoof. “Then I can take a tour around town with you.”

“No. You are going to come with me right now.” His father's tone brooked no argument.

Shimmercoat sighed. “Alright, fine. Let's go.”

The pair of them walked through town, neither speaking. Iron Coat led his son to the wreckage of the town hall.

“Do you see that?” He asked, pointing at the rubble.

“Yes, we were on top of it when it started to come down.” Shimmer replied.

“How many other buildings look like that?” Iron Coat asked.

Shimmercoat looked around at the sections of town he could see. He counted only three other structures that had been demolished by the cannon fire.

“I see three from right here.” He answered. “There's probably another two or three that I can't see.”

“So five buildings in total?” His father inquired. Shimmer nodded. “Five buildings in the entire town, son. Five. They had the capacity to destroy ten times that before the Adamant showed up. Do you know why they didn't?”

“Because they wanted it intact for when they got to looting?” Shimmer replied.

“No, because of you and your friends.” Iron Coat replied. “While the rest of the town panicked, you and your sister drew their fire away from the buildings. Had you not done that, there would be quite a few more homeless ponies, not to mention more of the townsfolk would be dead.”

“I would be happy to trade a few houses for Fizzle.” Shimmercoat replied darkly.

“Guess what? You can't.”Iron Coat said, his voice harsh. “Life doesn't work like that.” His voice softened. “She's gone, son. Nothing you can do will change that. I learned that one the hard way too.”

“Dad?” Shimmer said, looking up at his father. He had never heard his dad speak like that before.

“Nothing, son. Just things that happened long before you were born.” The older stallion turned away. “Come on.”

The pair of them walked over toward the courtyard where the stage had been set up for the award ceremony. Backstage, a group of nervous looking young ponies were listening to a yellow mare, who was most probably their teacher. The two stallions stopped a ways off and Iron Coat pointed at Mirror lounging with the twins.

“You should go hang out with your sister.” He said.

Shimmercoat looked at them for several long moments before shaking his head. “Nah, they don't need me. Besides, I've got something to finish.”

Iron Coat looked at his son for a long moment. “You sure?”

“Yeah. This is just something I have to do, dad. Just...” Shimmercoat's voice trailed off.

“It's all right, son. Let's get back to the house. Mom's probably wondering where the both of us have wandered off to.” Iron said before turning back towards home.

When they returned, Starshine was tending to the small garden she had out in front of the house.
She waved at them as they approached.

“Hey boys. Where have you been?” She asked, smiling at them.

“We were just taking a nice walk around town, love.” Iron Coat replied, walking up and nuzzling her.

“Uh-huh.” She said, sounding skeptical. “Well, at least you got Shimmer to walk around a bit.”

“I've been walking around the last few days.” Shimmercoat said.

“Walking in small circles in the forge does not count.” She said.

“What about walking up and down shelves at the library?” He asked.

“What did you need from the library?” The pegasus asked, looking at her son with a raised eyebrow.

“Just some spellbooks. Unicorn stuff.” He said.

“Just make sure you don't hurt yourself, Shimmer.” She said, “I don't know much about unicorn magic, but I know you can hurt yourself with it if you push it too hard.”

“I won't, mom.” He replied. “I just needed to learn a couple of things.”

“Like what?” She asked.

“Just... Stuff. Don't worry about it.” He said. She looked at him for a long moment before Iron Coat cleared his throat.

“So,” He said, “What's for dinner, love?”

Starshine glanced at him before turning back to her gardening. “I don't know. Is there anything in particular that you wanted?”

“Yes.” He said. He leaned close to her and kissed her neck. “There is something very particular that I want.”

“Stop that,” She said, gently batting at him with her wings, “That's not what I meant, and you know it.”

“So?” He replied, smiling.

“I think I'm going to get back to work.” Shimmercoat said, turning towards the forge.

“I'll be making dinner in a few hours, Shimmer.” His mother called after him.

“I should be done by then.” He called back over his shoulder.

He was used to his parents flirting with each other, but that didn't mean he wanted to stand around and contemplate the mechanics that had brought him and his sister into the world. As he walked, he idly wondered if he was going to have another younger sibling anytime soon or if his parents were done with having foals. With the way they carried on, he was mildly surprised that he didn't already have a new brother or sister.

He walked back into the forge, immediately checking to see if anything had been disturbed. He loved his mother, but sometimes she liked to snoop when she thought he wouldn't notice. Confirming that nothing had been disturbed, he continued working.

Roughly two hours later, Shimmercoat let the engraving spell he was casting drop. He grinned down at the finished sword, feeling tired but proud. He wrapped it back up in the cloth and carried it through the house up to his room.

“You finally finish whatever that is?” Iron Coat asked him as he came back downstairs.

“Yeah. When is dinner?” Shimmercoat replied.

“I'm getting ready to start it right now, sweetie.” Came Starshine's voice from the kitchen. “It should be ready in about an hour.”

“Alright.” He said. “I think I'm going to go relax for a bit.”

“Okay. We'll see you later then.” Iron Coat said.

Shimmercoat walked through the familiar forest path towards his hidden sanctuary. As he walked, he thought about what his father was trying to tell him earlier. While he understood that he saved the town from more destruction by drawing the cannon's attention, and that had he not done that, more than one townspony would have died, he was still disappointed in himself. He had let down the only pony that mattered.

As he cleared the forest, he had an immediate sense that something was very wrong. Looking around at the scene that he had seen hundreds of times before, it was easy to discern what gave him that feeling.

Shimmercoat looked up at the giant green spider that sat in a web spun above the lake in his sanctuary and sighed. “And today was going so well, too.”

“Hello little pony.” The spider said, peering down at him. “Why are you here?”

“I should ask you the same thing.” The little voice in the back of Shimmercoat's head told him he should be terrified, but he felt oddly calm. “This is my sanctuary. This is where I come to relax, and now you've got this spider webbing making the whole place look bad.”

The green arachnid made an odd bubbling, chirping sound. It took Shimmercoat a moment to realize that the spider was laughing at him. “You are very brave, little pony. Would you like to be my pet?”

“I'm going to have to say no. You're not my type.” He said. “We haven't even been properly introduced.”

“My name is Alpha.” The spider replied. “What are you called?”

“My name is Shimmercoat. Nice to meet you. Now, could you find somewhere else to be?” Shimmer said, keeping his tone light and conversational.

“I cannot. This place is too perfect.” She said.

“I know. That's why I want you to leave.” He said. He wasn't sure how he'd conceivably fight such a massive creature, so he was hoping that she'd be reasonable.

“If you swear yourself to me, you will have leave to be here whenever you want.” She said, slowly shifting her legs. Shimmercoat narrowed his eyes at her movement, noticing that she had edged slightly towards him.

“I've got previous obligations. My answer is still no.” He said, lighting his horn.

“That is too bad. Now I cannot let you leave and tell others of my existence.” She said. She darted forward, attempting to bite him. Her fangs skittered off of Shimmer's shield, which flashed into being at the last moment. Poison dripped down the outside of the glowing field as Alpha tried to bite through it.

Shimmercoat gritted his teeth as the shield flickered under her assault. He was tired from the constant work he had been doing for the last few days, and she was extremely strong. Pain pounded in his head and he knew that if he stood and fought the spider would quickly kill him.

Alpha ceased her attack and stepped away from him, surprised. “What powerful magic you have. You would be quite useful to me. I can always use more pets. Or, I could kill you here.”

“You have ponies that follow you?” Shimmercoat asked, trying to stall her. As he spoke, he started to shift his magic from his shield spell to a teleport. He wasn't sure he could do it, but he had to try. Staying here was suicide.

“Yes. None from the surface, but I have several from the town beneath yours.” She said.

“What town beneath mine?” He asked, confused.

“There is a town of ponies that live underground. They are ruled by my mother.” The spider said, spitting the word 'mother' like it was a curse.

“Why would ponies follow you or your mother?” Shimmercoat asked. “I can't imagine many ponies being thrilled about being ruled by a giant spider.”

“Simple. We are strong. They are weak. It is the natural order of things.” She said. “But we can see the value of strong servants. I mean no harm to your people, I only require an army to remove my mother from power.”

“I think you're lying through your teeth.” Shimmercoat said. “Fangs. Whatever. Just to remove your mother? Yeah, then what happens to your army when you're the boss of the whole area, huh? You try to take over more territory. Why be the boss of a couple of towns when you could take an army across the continent? I refuse.”

“Then you die.” She said, lunging forward.

Shimmercoat threw himself to one side, narrowly avoiding Alpha's attack, shield flickering out of existence as he shunted all of his magic into the teleport. His focus slipped, and instead of arriving on the front lawn of his house, he ended up teleporting into the front room. His momentum slammed him into a wall, knocking the wind out of him, and his father walked out of the kitchen at the noise.

“Shimmer?” Iron Coat said, surprised. “What's wrong?”

Shimmercoat struggled to get his breath back for a moment before answering. “There's a giant spider in the forest.” He gasped.

“A giant spider?” His father replied.

“Yeah.” Shimmer said. “A giant green spider. Said her name was Alpha.”

“Honey?” Came Starshine's voice from the stairs. “What was that noise?” The gray pegasus stepped into view and looked at Shimmer. “Was that you, Shimmer?”

“Yeah, mom. I messed up a teleport and hit the wall.” Shimmercoat said, smiling weakly at his mother.

“I've told you to be careful.” She scolded. “You could really hurt yourself, or somepony else for that matter.”

“Yes mom.” He said dryly. “I'll be more careful next time I'm dodging a giant spider's fangs.”

“What?” She replied. “What giant spider?”

“The one I was just telling dad about.” Shimmercoat replied. “There's a giant spider in the forest. Green, says her name is Alpha.” He shook his head. “She told me that I was either to join her, or she'd kill me. I don't think she's dealt with unicorns before, though. My shield spell seemed to put her off for a moment, and I don't know if she was expecting me to teleport out of there, but it worked.”

“Are you sure, Shimmer?” Iron Coat asked. “I've heard tales at the pub about spiders the size of buildings, but I figured it was just somepony with a fear of spiders and too many drinks.”

Shimmercoat nodded. “Yeah, I'm sure.” He sagged as the adrenaline of the fight wore off, and the fatigue of the last few days combined with the repeated uses of magic. “I think I've done too much too quickly.” He said weakly.

“You've had a rough week, son.” Iron Coat said. “You should go to bed. Actually sleep this time, too. You've been taking naps to keep working in the forge, but you haven't gotten a full nights rest in days.”

“But what about the spider?” Shimmer asked, worried.

“If she shows up, we'll take care of it. Go to bed.” Iron Coat replied sternly.

“Yeah, I'll do that. Hey, has Mirror come back yet?” Shimmercoat asked, slowly walking towards the stairs.

“Not yet, but she's at the play. She'll be fine, son. Just go to bed.” Iron Coat replied. Starshine nodded in agreement and hugged Shimmercoat as he passed her. He nuzzled her before heading up to his room.

Starshine waited until Shimmer's door shut, then looked over at Iron Coat. “Is it just me, or is the world going crazy all of the sudden?” She asked, “First was the pirate attack, then Shimmer's a knight, and now giant spiders!” She stepped over to lean against her husband. “I'm worried about him, Iron, I really am. He's just barely able to be called a stallion, and now he's a knight, and we don't even know what that even means!” She bowed her head. “I don't know what to do.”

Iron Coat put a foreleg around her, pulling her closer. “We'll do what we have to, love. We protect them to the best of our ability, and prepare them to confront what we can't protect them from.” He squeezed her, and she looked up at him.

“I love you.” She said.

“I love you.” He replied, leaning down to kiss her.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Mirror reached the top of the tunnel and glanced behind her, breathing heavily. Ebony and Ivory were right behind her, with Keeneye and Siren next. The nameless armored pegasus kept pace as silent as ever. Mirror was worried about that pegasus, and what the elder intended Shimmer to be taught.

She pushed open the door and sunlight streamed in. Mirror heard a squeak from behind her and turned. Siren and Keeneye laid on the ground, covering their eyes with their hooves. She understood what had happened. After hours of seeing in the dim light of the caverns, even her eyes were sensitive to the flood of sunlight. The pegasus didn't even flinch, however, and Mirror narrowed her eyes. Something was not quite right with that pegasus, but Mirror had more pressing concerns at the moment.

“Right. Sunlight.” Keeneye said, slowly uncovering his eyes and squinting against the light. “Really bright.”

“Little bit.” Siren said beside him, getting back on her hooves.

“Sorry guys,” Mirror said, “I forgot that you don't come up during the daytime.”

“It's alright. We've had training in case we've had to end up out here.” Keeneye said. “We're fine now, let's go.” The armored form behind them nodded but did not speak.

The group left the old shack and avoided the town's population on the way back to the forge. Unfortunately for them, the play had ended, and the young ponies had proceeded to run amok once out of sight of their teacher. One of which, a small aqua colt with a bright pink mane and tail, both far too long for him, spotted the group. He excitedly ran up to them, narrowly avoiding tripping on his overly long hair no less than three times, and immediately approached Keeneye.

“Hey mister! Are you one of Princess Luna's special guards?” He asked, beaming up at the Nocturnal, amber eyes wide.

“Kinda.” Keeneye said, kneeling down to the colt's level. “I'm a reserve guard. That means that if the Princess ever needs me, I'm hers, but right now I'm on vacation.”

“Whaddya doing out here on vacation?” The colt asked him incredulously. Mirror giggled.

“I'm visiting a very special friend of mine.” Keeneye replied, looking at Mirror. The colt looked between the two of them and grinned.

“Is she your maaaaarefriend?” He asked. Mirror blushed and Keeneye laughed.

“As a matter of fact, she is.” Keeneye replied. The colt's grin stretched from ear to ear at this. Keeneye glanced around and lowered his voice. “Hey, kid, can you keep a secret?” He asked conspiratorially.

“My name's not kid!” The colt replied indignantly. He tried to glare at Keeneye, but his pink mane dropping down into his face ruined the effect. “My name's Bubblegum Burst! My friends call me Bee!”

“Alright, Bee.” Keeneye conceded. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Uh-huh!” Bubblegum said, jerking his head to one side to move his neon mane out of his eyes.

“I'm gonna ask her to marry me some day.” He said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Both Mirror and Bubblegum's mouths dropped open at the same time. The twins smiled and leaned against each other while Siren just rolled her eyes. “Then,” The Nocturnal stallion continued, a smile on his face, “We're gonna have a whole bunch of foals.”

Bubblegum looked back and forth between Keeneye and Mirror before leaning forwards.

“Do you think she'll say yes?” He asked, looking worried.

The entire group, except for the armored pegasus, laughed at this and Keeneye reached over to ruffle the colt's mane. “I certainly hope so, little guy, or else I just made a fool of myself.” He looked around and dropped his voice again. “Can I trust you with a secret guard mission?”

Bubblegum nodded vigorously, his pink mane bobbing around and dropping back into his face.

“I need you to keep all of the colts and fillies out of the forest, okay?” Keeneye said. “There might be monsters in there, and I don't want anypony to get hurt before I can get rid of them.”

“You're here on a secret mission!” Bubblegum exclaimed. “I knew that you couldn't just visiting your marefriend! Guards don't get vacations to do mushy stuff like that!” He looked over at Siren. “Is she your super secret undercover partner? She's pretty. I like her ears, they're fluffy.” Siren blushed and raised a hoof to brush at her tufted ears.

“She's my sister.” Keeneye replied. “Can I trust you with that? Keeping everypony out of the forest?” He asked, looking very seriously at the young colt.

“Yes sir!” Bubblegum exclaimed. He attempted to salute, but ended up smacking himself in the forehead. Mirror suppressed a giggle at the colt's antics.

“Good. Go on, now. I'm counting on you.” Keeneye said. Bubblegum turned and ran off towards the center of town, fighting to not trip on his mane. “Cute kid.” Keeneye remarked absently, turning back to the rest of the group. Mirror giggled at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Nothing. I just didn't know you were so good with kids.” Mirror said.

“Am I?” He asked.

“Looks like it.” She replied.

“Huh. Okay.” He said.

“As much fun as it is t' watch y'all be adorable, don't we have someplace t' be?” Ivory drawled.

“Right, right.” Keeneye said, starting to walk towards the forge again.

“What is so special about my ears?” Siren muttered as they walked.

“Well, you got these cute little tufts on th' end of 'em.” Ebony said, walking next to her. “Which makes 'em look downright adorable.”

She spun, not expecting him to be there, and blushed. “That was more of a rhetorical question.” She said.

“Relax, Shimmer'll think they're adorable. Don't worry about it.” Mirror said over her shoulder.

Ebony suddenly looked very serious. “Yer after Shimmercoat? Y'all know what happened, right?”

“Yeah. Mirror told me. I'm not saying I expect him to just jump me or anything. I just... Think he's cute.” Siren said.

“Just so long as you know what yer getting' into, darlin'.” Ivory said, smiling gently at her. “He's been locked up in th' forge fer a coupla days now. I don't know what he's doin' in there, but he needs somepony t' snap 'im out of it.” Siren nodded and fell silent.

The group traveled in silence for the rest of the trip. When they neared the forge, Mirror told them to wait and walked ahead. As she approached, she saw her father stretched out on his back in the lawn.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Mirror asked, walking up to him. He snapped a hoof out and curled it around one of her legs, causing her to fall over.

“I was wondering where you had gotten off to, missy.” Iron Coat replied, dragging his daughter into a hug. “Well, what happened to you? Shimmer's been busy having life-threatening problems, and I don't think I'm lucky enough to have you come back and tell me that you've been at the play.”

“Well, I didn't get to watch the play, no, but what happened to Shimmer?” Mirror asked.

“Apparently he's having a giant spider problem. He says this big green thing by the name of Alpha was sitting in the forest.” He noticed the look of worry creeping onto her face. “Relax, he's just exhausted. Apparently this critter has never dealt with a unicorn before, and he was able to teleport out of there without getting hurt.” He sighed and let her go. “Now, tell me about your day.”

“So, I was being followed by this strange pony, right?” She began. She told him about everything that had happened since she left the house that morning, omitting only the part about her and Keeneye being a couple. He stopped her a couple of times to clarify something, but otherwise sat and listened. His eyes narrowed as she described the scene with Crystal Rampart, but didn't interrupt her.

“Okay. So, your mom is right. The world is going bloody insane all of the sudden.” Iron Coat replied. “You might as well go get your friends. I'll tell your mom that we've got incoming.” He turned and walked into the house as she returned to where the rest of the group waited.

“How's Shimmercoat doing?” Siren asked Mirror as soon as silver mare returned.

“He's doing fine. He's already encountered Alpha, and now my parents know whats going on.” She said. “Come on, you're all invited over for dinner.”

Mirror entered the house first. Her mother met her in the hallway and hugged her.

“Hey. Your dad told me what happened to you today. How are you feeling?” Starshine asked, concerned.

“I'm doing okay, mom. I'm more worried about Shimmer.” Mirror replied.

“I am too.” Her mother said, letting her go. “He's asleep right now, so make sure your friends keep their voices down.”

“I will, mom.” Mirror turned towards the door. “Come on, guys. Get inside before somepony sees you. And keep it down, Shimmer's trying to sleep.”

“Will do, darlin'.” Ivory said as she stepped through the doorway. “Howdy, missus Starshine. Thanks fer havin' us over.”

“Not a problem at all, Ivory.” Starshine replied. “Hello, Ebony, how are you?” She asked the big stallion as he squeezed in behind his sister.

“Ah'm doin' just fine, thanks.” He replied, trying to get out of the way for Siren and Keeneye

Starshine raised her eyebrows as the Nocturnals crossed the threshold. Iron Coat had told her that their daughter had made some interesting friends, but whatever she was expecting, it wasn't them. She had known Nocturnals before. Unbeknownst to her children, Iron Coat had once been a Royal Guard. Specifically an armorer, second only to the Royal Forge Master. She had met him in Canterlot, and in the time they had dated she had been introduced to a large variety of ponies, some of them the Nocturnal Night Guards.

“Hello, my name is Starshine. I'm Shimmercoat and Mirror's mom.” She said, smiling at the pair.

“Hello.” Keeneye said, bowing slightly to her. “My name is Keeneye and this is my sister, Siren.” Siren waved from behind him. “I know we're strange looking, but-” Starshine cut him off with an upraised hoof.

“I know what you are.” She said, smiling. “Get on into the living room. This hallway is getting crowded.”

The Nocturnal pair walked on, and Starshine leaned over to see if anypony else was going to be walking in. Just as she began to do so, the armored pegasus stepped into the house. Starshine tensed.

“Iron Coat, honey, could you come here, please.” She called over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of the armored form. The pegasus just stood there as her husband came up behind her.

“Yes, dear. What do you...” He trailed off as he noticed the armored pegasus. “Uh-huh. Honey, why don't you go and entertain our guests while I have a chat with our friend here.” He said, eyes narrowing.

“Sure.” She said, stepping past him into the living room.

“Alright, I know what you are, and I know you can talk.” Iron Coat said, dropping his voice so that he wouldn't be overheard. “So talk, why are you here?”

“To train the young Knight.” The armor said. Her voice, while understandable, had an odd metallic echo, as if she was speaking through a long metal tube.

“And how do I know that you are not lying?” He asked.

“If I was here to harm anypony, I would have done it and been gone.” She said.

He looked her over for a moment longer and nodded. “Fine. But. If you're lying to me, I'll take you apart.”

She silently nodded and walked past him to join the others.

Iron Coat walked into the crowded living room and looked around at the ponies gathered there. The twins sat immediately to the left of the doorway, leaning against each other. Next was the armored pegasus, with Siren sitting a few feet away. Keeneye and Mirror sat next to each other, a whispered conversation dying as he entered the room. Starshine stood to the right of the doorway, looking amused at something.

“So.” He began. “The whole area is suddenly much more exciting than I expected my retirement to be. The question being, what is everyone's next move?” He looked at the armored pegasus in particular.

“I would like to stay on the surface and assist in the defense of the town.” Keeneye said. “If Alpha attacks, I want to be here to help.” Iron Coat looked at him and raised an eyebrow at the tone in the Nocturnal's voice. He sounded... Formal. Like he was addressing a superior officer or an authority figure.

“We'll be glad to have you. Relax a bit, though.” The elder stallion said, smiling at him. “You sound like you're addressing your superior officer, or your marefriend's dad or something.” Mirror froze when he said that, eyes wide, and he raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

“What if I told you I was?” Keeneye asked, shrinking down slightly as Iron Coat's gaze snapped back to him. Despite the fact he was obviously nervous, he kept eye contact with the older stallion, and Iron Coat smiled.

“Then that's a conversation that we'll need to have when there's fewer ponies in the room.” He said ominously. Keeneye nodded while Mirror beside him flushed red. Starshine giggled and her husband looked at her. “Something you want to share?”

“I was just wondering what your reaction was going to be when you found out.” She replied.

“How did you know?” Mirror asked, surprised. “I didn't tell you!”

“Honestly, Mirror. Do you think that I wouldn't notice? You sat right next to him and started having a little whispered conversation with him, which immediately died when your father entered the room.” Starshine smiled at her daughter. “I remember doing much the same, when I met your father.”

“Anyway.” Iron Coat said, changing the subject. “That's one, what's everypony else going to do?”

“I'm staying with Keeneye.” Siren said. “We're both guard trained, and we have some familiarity with the type of enemy we're facing here.”

“That's two.” Iron Coat said, looking at the armored pegasus and the twins.

“We're gonna sit this whole thing out, Ah think.” Ebony said, looking at Ivory. The pale mare nodded. “We just lost one friend, and Ah don't wanna be in the thick of somethin' else that could make that happen again.”

“Fair enough.” Iron Coat said. He turned his gaze to the armored form. “And you?”

“Ah don't think this critter talks.” Ebony said, looking at the pegasus. “It hasn't said a thing since we met it.”

“That is because I only speak when I must.” The armor said. Mirror, the Nocturnals, and Ivory all stared at the armored form.

Ebony snorted. “Well, look at that. Ah guess Ah spoke too soon.”

“I am here to train the knight. After I think he has completed his training, then I will leave and return underground.” She said.

“Do y'all have a name?” Ivory asked her.

The armor tilted her head, seeming to think about the question. “It has been some time since anypony has referred to me by name, but yes. You may call me Angel”

“Alright, Angel.” Iron Coat said. “When do you consider his training 'complete'?”

“When he can best me.” She replied.

“Why don't you take off your armor? It must be warm in there, and there's no danger here.” Mirror asked.

“Because she can't.” Iron Coat replied, staring at Angel. “There's nothing to take off. She is the armor. We called it project Eternum. We crafted armor, and then we gave it a semblance of sentience by empowering perfect gems with fragments of a pony's mind. They were meant to be autonomous soldiers, suits of armor that required no food, no pay. It was considered too costly for mass production, though, and the suits were locked up or destroyed. You,” He said pointedly, “Are not one of our original suits. And, you are too sophisticated. You're a pony soul bound to the armor, are you not?”

Angel nodded. “I am. I was one of the greatest of the Elder's bodyguards, several centuries ago. In the line of duty, I became mortally injured. I did not want to die, so when the Elder came to me with a choice, I took it, and became what you see before you.”

Mirror looked over at her. “Do you regret it?”

Angel tilted her head again. “There are... Things. That I miss.” She said sadly. “But I have done a great deal of good in this form. If I were offered the same choice again, I would make the same decision.”

“It looks like the party started without me.” Shimmercoat said from behind Iron Coat.

“You're supposed to be asleep.” Starshine said sternly.

“Yeah, but it's hard to sleep when there's a whole herd of ponies tromping through your house.” He replied, stepping around his father and looking at the assembled ponies. He stopped when he saw the Nocturnals. “Forgive me, but... What are you?” He asked Siren, looking her over. She blushed, and Keeneye cleared his throat as she tried to stammer out a response.

“We are Nocturnals. We live under the city.” He said.

“Oh, so that's what she meant.” Shimmercoat said, glancing over at him. “So are you two related?” He asked, looking back at Siren.

“Yes. My name is Keeneye, and that is my sister, Siren.” Keeneye replied.

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Shimmer said. He shifted his gaze to Angel and raised an eyebrow. “Who are you, and why are you armored?” He asked warily.

“My name is Angel, and I am to be your teacher until your true staff arrives.” She replied.

“My teacher? Teach me what?” He asked, looking at her suspiciously.

“Teach you what it means to be a Knight of Equestria. Matters of etiquette, combat, and other such things a knight should know.” She replied.

“Uh-huh.” He said, sounding skeptical. “That's one half of my question. Why are you armored?”

“I am... Unable to exist otherwise.” She replied.

“Forgive me, I've been driving myself to exhaustion the last couple of days, but what?” Shimmercoat asked.

“What you see is the entirety of my being. I am not a pony in armor. I am an animated suit of armor.” She explained.

“An animated suit of...” He shook his head. “Sure, alright. At this point I'll believe just about anything.” He stood there silently for several moments, thinking. “Forgive me if I'm being too forward, but... Can you feel anything?” He asked.

“I...” She stopped. “The short answer is yes.” She said finally. “I do still feel things. Emotions. I do not feel physical sensations like I did when I was alive.”

“Oh.” He fell silent again. The room was quiet while the exhausted stallion followed his train of thought. Suddenly, he stepped up and hugged her. She staggered back a step, but he refused to let go.

“What?” She asked, sounding confused. “Why are you doing this?”

“I'm sorry.” He said quietly, still holding onto her. “I can't even imagine.”

Silence reigned again as the rest of the ponies in the room just stared at him.

“What can you not imagine? What are you sorry for?” She asked, her voice quivering.

Shimmercoat let her go and stepped back, his head down. “One. I've lost one pony I cared about. And it hurt, more than anything else I can think of.” He looked up, tears in his eyes. “I can't even imagine what your life must be like. I'm sorry for the lives you've been forced to watch wither. I'm sorry that you can't really feel when somepony hugs you. I am sorry for whatever circumstances forced you to be like this.”

She froze, perfectly still. Mirror looked between the armor and her brother, and almost cried. Even if he hates it, he'll make a good knight. Just because he cares, even when nopony else does.

Finally, Angel spoke again. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. “You did not cause this.”

“No.” He said. “But nopony deserves a fate like this, and I doubt the forces that pushed you here aren't sorry in the slightest. I am, though, because it's not fair.”

“Life rarely is.” She replied.

“True.” He turned towards Keeneye again. “So, I know your names, why are you here?”

“We're here to help you!” Siren blurted out. Shimmercoat looked at her, and she looked at the floor.

“Help me what?” He asked. While she stammered and attempted to get something coherent to come out of her mouth, he looked her over again.

Exotic was the word that came to mind. Between her slit pupils and tufted ears, she had an aura of strange beauty around her. He noticed that she had a couple of rather sharp teeth, and when she smiled she looked cute and dangerous all at the same time. Also, he found himself drawn to her eyes. Ponies having mismatched eye colors was rare, and the difference between hers was rarer still. He wondered if she had encountered something magical that changed one of her eyes to the crystalline purple color that it was.

“We are here to help you fight Alpha.” Keeneye said, cutting off his sister's attempts at communication.

“Oh? And what help are you going to be?” Shimmercoat asked.

Keeneye's eyes narrowed. “We are both trained to be Night Guards. Add that to the fact that we are familiar with the creature you face, and I think we'll be plenty of help.”

Shimmercoat stared unblinking at the Nocturnal for a long moment before smiling. “Good. Because I have no idea how to fight a bug that big. Plus, I'm on the verge of passing out again, so glad to have you.” He turned towards the staircase again. “If you all will excuse me.”

He almost managed to get to the hallway before he staggered. Siren jumped up and caught him.

“Oh, thanks.” He muttered. “Uhh...” He said blushed. “Would you mind... Uh.. Helping me to my room?”

“No problem.” She replied, blushing as well. “So, how are you?” She asked him, pushing past her nervousness while she helped him up the stairs.

He mulled the question over for a moment before responding. “I don't really know.”

“Oh. Okay.” She said, falling silent again.

“I don't know if you know, but I recently-” He was interrupted by her holding up a hoof.

“I know. Mirror told me. For what it's worth, I'm sorry.” She said quietly. They arrived at the doorway to his room.

“Why are you sorry? I'm the one that caused it.” He said. She narrowed her eyes at the dark tone in his voice.

“Because you're sorry for things that you didn't cause, so I can be too.” She said. “Besides, I don't think it actually was your fault. You don't strike me as a murderer.”

“I didn't do it personally, but I'm the one that put her into harms way.” He replied.

“Then it's not your fault.” She said matter-of-factly.

“But she wouldn't have been there if I hadn't sent her there.” Shimmercoat said, tears in his eyes. Seeing him crying tugged at her heart, but she pressed on.

“But you wouldn't have had to do that if the pirates hadn't shown up.” She countered.

He stared silently at her for several minutes. She thought about just turning and walking away, but something told her that it was important that she stayed.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked quietly, his voice wavering.

“Because you shouldn't hate yourself for something that you cannot control.” She said gently. “And I don't think your friend would want you to spend all of your time depressed.” She smiled at him. “Maybe at some point we can sit and talk more. Sleep well.” She turned and began to walk away.

“Wait.” Shimmercoat said. “Would you mind sitting with me awhile?”

“I guess I can spare a few minutes.” Siren replied, turning around.

He led her into his room, and shifted a few piles of stuff around to uncover a chair and set it next to the bed. The exhausted stallion flopped onto his bed and motioned for Siren to sit in the chair. She did so, then looked at him expectantly. He met her gaze for a moment, then looked down.

“I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this. You're a complete stranger to me, and here I am hoping that you can help me.” He said after a moment.

“Help you with what?” She asked him.

“The pain.” He replied. “The nightmares. My parents think I've been pushing myself to stay up to finish my project. The truth is, every time I close my eyes I see her again. I see her getting dragged to the deck of the pirate ship by nets, then I see her disappear in a flash of light. Again, and again and again and again.” His voice took on a strange harshness before it broke, and when he spoke again, it was barely above a whisper. “She always looks so afraid.” Shimmer looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “And I can't help her. I can't even tell her I'm sorry.”

Siren stared into his eyes, into the damage inflicted on him not from just his loss, but from his guilt as well. As badly as he hurt from the loss of his love, the constant plague of his own perceived failure was far worse. While she tried to figure out what to say to him about it, she changed the subject for a moment.

“What have you been working on in the forge?” She asked. He turned to an object wrapped in cloth and tried to use his magic on it, but his horn just fizzled and died. With a grunt of frustration, he staggered to his hooves again and dragged it over to the bed before settling back down. He gently unwrapped it and held it out for her to see. What lay beneath the cloth took her breath away.

A sword, magnificent in its perfection. The grip was made not of metal, but of a faintly glowing white crystal seamlessly encasing a single yellow feather and flowing perfectly up to the crossguard, a intricately wrought depiction of outstretched wings, so detailed to almost be lifelike. At the top, a brilliant ruby, carved into the shape of an open flower, served as the pommel. Finally, barely visible in the dim light of his room, written in the runic letters of an ancient civilization, was a string of words that trailed down the blade.

“What does it say?” Siren asked, trying to make out the words.

“My father taught me to write this language. It's from before Equestria was Equestria.” He swallowed heavily before continuing. “It says 'fly ever higher, my love'.”

“That's beautiful.” She breathed. In her guard training, Siren had seen some very well-crafted weapons, but nothing like this. The items she was used to were old, notched and worn pieces that had actually seen battle before the banishment of Nightmare Moon. This was nothing like those.

“I don't know what I'm going to do with it.” He admitted. “I just felt like I should honor her in some way. My father doesn't make weapons, you know? I was angry, but I knew revenge wouldn't bring her back, so I crafted a weapon I could never use.”

“I think I know how to help you.” Siren said as a flash of intuition hit her. He looked up at her hopefully.“Sleep, at least. My special talent is singing. Maybe I could sing you a lullaby?”

He slowly wrapped the sword back up as he chuckled mirthlessly. “I don't know about that. I don't think a lullaby is going to free me from my nightmares.” He placed the wrapped sword gently underneath his bed.

“A normal one? No.” She conceded. “But mine are anything but. Note that I am a unicorn. My voice and magic work together. I can do many things with my singing, from putting ponies to sleep to shattering rocks.”

Shimmercoat raised an eyebrow at her. “Shattering rocks?”

Siren flushed, but continued. “I uh... Got really mad at a mare that had slighted me when I was younger. It was something dumb, but at the time it was a lot more important. So, to show her that I wasn't somepony to mess with, I channeled that anger into my magic, and yelled at a rock. Much to my surprise, the thing cracked and shattered into a pile of rubble.” She looked down, embarrassed. “It got my point across, and ever since then I've been really careful about using my magic when I was emotional.”

“Uh-huh.” He smiled at her. She hated to see him cry, and decided that she really liked his smile. “Well, if you think it'll help, then please, Siren, sing me a song. Nothing else has worked, and I could really use a full night's sleep.”

“Alright, just make yourself comfortable.” She replied, calmly despite the hammering of her heart. She had never sung for anypony other than her family before, and she was worried that she would mess it up. She almost told him to forget it, but he needed this.

He rested his head on his pillow and draped a blanket over himself. “Alright.” He said to her. “Whenever you're ready.”

Shimmercoat, like everypony else that conversed with the Nocturnals, had noticed the odd pitches to their voices, like they were pitching it down to be understood. He figured, after noticing their tufted ears, that they used some form of echolocation and spoke in a tone that wouldn't sound like much more than squeaking to somepony not similarly equipped. So, when she lit her horn and started to sing, he wasn't surprised that the first few notes were quite a bit higher pitched than her speaking voice. Then her voice started to pitch and weave. He started losing track of the words, and soon the magic layering her voice took hold of him. The exhausted stallion was asleep before she had finished half of the first verse.

It was a simple lullaby, really. The same one that she had sung to Keeneye when she had first discovered her talent for singing, and the magical modification thereof. Even though she noticed him fall asleep early into the song, she continued to the end, cutting out her magical amplification about halfway through. Unless something had gone wrong, she judged, he should be peacefully asleep until morning. When she finished, she silently stood and stepped out of his room, shutting the door behind her.

“Thank you.” Came a quiet voice in the darkness of the hallway. Siren spun to find Starshine standing behind her, the gray pegasus smiling gently. “He really needed that, and I'm afraid my songs have lost their power on him.”

“Oh, no.” Siren said. “I'm sure they haven't, he just has been having a rough time lately.”

“Don't be so modest.” Starshine replied. “He's grown too old to find comfort in his mother's songs. It's not the end of the world, it just means that he needs to find somepony else to sing to him when the weight of the world is too much for him.”

Siren blushed. “I just wanted to help him.”

“Why?” Starshine asked. Siren felt that the question had far more importance than it seemed on the surface.

“Because...” The Nocturnal said, picking her words carefully. “He's a good pony that cares. Some would say too much. I've seen him out at his waterfall before. He would just sit there and stare up at the moon and stars.” She smiled. “He always seemed so lonely. So I would sit just out of sight and keep him company. In spirit, anyway.” She chuckled quietly. “Now I sound like some weird stalker pony. I guess, though, I am.”

“Tell me, do you think he cares too much?” Starshine asked her.

Siren thought it over for a moment before answering. “No. Like he said to Angel, he cares because the world doesn't. Because life isn't fair, but he'll apologize for it anyway. And he's going to have plenty of examples that life can be cruel. I only hope that he never breaks.”

“Then stick around, Siren.” Starshine said, turning to step back down the stairs. “He'll need more than his father and I to deal with this. If things continue like they've been going, then he'll need all the help he can get. I don't know why the world's suddenly decided to test him, but there has to be a reason.” She winked over her shoulder. “And I bet he'll need more than a single song to weather the storm that is in store for him.” With that, she walked down the stairs and left Siren alone with her thoughts.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

“You mind stepping outside with me, Keeneye?” Iron Coat asked, looking at the Nocturnal.

Keeneye looked up from where he sat with Mirror, and gulped. She patted his shoulder and nudged him towards her father. “You might as well get it over with now.” She said. He nodded and followed Iron Coat outside.

“So. You're dating my daughter.” The large earth pony said once they had walked a couple of yards away from the house.

“Yessir.” Keeneye replied. He wasn't sure where this questioning was going to lead, but he decided he'd keep his answers short and respectful.

“Cut out that crap.” Iron Coat growled, looking over at the Nocturnal. “I'm retired. Don't call me 'sir'.”

“Okay, Iron Coat.” Keeneye said stiffly.

“Relax, kid. If I was going to threaten you, I would have done it inside.” Iron said. “I just have a couple of questions for you.”

“Okay.” Keeneye said, a little less uptight. “Ask away.”

“Alright. Here's the easy one: What are your intentions with my daughter?” Iron Coat asked.

“Honorable.” The Nocturnal replied instantly. “If she'll keep me, I'd like to marry her some day.”

“Thinking a bit quickly there, aren't you?” Iron Coat asked him.

“Sir. Iron Coat. When you meet somepony like her, you've gotta just go for it, y'know?” Keeneye replied.

“Go for what, exactly?” The elder stallion asked.

“For her.” The pegasus replied. “Dammit. I'm not explaining this very well. She's special, she's unique. Even though I met her for the first time this morning, I love her. She's just...” He trailed off as he struggled for words.

“Relax, kid.” Iron Coat said again. “I get what you're going for. I remember doing the same thing when Starshine's father asked me the same question. She's just somepony you can't get enough of. You just want to sit there and be near her, no matter what the two of you are doing.” He said wistfully. Keeneye nodded in agreement. “Keep that with you, kid. That feeling is the best in the world. Never let it die, or fade.” He shook his head. “Alright, that's enough of me being a dad. What do you do for a living?”

“I'm a reserve guard.” Keeneye replied. “I spend most of my time patrolling low-importance areas. Otherwise, I just kinda hang out with my sister.”

“Reserves, huh?” Iron Coat asked nopony in particular as he looked up at the sky. “Not a bad place to be.” Silence fell as Keeneye followed his gaze and stared at the stars.

“I want you to promise me something, Keeneye.” Iron Coat said, still looking up.

“Yeah?” Keeneye said, looking over at the large earth pony.

“Promise me that you'll keep her safe. I watched my son lose his marefriend and it almost destroyed him. If either of us lost Mirror...” He trailed off, and Keeneye nodded.

“I will. Even if it costs me my life. I will.” The Nocturnal said solemnly.

“I hope it doesn't come to that, lad. I really don't.” Iron Coat said quietly. “Come on, let's get back inside.”

Starshine finished making dinner, and the group sat down to eat while they made sleeping arrangements. Soon, everypony was asleep, enjoying an uneasy peace that they all feared would not last.

Chapter Eight: The Messenger Returns

Shimmercoat woke peacefully for the first time since the attack. He stretched and sat up, unwilling to abandon the comfort of his bed. He sat there for several minutes before he realized that the feeling of guilt that had plagued him for days, while not gone, was lessened, just a little bit. He rolled off of his bed and opened his door, the smell of food wafting up the stairs compelling him to head towards the kitchen.

Shimmer walked around the corner into the kitchen and found himself nose to nose with Siren.

“Oh, good morning.” Shimmercoat said, not expecting to see her there.

“Good morning.” She replied, “How did you sleep?” She asked, sounding nervous.

“Very well, actually.” He said, smiling at her. “Thanks to you.”

She blushed. “Oh, it was nothing.” She said quietly, looking away.

He raised a hoof between them and motioned for her to look up. She did. “No, it wasn't nothing.” He said softly. “Thank you.”

They stood frozen, his purple eyes locked onto her mismatched pools. Suddenly, Siren darted forward, closing the gap between their mouths in a flash. After a moment, she pulled back, looking fearfully at him. His eyes were shut, and his brow was furrowed.

“I'm sorry, I just-” She began, but he cut her off with a raised hoof.

“I'm not going to tell you I didn't enjoy that, nor am I going to tell you that I am not interested in you.” Shimmercoat said slowly, so quiet that she could barely hear him. “But it's too soon. I... I just can't. Not right now. I'm sorry.” His face relaxed, and he slowly opened his eyes to look at her. “So, what are you cooking?” He asked, his voice no longer hushed.

“Just some breakfast.” Siren replied, turning back to the stove. She was glad he had changed the subject, and was happy that he hadn't rejected her outright. I should have known better. She thought to herself. Obviously he's not going to forget about her so quickly. It's been less than a week. Why did I do that?

“Hey Siren, you caught anything on fire yet?” Keeneye asked from behind Shimmercoat, peering into the kitchen.

“I only did that once!” She said indignantly. “And it wasn't my fault!”

Shimmercoat looked between the two siblings and grinned. “Now this I have to hear.” He said.

“My dear older sister over there was just learning to cook, and mom had just stepped away from her for a moment.” Keeneye began. “And in the moment that mom's back was turned, Siren managed to light not just the food, but her bangs on fire.”

A lightly glowing spoon shot past Shimmercoat and slammed into Keeneye's forehead, causing him to stagger. Shimmer looked over and noticed Siren glaring at her brother, her horn lit.

“We've talked about this.” She said menacingly. “It was a problem with the stove, and had nothing to do with my skills in the kitchen.”

Keeneye recovered his balance and grinned back. “A problem that has never happened before or since.” He said. “Of course it was a technical problem.” He dove out of the doorway as more silverware shot towards him from the sink. It clattered harmlessly against the wall, and Shimmercoat raised an eyebrow at Siren.

“A little testy, eh?” He asked.

“He's my brother.” She replied, returning the silverware to the sink. “He knows how to piss me off and he enjoys doing it. I'll get him back later. Maybe I'll interrupt a date with your sister.”

Shimmercoat stared blankly at her. “What?”

“Oh, right.” She replied. “You weren't here for that part. Mirror and Keeneye are dating. Sorta.”

“Sorta?” He asked.

“Well, they've not gone on any dates yet, so I guess they're just together.” She said, tending to the food.

“I think I should go have a chat with Mirror. Excuse me.” He said, turning towards the door. She nodded and he walked into the living room.

“Hey.” Keeneye said, standing off to one side of the doorway. “You mind if we talk for a minute?”

“Sure.” Shimmercoat replied. “What's up?”

“I couldn't help but see what went on just now.” The Nocturnal replied. “I just want to know one thing. Are you actually interested in my sister, or are you just leading her on?”

“I don't lead ponies on.” Shimmercoat replied flatly. “Now, I want to ask you the same question.”

“I don't lead ponies on.” Keeneye replied, in the same tone that Shimmercoat had used. He grinned easily. “I already had this conversation with your dad.”

“Oh, and what did he say?” Shimmer asked.

“I made him a promise.” Keeneye said. “If she gets hurt, it will be because I am dead.”

“I'll hold you to that.” Shimmercoat said.

“I don't doubt it.” Keeneye replied, grinning. “Now, about Siren.”

Shimmercoat sighed. “I'll be honest with you. I don't know right now, Keeneye. I really don't. I think she's beautiful, and she's been the only pony able to get me to sleep peacefully since this whole thing. Under different circumstances, I'd not hesitate. Right now, though, I don't think I'm in the right place mentally or emotionally to be in a relationship.” He looked down. “Hell, after what happened, I probably should just stay away from things like that.”

“Seriously?” Keeneye said angrily. “Sure, alright. Let's just say it was your fault. I'll indulge you for a moment. You made a mistake. Yeah, it was big. Yeah, somepony important to you died. It's tragic, I won't deny it. But, from the sounds of it, you were pining over her for months, had her for one day, then tragedy.” Shimmercoat's head snapped up and he glared at the Nocturnal. “So,” Keeneye continued, matching Shimmer's gaze evenly. “You didn't even know her all that well. You don't seem like the stalker type to me, so you were just getting to know her and she died. Still sad, but it's not like you lost your life's love.” He narrowed his eyes. “Get. Over. It.”

“Tell me something.” Shimmercoat said, his voice dangerously low. “What would you do if Mirror were to die due to a decision that you made? Let's say you had to choose to send her to either one dangerous place or another, like I did, and she died. Would you just blow it off? Would you just not care? It's been days. Not weeks, or months, but days. Think about it for just a second, I'll wait.”

The two of them stood there and glared at each other, Keeneye's wings flared out defensively and Shimmercoat's horn lit threateningly. The tension in the room was almost a physical force. A loud clank and a muffled curse originating from the kitchen broke the spell. Almost simultaneously, both of them sighed and sat down.

“Alright. I may have been a bit rash.” Keeneye said.

“I've been a little dumb, haven't I?” Shimmercoat asked at the same time.

They both laughed and Keeneye motioned for Shimmer to speak.

“You are partially right. I did only know her personally for a couple days.” The blue colt admitted. “It still hurts, though. Even with only a couple of days, I loved her. Between that and the guilt, I've been feeling kinda boxed in. I don't really know what to do right now.”

“I should apologize.” Keeneye said. “I just want my sister to be happy, and she's been stalking you for months. I shouldn't have demeaned your loss like that. I was kinda hoping that enough of a shock would snap you out of it.” He grinned at Shimmercoat. “As for what you should do now? Love like you've never been hurt. I don't think Fizzle would mind all that much.”

“You may be right.” Shimmercoat said. “I'll think about it, alright? That's all I can promise right now.”

“That's fine.” Keeneye said, leaning back. “I can't force you to do anything, I just want my future brother-in-law to be happy.”

“Now I might say no just to spite you.” Mirror said from the doorway behind Shimmercoat. “You don't need to tell the whole world.” Shimmercoat turned and noticed his sister blushing furiously.

“I want to tell the whole world.” Keeneye replied, grinning at her. “Just stand on top of Canterlot Palace and scream it as loud as I can.”

Mirror trotted over to him and shoved him. “Do it and I will say no.” She warned. For Keeneye's part, he had the decency to look slightly sorry.

“Aww, but why?” He asked, pouting at her.

“Because.” She replied. “If you somehow found your way to the top of the palace, you'd just get arrested and thrown in jail.” The silver mare shoved him again. “And I will not marry somepony that is in prison.”

“All right, all right.” He said, grabbing her in a hug. “I won't go on top of the palace. I'll just jump on top of the lighthouse, then.”

“Really?” She asked, gently pushing at him with her hooves. “The lighthouse? Nopony would be able to hear you from up there.” She paused for a moment, considering what she had just said. “No, wait. Do it. Yell from the top of the lighthouse all you want. If I'm lucky, the mare that lives up there will fry you with the light.”

Keeneye pulled her close so that he could exaggeratedly whisper in her ear. “Why don't you want anyone to know?” He perked up suddenly. “Oh, wait, I know.” He leaned back down and placed his mouth next to her ear. “You want it to be a secret. An illicit love, lit by moonlight and seen only by shadows.”

Shimmercoat raised an eyebrow at the Nocturnal's antics, and turned to leave, to give them some privacy. He hadn't taken three steps when something completely silent and very heavy slammed into his back, forcing him roughly towards the floor. He reacted on reflex, rolling forward with the blow, gathering momentum, and threw his attacker down the hallway. He quickly jumped back to his hooves and faced his opponent. Angel stood motionless in front of him.

“What the hell was that?” He demanded angrily.

“I told you.” She replied. “I am here to teach you. The lessons are many, and the time is short. So, we begin now.”

“A little warning would be nice.” He said. “Before you attacked me would be great.”

“That would be the first lesson.” She replied. “Your enemies will not wait for you to be ready, nor will they allow you to rest. You must be ready to defend yourself at all times, with all of the speed and power you can bring to bear. Your counter was fast, if predictable, and that shows that you have some manner of potential.” She stepped back and opened the front door. “Shall we proceed with the days lessons?”

“I'd like to eat first.” Shimmer replied.

“You can return and eat as soon as you land a solid hit upon me.” She said, stepping out the door.

Shimmercoat looked over his shoulder to see Mirror and Keeneye staring at him in confusion.

“You know what? Fine.” He said. “I'm probably not gonna like this, but we'll see where this goes.”

The blue stallion stepped outside, glancing around to try and spot Angel. On a hunch, he looked up, and immediately threw himself to the side, narrowly dodging the strafing armor. She slammed into the ground with her front hooves, leaving deep depressions in the ground. If that had connected, he thought, mind racing, I'd be screwed. He regained his balance and watched her wheel about for another pass. She changed her path, coming in parallel to the ground instead of just diving on him. Just as she sped at him again, he leaped into the air and braced himself as best he could. The heavy armor slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him, and he wrapped his hooves around her neck as tightly as he could. As soon as he settled his grip, he whipped his rear legs up into her armored belly, and simultaneously yanked as hard as he could on her upper half. Both motions combined with her speed to turn what would have been a standard, graceful fly-by attack into a dangerous tumble as her whole body was pitched forward and her head clipped the unyielding earth. In the resulting roll, Shimmercoat let go and was thrown almost straight up by the momentum. He raised a shield just before he hit the ground, and managed to avoid critically injuring himself, though he felt like that stunt may have bruised a rib. He slowly stood up, looking around for where Angel had ended up.

At the end of a thirty yard long furrow in the ground lay the dark purple armor. Shimmer walked towards her, his breathing coming in short painful gasps as he walked.

“That enough of a solid hit for you?” He wheezed, stopping about ten feet away from her. “Can I...” He winced and cut off as a stab of pain stole his breath. “Can I go eat now?”

“That was a satisfactory response.” She said, slowly standing up. When she turned towards him he narrowed his eyes. There wasn't even a scratch on the mirrored surface of the steel. “Though, I would suggest that you change your fighting style to reflect whether you are armored or not. While armored, that particular tactic would be almost certainly fatal to a living pegasus, while leaving yourself only open to the risk of injuring yourself in the resulting fall.” She looked him up and down. “However, you seem to have injured yourself due to the lack of your armor.”

“Thank you for that stunning revelation.” Shimmercoat said sarcastically. The effects from the hit were wearing off, and his breathing was becoming less painful. “I would never have noticed.”

“Though, I wonder why you did not use your magic?” She said. “I have been told your specialization is in the construction of kinetic barriers. Why did you not create one to shield yourself from the initial impact?”

“Figured it wouldn't be fair. You've got no real way to counter my magic.” He said, shrugging.

“You would be surprised, sir Knight. I am no stranger to unicorns and their magic.” She replied.

Her wings snapped up and Shimmercoat took a step back. With a single, powerful stroke she propelled herself straight at him. He summoned a shield in between himself an the charging pegasus, but just as she reached it a series of glowing runes burned their way across the armor, and she passed through the shield like it didn't exist. With her boast, however, she had revealed that she had a way to pierce his shields, so even as his cast the spell, he was throwing himself out of her path. She sped past him and brought herself back around to land in front of him again.

“You see?” She said. “Your magic is not a threat to me.”

“So it isn't.” He replied. His mind worked furiously, coming up with some theories as to how he could modify his magic to actually affect her, but his aching chest and grumbling belly called for a rest. “Can I go eat now?”

“Yes.” She replied. “You have done as I instructed, so you may rest and eat.”

Shimmercoat turned and walked back into the house, casting a suspicious glance over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't going to try anymore 'tests' while he wasn't looking. Keeneye greeted him just inside the door.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” He asked.

“I'm hungry and my chest hurts.” Shimmercoat replied.

“I bet your chest hurts.” Keeneye replied. “I'm surprised you're walking after that stunt.” He reached a hoof up and rubbed his neck. “I've gotta say though, it would suck to be on the receiving end of that shot.”

“Hell, it hurt being on the giving end.” Shimmer said, rubbing his chest. “She hit me like a steam train.” He sniffed the air, his stomach practically howling. “Now, where is your sister with that food? I'm starving.”

The blue colt stepped around Keeneye and walked into the kitchen. As he did, the Nocturnal flashed him a quick grin.

“Starving for what, I wonder.” He said. “The food, or my sister.”

“If her cooking tastes as good as it smells, maybe both.” Shimmercoat shot over his shoulder. As he entered the kitchen, Siren looked at him angrily. Her glare stopped him mid-stride, and raised an eyebrow at her.

“What?” He asked.

“Don't.” She replied sharply. “Don't tease like that. It's not fair to me, and I will not tolerate it.”

He stared at her for a second before he realized what she meant. “I'm sorry.” He said quickly, bowing towards her. “I didn't even think about what I was saying. I am sorry.”

“Geez, sis, why don't you just bite his head off, huh?” Keeneye said from behind Shimmer. “It was just a joke, no need to get all touchy. He just got knocked about by that flying brick, cut him some slack, will you?”

“No.” Shimmercoat said, raising a hoof. “I said something stupid, and there is no excuse.”

“Alas, it seems that I may not need to teach you etiquette.” Angel said from the hallway. “I think the Princesses chose a Knight well, this time.”

Shimmercoat glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. “In any case. Will you accept my apology, miss Siren?” He asked her.

She glared at him a moment longer, then a small smile flickered across her face. “I suppose so. This time.” She nodded towards the stove. “As for the food, it's ready whenever you are.”

He slipped past her and grabbed a bowl with his magic. He hadn't the foggiest idea what she had cooked, but a quick glance revealed mushrooms, carrots and some other vegetables thrown together in some sort of stir-fry. Shimmer's stomach grumbled again at the proximity of food, and she barely stepped out of the way before he fell upon it with a will. He just sat on the kitchen floor out of the walkway while he ate, unable to wait any longer. Everypony else came in and got some, but they decided that he was too busy wolfing down food to make small talk.

“Make sure not to eat the silverware too, dear.” Came Starshine's voice from the kitchen doorway after everypony had gotten their food and left. Shimmercoat had just acquired a third bowl, and he raised an eyebrow at her, unable to speak due to the food in his mouth.

“Are you even tasting it?” She asked.

He nodded, swallowing. “Yeah, it's fantastic. I haven't the slightest what she put in it, but it's great.”

“Glad to hear that.” Siren said from the living room, her voice carrying through the house.

Starshine laughed and left him to his food. Just as he started working on another mouthful, Angel appeared in the doorway.

“Hello, young Knight.” She said. “How are you feeling?”

The blue colt raised a hoof, chewing quickly to clear his mouth. “My chest feels like I got hit by a hammer, but other than that I'm doing alright.”

“Ah. Excellent.” She said. “I was worried that I had done some more permanent injury to you. Since I did not, we can resume the lessons as soon as you have finished your meal.”

“Forgive me, but when did I say I was going to actually let you teach me anything?” He asked, his tone polite. “I humored you earlier, but I never said I was accepting your lessons.”

She tilted her head. “Why would you deny them? I have been around for much longer than many of those you would normally learn from. My experience could greatly aid your cause.” She sounded genuinely confused as she spoke. “What could you possibly gain from denying me?”

“Time to mourn who I lost.” He replied, his tone changing to be something hard. “Not to mention that I wouldn't have to worry about you randomly attacking me in my own house.”

“But you must learn, young Knight.” She replied. “How can you be ready to defend yourself if you will not learn?”

“Quit calling me that!” He snapped.

“What, Knight?” She asked. “Why?”

“Because I'm not a Knight!” He said, his voice pained. “I'm just an idiot that got my marefriend killed!. Then,” His voice took on a bitter note, “The Princesses decided to give me a title. To 'honor' my actions.” He looked up at the impassive armor, tears in the corners of his eyes. “They gave me a public award for killing her.” The young unicorn's voice had become a whisper, harsh with guilt and anguish.

Silence reigned as he finished speaking, the small talk that had been occurring in the next room coming to an abrupt halt.

“How long has it been?” Angel finally asked.

Shimmercoat thought for several long moments. “Nine days.” He finally whispered.

“And in those nine days,” She said, “What has transpired?”

“Her funeral, my forging something to remember her by. Nine days of guilt, despair and hatred for myself.” He said honestly, gaze fixed on the floor in front of him.

“And,” She continued, “What shall transpire in the days ahead?”

“I don't know.” He said. “I'm not really thinking about the future.”

“I have something you should think about, if you will permit.” She said. He nodded slowly. “Perhaps the honor of Knight was not to spite you, Shimmercoat, but to place you in a position where you could prevent this tragedy from falling on others, as it has fallen on you.” He looked up at her sharply. “After all, a Knight's duty is to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I... Had never considered that before.” He said slowly.

“While you think on this, I will await you in the forge.” She said, turning to leave. “If you change your mind about my lessons, you can find me there.”

Shimmercoat watched her leave, his mind churning. Assuming what she said was true, then it was his duty to stop Alpha. If he did nothing, the spider would surely cause more grief within both the town of Stormgate and the Nocturnal colony beneath it. He knew the pain of loss now, and he would do anything to be rid of it, but that's not the way things worked. The best he could do right now was to prevent anypony else from suffering the same fate. His mind threw him images of ponies he knew, ponies he loved, laying crushed and broken upon the earth, and it made him angry.

If that giant bug wanted to take them from him, then she was in for one hell of a fight.

Shimmercoat slammed his bowl on the counter, remembering at the last second to soften the blow to not shatter his mom's dish. He stormed out the front door, the others following slowly in his wake. He marched up to the forge door and pushed his way past it. He stepped up to where Angel stood motionless in a corner, and squared off in front of her.

“This creature wants to destroy everything that I know.” He said. “Everything that I am, and everything that those around me know.”

“Yes.” She replied.

“I will not let that happen.” He said.

“Oh?” She said, tilting her head.

“I cannot let that happen.” He said, shaking his head. “I get it now. You're right. I can't go back and change the choice I made, but now I can prevent anypony else from having to make that decision. You will teach me how to be a Knight, and I will hoof this bug her head.”

“Good.” Angel replied. The armor was expressionless as ever, but if she still had a face she would have been smiling. “Let us begin. Time grows short.”
X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

For the next three days, Angel taught everything she could to the young Knight. The Nocturnal siblings spent their time watching Alpha at the waterfall. According to them, the giant spider was simply sitting in her web, talking to several different ponies that came to speak to her. All of them were Nocturnals, but the siblings could only identify Crystal Rampart. The second night they had talked to Shimmercoat about attempting to return to Stormshadow to find where the traitor was staying, but he disagreed.

“There's no guarantee that he is in the colony anymore, especially after everything that he had done.” The young Knight had said. “You're probably better off trying to find out where the other exit from the underground is. They're not coming through the tunnel beneath the shack, so they've got another tunnel somewhere.”

Keeneye sat perfectly still in a tree and silently fumed as the sky darkened. Despite his tracking skills and those of his sister, they still didn't know where exactly the alternate tunnel was. They had it narrowed down to one section of the forest, but said section was nearly half a mile square. So, whenever a pony talked to Alpha, Keeneye would fly ahead and sit in a different area in an attempt to discover where exactly the entrance was. The job would have been easier had he just been able to fly along with the pony, but the forest's canopy was too thick for him to see through. Plus, the entrance was likely camouflaged, and they figured that the best way to find it was to watch a pony use it. Luckily, the traffic to and from the giant spider was increasing, leading them to believe that whatever Alpha's plan was, it was going to be implemented in the coming days.

A rustling sound brought him out of his thoughts, and he silently peered down through the gloom. A pony emerged from the undergrowth, trying to sneak through the thick brush. The pony looked back and forth as he walked, but never once did he look up.

They never look up. Keeneye thought, watching the pony walk. Thousands of years with pegasi, and nopony ever thinks to look up.

The pony walked up to a gnarled old tree and looked around again. Keeneye felt his heart start to pound. This could be it. He thought, And about time, too. This was getting embarrassing.

The stallion reached up and grabbed a branch, pulling it down with an audible click. The ground in front of the tree rumbled quietly and opened. The pony slipped down the tunnel that was revealed, and Keeneye raised his eyebrows, impressed. The entrance had barely made any noise, only his extremely sensitive Nocturnal ears would be able to hear the sound beyond a few yards into the brush.

The Nocturnal pegasus waited until the hatch had closed again before turning and soaring silently into the night towards Stormgate. He hadn't flown more than a few yards before he caught a glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye and rolled hard to one side, narrowly avoiding a large, thick-stranded spider web that hadn't been there when he had flown this way. An instant later, the trees around him suddenly swarmed with large spiders, presumably the males of Alpha's brood. They started to dive out of the trees in front of him, trailing webs, in an attempt to force him down. Branches, both small and not, slapped at him as he flew. He avoided the largest of these, but was still taking a beating. A quick glance at the forest floor revealed that it too had become a living carpet of eyes and fangs. One spider jumped too late and landed on his back, almost forcing him into the trailing nets of several of its comrades. The Nocturnal rolled, trying to throw it off, but it clung tenaciously to his back.

He winced as he felt a stab of pain in his back. The spider had bitten him. He knew from experience with Eril's bite that the venom wasn't deadly. It was, however, a substance that would cause him to go numb within the next few minutes before he fell asleep. The toxin would work its way through his system within a few hours with no lasting repercussions, but if he dropped out here, in the middle of the swarm, he knew that he would never wake up again. Keeneye glanced around and realized that he was getting clear of the brood, with only a couple of spiders trying to net him now instead of the horde he was dodging earlier. He felt another stab in his back, and he lost feeling in his hooves.

Shimmercoat's house is only a few yards from the treeline, He thought as he rolled again, this time dislodging his unwanted passenger. He lost feeling in his wings as he sped for the exit. I just have to get clear of the trees, and I'll be fine. His vision began to darken as he cleared the last few trees.
X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Shimmercoat looked around, his back to the treeline and the setting sun as he searched for Angel. She hadn't been around when he woke up and she hadn't attacked him all day. Not that it wasn't a welcome relief to the constant drills and sparring sessions he had endured over the last couple of days, but it was starting to worry him.

He heard a sound behind him, but didn't get a chance to turn around before something crashed into him. Ah, there we go. He thought as he rolled with the impact, throwing his opponent off of him. He rolled up into a run straight towards where his opponent had landed, but he came up short as he drew next to the pony that had hit him. Keeneye lay on the ground, unconscious, several wounds in his back leaking a clear fluid along with blood.

“SIREN!” Shimmercoat bellowed at the house. “MIRROR! KEENEYE IS HURT!”

Siren burst out the front door, nearly knocking it from its hinges. She was followed by Mirror, Iron Coat and Starshine. Siren rushed over and peered at the injuries on Keeneye's back. After examining the wounds for a moment, she visibly relaxed.

“He's been bitten by one of the large spiders.” She said as the others gathered around him. “It didn't hit anything vital, so once we stop the bleeding he'll be fine. The spider's venom is a sleeping agent, so it's actually pretty harmless. The biggest threat is the fact that they have fangs that are more than large enough to cause some serious damage.” She looked up at Starshine. “I need bandages.” The gray pegasus nodded. Siren turned to Iron Coat and Shimmercoat. “I need you guys to take him inside. And be gentle, we don't need to tear his wounds wider.” The two stallions nodded. Iron Coat looked at the unconscious Nocturnal, then to Shimmercoat. The blue stallion grinned as he gently lifted Keeneye with his magic. As they walked back into the house, Shimmercoat realized that Keeneye was also a mess of cuts and bruises, presumably from flying full-tilt through the forest. He wondered if the Nocturnal had found the tunnel they were looking for or if he had been ambushed as he was tailing somepony.

After settling Keeneye in Mirror's room at her insistence, Shimmercoat stepped outside. Night had well and truly fallen at this point, and he sat on the porch looking up at the stars.

“What do you think of them?” Asked a voice from beside him. He jerked away and stared at the pony that had crept up on him.

“They're very nice as always, Princess.” He said politely. Luna laughed as she gazed upon her handiwork.

“That is what everypony says when I ask them that question.” She replied. “Tell me truly, now. What do you really think?” She glanced down and winked at him. “If it helps, just think of me as any other pony.”

“That's not easy, Princess.” Shimmercoat replied, settling back down beside her.

“I would assume not.” She said. “But try. What if your mother asked you that question? Or,” She looked back into the sky, “What if your lover asked you that question?”

“She did, once.” He said, following Luna's gaze. “I don't know what you had planned when you set the stars in the sky, but I had my own meaning for it.”

“Oh?” She said, interested. “Do tell.”

“The night sky is for lovers. To guide and hide them, and to drive them closer together. To make those who are without search for someone they could share the night with.”

“I like that.” She replied. “But you said you 'had' your own meaning. Don't you mean you have?”

“I...” He dropped his gaze to the ground in front of them. “It's a beautiful theory, but it isn't for me anymore.”

“Why not?”

“I look up at the night sky, and all I see is her.” He said sadly. “I see the same stars that I sat under and kissed her, loved her. The same stars that watched me kill her.” He shook his head. “I can't see them the same way again.”

“If it hurts, then why do you keep looking?” She asked.

“Because I hope that one day I'll look up and I won't feel like somepony is stabbing me in the chest.” He said, looking at her. “The body strengthens the areas that get damaged, so I figure if I keep doing it it'll stop.”

“But it wont.” She said, meeting his eyes. “That is not how the heart works.” She raised an eyebrow. “When you were knighted, I asked to speak to you, and you refused.” She smiled as he winced. “I suppose my timing could have been better, now that I look back on it. Now, after some days of recovery, I ask again. May I speak to you?”

“You're speaking to me already, Princess.” He replied. “You hardly need to ask permission to speak to one of your Knights.”

“Oh? You call yourself Knight now?” She asked, her eyes narrowing. “I heard you were refusing your title.”

“I, uh...” He trailed off, trying to find the words. Shimmer closed his eyes for a moment before fixing her with an intense stare. “I made a mistake. I thought you and your sister had given me the title to taunt me with what I had lost. Since then, I have had time to think on it, and I now realize what the point of it was.”

“And that point was?” She asked him in a tone that made him think she already knew what he was going to say, but he pressed on anyways.

“I was taught a little about fighting from my dad, and I obviously am capable of using that knowledge.” He said, looking back up at the stars. “With that skill, I could be a guardspony somewhere. But, that wasn't the end of it, was it?” He chuckled. “It wasn't until I was actually put in a life-or-death situation that I really learned how I would react to it. My first reaction was to protect not just myself, not just my immediate friends and family, but to protect the whole town.” He glanced at her. “That particular trait isn't one you can teach ponies, is it? At least, not easily. I've got an instinct for it. Then I suffered loss. The knowledge that what I had done had caused the death of someone I cared about. I was damaged, emotionally and mentally, pretty damn badly, but I haven't broken down yet. I'm still rolling along. I have passed every test that has been thrown at me.” He fixed her with a sharp look. “I don't know if you Princesses, in your immortal powers, had planned all this. I certainly hope not.”

“That, young Knight, is something you will be wondering for your entire life.” She replied. “I will not say anything either way. Sometimes the universe conspires to make somepony more than they are, and other times, certain ponies have to intervene. In either case, you are what you are.” She raised an eyebrow at him again. “Now, you did not answer my question. Why did we knight you?”

“For one simple reason: To protect those that cannot protect themselves.” He said.

Luna smiled warmly at him. “Very good, young Knight. I am glad you have discovered the reason. Now,” She bowed her head towards him, “May I speak with you?”

“Like I said, Princess, you don't need my permission.” He replied.

“Very well. I have a message for you.” She said.

“A message? From who?” He asked, confused.

“From someone very dear to you. I do not know if you are familiar with the legends of the Grim Reaper, a stallion cloaked in black, with a skeletal face and a large scythe who escorts the dead into the afterlife.” Shimmercoat nodded and she continued. “Such a stallion is a myth. It is my sister and I who escort those who pass on into the next world.” She paused to let her words sink in.

“Wait, you...” His eyes widened. “You have a message from Fizzle?”

“Indeed.” Luna said, nodding. “I do not normally allow such a communication, but I was of the mind that an exception was in order. Just this once, you understand.” She said, smiling at him.

“What did she say?” He asked, his gaze dropping. “Please, tell me.”

“Do you fear this message?” She asked, surprised.

“Sort of.” He admitted. “I'm afraid that she... That...” He trailed off.

“That she blamed you for her untimely demise.” She said. He nodded, still looking down.

“I'm afraid that she hated me for not saving her, for sending her to die.” He said quietly.

“Allow me to show you her final words to you.” She said. He nodded again and her horn lit.

Shimmercoat could feel the Princesses magic surrounding them, and he looked up to find himself on a featureless plain, the landscape dissolving into blurred shapes and strange lines after a few yards in all directions.

“Where are we?” He asked, turning towards where Luna had been sitting. She pointed a hoof, and he looked in the direction she indicated. What he saw there hit him like a hammer to the guts. In front of them stood another Luna and a sobbing Fizzle Flare. Shimmercoat took a step towards her, but his Luna put a hoof on his shoulder.

“This is but a memory, young Knight.” She said gently. “I am simply showing you what she wanted to tell you.” He looked at her, then over at Fizzle, who had frozen as Luna paused the memory.

“But she's right there.” He said quietly, the pain and longing in his voice causing Luna to bow her head. “I can practically touch her. She's... She's...” He started to cry, great heaving sobs that shook his entire frame. He slammed his hooves on the ground in front of them. “I JUST WANT TO TOUCH HER ONE MORE TIME!” He screamed. “WHY IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK!?” He collapsed, and Luna reached over and patted his head.

“I am sorry, young Knight.” She said. “Shimmercoat. But even the powers of my sister and I cannot grant that wish. Maybe I should have given you more warning before calling this memory forth.” Her horn lit. “I will return some other time to give you this message.”

Shimmercoat sprung up and slapped her horn, interrupting the spell. She fell back on her rump, stunned.

“No.” He said, looking at her. His voice was filled with anger and pain, and his voice was tortured. “You brought me here. You finish it.”

She nodded, too shocked to deny him. Her horn lit again and the memory resumed. Shimmer turned to watch Fizzle and Luna's image.

“C-can you g-give him a m-m-message for m-me?” Fizzle stammered out in between sobs, looking up at the princess.

“T-tell him I understand. That I-I don't blame him, a-and that it wasn't his fault,” Fizzle said, “But most of all, t-tell him I l-love him. So v-very m-much. Tell him I'm s-sorry.”

“I will.”

“You p-promise?”

“Yes. I swear to you, I will make sure he receives your message. Come now, let us go.”

The two mares walked into the plain, disappearing, then the memory ended and Princess and Knight were back in the present, looking across the front yard of the forge.

“I'm sorry.” Shimmercoat said, his voice shaking. Luna looked over at him and saw him folded over on himself, as if he was trying to physically hold himself together. “I got carried away. I shouldn't have hit you.”

“No harm done, young Knight.” She replied. “I hesitate to ask, but are you alright.”

“No.” He replied quietly. “I'm not. But I think I will be, now. Thank you. For everything.”

“I am glad to do it, Shimmercoat.” She replied. “Rarely does one get to give this kind of closure to a grieving loved one.”

“I have a question for you, Princess.” He said, slowly unfolding himself and turning to face her. “Much like yours earlier, I have asked many ponies this, but I am interested in your answer.”

“Please, ask.” She replied.

“You have been around for thousands of years.” He said. “Generations of ponies have lived and died in your time here. Entire families have been generated and collapsed.” He swallowed, steeling himself. “How can you keep going? After everything, after all of the ponies that were undoubtedly your friends passing on, how can you keep doing it?”

“That is not an easy question.” She replied. “It is hard to pin down any one reason, but I think it all links back into the same thought: How can I not go on?” She waved a hoof at the town. “What should I do?” She demanded. “Curl up and die? Give up and let the stars go out?” She shook her head. “I continue to make life better for other ponies. I set the stars for lovers, I guard my little ponies from their nightmares. I go on, young Knight,” She said, her gaze suddenly intense, “Because the world would suffer if I did not, and I will bear any amount of suffering to keep it from those that I care about.”

He smiled, his face still wet with tears. “That is the best answer I have received, Princess. Thank you.”

She smiled back. “I am glad I could be of assistance.” She said. She looked up at the moon and sighed. “Now, I must be getting back to Canterlot. I have no doubt I will see you again soon.” He nodded, and she opened her impressive wingspan and launched herself into the night sky, rapidly disappearing from sight.

The door behind him opened and Siren stepped out next to him, looking up at the stars.

“Hey.” She said, sitting down beside him.

“Hi.” He replied, looking at the skies.

“What are you up to?” She asked him.

“That's a long story.” He said, smiling at her.

“Have you been crying?” She asked, looking at him.

“Yep.” He replied simply.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because she didn't hate me. All this time, I thought she hated me.” Shimmer replied.

“Anything you want to talk about?” Siren asked, confused.

“Not right now.” He said, looking at the moon.

“Alright. Well, if you need somepony to talk to, you know where to find me.” She said, standing up and turning towards the door.

“Siren, wait.” He said, causing her to pause. “I don't want to talk, but could you, uh, sit with me?” He looked over at her. “I just... Need some company, y'know?”

“Sure, I can do that.” She replied, sitting back down next to him.

“Now that I think of it, could you... Sing for me?” He asked, closing his eyes and looking down. “I've only heard your lullaby for the last few nights. Could you maybe sing me something different?”

“Oh.” She blinked at him. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Thank you.” He replied, leaning into her. After a moment, she draped a foreleg over his shoulder and began to sing.

The two of them stayed like that until the sun began to creep over the horizon.

Chapter 9: The Healing Begins

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 10: But the Damage is Done

Keeneye flew over the forest, heading towards Shimmercoat's little lake. His eyes were narrowed as he scanned the trees below him, trying to discern any detail through the thick canopy. He occasionally winced as the wounds on his back twinged, but his flight was steady. Should be almost there, if I remember correctly. He thought, hoping he didn't fly past the shrouded waterfall. The whole 'secret paradise' thing is great until someone needs to find you...

Movement caught his attention Down below him, beneath the trees, a flicker of motion wavered through the canopy As he tried to discern what was moving, he noted more shapes flicking through the leaves. A quick glance around him showed that whatever was moving, there were a lot of them. Their movements were erratic, but they seemed to be heading toward the probable location of Shimmercoat's lake. Probably Alpha's spiders again. He thought, slowing down for a moment as he studied their movements. A multi-legged shape cleared the canopy for a moment, confirming his suspicions. They don't seem to be following me, though. He watched their movements for a moment more before his eyes widened in realisation. If Shimmercoat did actually teleport to the waterfall, then he's gonna have to defend himself against Alpha, and that is going to garner some serious attention.

Keeneye's back twinged as he poured on the speed, racing ahead of the swarm. Now I've just gotta get there before something bad happens.

The Nocturnal stallion dove through the final trees only a few yards ahead of Alpha's mob. Quickly scanning the area, he saw the brood's mother herself striking down at a flickering orb. The giant arachnid stepped back and Keeneye noticed that the magical bubble was flickering and sparking even without anything touching it. He focused on the shield, trying to determine Shimmercoat's condition, and as the bubble faded for an instant he saw the blue stallion curled up on the ground, horn flaring as he tried to keep the shield up.

Without thinking, Keeneye dove as Alpha stepped forward to renew her attack. So focused on her prey, the spider didn't notice the diving pegasus until the last instant. Keeneye slammed into her eyes, snapping her head back towards the ground. He snapped his wings to spring back into the air, however, the injuries on his back twinged and his left wing went numb. The resulting maneuver, instead of a graceful recovery, was a staggered flop onto Alpha's body. Keeneye gritted his teeth as his hooves scrabbled for something to hang on to. He knew that if he fell off of the giant spider's form, he'd be easy prey. Unfortunately for him, the spider's chitin was smooth. His limbs flailed as he slid off her side. He landed heavily on his side, immediately rolling in an attempt to avoid any return strike from the giant spider.

Keeneye rolled back up to his hooves just in time to see Alpha blindly slam into the ground he had been occupying. Realizing he had moved, she looked up at him and began moving straight for him, mandibles snapping. Waiting until the last moment, Keeneye threw himself forward, intending to roll underneath the giant spider's body and get past her. Halfway through the roll, he jerked to a halt and snapped his head around to look at what snared him. Two of Alpha's brood, intent on helping their mother, had managed to snag his wounded wing in webbing as it flopped uselessly at his side.They chittered in glee, and scuttled towards him. The Nocturnal stallion gritted his teeth and kicked at the nearest of the two, connecting with a solid blow that threw the spider away from him where it lay still. The other managed to sidestep his second swing, but as it moved to bite him, he threw himself against the webbing, causing the spider to miss by a hair. Another vicious buck sent his second foe to join the first.

The Nocturnal stallion tried to free himself from the webs, but was struck on the side by a sledgehammer blow to the barrel that tore him free from the sticky strands and threw him into the air. He slid to a stop next to the crater's lake, wheezing at the pain that exploded through his side. He weakly raised his head, seeing Alpha retracting the leg that had delivered the brutal strike, and he struggled to get back on his hooves.He stood shakily and faced Alpha, determined to give Shimmercoat time to recover from her attacks.

------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Shimmercoat lay on the ground in a ball, tears running down his face, his horn sparking as his magic reflected the turmoil in his mind. He struggled to focus as flashes of Fizzle split his vision between the terrible loss of the past and the horrors of the present. He had accidentally teleported without thinking, placing him a few yards from Alpha, who immediately recognized and attacked him. When the spider relented, the young stallion looked up through his tears and witnessed Keeneye's valiant attempt to save him. Alpha closed in on the barely-standing Nocturnal, and something in Shimmer's mind snapped. Rage: searing and all-consuming, flooded through him. His horn erratically sprayed sparks as he stood, his shield dropping.

“WHAT DID I EVER DO!?” He cried, the anger and frustration in his voice causing the massive spider to actually pause and turn towards him. “All I wanted was her! And then she died. And now all I want is to grieve and recover. I want to be okay again! And then you show up.” His voice became erratic, varying wildly in pitch and tone. “What did I ever do to you? What, exactly, did I ever do to deserve this!?” He spat at her, slowly walking towards her. His horn flickered with power, flashing brighter and brighter. Keeneye stared at him, wide eyed and worried. The batpony winced from the light from his horn, but he didn't look away.

“You could have joined me.” She said, tilting her head at him. “You could have had pe-”

“Don't you even DARE speak to me of PEACE!” He snarled, one eye twitching. “YOU want to kill everything that isn't YOURS.” He tilted his head up as he advanced. “That isn't PEACE! It's ARROGANCE! It's pure, stupid, unfiltered arrogance that makes you think that YOU!” He stabbed a hoof at her, and his tone was so intense that she recoiled slightly. “Of all things should be in charge of EVERYTHING!” He screamed, his horn flaring brighter. Another shower of blue sparks outlined the young unicorn as he continued to advance. “And now it becomes MY job to put a stop to you because I am a Knight of Equestria and I will destroy you even if it kills me!”

Alpha snapped out of her momentary hesitation, and tried to leap at the young Knight, but his horn sparked and a bubble, brighter than any Keeneye had ever seen, appeared around her with a hum of magic. She bounced off the inside and glared around at her prison. “You think this can hold me?” She hissed, glaring down at Shimmercoat.

“Not at all.” He said slowly, his eyes becoming hard. “I think it can crush you.”

Alpha smashed her massive limbs into the shield again as it began to shrink. Shimmercoat's horn sparked and flared at random intervals, but the shield did not falter. Alpha screeched as the shield began pressing into her thick chitin, forcing her to curl up.

Keeneye watched the young stallion for a moment, then his gaze was drawn to movement behind the unicorn. First one, then a pair, then a group of Alpha's offspring came scuttling out of the forest, heading straight towards the stallion. Keeneye lurched towards Shimmercoat, shouting a warning, but the enraged stallion paid him no heed. The Nocturnal reached the unicorn just as one of the spiders leaped into the air straight toward Shimmercoat's back. Unable to properly swing at the incoming arachnid, Keeneye just let his balance fail, landing on Shimmercoat and forcing them both to the ground. Shimmercoat's magic didn't falter, however, and another shield sprang up around the ponies, accompanied by a third spray of magical sparks. A wave of dark arachnids flooded over the bubble, biting and gouging at it, but Shimmercoat ignored them and continued focusing on their mother. The hum of Shimmercoat's magic had grown with each erratic spark and flare, and was now a loud keening sound that drowned out almost all others.

Alpha screeched again, barely audible over the magic's whine, sounding pained as the shield began crushing her thick exoskeleton. Shimmercoat's horn flickered and a crack echoed through the air. Keeneye’s head snapped up at the sound, and he noticed that Shimmercoat's horn had cracked. The crack was a barely noticeable line against the blue glow of magic that surrounded it. If Shimmer had felt it, he gave no sign and continued to stare unblinkingly at Alpha, who screeched again. The bubble had shrunk to a third of the size it had started at, and Alpha strained at the walls, making a horrible noise as her exoskeleton compressed and cracked under the massive amount of magical pressure on her arachnid frame.

A second crack appeared on Shimmer's horn with another loud report, and this time he winced.

“Drop the spell!” Keeneye shouted, trying to get through to the enraged stallion over the sound that was nearly deafening to his enhanced hearing. “You're going to kill yourself!”

“If I kill her, then it will be well worth it.” Shimmercoat growled, flinching as yet another crack appeared on his horn.

Keeneye reached up and decked Shimmercoat with all the force his forehoof could muster. The Nocturnal didn't have any leverage, so it wasn't much, but it was enough to get Shimmercoat to look sharply down at him.

“Do you think that Siren would agree?” Keeneye demanded. “How about Mirror? Or your parents?”

Shimmercoat's eyes shifted their expression as the words struck home, a riot of emotions playing across his features. He reached down, grabbed Keeneye's hoof, and they both disappeared from the crater with a final whip-crack of sound that nearly deafened the Nocturnal stallion as his world slipped away.

------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

“So, you go ask around town, I'll head back to the colony and we'll meet back here as soon as we can.” Siren said as she began trotting towards the center of town. Mirror stepped after her for a moment, then stopped. “Angel can help them, but I don't know where she's gone."

“Siren...” Mirror began, glancing back at the forest. “It's only a thirty-minute walk into the forest. Even if we do find Angel, she's not going to get there in time.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Siren cried, turning around. “Wait and see? Hope that they make it through this alive? You've seen Omega, even at half her size Alpha would be more than capable of destroying an entire Royal Guard detachment, and that's not even counting in her horde of children!”

“You think I don't know that!?” Mirror shot back. “You think I'm not perfectly well aware that I might never see my brother again?!” Siren recoiled from the silver mare, looking down as she continued. “But if they come back, I'm going to be sitting here in case either of them needs my help.” Putting action to words, she turned around and sat down facing the forest.

After a few moments, Siren sat down next to her. “I don't like this.” She muttered, still looking at the ground. “Waiting. Not doing anything.”

Mirror leaned over and hooked a foreleg around the Nocturnal's shoulder. “I don't either, but I can't think of anything better to do.”

“Hey girls, what's going on?” Came Starshine's voice from behind the two worried mares. Mirror spun and threw herself at her mother, knocking the bags off of Starshine's back. Iron Coat exchanged a worried look with his wife over their daughter's head.

“What's wrong, Mirror?” The pegasus asked, wrapping her forelegs around her daughter.

Before Mirror could reply, Siren spoke. “Shimmercoat and I were...” She started, then remembered who she was speaking to. “Spending time together,” She said, hoping they wouldn't press her on her slight hesitation.. “And he got upset at something. He apologized a couple of times, then teleported. We think he went to the waterfall, and Keeneye went after him. Mirror and I would have followed, but these woods are probably packed full of Alpha's brood.”

Iron Coat's eyes narrowed as he gazed into the forest. “How long ago did they leave?”

“A few minutes ago.” Siren replied. She glanced at Mirror, who looked like she was fighting back worried tears.

The older stallion frowned, clearly frustrated. “Well, as much as I want to go running off to save them, whatever is happening has already finished, or it will be by the time I can work my way through the trees.”

A dull snap echoed through the trees, and all four ponies fell silent, staring into the woods.

“What was that?” Mirror asked quietly.

“Not sure.” Iron Coat replied. “It could have been a tree breaking.”

“That's a good sign though, isn't it?” Siren asked, looking at Iron. “If there's still fighting, that means that Shimmer and Keeneye are still alive.”

Another snap reached them, and they all shared worried glances. Siren squinted at the forest, then leaned back as she noticed something.

“Look over the forest.” Siren said, pointing. “Do you guys see a glow?”

As the other three strained to look, a blue glow, faint in the afternoon sun, began filtering through the forest.

“What could that be?” Starshine asked.

“It looks like the same color as Shimmercoat's magic.” Mirror replied, leaning forward.

The glow swelled into a bright flash accompanied by a third sound, and before the echo died out another flash of light appeared behind them.

------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Keeneye reappeared upside-down and instinctively tried to flap his wings to reorient himself. Again, his wing flopped uselessly and he landed heavily on a smattering of sharp objects that didn't do his injuries any favors. He rolled to one side and found himself eye-to-eye with Shimmercoat, who was staring at the ground between them, a look of pure horror on his face. Keeneye followed his gaze and his eyes widened.

Laying amongst the blades of grass were small blue shards.

The same blue, in fact, as the unicorn in front of him.

Keeneye snapped his gaze back up to Shimmercoat, whose attention had not wavered. Then, very slowly, the Nocturnal's eyes slipped upwards. There, on Shimmer's forehead, instead of the normal spiral-patterned horn, was a jagged, slightly bleeding stump that ended barely an inch from the unicorn's skin.

They sat like that for one heartbeat. Then two. Then Shimmercoat's gaze slowly found Keeneye's. The Nocturnal wanted to say something, anything, but no words came to his mind. Before he could force his shocked mind to give him something to use, he heard hoofsteps running up from behind him.

“Shimmercoat!” Mirror screamed, sliding to a stop next to her prone brother. She took in his horn, and the shards in the grass, and she simply collapsed next to him, dragging him into an embrace.

Siren leaned down to help her brother back to his hooves. “What happened?” She asked, her voice a hoarse whisper as she stared down at the broken shards.

In short, terse sentences, Keeneye reported what had happened. When he got to Shimmer saving his life, he paused, trying to find the right words.

“What?” His sister prompted. Mirror was sitting on the ground, slowly rocking back and forth and holding her brother, who continued to stare sightlessly at the broken pieces in the grass.

“He went berserk.” Keeneye said finally. “He started yelling at her, and his speech became unstable, and he summoned this huge shield around Alpha and just started crushing her.” He shook his head. “I've never seen anything like it. I managed to snap him out of it, though, and he teleported us back here.”

“Except his magic was unstable.” Iron Coat said, walking up next to them. “I've seen it happen a couple of times before. He's didn't die in the backlash, so he'll survive.” His expression became more concerned as he continued. “Though such extensive horn damage can have a variety of effects, ranging from harmless to crippling.”

“So?” Mirror cried, looking up from her brother. “Which is it?”

Iron shook his head. “I don't know. I won't be able to tell for a couple of days at the earliest.” He shared a worried glance with his wife. “It could be as simple as a massive migraine for a few weeks to complete magic loss. In either case, his horn will take quite some time to regrow itself. Shorter, if we can find somepony who knows more about this than I do.” The large stallion walked over to his son and hefted the unresponsive form onto his back. “Mirror, could you please collect the shards?” He asked her as he made his way towards the house. She nodded and began picking up the light blue pieces in her telekinesis.

Siren dragged Keeneye a few steps away from the silver mare and gently pushed him down so she could examine his wounds.”What did you do to your wing?” She asked, prodding at the bandages.

He flinched away from her touch. “I don't know but stop poking at it! The joint hurts, but the wing's gone numb. Probably pinched a nerve.”

“Then why are you bleeding?” She asked, showing him her hoof. A smear of blood shone wetly against her coat.

His eyes narrowed. “I don't know. How bad is it? I can't feel it.”

“Hold still.” She muttered, gently peeling off the old bandages and tossing them to the side. Keeneye became increasingly worried as the bandages came off with fresh blood on them. “That's not good.” She said finally.

“What's not good?” Her brother asked, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Instead of speaking, Siren's horn lit and Keeneye winced as he felt a sharp pain between his wings as something was pulled free. “That.” She said, holding the object in front of him. An inch-long shard of blood-smeared blue hung in her magic. “There's seven or eight jammed into your back from when you landed.”

“How bad is it?” He repeated, staring at the horn piece.

“I don't know, but I think that we need to get you to an actual doctor. The bleeding should sort itself out just fine, but Shimmer's horn is...” She shot a worried glance at the house. “Was, pretty long. If it fractured into a sliver as long as it was, who knows how much damage it could do if I just go yanking it out.” She stepped up beside him. “Come on, lean on me. I'll take you back down to old doc Echo.”

“Not that old hacksaw.” Keeneye protested, hesitantly leaning against her. “He's gonna try to amputate me from the neck down.”

“He'd better not.” Mirror said, walking up to the pair with a collection of jagged blue shards held in her magic. “There's some important things down there that I want.”

Keeneye blushed and shot her a smirk. “I don't doubt it.”

“I'll just have the doc stuff that and send it back.” Siren said, looking speculatively at her brother. “You can just keep it in your nightstand or something.”

“That's not funny.” Keeneye replied, looking concerned.

“But I don't want to do all the work.” Mirror mock whined, smiling at the Nocturnals. “I'd prefer if he was capable of using it.”

Keeneye opened his mouth, but his sister interrupted him with a tug. “Come on, let's go.” Siren said, pulling her brother back towards town.

“Hey Siren.” Mirror said, gesturing to her telekinetic bubble and the pieces therein. “Bring me back the bits of Shimmer's horn, please.”

“No problem.” Siren called over her shoulder. “We'll be back in a coupla hours.”

The Nocturnal pair hobbled off, and Mirror looked at her magic. She could feel the magical echo of her brother through her telekinesis, and it was simultaneously comforting and grotesque. After a moment more of contemplating the shattered bits, she forced herself to look away with a hard shake.

“And what bits of that stallion were you referring to, Mirror?” Came an amused voice from right behind her. The silver mare whirled, surprise nearly collapsing her magic, to find her mother standing behind her with a mischievous smile.

Mirror felt her face heating up. She had completely forgotten that her mother was standing there. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out.

“His wings, perhaps?” Starshine continued, clearly enjoying her daughter's embarrassment. “Those are below his neck. Your father so does love my wings, maybe you got that from him.” The pegasus wrapped a hoof around her daughter's neck and pulled her close. “Or is he talented with his hooves?” She asked, wistfully. “Your father has strong hooves. Great for massages or... Other pursuits.”

Mirror's face felt like it was on fire, and she shrunk against her mother's side. “H-his wings are nice.” She muttered.

“So is his rear, don't you think?” Starshine replied, laughing at her daughter's mortified reaction. “Relax, Mirror. You're not a foal anymore, and I knew it was only a matter of time before you found yourself a nice pony to spend your time with. An upstanding young reserve guardscolt, quick to defend his friends. Handsome, too.” She hugged her daughter close. “You know how to pick them. You got that from me, I think.”

After a moment of collecting herself, Mirror smiled at her mom. “I also like his ears,” She offered hopefully. “They're cute. But those are above his neck.”

“And what about his eyes?” Starshine asked knowingly.

“They're so vibrant.” Mirror said immediately. “So full of life, and so warm...” She trailed off, glancing towards the town. Bringing herself back to the present with a start, she looked at her mother again. “Is Shimmercoat going to be okay?” She said, changing the subject.

“He's going to be fine.” Starshine replied, nuzzling her daughter. “Your father used to be a part of the Royal Guard in Canterlot. If he says that Shimmer's going to be alright, then he means it. Guard training is really intense, so I'm sure that there has been more than a couple of damaged horns in the service of the Princesses.”

Mirror glanced at the shards. “What should we do with these?” She asked, moving the telekinetic bubble in front of the two of them.

“I imagine we'll put them in a safe place.” Starshine said, scooping her shopping bags up to her back. “Let's go do that, then see what your father is up to.”

As the two mares reached the door, they heard a quiet thump in the grass behind them. Turning, they saw Angel straightening up from landing, her metal wings silently folding at her sides. She nodded her head respectfully. “Good afternoon, ladies.”

Mirror's eyes narrowed. “Hold these.” She snarled, passing the shards to Starshine, who took them gingerly with a wing. The younger mare then walked over and swung a hoof in a vicious hook, catching Angel on the faceplate and rotating her head several degrees with a hollow clank. “Where have you been?!” She yelled.

Angel, for her part, simply rotated her head back to its original position. Looking past the angry mare, she addressed Starshine. “I surmise that something has happened in my absence.”

“You are damn right something happened!” Starshine replied like a dam bursting, her own anger flaring. “My son has destroyed his horn fighting that monster! He's not supposed to be doing this nonsense. This is a job for the full Royal Guard, not a young stallion who just lost someone very dear to him.”

Angel stood motionless for several moments. “You are right.” She said. Mirror looked as if she was going to yell at the armor again, but managed to contain herself. “The young Knight is untrained and alone. He should have several years of tutelage in combat and tactics in addition to a force of his own before attempting to defend against a foe such as Alpha.” Angel continued. “Unfortunately, he doesn't. I have returned from Canterlot castle, and the senior Knight that should have been dispatched has been waylaid by bureaucracy, as has his support staff. It will most probably be several weeks before reinforcements can arrive, at which point Alpha will likely be able to overpower the forces sent.” She looked down at Mirror. “I am sorry, but it seems we are on our own.”

Mirror glared up at her. “Heartbroken, knighted, crippled, then abandoned. I bet Shimmer will love that once he's aware again.” She spat.

------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Pain was the first thing Shimmercoat felt upon awakening. His head felt like a rather industrious pony was hammering a very large nail through his horn into his skull. He tried to open his eyes, but the light reacted poorly with his migraine and he nearly passed back out. He groaned and tried to roll over, but the motion caused his stomach to voice its displeasure, and he stayed where he was, fighting to not vomit.

“Easy there, Shimmer.” He heard a voice say. It took him several seconds for his addled mind to realize it was his father. “You've got a rather nasty injury. Can you talk?”

Shimmercoat tried to say “Yes,” but it came out more or less an affirmative grunt.

“Good enough. I'll keep it to yes and no, then.” Iron Coat continued. “Do you know who I am?”

Shimmercoat grunted an affirmative again.

“Good. How about where you are?”

Another grunt.

“Any idea how long you've been out?”

A negative this time.

“Alright. Until you're strong enough to talk again, that'll have to do.” Iron Coat said. “From the looks of it, son, you've managed to get off lucky.”

There was a rather impressive amount of skepticism in Shimmercoat's response, considering he wasn't talking.

“You've got a rather impressive migraine, right?”

Shimmercoat nodded this time, tired of grunting. He immediately regretted the action, since it caused him to feel like he was spinning.

“Then you should be alright.” Iron Coat said. Shimmer could hear him moving for a moment before he felt a straw poke at his lips. “Slow sips, and I'll explain.”

It wasn't until the first sip of water hit his mouth that Shimmercoat realized that his throat felt like dust, and probably contributed to his lack of speech. He had to make a considerable effort of will to not just guzzle down the water as fast as he could.

“So,” Iron Coat said. “You've shattered your horn.”

Shimmercoat choked on his last sip of water, sending him into a coughing fit that did no favors to his head.

Iron Coat removed the straw from his son's mouth and placed a hoof on his shoulder reassuringly. “Relax. I'm pretty sure you're going to be alright.”

“What happened?” Shimmer choked out, finally finding his voice.

“What's the last thing you remember?”

“I was spending some time with Siren.” Shimmercoat said, barely having the presence of mind to gloss over his encounter. His father made a skeptical sound, and Shimmer flushed. “And I started having flashbacks. I ported out to the waterfall and got attacked by Alpha. I remember seeing Keeneye coming to help me, but everything gets hazy after that.”

“Short-term amnesia.” His father said, nodding. “By Keeneye's account, you put Alpha in a shield and started crushing her after lecturing her on her folly.”

Shimmercoat winced. “That was dumb of me.”

“According to Keeneye, you were doing pretty well until your horn started cracking.”

“So I put too much magic through my horn, and it blew up.” Shimmercoat said, grimacing.

“Pretty much.” Iron Coat said. “You didn't die in the backlash, and you're not senseless, so you're likely going to make a full recovery. It'll take a few weeks, though, and you're not going to enjoy the wait.”

“Please tell me the headache goes away.” Shimmer whined, touching a hoof to the side of his head.

“Theoretically, yes.” Iron Coat replied, “It might just take a little while. I'll see if I can scrounge up some sort of painkiller when the doctor comes back.”

“Comes back?” Shimmer asked, finally able to open one eye without passing out. His father looked ragged, like he hadn't slept in a while. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days.”

Shimmercoat gave his father a wry smile. “How long have you been up, dad?”

“A while.” Iron Coat replied, chuckling.

“You should sleep.” Shimmercoat said, his eye sliding shut again. “Where's Siren?”

“They went back to their home to get Keeneye looked at. Apparently when your teleport spell went off, it dropped him wound-first onto the shattered bits of your horn.”

Shimmercoat winced again. “I wish my ports worked correctly.”

“I bet.” His father replied. “I'll go tell the girls that you're up. They've been worried sick, and I just about had to lock the door to keep them from spending all their time in here with you.”

“What about you?”

Iron Coat chuckled again, patting his son on the shoulder. “Your mother wouldn't let me do the housework so long as she's still breathing, something about dishes and fire don't mix, and your sister has someone else she can worry over.” Shimmercoat heard his father move again, and suddenly found himself in a tight, nearly crushing, hug. “I'm proud of you, Shimmer.” Iron Coat said, his voice thick with emotion. “I don't know if I've told you that enough, but I am.”

Shimmercoat wrapped his forehooves around his father. “Thanks, dad.” He whispered, tears springing to his eyes. After several moments, he tapped his dad's back. “Air, dad.”

“Air is overrated.” Iron Coat replied. He relented, though, and Shimmer made a show of taking deep breaths. “Cut that out.” He said, laughing, tapping a hoof on Shimmer's chest.

Shimmer waved a hoof towards the door. “You better go tell mom I'm alright before she beats you for keeping it from her.”

“True enough.” Iron Coat said, moving towards the hallway. He paused in the doorway, and Shimmer opened an eye to look at him. “I love you, son.” Iron Coat said, looking back.

“Love you too, dad.” Shimmercoat said, smiling weakly. “Now go on before we get all teary-eyed again. I imagine I'm going to get enough of that from mom and Mirror.”

Moments after Iron Coat stepped out, Starshine walked in, followed by Mirror, who was carrying a small wooden box.

“Easy, mom. I'm not dead yet.” Shimmercoat said as Starshine began to tear up.

Mirror walked up and simply buried her face in Shimmercoat's chest, then pulled him into a hug.

“Hey there, sis.” Shimmercoat said softly, stroking his sister's mane with a hoof. “I really messed myself up good this time, didn't I?”

“You idiot.” She said, glaring up at him. “You could have been killed. Why don't you think about where you're teleporting before you end up there?”

He smiled at her. “I wasn't exactly thinking at the time, Mirror.”

“I thought...” She said, her eyes filling with tears. “I thought you weren't going to come back. I thought I was just going to stand there at the edge of the forest with Siren and just wait to find out that you weren't coming back.”

“Sis, I-” He started, and she silenced him with a sharp look, her eyes narrowing.

“You almost left me alone.” She spat, and the anger in her gaze stopped him cold. “You've always been there. No matter what, you were always there. Every bully, every disaster, everything.” She was crying now, her tears leaving warm spots on his coat. “And you go off and nearly get yourself killed.”

Starshine stepped up and placed a wing over her daughter's back. “Easy, Mirror, he's alright.”

“Yeah, sis.” Shimmercoat said gently, “I'm still here. I'm not going to leave you, Mirror. I screwed up, and I hurt myself pretty bad, but I'm still here.” He pulled her up so that he could hug her properly, despite the pain and dizziness the motion caused him. “Hush, sis. I'm not going to let you be all alone. I'm here.”

Mirror began crying in earnest now, with Shimmercoat trying to calm her down, and Starshine looked at her children with a soft smile. Despite how much she and her husband were there for the kids, they had always relied upon each other so much. The tears of worry that had wracked her for the last forty-eight hours gave way to tears of relief, and she wrapped her wings and forehooves around the two younger ponies.

“Help!” Shimmercoat called jokingly, affecting a weak flail of his hooves. “I'm being buried in crying mares!”

“Perhaps, then,” Came a monotone from the doorway. “You should stop giving them reasons to weep, young Knight.”

“And where the hell have you been?” Shimmercoat said, unable to see the door past his sister and mother, but recognizing the voice of Angel regardless.

“I have been attempting to bring you reinforcements.” The armor replied, “I have been unsuccessful. It seems that several Royal Guard commanders are under the impression that if you are worthy of being a Knight of Equestria, that you can deal with the spider on your own.” She paused for a moment. “I believe that they, perhaps, do not quite understand the magnitude of the arachnid that you must face.”

“Of course they don't.” Shimmercoat said bitterly. His mother moved a step away, and he glared over at the suit of purple steel at his door. “Because the Princess decided to name me a Knight, and now they're all acting like it's a personal affront to them, right?”

Angel nodded. “It is as you say, young Knight. Now, I will take my leave. You will find me in the forge.” She turned to go.

“Angel.” Shimmercoat called, stopping her. “Next time you go somewhere like that, tell me?”

“Is that a request or an order?” Angel said, looking over her shoulder at him.

“That one's an order.” Shimmercoat replied. “Now that I have no magic, I need all the help I can get.”

The armor turned to face him and, to his surprise, bowed to him. “As you wish, young Knight.” Then turned and walked away.

“That was odd.” Mirror said, having regained her composure while the two conversed. She wiped away her tears with a hoof and raised an eyebrow at Shimmercoat. “Since when do you order her around?”

“Since now, I guess.” He replied, still looking towards the door. He shook his head, and looked down at her. “So what's in the box?”

Mirror winced, but moved and set the box on the bed next to him. Her telekinesis undid the latch and opened the lid, revealing blue splinters. Shimmercoat's eyes went wide, and he felt like he had just been bucked in the stomach.

“Those are...” He whispered, and Mirror nodded.

“What's left of your horn.” She said, looking away from the box. “Aside from the shards that were in Keeneye. I hope nothing bad happened, we haven't heard from them in a couple of days.”

Shimmer reached out with a hoof and touched the pieces. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but as he pulled one out, it felt... Lifeless. It was, simply, a shard of bone that matched his coat color. Placing it gently back in the box, he looked up at Starshine. “What should I do with these?”

“I don't know, Shimmy.” She replied with a shrug. “Keep them or throw them away, it's your choice. I had Mirror collect them in case you wanted them, or in case the doctor could do something with them.”

“I take it he can't, then?” He asked, gently closing the box.

“She,” Starshine corrected, “And no.”

Shimmercoat nodded. Through his window, he could see the skyline fading towards night, and he sighed. His head still hurt, but it had faded to a sharp pounding instead of the jackhammer it had been earlier, and the bouts of dizziness had all but vanished. “I think I should go back to bed and see if I can actually stand in the morning.”

Mirror looked reluctant to leave her brother, but Starshine wrapped a wing around her daughter and gently pulled her towards the door. “Sleep well, Shimmy,” She said, ushering her daughter into the hallway.

“I'll see if I can find Siren for you, Shimmer.” Mirror called over her mother.

“Thanks, sis.” He called back before Starshine shut the door.

As the sounds of hoofsteps faded, Shimmercoat looked at the box again, contemplating what he would do with the shards inside. Carefully picking the box up in his hooves, he set it on top of his nightstand, then rolled over and shut his eyes, fighting his headache until he finally drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

Chapter Three: A Battle Was Fought

The group of ponies looked out at the pirate ship in stunned silence. Finally, Mirror spoke.

“What happened to the Adamant?” She asked, referring to the R.E.N. Adamant, the Hurricane class frigate that was assigned to protect the bustling little port-city.

“Ah dunno. Since that there ship is in th' harbor, then th' Adamant is either busy or sunk.” Ebony replied, never taking his eyes off of the ship that was still firing cannons randomly into the town. Shimmercoat looked down and saw groups of townsponies running away from the harbor towards the forest. Several structures were on fire while others had simply collapsed like the town hall. As he watched, another house collapsed under the impact of the cannonfire.

“In any case, we've got to stop that ship before it destroys the whole town.” Shimmercoat said, looking around at his small group of friends. The pony that had rung the alarm bell had disappeared, and Shimmer idly wondered if he had shown more sense than them in doing so. Ebony finally looked away from the harbor, meeting the blue colt's eyes and nodding.

“What do y'all propose, then?” He asked. At this point, the rest of the group turned to look at Shimmer. He blinked a couple of times, mind working furiously. He hadn't really thought of how to stop the pirate ship, he just knew that somepony had to. He'd never had to be in charge of anypony before, except his sister, and he was surprised that the group around him was actually listening to him.

“Well, they're not here for treasure, I don't think, or else they wouldn't be destroying the town, and I can't really think of anything particularly valuable that would draw them here.” He said after a few moments. “I guess we've got to find out what they're after.”

“An' how do you suppose we do that, sugarcube?” Asked Ivory, glancing back out to the sea as the ships cannons roared again.

Shimmercoat opened his mouth to answer her, but was interrupted as the building beneath them shook from an impact. The group ran over to the edge of the roof and looked over.

“Uhh... That's not good...” Mirror said, looking at the large hole in the side of the Town Hall. Moments later, the structure started to lean slightly towards the hole, threatening to collapse.

“C'mon everypony, we need to get off of this thing!” Shimmercoat yelled, bolting back across the roof to the exit. The rest of the gathered ponies followed him, with the exception of Fizzle, who just hovered a few feet off of the roof.

“I'll meet you in front!” She called to him, meeting his gaze as he stood at the top of the stairs. He nodded, and she flew over the edge of the roof, presumably to the ground below. Shimmer looked around at the roof as the last of his friends disappeared down the staircase to make sure that nopony was still on the building, then followed them down.

As they exited the building, the blue unicorn summoned another shield to protect them, and Fizzle flew down to enter the protection of the blue tinted bubble.

“Where do we go now?” The fire-themed pegasus asked, landing next to Shimmercoat.

“We have to figure out what the pirates want.” Shimmer replied, looking around. “I don't know how to accomplish that, though.”

“We could always go up n' ask 'em.” Ebony replied.

“Or,” Ivory said wryly, “We can find some other way t' ask 'em that won't get us blasted by them cannons.”

As if summoned by the light mare's words, another cannonball slammed into the town hall. The building collapsed, sagging into itself with a deafening roar. Shimmer's mind worked furiously as bits of rubble bounced off of his shield. A plan flashed together in his head, and he sent a quiet prayer to Luna that he wouldn't get anyone killed. He spun to the group and started giving orders.

“Okay, we need more information. Fizzle, I need you to fly around to the back of the ship and spy on them a bit. Mirror, you and I are going to try to distract them for a few while the Keys make sure that the townspeople are safe.” He said, pointing to each pony in turn. “Sound good?” They all nodded, then Fizzle took flight and sped off to go flank the pirate ship. “Alright. Ebony, Ivory, get to some cover and wait 'til Mirror and I get their attention. You guys should probably try to get the townsfolk into the forest, the cannons don't seem to have the range to hit them there.” He said, looking towards the forest's edge and noticing that there were blackened spots of impact near the trees, but none seemed to be inside the forest. The twins nodded in unison and took off towards the edge of town, where the forge rested near most of the other houses in the town. Mirror turned to her brother, raising an eyebrow.

“So, how are we gonna distract them?” She asked.

“Well, first, you're gonna turn into me, then we're gonna make ourselves a couple of really big targets, and once the Keys get done, we're gonna run like hell.” He replied, grinning at her.

Her eyebrow rose slightly more, then she shrugged and closed her eyes, drawing upon her magic. Shimmer looked out at the ship to see if he could spot Fizzle and when he looked back, he was beside himself.

“Flawless as always, sis.” He said, nodding towards the harbor. “Let's go.”

The two blue colts ran towards the harbor, sliding to a stop next to an undamaged warehouse. Shimmercoat looked around the building, then turned to his sister.

“Okay. I'll go this way, you go around the other side. We need to get them to stop firing randomly into the rest of the town, so get their attention.” He said.

“And don't die.” His sister added, mimicking his voice perfectly.

“And definitely don't die.” He replied, nodding.

Mirror turned and started running towards the far side of the warehouse, and Shimmer allowed himself one moment of worry. That moment of worry, for his friends, his family, his neighbors, turned into a collection of moments, and he stood there, stock-still, mind reeling with all sorts of dark events that could happen, until his sister yelled at him from the far corner of the building. He shook his head and forced his worry into a small corner of his mind. He then took a breath, mustered his courage, and walked into plain view of the ship that was hell-bent on destroying the whole town. The blue unicorn called to his magic, bringing up a shield around himself, then modifying the way that light reflected off of it, causing the sporadic flashes of the cannon fire to light up his bubble like a beacon. He squinted at the ship to see if they had noticed him or not, and was answered a moment later when a cannon dispensed its payload straight at him.

This time, however, he was ready for it.

In the split-second before the cannonball hit him, he dug his hooves into the ground beneath him and focused the lion's share of his magic in front of him, his bubble flashing into a curving disc in between him and the high explosive. Even prepared as he was, though, the impact still left him feeling like he had been kicked in the head by a rather brawny earth pony, and his ears were ringing from the deafening thunder. The shield's outer layer and the ground in a large circle around him were blackened by the blast. Off to his left, he dimly heard the impact of another cannonball, and hoped that his sister was alright. Shimmercoat re-cast the outermost layer of his shield so that he could see, and looked back towards the pirates. The few he could make out in the dark were pointing at him in an exaggerated fashion, and he figured that they were probably surprised that the bubble on the shoreline hadn't popped from a direct hit. After his hearing cleared a bit, he could hear shouting from the ship, but it was too distant for him to tell what they were shouting about. He spared a glance off to where Mirror was supposed to be and saw a bubble almost identical to his own. As he looked, another cannonball hit her shield, and it flickered dangerously. Not good, that one's about to fail. He thought quickly. The pirates seemed to notice this, and a few moments later, a third cannon blast rocked the earth, and the shield held by his sister flickered, then died. In the clearing haze he saw her laying on the ground, presumably unconscious. In an instant, one emotion burned throughout him, consuming everything else.

That emotion was anger.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Shimmercoat yelled at the ship. His shield started to go from his normal blueish tint to a dark crimson. “TORMENTING THOSE WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES? WHAT MANNER OF COWARDS ARE YOU? COME, THEN! TEST YOUR STEEL AGAINST ONE WHO CAN FIGHT BACK! COME ASHORE, YOU COWARDS, AND WE WILL SEE HOW STRONG YOU ARE!” A small part of his mind that was still rational realized that the pirates had no real reason to come ashore, and that he couldn't take more than one or two more cannon barrages before he wound up like his sister, but that part of his mind was currently being ignored.

Silence reigned after the echo of his words had died out, which surprised him. The cannons were no longer firing, even though there was still a great deal of activity on the ship. After a few moments of him standing on the shoreline looking at the pirates, he noticed a smaller boat get dropped into the water. A moment later he realized that the pirates were indeed coming ashore, and he spun back towards the town. Letting his shield drop, and desperately hoping one of them was close enough to hear him, he called out into the darkness.

“Ebony! Ivory! I need one of you guys over here right now!” After a moment, Ebony came trotting out of the darkness, looking warily at the pirate ship.

“What d' y'all need?” He drawled, watching the small boat slowly make it's way towards them.

“I need you to get my sister away from here. She's over there,” Shimmer pointed a hoof towards his sister's prone form, “Take her into the forest with the rest of the town.”

“Why can't you take 'er?” Ebony asked, looking the blue colt in the eyes.

“Because I just called out the pirate captain, and I need to get my armor.” Shimmercoat replied, “If I don't stand and fight, they'll just keep blasting away at the town.”

“Not t' put too fine a point on it, but d' you even know how t' fight?” The black stallion asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Uhh...” Shimmercoat looked at the ground for a moment, “Kinda?” He said, looking back up to the large stallion.

“Uh-huh. Well, good luck t' y'all. Yer prob'ly gonna need it.” Ebony said before trotting over to where Mirror was laying. He hoisted her onto his back as if she weighed no more than a feather, then turned and trotted back into the town.

As Ebony disappeared into the darkness, Shimmer turned to look at the rowboat getting ever closer to the shoreline. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, reaching for his magic. Teleportation never was his strong suit. He could do it, but it always left him upside-down. A flash, a strange tugging sensation, and a not-so-gentle impact with the earth later, he opened his eyes to find himself in front of the forge. He righted himself and ran inside the deserted house, hoping that his parents had gotten into the forest with the others. He took the stairs two at a time, burst into his room, and pulled a trunk from under the bed with a careful pull of his magic. Setting it on the sheets, he popped it open and looked at its contents.

To the unknowing observer, it was a coat of leather on top of carefully stacked metal plates that had gemstones embedded in the polished surfaces. To him, it was his greatest project, the culmination of years spent working next to his father. He quickly donned the leather, then the bulky metal suit, the normally time-consuming task being expedited by his adrenalin, his magic and long hours of practice. The now-armored colt turned to look at himself in the mirror behind the door.

A product of his own design and hard work, the armor fit him perfectly. Unlike the armor of the Royal Guards in the palace, Shimmercoat's armor was meant to provide maximum protection. It covered him from his neck all the way down to his hooves, a solid wall of purple and black steel that had his cutie mark emblazoned on the flanks. It was big and bulky, but its plates were designed to slide over and under each other so as to not hamper the wearer's movement too much. Gemstones were strategically placed at different points on the armor, the most prominent of which was the large chunk of diamond on the breastplate, cut into the shape of a crescent moon. The stones that covered his armor, and the ones that were embedded on the inside of the metal, glowed with an inner light. The blue unicorn had filled them with defensive enchantments every week since he had forged it, making sure that if he needed it, it would be ready.

Shimmercoat took a moment to tie his long hair back into a ponytail, idly wondering why he'd never made a helmet for the suit. Hair secured, he walked over to his bed and laid down on his back before triggering his magic again. He reappeared back near the shoreline, right-side up this time, just as the rowboat arrived. A surprisingly large group of ponies jumped out of the little boat and stood, each of them armed with wickedly curved blades or heavy clubs. Then the last pony in the boat jumped out and lit a lamp. He counted twelve, and the captain.

“So, yer th' loudmouth that thought callin' me a coward was the right thing to be doin', huh?” Said the pirate captain, holding the lamp aloft with one hoof. While the rest of the mob looked like what you'd expect pirates to look like, bandannas, eye patches and the like, the captain was unmistakeable. He was an earth pony, red with a brown mane, with, predictable, a skull-and-crossbones cutie mark. No eye patch, but he did have the massive tri-corner hat that seemed to always have some manner of sailor attached to it. He had a cutlass sheathed at his side, and was wearing a fancy jacket with gold trim.

Shimmercoat forced his rising fear into as little box in his mind, took a deep breath, and stood as tall as he could. “Yes, yes I am. Was I wrong?” He said.

“Seeing as I be standin' here in front of ye', you tell me, lad.” The captain said, setting the lamp on the sandy shore next to him.

“You're standing here in front of me, and so is half your crew. How about you tell me?” The blue colt replied, gesturing at the crowd around them with a hoof. Much to his surprise, the captain broke into a deep belly laugh.

“I like you, kid. Hows about ye join us? We could use a brave lad like yerself. Just think o' what ye could do. Come with us fer a spell and come back richer then th' princesses.” The captain said, holding out a hoof. “What do ye say, lad?”

Shimmercoat shook his head. “After you attack the town? Not happening. Hell, even if you didn't attack the town, I've got too much here to just up and leave.” He replied. As he spoke, he kept a wary eye on the mob of pirates. He didn't think that they would attack unless the captain told them to, but pirates weren't the most trustworthy of ponies.

“Aw, 'tis a shame, lad, 'tis a shame. Got a filly here, do ye? Big plans fer a family?” Said the captain, who started to grin.

Shimmercoat quickly decided that he didn't like that grin.

“Something like that, yeah.” He replied. The armored stallion decided that it was time to get to the heart of things. “What do you want here, captain? We've nothing of value, so why are you here?”

The captain laughed again, but this time the sound was a bit more sinister. “Ye've got plenty of value. Ye have strong young lads who could use some adventure, pretty young ladies who need some excitement, and ye have the facilities to repair our ships,” The captain grinned that evil grin again before continuing, “And I think I've got something that ye be wantin', my young friend. Would yer lady happen to be a pegasus? Yellow, with a bit o' orange? Little puff o' flame as 'er cutie mark?”

Shimmercoat felt his stomach tie itself in knots. He glared at the pirate captain. “What. Have. You. Done. With. Fizzle?” He said, growling each word through clenched teeth.

“Nothin', yet. We've got the pretty little birdie tied up on deck. We caught her snoopin' about, and decided to give her the grand tour.” The pirate said, laughing at his own joke. The rest of the mob followed suit.

“You had better return her to me unharmed, captain. If you don't, I'll sink your boat and send the whole of your crew straight to hell.” Shimmer said menacingly, taking a step forward.

“Oh, and how are ye gonna do that all on yer lonesome?”

“Simple. I set your damn ship on fire. Next, I simply hold the stragglers under the water.” The blue colt replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “Simple, efficient.” He had never really wanted to kill anypony before, but he realized that talking his way out of this was out of the question, and they had Fizzle. That set his blood to boiling. What right did they have? Showing up and destroying the town, whatever. Buildings could and would be rebuilt. Heck, more than a few of the town's structures were only a stiff breeze from falling over anyway, and so far as he knew, there were no deaths amongst the populous. But they took Fizzle. He finally managed to tell her how he felt about her, spent an amazing night with her, and then this happened. He was going to get her back, though. Even if it killed him, he would see her safe.

“What makes ye think ye could do all that? Me and me crew are all armed, and have no qualms about guttin' some little fool who thinks he's gonna be a hero. It's happened before, and it'll happen again, mark me w-”

Shimmercoat had enough of the captain, and decided to even the odds a little. He grabbed the two nearest pirate's heads in his magic and slammed them face-down into the rocky beach, where they slumped, unconscious. He glanced at them, then looked back at the captain. “That is how I'll do it. There's two. Want me to make it more?” He said, his voice cold.

The entire group of pirates, the captain included, looked down at their comrades. After a moment, the captain looked back up at Shimmercoat. “Lad, I'll be giving ye only one warning. Don't think ye can beat all o' us. At least, not before I send word back to th' ship for th' boys to push yer little lady friend over the side.” The captain said, his voice icy as well. The rest of the pirates finally pulled their gazes off away from the unconscious pair and glared at the armored colt.

“If you do, I'll just have to make sure that when I get around to you, captain, that I make your death slow and painful. I will not be so easily cowed.” He chuckled, the sound cold and completely devoid of mirth. “If you want to live to see the sunrise, you will return her to me.”

“What manner o' creature do ye think ye are, lad? A hero? Standing betwixt yer love and all comers? Yer just one pony, lad. Ye can't beat all o' us, not on yer own.” The captain asked, exasperated.

Again, that little rational bit of Shimmercoat's mind realized that he probably couldn't take out all of the pirates, especially if they were ready for him. And again, that little part of his mind was ignored, and he opened his mouth again, “Maybe not, but are you willing to bet your crew's lives on it?”

The captain laughed again. “O' course I am! We be pirates, lad, that's what we do. We gamble our lives against th' ocean an' th' fates. Sometimes we come out on top with riches and wenches galore, other times we lose everything.” The captain chuckled. “One thing ye can bet on when yer a pirate, lad; ye'll never be missin' excitement.”

“Enough of this,” Shimmercoat said, growing more impatient by the second, “Return Fizzle to me or else.”

“Cool yer jets, kid. How about this, if ye can beat all me mateys here,” The captain gestured to the crowd around them, “I'll give yer little birdie back. Deal?”

Shimmercoat didn't reply, instead he grabbed another pirate with his magic and threw him into the pony next to him in line, causing half of the mob to collapse in a heap. The other half jumped forward, blades and clubs swinging. The armored colt stepped back and triggered his armor's magic, causing several different shields to spring into existence around the plates of polished steel. As the mob's weapons slid and bounced off of his defenses he reared back onto his back hooves, then came down on a luckless pirate who had somehow managed to get his sword stuck in the sandy beach. The blow connected with the pirate's body, breaking ribs with a sickening crack. Normally, the strike would have not been enough to break bones, but the shield spells over his forelegs were designed to reflect whatever force was applied to them, so his average strength was amplified into a force to be reckoned with. The blue unicorn ducked a club, and barely managed to get an armored foreleg into the path of a sword that was heading for his unarmored head. I really should have made a damn helmet! He thought as he continued to dodge and block. He fought defensively, only occasionally dealing blows with his armored limbs that staggered or dropped the ponies that they struck, but the second half of the mob had managed to sort themselves out, and started to press in around him. He knew that there were far too many for him to beat in melee, but he still had one trick up his sleeve. Shimmercoat planted his hooves, bracing himself, and he triggered the large crescent moon crystal on his breastplate It started to glow brightly, and before any of the pirates could react, a large shield expanded from Shimmer's armored form. The shield slammed into the mob of pirates and flung them backwards, knocking most of them prone. The few that managed to stay on their hooves shook the impact off quickly, and pressed back in to continue attacking him. Unfortunately for him, the crystal only had the power to flash that spell once, but the pirates didn't know that. He brought a foreleg up in a vicious uppercut that smashed into the chin of a rather burly looking stallion. The stallion staggered, but kept himself upright. The pirate then turned and bucked Shimmercoat in the chest. The blue unicorn was slammed back, and the personal shield covering that section of the armor flickered, but held. The stallion's leg bones, on the other hoof, didn't. The pirate howled in pain as his legs shattered, and fell to the ground. The mob of pirates, now reduced down from a dozen to about half that, backed off as soon as the large one dropped, and they huddled a couple yards away from the armored pony. Unsure of their plan, but thankful for the breather, Shimmer wearily glanced down at his armor. The white crystal of the crescent moon had cracked from the kick, and it's color had darkened to be almost black. A quick probe with his magic revealed that the crystal that powered the shield over his chest, embedded safely on the inside of the armor, was severely damaged. It wouldn't hold up to another kick like that, and he'd be lucky if it held up under the slight strain of maintaining the shield. The magical check also told him his shields were all banged up, leaving his armor's enchantments around half power. He was breathing heavily, exhausted, and his throat burned with thirst, but he was still standing, which came as a bit of a surprise to that little rational part of his mind that kept telling him over and over again that he shouldn't be. That voice in his head told him to run before they attacked again, but it was quickly overshadowed by the fact that he couldn't give up, not with Fizzle on the line.

“What'r ye bilge rats doin'? Ye've been itchin' to gut this little runt fer the whole time we've been ashore!” The pirate captain bellowed, interrupting Shimmer's thoughts, “Get yer sorry hides over thar and KILL HIM!”

The pirate mob flinched at the captain's volume, and one pony came forward to speak, “But cap'n, we can't hurt 'im! Ol' Buckshot there just bucked 'im, right in th' chest, sir, an' he didn't even flinch!” The pony exclaimed, repeatedly glancing between the captain and Shimmercoat.

“Alright, lads, alright. I see what ye be sayin'. Let me have a go at 'im.” The captain said. He turned and walked towards Shimmercoat, who faced him squarely. Much to the armored pony's surprise, the captain bowed towards him. “It looks like yer next opponent is me, lad. I figure that a fighter like ye should be shown a little respect afore ye die. My name is Captain Full Sails.”

Shimmercoat raised an eyebrow at the captain, then bowed back. “Surprisingly honorable, coming from a pirate. My name is Shimmercoat.”

“Lad, when ye've done this job fer as long as I have, ye start t' find that ye've gotta break up all the backstabbin' with a little honor, else th' crew gets mutinous. That, an' th' boys have a point. Buckshot could buck any one o' them into dreamland, and ye hardly budged. I don't think they could actually finish you off, and its been awhile since I've gotten into a scrap.” Full Sails replied. “Now, shall we dance, lad?”

“Indeed, captain, let us dance.”

Both stallions rushed forward at the same time, kicking up sand and rocks in their wake.
X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Mirror slowly came back into the conscious world, and immediately wanted to go back. Her head pounded hideously, and her body ached. She opened her eyes and looked around. By the large amount of foliage, she gathered that she was in the forest. How did I get here? She wondered as she looked over to the campfire she was laying next to. Across the flames was the dark form of Ebony, and the lighter form of Ivory. Ebony seemed to be asleep in a sitting position, and Ivory was staring into the flames, apparently lost in thought.

“Hey.” Mirror said weakly, her voice raspy and dry.

Ivory jumped at the sound and looked at the silver mare. “Oh, hey darlin'. How're ya feelin'?” She asked, moving around the fire to offer a water bottle to Mirror, who took it and drank deeply.

“Thanks. I've been better. Everything hurts, but I'll live.” She said.

“Good, hate t' lose ya after Ebony hauled you here.” Replied Ivory, smiling.

Mirror chuckled, which led to her body reminding her that any sudden movements would be met with extreme force. Her smile gave way to a grimace, and Ivory suddenly looked very worried.

“Are you sure you're alright, sugarcube?” She asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just don't ask me to do very much. So, Ebony dragged me here, did he? Where's Shimmercoat?” Mirror replied, looking around.

“He's decided t' be a hero, an' seemed t' be set on fightin' the pirates captain. Least,” She added after a short pause, “That's what m' brother said. Said Shimmer told 'im t' take you an' go while he went an' got his armor, whatever that means.”

“Shimmercoat has his armor?” Mirror asked. When Ivory nodded, she continued, “Good. That means he's at least got some protection from whatever it is he's dealing with. I'm still not sure why he's being so stupid, though. With the whole town in the forest, why is he still fighting them? Surely Fizzle could talk him into running away.”

“Darlin', we don't know where Fizzle is. She never rejoined us like yer brother told her to.” Ivory said.

Mirror quickly put two and two together. Her brother was a bit reckless at times, but he wasn't stupid. There was only one reason he'd stay to fight after the whole town was safe, and that was if the whole town wasn't safe. The pirates, she concluded, must have captured Fizzle, and her fool brother couldn't let anything happen to the pegasus. So, he was fighting to save her. Him, alone, versus who knows how many pirates. The light gray mare was suddenly very worried about her older brother. His armor was fantastic, even their father had praised him, and Shimmercoat kept it full of defensive enchantments powered by gemstones. However, Shimmer had never had to stand up to a determined fighter. He occasionally sparred with their father, but never had he fought an opponent intending to kill him. Her father...

“Ivory, where are my parents?” She asked quickly.

“Around here somewhere. Yer dad's been helpin' ponies set up tents an' th' like, and yer mom's been helpin' with th' cookin'.” Ivory replied, looking about the rest of the camp. Mirror looked around as well, and suddenly realized how big the camp was. She saw at least another dozen campfires, most of them ringed by ponies and then tents.

“Wait here fer a sec, sugarcube. Ah'll go get yer folks.” Ivory said before turning and trotting off. Mirror was left alone with her worry for several endless minutes, sending a quiet prayer to the Princesses that he'd come back safe. She had just finished her water when Ivory returned, trailing her father. Iron Coat wasn't a particularly large pony, but he had a presence. He exuded a patient, unyielding strength that most ponies found comforting. His brown mane was tied back out of his face, and his blue coat was covered in dirt, mud and sweat, indicating that he'd been working hard. He walked over to his daughter and leaned down to nuzzle her gently, concern in his blue eyes.

“How are you feeling?” He asked her.

“I hurt, daddy, but I'll be fine,” She replied, smiling at him, “I'm more worried about Shimmey. Do you know how he's doing?”

“Last I heard he was standing on the beach talking to the pirates. Everypony else is out of the village,” Iron Coat sighed, “I wish I knew what got into that fool's head. He should have just come with the rest of us.”

“I think they got Fizzle. It's the only thing that would keep him there. We need to go help him, he can't fight all of them.” Mirror said, trying to stand. Her legs refused to cooperate, and she ended up just flailing about on the ground. She groaned in frustration and looked at the traitorous appendages. She brought her gaze back up to her father and nodded her head back towards the town. “We have to help him! He'll be killed.” She said desperately.

The blue stallion put a hoof on his daughter's head. “Stay here, Mirror. I'll go collect your brother, and see what I can do about his fillyfriend.” He said, looking around the camp. He trotted off into the darkness, and several minutes later Mirror watched a small group of stallions, headed by her father, leave the camp in the direction of the town. They had just disappeared from sight when her mother walked up.

“Are you alright?” Starshine asked, sitting down next to her daughter. Mirror pressed herself up against her mother and closed her eyes.

“I'm alright, mom.” She said as the gray pegasus laid a wing over her. After a few moments, she looked up to meet her mother's gaze. “I'm scared, mom.”

“Of what, little one?” Starshine asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“I'm scared that Shimmer's gonna get hurt. I'm scared that daddy's gonna get hurt. And Fizzle. And everypony else.” Mirror said, her voice wavering a bit.

Starshine looked down at her daughter and smiled, “Don't worry about them. Shimmercoat's a big colt now, he can take care of himself, and even if he can't, daddy will bring him back in one piece. And,” She added after a moment, “If Shimmer's in one piece, he'll go through hell and back for Fizzle.” She nuzzled Mirror, “So, don't worry. Everything's going to be all right.”

“I hope so, mom. I really do.” Mirror said, looking into the fire. She felt something warm against her other side, and she looked over to find the Ebony, who had woken up as the stallions were leaving, had stepped around the fire and had laid down next to her. He nuzzled her as well as Ivory stepped over to join them.

“Don't worry about yer brother, darlin'. He stopped cannonballs with 'is shield, those pirates don't have anythin' that can hurt 'im.” The light mare said, looking between Mirror and Ebony, trying to figure out where she could sit. Starshine smiled and stood, motioning with a wing for Ivory to take her place.

“I need to get back to work, Mirror. I'll send somepony over here with some food in a bit. Just rest, everything will be fine.” The gray pegasus said. She turned and trotted off into the darkness. Mirror, still exhausted, settled down between the twins and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Shimmercoat reeled as Full Sails kicked him in the side. While the pirate captain wasn't terribly large, he was rather skilled, and his blows were powerful. Shimmer's shield spells over his chest and forehooves had already failed. The gemstones, overloaded by the captain's precise strikes, had shattered, and Shimmercoat was leaving a trail of glittering shards as he moved. The only thing stopping the shards from piercing him was the leather coat he had on underneath the steel, and he could feel some sharp pieces embedded into the thick leather. He recovered his balance and ducked another blow aimed for his head, mentally slapping himself again for not forging a helmet. The blue colt whipped an armored foreleg into the captain, who saw the strike too late to avoid it. Shimmercoat's hoof slammed into the captain's head, causing him to stagger. The blow normally would have done more, but without the shields to amplify the force, the blow was simply Shimmercoat's strength and the steel surrounding his leg. Full Sails shook his head to clear it, and looked back at the armored colt.

Shimmercoat was barely standing. He breath was coming in labored gasps and his legs were on the verge of collapsing. Still, he glared at the captain.

“While this has been fun, I beat your 'mateys', captain,” He said in between breaths, “Give Fizzle back to me.”

“And what makes ye think I'll do it? Yer in no position to be bargainin' wit' me anymore.” Full sails replied, sneering at Shimmer, “In fact, I think I'll be keepin' yer little birdie as a pet. She'll be a nice little distraction fer th' crew. Least, til she dies an' I throw 'er over-” Full Sails was interrupted by Shimmercoat grabbing him in his telekinesis and dragging him forward until they were face to face.

“If you ever say anything about her like that again, I'll see you dead. Not quickly, not painlessly, but very, very, dead,” He growled, locking his gaze with the captain's, “Give. Her. Back. To. Me.”

The captain struggled against Shimmer's magic, and, to his surprise, broke free. The spell fizzled and Shimmercoat fell to his knees with a gasp. Full Sails blinked down at him, then laughed.

“Ha! Yer done, lad. Ye put up a good fight, but now ye can't even stand. Tis a shame ye'll not be joinin' us, ye coulda made mountains o' bits,” He turned and drew the sword at his side, “Farewell, lad.” He said around it's hilt, then brought it down in a swing aimed to take Shimmercoat's head off. As the blue colt watched the blade descend in slow motion, one thought kept circling around his head.

I'm sorry, my love.