The Stormgate Diaries

Shimmercoat shut the door and sighed. As much as he wanted to go with his sister and the twins, he felt compelled to complete his project. He looked around the forge at the scattering of materials, books, and the cloth wrapped object that was his work. He walked over and removed the cloth, tossing it to the side and revealing what lay beneath.

A sword, in the final stages of completion. The steel blade had been easy, it was just metalworking. The hilt, on the other hoof, was a pain. The grip and pommel had been made out of gemstones, which were extremely difficult to work with. Shimmer had been forced to teleport out to the library to find books that contained spells to work crystals. He shook his head to try to dislodge the dull pain behind his eyes from overexerting his magic. He smiled down at the completed hilt and felt a flush of pride.

“I hope you like it, love. This is for you. It's not done yet, but it's real close.” He said aloud, his voice soft. As he reached over to continue his work, he was interrupted again by another knock on the door. The blue stallion sighed as he tossed the cloth back over the blade, and walked back over to answer the door.

Opening it, he saw Iron Coat standing there.

“Hey dad. What's up?” Shimmer asked.

“I just wanted to come see how you were doing.” Iron Coat replied, looking concerned. “You've hardly eaten or said anything to your mother and I for several days. We're both worried about you, son.”

“I'm fine, dad. I just need to finish what I'm doing, then everything will be back to normal.” Shimmer said.

“Liar.” His father said flatly, making him wince. “We both know that things are going to be different. First and foremost, you're a knight now. Which is odd, because there hasn't been a knight here for at least a hundred years. Why the Princess would make you one now is anypony's guess.” He looked intently at his son. “Do you even know what being a knight entails?” He asked.

“No.” Shimmercoat said, eyes narrowing. “In all honesty, I don't care. I don't want to be a knight. I don't deserve it. All I did was get Fizzle killed.”

He reeled as Iron Coat smacked him.

“Stop that right now.” The elder stallion said sternly. “You know what? Come with me. We're going to put an end to this bellyaching right now.” He stepped to the side and pointed out the door.

“I have to finish this, dad.” Shimmercoat said, rubbing his face with a hoof. “Then I can take a tour around town with you.”

“No. You are going to come with me right now.” His father's tone brooked no argument.

Shimmercoat sighed. “Alright, fine. Let's go.”

The pair of them walked through town, neither speaking. Iron Coat led his son to the wreckage of the town hall.

“Do you see that?” He asked, pointing at the rubble.

“Yes, we were on top of it when it started to come down.” Shimmer replied.

“How many other buildings look like that?” Iron Coat asked.

Shimmercoat looked around at the sections of town he could see. He counted only three other structures that had been demolished by the cannon fire.

“I see three from right here.” He answered. “There's probably another two or three that I can't see.”

“So five buildings in total?” His father inquired. Shimmer nodded. “Five buildings in the entire town, son. Five. They had the capacity to destroy ten times that before the Adamant showed up. Do you know why they didn't?”

“Because they wanted it intact for when they got to looting?” Shimmer replied.

“No, because of you and your friends.” Iron Coat replied. “While the rest of the town panicked, you and your sister drew their fire away from the buildings. Had you not done that, there would be quite a few more homeless ponies, not to mention more of the townsfolk would be dead.”

“I would be happy to trade a few houses for Fizzle.” Shimmercoat replied darkly.

“Guess what? You can't.”Iron Coat said, his voice harsh. “Life doesn't work like that.” His voice softened. “She's gone, son. Nothing you can do will change that. I learned that one the hard way too.”

“Dad?” Shimmer said, looking up at his father. He had never heard his dad speak like that before.

“Nothing, son. Just things that happened long before you were born.” The older stallion turned away. “Come on.”

The pair of them walked over toward the courtyard where the stage had been set up for the award ceremony. Backstage, a group of nervous looking young ponies were listening to a yellow mare, who was most probably their teacher. The two stallions stopped a ways off and Iron Coat pointed at Mirror lounging with the twins.

“You should go hang out with your sister.” He said.

Shimmercoat looked at them for several long moments before shaking his head. “Nah, they don't need me. Besides, I've got something to finish.”

Iron Coat looked at his son for a long moment. “You sure?”

“Yeah. This is just something I have to do, dad. Just...” Shimmercoat's voice trailed off.

“It's all right, son. Let's get back to the house. Mom's probably wondering where the both of us have wandered off to.” Iron said before turning back towards home.

When they returned, Starshine was tending to the small garden she had out in front of the house.
She waved at them as they approached.

“Hey boys. Where have you been?” She asked, smiling at them.

“We were just taking a nice walk around town, love.” Iron Coat replied, walking up and nuzzling her.

“Uh-huh.” She said, sounding skeptical. “Well, at least you got Shimmer to walk around a bit.”

“I've been walking around the last few days.” Shimmercoat said.

“Walking in small circles in the forge does not count.” She said.

“What about walking up and down shelves at the library?” He asked.

“What did you need from the library?” The pegasus asked, looking at her son with a raised eyebrow.

“Just some spellbooks. Unicorn stuff.” He said.

“Just make sure you don't hurt yourself, Shimmer.” She said, “I don't know much about unicorn magic, but I know you can hurt yourself with it if you push it too hard.”

“I won't, mom.” He replied. “I just needed to learn a couple of things.”

“Like what?” She asked.

“Just... Stuff. Don't worry about it.” He said. She looked at him for a long moment before Iron Coat cleared his throat.

“So,” He said, “What's for dinner, love?”

Starshine glanced at him before turning back to her gardening. “I don't know. Is there anything in particular that you wanted?”

“Yes.” He said. He leaned close to her and kissed her neck. “There is something very particular that I want.”

“Stop that,” She said, gently batting at him with her wings, “That's not what I meant, and you know it.”

“So?” He replied, smiling.

“I think I'm going to get back to work.” Shimmercoat said, turning towards the forge.

“I'll be making dinner in a few hours, Shimmer.” His mother called after him.

“I should be done by then.” He called back over his shoulder.

He was used to his parents flirting with each other, but that didn't mean he wanted to stand around and contemplate the mechanics that had brought him and his sister into the world. As he walked, he idly wondered if he was going to have another younger sibling anytime soon or if his parents were done with having foals. With the way they carried on, he was mildly surprised that he didn't already have a new brother or sister.

He walked back into the forge, immediately checking to see if anything had been disturbed. He loved his mother, but sometimes she liked to snoop when she thought he wouldn't notice. Confirming that nothing had been disturbed, he continued working.

Roughly two hours later, Shimmercoat let the engraving spell he was casting drop. He grinned down at the finished sword, feeling tired but proud. He wrapped it back up in the cloth and carried it through the house up to his room.

“You finally finish whatever that is?” Iron Coat asked him as he came back downstairs.

“Yeah. When is dinner?” Shimmercoat replied.

“I'm getting ready to start it right now, sweetie.” Came Starshine's voice from the kitchen. “It should be ready in about an hour.”

“Alright.” He said. “I think I'm going to go relax for a bit.”

“Okay. We'll see you later then.” Iron Coat said.

Shimmercoat walked through the familiar forest path towards his hidden sanctuary. As he walked, he thought about what his father was trying to tell him earlier. While he understood that he saved the town from more destruction by drawing the cannon's attention, and that had he not done that, more than one townspony would have died, he was still disappointed in himself. He had let down the only pony that mattered.

As he cleared the forest, he had an immediate sense that something was very wrong. Looking around at the scene that he had seen hundreds of times before, it was easy to discern what gave him that feeling.

Shimmercoat looked up at the giant green spider that sat in a web spun above the lake in his sanctuary and sighed. “And today was going so well, too.”

“Hello little pony.” The spider said, peering down at him. “Why are you here?”

“I should ask you the same thing.” The little voice in the back of Shimmercoat's head told him he should be terrified, but he felt oddly calm. “This is my sanctuary. This is where I come to relax, and now you've got this spider webbing making the whole place look bad.”

The green arachnid made an odd bubbling, chirping sound. It took Shimmercoat a moment to realize that the spider was laughing at him. “You are very brave, little pony. Would you like to be my pet?”

“I'm going to have to say no. You're not my type.” He said. “We haven't even been properly introduced.”

“My name is Alpha.” The spider replied. “What are you called?”

“My name is Shimmercoat. Nice to meet you. Now, could you find somewhere else to be?” Shimmer said, keeping his tone light and conversational.

“I cannot. This place is too perfect.” She said.

“I know. That's why I want you to leave.” He said. He wasn't sure how he'd conceivably fight such a massive creature, so he was hoping that she'd be reasonable.

“If you swear yourself to me, you will have leave to be here whenever you want.” She said, slowly shifting her legs. Shimmercoat narrowed his eyes at her movement, noticing that she had edged slightly towards him.

“I've got previous obligations. My answer is still no.” He said, lighting his horn.

“That is too bad. Now I cannot let you leave and tell others of my existence.” She said. She darted forward, attempting to bite him. Her fangs skittered off of Shimmer's shield, which flashed into being at the last moment. Poison dripped down the outside of the glowing field as Alpha tried to bite through it.

Shimmercoat gritted his teeth as the shield flickered under her assault. He was tired from the constant work he had been doing for the last few days, and she was extremely strong. Pain pounded in his head and he knew that if he stood and fought the spider would quickly kill him.

Alpha ceased her attack and stepped away from him, surprised. “What powerful magic you have. You would be quite useful to me. I can always use more pets. Or, I could kill you here.”

“You have ponies that follow you?” Shimmercoat asked, trying to stall her. As he spoke, he started to shift his magic from his shield spell to a teleport. He wasn't sure he could do it, but he had to try. Staying here was suicide.

“Yes. None from the surface, but I have several from the town beneath yours.” She said.

“What town beneath mine?” He asked, confused.

“There is a town of ponies that live underground. They are ruled by my mother.” The spider said, spitting the word 'mother' like it was a curse.

“Why would ponies follow you or your mother?” Shimmercoat asked. “I can't imagine many ponies being thrilled about being ruled by a giant spider.”

“Simple. We are strong. They are weak. It is the natural order of things.” She said. “But we can see the value of strong servants. I mean no harm to your people, I only require an army to remove my mother from power.”

“I think you're lying through your teeth.” Shimmercoat said. “Fangs. Whatever. Just to remove your mother? Yeah, then what happens to your army when you're the boss of the whole area, huh? You try to take over more territory. Why be the boss of a couple of towns when you could take an army across the continent? I refuse.”

“Then you die.” She said, lunging forward.

Shimmercoat threw himself to one side, narrowly avoiding Alpha's attack, shield flickering out of existence as he shunted all of his magic into the teleport. His focus slipped, and instead of arriving on the front lawn of his house, he ended up teleporting into the front room. His momentum slammed him into a wall, knocking the wind out of him, and his father walked out of the kitchen at the noise.

“Shimmer?” Iron Coat said, surprised. “What's wrong?”

Shimmercoat struggled to get his breath back for a moment before answering. “There's a giant spider in the forest.” He gasped.

“A giant spider?” His father replied.

“Yeah.” Shimmer said. “A giant green spider. Said her name was Alpha.”

“Honey?” Came Starshine's voice from the stairs. “What was that noise?” The gray pegasus stepped into view and looked at Shimmer. “Was that you, Shimmer?”

“Yeah, mom. I messed up a teleport and hit the wall.” Shimmercoat said, smiling weakly at his mother.

“I've told you to be careful.” She scolded. “You could really hurt yourself, or somepony else for that matter.”

“Yes mom.” He said dryly. “I'll be more careful next time I'm dodging a giant spider's fangs.”

“What?” She replied. “What giant spider?”

“The one I was just telling dad about.” Shimmercoat replied. “There's a giant spider in the forest. Green, says her name is Alpha.” He shook his head. “She told me that I was either to join her, or she'd kill me. I don't think she's dealt with unicorns before, though. My shield spell seemed to put her off for a moment, and I don't know if she was expecting me to teleport out of there, but it worked.”

“Are you sure, Shimmer?” Iron Coat asked. “I've heard tales at the pub about spiders the size of buildings, but I figured it was just somepony with a fear of spiders and too many drinks.”

Shimmercoat nodded. “Yeah, I'm sure.” He sagged as the adrenaline of the fight wore off, and the fatigue of the last few days combined with the repeated uses of magic. “I think I've done too much too quickly.” He said weakly.

“You've had a rough week, son.” Iron Coat said. “You should go to bed. Actually sleep this time, too. You've been taking naps to keep working in the forge, but you haven't gotten a full nights rest in days.”

“But what about the spider?” Shimmer asked, worried.

“If she shows up, we'll take care of it. Go to bed.” Iron Coat replied sternly.

“Yeah, I'll do that. Hey, has Mirror come back yet?” Shimmercoat asked, slowly walking towards the stairs.

“Not yet, but she's at the play. She'll be fine, son. Just go to bed.” Iron Coat replied. Starshine nodded in agreement and hugged Shimmercoat as he passed her. He nuzzled her before heading up to his room.

Starshine waited until Shimmer's door shut, then looked over at Iron Coat. “Is it just me, or is the world going crazy all of the sudden?” She asked, “First was the pirate attack, then Shimmer's a knight, and now giant spiders!” She stepped over to lean against her husband. “I'm worried about him, Iron, I really am. He's just barely able to be called a stallion, and now he's a knight, and we don't even know what that even means!” She bowed her head. “I don't know what to do.”

Iron Coat put a foreleg around her, pulling her closer. “We'll do what we have to, love. We protect them to the best of our ability, and prepare them to confront what we can't protect them from.” He squeezed her, and she looked up at him.

“I love you.” She said.

“I love you.” He replied, leaning down to kiss her.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

Mirror reached the top of the tunnel and glanced behind her, breathing heavily. Ebony and Ivory were right behind her, with Keeneye and Siren next. The nameless armored pegasus kept pace as silent as ever. Mirror was worried about that pegasus, and what the elder intended Shimmer to be taught.

She pushed open the door and sunlight streamed in. Mirror heard a squeak from behind her and turned. Siren and Keeneye laid on the ground, covering their eyes with their hooves. She understood what had happened. After hours of seeing in the dim light of the caverns, even her eyes were sensitive to the flood of sunlight. The pegasus didn't even flinch, however, and Mirror narrowed her eyes. Something was not quite right with that pegasus, but Mirror had more pressing concerns at the moment.

“Right. Sunlight.” Keeneye said, slowly uncovering his eyes and squinting against the light. “Really bright.”

“Little bit.” Siren said beside him, getting back on her hooves.

“Sorry guys,” Mirror said, “I forgot that you don't come up during the daytime.”

“It's alright. We've had training in case we've had to end up out here.” Keeneye said. “We're fine now, let's go.” The armored form behind them nodded but did not speak.

The group left the old shack and avoided the town's population on the way back to the forge. Unfortunately for them, the play had ended, and the young ponies had proceeded to run amok once out of sight of their teacher. One of which, a small aqua colt with a bright pink mane and tail, both far too long for him, spotted the group. He excitedly ran up to them, narrowly avoiding tripping on his overly long hair no less than three times, and immediately approached Keeneye.

“Hey mister! Are you one of Princess Luna's special guards?” He asked, beaming up at the Nocturnal, amber eyes wide.

“Kinda.” Keeneye said, kneeling down to the colt's level. “I'm a reserve guard. That means that if the Princess ever needs me, I'm hers, but right now I'm on vacation.”

“Whaddya doing out here on vacation?” The colt asked him incredulously. Mirror giggled.

“I'm visiting a very special friend of mine.” Keeneye replied, looking at Mirror. The colt looked between the two of them and grinned.

“Is she your maaaaarefriend?” He asked. Mirror blushed and Keeneye laughed.

“As a matter of fact, she is.” Keeneye replied. The colt's grin stretched from ear to ear at this. Keeneye glanced around and lowered his voice. “Hey, kid, can you keep a secret?” He asked conspiratorially.

“My name's not kid!” The colt replied indignantly. He tried to glare at Keeneye, but his pink mane dropping down into his face ruined the effect. “My name's Bubblegum Burst! My friends call me Bee!”

“Alright, Bee.” Keeneye conceded. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Uh-huh!” Bubblegum said, jerking his head to one side to move his neon mane out of his eyes.

“I'm gonna ask her to marry me some day.” He said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Both Mirror and Bubblegum's mouths dropped open at the same time. The twins smiled and leaned against each other while Siren just rolled her eyes. “Then,” The Nocturnal stallion continued, a smile on his face, “We're gonna have a whole bunch of foals.”

Bubblegum looked back and forth between Keeneye and Mirror before leaning forwards.

“Do you think she'll say yes?” He asked, looking worried.

The entire group, except for the armored pegasus, laughed at this and Keeneye reached over to ruffle the colt's mane. “I certainly hope so, little guy, or else I just made a fool of myself.” He looked around and dropped his voice again. “Can I trust you with a secret guard mission?”

Bubblegum nodded vigorously, his pink mane bobbing around and dropping back into his face.

“I need you to keep all of the colts and fillies out of the forest, okay?” Keeneye said. “There might be monsters in there, and I don't want anypony to get hurt before I can get rid of them.”

“You're here on a secret mission!” Bubblegum exclaimed. “I knew that you couldn't just visiting your marefriend! Guards don't get vacations to do mushy stuff like that!” He looked over at Siren. “Is she your super secret undercover partner? She's pretty. I like her ears, they're fluffy.” Siren blushed and raised a hoof to brush at her tufted ears.

“She's my sister.” Keeneye replied. “Can I trust you with that? Keeping everypony out of the forest?” He asked, looking very seriously at the young colt.

“Yes sir!” Bubblegum exclaimed. He attempted to salute, but ended up smacking himself in the forehead. Mirror suppressed a giggle at the colt's antics.

“Good. Go on, now. I'm counting on you.” Keeneye said. Bubblegum turned and ran off towards the center of town, fighting to not trip on his mane. “Cute kid.” Keeneye remarked absently, turning back to the rest of the group. Mirror giggled at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Nothing. I just didn't know you were so good with kids.” Mirror said.

“Am I?” He asked.

“Looks like it.” She replied.

“Huh. Okay.” He said.

“As much fun as it is t' watch y'all be adorable, don't we have someplace t' be?” Ivory drawled.

“Right, right.” Keeneye said, starting to walk towards the forge again.

“What is so special about my ears?” Siren muttered as they walked.

“Well, you got these cute little tufts on th' end of 'em.” Ebony said, walking next to her. “Which makes 'em look downright adorable.”

She spun, not expecting him to be there, and blushed. “That was more of a rhetorical question.” She said.

“Relax, Shimmer'll think they're adorable. Don't worry about it.” Mirror said over her shoulder.

Ebony suddenly looked very serious. “Yer after Shimmercoat? Y'all know what happened, right?”

“Yeah. Mirror told me. I'm not saying I expect him to just jump me or anything. I just... Think he's cute.” Siren said.

“Just so long as you know what yer getting' into, darlin'.” Ivory said, smiling gently at her. “He's been locked up in th' forge fer a coupla days now. I don't know what he's doin' in there, but he needs somepony t' snap 'im out of it.” Siren nodded and fell silent.

The group traveled in silence for the rest of the trip. When they neared the forge, Mirror told them to wait and walked ahead. As she approached, she saw her father stretched out on his back in the lawn.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Mirror asked, walking up to him. He snapped a hoof out and curled it around one of her legs, causing her to fall over.

“I was wondering where you had gotten off to, missy.” Iron Coat replied, dragging his daughter into a hug. “Well, what happened to you? Shimmer's been busy having life-threatening problems, and I don't think I'm lucky enough to have you come back and tell me that you've been at the play.”

“Well, I didn't get to watch the play, no, but what happened to Shimmer?” Mirror asked.

“Apparently he's having a giant spider problem. He says this big green thing by the name of Alpha was sitting in the forest.” He noticed the look of worry creeping onto her face. “Relax, he's just exhausted. Apparently this critter has never dealt with a unicorn before, and he was able to teleport out of there without getting hurt.” He sighed and let her go. “Now, tell me about your day.”

“So, I was being followed by this strange pony, right?” She began. She told him about everything that had happened since she left the house that morning, omitting only the part about her and Keeneye being a couple. He stopped her a couple of times to clarify something, but otherwise sat and listened. His eyes narrowed as she described the scene with Crystal Rampart, but didn't interrupt her.

“Okay. So, your mom is right. The world is going bloody insane all of the sudden.” Iron Coat replied. “You might as well go get your friends. I'll tell your mom that we've got incoming.” He turned and walked into the house as she returned to where the rest of the group waited.

“How's Shimmercoat doing?” Siren asked Mirror as soon as silver mare returned.

“He's doing fine. He's already encountered Alpha, and now my parents know whats going on.” She said. “Come on, you're all invited over for dinner.”

Mirror entered the house first. Her mother met her in the hallway and hugged her.

“Hey. Your dad told me what happened to you today. How are you feeling?” Starshine asked, concerned.

“I'm doing okay, mom. I'm more worried about Shimmer.” Mirror replied.

“I am too.” Her mother said, letting her go. “He's asleep right now, so make sure your friends keep their voices down.”

“I will, mom.” Mirror turned towards the door. “Come on, guys. Get inside before somepony sees you. And keep it down, Shimmer's trying to sleep.”

“Will do, darlin'.” Ivory said as she stepped through the doorway. “Howdy, missus Starshine. Thanks fer havin' us over.”

“Not a problem at all, Ivory.” Starshine replied. “Hello, Ebony, how are you?” She asked the big stallion as he squeezed in behind his sister.

“Ah'm doin' just fine, thanks.” He replied, trying to get out of the way for Siren and Keeneye

Starshine raised her eyebrows as the Nocturnals crossed the threshold. Iron Coat had told her that their daughter had made some interesting friends, but whatever she was expecting, it wasn't them. She had known Nocturnals before. Unbeknownst to her children, Iron Coat had once been a Royal Guard. Specifically an armorer, second only to the Royal Forge Master. She had met him in Canterlot, and in the time they had dated she had been introduced to a large variety of ponies, some of them the Nocturnal Night Guards.

“Hello, my name is Starshine. I'm Shimmercoat and Mirror's mom.” She said, smiling at the pair.

“Hello.” Keeneye said, bowing slightly to her. “My name is Keeneye and this is my sister, Siren.” Siren waved from behind him. “I know we're strange looking, but-” Starshine cut him off with an upraised hoof.

“I know what you are.” She said, smiling. “Get on into the living room. This hallway is getting crowded.”

The Nocturnal pair walked on, and Starshine leaned over to see if anypony else was going to be walking in. Just as she began to do so, the armored pegasus stepped into the house. Starshine tensed.

“Iron Coat, honey, could you come here, please.” She called over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of the armored form. The pegasus just stood there as her husband came up behind her.

“Yes, dear. What do you...” He trailed off as he noticed the armored pegasus. “Uh-huh. Honey, why don't you go and entertain our guests while I have a chat with our friend here.” He said, eyes narrowing.

“Sure.” She said, stepping past him into the living room.

“Alright, I know what you are, and I know you can talk.” Iron Coat said, dropping his voice so that he wouldn't be overheard. “So talk, why are you here?”

“To train the young Knight.” The armor said. Her voice, while understandable, had an odd metallic echo, as if she was speaking through a long metal tube.

“And how do I know that you are not lying?” He asked.

“If I was here to harm anypony, I would have done it and been gone.” She said.

He looked her over for a moment longer and nodded. “Fine. But. If you're lying to me, I'll take you apart.”

She silently nodded and walked past him to join the others.

Iron Coat walked into the crowded living room and looked around at the ponies gathered there. The twins sat immediately to the left of the doorway, leaning against each other. Next was the armored pegasus, with Siren sitting a few feet away. Keeneye and Mirror sat next to each other, a whispered conversation dying as he entered the room. Starshine stood to the right of the doorway, looking amused at something.

“So.” He began. “The whole area is suddenly much more exciting than I expected my retirement to be. The question being, what is everyone's next move?” He looked at the armored pegasus in particular.

“I would like to stay on the surface and assist in the defense of the town.” Keeneye said. “If Alpha attacks, I want to be here to help.” Iron Coat looked at him and raised an eyebrow at the tone in the Nocturnal's voice. He sounded... Formal. Like he was addressing a superior officer or an authority figure.

“We'll be glad to have you. Relax a bit, though.” The elder stallion said, smiling at him. “You sound like you're addressing your superior officer, or your marefriend's dad or something.” Mirror froze when he said that, eyes wide, and he raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

“What if I told you I was?” Keeneye asked, shrinking down slightly as Iron Coat's gaze snapped back to him. Despite the fact he was obviously nervous, he kept eye contact with the older stallion, and Iron Coat smiled.

“Then that's a conversation that we'll need to have when there's fewer ponies in the room.” He said ominously. Keeneye nodded while Mirror beside him flushed red. Starshine giggled and her husband looked at her. “Something you want to share?”

“I was just wondering what your reaction was going to be when you found out.” She replied.

“How did you know?” Mirror asked, surprised. “I didn't tell you!”

“Honestly, Mirror. Do you think that I wouldn't notice? You sat right next to him and started having a little whispered conversation with him, which immediately died when your father entered the room.” Starshine smiled at her daughter. “I remember doing much the same, when I met your father.”

“Anyway.” Iron Coat said, changing the subject. “That's one, what's everypony else going to do?”

“I'm staying with Keeneye.” Siren said. “We're both guard trained, and we have some familiarity with the type of enemy we're facing here.”

“That's two.” Iron Coat said, looking at the armored pegasus and the twins.

“We're gonna sit this whole thing out, Ah think.” Ebony said, looking at Ivory. The pale mare nodded. “We just lost one friend, and Ah don't wanna be in the thick of somethin' else that could make that happen again.”

“Fair enough.” Iron Coat said. He turned his gaze to the armored form. “And you?”

“Ah don't think this critter talks.” Ebony said, looking at the pegasus. “It hasn't said a thing since we met it.”

“That is because I only speak when I must.” The armor said. Mirror, the Nocturnals, and Ivory all stared at the armored form.

Ebony snorted. “Well, look at that. Ah guess Ah spoke too soon.”

“I am here to train the knight. After I think he has completed his training, then I will leave and return underground.” She said.

“Do y'all have a name?” Ivory asked her.

The armor tilted her head, seeming to think about the question. “It has been some time since anypony has referred to me by name, but yes. You may call me Angel”

“Alright, Angel.” Iron Coat said. “When do you consider his training 'complete'?”

“When he can best me.” She replied.

“Why don't you take off your armor? It must be warm in there, and there's no danger here.” Mirror asked.

“Because she can't.” Iron Coat replied, staring at Angel. “There's nothing to take off. She is the armor. We called it project Eternum. We crafted armor, and then we gave it a semblance of sentience by empowering perfect gems with fragments of a pony's mind. They were meant to be autonomous soldiers, suits of armor that required no food, no pay. It was considered too costly for mass production, though, and the suits were locked up or destroyed. You,” He said pointedly, “Are not one of our original suits. And, you are too sophisticated. You're a pony soul bound to the armor, are you not?”

Angel nodded. “I am. I was one of the greatest of the Elder's bodyguards, several centuries ago. In the line of duty, I became mortally injured. I did not want to die, so when the Elder came to me with a choice, I took it, and became what you see before you.”

Mirror looked over at her. “Do you regret it?”

Angel tilted her head again. “There are... Things. That I miss.” She said sadly. “But I have done a great deal of good in this form. If I were offered the same choice again, I would make the same decision.”

“It looks like the party started without me.” Shimmercoat said from behind Iron Coat.

“You're supposed to be asleep.” Starshine said sternly.

“Yeah, but it's hard to sleep when there's a whole herd of ponies tromping through your house.” He replied, stepping around his father and looking at the assembled ponies. He stopped when he saw the Nocturnals. “Forgive me, but... What are you?” He asked Siren, looking her over. She blushed, and Keeneye cleared his throat as she tried to stammer out a response.

“We are Nocturnals. We live under the city.” He said.

“Oh, so that's what she meant.” Shimmercoat said, glancing over at him. “So are you two related?” He asked, looking back at Siren.

“Yes. My name is Keeneye, and that is my sister, Siren.” Keeneye replied.

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Shimmer said. He shifted his gaze to Angel and raised an eyebrow. “Who are you, and why are you armored?” He asked warily.

“My name is Angel, and I am to be your teacher until your true staff arrives.” She replied.

“My teacher? Teach me what?” He asked, looking at her suspiciously.

“Teach you what it means to be a Knight of Equestria. Matters of etiquette, combat, and other such things a knight should know.” She replied.

“Uh-huh.” He said, sounding skeptical. “That's one half of my question. Why are you armored?”

“I am... Unable to exist otherwise.” She replied.

“Forgive me, I've been driving myself to exhaustion the last couple of days, but what?” Shimmercoat asked.

“What you see is the entirety of my being. I am not a pony in armor. I am an animated suit of armor.” She explained.

“An animated suit of...” He shook his head. “Sure, alright. At this point I'll believe just about anything.” He stood there silently for several moments, thinking. “Forgive me if I'm being too forward, but... Can you feel anything?” He asked.

“I...” She stopped. “The short answer is yes.” She said finally. “I do still feel things. Emotions. I do not feel physical sensations like I did when I was alive.”

“Oh.” He fell silent again. The room was quiet while the exhausted stallion followed his train of thought. Suddenly, he stepped up and hugged her. She staggered back a step, but he refused to let go.

“What?” She asked, sounding confused. “Why are you doing this?”

“I'm sorry.” He said quietly, still holding onto her. “I can't even imagine.”

Silence reigned again as the rest of the ponies in the room just stared at him.

“What can you not imagine? What are you sorry for?” She asked, her voice quivering.

Shimmercoat let her go and stepped back, his head down. “One. I've lost one pony I cared about. And it hurt, more than anything else I can think of.” He looked up, tears in his eyes. “I can't even imagine what your life must be like. I'm sorry for the lives you've been forced to watch wither. I'm sorry that you can't really feel when somepony hugs you. I am sorry for whatever circumstances forced you to be like this.”

She froze, perfectly still. Mirror looked between the armor and her brother, and almost cried. Even if he hates it, he'll make a good knight. Just because he cares, even when nopony else does.

Finally, Angel spoke again. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. “You did not cause this.”

“No.” He said. “But nopony deserves a fate like this, and I doubt the forces that pushed you here aren't sorry in the slightest. I am, though, because it's not fair.”

“Life rarely is.” She replied.

“True.” He turned towards Keeneye again. “So, I know your names, why are you here?”

“We're here to help you!” Siren blurted out. Shimmercoat looked at her, and she looked at the floor.

“Help me what?” He asked. While she stammered and attempted to get something coherent to come out of her mouth, he looked her over again.

Exotic was the word that came to mind. Between her slit pupils and tufted ears, she had an aura of strange beauty around her. He noticed that she had a couple of rather sharp teeth, and when she smiled she looked cute and dangerous all at the same time. Also, he found himself drawn to her eyes. Ponies having mismatched eye colors was rare, and the difference between hers was rarer still. He wondered if she had encountered something magical that changed one of her eyes to the crystalline purple color that it was.

“We are here to help you fight Alpha.” Keeneye said, cutting off his sister's attempts at communication.

“Oh? And what help are you going to be?” Shimmercoat asked.

Keeneye's eyes narrowed. “We are both trained to be Night Guards. Add that to the fact that we are familiar with the creature you face, and I think we'll be plenty of help.”

Shimmercoat stared unblinking at the Nocturnal for a long moment before smiling. “Good. Because I have no idea how to fight a bug that big. Plus, I'm on the verge of passing out again, so glad to have you.” He turned towards the staircase again. “If you all will excuse me.”

He almost managed to get to the hallway before he staggered. Siren jumped up and caught him.

“Oh, thanks.” He muttered. “Uhh...” He said blushed. “Would you mind... Uh.. Helping me to my room?”

“No problem.” She replied, blushing as well. “So, how are you?” She asked him, pushing past her nervousness while she helped him up the stairs.

He mulled the question over for a moment before responding. “I don't really know.”

“Oh. Okay.” She said, falling silent again.

“I don't know if you know, but I recently-” He was interrupted by her holding up a hoof.

“I know. Mirror told me. For what it's worth, I'm sorry.” She said quietly. They arrived at the doorway to his room.

“Why are you sorry? I'm the one that caused it.” He said. She narrowed her eyes at the dark tone in his voice.

“Because you're sorry for things that you didn't cause, so I can be too.” She said. “Besides, I don't think it actually was your fault. You don't strike me as a murderer.”

“I didn't do it personally, but I'm the one that put her into harms way.” He replied.

“Then it's not your fault.” She said matter-of-factly.

“But she wouldn't have been there if I hadn't sent her there.” Shimmercoat said, tears in his eyes. Seeing him crying tugged at her heart, but she pressed on.

“But you wouldn't have had to do that if the pirates hadn't shown up.” She countered.

He stared silently at her for several minutes. She thought about just turning and walking away, but something told her that it was important that she stayed.

“Why are you doing this?” He asked quietly, his voice wavering.

“Because you shouldn't hate yourself for something that you cannot control.” She said gently. “And I don't think your friend would want you to spend all of your time depressed.” She smiled at him. “Maybe at some point we can sit and talk more. Sleep well.” She turned and began to walk away.

“Wait.” Shimmercoat said. “Would you mind sitting with me awhile?”

“I guess I can spare a few minutes.” Siren replied, turning around.

He led her into his room, and shifted a few piles of stuff around to uncover a chair and set it next to the bed. The exhausted stallion flopped onto his bed and motioned for Siren to sit in the chair. She did so, then looked at him expectantly. He met her gaze for a moment, then looked down.

“I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this. You're a complete stranger to me, and here I am hoping that you can help me.” He said after a moment.

“Help you with what?” She asked him.

“The pain.” He replied. “The nightmares. My parents think I've been pushing myself to stay up to finish my project. The truth is, every time I close my eyes I see her again. I see her getting dragged to the deck of the pirate ship by nets, then I see her disappear in a flash of light. Again, and again and again and again.” His voice took on a strange harshness before it broke, and when he spoke again, it was barely above a whisper. “She always looks so afraid.” Shimmer looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “And I can't help her. I can't even tell her I'm sorry.”

Siren stared into his eyes, into the damage inflicted on him not from just his loss, but from his guilt as well. As badly as he hurt from the loss of his love, the constant plague of his own perceived failure was far worse. While she tried to figure out what to say to him about it, she changed the subject for a moment.

“What have you been working on in the forge?” She asked. He turned to an object wrapped in cloth and tried to use his magic on it, but his horn just fizzled and died. With a grunt of frustration, he staggered to his hooves again and dragged it over to the bed before settling back down. He gently unwrapped it and held it out for her to see. What lay beneath the cloth took her breath away.

A sword, magnificent in its perfection. The grip was made not of metal, but of a faintly glowing white crystal seamlessly encasing a single yellow feather and flowing perfectly up to the crossguard, a intricately wrought depiction of outstretched wings, so detailed to almost be lifelike. At the top, a brilliant ruby, carved into the shape of an open flower, served as the pommel. Finally, barely visible in the dim light of his room, written in the runic letters of an ancient civilization, was a string of words that trailed down the blade.

“What does it say?” Siren asked, trying to make out the words.

“My father taught me to write this language. It's from before Equestria was Equestria.” He swallowed heavily before continuing. “It says 'fly ever higher, my love'.”

“That's beautiful.” She breathed. In her guard training, Siren had seen some very well-crafted weapons, but nothing like this. The items she was used to were old, notched and worn pieces that had actually seen battle before the banishment of Nightmare Moon. This was nothing like those.

“I don't know what I'm going to do with it.” He admitted. “I just felt like I should honor her in some way. My father doesn't make weapons, you know? I was angry, but I knew revenge wouldn't bring her back, so I crafted a weapon I could never use.”

“I think I know how to help you.” Siren said as a flash of intuition hit her. He looked up at her hopefully.“Sleep, at least. My special talent is singing. Maybe I could sing you a lullaby?”

He slowly wrapped the sword back up as he chuckled mirthlessly. “I don't know about that. I don't think a lullaby is going to free me from my nightmares.” He placed the wrapped sword gently underneath his bed.

“A normal one? No.” She conceded. “But mine are anything but. Note that I am a unicorn. My voice and magic work together. I can do many things with my singing, from putting ponies to sleep to shattering rocks.”

Shimmercoat raised an eyebrow at her. “Shattering rocks?”

Siren flushed, but continued. “I uh... Got really mad at a mare that had slighted me when I was younger. It was something dumb, but at the time it was a lot more important. So, to show her that I wasn't somepony to mess with, I channeled that anger into my magic, and yelled at a rock. Much to my surprise, the thing cracked and shattered into a pile of rubble.” She looked down, embarrassed. “It got my point across, and ever since then I've been really careful about using my magic when I was emotional.”

“Uh-huh.” He smiled at her. She hated to see him cry, and decided that she really liked his smile. “Well, if you think it'll help, then please, Siren, sing me a song. Nothing else has worked, and I could really use a full night's sleep.”

“Alright, just make yourself comfortable.” She replied, calmly despite the hammering of her heart. She had never sung for anypony other than her family before, and she was worried that she would mess it up. She almost told him to forget it, but he needed this.

He rested his head on his pillow and draped a blanket over himself. “Alright.” He said to her. “Whenever you're ready.”

Shimmercoat, like everypony else that conversed with the Nocturnals, had noticed the odd pitches to their voices, like they were pitching it down to be understood. He figured, after noticing their tufted ears, that they used some form of echolocation and spoke in a tone that wouldn't sound like much more than squeaking to somepony not similarly equipped. So, when she lit her horn and started to sing, he wasn't surprised that the first few notes were quite a bit higher pitched than her speaking voice. Then her voice started to pitch and weave. He started losing track of the words, and soon the magic layering her voice took hold of him. The exhausted stallion was asleep before she had finished half of the first verse.

It was a simple lullaby, really. The same one that she had sung to Keeneye when she had first discovered her talent for singing, and the magical modification thereof. Even though she noticed him fall asleep early into the song, she continued to the end, cutting out her magical amplification about halfway through. Unless something had gone wrong, she judged, he should be peacefully asleep until morning. When she finished, she silently stood and stepped out of his room, shutting the door behind her.

“Thank you.” Came a quiet voice in the darkness of the hallway. Siren spun to find Starshine standing behind her, the gray pegasus smiling gently. “He really needed that, and I'm afraid my songs have lost their power on him.”

“Oh, no.” Siren said. “I'm sure they haven't, he just has been having a rough time lately.”

“Don't be so modest.” Starshine replied. “He's grown too old to find comfort in his mother's songs. It's not the end of the world, it just means that he needs to find somepony else to sing to him when the weight of the world is too much for him.”

Siren blushed. “I just wanted to help him.”

“Why?” Starshine asked. Siren felt that the question had far more importance than it seemed on the surface.

“Because...” The Nocturnal said, picking her words carefully. “He's a good pony that cares. Some would say too much. I've seen him out at his waterfall before. He would just sit there and stare up at the moon and stars.” She smiled. “He always seemed so lonely. So I would sit just out of sight and keep him company. In spirit, anyway.” She chuckled quietly. “Now I sound like some weird stalker pony. I guess, though, I am.”

“Tell me, do you think he cares too much?” Starshine asked her.

Siren thought it over for a moment before answering. “No. Like he said to Angel, he cares because the world doesn't. Because life isn't fair, but he'll apologize for it anyway. And he's going to have plenty of examples that life can be cruel. I only hope that he never breaks.”

“Then stick around, Siren.” Starshine said, turning to step back down the stairs. “He'll need more than his father and I to deal with this. If things continue like they've been going, then he'll need all the help he can get. I don't know why the world's suddenly decided to test him, but there has to be a reason.” She winked over her shoulder. “And I bet he'll need more than a single song to weather the storm that is in store for him.” With that, she walked down the stairs and left Siren alone with her thoughts.
------------X----------------------------X---------------------------X-----------------------------X-------------------

“You mind stepping outside with me, Keeneye?” Iron Coat asked, looking at the Nocturnal.

Keeneye looked up from where he sat with Mirror, and gulped. She patted his shoulder and nudged him towards her father. “You might as well get it over with now.” She said. He nodded and followed Iron Coat outside.

“So. You're dating my daughter.” The large earth pony said once they had walked a couple of yards away from the house.

“Yessir.” Keeneye replied. He wasn't sure where this questioning was going to lead, but he decided he'd keep his answers short and respectful.

“Cut out that crap.” Iron Coat growled, looking over at the Nocturnal. “I'm retired. Don't call me 'sir'.”

“Okay, Iron Coat.” Keeneye said stiffly.

“Relax, kid. If I was going to threaten you, I would have done it inside.” Iron said. “I just have a couple of questions for you.”

“Okay.” Keeneye said, a little less uptight. “Ask away.”

“Alright. Here's the easy one: What are your intentions with my daughter?” Iron Coat asked.

“Honorable.” The Nocturnal replied instantly. “If she'll keep me, I'd like to marry her some day.”

“Thinking a bit quickly there, aren't you?” Iron Coat asked him.

“Sir. Iron Coat. When you meet somepony like her, you've gotta just go for it, y'know?” Keeneye replied.

“Go for what, exactly?” The elder stallion asked.

“For her.” The pegasus replied. “Dammit. I'm not explaining this very well. She's special, she's unique. Even though I met her for the first time this morning, I love her. She's just...” He trailed off as he struggled for words.

“Relax, kid.” Iron Coat said again. “I get what you're going for. I remember doing the same thing when Starshine's father asked me the same question. She's just somepony you can't get enough of. You just want to sit there and be near her, no matter what the two of you are doing.” He said wistfully. Keeneye nodded in agreement. “Keep that with you, kid. That feeling is the best in the world. Never let it die, or fade.” He shook his head. “Alright, that's enough of me being a dad. What do you do for a living?”

“I'm a reserve guard.” Keeneye replied. “I spend most of my time patrolling low-importance areas. Otherwise, I just kinda hang out with my sister.”

“Reserves, huh?” Iron Coat asked nopony in particular as he looked up at the sky. “Not a bad place to be.” Silence fell as Keeneye followed his gaze and stared at the stars.

“I want you to promise me something, Keeneye.” Iron Coat said, still looking up.

“Yeah?” Keeneye said, looking over at the large earth pony.

“Promise me that you'll keep her safe. I watched my son lose his marefriend and it almost destroyed him. If either of us lost Mirror...” He trailed off, and Keeneye nodded.

“I will. Even if it costs me my life. I will.” The Nocturnal said solemnly.

“I hope it doesn't come to that, lad. I really don't.” Iron Coat said quietly. “Come on, let's get back inside.”

Starshine finished making dinner, and the group sat down to eat while they made sleeping arrangements. Soon, everypony was asleep, enjoying an uneasy peace that they all feared would not last.