The Stormgate Diaries

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.