The Stormgate Diaries

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.