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.