MLDC Next Generation: Know Fear!

Chapters

The Unobtainable Dream Obtained
The Brightest Night
The Message
The Liberation of Cloudsdale (Part 1)
The Liberation of Cloudsdale (Part 2)
The Liberation of Cloudsdale (Part 3)
Announcement
Steeled Betrayal
Fear Lantern vs. Steel Wing
Escape
I am what I am...
Blood and Shadow, Fear and Light
Goodbye
Epilogue
Prologue: "I! AM! FEAR!"
You Have Been Chosen
Learning The Art of Fear

The Unobtainable Dream Obtained

3 Weeks Earlier…1st Week

Starburst laid on a large couch, squirming and fidgeting in her sleep. She awoke with a start, glancing about her surroundings. It was a rustic home, a familiar one at that. Across from her was a furnace, to her right an old, dusty, rocking chair. And an amour to her left, which has seen some use. The light orange mare groaned as she rose up, aches and pains made themselves known all over her body.

Just then she heard hoofsteps coming round the corner of the kitchen. A stallion emerged, carrying a pitcher of ice water and some prefilled glasses. He was quite large, wearing a red bandanna around his neck, with an orange coat, clear blue eyes, freckles, and a two toned mane of brown and sandy-brown. Upon his flank was the image of three golden apples, Starburst knew who this stallion was, and immediately put two and two together.

“I did it again, didn’t I Del,” asked Starburst.

“Yep, overworked yerself, again, and Ah carried you back to the house, again,” said Golden Delicious, smirking.

“Okay, okay, I get it. I need to stop overdoing it,” she shot back.

“Ah’m just sayin’, one of these days yer goin’ to hurt yerself. But Ah know how darn stubborn ya are,” Golden Delicious then maneuvered the tray he was carrying on his back onto the table in front of him, “so c’mon over here and get yerself hydrated, you were sweatin’ up a storm out there. Celestia knows Ah was.”

Starburst groaned loudly and hopped off the couch. She sat at the table and took the glass of water into the crooks of her hooves and brought the glass to her lips. Star drank the cool liquid, finding the icy water refreshing after working hard in the fields with her best friend.

“Whoa, that tastes good,” exclaimed Starburst.

“Had the glasses chilled in the fridge, decided to start doing that after seeing you collapse every time.”

It was no secret that Star liked working the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. She found it good training for when she eventually entered the Royal Guard. Even though Star was a Princess, it still didn’t exempt her from legal age to enroll, which was eighteen, and unfortunately, Star was only fifteen going on sixteen.

“Just three more years, three more years and I can finally enter the Academy,” said Star.

“Ah know you’ll make it, you’ll probably blow through the training and probably give Valiant Heart some competition for Guard Captain,” said Golden.

Star chuckled, “I should only hope! Maybe then he’ll finally get how serious I am about wanting to join.”

Golden Delicious sighed at her. “He’s just lookin’ out for his cousin’ is all. Ah’m sure he’d be proud of you when ya graduate and me as well.”

“Well…with you, that’d make at least three other ponies that I know of that will.”

Golden knew what she meant. Starburst’s mother, Twilight, never really liked the thought of her daughter going into the Royal Guard. Although she promised to support Star in all her endeavors, the young mare knew that her mother secretly wished that she wouldn’t when she turned eighteen.

Guess I’m not the kind of daughter she was hoping for, Nighty’s more like Mom than me,” said Star, a hint of jealousy and sadness in her voice.

The stallion trotted over to the young mare, he then placed his hooves on her shoulders, making her stare at him directly. “Ya know that ain’t true! She loves ya Star! So don’t think that way, alright?”

Family was important to Golden Delicious, this was something that she knew of when she first met him. Seeing his cousins, Red June and Api, and their parents all happy together, even though she’d never admit it, seeing that was actually quite heartwarming. She could just see this stallion, married to some great mare, raising a family with big happy a grin on his face, and being a proud father. Now she that thought about it, her face was getting unnaturally warmer the longer his hooves rested on her shoulders.

“I understand Del…you can let go of me now.”

Golden Delicious didn’t seem to realize that he was still hanging on to her. The large stallion quickly released the young mare. Both had flushed faces, both keeping their eyes on particularly interesting spots on the floor.

“Ahem, well, I guess I should get back. Told Nighty that I’d watch him do magic later this afternoon,” said Star as she shot to her hooves and made for the front door.

“Um, maybe ya might want to use the shower before ya go.”

The pegasus mare quickly did an about face and stared at the stallion incredulously. Golden seemed to catch on to the way he had worded that statement and quickly brought up his hooves, shaking them in front of him in a dismissive fashion.

“Ah didn’t mean anythin’ by it, Ah swear! Yer coat just looks a little dusty and we were workin’ hard in the field and –!”

“Del.”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

“Gotcha.”

Star sighed heavily, the situation already felt awkward, and now he felt even more so. She then gave a few flaps of her impressively long and full wings before saying anything else.

“I’ll be back in a couple of days, I’ll send a letter if I can’t make it.”

“Sounds good,” responded Golden, deciding to keep his answers short. “See ya, Star.”

Star smiled genuinely at Golden, “Later, Del.”

With that said Starburst stepped out of the house, spread her wings and took flight in the direction of Canterlot. Golden Delicious stepped outside to see his friend off, staying there till Star was too far away to see anymore.

“Just tell her ya like her already.”

Golden whipped his head to the left and saw a filly stepping out from behind the farmhouse. She had a white coat with brown spots, a red mane with a pink bow tied to her tail, and dark-brown eyes that almost seemed black. Golden Delicious knew this filly, his cousin,
Api.

“What are ya talkin’ about, Api?”

“Ya know what Ah’m ‘talkin about’. You and Starburst… in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Golden blushed furiously at the implication, his mouth opened and closed many times as he tried to respond, but unfortunately his words all came out as utter gibberish.

“Made ya blush,” teased Api.

“API!”

Canterlot Castle

Starburst arrived at Canterlot, a little out of breath. She was almost regretting not taking the train, almost. By the time she had arrived at the castle she was even sweatier than before, though, thankfully, the cool air of the sky dried her off.

“Ugh, I definitely need a shower now…”

Star trailed off as she noticed something odd. There was an increased amount of Royal Guards on watch, each one looking tense, as if ready to spring into battle at the drop of a hat. The pegasus Royal Guards stood vigilant at the towers and rooftops, scanning the area below like hawks, spears at the ready. The unicorn Royal Guards kept watch over the ground, leering at any passersby that seemed suspicious in the slightest. Long swords were held in their telekinetic auras at attention. Earth pony RGs were decked out in heavy armor, although heavy for some, to this branch of the Guard, they were lighter than air. The armor was especially enchanted to stave off any magic based attacks, and was extremely durable, able to withstand mortar fire and extreme temperatures.

Starburst walked up to the doors of the Royal Palace, the two unicorn guards quickly crossed their long swords, barring Star’s entry.
The young mare stepped back in surprise by the action, looking indignant.

“What’s going on,” asked Star.

“Please give us your full name,” asked the left guard.

“My name? You guys know who I am,” she responded.

“Due to heightened security measures, all wishing to seek entrance must give us their full name, rank – if applicable – and reason for entry,” said the right guard.

“So, please, your name?”

Starburst didn’t understand what the reason was for heightened security. That usually didn’t occur unless there some high ranking dignitaries visiting or if there was an attack. Star was starting to get worried.

“My name is Princess Starburst of Equestria, daughter of High Princess Twilight Sparkle and High Prince Flash Sentry, third in line for the throne, and I wish to enter my home,” spoke Star with authority and a stern gaze.

The two guards shuffled nervously under her gaze. Starburst saw that her special talent was taking effect, her ability to intimidate. Sometimes her talent came out when she wanted it to, other times it happened when she least expected it. But right now it was helping her case.

“T-Thank you, Princess Starburst, sorry for the trouble, you may enter.”

The two guards used their magic to open the large doors, Starburst nodded to them and entered quickly. The young princess searched around the castle, trying to figure out what was going on. She asked the staff and all that anyone was willing to say was that there was something going on in the throne room. Star made her way to the throne room but stopped when she noticed that there were other ponies standing outside the doors.

The first was an alicorn stallion, wearing Royal Guard armor that had tints of royal blue. He had a two toned mane of navy blue and gold, his coat was silvery-gray, with blue eyes, and blue feathers. His cutie mark was of two crossed swords and a blue heart at the center. This was the Captain of the Royal Guard, her role model, and her cousin, the noble Valiant Heart.

The second was, well, an alicorn threstral mare. She had a dark gray coat, dark bat wings, a light blue mane, and yellow eyes. Her cutie mark was that of three Z’s, and she had an air of superiority about her, her name was Nidra.

The third was, even harder to describe. It was a stallion, with a white coat, a black mane, two horns, one green and straight, and the other blue and wavy. His right foreleg and right hind leg had claws, while his left foreleg and right hind leg were hooves. His tail was not like a pony’s; it was long, and serpentine, he also had a plumage of dark-brown feathers that covered most of his chest. His cutie mark was that of sun rays, a crescent moon, and a star. His eyes also resembled that of a certain draconequus. This wonderful jumble was named Illusion.

Lastly was a unicorn colt, he had blue eyes, a lavender coat, blank flanked, and a dark-purple mane with a lighter streak of purple going through it. He was pacing back and forth, looking worried, that is until he saw Starburst, her smart, but worrisome little brother, Night Light Jr. or Nighty.

Except for Valiant Heart, the others were wearing their royal regalia. Starburst slowly made her way towards her fellow royal heirs.

“There you are Star, Nighty was starting to get worried and…” Nidra then looked her over and gave a disapproving sigh. “You really should’ve gone and cleaned up first, you look like you just ran a marathon and rolled in the dirt.”

“Hello to you too, Nidra,” replied Star.

“Star, Star!” Night Light came bounding to his big sister, looking even more worried than she thought. “The griffons are here! And they don’t look happy!”

“Griffons, here – in there!?” Star asked as she pointed a hoof to the throne room.

“Yeah, they arrived a few hours ago while you were away. It was an unscheduled arrival. Which is the reason for the increase in security,” said Valiant Heart, keeping a watchful eye on the doors.

Starburst, along with her little brother, walked towards Valiant, Illusion, and Nidra. Starburst stood beside the alicorn stallion, mimicking his stern and vigilant expression. Star knew that Equestria and the Griffon Empire weren’t on the friendliest of terms with each other. They shared a tentative peace, but there was still hostility.

“Still, not usually this many guards around, especially for some over privileged, bag of hot air, envoy.”

“There wouldn’t be, except that the Emperor himself and his Wing Commanders arrived together,” said Illusion.

“WHAT!?”

At that moment the doors to the throne room opened up. The five royals moved to the sides and watched their visitors file through. The first was a silver furred and feathered griffon with a scar over his left eye, and strangely enough, metallic wings. The second was a large griffon, with navy blue feathers and fur. he appeared more bestial than his companions. He gave a growling sneer to the young royals, making Night Light jump.

The third to exit was a griffoness, with red feathers, and piercing purple eyes. The fourth to follow was a black griffon, with gray talons and beak, and piercing icy blue eyes. He seemed a bit younger than the others, possibly in his teens, and there was something about his wings that appeared…off. The black winged griffon then looked towards the young royals. His eyes drifted towards Star, a fact that she didn’t like, she disliked it even more when he winked his eye at her.

Star had to tense her body to stop herself from shuddering.

Soon the Emperor strolled out. Garbed in his royal cape, gold crown, and golden claw bracers and chest plate, he looked as if he were ready for war. He had golden brown fur and feathers, and white feathers that covered his neck and head. There was a noticeable scowl on his face as the other royals exited the throne room. Twilight and Flash, Celestia and Discord, and Luna with her, former, threstral Night Guard Captain, Supernova, all of whom looked less than pleased.

“Once again, Emperor Stratus, we will not be intimidated by your show of force. The treaty that was forged with your ancestors more than a thousand years ago still stands, I see no need to change it,” spoke Celestia.

“Humph! You think I am a fool? That so called ‘treaty’ took most of our borders during the first war! What you call ‘Stalliongrad’ used to be land that was once owned by my great-great-great-great grandfather, Emperor Thalsdian! We demand that you give us back what was taken, as well as compensation for the slander you write in your history!”

“Slander, and what ‘slander’ are you speaking of,” asked Twilight.

“In your books, you write of General Forbes as a marauding barbarian, he was one of our great and noble heroes,” said Stratus.

“He laid waste to many Equestrian villages, killing thousands of innocents, and, as he was more dubiously known for, taking mares and foals prisoner, and torturing them physically and mentally till they begged for death. He was anything but noble, he earned the name Forbes the Sadist,” spat Luna.

“I wouldn’t expect you to see the honor and nobility of a battlefield, High Princess Luna. Besides, you were hardly sophisticated when you were possessed by your demonic persona, were you not?” Stratus mocked.

Nidra gritted her teeth as she saw the hurt in her mother’s eyes and prepared to tell off the old bird or at the very least throw him out of the closest window. But both Star and Valiant raised their large wings in front of her, keeping Nidra at bay. Although they weren’t on the best of speaking terms, Nidra knew that her mother’s time as Nightmare Moon was a time in her life that was filled with pain and heartache, and till this day she still hadn’t gotten over it. To openly say such things in front her own daughter was nothing but disrespectful.

Star saw the black winged griffon’s eyes shift in their direction, smirking as if he knew what Nidra was about to do, or maybe daring her let the alicorn threstral go.

“I think it’s about time you left, Emperor Stratus,” said Supernova.

“I quite agree, you’ve overstayed your welcome the moment you landed here,” added Discord.

Stratus eyed the draconequus and threstral, and then turned his gaze upon the children, noting the hybrids, Illusion and Nidra, among them. He then made a disgusted face.

“To think the Princesses of the Sun and Moon would have spawned with these two lowly creatures, deluding whatever equivocates to a ‘noble’ bloodline, it’s a weakness of yours that will eventually be your downfall. Or do you ponies just enjoy spawning halfblooded, deformed creatures?”

“Please leave, now, or we will have you escorted out,” barked Flash Sentry.

The other Wing Commanders leered at the High Prince, but Flash did not flinch.

“Rest assured, we will have satisfaction, mark my words. Come my Commanders, we are leaving this place!”

The four Wing Commanders and the Emperor made their way down the hall, a few Royal Guards followed close behind to make sure that they were leaving. The children didn’t know exactly what to say. The tension radiating from their parents was overwhelming, anger and frustration was apparent in each of their eyes. After a tense few seconds, their demeanor became more relaxed. Celestia turned towards their children and gave an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry you all had to see and hear that, children,” said Celestia.

“No, it’s alright Mother,” said Illusion. “But, really, what just happened?”

“Yeah, those griffons just appear out of nowhere and start demanding to see you! Honestly we should’ve just thrown them out of Canterlot,” said Nidra indignantly.

“We couldn’t just turn them away, as much as we wanted to,” said Luna, leaning against Supernova for comfort.

“Let’s all take some time to unwind, please, all of you, we’ll talk more about it later,” said Twilight.

As much as all five of them wanted to press their parents for answers concerning the events that just went on in the throne room, the children could tell that their parents were less than ready to divulge. With a collective nod, all dispersed.

Starburst had caught up with her father about what had occurred in the throne room that afternoon. Her mother had taken Nighty to go and play, explaining what happened the best way she could to him. Starburst watched as her father removed his crown and armor, and place them on the mantle he shared with Twilight, setting his regalia next to hers.

“I’m sure you want to know what that was all about, right,” asked Flash.

“Well duh, Dad, of course I do! Why was the Emperor of the Griffons even here!? I don’t even remember there being any meetings! Can he just show up like that, unannounced,” asked Star.

“Unfortunately yes and no. It’s considered rude to drop in on royalty without proper notification, but it’s not just for courtesy, it gives the host nation time to prepare proper security measures. The fact that the Emperor showed up, in his full regalia, with his Wing Commanders at his side, was just a show of force meant to intimidate.”

Starburst didn’t really like the way her father had said that. And from what she observed of the Emperor and his cohorts, they’re intentions were anything but diplomatic.

“So what did they want anyway?”

“In a nutshell, they want back the territory we gained during the first Pony/Griffon War, and that they want to secede from the Order of
Nations,” stated Flash, grimly.

“The Order of Nations, the very same that’s made up of Equestria, Draco, Griffonia, and Minotaurous. They want to secede, and then what?” Star asked incredulously.

“Not too sure…” Flash Sentry trailed off as he looked down from the window, watching Twilight and Nighty using their magic to play together.

Star walked up next to him and looked down at the same scene. A slight frown formed on her lips, one that did not go unnoticed by her father.

“You know, you don’t have to be like that around your Mom.”

“Like what,” asked Star, not taking her eyes off the two.

“Be distant. She loves you,” said Flash.

“I know…believe me I know.”

“C’mon, let’s go and hang around with your Mom and Nighty.” The two pegasi turned to leave the room, but Flash stopped when he remembered something. “Oh yeah, your Mom was hoping you could stay for a bit. This whole Griffon business has kinda spooked her a little, all of us actually.”

Starburst smiled to her father, “Sure.”

2nd Week

It was the middle of the afternoon, and, after informing Golden Delicious of the situation at Canterlot, Star decided that if she wasn’t going to get some training done at Sweet Apple Acres, she was going to do some while she was in Canterlot.

Of course, that meant convincing her cousin, Valiant Heart, to run some combat drills with her. She could tell that he was busy after what happened the other day, but with the current situation, Valiant seemed to take up Star’s offer, giving himself a break from the other work.

The two cousins met in the training arena within the castle. The arena itself was full of sand, meant to soft the landings from being thrown or otherwise. For the first hour and thirty minutes Valiant was instructing Star in the ways of close combat, in particular, throws, sweeps, and feints, making sure he was helping the young mare make the most of her agility and speed.

After that was over, they moved into full on sparring matches. Both cousins took to one side of the arena, circling each other. Starburst had an intense look in her eyes as she stared down the alicorn stallion. Valiant Heart had on his usual cocky, playful smirk as he stared at Star through narrowed eyes.

Starburst unfurled her wings and gave a mighty flap, propelling her towards Valiant. The alicorn met her charge head on, flapping his wings to give him a burst of speed. The two nearly crashed into each other, but Valiant changed directions at the last second, maneuvered his forelegs around her barrel, and threw Star, back first, in the other direction.

The added momentum of his charge and hers allowed Valiant to throw the pegasus mare a good distance of about ten feet. Luckily the arena was one-hundred feet in diameter, so there was still some wiggle room. Star felt the weightlessness of the toss end when she landed onto a mound of sand, skidding like a pebble on water before coming to a stop.
Starburst groaned as she rose up, shaking her body free of the sand.

“Lucky shot, Lance,” said Starburst.

“Luck had nothing to do with it, cuz. It’s all experience and skill but if you’re feeling lucky, then by all means, try again,” he dared.

And try she did. Star quickly galloped for Valiant, using her wings to, once again, increase her rate of speed. The alicorn stallion stood his ground, thinking he’d show his cousin his acclaimed “experience and skill”. Star had made up the distance fairly quickly, and was about to go for a grab, but like before, Valiant feinted to the left.

That was a mistake. Star quickly flapped her left wing, propelling her to the right and slamming her body into Valiant’s right side. The alicorn was unprepared for that move and got knocked off balance, sending him tumbling into the sand. Starburst didn’t let up; she rushed Valiant and got on top of him, getting him into a headlock with her forelegs.

“Say uncle,” ordered Star.

“Never,” declared Valiant.

“Are you sure,” she asked, increasing the pressure ever so slightly.

“Yep, I’m sure!”

To prove his point, Valiant Heart quickly rose to his hooves. He then began to gallop, jump, twist, and turn, doing everything in his power, short of magic, to buck Star off of his back.

Starburst held on for dear life, she was losing her grip on the headlock, and was now using all of her strength to keep from falling off.
The stallion continued to kick and buck, trying to throw Star off. Just then, Valiant felt her grip loosen, in one swift movement, he bucked Star off of his back and sent her sprawling onto the sand. The alicorn stallion rushed to her and placed his hooves on both of her wings.

“Pinned ya,” said Valiant.

“Really, do you really think that this is the best position to pin me? Given where I could kick you,” said Star.

She let the question hang in the air for a few seconds before Valiant Heart seemed catch on, gulping audibly.

“You, uh…you wouldn’t really, would you?”

Starburst started to develop a cocky smile, “You willing to take that bet, knowing how hard I kick?

The alicorn stallion jumped back a considerable distance away from his cousin, crossing his hind legs in an instinctual act to protect his nether region. Starburst got back to her hooves, dusting herself off as she smirked in Valiant’s direction.

“Thought that might work,” said Starburst.

“You’d really do that,” asked Valiant Heart.

“Of course not, I trust you, and love you like a big brother, but no, I wouldn’t. Unless you really ticked me off, then all bets are off.”

“Faust help any colt that gets on your bad side – Whoa now!”

During their little conversation Starburst dashed towards Valiant Heart, preparing to take down the stallion. Thinking that that was enough, Valiant’s horn quickly shined with light-blue mana.

At the last minute, Star felt her hind legs get tightly wrapped up. She was then hoisted into the air, dangling from her tied up legs, thrashing about uselessly.

“Valiant Heart! We agreed no magic or flight during the match!”

“Yeah, but I think that’s enough for now. Don’t want to overwork yourself and collapse. Like you always do,” said Valiant.

“Okay, fine, alright, just let me down already Lance,” grumbled Star.

The alicorn released his telekinetic hold, allowing Starburst to unfurl her wings and land softly on the sand covered arena. Valiant Heart used his right hoof to ruffle his cousin’s mane, earning him an annoyed groan.

“You almost had me that time, a little more practice, and you might be able to beat me, and I stress that word might.”

“Ugh, Lance, you can be a royal pain in the flank some days,” muttered Star.

“Oh, lighten up Star; I’m just messing with you.” Those words earned him an indignant huff in response. “Alright, look, how about we hit
Pony Joe’s and get something to eat, my treat.”

Star quirked an eyebrow at Valiant Heart’s offer, interest piqued. “Fine, as long as you’re paying, then yes, let’s go.”

The two cousins began their trot to Pony Joe’s. Although they lived in the palace and could have anything made for them by the cooks, nothing they made could compare to Pony Joe’s Diner. The two royals walked side-by-side down the streets of Canterlot. Every now and again a young mare or stallion would look their way, or wave to them in hopes of being acknowledged by the Prince and Princess. Star watched as her cousin would either wave back or nod in the direction of a mare that caught his eye.

Starburst just rolled her eyes, “You don’t find that a little annoying?”

“No, not really, it’s a good thing when everypony wants to greet you. Plus, it’s not every day they get to see a Prince and Princess walking causally down the street,” said Valiant Heart. “Besides, not all of those waves and ogling eyes are just for me.”

“You can’t be serious,” asked Starburst.

“Hey, just telling you what I sense. Some of the colts looking at you are quite enamored, as well as few fillies if you’re into that, are you by chance?”

“I am not even going to dignify that with an answer.”

Eventually the two arrived at Pony Joe’s. The establishment hadn’t changed much, although Pony Joe was now running the business with his son, Moe. The two stallions immediately recognized their visitors and readied their usual orders.

“Not my usual today guys, I want the special,” said Star with a devious grin.

“You got it,” said Moe.

“On it,” said Joe.

Star and Valiant then went and sat at a booth, a hot cup of coffee was brought out to the Prince, while Star enjoyed a simple vanilla shake.

One of the things they liked about Pony Joe’s was that, even though they were royalty, they were still treated like every day customers. No titles, just two ponies coming in for something to eat.

“So what’s on your mind, Star? You were really eager to learn some combat moves, any particular reason?”

“Guess you could say, I was motivated by the griffons,” said Star.

Valiant Heart shivered, “Really don’t want to remember them. Especially that one red one, she gives me the creeps.”

“Yeah, about that, who were they? Illusion called them ‘Wing Commanders’, what’s that about?”

Valiant took a sip of his coffee before answering the question. “They’re called Wing Commanders because of their titles. The red griffoness is called Blood Wing, the blue one Beast Wing, the silver one is called Steel Wing, obviously because of his metal wings, and the last guy, the black griffon, goes by Shadow Wing. None of our intelligence agents can tell us what they each can do, or what their real names are. But…we can suspect that they’ve earned those titles for more than just appearances.”

Starburst thought back to that day, the black griffon who smirked and winked at her, the one called Shadow Wing. Even now she couldn’t shake off the eerie vibe that radiated from him, it felt, wrong.

Their thoughts were soon interrupted by the arrival of their orders. Valiant had just ordered some powered donuts for himself, but Starburst, she decided to milk the “his treat” line for all it was worth. The “special” she had ordered was Pony Joe’s finest creation, Donutopia! The arrival of the giant, donut mini-city was met with a twitching left eye from Valiant.

“You’re treating, right,” asked Star.

Valiant sighed in defeat, “Yes, I’m treating…”

The two cousins ate their donut treats peacefully, enjoying each other’s company and the gentle jazz music playing in the background
of the store. The two of them spent about thirty minutes in all within the shop. Valiant paid for the whole thing, even though it wouldn’t really put a dent in his bit pouch, he still agonized over the principle of the thing.

“I still don’t get how a pony your size could eat that entire thing so fast, by yourself, and not have a completely distended belly,” exclaimed Valiant.

“I have a fast metabolism,” said Star in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Jeez, whenever Aunt Twilight eats that much she looks like she’s pregnant.”

“Hey,” she warned.

“Just saying.”

As the Prince and Princess exited Pony Joe’s they noticed that there was a large crowd gathering around one of the radio boxes that were mounted on some of poles around Canterlot. Curious, the stallion and young mare trotted over to the crowd to find out what was going on. As they got closer, they noticed that the faces of the ponies were filled with fear and worry for some unknown reason; whispering and indistinct chatting was going on between others.

{Once again…we have breaking news. Stalliongrad is under siege.}

Both Star and Valiant’s eyes went wide upon hearing that and pushed their way further towards the radio box.

{For those of you just tuning in now, we have confirmed reports that Stalliongrad, the border city between Equestria and Griffonia, is under attack. The siege began somewhere around 1:45 pm and 2:09 pm. As many of you may or may not know, Stalliongrad is a large and vast city, making it both a fortress border patrol base, and bustling metropolis.}

{The attack came in the way of fire bombing. From there, griffon soldiers initiated a blitzkrieg attack on the border patrol, and the Royal Guard troops stationed within the city. Our information at this time in limited, but from what reports we can get, most of Stalliongrad is burning at this moment and Griffonian troops are now marching into the city.}

{Our hearts and prayers go out to those who are caught in the middle of this conflict. We will continue to monitor the situation and update when possible. Reporting for Canterlot Radio News, this is Jacquelyn Whinny, signing off.}

The radio then cut back to the music it was playing earlier, but no pony could hear it over the bombshell of news that they had just received. Stalliongrad was under attack, not less than a day after the Emperor of Griffonia arrived. Star’s mind raced with worry, she replayed yesterday’s events in her head dozens upon dozens of times, trying to discern a hint, a clue that she might have overlooked that could’ve alerted them in advance that this was going to happen.

“The griffons are attacking…!”

“That’s not possible! We’ve had peace with them for centuries…!”

“This is some sick joke, right?! Some sort of radio show that they’re promoting, right?!”

“My son is stationed at Stalliongrad!”

The crowd was starting to get agitated and worried. Many shouting in panic or denial at the news of the attack, Star couldn’t blame them, even she was finding it hard to believe. Just then, Valiant placed a hoof on her right shoulder, leaning down to whisper into her ear.

“We need to get back to the palace, ASAP!”

Star nodded her response.

Unfortunately it was not long before the crowd was coherent enough to realize that there were two royals among them.

“Prince Valiant Heart,” a mare screamed, “what’s happening, is it true, is Stalliongrad under attack?!”

“I’m sorry ma’am; I don’t have that informa –”

“Princess Starburst, this is a joke, right, some crazy elaborate prank by the news ponies, right?!”

“I don’t – what I mean to say is –!”

Many ponies started to talk all at once, bombarding Valiant and Star with questions they could not answer. Soon the crowd was turning into an angry mob, screaming and demanding answers from the Prince and Princess. It all started to get to the point where it was becoming suffocating and deafening. Star had had enough.

She flared out her large wings to their full length and bellowed out at the top of her lungs, “ENOUGH!!!!!”

All the ponies in the crowd went silent. The crowd of ponies started to back away from the Prince and Princess, slowly and cautiously. Even though Starburst didn’t have the ability to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, she still had what it took to get a crowd of ponies to listen when she spoke. Her special talent was really coming into play at that moment, for a pegasus of her small stature, she radiated a fierce aura.

“Thanks Star,” said Valiant Heart.

Starburst composed herself, returning her wings to a resting position.

“Now look, everypony, I know you are worried and scared for your friends and family. But unfortunately, Princess Starburst and I have
only received the news ourselves just now like the rest of you. We don’t have the answers, but if you wait patiently, I’m certain the High Princesses and High Princes will address the situation,” said Valiant Heart in a rather political fashion. “Now please disperse, we don’t need a riot or an angry mob starting up, and distracting us all from the dire situation at hoof.”

The crowd murmured agreements, coupled with nods of approval.

“Let’s head back to the palace, now,” suggested Star.

Both Starburst and Valiant Heart unfurled their wings and took off with great haste towards the palace. From the air, they could already see the citizens of Canterlot scrambling about like a hive of angry hornets. As Star and Valiant approached the castle they gasped, a large gathering of ponies had assembled at the entrance to Canterlot Castle, all of whom looked scared and angry at the same time. Their shouting carried on the wind as a cacophonous, deafening roar that thrummed through the airways and beat against their eardrums.

Their shouting was hard to understand, but every now and then the Prince and Princess could make out the occasional, “We want answers!” or “Why is this happening?!” After a while they stopped being able to make out their shouts as they melded together.
Star and Valiant landed on the one of the chariot platforms. Two Royal Guard pegasi saluted them, with Valiant Heart and Starburst doing the same back to them. They then quickly galloped into the castle, trying to figure out what was going on. As they ran through the halls, they saw how almost all of the castle staff was in a panic, rushing about with important documents or a regiment of RG’s moving through the halls to some unknown destination. It didn’t take them long to find somepony to talk to. Coming out of one of the rooms, adorned in her royal regalia, was Twilight Sparkle.

“MOM!”

“AUNT TWILIGHT!”

The lavender alicorn turned towards the voices and watched as her daughter and nephew came galloping towards her, coming to an abrupt stop.

“Starburst, Valiant Heart, thank goodness, we were wondering where you two had gone,” said Twilight.

“Mom, what’s this about Stalliongrad being under attack!?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. But first, Valiant Heart, you need to get in uniform now and meet me and the others at the veranda as quickly as possible,” she ordered.

“Done, see you in a bit.”

With that, Valiant Heart teleported in a flash of light-blue magic, leaving Star and Twilight behind, Starburst was about to open her mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by the tingling sensation of being wrapped in her mother’s purple aura.

“What – wait – Mom, what are you doing, I can walk on my own?!”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, but I need to get you into your regalia now!”

Twilight carried her daughter into the room she just left, slamming the door behind her as they entered. The Princess of Magic plopped her daughter in front of a mirror and went to work. Brushes started to float around Starburst, each either combing her mane, brushing her tail, or evening out her coat. The brushes then disappeared with a pop and in their place were Starburst’s regalia. Unlike her mother’s or her father’s golden regalia, Star’s regalia, and that of the other royal children, were made of a sparkling sterling silver.
Once again Star found herself engulfed in her mother’s aura, lifting her up, and placing them on herself. Twilight slipped Star’s hooves into the horseshoes, then placed her tiara atop her head, and finally her necklace.

“Alright, you’re ready, now all we need to do is meet up with the others and then –!”

“MOM!”

Twilight snapped her head in Starburst’s direction, noticing that her daughter looked rather frustrated.
“Star…?”

“Would you please, for a minute, tell me what’s going on. Is it true, did the griffons attack Stalliongrad,” she asked.

Twilight looked between her daughter and the door. Knowing that they were needed at the assembly, but right now, she could see that
Star needed to know. So Twilight took a calming breath and sat on her haunches.

“Yes, it’s true, Star,” said Twilight.

“I-I can’t believe it…why?!”

“That seems to be the question of the day. The truth is, no pony knows, this attack came out of the blue. We were just as surprised as everypony else!”

“Was this the reason that old buzzard arrived in Canterlot, was that his sick way of giving us an ultimatum,” asked Star.

“We knew that the Emperor was…unstable, but we never thought he’d go this far…”

“So, it’s really true, all those ponies in Stalliongrad…they’re being killed as we speak…”

Twilight got up and moved closer to Starburst. She then enveloped her daughter in comforting hug, wrapping her wings around them.

“We’ll get through this, Starburst, I promise you. We’ll help them.”

3rd Week

The announcement was made, a unanimous decision by the High Princes and High Princesses, they would not tolerate a blatant attack on Stalliongrad. And so they would take this as an act of war against Equestria, and that Equestria would respond.
Princess Celestia immediately dispatched airships to go to Stalliongrad to give support and help in driving back the enemy. Many knew that Stalliongrad was a vast city, and that such a sudden attack would not have given the civilians within the city time to escape the siege.

The whole time that Star was sitting there with the rest of her family and friends as her parents made the announcement, she couldn’t hear a word. Her mind was too focused on what was happening. It was then that Starburst heard something that Valiant Heart said during the announcement to the city.

“At this time we are calling upon the Royal Guard Reserves and are now implementing a draft. Able bodied mares and stallions, sixteen and older, will be allowed to sign up and join the Royal Guard.”

As bleak as this tragedy was, this was a ray of hope to Starburst. In a couple of days she would turn sixteen, therefore, able to join the Guard. Now she could go and defend her homeland and the innocent ponies who were being slaughtered by those winged beasts.

However…this idea did not go over well with her mother or father.

“I will not allow you to join the Royal Guard, Starburst,” shouted Twilight.

“And why not?! I’ll be of legal age to join in a couple of days, Mom! I’ve been doing drills with Lance and training even more at Sweet
Apple Acres with Del! I want to help, I want to fight!”

“And get yourself killed?! Because that’s what’s going to happen when you go out there! This isn’t like before, Starburst, if you joined, at least it was mildly safer. Now, now it’s war, Star, WAR!”

Starburst stood before her mother, chest puffed out, wings flared, staring her down.

“I know it’s war, that’s why I want to go! As a Princess, it’s our duty to help our people and protect them from harm! What better way for me to do that than in the RG,” asked Starburst.

“Maybe because, oh I don’t know, you’re a Princess! What if you got captured by the Griffon Empire?! They could use you as a bartering tool; they could torture you, or worse! I know you’ve heard some of things that have happened to some the ponies they were able to rescue!”

It was true. The griffons were implementing tactics near similar to that of General Forbes the Sadist. Vile acts being perpetrated on captured ponies, ignoring all laws set forth by the Order of Nations on the treatment of prisoners, especially noncombatants.

“I know…”

“And you still want to go and fight?”

“……Yes.”

“Star, why can’t you understand!? I don’t want to send my only daughter to die!”

The young mare was starting to get indignant at her mother’s words. “You say that like it’s a certainty that I’m going to die the moment I set hoof in Stalliongrad! And that royalty excuse, in case you’ve forgot, Valiant Heart is a Prince, and he’s already out there, fighting!”

Twilight looked away for a moment, “You know darn well that Valiant Heart is not like you, Star. He’s –”

“An alicorn,” she finished, “so what? That alone doesn’t determine his safety. If anything, he’ll be safe because of his fighting skills, hay,
I’d be safer fighting beside Lance than anywhere else!”

“Okay, let’s all calm down.” Flash stepped between his daughter and wife, trying to diffuse the situation and thanking Faust that Nighty was with Illusion and Claire right now.

“Dad, you should be taking my side in this. My goal, my dream, is to become a Royal Guard and defend Equestria my way,” pleaded Starburst.

“It would never have worked.”

Flash and Star looked at Twilight, wondering if they had heard her correctly.

“Excuse me?!”

“Twi –!”

“No, she needs to hear this! Do you even know how hard it will be for you to get it in? First off, there aren’t that many mares in the Royal Guard, even when Princess Celestia allowed it more than two-hundred years ago, the male to female ratio is still off kilter. Then there’s your status as a Princess –”

“Again, Valiant is a Prince, and he became the Captain of the Guard!”

“But did he tell you what he faced during his time in the Guard?”

Starburst opened her mouth to retort, but, now that she thought about it, she didn’t really know. In fact, the alicorn stallion rarely spoke about his time in training or his other duties before becoming a Guard Captain.

“No…he, he didn’t,” said Starburst.

“Many of his fellow cadets either shunned him because they believed he was a privileged Prince that didn’t deserve to be there, or that
they could ride his coattails all the way to a high ranking position. He had very few friends in the RG Academy and fewer when he became one. He had to spend every waking moment, proving that he had earned the right to be there, and that he earned his rank as Captain. We know that, because Valiant Heart would come to us about what was happening, and it hurt because we knew we couldn’t help him, if we did, it would only prove them right…”

Starburst’s mouth was agape; she didn’t know that Valiant Heart had gone through all that during his training; whenever she saw him as a filly he’d always greet her with a smile and a carefree attitude. She couldn’t believe all that was going on, that he was masking that pain.

“So now you know…and the worse part is that it’ll be worse for you…”

Starburst looked at her mother and then to her father, “Dad…is this that true, what happened to Lance?”

Flash Sentry sighed heavily, nodding a yes. Starburst’s head hung low, ears flat against her head. “We didn’t want to tell you, but at the same time, we knew we had to. I don’t know if I could knowingly allow you to do it, knowing that you’d get hazed for being of royalty.”

Twilight returned he gaze to Starburst, her angered appearance giving way to sympathy.

“Star, I know –”

“Leave me alone…”

“Star?”

“Just leave me alone, Mom…”

Star turned her back to her parents, she then made her way to the door and left.

The Next Day

Starburst wandered the halls of Canterlot Castle for, what seemed like, forever. Her mind deep in thought about what her mother and father revealed about Valiant Heart’s time in the Royal Guard, and how blind she was to never see beyond the façade he put on for her. Even with all this hefted upon her; it only served to strengthen Star’s resolve, she was going to become a Royal Guard, and she’d do it on her own.

They really think I have no chance…If only I could prove them wrong, somehow, someway, she thought.

Starburst was starting to pass the Royal Library, the same one that she would escort Nighty to whenever he had finished “devouring” an interesting book on magic or some other subject. That’s when it hit her. A crazy plan, started to form in her mind. It would be dangerous, suicidal even, but to Star, it was the one way she knew she could prove her mother, her father, Valiant, and anypony else who thought that she couldn’t make it.

The pegasus mare quickly slipped into the library. The small entrance belayed the actual massive size of the Royal Library. Shelves upon shelves of books were everywhere; at least two stories tall, the library pretty much took up an entire wing of the castle. Of course, some space-dimension warping helped in fitting the vastness of it all.

Star, remembering a specific book her brother read, trotted up the stairs and to the one section that held what she needed. Soon enough, Starburst arrived at the Magic Section of the library, rows upon rows of archaic and esoteric knowledge laid before her. Many powerful and advanced spells were all kept in this section, as well as all there was about the history and application of magic. Well, here, and in the Starswirl the Bearded wing.

Well, found the section, problem is…I have no magic…Star neglected the fact that only those with magic, such as unicorns or alicorns, or even Spirits of Chaos, could enter. Since the section was protected by a barrier that only allowed entry to only the magic wielder.

“Princess Starburst?”

Star flinched upon hearing her name. One of the librarians, a unicorn stallion, came trotting up to the young mare.

“I haven’t seen you around here for a while, come to do more reading up on Royal Guard history?”

“Um, no, not today, I was actually sent to grab a book for my little brother, Nighty, he’s otherwise occupied and asked if I could get a book for him,” said Star.

“Ah, yes, Prince Night Light does so enjoy his spell books. Of course I’d be happy to help you in the procurement, tell me, what is the title?”

“It’s called ‘Charm Casters, A Magician’s Guide to the Effective Art of Charm Casting’,” said Star.

The librarian stallion seemed surprised by the name of the book and now looked upon Starburst with trepidation. Starburst noticed the look the stallion was giving her and was starting to worry she may’ve said something wrong.

“Um, Princess, that particular book is actually a Class A ranked spell book. It can only be checked out by authorized magic students, or one of the High Princesses.”

Crap! I didn’t think that it was THAT advanced! It must’ve been Mom’s and she just let Nighty look it over!

“Well I, um, actually it’s for my Mom, with the craziness going on around here lately, she asked me to get it for her,” said Star.

“But…didn’t you just say that it was for your little brother, the Prince?”

It was obvious to Star that this was going south and fast. She may be a Princess, but the Royal Library had a strict policy against the lending of spell books to unauthorized ponies. A policy set forth by High Princess Twilight Sparkle and High Princess Luna, as a precaution to keep anypony from using the spells to do harm or to cause trouble. Thanks Mom…

“Princess Starburst, I’m afraid without proper written or verbal consent, I cannot, in good conscience, alloooooooowwwwwww……”

Suddenly the librarian collapsed onto the floor, making Star jump back a bit. She was about to ask if he was alright, but stopped when she heard the stallion snoring. There was only one pony Starburst knew that could do something like this.

“C’mon out, Nidra, I know you’re there.”

Like she suspected, the alicorn threstral stepped out from of the aisles, a mischievous smile spread across her lips.

“You were getting nowhere fast, so I decided to step in before you got found out,” said Nidra.

“What are you doing here,” she asked.

“You didn’t look like you were in the best of moods when coming here, wanted to see what was up and now I find you wanting a Class A
level spell book, why?”

“Look, I’ll explain, but can you at least help me get the book?”

Nidra looked between Star and the aisle where the spell books resided. With a long sigh, the mare strode into the aisle, after a couple of minutes she reemerged with the book clasped in her silvery telekinetic aura.

“You owe me.”

“Gladly, now c’mon let’s go.”

Star and Nidra hurried through the palace, making their way to a storeroom that was hardly used during that time of day. Star made sure to lock the door behind them for extra insurance. Afterwards she wrenched the spell book from Nidra’s aura and placed it on a table and started to flip through the pages. Nidra looked over Star’s shoulder, watching her search through the many pages of the spell book, still wondering why she had wanted this spell book out of all the others.

“Nidra, can you cast any of the spells in this book,” asked Star.

“Just because my magic isn’t on my Mom’s level, doesn’t mean I can’t match or outdo an experienced magician or five,” proclaimed Nidra proudly.

“Good.”

“I take it you want me to cast a spell from this book. Judging from how you were when trying to get, I assume that your mom doesn’t know about this?”

Starburst stopped flipping through the pages and let out a dejected sigh. “No…she doesn’t, neither does my Dad or Nighty…” Star then found herself wrapped in a bone crushing hug from behind, with Nidra’s face pressed up against hers. “Um Nidra, I know we’re close friends, but you don’t have to take that literally.”

“I’m just so happy! It took you awhile, but you finally entered your rebellious phase, just like me! Welcome to the club filly,” said Nidra happily.

Star would’ve facehoofed herself if she had the use of her forelegs.

Nidra released her friend and began to bounce around giddily as Starburst resumed her search. “So what kind of spell are you looking for? ‘Cause if you’re looking for ways to sneak around, I already know an invisibility spell, one-hundred percent RG undetectable,
guaranteed!”

“Not exactly the kind of spell I’m looking for.”

“Oh…” Nidra began to think, the spell book was one for casting charms, and there were a myriad of them within the book. She was starting to develop an impossible idea of what she was looking for, but Nidra knew that Starburst was more of a direct kind of mare when it came to that, at least, she thought she was.

“I found it!”

Nidra looked over her shoulder and gasped, when Star saw her reaction so did she. The spell read “The Art of the Amour Charm”. Starburst quickly flipped through the pages again.

“Read that wrong.”

“Uh-huh, Star, we’re friends, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Close friends?”

“Yes.”

“So you don’t have to hide that you’re looking for a love spell, especially if it’s for Del.”

Starburst spluttered at the mention of Golden Delicious’ name and turned to face Nidra. “That’s not what I was looking for! I just got the words mixed up! And why do you automatically assume that it would be Del?!”

“Oh come now, Star. You spend most of your time together when you crash in Ponyville.”

“I spend most of that time helping out with the chores on Sweet Apple Acres. I help Del with farm work, it’s training.”

“He carries you on his back like the Princess that you are.”

“That’s because I run myself ragged and collapse from exhaustion after the fact.”

“And he always seems to smile this particular smile whenever you’re around, both of you do actually.”

Starburst groaned loudly, “For the last time, I don’t like him that way!” She then turned around and went back to looking.
Nidra huffed and puffed out her cheeks. “Fine, but can you at least tell me what exactly it is that you’re –?!”

“Found it!”

Nidra, once again, looked down at the page in the spell book and read the chapter title aloud.

“‘The Art of the Glamour Charm’? Star, you know that this spell is used to cast an illusion around yourself in order to trick others into
thinking you’re somepony else, right?”

“Yes, that’s why I looked it up.”

“If you wanted to prank someone while staying anonymous, there are simpler ways,” suggested Nidra.

“This isn’t for a prank. I want you to cast this spell on me Nidra, now.”

Nidra wasn’t one for taking orders, even from her friend. “Not until you tell me what it is that you’re going to do if I cast it.”

Starburst growled in frustration, “I don’t have time to explain, just cast the stupid spell!”

“Not until you tell me!”

Star wanted to argue, to force Nidra to cast the spell. But Star knew that her special talent wouldn’t work on Nidra, she’d just put her to sleep like the librarian. With a defeated sigh, Starburst told Nidra of the fight she had with her mother earlier that day. Nidra listened as her friend told her about how her parents didn’t think that she could make it in the Royal Guard because of what her cousin, Valiant Heart, went through. Granted, Nidra never really liked the idea of Starburst joining, thinking that a Princess didn’t need to be a Royal Guard, but that still didn’t mean that she didn’t respect Star’s decision and supported it. But now…

“So, you want to sneak onboard one of the air ships that’s heading for Stalliongrad, and fight at the border, that about sum it up,” she asked.

Starburst nodded.

“This is wrong, Cotton Candy is usually the impulsive and reckless one that gets into trouble, I sometimes – sometimes mind you – get in over my head with something’s, and you’re the one who’s supposed to keep a level head and keep ponies like me from doing something stupid! Not the other way around!”

“I know it’s stupid, reckless, and dangerous. But Nidra, this is my dream, and they’re pretty much telling me that I don’t have a snowball’s chance in Tartarus of achieving it!”

“Look, I know your mom isn’t totally shooting it down, she’s worried…”

“Please Nidra…you’re the only friend I can ask this of…please…”

Nidra’s eyes ears twitched, catching the sound of something faint. When she looked closer at Starburst she saw that small droplets of tears were falling from her eyes and onto the floor. Nidra’s feelings waged war within her, the rational part of her mind in combat with her sympathy towards her friend. After a period of silence Nidra sighed and looked at Star sternly.

“If I do this, you have to promise me, Starburst, that you’ll come back alive! I don’t care what you have to do, or who you have shove out of your way, I want you to come back here, alive and breathing, because you’re going to owe me BIG TIME for this!”

This time it was Nidra who found herself enveloped in hug, although it wasn’t like the tight, bone crushing one she had given Starburst earlier, more like, a hug of gratitude.

“Thank you, Nidra.”

Late Afternoon, Royal Air Fleet Hangar

Starburst had done a lot of searching, and found that an airship that was going to Stalliongrad today and that it would be a mere supply and equitarian aide mission. It’d be far from the action, and the Royal Guard troops boarding was on protection detail for when they landed. No chance of enemy contact and less chance of being spotted by Valiant Heart. Although the spell that Nidra cast fooled many, she wasn’t so sure how it’d fair when in the presence of an alicorn.

Starburst, with the help of her cousin, was able to procure some training armor to wear during their drill sessions. She wore the armor, giving her glamour form the full appearance of a Royal Guard pegasus. Many of the other pegasi RG’s didn’t seem able to see past the illusion, to anypony else, she appeared as a pegasus mare Royal Guard. She saw many of them too, both male and female RG’s, trotting about, making sure everything was ready for takeoff.

A few ponies either nodded at her, went for a hoof bump, and others, well, others were checking out her flank in the armor, receiving stares from mares and stallions alike.

Great, I’m eye candy now, thought Starburst. I swear Nidra, if you made the glamour image seem overly seductive or whatever I’m going to put you to sleep my way!

Starburst continued her jaunt through the hangar till she arrived at the airship. The name on the side of the ship read “Nightingale”, it wasn’t as big as the other warships, it had few armaments from what she could tell, just six cannons mounted on the starboard and port sides, built for speed more than combat. Star watched as Medics and Guards loaded the last of the supplies into the airship, the remaining squads were now starting to file in.

The pegasus mare took in a deep breath and exhaled, calming her nerves and preparing to set her crazy plan into action. The lieutenant of the squad waited at the ramp, ushering his troops into the ship, talking to one of them. Star trotted up the ramp, listening closely to the conversation.

“Duke is sick sir; we’re going to be a pony short.”

“Great, Duke was on the detail for the supply run, and I’m just learning about this now, he was on aerial recon for the supply run with
Sunny Skies,” said the Lieutenant.

“Excuse me, sir, maybe I can help,” said Starburst.

The two stallions looked upon the mare before them, or more accurately, the glamour form.

“And who are you?”

“I’m, uh, Daisy…Cutter…yes, Private Daisy Cutter.” Starburst saluted the lieutenant. “I’m fresh out of boot, and I’m ready to go, sir!”

“A newbie, huh? You have any experience in recon work,” he asked.

“Yes sir, I’m also skilled at close combat, sir!”

“We do need a second for the recon run, and it’s better to have more eyes in the sky,” said the trooper.

“Ugh, alright, I’m going to forgo the paperwork, this is war, and I don’t need the headache, so get your flank in there and report to Corporal Sunny Skies, she’ll fill ya in,” ordered the lieutenant.

“Yes sir!”

Starburst quickly entered the ship, the ramp behind her closed as the earth pony and unicorn stallion walked into the ship.

{All crew members prepare of immediate departure. Repeat, all crew members prepare for immediate departure.}

Suddenly Starburst heard the whirring of gears; she made her way to one of the portholes and watched as the platform was extended out the mountainside. The ponies on the platform then released each of the latches that secured the ship, with each of them waving their forelegs in specific patterns to indicate that the ship was released.

Star then felt a familiar sense of weightlessness as the ship started to ascend, the hot air and propeller turbines on the side whirred to life as they continued to climb higher and higher into the sky. Soon, Canterlot came into view as they got higher. Starburst felt a pang of sadness in her heart, she was confident that she’d return to Canterlot, to her friends and family. But this was something that she felt she had to do, and no force on Equus was going to stop her.

{Attention all crew members, the Nightingale has launched, our destination, Stalliongrad.}

Here we go…

Author's Note

To Be Continued...

The Brightest Night

There were few things in life that rendered Starburst speechless. The day her little brother was born, the first time she took flight and soared into the skies, or the first time when she saw how noble and just the Royal Guards were in defending the citizens of Equestria when she was a filly. Now a new first was going to be added to that list, the night when a yellow ring fell from the sky and granted her unbelievable power.

Starburst was standing on the rooftop of a ruined structure. Her body glowed with the golden aura of the ring. Before her, a couple of feet away, laid the dismembered bodies of the griffons that had tried to attack her. Star found herself staring between the glowing ring upon her foreleg and the bodies in front of her, trying to understand how it was that she just did that.

“What…what are you?”

[I am a weapon, designed to harness the power of Fear, and to allow my Bearer to wield it as they see fit.]

Starburst would’ve jumped, if it wasn’t for the fact that the ring was now fitted around her foreleg.

“A weapon, so… what can you do?”

[My functions include: Flight, Protective Aura, Light Constructs –]

“Okay, okay, stop! I don’t understand what you’re saying! Just, just give me a minute!”

Starburst needed someplace to think; someplace away from the carnage she just created. The young pegasus mare then unfurled her wings, she was about to take flight when a yellow aura erupted from her body. At that moment she was propelled into the air, unfortunately it was at ten times the speed she was used to. A trail of yellow light was left in her wake as she soared higher and higher into the sky, screaming her lungs out as she did so.

The world below her started to shrink, at some point Starburst had closed her eyes but couldn’t find the courage to open at that moment. Starburst adjusted her wings, concentrating to make herself stop ascending. Thankfully, Starburst came to a stop. The young mare took a few calming breathes before slowly opening her eyes.

“Oh, buck me…”

Starburst found herself high in the sky. Stalliongrad wasn’t even a speck, all she could see were landmasses and bodies of water. Star looked up and saw the vastness of space, dozens of tiny stars twinkled in the heavens above. Star deduced that she was in the upper atmosphere, at the very least. But the strange thing was she was able to breath, which didn’t make sense since there really shouldn’t be any air at this altitude.

“Where the hay am I now?!”

[Current Location: 600 miles in the exosphere of planet Equis.]

“SIX-HUNDRED MILES!!!?” Starburst looked down once again, yep, that was about right. “Okay, I-I need to get back to Stalliongrad. What if I just angled out and slowly…?”

As if on cue, Starburst quickly began her descent back to terra firma. Just like before, she soared down in a streak of yellow energy, screaming her lungs out for the second time. This time, however, she did not close her eyes and opted to watch every minute of her quick plummet. The landmasses and bodies of water soon gave way to a single large landmass. Afterwards small things were coming into view, little fires, the flash of explosions, and one city that was becoming bigger by the second. Star desperately tried to slow herself down, but it was becoming hard to do so with the strong g-forces.

Her yellow star streak eventually struck a tall structure, piercing through several floors till she came to a stop at the ground floor. Starburst laid there splayed on her back. The teenage mare groaned, not really out of pain, to be honest, she felt none. It was more from the rush of everything that had just happened to her. She then looked up and saw the hole she made through several floors and then the subsequent crater in the lobby.

Well, I'm back in Stalliongrad…that much I'm sure of.

Star then peeled herself off the floor and made her way back up the hole and onto the fifteenth floor. She then found a vacant room and secluded herself inside. It was a simple apartment, a couple of couches with a coffee table set at the center. Three windows that offered a perfect view of the ruined city, and lastly a kitchen that hadn't been used. Despite the situation it really wasn't a bad place to relax. Star plopped herself on the nearest couch and sighed heavily, thanking Faust for the slight reprieve.

"Okay Star, let's assess the situation. I am currently in position of a powerful weapon – that I have no idea how to control – that can also talk, I'm stuck behind enemy lines in Stalliongrad with no back up, Sunny Skies is…is probably dead, but I doubt it, hopefully. And to top it all off no pony knows I'm even here and probably won't know to rescue me!"

Star groaned in frustration. She reached to touch her face but was impeded by the helmet still surrounding her head.

"I don't need the helmet anymore," she said.

[Acknowledged.]

The helmet disappeared and allowed Starburst to feel the air upon her face. She noticed that the air wasn't as heavy as it was when she first arrived; it was clearer and not as heavy with heat and debris.

"Thanks ring. So, you're a weapon, I'll buy that. But why did you choose me, why did you come to me of all ponies?"

[Bearers of the yellow power ring are chosen for their ability to induce fear in other living beings. You, Starburst of Equestria, have such ability.]

"My special talent is 'intimidation', but is that all!? Just because I can scare others, that's the only reason why you appeared to me?!"

Starburst had long considered what her special talent truly meant. It was her cutie mark that helped her decide what she wanted to do, the best place for such a talent would be the Royal Guard, at least that what she had reasoned. It made sense, a Royal Guard needed to be intimidating and fierce, how else would they be taken seriously when trouble started? But to be chosen just because she could frighten ponies, and griffons, into submission, it was almost sinister.

[Another parameter for selection, the bearer must also display that they possess a great since of justice, and are of good moral character.]

Starburst stared at the ring in disbelief, "Seriously?"

[Affirmative.]

"Fear…as a means to bring about justice?"

Starburst thought hard about what the ring had said. True, when she stared down those griffons, it was mainly to instill the fear of the Goddess within them. They had cowered from her gaze, yes, but could her intimidation really be used to bring about justice.

Well, when you think about it, it's not that different from what I wanted to do in the first place, Star thought. The Royal Guard would've given me a way to use my special talent to make criminals fearful of breaking the law, or make killers like the griffons wish they never laid eyes on me. Can I really use fear as a force for good.

Starburst continued to stare at the yellow ring as she debated the logos and pathos of using fear as a weapon to fight evil. However, her inner debate would have to be put on hold, for the ring started to blink rapidly.

"What's wrong?" asked Star.

[Fear of death detected. Multiple hostiles approaching, bearing south southwest, distance 800 meters. Warning: noncombatants detected as well.]

Starburst shot up from the couch and quickly made her way to the center window. The young mare squinted her eyes as she peered down the road, she could make out a mass of some sort, but she couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Ugh, I can't see, I need –!" Answering her wish, the ring created a yellow construct of a pair of binoculars, quite advanced looking ones
from what she could tell. "Um, thanks."

Starburst let the binoculars come closer to her eyes so that she could see. As she looked through them, the construct gadget zoomed in on the faraway image. After some focusing, she was able to see a large contingent of griffon soldiers. At the head of the group was a silver griffon, with a scar over his left eye and mechanical, metal wings. Before him was a unicorn stallion, an earth pony mare, and two fillies.

"Steel Wing," she whispered, remembering the griffon from when he and the other Wing Commanders visited Canterlot, "what in Tartarus are you doing?!"

Steel Wing seemed to be preparing to fight the unicorn stallion, showing little if no concern. Starburst watched as the stallion unleashed a beam of pure magical energy at Steel Wing. Starburst ground her teeth in frustration at the sight.

"Dammit, get out of there! They're armor repels magic! Get your wife and kids and RUN!" Star screamed.

Her cries fell on deaf ears, as the beam struck the metal wings of the griffon commander. Starburst then watched in horror as the griffon swiftly decapitated the stallion in one motion. Star's jaw dropped, she looked away for a moment, cursing the griffons name to Tirek. Gathering her courage, Starburst dared to look again and saw that the mare and fillies were still there, not yet harmed. But by the looks of the four griffons in the group that would soon be change, fast.

"Ring, how can I use you to fight back?!"

[This unit can deploy a number of yellow light generated constructs, anything from weapons, to miscellaneous objects. So long as you feel the power of Fear, the only limit to what this unit can create is your imagination.]

Starburst looked at the binoculars, and thought back to the sword she had created to cut down those four griffons from earlier. A confident smile formed on Star's muzzle as a yellow aura flared to life around her.

"Ring, let's see how powerful you are."

[Affirmative.]

Present...

Starburst stood before Steel Wing and his remaining soldiers. The fear that radiated from the three soldiers was a plain to her as the sun was in the morning sky. She could tell that they were terrified of her, it was almost exhilarating. Steel Wing, however, had just a faint spark of fear within him. His years of service and numerous battles had most likely hardened the griffon commander, making it hard for him to scare easily.

Although she sensed their fear, Star could also sense the mare's and fillies' fears. The mare, the mother of the foals, she feared that her children would be killed by either Starburst or the soldiers, and right now the mare did not know which was worse. The two fillies on the other hand were terrified. Their father cut down in front of them, the horde of griffons slain and decimated, children weren't meant to see such things.

"Miss," spoke Starburst, "take your children and run as far away from here as you can."

The mare seemed hesitant, not sure if she could trust this unknown pegasus. True she saved their lives, but was it only so she could kill them later?

"You don't have a lot of time! You need to run!" Star then looked down to the body of the slain stallion. "Don't let your husband's sacrifice be in vain..."

That seemed to drive the point home. The mare quickly threw her fillies onto her back and dashed off down the road; she turned for a moment and mouthed a "thank you." With her gone, Starburst could now focus her full attention on the four griffons before her.

"You destroyed most of my troops, and spared a mother and her children. I can't tell whether you're the deadliest opponent I've ever faced, or if it's just all for show," chided Steel Wing.

"You're in command of this invasion?"

"I am what of it?"

"That just means when I kill you, this whole thing ends."

Steel Wing chuckled at Star's statement. "Dear girl, you are more of a fool than I previously thought. Killing me may stop the battle, unlikely, but it is possible. But the war will continue."

Starburst crouched low into a fighting stance, "I'll settle for Stalliongrad's freedom for now!"

Steel Wing smiled wickedly, he then motioned with his right claw for his soldiers to attack Starburst. When none of them moved Steel Wing turned his head to look at them with a piercing glare.

Starburst could yet again feel the fear of the three soldiers. They feared her, that was a given, but for some reason they were more afraid of being punished by Steel Wing. One of the soldiers flew up into air and dove down, his claws bared and ready to tear her apart. Although they couldn't tell, Starburst was grinning behind her faceplate. She then concentrated; yellow light began to gather around her right foreleg. When the griffon was in range, Starburst lifted her right foreleg and thrust forward. The light solidified into a claw construct, with rough jagged edges that appeared to be more akin to that of a demonic creature.

The claw construct reached out and grabbed the griffon, catching him at the chest. The griffon soldier flailed and tried desperately to claw his way out of the construct. Starburst found it strange; she felt a slight connection to the claw. She could flex the digits, apply pressure, she was starting to see why her Uncle Spike, as well as Claire and Turquoise, liked using them so much. Getting back to the matter at hoof, Starburst clenched the claw. There was the rather subtle cracking sound, and gasps of air turned into gargled wheezes. The soldier went limp and Starburst, unceremoniously, thrust her claw into the side of a building, the construct fading upon impact.

One of the soldiers took this opportunity to attack Star, drawing his sword and bringing it down in an overhead strike. Starburst quickly jumped back, allowing the griffon's blade to strike the road. The soldier didn't let up, he then charged for Star, slashing with his blade in a frenzied, panicked fashion. Starburst quickly erected an attached round shield to her left foreleg, the insignia of the ring etched at its center. The griffon's blade continuously struck the shield; sparks flew off in every direction as Starburst hovered in midair while the griffon assaulted her.

The shield showed no signs of breaking from the constant attacks, but it was starting to annoy Star with every impact. The griffon drew back a bit and came in for a thrust. Starburst cocked back her right hoof; the ring began to shine with an intense golden light. The moment before the griffon got close; Star punched forward and unleashed a powerful blast of yellow light. The energy beam quickly engulfed the griffon and incinerated him on the spot. Not even ash was left.

Starburst returned to standing upon the ground, staring down the only remaining soldier and the commander, Steel Wing.

"If you value your life, you'll leave now. This is my only act of mercy," spoke Starburst in a deathly serious tone.

It seemed that this griffon was smarter than his now deceased companions. The griffon quickly did an about face and prepared to take off. But before that could happen, Steel Wing used one of the quills on his metal wing to stab his soldier straight through the heart. The griffon soldier looked upon his commander, his expression full of betrayal and disbelief. While the commander's expression remained cold, hard, and unforgiving. Steel Wing then retracted his quill and allowed the body to slump to the ground.

"How could you do that!? He was your subordinate! I showed him mercy!"

"You seem to suffer under the delusion that there is honor in battle. There's only honor for the victor, and for the soldiers who follow the orders, obediently. By turning his back and choosing to run, he had lost that honor, thus losing his rite to be called a soldier. That death was the greatest honor I could bestow upon him," said Steel Wing.

"Even to your own, you act so cruelly."

"It is because of that kind of harshness that we, as an Empire, have grown stronger! Unlike you weakling ponies, your notions of peace, friendship, and love, they've made you soft. You rely on your High Princesses to defend you, to coddle you in times of peril; it is these very shortcomings that have led to Stalliongrads fall." Steel Wing took a moment to regard his fallen and the slain stallion. "But their deaths were not a waste, I've more than learned what you're capable of, or at least I have an idea."

"Oh really?"

Steel Wing began to circle Starburst, prompting the Princess to do the same. "I've learned that whatever power that trinket on your leg possesses, it isn't magic based. Otherwise their armor would've protected them from your assault earlier. It also appears to be versatile, changing to whatever you need it to be upon a whim. Such a weapon is I have to say, quite a bit beyond the capabilities of you equines. For that matter, I'm not sure any nation can claim to be so advanced. Which begs the question of where a young mare such as yourself procured such a powerful item?"

"Not telling."

"Good, there wouldn't be any fun in making you squeal otherwise!"

Steel Wing lunged for Starburst. She quickly flapped her wings and ascended into the air. Star then fired a concentrated yellow energy beam right at Steel Wing. The griffon commander, though he appeared old, had quick reflexes. He sidestepped to the right and flapped his wings to propel him further. The beam struck the ground, resulting in an explosion that buffeted the sliver griffon.

Starburst summoned a volley of construct arrows. With a wave of her hoof the arrows launched themselves at Steel Wing. The scarred one wasn't going to be easily killed like his underlings. He quickly used his wings to deflect or shield himself from hits that would've been fatal. Steel Wing then flew up into the air and flapped his two wings simultaneously in front of him. The resulting flap let loose dozens of sharp panel quills that whistled as they cut through the air. Star ceased her arrow attack and brought up a barrier around herself. The panels struck the barrier with impressive force, pushing her back with each hit.

Steel Wing, using his last attack as a distraction, flew above Starburst. He then balled up his claws into fists and dove down. Cocking back his right fist he then struck the barrier. The power that the punch carried made the spherical barrier go down a few feet. Star looked up and saw Steel Wing and prepared to counterattack. Just then the metallic winged griffon struck again, and again, and again. Rapidly he started to pummel at the barrier, Starburst was having some trouble maintaining the shield. With every strike she could feel the pounding resonate in her skull, making it hard for her to concentrate.

"I see you have a problem with offense while you are defending! I should think that item wouldn't have much trouble attacking and defending, so the problem must lie in the wielder!"

Steel Wing brought both of his fists together, interlocking each claw, and dealing a powerful hammer fist blow to the barrier. That blow seemed to hit Starburst hard, her concentration faltered, causing the barrier to shatter apart like fragile glass. Star fell to the ground, she hurriedly tried to get up, only to have Steel Wing descend from the air and pounce right on top of her. The wind, for the third time that night, was knocked out of her lungs, making her gasp for air, she might've even felt a rip crack.

Steel Wing quickly took hold of her right foreleg with his left claw, bringing the ring closer for him to inspect. "Yes, this is the item from which your power stems." The griffon commander then proceeded to wrench the ring from Star's foreleg, but no matter how hard he tried, the ring wouldn't slip off her. "I see, guess it's plan B: remove the whole right leg."

Star was drifting in and out of consciousness, her chest and stomach hurt, she tasted blood in her mouth, and her vision was blurry. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your perspective, Starburst regained enough of her senses to watch as Steel Wing maneuvered one of his mechanical wings to the crease of her foreleg. Starburst remembered what he had said about taking her foreleg, and with one mighty shout she cried.

"NO!!!"

[Fear Shine: Activated.]

"What was –?!"

The ring let loose a blinding flash of yellow light. Starburst then heard wailing and screaming coming from Steel Wing, thanks to her helmet, she could see exactly what was happening. The griffon was starting to back up from Starburst, screaming and crying in pure terror and agony as the light continued to shine. He tried to cover his eyes with his wings, but even that didn't seem to stop whatever it was that the light was doing to him.

"NO!!! STOP!!! KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME, KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT!!!"

Starburst slowly got up, her chest hurting with every movement and every breath she took. She continued to keep the ring's shine pointed towards Steel Wing, watching him writhe from its withering glow.

"I don't know what you're making him see, or how you’re doing it, but keep shining!"

The light glowed with even more strength, causing Steel Wing to scream in terror to the point where Star thought his vocal cords would snap and that his lungs would explode from the strain that he was putting on them, like she could care less.

Finally, after about a minute of prolonged exposure to the light, Steel Wing took off in the opposite direction; his wails could be heard through the silent streets as they continued to get further and further away. Once she was sure he was gone, Starburst commanded the light to cease. When the light dimmed to its normal glow, Starburst placed her hoof back on the ground, and used the other to cradle her injured underbelly.

"W-What was that?" asked Starburst.

[Fear Shine: yellow light is emitted at a high output, allowing this unit to infiltrate the selected target(s) psyche. Once infiltrated, the yellow light then bombards the target's mind with flash images of the thing or creature that the target most fears. Continued exposure to the Fear Shine induces psychotic breaks and in some cases death, dependent upon how strongly the images are received.]

"It didn't affect me. Can I assume that I can't succumb to the Fear Shine?"

[Correct. However, this unit does not recommend that Bearer use the Fear Shine again. In cases where the target's will in stronger, the effects of the Fear Shine could backlash. Recommend further training before use again.]

"*cough* I'll file that under 'important stuff I need to remember' *cough*." Star could still taste blood in her mouth, and the pain in her chest wasn't subsiding. "Ring, how bad am I, right now?"

The ring created a display, showing Star's body and highlighting certain areas around her chest region.

[Bearer's vitals are erratic. Multiple fractures detected within ribcage, punctured left lung, and hairline fractures detected within right avian appendage. Recommend immediate medical treatment.]

Starburst coughed again, she opened the faceplate enough so that she could spit out the blood instead of swallowing it, after doing that about three times, Star took in a few raspy breaths.

"No can do, right now I'm the only one who can really make a difference in this battle. Steel Wing is gone, which means that they'll be scrambling to figure out what to do next. I need to hit them, and hit'em hard *cough*!"

[Warning: Detecting incoming vessels from the North and South.]

With a mere thought, Star recreated the binoculars from earlier. She aimed them towards the North and spotted a fleet of Equestrian airships coming. When she turned to the South, Star saw a fleet of Griffonian airships also incoming, although their fleet was smaller, most likely counting on the captured anti-air cannons to aid in their air supremacy. Even with reinforcements, if the AA cannons were still under enemy control the chances of them being able to do anything was slim to nothing. Images of the Nightingale started to flash in Star's mind, remembering the sight of the burning vessel as it fell from the sky with all those lives still trapped on it when the ship exploded.

I will NOT let that happen again!

[Power levels now at 80%.]

[Power levels now at 62%.]

"NOT HELPING," screamed Starburst.

The new Fear Lantern was currently in the middle of battle with dozens of griffon soldiers. Construct bandages were wrapped around her chest and midsection, they did a well enough job of keeping everything in place, however, that didn't do much for the pain she was feeling. Despite it, Starburst pushed through it, one way or another, she was going to take control of these cannons away from the griffons if it killed her, and she had no intention of dying today.

Griffons continued to try and stop her, shooting crossbow bolts, lobbing spears, and even going so far as to foolishly engage in close combat. Starburst made them regret that very quickly. Luckily for her, using the ring to fly meant that she didn't have to use her wings to do so, it took Star a bit of time to adjust to flying without the use of her wings, but she was a fast learner.

Starburst continued to weave in and out of city streets, speeding towards the cannons as they came into view. They were truly a marvel of equine engineering, on three towers using twice the amount of blasting powder, with a longer barrel, and improved sights to better acquire a target. The cannons were set up on three different towers, each one had four cannons, and all were able to rotate at three-hundred and sixty degrees, thanks to a powerful magic fueled engine at the base of the fifty stories tall towers that drove the mechanisms that enabled it to swivel. That area was extra fortified to prevent structural collapse and to keep the engines from being hit from stray shot.

The Fear Lantern could already see the cannons getting into position, any minute now the fleet would fly right into a shooting gallery. Star wasn't about to let that happen. She poured on the speed to hasten to her objective. A line of griffons appeared up ahead, releasing wave after wave of explosive crossbow bolts at her. Star's aura field kept the explosions from harming her, but the shockwaves were rattling her insides, which only caused her more pain. Gritting her teeth, Star created a large battering ram in the shape of an actual ram's head. The griffons continued to fire bolt after bolt, but the construct would not break.

Cries of pain and agony echoed out as Starburst smashed through their lines, sending many of the soldiers slamming to the buildings or flying off to parts she knew not where. News traveled fast about the golden armored mare who wielded a strange power, all the griffons in the area flooded towards the cannons, hoping to stop her. When Starburst reached the cannons she let out an annoyed grunt. Hundreds of griffon soldiers were hovering in the air, ready to stop her from advancing further.

"Seriously, did they call in the whole army just to stop me?! That's actually flattering," said Star wistfully.

The air was charged with the roars of the griffons as they all flew towards Starburst. Each one grabbed hold of her, one piling on top of the other. More and more clung on till they were a giant ball of mashed up griffons. Their version of a dog pile, she supposed. A yellow light started to shine in the cracks between the bodies. It flashed more rapidly by the second, until the flashes culminated into one giant burst.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Starburst shouted loudly as the power of her aura threw griffons from her, scattering them to different parts of the city at terminal velocities. She panted hard, yet painfully, as she took in air. Now that the way was clear, she was free to liberate the cannons.

Have to make sure to weed the griffons out. The cannons can still be used to defend Stalliongrad if they try to invade, again, thought Star.

[Power levels at 55%.]

Something told Star that the decreasing power levels of the ring wasn't a good thing, but right now she didn't exactly have time to deal with that at the moment, and opted to try and make her attacks less big and more precise.

Starburst flew through the open window of the first tower. From the outside, flashes of yellow light could be seen emanating from the windows, along the subsequent screams of a fallen griffon soldier. Star worked her way to the top of the tower, surprising the gunners within. Two of them tried to rush her, but two quick claw constructs slamming them into the hardwood floor stopped them dead in their tracks. She then tossed the two griffons out the nearest window, not even wondering if they were conscious. The third griffon brandished his claws and tried to swipe at Star. She wasn't in the mood to be doing some fancy dodging, so she pointed the ring at the griffon and conjured a brick wall. She then launched brick wall straight at griffon. He was then crushed up against the metal wall, with the sickening sounds of pulverized bones and cartilage.

One down, two to go...

It was a simple matter of rinse and repeat after the first tower, and she did it with minimal damage to the cannons. Actually, by the time she had reached third tower gunner's room, she found that the griffons were letting themselves out. Kind of anticlimactic, but it saved her time, pain, and ring energy.

Now I just need to signal our forces that the cannons are under Equestrian control.

Starburst flew out the window and landed at the very tip of one of the cannons. From there she was able to survey that the front line had moved forward considerably within the last half hour. She deduced that it was because the soldiers who held those areas had been moved to try and stop her from reaching the cannons, the remainder of the soldiers either were taken down or ran away when they saw the tide turning. Starburst then raised her right foreleg into the air, concentrating on the image in her mind; she let loose a sphere of yellow light into the sky.

The ball of light exploded like fireworks, taking the form of the Royal Equestrian Flag. It came as a thunderous wave as many of the citizens in the city cheered at once upon seeing her signal. They knew that there was a chance for victory now. That was, until she heard cannon fire whizzing by her head. Starburst watched as the red hot ordinance struck a faraway structure, exploding against it and collapsing it in one shot. Starburst turned around and saw that the Griffonian air fleet had sped up their arrival and were now opening fire upon the city. Whether they knew that their comrades were still down there or not, Star couldn't tell. After everything she had been through this night, she'd be damned if the Empire's air fleet was going to take away their well-earned victory.

Starburst took off high into the sky. She appeared as a shooting golden star as she continued ascend higher and higher. Star then stopped when she was level with the incoming griffon air fleet.

"Ring, how much power do you have left?!"

[Power levels at 50%.]

"Hopefully that's enough..."

Starburst took in a deep, pained breath as she hovered in place. Clearing her mind the best she could as the image of what she wanted formed. Star held out her right hoof, using her left to support it. The ring shined brightly as Starburst focused her mind into creating a weapon that would take out the enemy in one shot.

Up above Star, the construct started to take form. It resembled a cannon, but not of Equestrian design. In fact, the weapon almost looked alien. The futuristic weapon was at the very least twenty hoofball fields in length, height, and width. As the cannon continued to form, the Empire's air fleet started to open fire directly at it, which only made it harder to fully form the weapon.

"I can do this! I can do this!"

At last the cannon was formed, Starburst was secretly thanking her little brother, Nighty, for without him, this weapon wouldn't have ever popped into her head. It was a weapon from a science fiction movie that she took Nighty to see a while back. It featured ponies who traveled through space, in a ship built for combat. The main weapon of this massive ship, was something called a "Wave-Motion Cannon", Star had no idea what that even meant, but when they fired that thing, it completely annihilated everything in its path.
The barrel of the giant weapon started to gather power, illuminating the night sky like a star. The Fear Lantern's ring shined with a powerful yellow light to match the one building in the cannon, Starburst started to sweat as the strain of charging and maintaining the cannon's form took their toll.

[WARNING: Power levels dipping below Bearer safety parameters, recommend immediate recharge!]

"Not really the time! Now help me target those ships!"

Upon her command a modified version of the binoculars appeared over her eyes. The readout showed distance (500klm), wind speed (10 knots), enemy numbers (132), and the effective destructive potential once they were within optimal range. The Griffonian airships continued to let loose cannon fire, some struck the giant construct, and others flew by Star or exploded near her. She continued to hold her position as the ships came into range. Soon the sights within the visor aligned as two big, bold words flashed "LOCKED ON".

"FIRE!!!!!!!"

The cannon released a thunderous blast of yellow light! The darkness of the night was chased away as everything was bathed in the golden light of Starburst's attack. The giant energy ray roared towards the air fleet, with no time to turn around, the fleet was swallowed up in the torrent of fear energy, each ship exploding like a firecracker. But even those explosions were smothered out due to the powerful energy that washed over them. After about fifty seconds the beam died down till it fizzled out into tiny particles of yellow light. They were gone; all one-hundred and thirty-two ships were completely vaporized.

Star continued to hold out her right hoof, despite the fact that the cannon was now deconstructing itself. The visor she wore scanned the area till the readout said "ENEMY COUNT: 0".

Starburst let out a relieved sigh as she allowed her forelegs to go limp, "Good...I...I did it..."

At that moment Star fell from the sky, free falling at a dangerous speed. She felt weak, tired, and beaten; she didn't even have the strength to stop herself from plummeting to the unforgiving ground below. Scrounging up one last effort, Starburst wrapped her body in as strong a protective aura as she could. The young Princess made impact through several buildings before coming to a stop somewhere in the city square.

Needless to say, her body was now in a great amount of pain.

[Power levels at 5.5%, disengaging uniform and protective aura.]

As it said, Star's uniform started to disappear into tiny particles of light. The bandage constructs vanished as well, inviting more pain to rack her already tired body.

[Unit now entering Power Save Mode, Universal Translator and Pocket Dimension Retrieval will remain in effect.]

"*cough*...Good to know...*cough*." Starburst looked up into the sky, remnants of the waning light she used to liberate Stalliongrad still hung in the air. Starburst smiled proudly at her accomplishments, even in her current state, she did not regret it, not one bit. "*cough* Did you see that Mom...? *cough* I *cough* did it...I helped save Stalliongrad...*cough* and I made the night *cough* bright........."

Starburst, with the last of her strength, slid the ring off her foreleg and tucked under her left wing. She made sure to keep her wing tucked tight, not wanting to lose the ring, or risk it falling into enemy control. With that, Starburst lost consciousness, her smile still held fast. The last thing she heard were the powerful cheers reverberating through the air and ground, victory had been attained.

Author's Note

To Be Continued...

The Message

Starburst felt weightless, lost in a sea of darkness. There were sounds all around her. The clip clopping of hooves against stone, the “whooshing” of air being blown, and the numerous voices that echoed out her name. Some she recognized, or thought she did, others she didn’t at all. Then it all went silent. Starburst then saw something in the darkness. A yellow star, the glow reminded her of the ring she used. But soon there were others. A red light appeared, then orange, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

What…what’s going on, thought Starburst.

Each of the seven stars took on the form of a pony, or pony-like bodies. The yellow star had transformed into a construct version of Star. There were no details in the construct, the only real defining feature was the construct’s large, intimidating wings. The other six took on forms that Star thought she recognized, but she didn’t have time to contemplate what or who they were.

The seven constructs each looked at each other, jumped back, and then began to fight each other. The seven lights zoomed around the darkness, letting loose blasts of energy. The blue and green seemed to team up and fight against yellow, while the orange created copies of itself to assault everyone. The violet one struck out against the orange, letting lose rays of violet light that encased some of the copies in sapphire crystals. The red and indigo constructs flew all over the place, the indigo seemed reluctant to strike back at the red, instead opting to channel its light, along with blue and green to subdue rather than kill, which seemed to be the opposite of the red’s intentions.

Starburst didn’t know why, but watching these seven lights fight each other, duking it out in the darkness, it felt…wrong.

“Stop it,” she said in a hoarse voice.

The lights continued their battle.

“Please…stop fighting!” Star cried a little louder.

Somehow the constructs did indeed stop, all seven looking at her as if they just now acknowledged her presence. Star was happy that they stopped fighting, for some unknown reason, she felt as if they weren’t really meant to fight each other. That’s when something else made itself known. The darkness around them started to come to life, black tendrils lashed out and tried to make a grab for the seven. They seven constructs separated and started attacking the dark tendrils instead. Green, blue, and yellow teamed up and started fighting side-by-side. Orange used its copies to keep Violet safe. Red and Indigo worked in tandem, fighting in perfect sync to stave off the shadows.

Suddenly, Star felt something wrapped around her hind legs. Starburst gasped when she saw the shadows coil around her legs and slowly creep up. Before she could yell, two more lashed out and grabbed her forelegs. Another three constricted her torso, and two more wrapped around her neck and mouth. Starburst struggled against the tendrils, her screams muffled by the darkness around her mouth. The tendrils continued to coil around her body, slowly engulfing her. Star continued to watch as the seven light constructs fought against the darkness.

At some point they saw Starburst and rushed towards her, but that was the last thing she saw before the tendrils wrapped around her eyes and made everything go black. For a few seconds, Starburst thought she was dead, but then another strange occurrence happened. White light began to pierce through the dark tendrils. The tentacles hissed and writhed in pain as the white light continued to shine and chase away the shadows. At last Starburst was freed, her eyes fell upon the sight of the seven lights, having become stars once again, floating at the center of a giant white light.

Starburst didn’t know what this was. She knew she had to be dreaming. There was no other way to explain it. The white light continued to shine brighter and brighter till she was bathed in it and felt nothing but peace.

“LIVE.”

Starburst’s eyes shot open, waking with a start. She quickly sat up and immediately regretted doing as pain radiated through her chest and body. Starburst felt the tingling sensation of magic all around her body, forcing the young mare back down. Starburst started to struggle against the aura, thinking that she had been captured by the enemy and was now being held hostage.

“Star, calm down, it’s me, Nidra!”

Starburst immediately went still and took in her surroundings. She was lying on a bed, in a recovery room at some hospital. She assumed it was a hospital, given the usual sterile smell that accompanied such facilities. There were no other beds in the room, deducing that she had been put in a private room. There was a window to her left, allowing her to see the blue sky. Also to her left was a heart monitor, its beeping was rather rapid given Starburst’s current state. Along with the monitor were some I.V. bags with tubes tracing towards her neck and left foreleg.

Starburst finally turned to her right and saw that Nidra was indeed there, her horn aglow as her aura continued to keep Starburst immobilized. Her eyes seemed puffy and red; her usually well-kept mane was in complete disarray. A shaky smile started to appear on her lips as tears started to form in her eyes.

“N-Nidra…?”

“Yes, it’s me Star, it’s me,” she replied.

“What…where am I?”

“You’re in Panacea General Hospital, in Canterlot.”

“CANTER –!!?” Starburst was about to rise up again, but Nidra’s telekinetic hold kept her friend from doing something that foolish a second time around.

“Stop moving around Star! You just had surgery and your wing is fractured! So stop or you’ll rip your stitches!” Nidra ordered in a stern voice.

The young mare took in deep calming breathes, listening to the heart monitor as its beeps started to slow down to more normal levels. Once Nidra was satisfied that Star wouldn’t try that again, she released her from the telekinetic hold.

“How bad am I?” asked Star.

“You’re more or less okay, except for the bruises, scratches, but those will heal up. Your wing has some hairline fractures; they put it in a cast and numbed it, so don’t freak out because you can’t feel it right now. They had to open your chest up and fix your rips. You had two broken ribs, some cracked, and one that had pierced your lung…” Star watched as Nidra’s eyes started to water. “They said…they said that you were lucky, any longer out there and your lung would’ve collapsed and you’d be…”

Starburst put on her usual confident smile, trying to be brave for Nidra. “But I’m not, I’m right here, Nidra. I made it back like I promised.”

“BUT YOU ALMOST DIED!!!” Nidra’s brow furrowed as the tears continued to stream down her muzzle. “When I saw you being taken off that airship, bloody, beaten, and half dead, I thought I’d lose you! I’d never forgive myself, because it was my fault for even helping you! Ugh, I should’ve just –!” The alicorn threstral stopped her rant, knowing that there was no use in venting anger at Starburst. “Never mind…I’m just happy you’re back.”

“Thanks, Nidra.”

“I’d hug you, but I’m sure it’d be really painful for you right now.”

Starburst looked down at herself and the bandages that were wrapped round her chest. She then chuckled lightly, minding the pain. “Yeah, probably would.”

For the next couple of hours, Nidra regaled Starburst about how she had arrived back in Canterlot. Apparently, some Royal Guard found her in the middle of the city square. This Guard then took her into friendly territory where they were met by hundreds of Royal Guards. They immediately got her to some medics and notified Valiant Heart about her. The alicorn stallion ordered the fastest medical airship they had to shuttle Starburst back to Canterlot, her cousin rode along too, not wanting to leave her side.

Once she had arrived there was a team of medical ponies waiting to tend to her. Her mother and father were immediately summoned, along with most of the other royals. Some of their friends were notified as well and had come to the hospital. Hours in surgery, hours of Nidra being interrogated by Luna and Supernova, and even more from Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry. Nidra mentioned how hard it was to see her little brother crying, knowing that she had a hoof in taking away his big sister away from him made her sick to her stomach.

Eventually, the surgeons announced that everything went well, and that now all they could do was wait for Starburst to awaken on her own. Nidra told her that she had been sleeping for nearly four days straight, and during that time she never left her friend’s side. Prism and Whirlwind visited on the first day, followed by Claire and Illusion. Cotton Candy, Anthea, and Turquoise showed up for visiting hours the day after that. She remembered that day quite well, since Anthea wouldn’t stop crying from seeing Starburst in such a state, Turquoise had to eventually guide her out of the room to calm her down. On that same day, Valiant Heart arrived, that was another reason why she remembered that day, because in her whole life, for as long as she had lived in Canterlot Castle, Nidra had never seen Valiant Heart cry as hard and long as he did then.

The third day brought Star’s parents and brother. Nidra mentioned how Star’s mother, Twilight, was crying into her father’s chest, saying that it was her fault for driving Starburst to go through with what she did. All through this tale, Star couldn’t help but notice that there were others she didn’t mention coming to see her.

“Didn’t Del come to see me?”

“He did, along with Red June. To be honest, he looked three parts sad and four parts ticked off,” said Nidra.

Starburst sighed and closed her eyes. “He’s probably mad at me for doing what I did. I’m sure everypony is. And…I’m sorry Nidra. I’ll say that I used my special talent to make you cast the spell on me and that I told you to lie about what happened.”

Nidra shook her head.

“No…I’m not big on punishment, but, this time, I think I deserve it. I know you’re definitely going to get in trouble after you’ve recovered. So, why not both of us be in trouble together?”

Starburst couldn’t help but smile at Nidra, “You really are good friend, Nidra.”

“Well we teenage mares have to stick together, and watch each other’s back.” Nidra gave Star a playful wink.

The two mares shared a laugh at their soon to be joint misery from their parents’ punishments. Nidra then rose up from her sitting position and wiped her face with a tissue from the nightstand.

“Well, I’d better go tell everypony you’re awake, be prepared for a stampede,” she warned.

“Heh, bring it on.”

Nidra turned around and was about to open the door when she stopped suddenly. “Oh yeah, that reminds me…” The alicorn threstral turned around and opened her wing slightly. Using her telekinesis, Nidra levitated something out from her tucked wing. “What’s this?”

Starburst had to resist the urge shoot up from the bed. There, floating in Nidra’s aura was her yellow ring.

“Um…uh…”

“You were holding onto this really tightly in your wing. It fell when they were rolling you into the hospital. And no, nopony else knows that I have it, or that it fell from under your wing.”

“N-Nidra…that’s…I mean…”

The dark gray mare levitated the ring to Starburst, letting rest on the bed a few inches from her right hoof. Star looked from the ring and back to Nidra in confusion.

“I don’t know what happened out there, Star. But the fact that you held onto that thing for so long, despite being unconscious, I can assume that somehow it’s the reason you’re alive right now. I am right about that much, at least?”

Starburst thought for a minute. Nidra wasn’t asking for a lengthy explanation, she was only asking if it helped keep her safe and nothing more. Starburst simply nodded her head in confirmation of Nidra’s suspicions.

“Alright, that’s all I needed to know. You should hide it if it’s something you don’t want anypony else to know about.”

With that said Nidra exited the room and went off to locate the doctors and their family to inform them of Starburst’s awakening.

Once Nidra was gone, Starburst took the ring into her hooves and examined the instrument that saved her life and helped her fight back against impossible odds. She remembered that the ring was almost out of power when she last had it on. Starburst was wondering if the ring was completely powerless now.

“Ring…are you, um, functional I guess.”

[Affirmative.]

Starburst let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Well, thank Faust for small favors. How much power do you have left?”

[Ring power levels at 4.7%, recharge is required. There is optimal energy for Battery Retrieval.]

“Alright, let’s save that for later. For now, just keep quiet and don’t make any sounds alright?”

[I will comply.]

5 Weeks Later

It took a lot of physical therapy, and many magic healing sessions, but eventually Starburst was on the road to recovery. The mobility in her right wing had returned, the scar on her chest had completely faded away, and her internal injuries were more or less nonexistent. That, however, didn’t stop Starburst from worrying about what was to come. She knew that the only reason why neither of her parents had said anything about punishment was because they wanted to focus on her getting well. It was ironic, she wouldn’t get punished so long as she was beaten up mess, and now that she was better, she was going to be beaten in a different sense.

Talk about kicking a dog when it’s down.

Starburst was sitting up in her bed, staring out the window, and wishing she could fly again. She wasn’t the kind of mare to just stay in bed, and she honestly missed the freedom of the sky. Starburst reached underneath her left wing with her right hoof, double checking that the ring was still there. Star had debated for the last five weeks if she should tell anypony about the ring, to be honest, she knew that it was the right thing to do, but…

Suddenly Star heard knocking at the door; startling her and making the young mare hurriedly hide the ring.

“Y-Yeah?”

“It’s Mom and Dad, we need to talk,” said Twilight’s voice.

“You can come in,” said Starburst.

The doorknob jiggled a little before the door completely opened up. Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry walked into the room. There was a thick amount of tension in the room, Star knew why they were here, and Twilight and Flash knew that Star knew why they had come. It wasn’t going to be a very pleasant afternoon.

“So, how’re you feeling,” asked Flash.

“Actually a lot better, they said I could start flying in a few days, but I’m still going to need to take it easy.”

Flash strode up and gently ruffled his daughter’s mane, “Right, like you ever take anything easy.”

Starburst playfully swatted her father’s hoof away. Twilight stood a bit far from her daughter, almost regarding Star as a volatile concoction in her lab, ready to explode the moment she added the last ingredient.

“Mom, I’m not going to bite your head off.”

“I know…but, I know you hate me for what I said to you…and, I don’t want to make you more angry at me than your already are,” said
Twilight, sadness heavy in her voice.

Starburst looked down at the blankets, yes, it was true, she did resent her mother for telling her what happened to Valiant Heart, and that she had little to no chance of joining the Royal Guard. But, then again, what she did was equally foolish. Two wrongs didn’t make a right, and right now Star knew she needed to face the consequences of her actions.

“Mom…I know what I did was stupid, and that’s saying something.”

That seemed to kick start Twilight’s maternal instincts, because she stopped looking afraid and gave her a scolding stare.

“You’re right that was stupid! It was completely insane! I mean, for the love of Faust Starburst, you almost died out there! Considering what I’ve read from the reports coming from Stalliongrad, I hate to say it, but you got off easy!” Twilight pointed a hoof Starburst for emphasis.

Starburst winced from the scolding, she knew she deserved it, but that didn’t make it any less painful. Then something happened that Star didn’t expect. Starburst suddenly felt the warm embrace of her mother; she didn’t even hear her cross the room. Star didn’t shirk from the hug. She eventually wrapped her forelegs around her mother, allowing her presence to give her a sense of peace.

Twilight then gently pulled away and stood next to her husband, nodding to him as she did so.

“You know that we have to punish you, right Star?”

Star reluctantly nodded.

Flash Sentry took in a deep inhale and then a long exhale. “Star, given what you did, impersonating a Royal Guard and stowing away on a airship, as well as putting yourself in the middle of a warzone and nearly getting yourself killed…as High Prince of Equestria, I have no choice but to ban you from ever joining the Royal Guard or any other organization affiliated with it.”

Starburst gritted her teeth, holding back the sadness that was building in her heart.

“F-For h-how long,” she dared to ask.

“It’s indefinite, Star…even when you turn eighteen, the Guard has strict orders to reject your application, and to turn you away from any recruitment office, and to keep you away from the Academy. Valiant Heart won’t teach you anymore Royal Guard related subjects, drills or otherwise, in fact…” Flash found it hard to say this next part, “He doesn’t want you to see him for a bit…”

Just like that, her dream was completely crushed and shattered in less than a minute. Not only would she never be able to join the Royal Guard, but now her cousin, a stallion she most respected, didn’t want to see her at all.

Of course he doesn’t…I probably ruined all his creditability as a Guard Captain…and now, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me…

“That’s not all, Star.” Twilight said. “You’re being grounded. And not to your room either.”

Starburst glanced over at her mother and father miserably, “Am I being thrown in the dungeon?” It wouldn’t be unexpected as far as she was concerned.

“No. We’re sending you to Ponyville, Star. We think that you need some time away from Canterlot. Plus, you can focus on recovering there faster than here. You’ll be staying in your mom’s library, you’re free to move about the town and the outskirts, but you’re forbidden to leave. We’ll have an undercover Guard watching you while you’re staying there, and they’re under orders to stop you from leaving and have further orders to detain you if necessary,” said Flash.

“Y-You can’t be serious!?”

“We are Star,” affirmed Twilight.

Star opened and closed her mouth several times in an attempt to argue that this wasn’t fair. But no matter what argument popped into her head, she knew that this was a decision that neither one of her parents arrived at easily. The pained looks on their faces was proof of that. They were pretty much shattering their daughters dreams right in front of her. Although, to be honest, I did that before they even said anything…

“It’s summer time already, so you’ll be spending the next three months in Ponyville. Star, please believe me, this wasn’t an easy decision for either of us. I promise there are better ways to defend Equestria, I wasn’t a Royal Guard, and yet, I was helping to defend Equestria before I even became an alicorn. So don’t think that your dreams are dead, when one door closes, another one opens,” said Twilight.

Starburst’s eyes shifted unconsciously to her pillow, remembering the yellow ring that was hidden under it.

“Y-Yeah…I understand.”

3 Days Later

Starburst sighed forlornly the whole trip to Ponyville. She watched as the scenery pass by the window as the train made its way to the station. There were some sad goodbyes back at Canterlot, especially from Nighty, the little colt kept pleading with their parents to let Starburst stay home, mostly likely afraid to lose big sister after her little stunt. Starburst had to assure the little colt that he she was going to be alright, and that their parents wouldn’t stop him from visiting. Nidra and Illusion also said goodbye, with the alicorn threstral making Star promise to write to her at least once a week, or if she got bored. Illusion said that he would pop by once in a while when he came to visit Claire, but Star made him promise not to, knowing how much the two enjoyed their time together.

{Now arriving at Ponyville Station, all passengers heading to Ponyville must be ready to disembark.}

Star could see the station coming into view now. The train started to screech and squeal as the brakes were applied. Once Star felt the initial jostle of the train stopping, she stood up, grabbed her back, and proceeded off the train. She wasn’t sure if anypony was made aware of her arrival, or if somepony was supposed to meet her at the station. Either way, Starburst didn’t mind, whether having company or not wasn’t a big deal to her right now. Once Star got off the train she was surprised to see that Golden Delicious was standing near one of the support beams for the station aweing.

Starburst remembered what Nidra said about Del being angry at her, and that made the teenage pegasus a bit nervous. Her nervousness was lifted slightly when she saw the addition of another pony. A mare with a light blue coat, a pink mane and tail with a swirling white stripe, gold colored eyes, and a cotton candy cutie mark, the daughter of Pinkie Pie and Pokey Pierce, Cotton Candy.

Cotton Candy happily waved to Starburst, she then bounced her way over to the pegasus mare and smiled broadly.

“Hi Star,” said Candy.

Starburst put her luggage down before greeting her friend, “Hi Candy, it’s good to see you, and you too Del.”

The stallion nodded in her direction, but did not voice his greeting.

“So…I guess you probably know why I’m here.”

“…Yeah…my Mom and Del’s mom told us about you being grounded.” Cotton Candy then wrapped her forelegs around Starburst, bringing her into a hug. “I’m sorry Star.”

Starburst sighed, she had cried plenty of tears long before she arrived at Ponyville, she even felt like doing so again, but there was something about being hugged by Cotton Candy that made such sad things go away. Like her mother, the mare had the special gift of making ponies smile, even her presence made you feel better.

“It’s alright, Candy, I’m…I’m not over it, but it hurts less,” said Starburst.

Cotton Candy released her friend and smiled at her. “Guess we should head to the library.”

Del eventually trotted over to the two mares, his face was unreadable as Starburst looked up at him, his stoic appearance somewhat mimicking that of his uncle Big Macintosh. He then leaned down and grabbed the suitcase handle with his teeth and started walking in the direction of Golden Oaks Library without another word. Cotton Candy looked to Starburst, her gaze downcast at the fact that Del hadn’t said a word to her.

The three friends walked to the library, with Del staying ahead of Star and Candy. Starburst leaned closer to Cotton Candy.

“Is Del…is he still mad at me for what I did…?”

Cotton Candy didn’t know exactly how to phrase it. “It’s not so much that he’s mad at you for what you did…more like, he’s mad about what could’ve happened to you. And, to be honest Star, I can’t really blame him. Del, me, and the others, we all really care about you. When we heard about what you did and what happened to you, we were really scared. We thought that you would…die.”

Starburst hung her head low, her ears flat. Hearing what Cotton Candy said, about how much she made them all worry about her, it just put what she did in perspective even more so. It was made even more apparent by Del’s silence. Del and Star had a close friendship, and like any best friend, he too worried about her, the fact that he wasn’t speaking to her was probably proof of how much he valued their friendship.

“I’m sorry to put you all through that, I really am. But, you and others don’t ever have to worry about me doing things like that ever again. I’m banned from joining the Royal Guard…forever.”

Cotton Candy stopped abruptly; Del ear’s seemed to pick up on that last bit of the conversation, because he turned around and looked at Star as if wondering if he heard her right.

“Forever!? But…you…and all the work you and Del did…it’s your dream! How can they do that?!” asked Cotton Candy, getting worked up over the news.

“It’s my fault Candy, nopony else’s but mine…C’mon, let’s keep going, I kinda want to lay down for a bit.”

Starburst continued trotting on; leaving Cotton Candy and Golden Delicious behind her, watching their saddened friend walk away. Del spat out the suitcase and looked to Candy.

“Ah didn’t know they did that?! Ma said they grounded her, but…Ah didn’t think they’d go that far,” said Del.

“Oh, poor Star, no wonder she’s really sad. It was her dream, her goal. She worked so hard to make it happen and now…I…I need to go tell the others.” Cotton Candy then elbowed her fellow earth pony in the side.

“OW! What was that for?!” asked Del.

“She doesn’t need the silent treatment right now, she needs her friend. So go with her, while I tell others about what happened.”

Before Del could say another word, Candy had already zoomed off in the direction of one of their friend’s house. Del took up the suitcase and started to catch up to Star.

Eventually the two of them arrived at Golden Oaks Library. Starburst had inquired about Cotton Candy’s absence, to which Del informed her that the mare in question had run back home to deal with a chore she had forgotten to do. Star could tell right away that it was a lie. The Apple family was known for their honesty and, for the most part, terrible liars. Star knew it would only be a matter of time before the others knew the full extent of her punishment eventually, so she didn’t really mind if Cotton Candy did go out and tell them, it just made it easier to not have to retell it.

Starburst opened the door to the library, as per her mother’s instructions, the library was kept in pristine order. Every book shelved and dusted, the floors and windows were spotless. Star and Del proceeded upstairs to the living area, and just like the lower level, the upper level was clean and very well maintained. Of course Starburst knew it would be, often times their family would come to Ponyville for events they were invited for, or for just some time away from Canterlot. Starburst sometimes stayed in the library, staying for a couple of weeks for a visit or to just have some alone time. But now, Golden Oaks Library would be her home for the next three months.

“You can just drop it the suitcase here, Del, I’ll carry it up to my room later,” said Starburst.

Del shook his head. He then trotted towards the bedroom and placed the suitcase next to her bed. The stallion then remerged from the bedroom.

“Ain’t proper manners, Ma told me if Ah was carryin’ a mare’s luggage the right kind thing to do was to take it all the way to their room. ‘Sides, you’re also supposed to be taking it easy while you’re here,” said Del.

“Yeah, for the most part anyway.” Starburst smiled a bit, hearing Del speak to her. “My doctors said that I had to do some exercise to get my body back in shape, do some flying to make sure my wing doesn’t get stiff, and other things to get my muscles back to full strength.”

“Well…if ya want, you could pop by the farm. We could do some work together.”

Starburst smiled weakly at the offer, “Thanks Del, but…it wouldn’t be the same. Back then I was working hard towards my goal of being a Royal Guard. Now that that’s no longer an option, I really don’t have as much drive as I used to. I’d only be in your way.”

“That ain’t true,” said Del firmly. “Ah know ya, Star. Even you’ll get bored just sittin’ around here. Ya may not have that goal anymore, but that doesn’t mean ya can just give up!”

Del started to make his way towards to the stairs; he then turned around and gave Starburst a small smile.

“Ah won’t force ya to come, Ah know ya need yer rest. But if Ah catch you just mopin’ around here all day, Ah’m gonna drag you outta here by the tail, through the town, all the way to Sweet Apple Acres.”

Starbursts cheeks tinted with red at the thought of Del doing such a thing.

“Y-You wouldn’t dare!”

“Well, just make sure you get out of the library every once in a while and Ah won’t have to.” Del noticed the embarrassed look on Star’s face and chuckled despite himself. “Somepony will be by to check on ya, ‘case ya need anythin’.”

With that Star watched as her friend walked down the stairs. She then heard the sound of the front door closing not a few seconds later. Star made her way to the balcony and gazed over the town, watching as Del trotted away back to his home. Starburst scanned the area, looking at every pony that walked about on the streets below.

Wonder which one is the undercover Guard, she thought. Well, doesn’t matter much. There’s something else that I need to do first.

Star unfurled her left wing slightly, reaching in to slip the yellow ring over her right foreleg.

“Ring, can you hear me, are you on?”

[I am functional.]

“What’s your power level now?”

[Power levels at 3.7%. Recharge is highly recommended.]

“I understand, sorry for not getting around to it. A lot of things have been happening lately…”

[Acknowledged.]

Starburst sighed and the straightened herself. “Alright, so how do I recharge you?”

[Recharge of ring unit requires a Power Battery, which is stored in a pocket dimension for safe keeping. Only the bearer of a ring can access their pocket dimension.]

Starburst recalled something her mother once told her about alternate dimensions, she even remembered reading about them and how some speculated that there were some dimensions that were completely empty and could be used as storage for various items, even living beings, but that was dangerous. Often times Star witnessed her mother pull something out of thin air, thinking that it may have something to do with said pocket dimensions.

“Okay, I assume we can get it. Do you have enough power to do that?”

[Affirmative.]

“Right then,” the young mare then held out her right foreleg, pointing the ring away from her, “bring out the, uh, Power Battery,” ordered Star.

[Initiating Power Battery Retrieval.]

At that moment the ring shined with yellow light, Star watched in astonishment as the energy of the ring tore open a hole in nothing. A lantern, yellow in color, floated out of the hole in space and landed a few inches in front of Starburst. Once the Power Battery had landed, the hole closed itself. Star blinked a few times, staring at the ring and then the Power Battery.

This just continues to get weirder and weirder.

[To recharge ring unit, Bearer must place this unit to one of the two openings. Once that is done, Bearer must recite the oath to initiate ring recharge.]

“Oath? There’s an oath?” Starburst then thought back to the night when she first received the ring, remembering the words the ring spoke to her when she accepted its power. “‘Welcome to the Fear Lantern Corps’. Duh, a corps, like an army, guess that makes since. So what’s the oath?”

[In Blackest Day, in Brightest Night, beware your fears made into light. Let those who try to stop what’s right, burn like my power – Sinestro’s might.]

Starburst was confused by the last line of the oath. “Who’s Sinestro?”

[Thaal Sinestro is the leader and founder of the Fear Lantern Corps, formerly known as the Sinestro Corps.]

Starburst recited the oath in her head a few times, and each time she did it felt a bit egocentric.

“Um, is there any other way to say the oath?”

[Fear Lanterns can modify the oath. You may replace “Sinestro” with Bearer’s name, “Starburst”.]

Star thought it over once again, but it still felt wrong. She wasn’t self-centered, if shev was going to use the ring’s power to do, whatever she eventually decided to do, then she needed an oath that didn’t make it sound like she was all powerful and ego maniacal.

“I’ll think of something, let’s just see what happens when we start.”

Starburst trotted closer to the Power Battery. Lifting her foreleg, she made sure to press the insignia on the ring against the inside of the lantern’s glass opening. The reaction was immediate. The lantern began to shine with yellow light. Starburst could already feel the energy course through her from the ring. It was then that the young mare knew exactly how to word the oath.

“In Blackest Day, in Brightest Night,
Beware your fears made into light.
Let those who try to stop what’s right,
Burn like my power – Fear’s holy light!”

The lantern then let loose a brilliant flash of golden light. The ring shined brighter than it had before. Star had to catch her breath for a second, the charging of the ring and the energy flowing from it through her was a real head rush.

[Power levels at 100%, unit now operating at maximum efficiency.]

“Good to know. Guess I’ll have to keep tabs on your power levels in case I get into another fight like that, again,” said Star.

[Reviewing Bearer’s battle actions. Processing…processing…processing…Complete. Based on Bearer’s actions, unit has confirmed full worthiness. Preparing to play message.]

“Message, what messa –!?”

The ring then glowed once again, projecting outwards. Star watched as the light began to form the image of something or rather someone. When the image finally came into focus, Star was puzzled by its appearance. The being before her wasn’t equine in any way, it had arms and two legs, an angular face with pointed ears, a pair of intimidating eyes, and a small mustache that adorned his upper lip. This being reminded her of the stories her mother told her, about when she traveled to a parallel world where the inhabitants weren’t ponies, in fact they resembled this being, but only slightly. The being wore armor with a flowing cape on his back, and upon his left…hand she supposed, was a ring similar to the one on her hoof.

{Greetings, I am Thaal Sinestro of Korugar. I’m sure you have many questions, but save them for the ring’s A.I. there is something that you must know. I was once a member of an organization called the Green Lantern Corps, a group of beings from across the universe, chosen to bring peace and order to said universe. However, as time went on, I realized that the methods of the Green Lantern’s were insufficient in properly bringing order to a chaotic universe. I sought to do better, and so I quit the Corps and went in search of a way to bring my ideals to life.}

{I eventually found it. By…persuading some individuals –}

“Something tells me that ‘persuading’ means something different to you.” Star commented.

{I was able to forge a ring that was powered by Fear. It was quite the endeavor, as a Green Lantern we are taught to overcome fear, the rings of my former Corps relied on Willpower in order to function. It took some doing, but I was able to master the power of Fear and wield as my own. What followed next was a long and…unfortunately, tragic string of events.}

{I forged my own, self-named, Sinestro Corps. It was contrived of some of the most fearsome and sadistic members from many galaxies. Together we waged war against the Green Lantern Corps, but eventually, we were defeated. I believed that I was always right, that my way was good and just, as long as long as the ends of order and peace were the result then the means were justified.}

{In my folly, my home world was enslaved by own corps in the aftermath of the Krona Incident. And…after other events occurred, my planet was completely destroyed…}

Starburst watched as the image of Thaal Sinestro paused for a moment, the fierce intimidating look he once had gave way to a deep sorrow that pained him to talk about. Even after hearing all the things that he did, the ultimate price for his actions was the destruction of his home, his entire planet. Star could tell that this being had probably done some deplorable and villainous things in his life, but even the loss of one’s planet was high price to pay.

{In the end, following the defeat of the First Lantern, now fused with the power of the Entity of Fear, Parallax, I took the remainder of my corps and we disappeared to the furthest reaches of the universe.}

{A friend of mine, the only one I consider a true friend, showed me how wrong I was. I both despise and admire him for it, though I’d sooner tear my own head off than admit it to the arrogant idiot.}

{By now you are probably wondering why you have received your ring, and why I have shared my personal history with you. It is because I do not wish for you or any others to repeat my mistakes. I reprogrammed the rings a few years after the corps’ departure. They now not only seek out those who can instill fear, but who are also just. You are among the first in the newly established Fear Lantern Corps. A corps dedicated to use the power of Fear to strike terror into the hearts of criminals.}

{Learn from me, do not become me, follow your justice and above all, do not lose your way. This is Thaal Sinestro, good luck Fear Lantern.}

The image of Sinestro then disappeared, turning into particles of golden light that were retracted back into the ring. Starburst sat on her haunches, mulling over what Thaal Sinestro said. She was chosen to be a part of a corps whose sole duty was to bring justice to all through the power of fear. Star didn’t deny that the fact that the Fear Lantern Corps was set up by a, former, evil person. But when she thought about it, his goals, like hers, were good and right, the ways he went about to obtain them were wrong.

“Guess we’re alike in some ways,” whispered Star.

She then raised the ring up to her eyes and smiled as she stared down at the insignia.

“Mom was right, when one door closes, another one opens. Ring!”

[Yes Bearer?]

“I want to know as much as you can tell me, what is the Green Lantern Corps? Are there other Corps that I should know about, and are there other Fear Lanterns on this planet?”

[Processing request, displaying information, now.]

The ring shined and produced several screens all over the living room, each one had information on her questions, and Star knew that by the time she got through with one of them she’d have more to ask.

“Well, since I’m grounded, might as well catch up on some reading. Oh and ring…?”

[Yes Bearer?]

“Don’t refer to me as ‘Bearer’, when there’s no one else around, call by my name.”

[Correction acknowledged, committing to memory, Starburst.]

“Let’s get started.”

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

The Liberation of Cloudsdale (Part 1)

2 Months Earlier, Post Stalliongrad…

The Griffon Empire was abuzz with the news of defeat at Stalliongrad. Information about the defeat was kept classified, and the soldiers who were there were ordered to not speak a word of it or be executed for treason. It was so bizarre; they were the stronger species, faster, and more cunning than some simple ponies. So why was it that they lost Stalliongrad, an area that was once part of their territory before the Equestrians took from them?

All these questions and more were on the minds of the Wing Commanders, having met in their War Room to discuss the failed operation before reporting to the Emperor. Steel Wing was looking particularly peeved, Stalliongrad was his operation, and in all his years of service, not once had any enemy driven him away from a conquest. Sadly, there seemed to be little pity or empathy amongst his fellow Wing Commanders.

“So, you got frightened off by a little pony and came flying back to the capital with your tail between your legs,” mocked Blood Wing. “Very unbecoming.”

“Easy Carmen,” spoke Shadow Wing, “I’m sure Chalyvas has a good explanation as to what occurred during the siege.”

Beast Wing was leaning his hulking form against the wall, staring indignantly at his fellow Wing Commander, snorting with disapproval of his dishonorable actions at the pony border city.

“And it had better be a good one.” Beast Wing added.

Growling from the lack of respect from the other three Wing Commanders, Steel Wing decided to regale them with the tale of his defeat, a tale that left a vile taste in his mouth. He spoke clearly, as to make sure the others got the details and so that he didn’t have to repeat this again. When he got to the part of his soldiers marching through the streets, and then making an example out of a family of ponies, Shadow Wing couldn’t help but chuckle.

“And what is it that you find amusing, Nox!”

Shadow Wing, or Nox, put a claw in a placating fashion. “Forgive me; it just sounds so like you to make a grandstanding point in the middle of battle. Never mind, you may continue.”

Chalyvas grunted but continued, “That’s when we were attacked, by a pegasus pony. This pony wielded a power and weapon I’ve never seen. It tore through our anti-magic armor as it was mere tissue paper! One hundred soldiers rent asunder, my trained battalion, and they were wiped out as if they were nothing! I challenged the pegasus, we fought, and I was on the verge of taking the object which gave it power but then…” Chalyvas paused.

Carmen rolled her claw in the air, “Go on, you were about to take this object when…?”

“It shined with a bright yellow light…I saw…things, things that I had long since stopped being afraid of, it was as if it was assaulting my very mind with fear! I couldn’t withstand it; it felt as if my mind was tearing itself apart! That’s when I…I…”

“You ran away,” finished Beast Wing.

“Interesting, a weapon that can induce fear and decimate an army, all unto one individual at that, interesting, very interesting…” Nox stroked his lower beak in contemplation. “We can assume that the Equestrians only have one of those weapons, otherwise they’d have multiple users on the battlefield already. We can also theorize that the pegasus you saw wielding it is working alone, since there has been no news of the wielder other than what the media is drumming up. This pony is most likely a rogue agent, fighting but not affiliated with any branch of the Equestrian military.”

Carmen whistled and then clapped her claws, “Bravo, Nox, you got all that from Chalyvas’ humiliating story?”

Nox smiled deviously at the red griffoness, “This is mostly theoretical, we won’t know for sure unless one of us faces this rogue one on one.”

“In that case, I’ll be sure to drag back the carcass,” spat Chalyvas.

“No, no, you mustn’t do that. There are other ways of getting information that don’t involve beating the informant to a bloody pulp. We may know more when my operation starts.”

All eyes shifted towards Nox, earning him incredulous looks from each of the griffons.

“What kind of ‘operation’ could you possibly have planned, we’ve never heard anything about this!?” Beast Wing growled.

“Well I guess that’s why I’m head of the Pretenders Division, and you’re not.”

Present Day…

Star awoke from a long and restful night. Her muscles ached all over from the training she did at Ghastly Gorge, along with the other training she did with Del and Prism. She wondered though, because both stallions were giving her weird looks, and not just them, but so were Annie, Turquoise, and Claire.

“Well, I did ask Annie and Claire for some weird stuff so them I understand. But I don’t really get Del and Prism, I workout and fly with them a lot.” Star jumped out of bed and fixed the sheets before heading to the kitchen to get breakfast. It was right around when Star was getting the cereal box that a disturbing thought entered her head. “Were they…Were they checking me out!?”

Starburst’s cheeks blushed red upon thinking such a thing. She then unconsciously checked her form, starting from her flanks, to her wings, hind legs and forelegs, and then ending with her mane. The past few weeks of intense ring training helped Star get back into fighting shape, with toned muscles that, didn’t bulge but instead streamed out smoothly.

Well I guess I’m…alright…but, compared to Claire or Annie, or even Nidra I – I – WHAT THE HAY DO I EVEN CARE!!?

Starburst then stomped her way over to the fridge and grabbed the milk, and then a bowl, and lastly she plopped herself down at the table and began eating her breakfast, crunching on the Honey Oat flakes, taking her frustration out on the tiny, innocent breakfast food. Star felt like such things as wondering if you have the perfect figure or were stunningly pretty were overrated. She was already in good health and in good, athletic shape. She didn’t do it to impress, it was just practical for a pegasus not to have excess body fat to slow them down during flight. And as far as looking pretty was concerned, well, it’s not like Star was looking to impress somepony, but that didn’t mean she didn’t maintain good grooming habits.

“Why am I even thinking about this? Guess I’m bored…” Star then looked out the window, staring off into space. “I’d go and fight, but thanks to that undercover Royal Guard still hanging around here somewhere, I can’t leave too long without raising up a red flag.”

It was a conundrum that had Star banging her head against the walls some nights. Even with the ring’s invisibility and intangibly functions, there was no way she could slip out of Ponyville for too long. Eventually one of her friends, or the RG themselves would come and see if she was home, and if she wasn’t then Star would get in even more trouble with her parents.

“And I’m on thin ice as it is. This would be so much easier if I knew who the Guard was!”

*Knock*

Starburst suddenly heard somepony knocking at the door. She looked up at the clock, which read 7:30, and the library wasn’t scheduled to open until 8:30, since it was a Friday. So she deduced it was probably one of her friends coming to check up on her. Star loved them, really she did, but there was such a thing as being too worried. Star got up from the table and made her way downstairs and to the door.

*Knock*

“Okay, okay, I’m coming, jeez.” Starburst then grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door slightly to see who it was. A mare stood before her, wearing a Wonderbolts hoody, her coat was a shade darker than that of the hoody, and for some reason she kept the hood up, obscuring her face a bit. “Library hours are from 8:30AM to 1:30PM, we’re closed for the moment.”

“Oh don’t mind me I just came for a visit.”

“A visit, are you talking about – HEY!”

The mare pushed passed Star and entered the library; she scanned the room, taking in all the details of the home/business/library.

“So this is where Princess Twilight lived before she moved to Canterlot. Always wanted to see the inside of the place, man so much stuff must’ve gone down in this place when the Princess lived here.”

Starburst smacked her forehead and groaned audibly. Great, some fan girl wanting to see my Mom’s old house. Starting to get tired of these types, although I have to admit, she’s got balls for barging in here, especially with me living here.

“Alright Miss whatever-your-name-is, you had your peek inside, now please get out of my house!” Star ordered.

“Sorry no can do.”

Starburst’s eye twitched at that, did she really just blow her off like she wasn’t a threat?

“Okay, you got two options. Option one: You leave out the front door, no broken bones, no black eyes, and no jail time. Option two: Same as one, but more violent, and you thanking me for giving you the courtesy of limping out.”

The mare turned to Starburst and shook her head while chuckling. “Oh boy, you really are a feisty one aren’t ya? But then again, I already knew that Princess Starburst, it’s probably what helped you in Stalliongrad.”

“Whoop-de-do, you know who I am so you also know that I’m not kidding when –!” Starburst stopped mid-sentence as the mare’s words started to register in her mind. “How do you know I was in Stalliongrad!?”

“Might be because we fought in that living Tartarus together, or it could be that we were roomies on the Nightingale.”

Starburst’s eyes grew wide with realization, but it couldn’t be, could it?

The mare started to remove her hoody and then tossed it on the floor. Once off, her coat color changed from the blue to yellow-gold, her mane and tail becoming a dingy white, and lastly, her eyes changing to that of a piercing blue color. Starburst gasped and backed away a bit as if she had seen a ghost.

“Hi Daisy, or do you prefer Princess Starburst – OMPH!”

The pegasus mare was soon tackled by Starburst, sending the two of them tumbling about on the ground before they stopped, with Star hugging the mare beneath her tightly.

“Sunny, oh Faust, you’re alive! You’re alive!”

Sunny started to see tears forming in Star’s eyes, she smiled warmly, but grunted when she felt Star’s hug grow tighter. She’s strong for a mare her size!

“Uh, Star, maybe you could let up a little, `cause if not, I might not be alive for much longer,” she wheezed.

Starburst immediately loosened her vice like hug on Sunny, the older mare sucked in wind after finally being allowed to breathe.

“I-I can’t believe it, you were surrounded by a swarm of griffons! How did you escape, why were you wearing the weird hoody!?”

“Whoa, whoa, I’ll tell you Star, I promise, but first I have one question.”

“What?”

“Are you sure you’re not into mares?”

Starburst deadpanned, “No Sunny, I am not into mares.”

“Oh, well then you better get off me, the position we’re in is tempting me to test that theory.”

Starburst’s mind finally caught up with how they were positioned. With Sunny lying on her back, and Star, thanks to her shorter stature, was straddling Sunny’s stomach, and Star’s upper half hovering over Sunny’s face. The young mare blushed furiously as she flared her wings and jumped off of Sunny, using her wings to push off. Star then landed a few feet away from Sunny, her cheeks becoming red as cherries.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen! It was an accident, I swear!”

Sunny got up off the floor and brushed herself off, a sly smile curling upon her lips, “Made ya blush.”

Starburst started to fume from being tricked so easily, “Do you want me to hurt you?”

“Eh, I’m not really into that kind of kinky stuff, but uh, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try if it was you,” said Sunny adding wink of the eye.

Starburst’s face became red hot, “That is so not what I meant!”

“That’s twice now.”

“SUNNNY!!!”

The yellow-gold mare raised her hooves in submission, “I’ll stop, I’ll stop.” Starburst huffed as she turned her gaze away from Sunny. “Really, though, it’s good to see you Princess Starburst.”

Star glanced over at the mare and let a small smile creep onto her lips, “I’m happy to see you too, and lose the royal title thing, just call me Star.” The orange pegasus then turned directly to Sunny. “But seriously, how did you make it!? The last thing I saw was you throwing yourself into a horde of griffon soldiers!”

“Well, it’s a story.”

Cloudsdale, 2 Hours Later…

The floating city of Cloudsdale, home to every pegasus in Equestria, a city founded by the strong and courageous Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy, it was to serve as a the pegasi’s resting place and home. Many years have seen the expansion of the city, just as much, the city’s most important feature, the Weather Factory. Since the beginning, pegasi were able to manipulate and control the weather of Equestria, giving them a high status amongst many of the other pony tribes. But ever since the day of Hearth’s Warming, the pegasi worked in harmony with the other tribes to ensure that all had what they needed and that their new home would be properly taken care of.

Currently, two of Cloudsdale’s residents were flying towards City Hall, which still held onto its ancient architecture of large columns and heroic statues of pegasi past.

“I still don’t know why I have to come all the way here for a plaque,” said Rainbow Dash.

“The mayor of Cloudsdale wants to honor you Dash, and if you ask me this was a long time coming,” said Spitfire.

“It’s no big deal, they could’ve just mailed the plaque to me, and it’s not like I’m the only pegasus who’s done some great things.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but not many of those pegasi are Elements of Harmony, have defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, a Changeling Queen, and a dark unicorn king, on top of being a Wonderbolt and Manager of the Weather Factory, even if it was a brief stint.”

Rainbow Dash blushed slightly as Spitfire listed all her accomplishments.

“Still…”

Spitfire smirked as she stared at Rainbow Dash incredulously.

“Jeez, used to be this kind of thing got you all hyper and squealing like a schoolfilly. You loved bragging about yourself, why’s getting a plaque such a hassle,” she asked.

“For one: I do not ‘squeal like a schoolfilly’, and B –”

“Really, that’s not what Soarin said.”

Rainbow Dash’s face was as red as the streak in her mane; she nearly fell out of the sky from what Spitfire said to her. After righting herself, Rainbow Dash tried to say something but each time it came out in gibberish. After waiting a few seconds to calm down, Rainbow Dash finally got back enough composure to speak in coherent sentences.

“What, exactly, did Soarin say?”

“Hmm, something about having to get a sound dampening spell projector for your guys’ room `cause he didn’t want you waking your kid, or the neighborhood with your ‘cute voice’.” Spitfire punctuated her remark by making air quotes with her hooves.

Rainbow Dash made a mental note to both buck her husband between the legs and to cut him off for the rest of the summer. With that out of the way, the two mares landed at the top of the Cloudsdale Pantheon, also known as City Hall. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire entered through the revolving doors, seeing many pegsai dressed in suits and flying about, either talking to other ponies about some political stuff, or going over important documents. The two Wonderbolts followed the signs all the way to the Mayor’s office. At the front was a pegasus mare with black, horn-rimmed glasses, she had her mane done into a ponytail and sported a dark shade of purple for her coat color.

“Ahem, we were called by the Mayor, he wanted to see me for something,” said Rainbow Dash.

The secretary looked up from her paperwork and smiled cheerfully at the sight of Rainbow Dash and Spitfire.

“Oh yes, the Mayor is expecting you Mrs. Dash and Mrs. Spitfire, please follow me.”

The cheerful mare led the two Wonderbolts through the double doors and into the office of Mayor Cumulus. The pegasus stallion was sitting at his desk while a another, younger stallion, with a gray coat, pointed out different parts for the Mayor to sign. The secretary demurely excused herself, gaining the attention of both stallions.

“Sir, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire of the Wonderbolts have arrived.”

The Mayor, a white pegasus with a dark brown mane and green eyes stared in amazement at the two mares before him.

“Ah Mrs. Rainbow Dash, and Mrs. Spitfire! I’m happy to see you both. Thank you Miss Fluff, that’ll be all.”

The mare excused herself from the room and shut doors behind her. Mayor Cumulus then got up from his chair and walked towards the two mares.

“It’s so good to see two of Cloudsdale’s finest back home, I’m glad you’re here.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, “No problem Mayor, but, could you tell me what exactly I came here for? I mean, no offense, but if it was for an award we could’ve set up a meeting somewhere else.”

Mayor Cumulus then laughed heartily at Rainbow Dash’s eagerness to get to the point of the matter. “Ha, ha, very well, but you see, it’s not really an award we’re giving you. It’s a more of something to honor you and Mrs. Spitfire as well.”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire looked at each other in confusion, prompting the assistant to clarify.

“The Mayor’s office was considering adding you and Mrs. Spitfire to Atrium Caeli Fecerunt,” said the assistant.

Both Rainbow Dash and Spitfire’s eyes bulged from hearing that. Atrium Caeli Fecerunt was old Pegasian for “The Hall of the Sky’s Heroes”, it was a hall where pegasi from ages past had statues erected and displayed. Only the worthy, those whom the pegasus community decided as a whole, were allowed to get a statue made of them and put inside that great hall. It was similar to Canterlot Castle’s stained glass windows depicting Twilight and their friends doing heroic and noble acts for Equestria. And yes, that was an honor, but this was something that the pegasi all over Cloudsdale decided on. It was a little overwhelming for them.

“Whoa…” Rainbow Dash managed to say.

“Yeah,” agreed Spitfire.

“I can see you two fine mares are struck speechless, well you’ve earned it, the both of ya.” Mayor Cumulus moved back to his desk and produced two pieces of legal papers that already had his signature written on them. “Just sign your names on these ladies and we’ll get started with the creation of the statues.”

Unfortunately, the signing of the papers was put on hold as a loud explosion went off in the distance. From the window of the Mayor’s office, all four ponies could see as one of the buildings had a big hole in it, and it was on fire – on fire, a cloud. But that wasn’t the end of it, oh no, in no time multiple explosions rang out through the entire city in succession.

“What the hay is going on!?” Mayor Cumulus yelled.

“A hostile takeover,” answered the assistant calmly.

All three ponies stared at the young stallion, confused by how calm, cool, and collected he was. Any rational pony would be going ballistic at seeing their home getting blown up, but he barely batted an eye.

“Now that you two have arrived we can begin the operation.” Before anypony could ask what he meant, the stallion tore off his business jacket and slammed his right hoof into his chest. At that moment a bright light erupted from the stallion, causing the Mayor to retreat to the safety of the two Wonderbolts. All of them watched as the pegasus stallion’s body grew, his wings becoming larger, his tail becoming whip like. His front hooves changed into dark yellow talons, while his hind legs became lion’s paws. Finally his neck elongated and his muzzle turned into beak that matched the color of his talons. His violet eyes narrowed as he let out a fierce roar into the air. None of them could believe it. The stallion had changed into a griffon.

“Ah, that’s better. Even for a glamour charm, you can start to feel real cramped in that shell of a small body.”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire assumed a defensive stance, flaring their wings in preparation for an attack.

“What are you, a Changeling!?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“No, I hate those little insects. I am one-hundred percent, pure blooded, griffon, Lazarus, at your service Mrs. Rainbow Dash.” The griffon politely bowed to the mare before continuing. “Now, if you all cooperate we can move through this operation with as little pain and without losing any more lives than are necessary.”

Spitfire snorted in defiance of the griffon, “You seem to think you have the upper hoof here, but you’re up against two Wonderbolts, you’d better give up now and save yourself some pain!”

At that moment the doors behind them were smashed open. Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Mayor Cumulus all turned to see what had happened. A second griffon entered the room, her fur and feathers were of a dark purple color, her head plumage were colored gray like the other griffon’s, they even had the same eye color.

“Freakin’ finally! I thought those assholes would never set off the charges!”

“Everyone this is my little sister, Lara, and do forgive her, she’s a bit crass.”

“Bite me Laz!”

“Already did that last week.”

Mayor Cumulus glanced between the two griffons and asked in a panicky voice, “W-What do you want!? Why are you here!?”

“Ah, a good question Mayor. You see, we’re the leaders of this little operation, a battalion of griffons from the Pretenders Division. To put it simply, we’re somewhere between assassins and foot soldiers. As to why we are here, well, we’re here to take control of Cloudsdale, its Weather Factory, and all its inhabitants.”

“Fat chance,” muttered Rainbow Dash.

“What was that bitch!? Care to repeat that to my face!” Lara leaned in close and stared down Rainbow Dash, bearing her sharp teeth

“You think you’re the first griffoness who’s gotten in my face!” Rainbow Dash got closer to the griffoness and bumped their foreheads together, both pushing against each other. “You don’t scare me! I’ve faced things scarier than you! So back the buck OFF!”

Spitfire and Cumulus just stared at Rainbow Dash, mouths agape at the fact that the prismatic mare was telling off this griffoness soldier like it was just another day at work. Scary thing is, the two thought, it probably was true.

Lazarus walked over to his sister and pulled her back by the shoulder, “Lara, we’ll have none of that. Now…” he then raised up his foreleg and brought his gauntlet to beak level, “All Pretenders, the fox is in the hen house. I repeat. The fox is in the hen house.”

Lara smirked, knowing exactly what that code phrase meant. She then looked upon the three ponies and smiled sinisterly, “Get comfortable ponies, this is our town now.”

Golden Oaks Library…

Sunny and Star were now in the upstairs den, both mares catching up with each other as Sunny told Starburst how she escaped the horde of griffons that nearly killed her.

“So after finally punching a hole through them I flew off like the wind! I had used up my last blades and decided to use a couple of swords from some dead griffons, after some fancy flying and about twenty or so dead griffons later, they backed me into a corner. It wasn’t until this bright flash of yellow light lit up the sky with the Equestrian Royal flag did the griffons retreat. I don’t know who or what did that, but it was the only thing that saved my life.

After a bit, I started to head back to our territory, but then I spotted you, in the Square, out cold. You were banged up really bad so I carried you back to friendly territory, and, as they say, the rest is history.”

Starburst couldn’t believe it, Sunny was the one who saved her after she passed out. That it was Sunny who had been watching her this whole time Star was in Ponyville.

“I can’t believe you’re a part of the Equestrian Bureau of Espionage. I thought you were just a soldier,” said Star.

“I am, but I also excel in combat, stealth, recon, and intelligence gathering. So they decided to keep me in both, when I’m fighting on the front lines I answer to the generals and commanders, but when I’m doing a mission as an EBE agent, I answer to the crown. It was Prince Valiant Heart’s idea that I keep an eye on you, since I’m the only one besides him who knew that you were pretending to be a soldier at Stalliongrad.”

Starburst winced at that memory; it wasn’t exactly the highlight of her life. “I’m sorry Sunny, I promise I wasn’t impersonating a Royal Guard just for fun, I was serious about it the whole time! I still wish I could’ve helped you out…”

“No, it was the right call. You were top priority to get to safety.”

Starburst scoffed at that, “Just because I have a royal title doesn’t mean that my life is automatically worth more than yours, Sunny.”

“On the contrary, it does, even more so to the griffons. If they had gotten a hold of you, if just one of them figured out who you were, we could’ve kissed Stalliongrad goodbye and the war along with it.”

Starburst slammed her hooves on the table and stared angrily at Sunny, “I know I’m royalty and that getting captured would’ve been bad for Equestria! I just…” Star released a strained sigh and sat back down.

“Do you know oath of the Royal Guard, Star?” Starburst thought for moment but nothing came to mind. “In days of peace, in times of war, protect the crown forever more. With our lives we will defend, our wills shall never bend. It’s kept secret until you enter the Academy, it’s a prayer and a promise, that no matter what, we will protect the citizens of Equestria from whatever evil befalls it. At the same time we shall act as the sword and shield of the crown. So don’t say that your life is equal to mine, it diminishes what other Royal Guards fought and died for.”

Starburst didn’t think it was even possible to feel guiltier than she already did, but to her surprise, she did. She impersonated a Royal Guard, and yet didn’t know what it truly meant to be one. With everything that Star was thinking about, there was one thing that struck her as odd. The EBE was an organization built upon the principles of intelligence, espionage, and secrecy.

“Sunny, why in the world did you go and blow your cover, I mean, I’m glad that you’re safe and alive, but, isn’t it against protocol to reveal your identity to the pony you’re supposed to be shadowing?”

Sunny Skies finished sipping her cup of coffee. She then brought her hooves together in a contemplating fashion. “Because, Star, for the last month I’ve been watching you, and somehow you’ve slipped by my detection, not once, but multiple times. Now, I’m good at giving the slip, but for you to disappear entirely without me knowing where you’re at takes some skill. Not to mention, I’ve noticed some strange flashes of light coming from inside the library from time to time…”

Starburst gulped, knowing where this line of questioning was going. Star had been using the cloaking and intangibility functions of her ring so much, she believed herself undetectable, slipping under the radar of her shadow. Unfortunately, now it seems that her jaunts to Ghastly Gorge hadn’t gone unnoticed at all.

“There’s also the added peculiar behavior you’ve shown lately. Ever since you heard Maretonia fell, you’ve been working out as if you were on a mission. One can’t help but think that you’re planning on doing something stupid, for instance, throwing yourself back into the battlefield, again.”

Starburst stayed silent for a bit. Should she tell Sunny? The two of them had been through a lot together already, and really, the fact the Sunny blew her cover to talk to Star about it meant that she’s willing to show a little trust. With a long sigh, Starburst raised her right hoof up to chest level.

“Ring, disable cloaking.”

[Deactivating EM Field Distortion.]

“Who said that – WHAT THE HAY!?”

The area around Star’s right hoof began to ripple, like a mirage that was coming into focus. After a few seconds the distortion vanished, revealing Starburst’s yellow power ring. Sunny stared at the object for several long and intense seconds. Starburst was starting to wonder if showing her fellow pegasus friend the ring was the right thing to do. She really had no guarantee that Sunny wouldn’t immediately report this to her mother, father, or even Valiant Heart. If she did, Star would lose her one and only chance to make up for her mistake, to live her dream of protecting the innocent and defending the weak from evil and strife. Finally, Sunny spoke, “Star…You’re…You’re the Golden Star!?”

The young pegasus mare simply nodded.

“Well…guess that means I owe you my life.”

Starburst was prepared for the worst case scenario, but she wasn’t really prepared for something like that, which delayed her response. “W-What!? Aren’t you going to tell me that I should give you the ring!? Or go to report to my parents or Valiant!?”

“Starburst, if it wasn’t for you, I’d have died in an alley with a hundred plus griffons tearing me limp from limp. And you helped us regain Stalliongrad, there are a lot of Guards and ponies who owe you their lives, and like I said, I’m one of them.”

“So…does that mean that you won’t report on this…?”

Sunny brought a hoof to her chin, thinking over the question. “I should, it’s my duty as an EBE agent. However, there’s no real proof about who the Golden Star is. I mean, who am I to question your sense of fashion tastes, isn’t that right Star?”

It didn’t take long for Starburst to catch on, a sly smile forming on her lips, “Yeah, it’s just a fancy ring I got. It looked cool, so I decided to buy it.”

“Cool.”

Just then the ring started to flash rhythmically off and on.

“Uh, what’s it doing…?”

“Don’t know, ring what’s going on?”

[Large number of hostiles detected.]

Both Starburst and Sunny Skies sprang to their hooves, both mares’ expressions growing serious.

“‘Hostiles’, you mean griffons, where, are they coming to Ponyville!?” Star asked.

[Negative, they are –]

“LET ME GO!!!”

Starburst and Sunny Skies heard a voice yelling outside. Star seemed to recognize the voice, after cloaking the ring again, and after Sunny re-donned her Wonderbolts hoody, both of them rushed outside and saw a strange sight. Prism Bolt was, for some reason, being restrained by both Turquoise and Golden Delicious, both stallions working together to keep the angry pegasus from taking off. A mare strode up to Prism, with a purple coat, and an icy blue mane and tail. Starburst recognized this mare as Whirlwind, Prism’s ex-girlfriend/friend.

“Prism you have to calm down!” Whirlwind begged.

“SHUT UP! MY MOM’S IN DANGER, YOU THINK I’M JUST GOING TO STAY HERE!?”

Starburst saw that other ponies were joining the crowd, with Star’s friends at the center of it all. She quickly pushed her way through them and ended up next to Crystal Clarity.

“Claire what’s going on, why’s Prism going berserk!?”

“Star it’s…it’s awful, Cloudsdale has been taken over by griffon soldiers!”

Starburst’s eyes went wide; she stumbled a bit as if the words had physically smacked her upside the head. After getting over the initial shock of it all, she quickly donned her more authoritative composure.

“How, what happened!?”

“Nopony knows! We just got the news just now! The Royal Guard has Cloudsdale completely surrounded, but they can’t get in, not with them holding everypony in the city hostage,” explained Claire. “And, unfortunately, Prism’s mother is one of the hostages, along with her friend, Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts.”

Starburst quickly glanced over her shoulder, hearing a shocked gasp from the crowd and knowing exactly who it belonged to. Her attention was quickly turned back to the three stallions at the center of the commotion. T had his strong forelegs wrapped around Prism’s barrel, holding the pegasus stallion down. Despite his draconian strength, Prism’s determination and fury was giving him the extra adrenaline boost to slip the dragon-pony’s grasp. When it looked as if Prism was about to get away, Del would tackle his friend back to the ground, both working in tandem to keep Prism from taking off into the air.

“Prism listen to us, you can’t go to Cloudsdale! They’ve cut off all air traffic in and around the area, you’ll be arrested! You can’t help your mom like this!” T shouted.

“Just listen to us, Ah know you’re worried, but goin’ off and gettin’ yourself killed won’t help nopony, especially her!” Del yelled.

“I DON’T CARE! YOU’VE HEARD WHAT THOSE GRIFFON BASTARDS DID AT STALLIONGRAD! THEY’LL DO THE SAME THING TO HER AND EVERYPONY IN CLOUDSDALE! I WON’T LET THAT HAPPEN!”

Prism then bucked Turquiose in the chest, hard, knocking the air out of his lungs. Normally T would’ve shrugged it off, but he wasn’t expecting his friend to hit him full force. Feeling the dragon-pony back off, Prism pushed Del back and delivered an uppercut to the stallion’s jaw, sending him flying backwards and landing sprawled out on the ground. Starburst gritted her teeth and was prepared to get in there and face down Prism, he may’ve been taller and stronger than her, but Star wasn’t an easy opponent, not after all the training she did. But before Star could do anything Anthea broke away from the crowd and stood right in front of Prism, giving him a serious and determined look.

“Annie what are you doing,” cried T with a pained voice.

Prism looked down at the blind mare and snorted angrily. “Out of my way Anthea – NOW!”

Anthea narrowed her gaze, “Sleep.”

The unicorn mare’s horn flashed with green mana, right in Prism’s face. The flash was powerful enough that it sent Annie flying back, but luckily, Claire’s horns flared up, using her magic to catch her friend before she barreled into the crowd. Prism didn’t go anywhere, instead he wobbled back and forth, shaking his head as if trying to fight the influence of whatever spell Anthea had cast. Finally, the spell won out and Prism fell to the ground, knocked out. Turquoise went to his Love’s side, supporting her since she too was wobbling. Starburst helped Del get back up to his hooves, inspecting his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken. The others gathered around Prism and then they stared at Anthea.

“Annie what did you do,” asked Candy.

“I used a sleep spell that Nidra showed me,” Annie paused to rub her head, “However, it’s not exactly my forte, and it took me some time to build up the necessary amount of mana to cast it. I’m feeling kinda drained, but it was worth it.” She then looked to T and then in the general direction where she assumed Del was, “I’m sorry you guys, if I knew he’d get that upset I would’ve started charging the spell sooner…”

Turquiose nuzzled his marefriend comfortingly, “It’s alright Annie, and I’m made of tougher stuff than that.”

“Same here, June can punch harder than that,” said Dell.

The mare in question, a mulberry earth pony mare with a red mane and pink highlights, gave her cousin a cross look, “Excuse me if I didn’t think that that spider prank was funny.”

“In any case,” spoke Claire, using her magic to levitate Prism off the ground, “we need to get Prism back home. Del, Turquoise, you two shall stand guard at his house. Annie, how long will the spell last?”

“Hard to say…Prism should be out for the next eight hours, but he could wake up sooner, given how he was fighting it earlier. I’ll go with them in case I have to cast it again.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Whirlwind, “maybe I can calm him down when he wakes up.”

With their plan settled upon, Claire draped the sleeping stallion on Turquoise’s back and the five of them were off to Prism’s house. Meanwhile the crowd was murmuring and getting restless at what they had just seen, prompting Clarity to turn to them.

“Alright everypony, nothing to see here, go on about your business!” Nopony seemed to be paying attention to her. “Hello, everypony, please clear the area!” Yet again, nopony listened.

Finally having had enough of being ignored, Claire’s horns began to glow and with a deep inhale unleashed a torrent of sky-blue dragon fire into the air. The crowd immediately went silent as they watched the dragon-pony bellow out her magical flames. After a short ten seconds, Claire extinguished her flames, dabbing the sides of her mouth as if she had eaten a messy meal.

“Okay, now then, please, will everypony kindly go on about their business? I’m sure that many of you have relatives who are in danger as well, go home and pray for their safety.”

It didn’t take long before the crowd dispersed and went on about their day, albeit with a sense of dread about the fate of the pegasi in Cloudsdale. Star offered to watch Prism, but Claire and Candy told her that she shouldn’t worry and that they’d have it under control. Starburst didn’t argue with them, because she knew that they did have it under control, and there was somewhere else she needed to be. Star made her way back to the library, but stopped when she noticed Sunny leaning up against the side of the building, hood up, staring at the ground. The young mare walked closer to the older mare and stood there in front of her.

“Sunny…I’m so sorry.”

“That ring, how powerful is it?”

Starburst raised an eyebrow at that question, but answered nonetheless.

“Very powerful, even more so now that I know how to use it.”

Sunny didn’t say anything; Star was starting to get worried about Sunny, seeing as how her mother was trapped in Cloudsdale as well.

“……I’ll keep your friends away from the library for as long as I can……” Sunny then walked passed Starburst, but not before whispering, “Save them…”

Starburst nodded, not turning back to see if Sunny saw her. The pegasus mare then entered the library and locked all the windows and doors to the tree house.

“Ring, check power levels.”

[Power levels at 50%.]

“Better recharge.”

Starburst pointed her ring forward; she then mentally commanded the yellow ring to summon forth her power battery. The ring shined with yellow light as it tore open a dimensional hole in the middle of the room. From the rift her Fear Lantern power battery floated out of the breach between the dimensions and landed in front of her, with the rift closing up behind it. Starburst then thrust her right hoof into one of the open ports; activating the power battery and making it ignite with the power of the light of fear. Once again, Starburst felt the surge of energy rush through her body, but unlike last time, she was used to it.

“In Blackest Day, in Brightest Night,
Beware your fears made into light!
Let those who try and stop what’s right,
Burn like my power – Fear Lantern’s light!”

The battery and ring shined with a blinding golden light, her body was quickly enveloped by it, granting Star her armored uniform, with the Fear Lantern insignia shining upon her chest plate.

[Power levels at 100%.]

“Good,” Starburst then reopened the portal and sent the power battery back to its dimensional hiding spot, “You know what, calling myself a Fear Lantern is starting to get easier, I’m glad I changed the oath.” Starburst then stared up at the ceiling, “Let’s go, it’s time for Equestria’s Golden Star to shine once again!”

[Affirmative.]

Starburst’s body faded and vanished from sight; she then shot up and passed right through the ceiling. The Fear Lantern then looked down upon the town of Ponyville, saying a silent prayer before ascending higher into the sky. She then deactivated the invisibility function; doing so to conserve energy, Starburst then aimed herself in Cloudsdale’s direction and shot off faster than a rocket, with a yellow streak of light forming in her wake.

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

The Liberation of Cloudsdale (Part 2)

It was unbelievable, unheard of even, but they managed to pull it off. The griffons had effectively sealed off Cloudsdale from any and all outside forces, and had taken the citizenry hostage. Royal Guard forces had surrounded the city, but kept a safe distance away per the Pretenders’ demands. From city hall, Lazarus gazed upon the city, a smile forming on his beak. Rainbow Dash, Mayor Cumulus, and Spitfire hadn’t moved from the center of the room. Several times did Dash and Spitfire think about rushing the two griffons, but the addition of two more griffons at the door made escape impossible.

“Well it looks like they’ve done as I’ve asked, now that I’m sure that we will not be disturbed, we can get down to business,” said Lazarus.

“What, you gonna start making demands or something?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh no, we have what we want already, we just need the final piece.”

Lazarus turned towards the three ponies, he then pointed at Mayor Cumulus. Lara groaned in annoyance, she then grabbed the stallion by the neck and dragged him away from the two mares. She then threw the stallion before her brother. Mayor Cumulus shook like a leaf before the intimidatingly cold eyes of the lead griffon.

“Now Mr. Mayor, where exactly is the Core Driver?”

Rainbow Dash and the Mayor’s eyes went wide at the mention of this “Core Driver”, while Spitfire looked on in confusion.

“H-H-H-How do you know about the Core Driver!?” Mayor Cumulus exclaimed.

“Come now Mr. Mayor, my sister and I have been working for you for the last three years, so it’s not unlikely that we haven’t heard about it.”

“What! You mean she was Ms. Fluff?!”

Lara snorted at the mention of her undercover name. “Yeah, I was, and let me tell ya, it took every last ounce of my willpower not to rip your throat out every damn time you groped my ass!”

The stallion’s blood ran cold recalling all the inappropriate things he did and said to Ms. Fluff, now that the griffoness no longer had need of her disguise, she was free to act as she wanted. For a brief moment Cumulus thought about begging her for forgiveness, but one look at the POed griffoness told him that no amount of begging would save his flank from her claws.

“Lara, language, we are in the middle of negotiations at the moment.” Lazarus cautioned. “Mr. Mayor, my underlings have been searching high and low in this city, but have yet to find the entrance to the Core Driver. So would you kindly show us the way to it?”

“Why do you want to know where it is, what possible use could you have for it!?”

Lazarus gave the Mayor a leveled gaze. “To move Cloudsdale of course, that’s the whole reason we’re here.”

“I-I-I can’t, I won’t! The Core Driver is Cloudsdale’s most guarded secret, only a very small group of ponies know where it is! And I won’t give you their names either! You’ll have to – GACK!”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire gasped in horror. Lara had driven a sharp blade, that extended from the from the side of her left gauntlet, straight through the Mayor’s back, the other end striking the cloud floor beneath him. The Mayor turned his head and saw Lara staring at him with wicked glee. She then grasped his throat with her right claw and the pulled back, raking her sharp talons across his trachea. Mayor Cumulus tried to scream, but it only came out as gargled noise as his mouth filled with blood. Lara then retracted the blade and let the body fall to the floor, with the Mayor bleeding out onto the floor.

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire watched as the stallion’s body twitched until the he was lying in a pool of his own blood, dead. The prismatic mare glared at the griffoness, her eyes filled with bloodlust for the murder of her fellow equine. “You BITCH! How could you!!?”

“I’m inclined to agree with Mrs. Dash, sister. We needed him to show us the way to Core Driver. That was rather – how should I put this delicately – idiotic.”

Lara nonchalantly flicked her talons free of the blood that clung to them before answering him. “What, he wasn’t going to tell us anything. As much as a sleaze ball as he was, the damn pegasus still had his pride as one. You’re not seriously going to tell me that he would’ve caved!”

“Well he might’ve if we threatened his wife and children, but now that he is dead that is a moot point.” Lazarus pinched the bridge of his beak in frustration. “I swear if you weren’t my little sister I would’ve disciplined you properly years ago.”

Lara scoffed, “Please, ‘little’, you’re only older by like two damn minutes, so stop lording that over my head!”

“In any case, now we have to find somepony who does. Guess we’ll have weed through the lot till we find one who does. Guess you’ll get the chance to ‘interrogate’ some of our prime suspects.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t like the sound of “interrogation”, especially when it pertained to that crazy griffoness. Something told her that there would be a lot more deaths if she didn’t do something soon.

“Wait…!”

Lazarus and Lara both looked at Rainbow Dash quizzically.

“I…I know where the Core Driver is…I…I can take you to it…”

Lazarus let a small smile grace his beak at hearing this news. “Excellent Ms. Dash, now –!”

“Hold on! I have two conditions! First: You have to promise me that you won’t hurt ANY of the Cloudsdale citizens! And two: Spitfire stays by my side the whole time! If she dies I’ll break my wings and throw myself off the edge of Cloudsdale!” Rainbow Dash fixed
Lazarus with a steely glare, showing that she was very serious in her conviction. “Do we have a deal or not!?”

Lazarus considered Rainbow Dash’s proposal, Lara gave her big brother an incredulous look for even considering her offer. After a few tense seconds of silence, Lazarus’ small smile turned into a big grin.

“Very well Mrs. Dash, lead the way please.”

5 Minutes Later…

Starburst flew at a speed that no normal pegasus pony could reach, zooming across the night sky faster than a rocket. It was mind blowing how much the ring increased her flying speed. As much as she was enjoying the rush, Starburst saw that she was quickly approaching the floating city, but she also saw that there were numerous Royal Guard ponies surrounding the perimeter. Lots of clouds were brought in to create floating bases for the RG pegasi to rest on and conduct their operations.

Star stopped before she got any closer and looked herself over. My aura would be too noticeable, better switch to stealth.

“Ring, EM Distortion.”

[Acknowledged, activating now.]

In the blink of an eye Starburst’s body became one with the night. She quickly flew towards the largest cloud that had a tent set up on it. Star then carefully phased into the tent, looking around to see if she could find out anything about what was going on. She almost gave away her position when she saw who was inside the tent. Standing among the other pegasi Royal Guards, clad in armor with two double-edged swords strapped to his side, was none other than Valiant Heart himself. His gaze was intense as she scanned a magical simulacrum of Cloudsdale.

“So they’re completely cut off from the outside, and it’s too risky for us to go in. Is there any blind spot we can take advantage of?” Valiant asked.

“No sir, our scouts have seen griffon soldiers stationed all around the edge of the city, plus, from what we can gather, they seem to be able to disguise themselves as ponies. We’re still working on finding out how, but with this ability, they could easily pose as a hostage trying to escape.”

“That’s great! Even if we’re able to save them, we may inadvertently be helping some of those griffons slip right under our noses! That’s total BS!”A soldier shouted.

Valiant didn’t waver in light of this information, another thing that Star admired about her cousin. Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had ever seen him in him at work like this. She’d always seen Valiant Heart the cousin, Valiant Heart the trainer, but not Valiant Heart the Captain.

“We can’t give up. They went through a lot of trouble to take over Cloudsdale. We can’t assume that this was a spontaneous event. For now, we operate under the assumption that they’ve planned for any contingencies. They already bombed several buildings within the city, and with the whole population as their hostages, they can execute any number of them without running out of bargaining chips. As morbid as that sounds, it’s the truth. Until we know their endgame, we can’t make any rash decisions.” Valiant ordered.

You may not be able to infiltrate the city Lance, but I can.

Star quietly phased through the cloud and made her way towards Cloudsdale. It was kind of fun, passing through the perimeter RGs as she got closer to the city, she often wondered if this was how ghosts felt when they roamed around. If Star believed in ghosts that is. It wasn’t long before Starburst reached the edge of Cloudsdale, and just like Valiant and the other soldiers said, there were griffons standing sentry, watching the Royal Guard pegasi carefully.

Luckily, none of them seemed to be aware of her presence. Thank Faust. Star’s helmet did more than hide her identity. It also allowed her to see in the dark, acting as a pair of night vision goggles. Which was good since it allowed her to navigate through the city, and, unfortunately, it also allowed her to see the damage done by the griffon infiltrators, and, despite what she thought, it could’ve been worse. Many of the taller buildings had large holes blasted into them, what was truly weird was that many of them had charred edges. Star flew into one of the buildings, landing gently as to not make any noise. “Ring, are there any enemies in the current area?”

The yellow power ring released a few quick bursts, scanning the current vicinity for any sign of the enemy.

[There are multiple enemies within a hundred mile radius. However, there are currently no hostiles within the immediate area.]

“Alright, first off we need to find out how those griffons are able to look like regular ponies, if we do that, and then the Royal Guards can at least take care of the rest. For now we need to get at least one of them.”

[Hostile detected, 800 ft. below.]

Starburst crept towards the edge of the hole, looking down at the streets and saw a griffon soldier flying by. And it gave her an idea. Star dismissed her uniform, and took flight. Being the quicker, Starburst was easily able to fly over the griffon soldier, the full moon overhead casting a silhouette of her shadow down below.

“HEY!” The griffon called out.

Gotcha.

Starburst quickly flew down one street, glancing behind her to see if the griffon was in pursuit, he was. Starburst led the griffon down a few more streets and luckily he was still giving chase, but she knew if she kept this up the griffon soldier might call for backup and she didn’t need to announce her presence too soon. Star then spotted a skyscraper with a hole blown into it and like the last one. She then ducked inside of it, curling up into ball in the corner of the room.

The griffon grunted in annoyance and flew into the building. His eagle eyes allowed him to see in the dark, and with the light of the full moon it was even better. It wasn’t long before the soldier spotted Starburst; her back was to him, her body was shaking like a leaf as if terrified by his very presence.

“Who are you!? Where did you come from – answer me!?”

“I-I-I’m sorry! P-P-Please don’t hurt me! I wasn’t t-trying to escape!”

The griffon growled as he moved closer to her, his eyes squinting in anger. “You’re lucky we aren’t executing you lot yet, or I’d just spare myself the trouble right now! C’mon, I’m throwing your sorry flank with the rest of your kind!”

“…Interesting.”

Suddenly Starburst’s body flashed with yellow light, blinding the griffon soldier. The soldier then found his forelegs and hind legs wrapped in golden-yellow chains and his wings wrapped tightly against his body. The griffon fell to the floor, squirming and writhing against the light construct chains. The griffon then looked to Star, who was now donned in her Fear Lantern uniform, her helmet obscuring her face from him.

“What are you!?”

“That doesn’t matter so much as what will happen to you if you don’t answer my questions!” Star raised her right hoof and the chained up griffon rose up as well. “Now, what is your mission objective!?”

“Grarw org sarek blareg ohmgresh!”

Star was not amused at the griffon’s sudden change to his native griffon language. She then manifested two daggers and drove them into the griffon’s hind legs, eliciting a grunt of pain.

“In Equish, if you don’t mind?”

“Blorg farr!”

Starburst smacked her forehead, wishing that she had taken the time to learn foreign languages, especially those that pertained to their enemy.

[Activating Xeno-linguistics translator.]

“Brageg slok goran ~~~/ and when I’m done I’m going to –!”

Starburst concentrated and made the chains constrict the griffon harder, cutting the griffon off before he could finish his sentence. I think I’m starting to fall in love with this ring.

“Just so you know I can understand you now.”

The griffon’s eyes widened when he heard her speak. He didn’t understand how, but when she spoke he heard her talk in the griffonian language.

“There’s no possible way you could! I’m using a varied form, taken from different regions, there’s no possible way you could understand it!”

“Well I do, and now I’m going to ask you again. What is your main objective!?”

The griffon went silent, he wasn’t going to talk. On any other day Star would be impressed by his loyalty, but she was pressed for time and there were lives hanging in the balance.

“There are different ways to get some information,” Star’s ring began to shine brighter, “and now I know how to get it.”

Unknown Location…

Lazarus and Lara walked behind Rainbow Dash and Spitfire. The two pegasi kept close together, the fact that they had two sociopathic griffons keeping right behind them wasn’t helping. The whole time they walked Spitfire didn’t understand what the big deal was about this “Core Driver”, it had to be important if it made Rainbow Dash look surprised, and it if it had something to do with Cloudsdale it couldn’t have been good.

“Dash, what’s this Core Driver thing, and how bad will it be if they get to it?” Spitfire asked.

Rainbow Dash glanced behind her, the two griffons already knew of its existence, so there was no need to be secretive of its use.

“The CD is…it’s the engine that keeps Cloudsdale floating in the sky. Used to be, the city was kept afloat thanks to the Princesses.They would cast a spell that would keep Cloudsdale stationed in one place, but eventually, they knew that they needed to be self-sufficient. They got help from the unicorns, and the Princesses, and together they created a massive magical engine.

It would act as Cloudsdale’s core and help to not only keep it floating, but to also help drive it any place anywhere in Equestria. Its location and existence is only known to the top officials in Cloudsdale, like the Mayor, as well as those who do maintenance work on it.”
Spitfire’s eyes widened, she was the former Captain of the Wonderbolts, both of them were retired, and she didn’t know a thing about this! So how did Rainbow Dash know about it?

“So…if only top officials know…how come you do?”

Rainbow Dash gaze turned downcast, a hint of sadness was evident in her eyes. “I wasn’t always the best kid…My Dad worked a lot, and with my mother dead, it was just me and him. He would always keep secret about his work and it annoyed me that he wasn’t around. So…I kinda became a bit of a bad girl, getting into fights, staying out late, anything I could do get his attention…

Until I really missed up and almost really hurt myself. My Dad didn’t want me to keep doing that stuff, so he told me, even though it would probably get him in trouble, he told me anyway. When he did, it felt like he really trusted me, he was putting his life – his job – into my hooves, because he loved me and cared about me.” Rainbow Dash chuckled at the memories of her past. “Now that I think about it, everything I did to get him to notice me, it was kinda pathetic back then…”

“Yeah, real pathetic, so pathetic that I might actually throw up,” commented Lara.

Rainbow Dash glanced over her shoulder and sneered at the griffoness. The four of them continued to walk through a long hallway, coming up to a pair of double doors. It had bronze carvings of pegasi flying about, there were four circles strategic placed at the four compass directions, and at the center was the image of Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy, the founders of the floating city.

“My Dad took me here, once. There are multiple ways to get in for the workers, but this is the main entrance.”

“Good, now, would you be so kind as to open it?”

“I led you to the damn thing, open it yourself.” Rainbow spat.

“Oh, ho, ho, Mrs. Dash, you don’t appear to understand your situation.” Lazarus nodded to his sister.

Lara reached for the whip at her hip. She then unfurled it and cracked it towards Spitfire. The whip wrapped itself around the yellow pegasus’ neck, she then pulled it back and dragged Spitfire all the way towards them. She then pulled off the whip and grabbed the mare by the neck. Lara started to squeeze tightly as the former Wonderbolts captain started to wheeze and thrash about, trying to pry the griffoness’ grip on her neck.

Rainbow Dash lowered into an attack position, flaring her wings and glaring daggers at the two griffons. “Let her go! We had a deal!”

“Yes, the deal was that we wouldn’t kill her. And we won’t. You see, my sister has a particularly nasty penchant for…how shall we say, prolonging ones suffering.”

“That’s just Laz’s nice way of saying I’m a total sadist,” Lara sat on her haunches, she then dragged one of her right talons from Spitfire’s belly, all the way up to her chest, careful not to puncture the mare’s flesh, “so I know how to make others wish they were dead.”

“Well now, there you have it. I’m sure that door has some sort of protection to prevent griffons and outsiders from entering it, so you can understand my hesitation in wanting to touch it. So, again, if you please Mrs. Dash, open the door.”

Rainbow Dash shifted her gaze between the two griffons and then to Spitfire. She didn’t like this dynamic. The brother was calm, polite, and crafty, but at the same time, a total psychopath. While the sister was a foul mouthed killer, who actually got off on hurting others. And from the look in the griffoness’ eyes, she looked as if she wanted Rainbow Dash to say no or defy them just so she could have an excuse to hurt Spitfire. Although, Rainbow knew Lara didn’t need a reason, the only thing barely keeping her in line was her brother and even that wasn’t guaranteed.

Rainbow’s body tensed, she wanted nothing more than to barrel into these murderers and take them down, hard! But this wasn’t like a long time ago, she had husband, and two sons to waiting for her, the same with Spitfire, she too had a family waiting for her to come back, and Rainbow wasn’t going to be the reason why Fleetfoot and her daughter Sunny didn’t have a mother and wife anymore. So, reluctantly, Rainbow Dash turned around and walked right up to the door.

Rainbow Dash then tapped to door and immediately something began to occur. The door glowed with a strange light, four orbs floated off the door, along with words written in ancient pegasian.

Directionibus quatuor ventos quatuor magnos spiritus loquimini nobis domain nomina et intrare.

“Boreas,” the top orb glowed, “Notus,” the bottom orb glowed, “Eurus,” the left orb glowed, “Zephyrus,” the right orb, the last, glowed. All four orbs glowed brightly, taking on the forms of four regal ponies. The four orbs then returned into the door, activating the mechanisms that made the double doors open. It was a slow process, but well worth the wait.

When the doors opened, all four gazed in awe at what they saw. The Core Driver was a massive machine, a giant pool of spectra, liquid rainbow, swirled at the bottom, swirling about as it was sucked into a large pillar that was stuck into it. Above it, the second pillar let loose hundreds of dozens of lightning strikes, hitting the clouds and discharging almost every nanosecond. At the center, there was a console that ringed around a central pillar where a blue, sapphire crystal hummed with power.

Lara released Spitfire, throwing her towards Rainbow Dash. The prismatic mare quickly caught her friend and helped her to her hooves. Once she finally was able to breathe she too stared speechless at the sight.

“Something like this was below the city the entire time!?”

“The spectra down below acts like as fuel. It gets sucked up and turned to raw power. It’s then filtered through the sapphire, changing it, and transforming it to electrical energy. That lightning up there is what moves the city, and also keeps it from staying in one place.”

“And your dad showed you all this!?” Spitfire asked incredulously.

Rainbow shrugged and gave a sheepish grin, “What can I say, he really loved me.”

Suddenly they heard the cracking of a whip behind them, Lara’s subtle way of getting them to start walking. The four of them walked inside slowly, looking over every inch of the amazing structure. Spitfire glanced behind her at the griffons, still trying to figure out what their agenda was.

“You realize that what you’re doing to Cloudsdale doesn’t just affect Equestria, it affects the rest of the world. The Weather Factory has a treaty clause that prevents it from using weather to harm other nations, and to provide continuous, scheduled weather even in wartimes. The fact that you guys have taken over the city and shut down the factory puts your Empire in danger as well!” Spitfire argued.

“Drought, dying crops, and all kinds of bad stuff can happen; your whole ecosystem could be thrown off by this! You’re only hurting yourselves,” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“That would be a bad thing, but then again, maybe that’s why we haven’t needlessly killed all the inhabitants of this city, or harmed the Weather Factory.”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire stopped walking as they both came to the same conclusion.

“No…you’re not seriously –!”

“Oh we are,” said Lara.

“We’re relocating Cloudsdale.”

“Relocating Cloudsdale!?”

Starburst had spent the last hour prying information from the solider. During her interrogation, emphasis on “terror”, Star was able to gain useful intel on her enemy. One of the most intriguing pieces was the fact that the armor of the Pretenders Division actually had the ability to cast an advanced form of the Glamour Spell she had Nidra cast on her months ago. It worked so well that nopony, even with detection spells, can tell the difference. And now the griffon had revealed a disturbing piece of information.

“Y-Yes, our objective was to capture and isolate the workers of the Weather Factory, the employee’s families, and hold them hostage.
Once that was complete, we were to close off the entire city, no one in or out. The last objective was to locate the Core Driver and move the city of Cloudsdale to the capital of the Empire, Griffonia...”

That’s insane! If they do that they’ll have control over all weather systems – not just in Equestria – but the world! They could put us through a never ending drought, create floods, and rain down tornados! That is, they would, if Equestria didn’t surrender, and with a whole city of innocent ponies on the line…they’d be hard pressed not to comply. I’ll be damned if that’ll happen on my watch!

Starburst made the chains snake underneath the soldier’s armor. The griffon shuddered at what the super powered mare was going to do. Suddenly the gaps in his armor were filled with yellow light, pushing against the protective gear and expanding to the breaking point. At last the soldier’s armor gave way to the power and the locks and straps that kept it in place broke off, stripping the griffon of his special armor. The enchanted creation fell to the hardened cloud floor. The griffon looked on in confusion as to why he hadn’t been killed, but decided to keep quiet.

“Ring, analyze the armor, can you find a way to make it so that they can’t use their armor to hide?”

Star pointed her ring at the pieces of armor, the power ring released a thin beam of light that passed over the pieces ten times and then stopped to process the data.

[Armor enchantment appears to work upon the same principals as EM Distortion. I may be able to create a jamming frequency, but it will take time.]

“Understood, how about intercepting their communications? Their using CommCrystals and it would be great to hear what they’re up to.”

[Communication method uses magical elements, and I am not able to replicate such an ability. However, further analysis indicates that the magical energies are used to manipulate radio waves, using a similar frequency, interception is possible.]

“Make it happen.”

[Acknowledged.]

Star then looked at the griffon soldier, who was staring at her in silence. It was hard to tell with her helmet on, but the narrowing, white eye slits made it clear that she was glaring at him.

“Leave,” she ordered.

“What!?”

“You have no armor to hide you, and there’s an army of Royal Guards surrounding Cloudsdale. Trust me when I say that you’d be better off in a dungeon cell than running off to warn your comrades.”

The griffon started to chuckle at Starburst’s act of mercy. “Do you honestly think that one pony is going to make a difference!? You think you can free the city and stop us!?”

“Why not, I freed Stalliongrad.” At the mention of the liberated city, the griffon’s expression went from bemused superiority to shocked realization.

“Y-You’re the Golden Star!?”

Star nodded, confirming his fears. “So now you know what I’m capable of,” the Fear Lantern then began to move towards the opening, turning her back to the griffon, “if I were you I’d just surrender myself to the RGs.”

The griffon flexed his talons, and stealthily crept towards Starburst, “You may be right, however...” he then crouched low, preparing to pounce, “I would offer to you that mercy should never be shown in the face of your enemy!”

The griffon soldier lunged for the Fear Lantern, Star didn’t even turn around. Before the griffon could land on his target, a large, yellow, jagged spike construct formed between them. The griffon soldier had no time to get out of its way as he impaled himself on the construct, his momentum carrying him, further pushing him against the sharp protrusion. He coughed and gagged as blood filled his mouth, and even more spilled out from the wound

“The last griffon I should mercy to got killed by Steel Wing, so he had an excuse. You have none, and while I admire your devotion to your homeland, I have a duty to mine as well, and that’s to protect it from the likes of you. And one more thing…”

Behind the griffon, a large yellow casket with a face appeared. The casket then quickly opened up and revealed a myriad of sharp spikes on either side of the doors and on the back. The griffon tried desperately to get free from the spike, but it was too late. The spike vanished and the Iron Maiden construct closed around him, shutting with a powerful thud and the grotesque sounds of bone and internal organs being crushed and skewered.

“Thanks for the advice…” Star dismissed the construct, not daring to look behind her to see the constructs handiwork. “Ring, scan all of Cloudsdale, designate hostiles and civilians, and give me a location of the largest concentration of them, once you have, display it.”

The ring released a few more pulse waves; it didn’t take long since the power ring had already done a small scan of the city. Once it was done, the ring created a three dimensional construct of the city, similar to the one she had seen Valiant Heart looking at. Except hers had more detail, showing the griffons, shown as triangles, and ponies, shown as circles, and of course, the scan penetrated deeper down, showing Star the earlier mentioned Core Driver.

[Scans show the populace is being held in three different locations. One is located at an arena, the second at a large museum structure, and the third at a facility designated the “Weather Factory”. Current number of hostiles is 549,999.]

A small infiltration force, but large enough to cripple and effectively hold the city hostage. So long as they have those civilians the Guard can’t move in and –!

Suddenly Star felt a violent jostling of the building. Everything rumbled and shook to the point that Star had to hover to stop being jostled.

“Since when does a city in the sky experience an earthquake!? Ring, what’s going, what’s the cause of this!?”

[Processing…Processing…Analysis complete. City is currently in motion, at a rate of five miles per hour, and speed is steadily increasing.]

“Dammit they must’ve reached the Core Driver! I –!”

[Alert: Enemy communication, wide broadcast to all hostiles.]

“Let me hear it!”

The ring made a few static sounds before the voice of their leader, Lazarus, came in clearly.

{Attention all Pretenders: We have successfully taken control of the Core Driver, and are now in motion. We are now moving into the final phase of the operation and will be delivering this city to our Emperor. Maintain control of your groups, if you have to, kill three or four nonessential hostages – you all know exactly which ones I mean – in order to make a point. And that’s per group not for each of you.

Rejoice my brethren, for we will bring to our homeland a glorious trophy! For the honor and prosperity of the Griffon Empire!}

The transmission ended and Starburst gritted her teeth. She wasn’t about to let Clousdale become their “trophy”!

“They will burn!”

Starburst flew through the city, heading to her first destination. The ring had told her that a group of hostages were being kept at a large arena, and there was only one place that Star knew of that matched that description, the Cloudiseum. She flew under the cloak of her EM Distortion, not wanting to attract any attention until she could be sure as to the condition and actual location of the hostages. Star took a quick glance of the moon, noting that its position had changed and that some time had passed since she entered the city. For now, the night was her ally, and would conceal much of her activity from her enemies. Should daybreak come, Star was fully prepared to go all out, but for now, stealth was a must.

She soon arrived at the Cloudiseum, and just like she thought, it was guarded by dozens of griffon Pretenders. They were situated at every exit, some were flying around the perimeter, and others were standing on the edges keeping watch of the ponies within. Star flew past the sentries, oblivious to her presence. When she peered inside Star gasped. The Cloudiseum was normally bottomless, since it was created by pegasi; there was no need for a floor since they could fly. But there were occasions when a floor could be brought out and fastened to the bottom of the arena. That is where many of the pony hostages were, all cramped into the large arena, some were consoling foals, and their fear was well known to Star thanks to her ring.

The griffons did not care for the comfort of their hostages, so long as they had a place where they could control them and was easily defendable, it didn’t matter. Star then saw a sight that made her blood boil. Pinned to four of the cloud pillars were four pony bodies, two were stallions and two were mares. A spear protruded from their abdomens, large arrows pinned their wings into a flared position, while their hind and forelegs were also skewered. They laid splayed, heads down having been dead for who knows how long, like somepony’s sick butterfly collection.

Her only lucky break here was that the hostages were in a central location, which made it easier for her to enact her plan. Star flew up till she was in the center above the arena. Taking into account the griffons who kept guard in the rafters, she began. Star pointed her ring at the large group of ponies below, firing a beam of yellow light that seemed like it appeared out of nowhere. The beam stopped a few feet and then quickly burst open, surrounding the group and forming a protective sphere.

“Ring,” she whispered, “jam all communications, ten miles wide.”

[Acknowledged, jamming all communications within a ten mile radius.]

The griffon soldiers all began to shout and yell, all asking the same questions, “Where did that come from!?” and “Break it before they escape!”

Several of the soldiers flew towards the sphere and began beating at it with their swords, spears, and talons. But nothing they did would break the protective shell. It was at this moment that Starburst deactivated her EM Distortion and allowed herself to be seen, her yellow aura flaring in contrast to the full moon behind her. Many of the griffons stopped their assault and stared up at the new arrival, wondering what they were looking at.

Beware your fears made into light!

Star raised her right hoof and let the light of the yellow power ring shine. Twenty of the hundred-thousand griffons flew up to attack the Fear Lantern, but they realized too late that that was a mistake. Suddenly one of the griffons was covered in tiny construct spiders; they crawled all over his body, swarming him. The griffon frantically tried to claw them off of his body, but all his attempts were futile, either his talons bounced off the spider constructs or they gouged his own flesh. To his horror a few of them started to enter his body, making him plummet to the ground, writhing in terror and agony.

The others weren’t faring any better. Some were being drowned in a pool of construct water, some were being pressed into a tighter and tighter box, and others had horrific monsters tearing them apart. It didn’t take long for those twenty to die, prompting the remaining warriors to launch ranged attacks. Star’s aura made the useless spears and arrows bounce off of her like they were nothing, she didn’t even feel them.

Starburst then whipped her right hoof through the air, in its wake a stream of yellow light appeared, taking the form of a large leviathan hydra that coiled in a protective circle around the Fear Lantern who created it. Star then swiped her hoof from left to right, ordering the beast to dispatch her foes. The nine headed creature quickly went to work. Quick as a cobra, the heads lashed out and plucked one griffon soldier after the other.

The griffons attempted to attack and slay the construct, but like their fallen brethren, they too found out the futility in attacking the yellow constructs, and paid the price for it. Eventually the guards from outside joined in the fight, thinking that they could overwhelm the beast with sheer numbers.

Not wanting to let them escape, Star fired a blast into the air, creating a tightly woven birdcage around the Cloudiseum, preventing any attempt at escape. One of griffons had somehow made it through Star’s hydra construct and tried to strike her down with his sword. Starburst quickly created a shield construct around her right hoof, making the blade bounce harmlessly against its surface. To her left hoof, she created a flamberge sword and slashed upwards with the weapon! The light blade easily pierced through the griffon’s armor, leaving a bloody gash across his chest.

Another tried to attack her from behind, his spear pointed directly at her heart. Star surprised her opponent by doing a backflip in midair. Unfortunately for her opponent, his spear missed his original target and instead found its home in the heart of his ally. The shocked state of the soldier gave Star enough time to create futuristic, mini-cannon around her left foreleg. She then pointed the weapon at the two griffons and released a single shot. The beam instantly incinerated the two foolish griffons.

Star flew higher into the sky, nearly reaching the ceiling of her birdcage. It was from this height that she was able to see multitudes of griffons trying to escape, having come to their senses that battling the Fear Lantern was a death sentence.

“You had your chance!” Her voice boomed, altered slightly to make her sound older than her actual age. “Now it’s time for you to be punished for your crimes!”

The light from her ring shined brighter, the fear from the griffons was intensifying its power. From the depths of ancient myth, Star summoned forth a new construct. Its body resembled that of a worm, but it was gigantic and nearly took up all the space in the cage. At the head of the beast there were a dozen eyes, and in its mouth were rows, upon rows, upon rows of sharpened teeth that rotated like an enormous grinder. This was the swallower of sailing ships, devourer of sailors, the vortex, Charybdis.

Starburst then unleashed the beast upon the helpless griffons. It circled the interior of the cage, swallowing all the griffons it could in its giant maw. The terrified screams of the griffons echoed out into the night air as one by one they fell. Once she was sure that her Charybdis construct had eaten its fill of griffons, she dismissed her construct.

“Ring, target remaining hostiles!”

An orb surrounded Starburst, on the surface of the interior it displayed the remaining griffon soldiers, and each one had a target stamped on it.

[5,000 hostiles remaining. Targeted and locked on.]

Star commanded the sphere to let loose, exactly, five-thousand energy beams. These beams, however, did not shoot straight. They bent and curved around different obstacles, searching, hunting down their target with deadly precision. The griffons tried to outrun the beams of yellow light, but it was no use, each one found its mark, shooting straight through their armor, and piercing their hearts. Once the beams eliminated their targets they disappeared into tiny light particles. Soon the area was littered with the corpses of her enemies, griffons either taken apart by her constructs or killed instantly by her energy beams.

[Remaining hostiles: 0. Civilian deaths: 0. Power levels currently at 85%.]

Good to hear, looks like all that training is paying off.

Star waved her hoof over the sphere that contained the hostages, making the barrier break apart and fade away. Star had made the sphere solid, allowing for zero visibility so as to spare the foals and older ponies the sight of her killing them in such horrifying ways. It didn’t take them long to see all the dead griffon bodies, and even less to link that the mare in yellow armor was the one responsible for it.

“Be calm citizens of Cloudsdale, I mean you no harm.” Star’s voice was once again altered, instead of the intimidating tone it carried before, it was now more soothing and warm, but it still sounded like she was older. “The griffons keeping you captive have been dealt with.”

“What was that quake earlier!?” A mare cried.

“Did they blow up the Weather Factory!?” asked stallion.

“They did not blow up the factory; the quake was caused by something else. For now, I urge you to hide the best you can, and take up arms. Do not engage the griffons, stay down and I promise you, I will take back your city!”

Star could see it in their eyes, they were still a bit distrusting of her, but after seeing the carnage she could unleash, it didn’t take much convincing for them to comply with her. With that settled, Star made her way to her next stop.

Damn, those assholes were tricky!

Star had had a little more difficulty dispatching the griffon soldiers in the museum. They were all hiding amongst many of the exhibits and in hidden areas of the building. Luckily Starburst was able to take care of them, without any of the civilians getting hurt. Now she was on her way to her last stop before dealing with the remaining Pretenders in the city and stopping the Core Driver, the Weather Factory.

Starburst flew through the expansive and, admittedly, impressive factory. She had been to the Weather Factory, at the very least five times when she was a little filly, but given that that was a while back Star was taking in the whole setup. After all, as a pegasus pony, this was her heritage.

It wasn’t long before she found the captives. All were still wearing their working clothes, white helmets, with white lab coats and protective glasses. Star perched herself on a rafter, hiding in the shadows. Yes she was pretty much invisible, but it helped to be cautious in these kinds of closed quarter areas. It was obvious to her that the griffon she interrogated was correct, they had not harmed the Weather Factory, for their plan to succeed they needed it intact.

For a moment, Star contemplated damaging the Weather Factory enough for it to be useless to the griffons, but the flipside to that would be that the factory would also be unusable to Equestria too. Depending upon the damage, it could take weeks or months, too long and Equestria’s ecosystem could be thrown out of whack.

Last resort, that will only be a last resort, she thought.

“Ring,” she whispered, “what’s Cloudsdale’s current speed?”

[Speed has increased to fifty miles per hour – correction – it is now at fifty-two miles per hour.]

And since I don’t know what a floating city’s top speed is, it’s better to operate under the assumption that it’ll go faster. Need to take care of them, now!

Adopting the same tactic as before, Starburst incased the ponies in a dome of protective yellow light and began her attack on the griffons. She merely strode through the mayhem she created, letting her constructs take care of the soldiers, all the while making sure that they did not damage any of the machinery in the factory itself. Starburst mostly used the Fear Shine, assaulting their minds and eliminating them with localized constructs of those fears was easier and assured that the factory would remain intact.

It took all of three minutes for the griffons to fall to ground. Each had a terrified expression frozen on their faces. Star once again brought down the barrier and was treated to her own round of shocked and scared expressions.

“Do not worry, your families are safe, but there are still griffons within the city,” said Star.

“We’ve felt the quakes, and it looks like the city is moving, is that true?” asked a mare factory worker.

Starburst thought about it, from what she was able to gather, the Core Driver wasn’t exactly a widely known thing. It did annoy Star that her mother and father didn’t tell her about something that important to the stability of Cloudsdale. It may not be where she grew up or lived, but she was still a pegasus, and she had her pride as one.

“It is moving, I don’t know what’s causing it,” she lied, “But I’ll get to the bottom of this. For now, find a safe place and fortify it. Do not let anypony in unless it’s the Royal Guard, and be sure before you do!”

The factory workers agreed to her plan, after seeing what Star could do, they weren’t exactly sure arguing with her was a good idea, plus, she did save them.

After making sure that the workers were in a safe enough place, Starburst left them and hurried outside. She flew high above the floating city, noting that the moon was about to dip below the horizon, and it wouldn’t be long before Princess Celestia raised the sun. So far, she had managed to keep her activities quiet, but they wouldn’t go announced in broad daylight. So, instead of losing the element of surprise, Starburst decided to draw their attention, solely, to her.

Starburst waited patiently a few feet above the city. For her plan to succeed, she would need to draw the attention of every griffon occupying Cloudsdale, so long as they focused on the yellow, glowing pony in the sky, they wouldn’t bother looking for the civilians she saved.

“Ring, what’s the remaining enemy count?

[Number of hostiles is 200,000.]

“Alright, check power levels.”

[Power levels at 65%.]

“Stealth and phasing really drain the charge, well, luckily this next part is meant to be flashy and less stealthy.”

Starburst pointed her ring at the empty air. It then emitted a bright yellow glow that tore open a hole in space. From the hole floated her power battery. The yellow lantern floated directly to her, where she quickly took hold of it in the crook of her left hoof. This was probably one of the few times she was going to take a lesson from her Aunt Rarity, as far as making a grand entrance that is. Starburst looked to the horizon and saw that dawn’s early light had shone, it was time. Starburst quickly placed her hoof into the open port, at that moment the lantern blazed to life with yellow fear energy, brightening the sky and illuminating most of the city.

“In Blackest day, in Brightest Night,
Beware your fears made into light!
Let those who try and stop what’s right,
Burn like my power – FEAR LANTERN’S LIGHT!”

Starburst’s body erupted with yellow energy, blazing like a Golden Star in middle of the day. Every griffon in Cloudsdale, as well as the pony residents, and even the pursuing Royal Guard, stared in amazement and wonder at the sight. Starburst then made the energy take the shape of the Fear Lantern insignia, the emblem shining behind her for all to see. She then returned her power battery back to the pocket dimension.

[Power levels at 100%.]

“Hear me griffon Pretenders of Cloudsdale!” Starburst used her ring to magnify her voice, making it boom across the sky. “I am the Golden Star of Stalliongrad, I am the Fear Lantern! I have come to liberate Cloudsdale from your tyranny, if you think you are brave enough, I welcome you to try and defeat me!”

Now I just have to hope that they are dumb enough to –

[Incoming hostiles detected. Number of hostiles: 199,998.]

Guess those last two must be their leaders. I’ll deal with them soon enough, but first…

The air was swarming with griffon soldiers; each one had a furious look in their eyes. Star had played them well, she knew that they might want revenge against the one who cost them Stalliongrad, and that they wouldn’t pass up the chance to get the glory of defeating said opponent.

“Good, there’s just one more thing I need to do. Ring, is it ready?”

[Affirmative, Jammer is prepared and on standby.]

“Then let’s make sure they can’t ‘pretend’ anymore!”

Starburst raised her right hoof into the air, the ring upon it then released a powerful yellow wave that radiated outwards, its range continued to grow till it encompassed all of Cloudsdale. After a few seconds the wave retracted back to the ring. At first the griffons didn’t feel any different, but they soon found out the true target of her attack. The crystals on their armor all began to crack and the shatter into tiny dust particles. The source of their Glamour Spell was destroyed.

Starburst didn’t wait for them to figure it out, from her ring, Star produced hundreds upon thousands of demonic creatures, some from the pages of ancient philosophy books of Tartarus, and others from her own imagination, either way they were all grotesque and nightmarish. The constructs began to attack the griffon horde, easily decimating them. They tore into them with their razor sharp claws, ripped them apart with their dagger teeth, Starburst was literally painting the sky red with the blood of her enemies.

Some tried to escape the onslaught, but she wasn’t about to let them get away. Using her great speed, Starburst got the drop them, one right after the other, fending off two, three, five opponents at once. These Pretenders fought a little differently from the griffon soldiers in Stalliongrad, but their style had similarities to them. Still, it made little difference in preventing their fate.

Starburst would dual wield different swords, some floated in circle around her, creating a halo of blades, and often, when she flared her wings, the construct swords would align to mimic additional wings, making her look even more intimidating than usual. As horrifying as it was to the griffons, they couldn’t help but be astonished. Star was battling one griffon, holding a broadsword in both hooves, while two other swords were fighting two griffons to her left, another two blades were dueling with opponents to her left, and lastly another three were doing the same behind her.

She was seeing the results of Claire’s training, keeping your focus while multitasking. Despite Star battling the griffon before her, she was completely aware of the other seven around her.

The griffon she was personally fighting raised his blade for an overhead strike, but Star quickly deflected the blow, and spun in place, adding momentum to her horizontal slash, slicing the griffon in two. Star then created seven copies of herself to go with the blades that were fighting on their own. It threw the soldiers off their game to see a pure light version of their real opponent, which was her intention. At nearly the same time the construct copies cut down their individual opponents, their lifeless bodies falling out of the sky. The copies nodded to each other, and finally to the original, to which Starburst did as well before they disappeared.

The final vestiges of the griffon Pretenders were doing all they could just to survive, having given up on trying to fight against the demon constructs. Starburst, for her finale, created a giant version of her Aunt Pinkie Pie’s party cannon, deciding this should end with a bang! The cannon’s mouth quickly gathered energy. The demon constructs had effectively herded them into a neat cluster. The particles of the demon constructs were deconstructed and absorbed into the cannon. Too late, to leave the blast zone, Starburst kicked with her right hind leg, mock lighting the fuse and having the cannon fire.

The discharge was like a giant, concentrated fireworks show. The sparkling, crackling blast hit the remaining griffon Pretenders, making them explode in a shower of glittering, golden particle dust. Star dismissed the cannon and took a moment to catch her breath, being careful not overexert herself during the battle. It did her no good to pass out in the middle of a fight.

“Ring, what’s the remaining enemy count?”

[Number of hostiles is two, which are located several feet below the city.]

“Bring up the map!” The ring showed a holographic model of the city. “Zoom in on the lower section.”

The ring complied with her request, bringing up the image of the Core Driver. Two triangles indicated enemy combatants, but the circles indicated civilians. Star thought for a moment, and during the entire night, amongst the many pegasi she saved, there were two who didn’t seem to be among them. It was then that she made the startling realization that Rainbow Dash and Spitfire must be with the enemy leaders.

“Oh no, I need to hurry and get to them! Ring, map the fastest route to the Core Driver!”

[Processing…Proncess –]

“Oh screw it, I know a faster way! Keep the map displayed!”

[Acknowledged.]

Starburst zoomed off ahead of the city, putting a good fifty miles of distance between her and the floating metropolis. Her position on the map was indicated via the Fear Lantern insignia. Once she was sure about her position, Starburst shot towards the city at blinding speed. She intentionally aimed low, going for the side of the cloud. A construct formed in front of Starburst, taking the form of a drill. It spun rabidly and whirred to life. Starburst then struck the side of the city and started boring through the hardened clouds.

Hold on Aunt Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, I’m coming!!!

Down below, Lara was getting frustrated as she paced back and forth, and every so often glared daggers at the two captive mares. Her brother Lazarus was busy fiddling with the controls to the Core Driver, paying little heed to his sister’s agitated state. It had been some time since they lost communications with their forces on the surface, and with the shattering of their Glamour Crystals, and the disruption of the CommCrystals, things were going south for them fast.

“Dammit Laz, we need to abort the mission! Didn’t you hear that freakin’ loud as Tartarus announcement!? The Golden Star is here! You know the one that beat us at Stalliongrad in one night – ONE F’ING NIGHT! You don’t think that our forces aren’t all cannon fodder by now!?”

Lazarus ran a talon through his plumage, trying to remain cool and collected. “Lara, now is not the time to lose control, if anything, we must maintain what control we still have.”

Lara slammed her fist on one of the guardrails and growled in anger and frustration. “Damn you Laz! Wake up and smell the horseshit! We’re going to have our asses served to us on a silver platter!”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire watched as Lara continued to curse and chew out her brother for not retreating now while they had the chance.

“Hey, how’re you doing,” whispered Rainbow.

“Better, if you got something planned that is,” replied Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash glanced at the two griffons and then to the Core Driver, she then grimaced as an idea came to the forefront of her mind, and Rainbow Dash wished she had thought of something better.

“Yeah…but you aren’t going to like it…”

“I haven’t liked anything about this whole situation, what’s your plan?”

“……We have to destroy the core of the Core Driver, by which I mean that glowing sapphire at the center.”

Spitfire did a double take at that, she knew Rainbow Dash couldn’t be considering doing what she just said, could she?

“Dash…you do realize what that’ll do to Cloudsdale!? The entire city will fall out of the sky like a lead weight!”

“It’s better to die standing than on our knees begging! We can’t let them get Cloudsdale and every foal, mare, and stallion in it! I’d rather
die than see that happen!”

Spitfire looked to the quarreling griffons, and then the sapphire crystal. She hated to admit it, but Rainbow Dash was right, deep down every pegasus was born warrior, it was in their blood. If it meant sparing the lives of the pegasi from having to endure slavery and fates worse than death, then…the unthinkable must be done.

“……I don’t plan on dying here today Rainbow.”

“I don’t either, so long as we can kick their asses, think of the other as a Plan B.”

“Then I’ll take the crazy sadist bitch, I owe her one.”

“Great, I get the creepy, calm sociopath…I’d rather fight the sadist.”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire loosened up, relaxing their muscles, they needed to be nimble, quick, and above all, deadly for the attack. Lara had, for the last five minutes, cussing her brother out, trying to convince him that they needed to go while the getting was good. Rainbow and Spitfire had to admit, the crass griffoness had a way with stringing profanities together. It was almost funny. Unfortunately, Lazarus seemed to have reached his limit and had begun arguing with her, the brother wasn’t as good at cursing as his sister.

Meanwhile, the two pegasus mares readied themselves, their eyes fixated on their targets, doing little gestures to tell the other how and when they would move, something that only two former Wonderbolts could understand after years of working together, flying, and putting their absolute trust in each other. With a nod of Rainbow’s head, the two mares launched themselves at their perspective targets.

Spitfire landed a flying punch right into Lara’s beak, sending the griffoness smashing into the guardrails. Rainbow Dash opted for a flying kick, landing her blow square in the griffon’s chest plate, knocking him back against the console. Lazarus barely had time to recover before Rainbow Dash went into pummeling him with rapid fire punches, forcing him to go on the defensive.

Spitfire squared off with Lara, who looked particularly miffed at having been sucker punched by a pony. She wiped away a trickle of blood from her beak with a single talon, and then licked it clean. Spitfire cringed at the sight. “Oh I’m going to enjoy this! I’ve been wanting to carve my name into that flank since I first saw you!”

“Sorry I’m taken, but speaking of my flank, ever wonder how I got my cutie mark?”

“I don’t care how you got your ‘oh so special’ butt tattoo!” Lara hissed with venom.

“Oh you should…!”

Spitfire flared her wings as she narrowed her gaze at Lara. At that moment, the fiery maned pegasus sprinted at Lara. The griffoness had little to no time at all to counterattack. Spitfire’s left wing began to spark with fiery embers, like a lighter about to ignite until, finally, her left wing caught fire just as she brought across Lara’s eyes! The griffoness howled in pain the searing flames burned her eyes and flashed at the moment of contact. Spitfire came to a rest, wisps of smoke lapped off of her left wing as the air around it fluctuated from the heat.

“Fire Flash, my signature flight move, and its the very thing that got me my cutie mark!”

Lara continued to howl in pain from having her eyes burned, the smell of searing flesh and burnt feathers wafted in the air and it only made Lara sicker knowing that it was emanating from her.

“LARA!”

Rainbow Dash, taking advantage of the distraction, halted her barrage of punches. She then did a flip kick and caught the griffon under his beak with her right hind leg, which sent him spinning till he landed on his back in a daze. Rainbow Dash looked from the disoriented Lazarus to the glowing blue sapphire crystal. She then glanced over to Spitfire; the question did not need to be verbal. One look said it all. Spitfire, with determination in her eyes, nodded.

With the knowledge that Spitfire was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice along with her, Rainbow Dash took flight. She flew higher and higher inside the enormous room and slowly began to angle back. Rainbow Dash was building up momentum, she was going to use herself as a battering ram to smash the sapphire. Once she was at the right angle, Dash looped around and dove. Faster and faster she plummeted, forming a perfect rainbow arc as she prepared to end that arc right at the crystal.

Lazarus, after regaining his senses, noticed Rainbow Dash’s odd flight pattern. It didn’t take the intelligent griffon long to figure out what she was planning on doing, and he was worried. He quickly turned to Lara who, at the moment, was blindly swinging her large forearm blade back and forth, trying to cut down Spitfire. Her enraged frenzy made it hard for the former Wonderbolt captain to get close to deliver any kind of blow.

“Lara, your whip, NOW!”

Despite her lack of sight, Lara grabbed her whip and, surprisingly, tossed the weapon right to Lazarus. He only had a few seconds left, Rainbow Dash was gaining speed and soon they’d all die. Lazarus whirled the whip over his and cracked it in Rainbow Dash’s direction.

The prismatic mare didn’t have time to register what happened next. The whip had wrapped around her left hind leg, she then felt a powerful pulling motion jerk her down to the platform. The speed of her attack, combined with the strength of Lazarus’ pull, made for a painful crash landing, causing Rainbow Dash to bounce a couple of times before coming to a stop, sprawled out on her back. Rainbow groaned in pain, trying to get her bearings after her violent landing. Lazarus was on her now, wrapping his claw around her throat and raising her up as he steadily applied pressure. It was then that Rainbow Dash saw something from the griffon she thought she’d never see, anger.

“I consider myself to be a patient and well-mannered griffon. I’ve tried to be calm, and as civilized as possible when dealing with you pegasi, but now…now you have ruffled my feathers!” Lazarus raised Rainbow higher, making her gag and gasp for air. “You know, Rainbow Dash, I had entertained the idea of possibly letting you and Spitfire go, maybe keep you two as pets, I would’ve treated you with the respect you have earned. But you just had to go and get me angry, just had,” Lazarus delivered a punch to Rainbow’s stomach, forcing her to release more of her precious oxygen from her lungs, “to get me angry!”

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Spitfire was about to fly to Rainbow Dash’s rescue, but Lara found her prey, pouncing on top of the pegasus mare and pinning her to the floor. Lara growled and smiled wickedly as she licked her chops, thinking of the many ways she was going to make the mare scream in pain for taking her sight.

“I may not be able to see you, but I can still enjoy the sound of you squealing for mercy!”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire’s eyes met for a brief moment, conveying their joint disbelief and anger for not being able to stop the two psychotic griffons and save Cloudsdale.

Suddenly the room rumbled. The two griffons and pegasi looked around to see what the cause of it was. At that moment the wall to the far side of the room burst open as a giant yellow drill pierced through. The drill then disappeared and a yellow streak of light zoomed from the giant hole it had dug. Flying right to their location, body aglow with yellow light, armor shining like the sun, was the warrior that had challenged them, the Fear Lantern.

Before the griffons could properly react, the Fear Lantern thrust both her forelegs forward, and from them appeared two menacing claw constructs. The left claw grabbed hold of Lazarus, making him drop Rainbow Dash he thrashed about in its grip. Lara, being partially blind, only felt the claw wrap around her and pull her off of Spitfire. Fear Lantern brought the two griffons up close to her, glaring at them with white narrowed eyes.

“You two must be the leaders, good.”

“Release us or –!”

“Or you’ll what, have your underlings kill the hostages? Sorry, you have no more soldiers; I took care of them before coming for you two.”

Lara growled loudly, “You lying bitch! There’s no way you could take down half a million troops!”

“I took down more than that in Stalliongrad, and that was before I knew what I was doing.” The Fear Lantern then sent electrical surges through the claws, making the two griffons writhe from having their pain receptors attacked directly. “I should kill you two, after all you’ve done, and all you were planning to do! It’d only be fitting! But…we’re going to need information from you two, so…”

The Fear Lantern sent one powerful jolt through their bodies, making Lazarus and Lara lose consciousness. She then threw their bodies onto the platform, where they fell limp and unmoving. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire watched as the Fear Lantern landed on the platform and immediately went to the console.

“Hey, what are you doing!? Get away from that!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to help,” said Fear Lantern. “Ring, scan the console and tell me how to stop Cloudsdale from moving.”

Fear Lantern pointed her ring at the console, releasing probing waves of yellow light over the series of levers, buttons, and gauges.

[Scan is complete, this technology is not entirely foreign to me, and some of the principals are similar to other devices within my data.]

“Who the hay was that?!” Spitfire asked as she looked for the voice.

“It’s complicated. Ring, walk me through it.”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire watched as the Fear Lantern went to work trying to stop Cloudsdale from moving. Many tendrils shot out from the ring, throwing levers, pushing buttons, and turning dials that were out of reach from the mare working at her station.

“Do you think she can do it?”

“I think the real question here is: is she a pony or another griffon in disguise…?”

The actions of the Fear Lantern started to show in the Core Driver. The lightning above started to calm, the swirling pool of spectra gradually stopped swirling like a vortex and became a calm sea of rainbow colors. The machine eventually made whirring and groaning noises as the Core Driver wind down. All three mares waited and listened, from what they could tell the Core Driver had stopped.

“Ring, what is the current speed of the city?”

[Zero miles per hour, the city has come to a stop 500 miles from its original location.]

Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Fear Lantern all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks…uh, Fear Lantern right?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes, um, are you two hurt?”

“Banged up to Tartarus, but otherwise nothing permanent,” said Spitfire.

“Good to hear…” Fear Lantern noticed that Rainbow Dash was staring at her, “Uh, is there something wrong?”

“Not sure…” Rainbow Dash cautiously walked up to the Fear Lantern, noticing how great the height difference was between her and other mare. “So, what are you, a superhero or something?”

Fear Lantern rubbed the back of her head with her left hoof nervously, “I wouldn’t call myself a superhero. I’m more a soldier for justice…is there something else?”

Rainbow Dash scrunched her face in contemplation, “Don’t know why, but you kinda remind of somepony I know.” After a moment Rainbow Dash just shrugged, she knew it was going to nag at her later, but now wasn’t the time. “Anyway, thanks for stopping them.”

“No problem.”

“Hey, are the citizens safe? What about the Royal Guard, are they moving in?”

“They’re all safe, Mrs. Spitfire, I took care of all the griffon occupiers. As far as the Royal Guard is concerned, I don’t think they’ve moved in yet. Most likely they’re waiting to see what’ll happen after my little display.”

“And what a display it was.”

All three mares jumped at the new voice. They swiveled their heads around until their eyes came to a rest at the main entrance. A brown feathered male griffon, wearing the same armor as the rest of the Pretenders, was standing there, grinning at the two mares.

“Ring, I thought that there were only two left, why didn’t you alert me to a third!?”

[Scanning…Scanning…Error, target does not show up on any scans, target is an Unknown.]

The Fear Lantern stepped in front of Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, acting as a barrier between them and this new griffon. He started to slowly walk towards them, shaking his head as if disappointed.

“Really, I would’ve thought Lazarus and Lara more capable, but considering who their opponent is I can’t really blame them now can I?”

Fear Lantern raised her right foreleg and held it steady with her left. The ring began to glow as energy built up within it.

“That’s far enough, now who are you – what are you!?”

The griffon chuckled at her request. “Forgive me, but it’s rude to ask for my name when you hide behind a mask and don’t bother to give me your name. You’ll just have to settle for my nom de guerre.”

Suddenly the griffon’s body was enshrouded in darkness. The shadows swirled around him like a twister, obscuring his form from view. After a brief moment the shadows retracted and took the form of large bird-like wings. Attached to those wings was a different griffon from before. His feathers and fur were black as night, with a gray colored beak and talons, and piercing, icy blue eyes. His armor was a dark violet, and looked similar to the Pretenders armor, except it lacked the crystals that helped to facilitate the Glamour Spell.

“I am one of the four Commanders of his Majesty’s army, my name is Shadow Wing.”

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

The Liberation of Cloudsdale (Part 3)

Deep below the city of Cloudsdale, within the secret chamber of the Core Driver, Starburst stared down one of the four fearsome Wing Commanders of the Griffon Empire, Shadow Wing. Right off the bat this new enemy showed that he was different from his fellow commanders, at least different from Steel Wing. She stared down the dark griffon, watching, and making sure that Rainbow Dash and Spitfire didn’t get caught in their eventual fight.

“I must say, Fear Lantern, you are a dubious one. Such a frightening power, yet wielded in the name of…what, justice, peace perhaps?”

“Not like you know anything about that! After everything you and the others have done!” Star shot back.

Shadow Wing chuckled. His flared dark wings tucked themselves into a resting position at his sides. “Why, I haven’t done anything, yet. My Pretenders, they were supposed to bring this city to Griffonia, but instead, they were defeated by you. A shame, really, Lazarus and Lara were my best. Oh well, guess someone’s getting promoted.”

Starburst looked to the knocked out griffon duo, her mind flashing back to that day when Steel Wing cut down his own soldier. She quickly pointed her ring at the downed griffons and shot a twin beam at them. Their bodies were now sealed within construct capsules with chains, ready for transport.

“Rainbow Dash, Spitfire! Take these two to the Royal Guard, and inform them about what’s happening here!” The two mares looked to each other, unsure if it was wise to leave her to fight alone. “Go! I’ll cover you!”

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire quickly flew to the capsules. Gingerly they touched the construct chains, making sure that they wouldn’t burn or explode when they made contact. Satisfied that the chains wouldn’t do anything, the two pegasus mares took them into their forelegs and hoisted them up, and flew towards the large hole in the side of the wall that Star made. The mare of fear kept her ring pointed right at Shadow Wing, making sure he didn’t try anything.

“That’s quite unnecessary. I have no need to kill them. I’m more interested in you, actually.”

“Me…? Dare I ask why?”

“Steel Wing told us of your little encounter with him, and I must say, it takes some doing to make a battle hardened warrior like him turn tail and run.”

Starburst smirked behind her faceplate. “That was then, and I’ve done some training since. Don’t expect my skills to be same as a few months ago!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it…”

The room became heavy with tension, both opponents stared each other down. The cold, blue eyes of Shadow Wing bore into the white slits of Starburst’s helmet. Suddenly, Shadow Wing flared his wings and took off into the air. Star followed in hot pursuit. Starburst created a claw construct, reaching out to grab hold of him.

Shadow Wing smirked. His right claw opened, and to it, a sphere of dark energy coalesced within it. He then pointed his claw towards the construct and fired the sphere! The ball of darkness sailed through the air and struck Star’s construct, shattering it like fragile glass.
Starburst stopped in midair, surprised by how the griffon’s attack destroyed her construct. “Ring, what’s going on!? Why did his attack destroy my construct!?”

[Attack was magic based. Constructs are vulnerable to few things, magic is one. However, if a bearer’s spirit is stronger, then constructs won’t shatter as easily.]

Filing that away under: “Things I Need to Watch Out For”.

With that knowledge in mind, Starburst resumed her attack. Her ring shined brightly as the pegasus mare created a myriad of light construct arrows. She then launched them at Shadow Wing, barraging him with a flood of arrows. Shadow Wing’s wings grew large and wrapped around him, creating a protective sphere of darkness that made the arrows bounce harmlessly off his barrier.

What the heck is he!?

Having had enough, Starburst opted for a direct attack. To her hooves, Star created two swords, both crescent scimitars. Her aura flared up, coating her in its protective light. Star then rushed towards the sphere of darkness and slashed with her right sword, pouring her unrelenting spirit into the attack. The blade grinded against the barrier, but, after a couple of seconds, the blade sliced through it. Star then brought the second blade in for a horizontal slash, cutting the orb open.

Shadow Wing’s barrier retracted and the griffon inside flew back, putting distance between them. Star wasn’t going let him get away, closing the gap with great speed. Shadow Wing called forth two more orbs of darkness, in both his claws. He then gripped the orbs hard, transforming them into two black swords.

Starburst swung her left sword, making Shadow Wing intercept with his right. The two avian warriors pushed against the other, sparks flying from the clashing of their weapons. They then broke their blade lock, and went into a flurry of slashes. Starburst slashed with both swords, but Shadow Wing flew up above her, dodging her attack. Shadow Wing then descended and brought down his left sword on the pegasus mare. Star quickly backed away, missing the attack by mere inches.

The sound of clashing blades rang within the chamber, with sparks of yellow light and black energy raining from each blow. Starburst went in for a thrust, but Shadow Wing parried the blow and struck back, thrusting his own blade towards her. Star moved to the left, his dark blade catching her shoulder pad, cutting through it and making her wince when it made contact with her flesh beneath the protective uniform.

She rolled away from the attack, but in that same motion, counterattacked. Spinning out and turning herself into a giant saw blade of death. Shadow Wing struck the yellow tornado, but each strike bounced off, her spins occurring too rapidly for him to catch an opening. Starburst then released a wave of yellow energy, pushing Shadow Wing back. The Fear Lantern ended her spin attack, stopping in place with the grace and skill of a dancer, bowing with her swords in hoof.

“Impressive, Fear Lantern, you’re not only powerful, but a capable warrior.”

“I’m more than that, but I’m not the one you should be concerned about,” she said.

Before he could fully comprehend what that meant, Shadow Wing sensed the presence of another. He twirled around and raised his two blades, just in time to catch the glowing, yellow scimitar of a second Starburst! Shadow Wing glanced over his shoulder and saw the original still floating in the same place. He then turned to this new one, which was made of yellow light like her swords.

“A copy illusion, I’m a fan of it myself, however –” Shadow Wing parried the attack and brought his left sword into a thrusting position and pushed forward, stabbing the Fear Lantern construct straight through its chest. “– they don’t last long once disrupted!”

“Maybe normal copies, but mine are special.”

Shadow Wing watched as the construct’s eyes glowed with yellow light, bringing up its swords while still impaled. In a panic, Shadow Wing disengaged with the construct, drawing his sword out just in time dodge a two bladed strike from the copy before it dispersed. When he turned to face the original Fear Lantern, Shadow Wing once again was assaulted by copies, this time two, blocking their attacks with his blades as they pushed him back from their dual impact. The copies quickly broke off their attack and zoomed away. Shadow Wing then watched as more copies were coming at him from nearly every direction.

Shadow Wing quickly wrapped himself in his dark barrier, as the Fear Lantern copies slashed at his shield, one right after the other. Each one did a pass by, slashing then flying away, fifty copies in all slashing, ducking away, and then slashing again. From a distance, it looked like Shadow Wing was being attacked by dozens of yellow shooting stars, attacking him like a swarm of angry hornets.

Starburst was ready to deliver the final blow. She ordered her copies to rally to her, each one entering a fighting stance with their dual blades. With a wave of her right sword, the copies zoomed straight for the barrier, each one glowing with greater intensity than before. The first copy slashed once, leaving a bright yellow gash in the barrier before disappearing, the second did the same, and then the third, fourth, sixth, twentieth, thirty-fifth, forty-second, and lastly the fiftieth! Star was last to strike, flying at top speed right at the barrier. She then brought both blades over her head, combining them into one long and large claymore sword, burning with the yellow light of Fear.

Starburst then let out a loud battle cry as she slashed straight through the barrier, appearing a few feet behind Shadow Wing. The barrier shattered apart and revealed the black griffon, with fifty-one glowing gashes all over his body. Star smirked, a bit of pride swelling within her knowing she had felled one of the four Wing Commanders, and evening the odds for Equestria. That was, until, Star got blasted with a beam dark magic from her right, sending her crash landing into the catwalk. Star groaned in pain, thankful that her protective aura at least dulled the blast, but only by a slight amount. She quickly turned her eyes back to Shadow Wing, his body then turned into wisps of black smoke.

“A copy!?”

“Whew, now that was a close one.” Starburst looked in the direction of the voice and scowled when she saw that Shadow Wing was very much alive. “If I hadn’t created that copy at the last minute, you would’ve ended me.”

“Who says I still can’t,” said Starburst tauntingly.

“Oh, I underestimated you, and I’ll plead guilty to that. But rest assured it will not happen again. Steel Wing didn’t describe just how versatile your power is.” Shadow Wing flew down to the catwalk and landed a few feet away from where Star impacted. “It can create a protective layer of energy, summon weapons made of hardened light energy, and even make full bodied creatures that follow your unsaid commands. And you’ve seemed to have mastered it quite well.”

“I’d say thanks, but I won’t. It’s time to end this!” Starburst raised her right hoof into the air as the yellow ring shined bright. “Fear Shine!”

The power ring released an intense glow of yellow fear energy, bathing the whole area in its power. Shadow Wing stood calmly before the power of the yellow light, gazing upon it quizzically as he waited for Star to do something. After about a minute, the Fear Shine cancelled out.

“What…What’s going on? Ring, why didn’t the Fear Shine show him his worst fear!?”

[Error, subject has no fear, Fear Shine ineffective.]

That’s impossible! Everybody’s afraid of something! Even Steel Wing was afraid of something when he looked into the Fear Shine! What makes him so different?!

Shadow Wing smirked, “What’s wrong Fear Lantern, your weapon not working right?”

Starburst snorted indignation, “Fine, if he has no fear, then I’ll put the fear of Faust in him!”

“Oh, please do.”

Both Shadow Wing and Starburst readied themselves for second round, but before they could get underway, Star’s ring blinked off and on.

[Alert: Incoming friendly forces.]

Shadow Wing’s smirked turned to a frown, were as the reverse happened with Starburst.

“Looks like it’s over Shadow Wing, the Royal Guard is coming, and there’s nothing you can do to escape. I doubt even you can stand up to them and me.”

“You are right; my chances against you are…fifty-fifty, at best. But with them, my chances of victory teeter towards defeat.”

“So, you give up.”

“No, but I will leave you with a parting gift.”

Shadow Wing jumped into the air, he then brought both his claws together, amassing dark energy. The black griffon then fired a ball of darkness right in Starburst’s direction. Star easily dodged the attack.

“You missed.”

“Wasn’t aiming for you.”

Starburst quickly turned around just in time to watch Shadow Wings attack strike the sapphire crystal, shattering it to pieces. The white slits of Star’s helmet widened in shock.

“ARE YOU INSANE!!?”

“Jury’s out.” Shadow Wing ducked towards the main entrance and melded into the dark corridor. “Goodbye Fear Lantern, I hope to confront you again.”

Starburst growled in anger, but there was no time for that. Up above the lightning from the pillar stopped completely. There was also a sudden shift in gravity, the platform getting further away from her hooves. It was then that Star felt a giant rumble resonate everywhere. Shadow Wing had done the unthinkable, he had destroyed the Core Driver’s center, and without the crystal to covert the spectra into usable energy, the entire city of Cloudsdale was now in freefall.

Star quickly used her ring to levitate and keep herself even. She quickly rushed to the shattered pieces of the sapphire, which were now floating in the air thanks to the sudden descent of the city. She then created a sphere of light to keep all the shattered pieces together.

[Alert: Altitude decreasing rapidly. Recommend immediate evacuation.]

“I’m not abandoning every pegasus in Cloudsdale!” Star then looked to the empty space and then to her ring. “I got it!”

Starburst pointed her ring at the empty space. Concentrating, she then fired a beam of yellow light right into it. The beam then took the form of the sapphire crystal, the same dimensions and density as the original. Starburst then shot out multiple tendrils of yellow light, each one pressing a sequence of buttons to reactivate the Core Driver. At last, the familiar humming started to sound once again, and soon the powerful, giant magic-technological engine roared to life once again. Star recalled the tendrils and focused solely on the crystal construct.

[Altitude decreasing rapidly. 30,000 feet, 25,000 feet, 14,000 feet, 9,500 feet…]

The power of the Core Driver immediately flooded into the construct, hitting Starburst’s mind like a runaway train. The power of the Core Driver was much, much more intense than she was planning, and it threatened to shatter her fake crystal. But Star held strong, this needed to work. The fake crystal then shot up a beam of yellow energy right up the second metal pillar, where it was transformed into golden lighting at the very top. There was sudden and powerful rumble that echoed throughout the chamber and further into the floating city. Objects that weren’t bolted down suddenly shot up and just as quickly slammed back down.

[Altitude stabilizing and holding at 5,000 feet.]

“Good…now, what the buck is step two!”

[Insufficient data.]

“That was a rhetorical question!”

[Acknowledged.]

“UGH!”

Starburst was in a tight spot now, she couldn’t move or the entire city would drop straight down to the ground. If anything this would buy the pegasi time to abandon the city and fly to safety, but she wasn’t about to give up and let the city of the pegasus tribe come crashing down on to the ground. But with the toll this was taking on Starburst’s mind and body, letting the city drop might be a last resort.

“Ring, what’s our current location!?”

[Scans show that “Cloudsdale” is situated directly over a large metropolis. Searching database for matches………Match found: “Manehattan”.]

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?”

[Negative. Was that a rhetorical question?]

“YES!”

[Apologies.]

Now Starburst was really between a rock and a hard place, if her construct shattered, the city would fall right on top of Manehattan and cause irreparable damage to the city along with killing billions of innocent ponies below. Option two: She continues to hold the construct and continues to hold it until her body tears itself apart.

[ Power levels at 50%.]

Or until her ring ran out of power, either way, this was a bad situation.

[Alert: Two incoming. Scans read as friendlies. Designations: “Valiant Heart” and “Rainbow Dash”.]

Starburst didn’t really have time to check, she needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

Meanwhile, as the power ring stated, Rainbow Dash and Valiant Heart entered the Core Driver chamber. The alicorn Prince and former Wonderbolt both watched in amazement as the Fear Lantern used her power to keep the city afloat. The two of them quickly flew towards her and landed on the platform right next to her.

“Oh crap, I was right! The crystal’s was destroyed!” Rainbow shouted.

“Yeah…trying to keep the city…from destroying another city!”

“How long can you hold it for, maybe we can move the city if we get every pegasus pony in Manehattan and Cloudsdale!?” asked Valiant Heart.

[Factoring in top speed of the average pegasus equine, and relative size of the city. Time required to move “Cloudsdale” to a minimum safe distance is 45 minutes, and 28 seconds.]

Rainbow Dash and Valiant Heart looked hopeful at that bit of news from the strange ring.

“We could do it! It’s possible, just hang on Fear Lantern, we’ll move the city, no problem!” Rainbow declared.

[However, power levels are at 40%. Estimated time before energy drops to zero, 20 minutes.]

The cyan pegasus face hoofed herself, “You could’ve said that sooner!”

“There’s not enough time to evacuate Manehattan, we can save the pegasi from Cloudsdale, but…Dammit! We can’t just not do anything!” Valiant shouted in frustration.

“Shards…! I saved the shards of the sapphire…! Captain, use your magic to fix them!” Star ordered.

Valiant Heart watched as the sphere containing the shards floated before him. She then quickly released it and let Valiant take the shards into his telekinetic grasp. He quickly looked over the shards of the sapphire, noting the damage and pieces. From what he could make out, there might be enough to recreate the sapphire.

“But…I’m not sure I can! My magic’s not really suited for that kind of thing!”

“Captain Valiant Heart!” Starburst shouted. “I trust you! I know you can do it!”

Valiant Heart glanced at the Fear Lantern, and then to Rainbow Dash. He didn’t want to give up on the city, not when there might be a chance to save it. With a stern gaze, Valiant concentrated his magic and the numerous shards of the sapphire started to energize. Soon they floated about, each ranging in size and shape.

“I can help,” said Rainbow. “My Dad told me about the sapphire, I know what it’s supposed to look like. I can guide you through it.”

[Power levels at 39%.]

“You two may want to get a move on with that!”

With Rainbow Dash’s guidance, Valiant Heart went to work piecing the sapphire back together. Time seemed move at a painstakingly slow pace, with each shard that Valiant melded back into place, it felt like five minutes passed by, wasting precious time. Thankfully, the Fear Lantern’s ring kept calling out how low its power was getting, which helped to keep his focus. Every so often, Rainbow Dash would stop Valiant, checking the dimensions and angles of the sapphire, making sure it was being reconstructed back its original form.

The sapphire was almost complete. The delicacy of the operation was taking a toll on Valiant Heart, he often used his magic for precise fighting and other such spells, but this was an entirely different kind of monster. Rainbow Dash wasn’t in any better shape, with every inspection and halting of the reconstruction, she felt as if she was costing them precious seconds that they didn’t have. But she knew this had to be done, if the sapphire wasn’t fixed just right, then it could throw off the entire Core Driver.

[ Power levels at 19%.]

“How’s it coming,” asked Star.

“Almost there, just one more piece!” Rainbow shouted.

Valiant carefully maneuvered the final piece of the sapphire into the empty space of the crystal. The alicorn Prince the used his magic to fuse all the pieces together, the cracks and fissures started disappear as the crystal started to regain its original flawlessness. With one final flash of his light-blue magic, the sapphire was once again whole. Valiant Heart let out a long sigh, feeling a great weight lifted from his mind, literally. Rainbow Dash inspected the finished product, looking at it from every possible angle.

“What do you think is it the same?” asked Valiant.

“It looks alright, but…we won’t know for sure until set it in,” said Rainbow Dash with trepidation.

“So, we only get one shot…”

“All we need is one shot, it’s now or never!” Starburst shouted.

With nod from Rainbow, Valiant levitated the crystal towards the open space of the Core Driver center.

“We need to switch them out quickly and seamlessly, or the Core Driver could…well…let’s just say that there might not be a Cloudsdale or Manehattan if we mess this up. No pressure though!”

Yeah right no pressure, thought Star and Valiant.

Valiant kept the real sapphire close to the construct. Both he and Star glanced to each other, their eyes locking for a second as if conveying some unspoken plan. They then looked directly at their objective; the air was filled with tension, the fate of billions resting on the hooves of the Royal Guard Captain and the Fear Lantern.

[ Power levels at 15%.]

“NOW!!!”

Starburst released the construct, at the same time, Valiant Heart thrust the sapphire into the empty slot just as the construct vanished. The energy from the Core Driver flowed through the sapphire and shot up into the upper pillar. The golden lightning of from Star’s crystal construct transitioned to a pristine blue. All three pegasi held their breath, fearing that any sudden movement or stray breath would somehow set off a chain reaction that would make all their efforts for not.

“Ring,” Star whispered, “status report on the Core Driver.”

Star pointed her ring towards the machinery, letting it fire a thin beam up and down the console and center power source.

[Readings show no abnormalities in “Core Driver”. Systems are fully functional.]

Rainbow Dash, Valiant Heart, and Starburst let out a long held sigh, relief flooding them after having averted a deadly crisis. Rainbow fell on her back, exhausted after almost losing her home and life. Valiant chuckled a little, happy to see that this whole situation was brought to an end and that Cloudsdale would forever remain in the skies. Starburst, well, she was happy, but she still felt edgy. Shadow Wing had gotten away, and what’s worse, his mysterious powers kept him from being detected by her ring.

Shadow Wing…This isn’t over.

“Hey, thanks.” Star turned to her left and saw Valiant smiling at her. “You saved Cloudsdale and Manehattan, and every pony in both cities.”

Star shook her head, “No, it wasn’t just me. You and Rainbow Dash remade the sapphire…I just…I was just buying time.”

Valiant Heart walked closer to her, “Alright, but taking out the griffons, saving all those hostages, that was all you. So, again, thanks.”

Starburst was very glad that she was wearing her helmet right now, her faceplate helped to keep her blush hidden from the praise her cousin was unknowingly giving his own family member.

[Power levels at 12%.]

Oh crap, if I run out of power here then –!

“Well, um, I think you guys can take care of the rest.”

“Wait, you’re leaving!?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, gotta go, bye!”

Starburst then phased through the floor and disappeared from sight, leaving Rainbow Dash and Valiant Heart behind to wonder who the
Fear Lantern was.

Thirty Minutes Later…

“Burn like my power – Fear Lantern’s light.”

[Power levels at 100%.]

Starburst had flown a good distance just using her wings, trying to conserve as much energy as possible. She stopped by some remote area and summoned her power battery for a quick recharge. Once that was done, Star re-donned her Fear Lantern uniform and flew back to Ponyville in secret.

Now under the speed of the ring’s power, Star was able to fly much quicker back to her home away from home. She scanned the town to see if there was anything she might need to do before reassuming her identity as Starburst. Satisfied that all was quiet, Star made her way to Golden Oaks Library and phased through the roof and landed right on her bed. The Fear Lantern uniform quickly dispersed, and the ring concentrated its EM Distortion around itself, hiding it from sight as per Star’s orders.

Star groaned in exhaustion as she allowed herself to sink into the soft, comfortable bed. It may’ve been the middle of the afternoon, but right now she didn’t care, she was tired and sleepy after everything she did. Star then rolled over to her right side and snuggled into the pillow. There was something…off about her bed. It wasn’t that it wasn’t comfy – Faust no it wasn’t that – it just felt like there was something that was preventing her from fully enjoying her well-deserved relaxation. Star lazily opened her eyes to see what might be causing this feeling; she then blanched at what she saw. Resting right beside her, and giving the teenage mare an impish grin, was Sunny Skies.

“Hey honey, you just get back from work?”

“WAH HA AH!!!”

Starburst quickly jumped out of the bed and perched at the top of a nearby bookshelf with her wings flared and face blushing red. She then pointed an accusatory hoof at the mare, her ring hoof to be exact.

“SUNNY!?”

The golden yellow pegasus raised her right hoof to her forehead. “Who else did you think would be waiting up for you, night after night, day after –!”

“SUNNY I WILL SERIOULSY VAPORIZE YOU RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON’T TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE DOING IN MY BED!!!”

Sunny released a dejected sigh, “Star, you really need to learn how to lighten up.” The golden-yellow mare maneuvered herself so that she was sitting at the edge of the bed. “I’ve been living in here since last night, making sure that nopony came around, needed to give the place that ‘lived in’ feeling.”

Starburst flew off the bookshelf and settled back onto the floor. “So you’ve been keeping my friends from coming inside to check on me? How exactly have you been doing that?”

Sunny cleared her throat a bit and smiled mischievously at her charge, “~~~/Well, they’re not going to come in if I ask them not to~~~/,” Sunny spoke in Starburst’s voice.

The orange pegasus’ jaw slacked at what she heard. “You…You can mimic my voice!?”

“~~~/It’s a skill I like to keep to myself,” she continued in Star’s voice, “I don’t like to advertise it. A mare’s gotta have few tricks in saddle bags, am I right?~~~/” Sunny then cleared her throat again as her expression became serious. “So, what happened, what’s the situation on Cloudsdale, the radio news station hasn’t given an update yet.”

Starburst sat on her haunches and smiled happily. “I’m sure you’ll be briefed on it, and I know for a fact the news is going to be reporting all about this. But long story short, Cloudsdale is alright, and the city is free from griffon control.”

A look of relief was plain on Sunny’s face, but then it became somewhat somber as she asked her next question. “And my Mom is she…alright?”

Star nodded, “Your mom and Rainbow Dash are alive, a little banged up from fighting some griffons, but nothing bad.”

Sunny flopped back first onto the bed, feeling even more relieved by the news of her mother being alive. She must’ve been worried just as much as Prism about what happened to them. Glad I could save them.

“Now…” Sunny’s head popped up. Star then disabled the cloaking field around the ring and shot a beam of yellow light that wrapped around Sunny’s barrel and plopped her on her haunches onto the floor. “If you don’t mind, last night, this morning, and this afternoon have been hectic, and I need to sleep.”

The pegasus mare happily rose to her hooves and nodded in understanding to Starburst. “Sleep well, Star.” Sunny made her way to the stairs, but stopped for a moment to glance over her shoulder. “And thank you.”

Now that that had been settled, Starburst slipped under the blankets of her bed and completely passed out from exhaustion. Cloudsdale was safe, the griffon threat was thwarted, for now, and Prism and Sunny’s moms were alive and coming home to them. Despite the fact that Shadow Wing got away, it was mission accomplished, and time for a good long rest.

That is, she would have, if the front door to the library hadn’t suddenly burst open and Star’s ears weren’t assaulted by the voice of one of her more hyperactive friends.

“STAR, THE RADIO JUST GOT A REPORT! CLOUDSDALE IS SAFE! WE’RE HAVING A ‘YAY CLOUDSDALE IS SAVED PARTY’ AT SUGAR CUBE CORNER!” Candy announced.

Starburst opened her now bloodshot eyes and glared in the general direction of the downstairs front door. Candy, I love you, but I’m seriously considering showing you a certain comic from that store after this!

Griffon Empire Capital: Griffonia, 5 Hours Later…

“What a blunder!” Carmen announced.

Three of the four Wing Commanders were standing in the hallway that led directly to the Emperor’s thrown room. All of them had just gotten the report of Cloudsdale’s liberation and the failure of Nox’s plan.

“He has no excuse! My siege of Stalliongrad may’ve been our initial attack, but his operation has been planned out for three years!” Chalyvas growled.

Beast Wing was pacing back and forth, also looking as miffed as Chalyvas. “I’m starting to wonder if it was a good idea to bring him into our ranks! Too damn young to be the head of our Pretenders Division, and one of us!”

“Now, now, Silva…” All three Wing Commanders turned in the direction of the voice. A sphere of darkness appeared in the middle of the hallway, and from it emerged Shadow Wing. “Are you insinuating that Carmen is not young? I don’t think you want to open that can of worms.”

Beast Wing, Silva, glanced in Carmen’s direction, her brow raised in a curious fashion. “Ahem, that’s not the point!”

“Although it may become a point later on,” Carmen warned, “But from what we here, the ‘Golden Star’ made another appearance.”

“Yes, she did,” Nox then looked directly at Chalyvas as he smirked, “and she’s gotten a lot stronger since you last battled her.”

Chalyvas flared his metallic wings in indignation, “I won’t go easy on the ‘Golden Star’ the next time we meet on the battlefield!”

“That’s if you survive another round, and then I will get my shot.”

Chalyvas rushed towards Nox and stared him directly in the eye. Nox didn’t even flinch under the veteran soldier’s withering gaze. Both griffons held their ground, the air growing heavy and electrified by their overwhelming strength and power.

“Alright you two, this isn’t a measuring contest. The Emperor wants to see us.”

Chalyvas and Nox broke their eye contact and walked towards the throne room along with Silva and Carmen. The four Wing Commanders stopped at the large double doors and allowed the guards to open the intimidating sets of doors for them. Inside, the throne room was vast, easily twice the size of Canterlot Castle’s, even after its renovation to seat the six rulers. Along the way, tapestries were hung along the walls, each one depicting a different Emperor from Griffonia’s history, with scenes from their finest moments surrounding them.

At the end of the room sat their ruler, Emperor Stratus. Behind him was a giant stained glass window, with the sun’s rays shining through it, creating an almost celestial ambiance to his presence, and emphasizing his importance to the Griffon Empire. The four Wing Commanders stopped ten feet from the steps that led up to the throne and bowed before Stratus.

“Hail, lord and master, Emperor Stratus,” spoke the Wing Commanders.

The regal griffon looked upon his Wing Commanders, his gaze steely and even as he locked onto Nox. “I heard of the recent failed acquisition of the pegasus city. An operation that, as I understand it, has been planned out for three years now…” Stratus rose from his throne and walked down the steps towards the group of four. He then stopped directly in front of Nox. “Rise, Nox.”

The black griffon did as commanded and faced the Emperor. “Sir.”

“You do know how important it is that we conquer the Equestrians, don’t you?”

“Yes sir,” answered Nox.

“Do all of you!?”

“YES SIR!” The others shouted.

“Now they know of the extent to which we have prepared, and they will be more cautious. However, the appearance of this ‘Golden Star’ is becoming a nuisance. A thorn in my paw that I want removed. Can any of you do this for me?!” Stratus roared.

Out of the four, only one rose to meet the challenge, either out of pride or sheer stupidity was up for debate. “Sir, I, Chalyvas the Steel Wing, will answer your call. I will end the life of the Golden Star, and bring you the head of this pony, along with whatever power or weapon they possess!”

Stratus turned to Chalyvas and nodded approvingly, “Very well, I shall reserve a special mantle for just that. Now rise, all of you.” Carmen and Silva did as commanded and stood at attention as Nox and Chalyvas did. “After this, we can no doubt assume that the Equestrian High rulers might enter the battle, unlikely, but very possible. Therefore, I believe it is time we brought in our…‘assets’ into the fray. Chalyvas, I will leave this matter to you. We stand on the precipice of greatness, to do that which no nation or creature has done for many millennia, the Empire will crush the Equestrians, and a new age shall dawn, the Age of the Griffon!”

The four Wing Commanders struck their chests with their fists twice and uttered, “For the glory and the honor, to the end of and back, we shall reign supreme! Hail the Griffon Empire! Hail Griffonia!”

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

Announcement

One week had passed since, what has now been dubbed, the “Liberation of Cloudsdale”. Many of the citizens of Equestria were now on edge after learning just how easily that Griffon Empire sneaked into their homeland and nearly stole the entire city. None took it harder than the Cloudsdale pegasi themselves, many of whom knew the griffon Pretenders by their false identities and had befriended them, only to learn later on who they really were. Co-workers, family friends, best friends, and even romantic partners, all lies and all falsities, they Pretended.

Luckily the floating city had been returned to its original location, a little banged up and in need of some repair work, but otherwise fine. One thing that was starting to spread amongst the populace, acting as a beacon of hope was the now confirmed rumors of a mysterious pegasus mare, wearing golden armor and wielding a power that struck fear into the hearts of the griffons. To some, this hero was known was the Golden Star of Stalliongrad, but now the hero had given their name, which was now spreading throughout the land, the name that was the Fear Lantern.

This, however, did not go unnoticed by the High Rulers of Equestria. A special meeting between the six High Rulers of Equestria, and the High Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire was to take place at Canterlot, mostly to discuss the most recent attack by their enemy and how they should counter, and partially to discuss their knew ally in the fight against the Griffon Empire. The eight High Rulers had convened to a large meeting room, sitting at a round table, symbolizing that all were equal, and as to allow everyone to look the other in the eye.

“I’m glad that you could make it Cadance, Shining Armor,” said Celestia.

“Well, after we found out what happened with Cloudsdale, there was no way we couldn’t just not come when you called, this is getting serious,” said Cadance.

“I still can’t believe that they so easily got by us and took over Cloudsdale so quickly, how was that even possible!?” asked Shining Armor.

“Ahem, if I may, I have some information on that.” All eyes were directed at Flash Sentry. “From what the Guard has been able to piece together, this was orchestrated by a covert division of the Griffon Empire known was the Pretenders. Their armor was comprised of a specialized metal that seems to respond well with a crystal that was embedded into the armor itself. Utilizing this, they were able to cast a Glamour spell that was effective enough to fool everypony.”

“So they slipped by us by entering Equestria as regular pegasi, still, the level of planning and preciseness of their operation, this wasn’t just a spontaneous attack,” said Supernova.

“Which is why this wasn’t a spontaneous attack, from what we gathered from our two prisoners, they have been planning this particular infiltration and occupation for well over three years.”

Silence had overtaken the room, allowing the eight to take that in. For three years their enemies had been lying and wait right under their noses, and in that time they could’ve killed any number of ponies without anyone being the wiser. They could’ve even attempted an assassination on one of them at any time they wanted. It was becoming very clear that the Griffon Empire had been planning this war for far longer than they had imagined which made the group realize just how far behind they were in responding to this situation.

“Are there more of these ‘Pretenders’ in Equestria now?” asked Celestia.

“After analyzing the armor and crystal fragments, I was able to create a counter spell that will reveal any and all Pretenders within Equestria. It’ll take some doing, but I should be able to broadcast the spell to cover all of Equestria and reveal them if there are any,” said Twilight.

Everypony nodded in thanks to Twilight’s speedy creation of such a spell. Luna was shaking her head and sighing in frustration from this whole situation. “First we lose Maretonia, and then we nearly lose Cloudsdale…Our citizens will lose confidence in us if we cannot defend them from this threat!”

“I have to agree with Luna on this one,” said Discord, “These griffons are creating chaos!”

“And why does that bother you, you’re the Spirit of Chaos,” said Cadance.

“Because this is organized and controlled chaos! They’re intentionally messing with us, from every direction! Chaos is not
supposed to be organized or controlled, it’s spontaneous and erratic! A force of nature! I may have made ponies miserable back in my time, but I never killed anyone!” Discord harrumphed, crossing his arms in front of his chest in annoyance and anger about his precious chaos being used in such a way.

Celestia, though she did love her husband, did not always understand his logic, but for once she did agree with it. “This has brought me to a point that I wanted to discuss with you all, particularly, Twilight, Luna, Cadance, and Discord.” The four named High Rulers all listened intently as Celestia spoke. “Given the recent actions of the griffons, I believe that a show of force is needed to stop further bloodshed.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What are you saying…?”

“……One of us must enter the battlefield, and show the Griffon Empire why it is a foolish thing to go to war with Equestria.”

Everypony’s eyes widened in shock at what Celestia had suggested. There was a reason why those five hadn’t entered the battle yet, because it was pure overkill. Luna looked to her older sister as she stood on her hind legs and slammed her forehooves onto the table.

“Sister, you know that is a last resort! You’re not seriously asking us to break the seal on our magic and unleash its full force on them!?”

“What other option do we have? With every second we do not act a hundred more of our subjects die, I would think you of all ponies wouldn’t shy away from using force to make a point,” said Celestia in an even tone.

Luna snorted in indignation. “Times change Tia…We all didn’t have children to think about back then.” Silence once again befell the room. “To unleash our full power could incite a war with the other nations. They see Equestria as a beacon of hope, light, kindness, and understanding. If we show just how powerful we are, we risk making the others fearful of us…”

Supernova rested his hoof on his wife’s shoulder, easing her back to her seat. He then draped his bat wing over her back. He knew of what she spoke of, it took years before the citizens of Equestria finally got over their fear of Nightmare Moon and just as long to disassociate Princess Luna from that evil persona. Now the citizens loved her, especially the young foals, and she did not want to do anything that would bring that fear back.

“What about this…Fear Lantern?” Shining Armor asked. “I hear she’s been instrumental in freeing Stalliongrad and Cloudsdale.”

“That’s…been a little iffy lately,” said Discord. “There seems to be no one who’s seen this pony’s face, only that she is a mare, wears golden armor with a strange insignia on her chest, and wields a ring on her right hoof.”

“Valiant Heart gave a report on that,” said Flash, “The ‘Fear Lantern’ can apparently instill fear in her enemies; she’s more than once defended the citizens of Equestria, and solely attacked only the griffons.”

“So, is it safe to assume she is an ally?” asked Cadance.

“Hard to say…” Twilight sighed, “We don’t know who she is, and her power, we can assume, is fueled by fear itself. While she may be using it to help us, such a power is…dangerous, plus, we don’t know if this is another trick of the Griffon Empire, a way for us to lower our guard while this Fear Lantern walks among us and waits for the right moment to show her true colors.”

“I thought her color was yellow,” said Discord.

“Not now, dear,” warned Celestia.

“So, the question remains, then who among you five are going to the battlefield…?”

Luna sighed yet again, “Only one, that’s all it should take. There’s no need for all five of us to attack.”

“Very well, that sounds reasonable. High Prince Shining Armor, Flash Sentry, and Supernova, please leave the room, we must discuss who will take part in this.”

The three husbands glanced at each other with worried expressions, but a gentle nudge from their respective wives told them that they would be fine. The three stallions then walked out of the room and waited outside. Several minutes past while the three waited, pacing about as they dreaded which of their wives might be sent to the front line to do battle. Though they knew how powerful they were, this was still something to be worried about, the griffons have so far shown that they have a plan in motion, and they didn’t want to risk losing one of them to griffons, not wanting to imagine all the horrible things they would do to an immortal alicorn.

After a bit longer the doors opened and all five strode out as one. The three former Guards looked at each of them in turn, wondering who among them had been chosen.

“The choice is made…”

2 Days Later, Ponyville…

All of Ponyville was in celebration the day that Rainbow Dash returned home. Prims Bolt was the first to meet her, followed by his father Soarin and his little brother, Icy Storm. Tears were shed, hugs were exchanged, by all, and of course, a second party was held to celebrate her safe return and aid in protecting the city of Cloudsdale. During the party, which Starburst was required to attend; Rainbow told them about her encounter with the Fear Lantern.

Star couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as she heard the town talking about her, and not just Ponyville, but the radio news and newspapers as well. Some of the papers only got a blurry image of her, and others just got her wings or the shine from her ring. Still, it was nice hearing that she was making a difference. Ever since Maretonia had fallen, Starburst noticed how the morale of all the ponies was down, but her presence as the Fear Lantern had somehow brought them a new hope.

Even now as she walked about the town she could still hear ponies talking about her. She considered coming out to her friends about her secret identity, but decided against, now wasn’t the time, and with things the way they are, her greatest weapon against the Griffon Empire wasn’t just her ring, but her secret identity. With Shadow Wing gone, hopefully, and the knowledge that the Griffons had infiltrated Equestria, there was still a little danger. So, for now, the less her friends and her family knew about it, the safer they were.

As she was walking, Starburst was now taking notice of the pegasus with the Wonderbolts hoody around town, knowing that it was Sunny still shadowing her. It at least helped that somepony knew her secret. Even if she constantly gets on my nerves with her dirty jokes sometimes, she thought.

For a change of pace, Starburst decided she’d hang out with Annie, it had been awhile since the two of them did anything or even talked, so she thought, “why not?”

The cottage hadn’t changed at all since she was filly. It still had a large backyard filled with everything that you could possibly need to take care of almost any animal. Her Aunt Fluttershy had gotten her veterinarian license a while back and it really helped when taking care of Annie, allowing some income to flow in. The only downside to that was that sometimes that either involved Annie having to be left with a foalsitter or taken with her whenever she made house calls. But, thankfully, Annie’s vision got better, mostly, and even though she didn’t like being alone too much, the animals were more than happy to stick by her and keep the semi-blind mare company.

[Fear detected.]

“Fear, from who…?”

“AAAAAAHHHH!!!”

“What the hay!!?”

Starburst quickly galloped in the direction of the scream. Without thinking, Star used her ring to bust the door open and entered the cottage. She frantically looked around the room and saw that Annie was huddled on the floor, shaking like a leaf. Star could feel her fear through the ring, she was scared.

“W-W-Who’s there!? I can’t see!”

“Annie it’s me, Star!”

“S-Star…? W-Where you?!”

“I-I’m right here can’t you see me?” asked Star.

“No…”

Starburst didn’t need to hear anymore, she slowly walked towards Annie, watching the pink unicorn’s ears angle towards the sound of her hoofsteps. “It’s okay Annie, I’m coming towards you,” she said calmly and slowly, “I’m going to lie down next to you.” Starburst did so, lowering herself next to Annie. “I’m going to put my wing on you, is that okay?”

Anthea nodded slowly.

“Okay, here I go…” Starburst slowly extended her large right wind over Annie, bringing it to a gentle rest upon her back. Anthea flinched slightly from the contact, but once she felt Star’s wing, Annie moved closer till her side was touching Stars. “What happened, why can’t you see?”

“I-I overused my magic, Mom’s out working right now and I said I’d take care of everything here…I forgot that I had practiced some magic earlier before she asked, and used some of it for the chores. And…before I realized it, I had used it up and everything went black…”

Starburst gently nuzzled Annie’s cheek, and the blind mare leaned into it, welcoming the contact. It was known to Star that Anthea’s magic was helping her to see, maybe not fully, but she could at least see colors and that was better than nothing. Star knew this mostly because Annie was taught magic by her mother, and had more than once bared witness to Anthea overuse her magic and lose her sight temporarily. The ring allowed her to feel the fear ebbing away from Annie, and to know that it was the fear of the dark that frightened her the most.

The two of them laid there for a while. Anthea had stopped shaking and whimpering, the feeling of isolation having been assuaged by Star’s presence.

“How’re you doing,” asked Star.

“Better…Sorry,” said Annie.

Starburst shook her head. “Don’t be, you just lost track of how much magic you were using. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“Yeah…but I’m sure there was something better you wanted to do other than comfort a blind mare.”

“Well, now that you mention it, you’re right. So I guess I’ll go now…” Star slowly lifted her wing, causing Annie’s head to shoot up and stare right at her.

“Starburst Senturia Sparkle, don’t you dare leave me alone!”

Star placed her wing back onto Annie’s back and let out a little chuckle. “You really didn’t think I’d leave you like that?”

“No…Sorry I yelled.”

“Think you’re up for walking?”

Annie titled her head in confusion. “Why? To where?”

“To see Turquoise, you’d probably feel better with him, and at least the two of us can watch you until your magic comes back.”
Annie considered her options, she really hated being treated like an invalid, but right now, her magic needed time to recharge, and she wouldn’t mind being with her coltfriend right now.

“Okay.”

“Good, let’s get you up. Stand up on three. One…Two…Three.”

Starburst and Anthea slowly stood up, with the pegasus mare keeping her wing directly on her friend’s back. Once up, Anthea moved a little closer to Starburst and allowed her friend to keep her close by hugging her with her wing. The two of them then slowly and carefully made it out the door.

“This is so embarrassing…”

“What’s embarrassing about it? Everypony in town knows you can’t see too well.”

“Yeah…but it’s been way too long since I was completely blind like this. By the way, did you break down the door when you rushed in?”

Starburst’s cheeks tinted pink, remembering that she did indeed break down the door to get to Annie, “Um…yes, I’ll fix that, I promise!”

Annie giggled a little, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Mom what happened. So, why did you come to see me all of a sudden?”

Star just shrugged her shoulders. “Just wanted to talk, or see if you were up for anything.”

“Well…I can’t do much right now. So I guess you’ll have to settle for talking,” said Annie smirking.

“Figured as much. So, why were you practicing so much anyway?”

“Oh…well, your mom, Princess Twilight, she sent me some magic texts a couple of days ago, and I wanted to learn them before our next get together next weekend.”

“I see…” Star’s mood shifted a bit from hearing about her mother. “How is she, my Mom?”

Annie paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words. “She’s a little stressed, especially with everything that’s been happening. She even told me that our magic lessons are actually helping her to relax.”

“That’s good, she can get a little too wrapped up in her work, checking and double checking, and then triple checking everything…”

“She asked how you were doing.”

Starburst almost stopped walking when she heard that. “And…? What’d you tell her…?”

“Nothing much…but Star, your mom’s sad.”

“‘Sad’, sad about what?”

“Think about it Star.” Annie looked at Star, as best she could anyway. “She’s sad that she can’t see you right now and even more so because she knows you’re sad too.”

“………”

“Star, please don’t go quiet on me now.” Annie pleaded.

“I’m not really sad anymore Annie, trust me I’m not.”

“Well, that’s obvious enough. I can tell you’re not.”

Starburst was now confused, and a little worried. “H-How can you tell…?”

“For one thing, it’s in your tone of voice. There’s a slight elation in it, mixed with a little trepidation, like you don’t want to tell but at the same time you do,” said Annie with a completely innocent smile.

“Oh…Well…Yeah, I guess it’s something like that…”

“It’s Del isn’t it, you’re happy that you can spend some more time with him.”

The bluntness of that statement was enough to make Starburst stop and tilt forward, face planting onto the ground. Luckily for Annie, Star had released her before she went down, and now the unicorn mare was looking at the ground after hearing the sudden thud and pain induced groans coming from below.

“Um…Star, are you okay?”

“Fine…Just. Fine!” Star peeled herself off the ground and returned to Annie’s side. “Why the heck do think Del’s the reason why I’m happy!?”

“Because you like him.”

“I like you, Prism, Turquoise, Claire, Red June, Whirlwind, Nidra, Illusion, Del, and other ponies who are my friends!”

“I know, but he’s special to you.” Anthea simply stated.

“H-How is that exactly!?”

Annie once again thought about the question. “It’s the same way with T, I can hear it his voice how much he loves me, and I can feel it.”

“Because he’s close to you?”

“No, nothing physical…it’s hard to explain. It’s like a feeling I get whenever I’m around T. And with I’m around Del, and I bring you up, his tone changes and I get that same feeling around him, but directed at you.”

Starburst could feel a rush of blood going to her cheeks. She quickly shook her head to disperse the coloring. “C’mon Annie, he’s four years older than me! And besides…I’m not exactly his type – Not that I know his type or even care!”

Annie sighed in frustration. “How do you know you’re not his type? I didn’t think I was T’s type either. I mean, why would he want to spend the rest his life with a semi-blind unicorn like me when he could spend his time with somepony else…”

“Annie…?”

“But, then he chose me, because he cared about me, and loved me, and I love him too, no matter if he’s half dragon, he’s the pony I’ll love. You just need to give it a chance Star, open up to him.”

Starburst sighed heavily, was Annie right? Was it possible for her and Del to become something more than just friends, despite the obvious age difference, and her, well, her personality? It was times like this that made it hard for her to be jealous of the mare.

“And so long as you and Del don’t do anything that ends up with your mom and dad becoming grandparents, then you don’t have to worry about the age thing.”

Once again, the bluntness of Annie’s words made Starburst freeze up and face plant against the ground.

“Um, Star, did you fall again?”

“No, I dropped a bit and I’m looking for it.”

After that awkward walk, the two arrived at Carousel Boutique where they were greeted by Star’s uncle, Spike.

“Hey Star, what’s up?” He then looked to Annie who was completely wrapped in Starburst’s wing. “What’s wrong, you okay Anthea?”

“Heh, heh…It’s a little embarrassing, do you mind if we come in?”

Spike moved aside and allowed his niece and, potentially future daughter-in-law, into the house/business. As they entered, they watched as Rarity, with her mane in a bun, walk down the stairs.

“Spike, darling, who’s at the front – Oh my, Star, Annie, how nice to see you two?” She then noticed the concerned look on Spike’s face as he nudged his head towards Anthea. Rarity looked upon the two young mares and she too sported a look of concern. “Whatever is the matter dear?”

“I…Uh…Is T here?” asked Anthea.

“He’s uh…Out, right now, but he should be back soon,” said Spike. “C’mon guys, tell us what’s wrong already?”

“Annie used too much of her magic and, for now anyway, she can’t see anything.”

Spike and Rarity looked upon Anthea with shocked expressions. Even though Annie couldn’t see them, she definitely could feel their eyes on her, and because of it she let out a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, my bad.”

“Oh good heavens darling, where was your mother?” asked Rarity.

“Out on call, she said she’d be back soon…but she might start to panic if she’s the state of the front door.”

Spike looked to Starburst for an explanation, to which Star regaled them with how she broke down the front door to Fluttershy’s and Anthea’s house when she heard the unicorn mare scream in fright. Spike let out a sigh of relief along with Rarity, fearing that there may’ve been something worse waiting at the cottage.

“Well, Annie, for now it is best that you rest and let your magic reserves regenerate.” Rarity walked up to Anthea and stood on her right side. She then nodded to Starburst to lift her wing off so she could take the lead. “Come with me dear, the couch isn’t far.”

Anthea groaned in annoyance, appreciative, but still annoyed at being this helpless for the time being. Spike then looked to his niece who was sporting a kind smile at her friend. “Hey, Rare, I’m going to talk with Star for a bit. That okay with you?”

“What? Oh yeah, that’s fine.”

“Very well, but don’t go too far, I’ll need you to send a letter to Fluttershy before she gets to her house and sees the state it’s in and assumes the worst.”

With that established, Star and Spike left Carousel Boutique and just had a little walk around the block.

“So, how you holdin’ up Star?”

“I’m alright Uncle Spike, seriously, you guys worry about me too much.”

Spike chuckled, which sounded like low rumbling thunder. “Well, not like you can blame us. After what happened…we really thought we were going to lose you there for a second Star.”

“I know…and I’m really sorry, ugh, I still need to apologize to everyone properly.”

“Don’t worry, besides, I don’t think anypony’s really holding a grudge for what you did. Claire was really scared for you. You do know you’re, like, her favorite cousin.”

Star smiled a little at that, she had a lot of respect for Claire, and she really admired her, just as much as her biological cousin, Valiant Heart, both for totally separate reasons.

“I know it wasn’t easy what Twi and Flash had to do…Honestly I think that was just a little too harsh, banning you from the Royal Guard and all.”

A familiar stinging sensation resurfaced in her heart, though her dream of being a Royal Guard was lost, it had given way to an even greater opportunity. Though it still hurt, the sting was lessened by the fact she could still protect her friends and family.

“I’m not completely over it Uncle Spike, but I’m adjusting. Who knows, maybe I can be a Wonderbolt? I’m sure Aunt Rainbow Dash would put in a good word for me.”

“Heh, now that’s the Starburst I know, never giving up and running herself straight into the ground as always.” Spike then raised his left claw and ruffled his niece’s mane. Starburst groaned in annoyance but did not shy away from it.

“Okay, okay, Uncle, you can stop now,” Starburst used her hoof to swat the large dragon’s claw off her head and then grinned a little, “geez.”

The Next Day…

Yesterday was kind of eventful, especially since they failed to get the letter to Fluttershy in time and the pegasus mare went into a fury and worry fueled rampage through the town looking for Anthea. Needless to say, Star’s ring was at maximum power by the end of the day thanks to that.

Since last night, Starburst had been keeping a close listen to the radio. So far the war wasn’t teetering one way or the other, the other Equestrian territories were holding their ground and keeping the invading armies at bay, however, the news mentioned talks about a possible retaking of Maretonia.

Starburst sighed, getting a little stressed from thinking and planning what her next move as the Fear Lantern should be. “I need to relax…”

The pegasus mare gave a shifty glance of her surroundings, she then used her ring to shoot out multiple yellow tendrils at the windows, closing the blinds. Others went to the doors and made sure they were locked tight. Nopony could see what she was about to do, as much of a reputation she had as tomcolt and a fighter, and this would be a detrimental blow to that rep. Besides, everypony had ways of reliving stress, and this was just her way.

After double checking that the room was indeed empty and the windows were closed, and the doors shut, Star relaxed her body and moved towards the center of the room. Where the horsehead statue was, resting upon the table was a radio she had purchased a few days ago. Starburst turned the dial, listening to find the right kind of music. After a bit she settled a station that played classical music, it was easy, and allowed her to move freely to the soft beat.

Starburst stood on her hind legs and entered a ready position, waiting for the right moment in the song where she could begin. Star spread her wings and jumped into the air flipping once and landing with the grace of a falling feather, gliding her hoof across the floor; she pivoted and swayed along with the music, becoming like the air itself. She then moved into a back flip, landing on her forelegs and pushing off for another, mentally counting the numbers in her mind to keep track.

1…2…3…4…5.

She then stopped and pirouetted, keeping her wings tucked close as to not knock anything down. Star then jumped, readying for her finale. She then tucked and spun out aiming downwards, Star then flipped midair with her hind legs aimed for the floor. Before making contact, Starburst flared wings and slowed her descent to the floor, creating a whoosh of wind that spread out in all directions, making some of the cloth blinds flap. Starburst touched the floor and readied to give a bow.

Suddenly she heard a knock at the door, which unfortunately, threw off her concentration and made her fall flat on her face, for the third time since yesterday. Starburst groaned in annoyance and used her ring to shut off the radio.

“Who in Equestria…?”

Star then stomped her way to the front door and flung the door open and said, “Yes!?”

Standing at the front door was none other Del, who was now looking very confused at this moment. “Um…Hello… You, uh, you okay Star?”

Starburst’s cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment from accidentally yelling at her friend, “Uh, yeah, perfectly alright,” she lied, “What’s up?”

“Well…Ah was wonderin’ if you wanted to go out for a walk or somethin’? You know, get out of the library for a bit,” said Del.

Star, despite her earlier face plant, was actually in a good mood. And thought a walk would be nice.

“Alright, lead the way.”

It was pretty much a silent walk the whole way. Del was starting to wonder if he had caught her at a bad time, but decided not to press the issue, whatever it was. Star for her part was thinking about all her actions up till now as they walked together. Her pretending to be a Royal Guard, almost getting killed in Stalliongrad, and her persistent wanting to protect those she loves and cares for. Star was starting to think differently about her actions…

“Hey Del…”

“Hmm?”

“Do you…Do you think I’m being selfish,” she asked.

Del raised an eyebrow at that. “‘Selfish’, where would ya get an idea like that?”

“I’ve just been thinking about my actions lately…How I rushed into having Nidra cast that spell on me, lying my way onto a Royal Guard airship, and then impersonating one. All I want is to help and protect my home and family, is that really so wrong?”

“Uh-uh, it ain’t at all. That’s actually a noble thing, and very much you Star.”

Starburst smiled a little. “Thanks…”

“But…” Star looked to the earth pony stallion, “Ya do tend to overdo things sometimes. Like when we work out, you push yerself too far sometimes and end passin’ out.”

“Still hung up about that, aren’t you?”

“Well when ya keel over and nearly scare meh half to death, yeah, Ah get a little hung up about it.” Del stated. “Just sayin’ Ah admire yer determination, and, despite what ya did, you’re still more level headed then most of the mares I know.”

Starburst eyed Golden Delicious dubiously. “Exactly how many mares do you know?”

“Countin’ you, six.” Starburst’s eyes went wide at that number. “Like Red June, Nidra, Whirlwind, Claire, and Candy.”
Star face hoofed herself, “I didn’t mean our friends, I meant mares other than our friends!”

“Oh~, that’s what ya meant,” said Del with a playful tone, “Well…not very many then.”

“Why not,” asked Star.

“Why the sudden interest in my love life?”

The pegasus mare’s cheeks started to glow red, “J-Just making small talk? We’re best friends aren’t we!? We can tell each other this kind stuff, right!?”

Del, for some reason, was also blushing a little. “To be honest…Some of the mares who want to go out with me are………How can Ah say this without soundin’ like a jerk?”

“Just say it; you don’t have to find another way.” Star insisted.

Del let out a deep sigh. “Ah find some of them tirin’, some either don’t know what they want to do with their lives, or some are just lookin’ for a big strong stallion to call their boyfriend. Not like you, Star. You actually know what you want to do, and strive for it, and yer not distracted with frivolous things. But you could tend to lighten up from time to time.”

Starburst let out a small laugh, “Ha, ha, ha, that was so funny I forgot to laugh.”

Del chuckled a bit, not bothering to hide his mirth. Eventually Starburst joined in as well. This was one of the things she liked when around Del, he was honest, like almost every member of the Apple family, but he didn’t hold back with her. It felt natural, and Starburst, she liked it…maybe even liked him.

“Hey…Del…?”

“Yeah?”

“Hypothetically speaking…If…If I was, a little older, and you were still you and I was still me…Would…Would you have considered possibly –”

“Hey we’re here.”

“What?”

Starburst took notice of her surroundings; apparently the two of them had somehow made it all the way to Sweet Apple Acres without her noticing, the afternoon sun was now starting to set on the horizon and give way to the night, and now she was standing at the front of the barn doors. Star looked up to the tan earth pony stallion in wonder. “Del, why’re we here?”

“There’s somethin’ inside that Ah think you’ll like.”

Del pushed open the door. It was dark inside, she could barely see anything. Starburst felt Del give her a slight shove inside, when she turned to look at him she nearly lost it. The sun was setting right behind him, enhancing his features, and making him look unnaturally handsome. Star’s heart thumped in her ribcage. Why had he brought her, it wasn’t like this was first time she had been to the Apple family barn, but this was the first time she had been there, alone, in the dark, with Del.

He’s…He’s not thinking what I think he’s thinking about doing…? B-B-But I…and he’s…! He could get in trouble! Wait, am I seriously considering letting him do… that!?

Del then trotted inside and started to close the barn door. The light dimming considerably as he did so.

C-Calm down Star…This…I don’t know…Do I really want him to!? Do I like him that much to…to…?

Starburst was getting jittery; it’s not as if she hadn’t ever considered something like this, but that was way, way into the future, like, halfway into her time in the Royal Guard far! But it wasn’t like she was thinking of Del whenever those thoughts popped up! He just happened to pop into her head! It didn’t mean anything, she even thought Prism was cute, she still did, but he was too damn arrogant and annoying for her to even consider as a coltfriend. Any other thought was silenced when the barn door fully closed behind her.

“Are ya ready Star?”

“…I…I…just, just be ge –”

Suddenly the room was filled with light and almost a dozen, plus, ponies jumped out and yelled in one powerful voice.

“SURPRISE!!!”

Starburst’s eye twitched, her wings fully flared, and at that moment, she tipped to the side and fell to the floor.

Three Minutes Later…

“You are such a jerk!”

“Sorry, Star. It was supposed to be a surprise,” Del apologized.

Apparently, Cotton Candy and Anthea had organized a surprise birthday party for Starburst. From what they were able to gather, thanks to all the mess with the war, Star’s birthday party had taken a back seat. In truth, during that time, she didn’t really care that they didn’t have a party, there were more important things to worry about, and there still were. But, like her mother, Candy didn’t want such an important day be overlooked because of a war.

Somehow, the unicorn and earth pony mares had orchestrated this entire thing in secret. They wanted to do something special for Starburst to cheer her up, and this was the result. Almost everypony was there, Prism, Claire, T, Annie, Candy, Icy Storm, Candy’s sisters, Cloudy Skies and Sugar Rush, and Red June. Her Aunts Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Cheerilee, and Rarity, along with her Uncles, Spike, Soarin’, Big Macintosh, and Pokey Pierce were there as well.

After getting over the initial shock of the party and the thoughts that were running through her head beforehand, the party went into full swing. Music blaring out the barn, dancing, games, and of course, considering that it’s Star, there was tons of food. Some more time passed and more ponies joined in the party. Sweetie Belle, Button Mash, and their daughter Pixel Bit, Scootaloo, Rumble, and their child Echo, and lastly, Apple Bloom, Pip, and little Api.

The whole barn was one giant party, and Starburst was actually enjoying herself. It had been a long time since she had any kind of fun, or party thrown by Pinkie Pie and Cotton Candy. But right now, she was chewing out Del.

“You led me all the way here, and made get the wrong idea of what was going on. To reiterate: you are such a jerk!”

Del was nervously scratching the back of his head, trying to figure out where he messed up, “Well…What did you think was goin’ to happen?”

Starburst’s face went red, “Nothing, nothing at all! You’re still a jerk though…”

Del really didn’t want Star mad at him, even if he didn’t know why she was. So he went off to the food table and came back with a peace offering. The young mare’s nostrils flared as the aroma hit her immediately. She looked to Del and saw the stallion holding a large slice of watermelon.

“Um…Uh…Okay, you’re not jerk, so gimmie!”

In a rush of orange, Star grabbed the watermelon out of Del’s hooves and greedily ate the delicious treat, having been a long time since she had watermelon. Satisfied that all had been forgiven, at least he hoped, Del went back to talking and with the others and keeping Starburst company. After a while had past, there was a knock on the barn door.

“Who could that be, you guys pretty much invited everypony here Candy,” said Star.

“Oh not everypony, not yet,” she said with a grin.

Candy rushed to the front door, with Pinkie right behind her. The two earth ponies peeked outside and then turned to each other to nod in confirmation. They then opened barn doors and revealed the surprise guests to Star’s, belated, birthday party. Standing in the doorway was none other than Twilight, Flash Sentry, and Night Light Jr., Starburst’s family. The young pegasus mare put her watermelon slice down on the table nearest her and walked slowly towards them. There was silence in the room, except for the toned down party music.

The High Prince and Princess and young Prince walked towards Star as well, the crowd parting as they did so. There was a bit of tension in the room, many knew why. Twilight’s friends watched with trepidation as the family made their way to the center of the room. They knew Twilight in particular had been missing her daughter, but most likely feared what Star would say or do considering that they didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms.

On the opposite side, Starburst’s friends watched with an equal amount of worry. Star’s state of mind hadn’t been easy to figure out during the past two months of punishment, they were afraid that calling them here may’ve been too soon for her, but as Candy and Annie had made it clear to the rest, Star needed to see them, if for nothing else than to say whatever it is she needed to at least begin to forgive, if she could.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, the four ponies met at the center of the room. Flash Sentry smiled at his daughter, Twilight’s smile was wearier, and Nighty was just happy to see his big sister again. Starburst, for her part, was a mixture of emotions. Happy because her family was here, sadness because she remembered that day vividly when they banned her from joining the RG, and anger because they did so, dashing her dreams and aspirations into tiny pieces, but also thanks, since, in a weird way, it was due to them sending her to Ponyville that Star was able to further her abilities in the use of the power ring.

“Hey Star,” spoke Twilight, breaking the silence.

“Hey…Mom, Dad, Nighty,” she responded.

“Been awhile, huh,” said Flash.

“Y-Yeah, almost two months…”

This was painfully awkward to watch, and many just wanted them to just say –!

“I-I’m sorry…”

All eyes shifted to Starburst.

“I’m sorry,” Star then looked to the crowd around them, “to all of you. Sorry for doing such a stupid thing, sorry for worrying you all…What I did…there’s no excuse…I was just so caught up in wanting to help Equestria that…I lost sight of what my actions brought to everypony here, my friends and family. I…I know I don’t deserve it, but, I hope that you all can forgive me…”

Starburst then hung her head in shame, her ears flat against her skull, and eyes closed as she awaited what was to come. Many in the room were taken aback; they certainly weren’t expecting that of all things. Because of the suddenness, not many knew what to say, the collective did forgive her, knowing that her dreams were pretty much destroyed was more than enough punishment without adding scorn from family and friends to it.

Twilight separated herself from her husband and son, carefully walking towards her daughter. Star opened her eyes for a bit and noticed the lavender colored hooves of her mother before her. With a heavy sigh she lifted her head to meet her mother’s gaze, but, instead of a scolding stare, or an ashamed look, there were tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry too…Star,” said Twilight in a soft tone. The alicorn then moved forward and brought her daughter into a loving embrace. “I know you can never forgive us for what we did…and we know you’re sorry, but please understand…we love you, and we just don’t want to see you hurt…That day really put it in perspective for us, so…please, please forgive us…”

Starburst was a tough mare, she didn’t cry when she was half dead back at Stalliongrad, and she didn’t cry when she was in that tight spot with Cloudsdale. But right now…within the comforting forelegs of her mother, and in front of her friends and family, she let the dam burst. Star leaned forward and cried into her mother’s chest, Twilight nuzzled the top of her head, letting some of her own tears fall as well. Flash walked over and nuzzled the side of Star’s head while draping his wing on her back. Nighty walked up to them and nuzzled Star’s right foreleg, she brought it up and allowed her little brother to come close and hug her.

Anthea and Cotton Candy were watching the display, happy to see that the family had reconciled, even the two of them were crying a little. Annie couldn’t really see it clearly, but the mixture of colors and the feeling of love that she sensed told her enough.

“This was a good idea,” whispered Candy.

“Definitely,” agreed Annie, “Do you have a tissue?”

Candy then reached off into nowhere and produced a box of tissues. Not really sure, never in fact, of how Candy did that, and honestly not really caring after all these years, Annie used her telekinesis to grab one of the tissues and dabbed her eyes, along with Candy’s.

Morning …

Starburst’s birthday was a happy one after all the crying was done, presents were given and cake was eaten, mostly by Star. And games were played all around, Nighty in particular was happy to see the youngest of the bunch, Echo, Icy, Api, and Pixel, and her mother and father were able to catch up with their friends. Star’s family stayed a couple of days after, just hanging around the library for old times’ sake. But they couldn’t stay long and had to return. Star understood, there was a war going on, and Equestria’s rulers were needed.

Now, alone, once again, and after completely closing the blinds and locking the doors, Starburst once again tried to indulge her guilty pleasure. She walked over to the center table and turned the dial on the radio, she cycled through many stations till she found one that had the right beat for her to dance to.

Star relaxed her body, rising on her hind legs and entered a ready position, finding the right moment for when the music reached a point where it felt right to move. After a few seconds, Starburst found the beat and started dancing, she glided across floor, gracefully and with little effort, swaying her forelegs to and fro, whipping her head back and to the sides, her mane snapping from the sudden change in directions. Star was getting lost in the music, in her movements. There was nothing but her and the rhythm.

Suddenly, the music crackled as static broke her concentration. “Huh?” Star walked over to the radio and hit it a couple of times, that didn’t work, she then tried to maneuver the antenna a bit, again, nothing. “Alright, that’s it! Ring, find out what’s messing with the signal.”

The power ring released a few pulse waves, scanning the air for the source of the interruption.

[Alert: Enemy communication frequency detected. All transmissions are being blocked.]

“WHAT!!? Where is it coming from!!?”

[Scanning…Scanning…Source is wide broadcast signal, originating from enemy territory “Griffon Empire”.]

As if to confirm the ring’s scans music started to play from the radio, but it wasn’t the music from earlier, this music was stronger, prouder, this was the Griffon Empire’s anthem!

{Truth and hope in our Fatherland!
And death to every foe!
Our soldiers shall not pause to rest
We vow our loyalty!

Old traditions they will abide
Arise young heroes!
Our past inspires noble deeds
All Hail Griffonia!

Immortal beacon shows the way
Step forth, seek glory!
Hoist your swords high into the clouds
Hail Griffonia!

Our Emperor stands astride this world
He’ll vanquish every foe!
His truth and justice shine so bright
All hail his brilliant light!

Never will he be overthrown
Like mountains and sea
His bloodline immortal and pure
All Hail Griffonia!

So let his wisdom guide our way
Go forth and seek glory
Hoist your swords high into the clouds
Hail Griffonia!}

Starburst couldn’t believe that the griffons had intercepted their radio airways. She turned the dial, but no matter what station she put it on the anthem was the only thing that played. Soon the singers stopped, but the music still played. It was then that Star heard the voice of the instigator of this needless war.

{My brave soldiers of the Griffon Empire, we are the superior race, it is as nature has demanded, mandated by the heavens and natural law. We seek strength, and never give in to that which stands against us.

Equestria, a land praised for its ideals of love, kindness, equality, and friendship. Ideals that supposedly make them a beacon of hope in this world, and make them equipped to think themselves superior. I am here to tell you that those are the ideals of the weak!

Inequality is not a crime, nor is it unjust, EQUALITY IS! It is natural for some to be physically stronger than others, swifter of wing, or smarter than others! Should we punish them by bringing them down to meet the mediocre levels of the masses? NO! And that is why the Griffon Empire will continue to prevail, we fight, we adapt, plunder, and crush the weak, ever evolving and embracing that which makes us stronger!

Look how easily their territory, Maretonia, has fallen! And how close their floating city nearly became ours! WEAKNESS! Pure and simple, weakness! The Equestrians shall no longer be the one atop the pedestal of this world; such weak creatures are meant to be beneath us! And as such, we shall see to it that the pony race bow before their superiors!

To those Equestrians who hear this, know that it will only be a matter of time before we invade your houses, pillage your mares and foals, your riches and your land! You shall take your place as nature had deemed, serving your betters! However, should you decide surrender you shall see that life under the Empire is one better than what you currently have! And to those who choose to stand and fight against us, you will know the cold sting of our steel, and the fury of our talons, and the power of our fangs!

With our wings we shall ride the winds of victory, with our eyes we shall see the way to our glorious day, and with our claws we shall rend our enemies and raze their castles to the ground! High Rulers of Equestria, your Day of Reckoning is fast approaching and you will know who are the true deities of this world! All hail the Griffon Empire, all hail Griffonia!!!

~~/~

Truth and hope in our Fatherland!
And death to every foe!
Our soldiers shall not pause to rest
We vow our loyalty!

Old traditions they will abide
Arise young heroes!
Our past inspires noble deeds
All Hail Griffonia!

Immortal beacon shows the way
Step forth, seek glory!
Hoist your swords high into the clouds
Hail Griffonia!

Our Emperor stands astride this world
He’ll vanquish every foe!
His truth and justice shine so bright
All hail his brilliant light!

Never will he be overthrown
Like mountains and sea
His bloodline immortal and pure
All Hail Griffonia!

So let his wisdom guide our way
Go forth and seek glory
Hoist your swords high into the clouds
Hail Griffonia…!}

At that moment the transmission cut off and the music she was listening to had returned, but she couldn’t hear it, Star was too shocked by what she heard. The Emperor of the griffons had just made a public announcement to all of Equestria, threatening them, and even going so far as to give them the option of subjugation or death! Starburst gritted her teeth, her ring shining as a yellow aura erupted from her body.

No Emperor Stratus, believe me, your Day of Reckoning is coming! As the Fear Lantern of Equestria, I swear it!

Author's Note

Inspiration and credit for the Griffon Empire anthem are from THIS SONG, I just changed the name from Britannia to Griffonia

To Be Continued…

Steeled Betrayal

Deep within a chamber below the city of Canterlot, a ritual was about to take place. It had been years since Twilight, Cadance, Celestia, and Luna had been down here. The four alicorns stood within a marble room, at the center was a magic circle, with rune symbols and other archaic script written into it.

“It’s been awhile since we used this room, I almost forgot it was here,” said Cadance.

“Yeah…So did I,” said Twilight.

“This was the place we swore to keep our stronger powers locked away, and sealed that pact with this circle. As I recall, we made that pact when we first found out of our pregnancies, did we not?” asked Luna.

Celestia nodded. “Indeed, becoming a mother really did put things into perspective, for all of us. And it is for that same reason that we do this.”

Twilight stared at the circle, a feeling of trepidation entering her heart at the sight of it. The other alicorns looked to the youngest of their kind with worried filled looks.

“Twilight, you don’t have to –”

“No,” interrupted Twilight, “We voted, I have to do this…It…It has to be me who ends this war…!”

Celestia got in front of her former student and used her hoof to gently lift Twilight’s chin, allowing them eye contact. “Twilight, you mustn’t do this if you feel you can’t…None us really want to enter the battlefield. Equestria is a beacon to the others, to give them strength and hope in dark times. We must protect that hope, for the sake our children…”

Silence fell over the four alicorns, prompting Luna to step up. “Twilight, forget it, I’ll take your place. My sister and I have seen more than our fair share of battles, you should –”

“NO! I want to do this!” Twilight’s shut her watering eyes. “I have to; this war has torn my daughter apart!”

“But, I thought Star forgave you and Flash?” asked Cadance.

“She’s a better mare than me, because I can’t forgive myself! We crushed her dreams, we took away the one thing that she looked forward to in her life, trained so hard, and worked herself into the ground, literally, to be ready for that day! My daughter…My first child…I did that to her…And that is why I have to do this. I’ll face the enemy head on, she wouldn’t back down from a fight, and as her mother, and as High Princess of Equestria, neither will I!”

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance glanced between each other, Twilight’s resolve was firm, but they didn’t know what it would be like once she actually stepped hoof onto the battlefield. Twilight pushed past the three alicorns and stepped into the center of the circling, awaiting the initiation of the spell. With reluctant sighs, the other three High Princesses took up positions at three different points of the circle.

Celestia’s horn flared up with magical energy, followed by Luna, and lastly, Cadance. The three alicorn mares raised their heads and bowed down, touching their horns to the magic circle. Their magical power flowed through and activated it. Twilight stood still at the center, feeling the familiar magical essences of her mentor, friend, and sister-in-law. As the magic circle glowed something appeared around Twilight’s body. Chains made of aquamarine light were wrapped around her, and around her horn, with tiny glowing runic markings on them.

These chains symbolized the spell that kept their full magical powers from being used, the powers that some considered godlike. Twilight never saw herself that way; she doubted any of them did. They just had incredibly strong magic, magic that could do the impossible, and defeat the undefeatable. This power, which both excited and scared her, was the one thing that could raze a kingdom to the nothingness, or build up from ruin. Maybe that’s why some ponies see us a goddesses, our power has nearly no limit but that upon which we place on ourselves, guess that’s why I also saw Celestia as a goddess, and to a degree, even Cadance, Twilight speculated.

Suddenly the magical chains started to crack; Twilight felt a small surge of her full power course through her body. It was a hard feeling to describe, familiar, yet foreign. The chains cracked again in multiple places, causing Twilight to feel another surge of power. She nearly stumbled to the floor from the rush.

“Ease up,” said Celestia, “Too much too soon and we could over stimulate her nervous system.”

“And potentially blow every magical pathway in her body and cause a major backlash, you see why I didn’t want to do this,” said Luna.

“Maybe we should stop now, we can still repair it,” suggested Cadance.

“Keep going…all of you!” Twilight ordered.

With worry in their hearts the three mares proceeded. The chains continued to crack, releasing more and more of Twilight’s true alicorn powers. Twilight kept her senses about her, feeling her true powers flowing through her body. The first chain link snapped, and then the second, the third, the tenth, and lastly the sixtieth chain link snapped and then there was light.

It filled the entire room, Twilight’s cutie mark shined above her, symbolizing the release of her power. Her mane flowed in much the same way as Celestia’s and Luna’s, sparkling and undulating in a nonexistent wind, as if the very cosmos were embedded into her mane and tail. Soon the star symbol disappeared, and Twilight’s mane and tail returned to normal as she collapsed onto the floor. The circle powered down, allowing the other three High Princesses to stop the flow of magic and rush to the side of their friend.

“Twilight, are you okay!?” asked Cadance in worry.

“Twilight, please say something,” begged Celestia.

Several tense seconds passed, all three alicorns held their breath in fear that they might have overstimulated Twilight’s body and possibly damaged her internal magical network. After a bit, she stirred. Twilight’s eyes slowly opened, she then looked to each of them and gave them a placating smile.

“I’m alright, don’t worry.”

Celestia and Cadance released sighs of relief. Luna bent down and nuzzled the side of Twilight’s face, her fur a little wet from some tears she had shed. “Don’t scare us like that.”

“Sorry, it’s been awhile since I’ve felt my full power again. Could you help me up?”

Twilight pushed herself up on her forelegs; Luna maneuvered her neck underneath Twilight’s and kept her steady as she found her hoofing. Cadance stayed at her side, along with Celestia, both making sure that she wouldn’t collapse again, or if she did they’d be there to catch her.

“H-How soon can I make my way to Maretonia?” asked Twilight.

“Not right now you’re not,” said Celestia sternly.

“You need time to adjust to your magic, give it at least forty-eight hours before using any complex spells,” suggested Cadance.

Twilight sighed, but relented to their caution. It would do her no good to rush out and use her magic right away. She might accidentally use too much power and destroy Maretonia in the process of liberating it. Still, Twilight did need a little training to get acclimated to her power.

“Couldn’t I just do a little training?” asked Twilight timidly.

“Do not make me get my daughter to come and knock you out, Twilight Sparkle, because I will.”

Ponyville, 5 Days Later…

It was the rumor being spread all throughout Equestria. The day was coming soon when Maretonia would be liberated from griffon control, and that an operation would take place soon to head for the fallen territory and free the populace from the oppression of the Empire. Of course, Starburst needed more than just rumors to go off of, after her radio mysteriously got a hoof sized hole in it, which was right about the same time that Star heard Emperor Stratus’ little broadcast.

So, needing information, Starburst turned to the one pony she knew would have what she needed. Star jotted through the town, undercover of the distortion field, and found Sunny in one of her usual hiding/spying spots. After slipping her a note, Starburst awaited Sunny’s arrival to the library. It was about two or so hours later that the Sunny Skies appeared in the library.

“S’up Star, your note said you wanted to talk to me about something, but I can already guess what you’re going to ask me,” said Sunny with a smug grin.

Starburst rubbed the back of her head bashfully, “Y-Yeah…I wanted to know if you knew anything about what’s going on? Are these rumors about taking back Maretonia true?”

Sunny moved to one of the couches and got comfortable, no doubt she’d be here awhile while Star picked her brain. Fortunately, being in the EBE did grant her special privy to operations such as this.

“Yes, it’s true. It’s being kept under wraps for the time being, but the word within the EBE is that the High Princes and Princesses are conducting an operation to retake our territory. Some of the details aren’t fully known yet; even the launch date is a guarded secret.”
Starburst could barely hide her elation about the news. Her wings unconsciously began to flap in excitement, knowing that maybe her past victories over the Griffon Empire had probably stirred the Royal Guard into fighting back harder against their enemy.

“This…This is big!”

“Uh-huh,” said Sunny as she laid back on the comfy couch.

Starburst began to pace about, a happy grin spreading across her face as her mind started to put together a plan.

“Sunny, you have to find out the launch date for the operation!”

Sunny’s eyes went wide from hearing that request, she then looked to the young pegasus mare and saw that happy, eager look on Star’s face that told her what she was planning on doing.

“Oh no, nononononono – N. O. NO! There’s absolutely no way I’m going to let you fly all the way to the Equestrian Territories to fight!”

“Sunny please, just let me go out and help! I can help retake Maretonia! Just cover for me, at least for one day, two at the most.” Star pleaded.

Sunny brought her hoof to the bridge of her nose and shook her head back and forth. “Star, retaking a single city and retaking an entire territory are two vastly different things! For one thing, you won’t be facing just a small invasion force; you’ll facing armies – ARMIES! Ten to fifty times larger than Stalliongrad and Cloudsdale combined! You also have to take in the area you’re fighting in, terrain, geography, enemy numbers, possible evac routes, and so on and so forth!”

“Sunny,” Star raised her right hoof showing her yellow power ring, “I think I’m more than a match for an army of griffons.”

“I said ‘armies’, plural, as in more than one! You told me that that ring has to recharge or your dead in the water, do you really think you can pull that off? Recharge that ring in the middle of a warzone? Take Starlliongrad’s chaos and multiply that times a hundred, and you still won’t come close to understanding.”

Starburst grunted in slight anger from Sunny’s refusal. “I can do it Sunny! I can’t just sit here on my flank while everypony is out there fighting! I have the power to make a difference, why can’t I use it to do so?!”

“Because what if you face Steel Wing or Shadow Wing again?! You barely survived fighting Steel Wing, and Shadow Wing’s power can match your rings!”

“Okay, one: my fight against Steel Wing, I was inexperienced with the ring. I’m not anymore. And two: Shadow Wing caught me off-guard with that dark power of his. Now that I know that his powers can counter my constructs, I can fight him with a degree of caution.”

Sunny sighed in frustration, “Star…Even if – IF – I agreed to do this, the territories are hours away, it’s a least a day’s trip to go to and back from some of them, and others longer. How can I cover for you for days?! One maybe, but eventually they’ll come in and I’ll have to explain why I’m in here and not you.”

[While active, I am able to increase the speed of my bearer to exceed the speed of sound. In space, I can achieve light speed for interstellar travel.]

“You gotta be kidding me?” Sunny groaned.

[Negative.]

“Well, there you go. I can be there and back in the blink of an eye.”

“Answer’s still no.” Sunny got up from the couch and donned her hoody. “I won’t let you put yourself needlessly in danger Star.”

Starburst snorted angrily at that, feeling as if she were being treated as a child. “Like I need your approval, I could be gone before you knew it,” she muttered.

Sunny rushed towards Star, startling the mare. She then quickly struck Star with the tip of her hoof, hitting a point on her neck. Star’s eyes went wide, her legs started to give way under her, and in the next moment she found herself on the floor, completely paralyzed.

“W-What that heck is this!? What did you do to me Sunny!?”

“A Neighponese fighting style, it targets pressure points along the opponent’s body, points that have to do with magical energy that flow through our bodies and give us strength. By focusing, and directing your own internal magical currents, you can either disable an opponent, or completely destroy them from the inside out.”

Starburst desperately tried to move her body, but her legs wouldn’t move. Her wings were limp; the only thing she could move was her head. “This isn’t funny Sunny!”

“Neither is what you want to do.” Sunny Skies leaned down and looked Starburst straight in the eye. “You saved my Mom, and you saved my life, Star. I want to help you, believe me, I do. But when you rush into a battle without knowing what you’re up against you’ll only hurt yourself. And then where will Equestria be without its Golden Star? Also…” Sunny then poked the same area on Star’s neck, allowing the young mare to regain feeling in her limbs, “you’re one of the few friends I have…”

“Sunny…?”

“It was kinda tough growing up. A lot of the parents of the other foals didn’t want me around them; they thought I was unnatural since I was born from two mares instead of a stallion and mare. So, I consider you a friend, you didn’t shy away from me when I told you about my origins, you accepted me. So as a friend, I urge you to think about how your decisions affect your friends.”

Sunny didn’t give Starburst the time to respond, she made her way out the door without another word. Star got up off the floor and cursed under her breath. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Sunny was right. She was acting the same way she did a few months back. Was it really so wrong to want to protect everything and everyone you cared about? To lay your life on the line to ensure that no one would have to suffer the horrors of the griffons, thousands of Royal Guards did so every day, so why couldn’t she?

Well, she’s angry, thought Del.

Starburst had shown up on the Apple family’s orchard. Del was currently working the fields and, as per her usual MO, Star wanted in on the action for training purposes, she even tied her hair back with her pink ribbon to keep her bangs out of her eyes. He didn’t see much of a problem with it, since Star had been happier lately and was stronger than she used to be. However, this day was different.

The pegasus mare was bucking, and knocking down apples from the branches with a vengeance. Every once and a while he would hear her grunt and let out little frustrated sighs with each hit, now Del was a hard worker, fast too, but right now, in Starburst’s angered state, she had already filled many baskets with apples. After a bit of time had passed, Del and Star took a break.

Del scanned Star’s form; her chest was heaving in and out, her coat glistening with sweat from working so hard, it wasn’t that he hadn’t seen this before, the familiar sight of the young mare pushing her body to and past its limits. Before, Del knew why she did it, he didn’t like it, but he knew why. Training for the eventual day she would join the Royal Guard was the thing that drove Starburst, she had this look in her eyes that was full of determination and fervor that somehow added to her…well, it added to her…Oh for Pete’s sake, beauty! There Ah said it!

Since her dream had been, well, derailed, Star kind of lost that spark in her eyes, it didn’t diminish what he felt for her, if anything he was saddened to see Star like that. But recently, Starburst had gotten that spark back in her eyes, and somehow it had turned from a spark into a blazing fire. If he was being honest with himself, which he kind of had to being an Apple and all, Golden Delicious thought that Starburst was…hot.

“You alright, Del?”

“W-What!?”

“You’re, uh, staring me,” said Starburst, slightly blushing.

Del quickly shook his head, and slapped himself across the face for good measure. “Sorry, Ah-Ah was. Ah was makin’ sure you weren’t goin’ to pass out on meh again.”

The corner of Starburst’s mouth curled up, half-smiling at the stallion’s concern for her. “Well…I’m fine, really.”

“Heard that before.”

“I mean it.”

“Sure, sure, heard that before, too.”

Starburst then punched Del in the arm. The stallion hissed a little, but shrugged it off, finding that she was stronger than she looked, `cause that did smart a little.

“Anyway, what’s got ya so worked up? You’re going at the trees so hard Ah’m afraid yer gonna snap one in half.”

Starburst sighed heavily, “I just…had a fight with somepony, it’s no big deal.”

Del moved closer to the stubborn pegasus, “Now Ah know it’s a big deal. So, was it Prism givin’ you a hard time or maybe Nidra?”

“Uh-uh, it’s not anyone you know. Trust me on that. I just…Sometimes I feel like I’m being treated like a kid! Even when I step up, I still feel like others are looking down on me because they don’t take me seriously! I don’t know if it’s because of my size or the way I go about things! I just want to do what I think is right Del…is that so wrong?”

Del wasn’t expecting something like that. And he’d be lying if he didn’t say that sometimes, yes, she Star’s stature did sometimes make her look a little less intimidating, when she wasn’t using her special talent that is. Even he sometimes treated her as such because of their differing heights, but he had to remind himself from time to time that she was a sixteen year old pony, but she had the maturity of a mare that was a few years older.

That’s when a strange thought entered the stallion’s head. It was one that he wondered if he should even utter aloud. There were so many ways this could go down, Star could either see him as weird, take it as an insult, laugh it off as a joke, or accept it. In the case of the fourth option he was now wondering of the other three were better.

“Uh…ahem…Star.” The orange pegasus looked up at him. “Ah got a day off tomorrow, so…Ah mean – if ya don’t got nothin’ better to do that is! Do you want to…Ah don’t know, hang out tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“Ah mean, ya don’t have to Ah was just – wait what?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s been a while since me and you just hung out, plus, I don’t have anything better to do…not now anyway.” Star grumbled under her breath.

Del grinned happily, “Good, then it’s a date.” Then his face turned beet red, along with Star’s, at the word “date”.

“W-W-What did you say!?” asked Star.

“Ah-Ah didn’t mean a ‘date-date’, Ah meant just a regular date!”

Del watched as Starburst’s face was crimson red now. He then face hoofed himself when he realized how he said that.

“That’s not what Ah meant either! Ah was tryin’ to say just an outin’, you know, a-a-as friends!”

An awkward silence befell the orchard; both Del and Star looked away from each other, faces still glowing red from the embarrassing conversation. And yet, Starburst didn’t move away from him, despite what he had said. Del was taking this as a hopeful sign that Star didn’t think him a complete idiot for saying that, or she just didn’t want to move to far away, and lose her chance of pouncing on him and kicking his flank from here to Canterlot. Yeah, the last part seems more probable.

“J-Just as f-friends…right?” Star asked.

“Y-Yeah…if-if that’s alright with you.”

Starburst began to fidget, her right forehoof scuffled the ground as she contemplated her answer. It wasn’t as if she didn’t find him…attractive. He was a good friend, her best friend among the others, and probably one of the only other one besides Claire and Lance that she respected. Plus, it would be the first time she was ever on one, if she chose to see it that way that is, and who better than a friend for your first. THAT’S NOT WHAT I WAS THINKING, NOT THAT KIND OF “FIRST”I MEANT FIRST DATE, FIRST DATE!!!

“Uh…Hypothetically speaking…If I were to say that, maybe, I want it to be a real date, instead. H-How would you feel about that…?”

Del gulped audibly, he looked at Star and she at him. He couldn’t help but grin a little, finding her tied back mane look very cute, which was a nice contrast to that of her normally fierce appearance, which held its own appeal.

“Well…”

“Finally, darling, I was starting to wonder how much longer you were going to make us wait!” Claire exclaimed.

“So you’re finally going after Star, huh? Aren’t you quite the player, going after a Princess,” teased Prism.

“Just remember to keep your hooves off of her, `cuz. She may be mature for her age, but don’t forget she’s still a minor, and I don’t want to visit my cousin in prison,” warned June.

Somehow, unbeknownst to Del and Star, Api was nearby when she heard the awkward conversation being held by them in the orchard. What awaited Del on his return home were the happy, if not somewhat smug, grins of his friends Prism and Clarity, and his cousin Red June. Right at this moment, Del was on the floor of the living room of his house, covering his head and groaning as he heard what the others said. Yes, he had agreed to make it an “official” date, and yes, he did like Star, at this point there was really no denying it. But now he was filled with anxiety over the whole thing.

“Ah don’t know the first thing about datin’! And what do you mean ‘keep meh hooves off of her’!? Ya really think Ah do somethin’ inappropriate with Star!?”

Claire walked up beside Del and patted him on the head, “Now Del, none us would ever think you would, and you are a gentlecolt after all. June is just…looking out for you.”

“Gotta say though, Star’s cute, short, but cute, didn’t really see you as being into jailbait.” Prism teased.

Claire’s horns started to glow as she gave the pegasus stallion a narrowed glare. “What was that Prism dear? Surely you aren’t trying to make our friend Del feel more self-conscious about his upcoming date, are you?” Claire breathed out through her nostrils, a little wisp of azure flame flared out as she did so.

Prism immediately shut his mouth and vigorously shook his head back and forth. Satisfied that there would be no more of that, Claire released the glow from her horns and turned her attention back on their friend.

“Ah honestly don’t know why, of all ponies, why her!?”

“What’s wrong with Star? I thought you liked her?” asked June.

“Ah do…But, what will Ma say!? What will Star’s mother say!? Ah don’t want to do anythin’ that puts ‘em on bad terms, they’ve been friends for a long time, and Ah don’t want to ruin with me and Star have as far our friendship!”

“Oh `cuz…”

“Sounds like y’all are in a real pickle.”

Claire, Prism, June, and Del turned towards the front door and saw that Applejack was leaning against the doorframe, listening to the conversation the four were having.

“MA!?”

“Del, sweetie, ya can’t spend yer time worryin’ about everythin’ else. If Starburst is the one yer heart tells ya to go for, then ya should listen to it. And don’t fret about how it’ll affect Twi’s friendship with me. On that note, Ah want ya to go and take the rest of the afternoon off, and get to plannin’ yer date with Star. Wingin’ it is good and all, but not always.”

With that said Applejack left the room and headed back to the orchard, closing the door behind them, and leaving the four ponies within in slight awe.

“Wow, didn’t know Aunt Applejack was so open minded about this,” said June.

“Well, see, even you’re family supports you. So don’t worry Del,” said Claire.

Just then the door opened back up, with Applejack sticking her head in and grinning happily. “Remember though, if you do anythin’ that ends up with meh becomin’ a grandmother, Ah’ll have Twi turn ya into a mare, permanently. Bye now.”

Applejack, once again, left them alone. The four just stood there in silence, Prism then looked to Del. “Dude, your mom can be really scary when she wants to be…”

Del’s left eye twitched as he nodded in agreement.

Golden Delicious wasn’t the only one having second thoughts about this dating idea. Word spread to the rest of their friends, and when Starburst arrived back at the library, she found Cotton Candy, Anthea, and Turquoise waiting outside her home. What followed next was a never ending stream of questions from Candy, and a lot of embarrassing questions from Anthea.

“So did you guys pick out where you’re going!?” asked Candy.

“No.”

“Did you kiss yet?” asked Annie.

“No!”

“Are going to the movies for your date!?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you going to let him get to second base?”

“Mayb – NO!!!”Star shouted, her face once again beet red.

“Annie, Candy, don’t you think you should ease up on Star?” asked Turquoise.

The earth pony and unicorn mares gave the half-dragon a withering glare, although in Annie’s case, it just came out as a cute, puffy, pouty face.

“T,” Annie began, “we have to make sure that Star’s ready for her date with Del! Since we’re a couple, and as her good friends, she’ll need our advice.”

Starburst gave said couple and incredulous look. “What makes you two think I need ‘dating advice’ anyway?”

Candy sidled next to Star and draped a foreleg around her neck. “Star, we’re friends, and as your friend, I gotta tell ya, you do need dating advice. I mean, how else will you know what to do when Del tells a joke?!”

“I’ll laugh if it’s funny, and won’t if it’s not.” Star deadpanned.

“OR!” Star smushed her cheek against Starburst, getting into her personal space. She did not like ponies getting into her personal, unless permitted. “What if you try and order some food when he takes you to a restaurant, and the waiter asks what you want to eat, how will you know what to choose!?”

“I’ll read the menu, Candy.”

T just sat there, with Annie close to him and his wing draped over her, watching as Candy bombarded Starburst with one ridiculous hypothetical situation after the other. All the while, he noticed that Annie hadn’t said word after the earth pony mare went into her rant. T looked down and noticed that Annie had a hoof to her chin, and her face was scrunched up as if she were thinking hard about something.

“Annie, you alright?” asked T.

“You know what, you should practice kissing,” stated Annie.

That caught everypony in the room by surprise, even Candy. They stared at Anthea in disbelief of what she just said. Starburst sputtered and stammered multiple times trying to say something back to Anthea, but each attempt brought her mind thinking of kissing Del.

“You know, you have a good point Annie,” said Candy.

“WHAT!!?”

“A lot of good relationships are dependent upon the first kiss, but that’s not always the case, some get better as they kiss more. Take me and T for example!” The dragon-pony blushed upon hearing this. “When I first tried to kiss Turquoise I almost poked his eye out with my horn…I was kinda afraid he’d dump me right after that, I mean, how could he kiss me if he was too afraid of me stabbing him with my horn?”

“I-I wasn’t going to dump you for that, it’s not like you planned it,” said T defending his lover, and himself.

Annie nuzzled up against his arm in appreciation, causing Candy to gush from the display of affection, while Starburst awkwardly averted her eyes, seeing them like that made her mind replace T with Del, and Annie with herself, wondering if the tan stallion would like it if she nuzzled him from time to time.

“Anyway, we agreed from then on that T would make the first move. So all I have to do is tilt my head up like this.” Anthea looked up at Turquoise and closed her eyes, although it wasn’t necessary, it set the mood. “And then I wait for T to kiss me.”

The dragon-pony looked around the room nervously, wondering if this was Annie’s way of demonstrating their technique or something. As much as he liked Star and Candy, he wasn’t so sure if he was comfortable kissing his fillyfriend right in front of their best friends. Annie didn’t seem to move, Candy was eagerly awaiting their kiss, while Starburst looked away, only glancing a few times to see if they had done the deed yet. Turquoise then looked back down to Anthea and gulped, thinking that it was time to dragon up, he had kissed his fillyfriend plenty of times in public, what was so different about now! Turquoise then moved down to kiss her, slowly closing his eyes.

Candy’s eyes steadily grew wider as she watched, like an excited student learning something new. Starburst couldn’t deny that she wanted to see this, if anything it would provide her with some idea of how she was supposed to kiss her potential coltfriend.

As T drew closer, Annie suddenly turned towards the two mares and smiled happily. “See, this way I don’t hurt T and I get to –”

*Poke*

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”

Starburst and Candy watched as Turquoise’s right eye made contact with Anthea’s horn, causing him to wail in pain and fall to the floor, thrashing about as he cupped his injured eye and roared with pain. Annie suddenly felt the loss of her coltfriend’s presence; she then heard the painful wails of T and looked down to see a green splotch rolling around.

“What happened, T are you alright!?” asked Annie.

“I – Ugh – Fine Annie – Sweet Celestia that hurts!!!”

“Girls what happened to T, tell me!?”

Candy looked to Star, Star looked to Candy, Star and Candy then looked to T who, even though in a lot of pain, shot them a pleading look. The two mares then came to a unanimous decision before looking at Annie.

“He just bit his tongue,” said Candy.

“Really bad,” added Star.

“…………I just stabbed him in the eye again, didn’t I?”

“Yep,” they said in unison.

Anthea face hoofed herself, “Oh T, I am so sorry!”

“No, no, no! I’m fine, I’m fine! It’s not as bad as last – is this blood?!”

Meanwhile, Far From The Equestrian Homeland…

Twilight was standing on the bridge of her personal airship, the Avalon. It was a large warship, fitted with cannons that used pre-loaded magical canisters to fire beams of concentrated energy blasts at enemy targets. It was also armed with numerous rockets, each one ready to fire at moment’s notice. On the balloon was the Equestrian flag, and on the side of the hull was painted the cutie mark of High Princess Twilight right alongside the ship’s name.

The Avalon had been flying for the last four days, traveling to Maretonia. This would be Twilight’s first stop, and hopefully, after this was over, her only stop. Her plan was simple, display how powerful her magic was, incapacitate, killing was a last resort. Yes she knew that these were there enemies. Enemies who took delight in killing her subjects, violating, and murdering them without remorse, but, in her mind, they were soldiers, much like the many Royal Guards surrounding her. They were only fighting for what they thought was right, and many of them were somepony’s mother, father, little brother, big brother, little sister, big sister, aunt, or uncle. The thought of taking someone’s family away from them, and that it was done by her own hoof, Twilight wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to carry that weight on her shoulders.

I have to, I must be strong enough. If Starburst could do what needed to be done in that Tartarus that was Stalliongrad, then how can I do any less, she thought.

It was then that Twilight heard the hoofsteps of an approaching pony. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that it was Valiant Heart, garbed in his battle armor and sporting his dual swords.

“High Princess Twilight, we’ll be arriving at the battle line in just a few minutes.”

“Thank you, and Captain, for now, let’s dispense with the formalities and titles. I could really use my nephew right now,” said Twilight with a sheepish grin.

Valiant Heart smiled back at his aunt, “Sure Aunty Twi. How you holding up?”

“To be honest Lance, not so good…I’ve never had to go to a battlefield nor have I ever had to turn my magic on others like this. Sure, my friends and I have faced a lot of monsters, evil spirits, and demented villains that wanted to rule Equestria, destroy it, or whatever, and used my magic on all of them, either to help my friends or to keep that enemy from hurting others. But now though…”

“Now you’re going to use it against an enemy that’s not exactly any of those things, just a bunch of soldiers following the orders of a whacked out Emperor, right?”

Twilight nodded. “I guess you’ve been through this too?”

“First time was a while back when I graduated and became a grunt in the Royal Guard, fought against the Changelings during that time that Chrysalis went mad and tried to invade the Crystal Empire. I…I cut down a lot of those soldiers and drones; sometimes I still can’t stop seeing their terrified faces when I killed them. They were just desperate and needed food, and I killed them.”

Twilight remembered that day a while back, a treaty was made with the Changelings, though they were the enemies of Equestria, they didn’t deserve to starve to death, so her brother and sister-in-law made a deal with Queen Chrysalis. They would send them a large supply of love energy from the Crystal Heart at least once a month, until their race was no longer on the brink of extinction. It was a shaky alliance but the Queen had little options. Twilight was called to play arbitrator to the treaty signing. She was almost sorry that that treaty didn’t have an addendum that made it so that they could call upon the Changelings during times of war, the Changelings would’ve been helpful during this crisis. But it wasn’t a treaty over who would help who, it was just to make sure that the Changelings wouldn’t have need to attack the ponies of Equestria for a food source so long as they received a steady supply from the Crystal Heart.

“I know you don’t want to do this Aunty, you should’ve just had me do it.”

Twilight smiled and nuzzled her nephew, “Thank you, Lance. But this isn’t something that we should put on you, any of you. You’re our children, and as your parents we protect you from harm, not put you in it.”

Valiant lowered his head, frowning. “I wish Star understood that…”

“It may not be too late. We could always allow her reentry into the RG, when she’s older maybe?”

“I…” Lance sighed, “…Maybe. But right now, she needs to learn that her actions have consequences. Besides, Aunty, I know you feel better now knowing that she won’t be in this war.”

A look of guilt fell upon Twilight’s face. “I’d be lying if I wasn’t. She’s my daughter, Lance, I can’t…I can’t lose her on some far away battlefield, fearing the worst of what the griffons could do to her. Maybe once the war is over…?”

“Yeah…maybe then. So let’s make sure to end it here.”

“Right.”

It didn’t take long for the Avalon to reach Maretonia. The airship may’ve been large, but did not lack speed. They arrived at the capital city of the territory, Bucephalus, named after the great conqueror earth pony stallion who road into battle and claimed this land as his own, after some time had passed, his descendants made an alliance with the Equestrian homeland and were now and always allies. But now the city had fallen. Gone were the proud flags of Maretonia and Equestria, now replaced with the black flags and golden crest of the Griffon Empire.

“Set the airship just outside the city; do not engage unless either Captain Valiant Heart or I give the single. We’re here to drive off the enemy, not to endanger the ponies we came to save.”

“YES, YOUR MAJESTY!”

I’m never going to get used to that.

Twilight made her way to her personal quarters and prepared for battle. She sighed; she really didn’t like this next part. Inside this room were two Royal Guard mares, both bowed before the High Princess. With a wave of her hoof, Twilight bid them to rise. She then stood at the designated spot and allowed the two mares to start. The two Guardsmares brought forth her armor from a trunk that had her cutie mark emblazoned onto it.

Twilight stood still for this next part, she would’ve rather done it herself with her magic, but this was part of the what she needed to do, it put her in the mindset of the kind of mare she needed to be right now. Not just a High Ruler of a Kingdom, she needed to be a beacon of hope, a light in the darkness, the savior that her subjects prayed for. When the two mares opened the chest, Twilight almost let out a gasp. She had never seen her armor till now, it was made after her coronation in secret. Of course, Celestia never intended for Twilight to enter the battlefield, but thought it best to have such armor just in case.

The armor itself was a dark lavender color, polished and gleaming in the light, and trimmed with gold lining only adding to its brilliance. The chest plate bore her star cutie mark, along with the bracers and greaves. Next to it was a helm, with a long slit on the back of the neck to allow her mane to flow through, and to keep her bangs from getting in her eyes. With a nod to the soldiers, they began to dress their princess for battle

The first mare, blond in color, carefully slipped Twilight’s forelegs into the bracers, latching them on and making sure that it wasn’t too tight but not too lose either. The second mare, blue in color, did the same with her greaves on her hind legs. Twilight shivered from the touch of the cool metal against her fur and skin, running up her legs. The two mares then brought forth her chest plate, being very mindful of her beautiful wings as they adjusted it. The coolness washed over Twilight’s body now. Finally, the blond mare placed Twilight’s helmet onto her head, while the blue mare fixed her mane so that it all came out through the specially made slit. The two mares stepped back and brought forth a mirror so that she may look upon herself. Twilight was speechless.

Gone was the studious mare and educated scholar. What stood before her was a warrior, a goddess of war. The armor sheened with the slightest movement, her cutie mark symbols seemed to resonate with her magic, giving off an iridescent pinkish glow. Twilight never knew she could look like this. It was a stark contrast to her image of herself, both as a mother and a princess. The thing about it now, was that she possessed the power to match this new image. It was strange; the armor itself was made of special metals that were extremely durable and resistant, but at the same time light as a feather.

So why does it feel so heavy…?

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” asked the blond mare.

“Did we tie it too tight?” asked the blue mare.

Twilight shook her head and gave the two Guardsmares a small smile. “No, you two did great. I just…This is the first time I’ve worn my armor, and it’s really strange to see myself like this.”

“Forgive me, High Princess Twilight, may I speak freely?” asked the blond mare.

“Of course.”

“You look quite beautiful, like a goddess from ancient times.”

“Or a hero from a fairytale,” added the blue mare.

“Thank you both. You may return to your duties.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Twilight made her way to the Bombay doors. Waiting for her at the platform was Valiant Heart, along with a contingent of Royal Guards, thirteen in all. The Guards and Guard Captain quickly stood at attention, saluting their High Princess. Valiant Heart took a moment to look over his Aunt, noticing just how much the air around her changed. Maybe it was the armor that made her look different, or maybe it was her unlocked magical power bleeding out from her body, whatever it was, it was clear that his Aunt Twilight was ready for battle.

“At ease,” she ordered.

“Your Highness, we’re ready for deployment,” said Lance.

“Excuse me your Highness.” One of the Guards, a brown unicorn stallion with gray mane stepped forward.

“Yes, Pinpoint?”

“I was wondering. Would it not be wiser to bring the rest of the troops onboard? If we are to retake Maretonia, I would think a larger force would be more effective.”

“Normally you are right Pinpoint,” said Valiant, “But this isn’t a normal occasion.”

“So the rumors are true then, you are going to attack the griffons, aren’t you your Highness?”

Twilight nodded. “I will unleash my power upon the griffon soldiers. You fourteen are to stay behind me while we are engaged in the coming battle. I want to free the city. My hope is that the griffons will leave the territory once they realize just how far we are willing to go to protect our subjects. Hopefully, we can win this with as little bloodshed as possible.”

The other RGs glanced to each other and then back to Pinpoint, nodding as if agreeing with Twilight’s plan. “Very well, we await your orders.”

{Alert: We have movement from Bucephalus, griffon forces are amassing outside the city and are preparing to attack.}

Valiant Heart made his way to one of the callboxes and pushed the button below the speaker. “Make sure the Avalon is ready to counterattack. They may not have anti-air cannons, but we can’t take the risk of the griffons already having a contingency plan to knock out this airship.”

“Let’s go,” said Twilight.

The doors opened and a gust of wind blew through the room. Once the platform hit the ground Twilight flared her wings and flew out of the airship. Valiant Heart spread his wings as well and followed close behind his aunt. The two alicorns landed a few yards away from the Avalon, shortly after landing, a light-yellow magical flash appeared behind them, revealing the thirteen Royal Guards. Pinpoint’s horn was glowing, showing his special talent in accurate teleportation magic.

Twilight saw the horde of griffons heading towards them, she then took in a calming breath, and exhaled it. With a fierce and determined look, Twilight called upon her magic, her wings flared out, horn aglow, mane flowing and turning into a cosmos of stars, and her eyes shined with a brilliant white light.

“HEAR ME, I AM HIGH PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” roared Twilight in the Royal Canterlot voice.

The force and power of her the Voice made the horde stop in their tracks, buffeting them with the sheer power of sound.

“I HAVE COME TO LIBERATE THIS CITY, THIS TERRITORY, AND ITS CITIZENS! TO YOU, SOLDIERS OF THE GRIFFON EMPIRE, I OFFER THIS ULTIMATUM: SURRENDER AND LEAVE MARETONIA, OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE EQUESTRIAN CROWN! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!”

Twilight, Valiant, and the thirteen Guards all waited for a response from the occupying force. The lavender alicorn hoped that that was enough to scare them into retreating. Maybe not the territory, but at least the city, she could work on the rest after that. After a minute passed there was a whistling sound that echoed in the air, a dozen or more whistling sounds as a matter of fact.

The fifteen ponies looked up into the air as the sun was blotted out with a flood of arrows. Twilight sighed sadly, she had hoped that they would retreat, but now she was left with no choice. With a flash of her horn, they were surrounded by a barrier of magical energy. The myriad of arrows rained down on the shield, snapping like twigs the moment they made impact. Some of the Guards flinched, seeing and hearing so many arrows coming down on them and yet none of them hit. It took all of thirty seconds before the arrow storm was concluded.

The griffon horde charged straight for them, brandishing their spears, swords, and talons as they prepared to take down their opponents. Twilight rose into the air, horn aglow as it built up energy. She then whipped her head up, the discharge from her horn created a wave of purple energy that sped right to the horde. The griffons stopped in their tracks as they tried to retreat or get out of the way, but it was too late.

The wave struck them like a steel wall, knocking those flying out of the sky, and others on the ground to their backs. A force of five-hundred, all taken down with one spell, this was the power of an alicorn. Twilight softly landed back onto the ground and nodded for them to proceed further. Pinpoint teleported the group behind the downed griffons, putting them just near the city entrance. Valiant Heart looked back at one of the griffons and noticed that he was still breathing.

“What was that spell?” asked Lance.

“I Concussion Spell Wave, it’s different from a Stun Spell since that one requires a simple disruption of electrical signals in the brain to cause temporary paralysis. The spell I used strikes with force and hardened mana particles, buffeting, and slamming against them like a speeding train. I basically beat them down with magic, they’ll be out for a good long while, and even if they do wake up, they won’t be much for fighting with how they’ll feel when they do.”

Valiant was impressed, it would’ve been easy for his aunt to simply kill them all with a blast of pure magical energy, but instead she found another way. She was determined to make killing a last resort. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t come to that.

The group walked into the city, tall modern buildings interlaced with the ancient structures of their heritage, a way for them to connect to the past while still looking forward. Suddenly they were ambushed from the taller structures, griffons flying right at them. Lance drew his swords in preparation for close combat, but Twilight was quicker. She released a pulse of magic that froze each of the griffons in place. The soldiers tried to free themselves of her magical grasp, but were ineffective.

Twilight’s eyes then shined once again, and all at once the griffons were slammed into the ground, creating massive craters as they were pushed further and further down into the asphalt.

“Gravity Spell,” she stated. Twilight then cleared her throat. “CITIZENS OF BUCEPHALUS, WE HAVE COME TO FREE YOU OF YOUR OPPRESSORS! GRIFFONS THAT LURK ABOUT, EITHER FACE ME OR FLEE NOW WITH YOUR LIVES! THE CHOICE IS STILL YOURS TO MAKE!”

That was more of a rallying cry for the griffons; they attacked in droves now, launching spears and arrows, explosive crystals, and even brought in a fire-spitter mounted on the backs of a five griffons to drown them in flames. But through it all, Twilight protected her contingent. Showing no signs of strain or fatigue from the use of her power, it scared her, just how powerful was she? Usually, casting this many high level spells would’ve already knocked me out. But now…I feel like I could go on for weeks without rest, casting left and right!

And cast she did. Twilight fired a ball of magical energy into the air; it then unleashed rapid fire energy blasts in every direction possible. The griffons were hit from behind, the side, the front, on the wings, in the face, dropping like flies before her might. Twilight ceased her attack and the group pressed on towards the palace of the Duke and Duchess, thinking that the leader or leaders of this occupation would most likely be there.

As they approached the palace Twilight couldn’t help but take in the architecture. A large ivory stone building, with giant columns and stairs leading up to the palace, but that’s as far as Twilight’s mind got before her eyes went wide and tears threatened to fall.

“Oh good Faust…”

Hanging from the large archway at the front of the palace were two bodies. One was a stallion, dressed in the royal garb of the Duke, and the other a mare, also dressed as the Duchess. They had nooses around their necks, leading up to two crudely implanted hooks.

Their garments were torn and their bodies were emaciated, flies buzzing about them as if having been left in the open sun for days on end. But the worst part was their faces. Their final expressions forever frozen upon them, mouths agape, eyes bulging and red, their necks and hooves stained with their blood from constant struggling to free themselves. They were placed facing each other, forced to watch the other die right in front of them. Twilight saw that the fall from where they were was a least one-hundred if not a hundred and fifty feet, being earth ponies, the fall would’ve surly killed them if they got free, and really, a quick death was better than what was before them.

How…How could any creature…Any living being be so cruel…!

“It’s a scare tactic, meant to demoralize and strike fear into the citizens. A way of telling them that this was the fate of those who defied them,” said Lance in a solemn tone.

Twilight blinked the tears from her eyes. With a flash of her horn, she sliced the ropes and caught the two bodies in her magical grasp. Twilight then used more of her power, collecting the marble and stone debris around them. Using her magic, she reformed the debris into two coffins, each etched with the name of the Duke and Duchess in ancient Maretonian. She wasn’t fully familiar with the burial rights of Maretonia, and promised herself to give them a proper send off when her business was over.

“Thank you very much your highness.”

Twilight and the group of warriors all turned to one of the columns. The silver, mechanical winged griffon stared down upon them. Twilight and Valiant Heart immediately recognized this griffon from their meeting months back, the veteran of the Wing Commanders, Steel Wing.

“Those corpses were starting to smell, better you touch them. I didn’t feel like sullying my talons with such filth.”

Twilight scowled at Steel Wing. “You show respect for the dead, enemy or not. I have heard of the horrors you and the Empire’s soldiers have committed, but I had really hoped that they were just rumors, the talk of ponies who were frightened and scared after going through such a traumatizing event. But now I know the truth, you haven’t just committed war crimes; these are crimes against life itself!”

Steel Wing unfurled his wings, the metallic avian appendages making a familiar sound of swords being drawn from their scabbards. He then landed down on the ground a few yards away, walking slowly towards his enemies.

“I do not recognize you ponies as equals, I thought that be clear from our Emperors message to you all. This is the fate of those of you who defy us. Your only option is subjugation or death.”

Twilight snorted angrily. She glanced over to Lance and saw the burning fury within his eyes, but he kept it in check, not wanting to get in the way of his aunt. The other soldiers stood steadfast, though there was a look of trepidation in Pinpoint’s eyes, despite his calm demeanor.

“Commander Steel Wing, the actions of the Griffon Empire can no longer be tolerated; we wish to end this war and are willing to end it peacefully. Withdraw your forces from Maretonia, and the other territories and I will assure you that the Griffon Empire will be heard and given a fair trial at the Court of Nations. Or, you and your Emperor can continue fighting, and force me to bring down the full wrath of the crown of Equestria upon your soldiers and your homeland. The choice is yours.”

“Hmm, let me respond to that in the following way.”

Steel Wing flared his wings out, the metal panels that made up the feathers shot forth, but they didn’t fly away. They hovered around him as his wings quickly replaced the panels he released. The panels then twirled around him, obscuring their view of him. Twilight, Lance, and the Guards readied themselves for whatever Steel Wing had up his sleeves.

There was bright, dark violet light that shined from within the tornado of metal, causing the panels to shine as well and shoot right at the source. When the light died down, Steel Wing had changed completely. His body was covered head to paw in silver armor. His wings seemed larger, as did the armor, bulky, and ordained with light-gray trimming. His piercing eyes stared back through the slits in his helmet, smiling at his enemy from behind the faceplate.

“Behold, High Princess Twilight, the power of my Iron Defender Armor.” Steel Wing took one step, and immediately the ground caved under its weight, sending a thudding resonance through the ground itself. “You can be assured, whatever power you think you possess, godly or otherwise, will not penetrate this armor.”

“Captain, you and your Guards stay back.” Twilight ordered.

“But –!”

“That’s an order, Captain.”

Lance did as he was told, and had his Guards take a few steps back, giving Twilight room to work. The alicorn mare made the first move, firing her Concussive Wave Spell right at Steel Wing! The griffon commander didn’t even try to avoid the attack. Instead, he released his talons and back claws and anchored himself to the ground. The wave struck him hard, washing over him like a tidal wave. When it was over, Twilight was shocked to see that Steel Wing still stood.

The armored griffon retracted his claws and shook his body, “Is that all you got? I was expecting more from a High Princess of Equestria!”

Twilight’s horn flared and bore down on him with a Gravity Spell, hitting the griffon with a force five times that of Equus’ gravity. The tank-like griffon, once again, stood there and took it. A crater formed around him from the increased gravitational force, but he didn’t seem fazed by it in the least. Twilight then increased the power, to ten times the norm. The spell released a thundering, whooshing sound as the force was increased further, the crater doubling in size. Steel Wing began to lift one foreleg and bring it down with a thunderous thud, slowing inching his way towards her.

That’s impossible! Even at five time’s normal gravity, he shouldn’t even be able to stand, let alone move at ten! His bones should’ve broken in multiple places with that one step!

Twilight wasn’t liking this, not at all. Whether it was pure willpower, resolve, or just stubborn pride, she didn’t know, but something was giving this griffon the strength to withstand her spells. To be honest, she was holding back, using at least twenty percent of her full power. Now, she realized that this was the kind of opponent that needed her full strength, at least ninety percent! Twilight spread her wings and took off into the air, but not before casting a shield spell over her Royal Guards and nephew.

She was at least two hundred feet in the air, continuing the Gravity Spell to keep Steel Wing’s movements down to a minimum. He was dangerous, he had to be stopped. Twilight summoned her magical power, coalescing into an orb of condensed energy at the tip of her horn. With blazing white eyes, and a starry, flowing mane, Twilight fired her pent up power. The result was a beam of pure energy, aimed directly at Steel Wing.

The beam engulfed Steel Wing, bearing down on him with such power that it forced him to the ground. Twilight then upped her power to ninety-five percent and gave it one last burst, doubling the size of the attack. With that second burst, the area around Steel Wing exploded magnificently. With a quick casting of another spell, Twilight was able to contain the blast to just around Steel Wing, doubling its destructive power and ensuring that the surrounding structures would not be damaged.

Twilight floated back down to her original position, her mane and eyes returning to normal as she swayed from the use of such destructive energy. Lance went slack jawed at the sight of his aunt unleashing her unlocked powers upon Steel Wing, making him wonder just how powerful he would be if the same was done for him.

“Looks like you got him,” said Lance.

Twilight, even though knowing he was a monster, the taking of another life left a bad taste her mouth, and made her feel ill. But she pushed that down; there would be time to deal with that later.

“Alright, Lance, call the Avalon and have them bring the ship over Bucephalus, we’ll drop in Guards and start a cleanup of the city and get medical attention to those who need it.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit premature?”

Twilight’s eyes, as well the others, went wide with shock and horror at the sound of that voice. Clawing himself from out of the crater, and still wearing the bulky armor, was Steel Wing, his silver armor was hissing and glowing orange from the heat of the powerful energy blast from earlier.

“That’s impossible…! You couldn’t have survived that!”

“My armor is, how shall I say, ‘special’. Speaking of, I think it’s time you saw the full extent of its abilities!” The air around Steel Wing shifted, his wings flared out and hummed with a power deep within.

Twilight and Lance prepared to face down whatever kind of power this griffon had, but something stopped them. Before Twilight or Lance could even figure out what was happening, Pinpoint’s horn flashed once. Around Twilight’s and Valiant’s necks were metal collars, etched with runic markings. And lastly, a metal ring was slipped over both their horns. Twilight yelped from the sudden, painful shock that racked her body, and once more from when she felt the loss of her magic.

Valiant Heart was in much the same boat, his swords dropping to the ground, useless. Pinpoint flashed his horn once again and brought the alicorn stallion to them. Before he knew it, Lance was dogpiled by his own Guards, restraining him and holding him down against the ground, Pinpoint then teleported them behind Steel Wing, leaving Twilight right in the griffon’s sights.

“Metal…Reaver!”

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

Fear Lantern vs. Steel Wing

Twilight barely remembered what happened, all she could feel right now was pain. Her legs, body, even her mane and tail hurt. She was aware of a weighty object around her neck, and something else that felt foreign on her horn. Slowly, Twilight opened her eyes, wondering where she was. She took in her surroundings very carefully. She was lying on a, very uncomfortable, stone floor. In front of her were wrought iron bars, making it look like a prison cell.

That’s not right, she thought, why would I be in a prison cell?

Twilight gasped when her memory finally kicked in, she bolted to her hooves only to feel all the aches and pains slam her all at once, nearly making the alicorn mare fall to the floor. Twilight examined her body, she was covered in scratches, some were obviously large gashes, but they were healing fast. She had her alicorn physiology to thank for that.

“Look who’s finally awake.”

Twilight looked to her far right and saw a pony walking towards them, a unicorn to be exact, one she knew.

“Pinpoint! How could you do this! How could you – AAAAHHH!!!”

Twilight’s body was suddenly racked with pain as the collar around her neck shot electricity into her. The alicorn mare stumbled at bit, but she stayed standing, refusing to show weakness to this traitor.

“I’d be careful High Princess Twilight, even with the Magic Seal Ring on your horn, the Feedback Collars can still sense a buildup of magical energy within you, and will shock you with a jolt equivalent to the power you were amassing. So I’d advise against using magic, or thinking of using it.”

“Why Pinpoint, why on Equus would you betray your homeland, your friends and family!?”

“You don’t get it, do you Twilight Sparkle. The griffons are stronger than you think; you don’t honestly believe they didn’t see this coming!? They’ve been planning this for years, and now they’re ready to strike full force. Equestria will not stand, and when the day comes that they invade the homeland, I’d rather my family and I be well treated slaves than seem them killed!”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing, if her magic wasn’t being blocked and the collar wasn’t around her neck, she’d snap Pinpoint’s horn off and stab him in the heart with it. She shuddered at the thought; Twilight couldn’t allow herself to think that way.

“And for that, you sold us out…?”

Twilight turned to her left and saw that Valiant Heart was in the cell next hers. Pinpoint, however, didn’t seem phased in the slightest.

“I came to terms with what I’m doing a long time ago.”

“And those soldiers, how long have you had them in your pocket!?” Valiant growled.

“To tell you the truth, I had to use a hypnotic suggestion spell on them. I cast it during our first teleportation off the ship.”

“How, that’s an advanced – to mention forbidden – spell!” Twilight yelled.

“I’ve had to keep some of my more dubious spells under wraps for a while now. I had to use it in order to get on the Avalon and to reassign three of your favored Guards, Captain.”

“Hot Head, Amber, and Lucky! I thought that last minute transfer wasn’t right!”

Pinpoint sighed, “It would’ve been hard to make them do any of this, and really, they would’ve been useful, but the die is cast, those other twelve will do for now.”

Twilight glared at the traitorous unicorn, “So what happens now?!”

“It won’t be long, you’ll see soon enough.” Pinpoint started to make his way towards the door but paused to glance back at Twilight. “For your sake, let us hope that the legends surrounding alicorn immortality are true.”

With that said, Pinpoint left the two alicorns in their cells. Twilight, no longer in the sight of the traitor, allowed herself to fall to ground in a heap, tears fell from her eyes as she cried, she came to free Maretonia, and as a result, fell into the enemies trap.

Lance saw his aunt weeping and wanted to badly to comfort her, but all he could do was reach a foreleg through the gap in bars, and brush her foreleg his hoof. Twilight didn’t bother to look, she merely maneuvered her left hoof to grasp Lance’s, squeezing it as she cried for her failure to save the ponies of Maretonia and giving the enemy an edge over Equestria.

Ponyville, 05hr(s):01min(s):03sec(s) Until Broadcast…

Starburst was waiting at the fountain near the center of town. She fidgeted as she sat there, waiting for Del to arrive. It wasn’t like she was nervous or anything, I mean this was Golden Delicious we were talking about, her best friend, and a sensible stallion, what was there to be nervous about? It’s not like this wasn’t the first time the two of them had hung out together, gone around town, ate, and maybe caught a movie if there was something good playing, you know, just normal stuff.

But…those times it wasn’t a date…We were just hanging out together as friends… Starburst sighed inwardly. Since when did things between us get so complicated? Star raised her right hoof up to eye level, smiling at the invisible weapon that rested upon it. She was getting good at spotting the distortion field, if Star looked closely enough she could make out the insignia of the Fear Lanterns.

“Actually, everything started to change the day you fell from the sky and saved my life. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be lost; I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t there to give me an alternative.” Starburst shuddered a bit, she wasn’t one to wallow in sadness and self-pity, but having your dreams ripped from you could do that even to the toughest mare. “Thank you.”

[Thanks is not necessary, Starburst. I am merely the instrument from which you are to dispense justice.]

“Humble and modest too, I like that.”

Star felt calmer after reflecting with the ring. Since yesterday her friends wouldn’t stop bugging her on how the date was going to go. Claire had suggested that Starburst wear a dress and some “lovely jewelry”, since it was a special occasion and all. To which Starburst respectively declined, the only time she wore a dress was at the Grand Galloping Gala, and it was a mandatory thing to be there, being royalty and all. So there was no way she was going to wear one now.

It wasn’t long before Starburst heard somepony coming; she looked into the distance and saw that Del was rushing towards her. The stallion skidded to a stop before her, panting and taking in gulps of air.

“Sorry…Ah was late…Star,” said Del in between pants.

“You’re not late, you’re on time.” Star pointed to one of the clock poles showing that it was ten o’clock on the dot.

“B-But…Ah saw ya sittin’ here…and Ah left a few minutes early.”

“I just wanted to be early, I didn’t know if it was good or bad to be early, but I didn’t want to keep you waiting…Sorry I made you rush,” said Star, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

Del let out a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn’t kept the young pegasus mare waiting. If there was one thing that his mother taught him it was not to keep a mare waiting. “Nah, it’s alright. Guess Ah’m not the only one a little nervous about this, um, date.”

The word “date” still felt strange to say, for both of them. “W-Who said I was nervous!? I’m not nervous!” Star stood up and stared seriously at Del. “I’m calm, cool, and collected! Nervous, ha, please! C’mon, let’s get this thing started!”

Starburst quickly trotted in some random direction, causing Del to chuckle from the sight. He knew that Star wasn’t all that good at displaying her softer side, often coming out as abrasive and intimidating to others outside of their friends, but Del knew better. He could see beyond that brash, tough as nails, tomcolt exterior, and saw the real Starburst underneath. Kind, caring, hardworking, and loyal, maybe it was because he was able to see this side of her it was made her enticing.

As the two walked through the streets, Del couldn’t help but notice the subtle details in Star’s looks. Her coat, mane, and tail had a nice sheen to it; her wings looked especially healthy, not a stray feather out of place, all aligned perfectly. Del had no doubt that if she were to unfurl them now Star would look like some majestic bird of prey, beautiful to look at, but not so much as to belay her intensity. And he couldn’t help but notice the faintest hint of lilac. She must’ve really cleaned up before comin’ out, `cause that’s not her natural scent, but this ain’t bad either……..Okay, that was creepy.

Starburst couldn’t help but glance to Del a few times. She didn’t want to admit it to him, or let anypony know, but she woke early this morning to get ready for this date. She didn’t know where this new relationship would take them, but that didn’t mean that Star couldn’t put any less than her best effort for their first official date. So she took a shower, taking great pains to make sure that any lingering smell of her hard work in the fields the other day was gone.

She kind of cheated a little after the shower, using the ring to take hold of some grooming tools, a few brushes for her coat, a couple of combs for her mane and tail, and after that was done, Star focused the bulk of her effort on preening her wings. It was usually a task that she had to set an entire day aside for just because of how big they were, but with the precision of the ring, and her knowledge of her own wing anatomy, Star was able to blow through the process in less than four hours.

I don’t think I ever got through a preening session that fast before, not without Mom or Dad giving me some help, and that was only when I was a filly. I wonder if he noticed…? Starburst growled and mentally slapped herself. What do I care if he notices!? I just cleaned up like any other pony would, it’s not like it’s something praiseworthy.

“You look nice today, Star,” said Del.

Star’s ears perked up and her face went red a little as she kept her gaze forward. “T-Thanks…You look nice, too.”

It wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed his subtle details either. Del’s hair was combed out, not a stray hair out of place, his trademark bandanna was still tied around his neck, she never said it aloud, but she liked it. Even though she knew it was something from his childhood, it gave Del the feel of some wild west outlaw who dispensed justice, or a humble sheriff, doing all he could to protect the citizens of some settler town.

“So…um, did you want to grab a bite?”

“So long as you don’t bankrupt me in the process,” said Del teasingly.

That little comment earned him a swift punch on the foreleg, making the stallion wince.

“Jerk.”

“Sorry.”

Despite that little jab, the two of them were smiling. After that little bit, and after much discussing, Del and Star settled on something simple, the Hayburger. Del had decided to pay for the meal, doing his best to be a gentlecolt and pay for his date’s order. Starburst rolled her eyes at the action, insisting that she could pay for her own food, but Del put his hoof down on the matter, and it was already too late, he was apparently quicker on the draw.

Starburst huffed, she could pay for her own food, and she didn’t expect Del to pay for everything. But still, kinda nice being treated like a grown mare for once.

It wasn’t long before their meal came, both had hardy appetites so there was a lot of food to eat, Del’s body burned up any food he put in thanks to his constant work on the farm, Starburst, it still baffled him how much the tiny mare could eat and not gain a single pound in the process.

Neither one said a word as they ate their food; they mostly looked around the restaurant. And as they did, they couldn’t help but notice a few of the patrons who were couples. It was strange for the both of them, they hadn’t really took notice of these kinds of things till now, all the staring and giggles between two ponies, the closeness of their seating arrangement as they too ate their meals.

Wonder if that’s how we look, thought Del.

His face reddened a little thinking about it. He was also wondering if anypony would say anything because of it, given their relative age differences, but then again, many of the ponies in town knew that they were friends, if anything they would just see it as two friends hanging out. Del chuckled internally, realizing how asking a pony on a date could change the atmosphere in which you do everyday things.

Meanwhile, while the two ponies were eating, four pairs of eyes were watching the couple from the safety of the nearby bushes, gazing through the window. One pair, a light-blue, draconic pair of eyes, looked upon the scene with a bit of anger.

“Are you kidding me, of all the places to go, the Hayburger, really!?” she hissed in low whisper.

“Hey, what’s wrong the Hayburger, I worked here last summer, and it’s a well-established eatery,” retorted Candy.

“Maybe, but this is their first date! They should be going someplace special!” Claire argued.

“Relax, Claire, they’re probably just nervous and decided to come to someplace familiar to help them unwind. It’s like when me and Whirlwind first went out,” said Prism. Although, after reflecting on his words he wore a deadpan expression. “You’re right, we need to do something.”

“For the record, I don’t feel comfortable spying on my cousin’s date,” said June.

“But then, why did you come with us?” asked Candy.

“To make sure you three don’t do anything to mess this up. And to make sure that Del doesn’t try anything,” she said in a hushed whisper.

“What was that darling?”

“Nothing!”

Maretonia, 01hr(s):10min(s):20sec(s) Until Broadcast…

It had been hours since Lance and Twilight were captured. Twilight had stopped crying and had devoted most of her time trying to figure out a way out their current predicament. Unfortunately, the collar and seal in combination were doing an all too perfect job of keeping hers and Lance’s magic suppressed. Twilight was familiar with the restraints.

A Feedback Collar, designed as a more medieval method of keeping a unicorn, or any magical creature, from using their magic by sending electrical signals to the pain receptors in the wearer’s body whenever a buildup of magical energy was detected, the amount of pain was equivalent to how much magic was being built up within the one wearing the collar. This was mostly reserved for hardened criminals, or even wild creatures who used magic.

The other device, which was uncomfortably fitted around their horns, was a Magic Seal Ring. It was less on inflicting pain and more about keeping magic from being used all together. It was mostly used to keep unicorn criminals from casting spells; it was also used for rehab purposes, and for unicorns who couldn’t control their magic too well. In combination, these two devices made sure that Twilight and Lance were effectively disabled.

They may’ve had their combined earth pony and pegasus strength, but even if they were able to escape, they were outnumbered and outgunned.

“Do you think they destroyed the Avalon?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t think so, that ship is pretty much a flying fortress. Steel Wing and all the soldiers he brought with him couldn’t take it down. Even if they brought airships, it still wouldn’t be enough; the Avalon has the firepower to go head to head with anything they throw at it.”

Lance flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. “My guess, the ship is waiting outside the city. They can’t send air or ground troops with the whole city hostage, and with us in here they definitely won’t make a move out of fear that they’ll kill us.

Twilight sighed in dismay, “So we’re pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place. I’m so stupid; Celestia and Luna wouldn’t have gotten taken as easily as I did, if not at all! I completely underestimated our opponent…I should’ve planned it out more thoroughly, created a backup plan for the backup plan…Something!”

“Aunt Twilight, don’t worry. I know at least one way we might get out of this.”

Twilight looked to her nephew, “How?”

“The Fear Lantern.”

“You really think she’ll come?”

Lance shrugged unknowingly, “I don’t know, I want believe she will. She came when Stalliongrad was in trouble, and again with Cloudsdale. The Fear Lantern might have some way of finding out about what’s going on; no doubt the Avalon’s told Canterlot what’s happening.”

Twilight wasn’t so sure if pinning their chances of escape on a single mare, even if she was powerful, was a good idea. The Fear Lantern, thus far, has proven to be on the side of Equestria, but with this recent betrayal from their Guard, could a rogue element be that trustworthy? I’ll just have to trust Lance’s judgment on this, I never saw her in action, and she did risk her life to save Cloudsdale from falling from the sky and crash landing on Manehattan…

Suddenly the door to the prison slammed open, Twilight and Lance turned their gazes to the direction of the sound and glared at who was coming towards them. Steel Wing, Pinpoint, and the twelve brainwashed Royal Guards. The Guards had shackles at the ready, making Twilight cringe at what this monster had planned.

Steel Wing stopped before Twilight’s cell; he looked in and smiled smugly at the alicorn mare. “How the mighty have fallen.”

Twilight just continued to glare at him, not giving him the satisfaction of a retort.

“Humph, keep up that stoic façade; you’ll need it for what is to come. Chain them up and bring them out!”

Six of the Guards entered Twilight’s cell, she continued to defy them, thrashing and bucking in an effort to keep them from putting the shackles on her. One of the Guards, having had enough, struck Twilight in her stomach, knocking the wind out her lungs and making her fall to the floor.

“AUNT TWILIGHT!!!” Valiant Heart glared daggers at Pinpoint and Steel Wing. “You’ll pay for that!!!”

“Unlikely.” Steel Wing replied.

The Guards started to put the shackles on Twilight’s hind and forelegs, and one around her barrel to keep her wings pinned to her sides. Twilight winced from the tight restraints; she looked to the Guard who struck her, his face emotionless as she scowled at him. But then, she saw something unexpected, a tear fell from his right eye.

That’s when she realized, these poor Guards weren’t brainwashed completely, some part of them still existed deep in their minds, watching all this unfold and feeling powerless to stop it. The Guard’s tear was, from what she suspected, the only way he could express how sorry he was for doing that to her, and possibly begging her forgiveness.

Twilight looked to each of the Guards, gazing at their eyes and seeing just a hint of the same. The alicorn mare then smiled sadly at the Guards, her silent way of telling them that it wasn’t their fault. Even if this situation was going to turn out bad, the least she could do was comfort these unwilling participants in knowing that they were forgiven and that she held no ill will towards them.

Once Twilight was done getting shackled, the other six moved to Valiant, he wanted to kick their collective flanks, knock out Steel Wing and get his aunt out of here. He glanced towards Twilight, who was lightly shaking her head, knowing what he was probably planning on doing. Reluctantly, Valiant allowed the Guards to restrain him.

The two alicorns were then lead out of their cells. Steel Wing inspected their work and nodded satisfactorily. He then turned around and motioned for the group to follow behind him.

Silence reigned as Twilight and Lance were guided through the palace that once housed the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia. Once the center of government for the Equestrian Territory now was the center of operations for its occupation. Many of the pieces of art were vandalized, screams could be heard coming from somewhere in the building, as well as pleads for mercy, and something else that they didn’t want to think about.

It was a good ten minutes before anyone said a word. “Where are you taking us?” asked Twilight, breaking the silence.

“You’ll see soon enough,” said Steel Wing. “I’m actually glad you were the one they sent here, Twilight Sparkle.”

“And why’s that?”

Steel Wing glanced over his shoulder to look at the alicorn mare, “You inspire others of your kind. The story of the day you ascended is known to many. To them, you are a symbol of what they could one day achieve or at the very least aspire to.”

“That’s nothing new, Celestia, Luna, and even my mother are in the same regard,” said Lance.

“Not exactly young Prince. Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn who defeated the creature known as Nightmare Moon, and returned the moon princess to the throne, Twilight Sparkle, who’s willingness to never give up on her ‘friendships’ allowed her and the rest to overcome the Spirit of Chaos. Twilight Sparkle, who saw through the lies and deceit of the Changeling Queen and helped reunite her sibling with his love, your parents, if I’m not mistaken.”

Valiant Heart snorted and averted his gaze from Steel Wing. Twilight on the other hand, couldn’t help but be intrigued by the griffon’s knowledge of her exploits. “Sounds like you’ve done your homework on me.”

“One must know one’s enemy, if you wish to break them.” Steel Wing saw Twilight flinch from that statement and smiled wickedly. “The point of this is that you, Twilight Sparkle, are one who has won the hearts of many of your citizens, through your lessons in,” Steel Wing made a gagging sound before uttering, “‘The magic of friendship’. And it is what makes you the perfect candidate.”

The group had arrived at a pair of large double doors. The griffon soldiers stationed there pushed the doors open, revealing the courtyard of the palace. But it was what was at the center of the courtyard that made Lance and Twilight’s blood run cold. The structure resembled something similar to hangmare’s gallows. Many of Bucephalus’ population was gathered outside, given a front row seat to whatever deprived display they planned on committing here.

They started to move again, descending the stairs carefully, this was a show, and Steel Wing didn’t want any slipups. The closer the two alicorns got, the more their hearts raced, until they finally reached the stage. Twilight noticed that this didn’t appear to be a normal hangmare’s gallows, from what she could tell, there was no trapdoor; the stage was built high, and solid. Usually the gallows would be barren underneath except for the support beams so that the gathered could see the final moments of the pony being executed.

The posts were built up high, and to the sides were shackles to keep the prisoner secured. But what was really confusing was what swung freely between the posts. It was chain with a pair of cuffs attached, not a rope.

“What is this,” asked Twilight nervously.

“This day, High Princess Twilight, we’re going to see if your legendary immortality is just that, a legend, or if you just possess longevity. Either way, on this day, all will know that even a goddess can bleed.”

Ponyville, T-Minus 00hr(s):30min(s):10sec(s)Until Broadcast…

Since leaving the Hayburger, Del and Star had seen a movie, which was ironically a superhero movie. “The Mare of Steel” it was called, the tale of a foal from another planet of equine life forms who crash landed on Equus. The movie depicted how the mare tried to fit in with the ponies of this world, all while trying to get a grip on her developing powers. Star could almost relate to this character, except her power descended from the night sky.

From there the two of them went for a walk in the market, some new vendors had arrived today and the two decided to check out their wares. Out of all the things in the market district, Star found her way to a stall that was selling, of all things, weapons. Starburst had her eye on a particularly beautifully forged sword, a katana from Neighpon, a territory that knew how make a deadly and beautiful blade. The pegasus mare giddily made her way to the weapon, only to be scooped up by Del before she even made it within three feet of the stall.

“Del, c’mon, let me at least see it!”

“No way.”

“But’s a genuine Neighponese katana! Just look at the craftsmanship of that blade, and the designs on the sheath! I just want to look at it I swear!”

“Yeah-huh, and then you’ll end buyin’ it.”

“Oh…It’s calling to me Del!”

After several attempts at getting Starburst to stop circling back to that weapons stall, Del and Star were able to walk further in. As they passed by one stall, Del watched as the young mare paused in front of one stall. The pony was selling gemstones of almost every variety. Del followed her eyes till he found what she was looking at. It was a blue sapphire, the striations within it made it look like it was bursting out in every direction.

“Ya see somethin’ ya like?”

Star seemed to hesitate to answer; in the end she shook her head. “Not really, let’s keep going.”

Del was sure she was looking at the particular gem, an idea was slowly developing in his head, but it was going to take some doing. From the market the two of them just decided to hang out on a bench to take a breather.

All in all, both mare and stallion were having fun on their date, as weird as calling it sounded. They felt like they were just hanging out as usual, but now that they knew of each other’s feelings, it felt like there was something more…intimate about this. Of course, that’s what Starburst would be feeling if it weren’t for one thing.

“How long do you think they’re going to keep following us?” asked Starburst.

Del glanced over his shoulder. For some time now the two ponies had gotten the feeling that they were being followed, it didn’t surprise them that this would happen. In fact they were expecting it, mostly from Cotton Candy, but not June, Prism, and Claire. The tan stallion sighed upon seeing the faintest hint of a red, blue, and yellow tail hanging from a tree, and the way Candy was hiding in a large cardboard box with eye holes.

“Probably `till we either say something or until this date ends Ah reckon,” said Del.

“Ugh, you know what!? If they don’t quit following us I swear I’m going to –!”

Starburst’s threat was interrupted when she felt Del’s hoof reach behind her ears and started to give them a little scratch. The young pegasus mare relaxed immediately, her eyelids lowering slightly as she hummed in content as the sensation she was feeling turned her into putty.

“Feel better now?”

“H-How did you know…?”

“Ah…uh, Ah remembered from when you visited the farm a long time ago, when you were a filly. Yer pa would do this to calm ya down, and it looked like ya liked it so…Ah’m Ah goin’ to get my flank kicked for this?”

Starburst had considered doing just that, but that could wait till later in the day, it just felt nice right now. After a bit of time, Star remembered that this was being done in view of the public, she quickly, yet with much reluctance, wrenched herself away from Del’s hoof and started smoothing out her mane, keeping her gaze down at the ground, not wanting him see her blushing face.

“T-Thanks, I’m alright now.”

“No problem, though Ah know what ya mean. June has it in her head that Ah’m goin’ to do somethin’ ‘inappropriate’ with you or some nonsense like that.”

Starburst scoffed at the idea. “You, do something inappropriate with me? Prism’s more likely to do something like that!”

“HEY, I resent that!”

Both Del and Star looked over their shoulder and saw that Prism was sticking half his body out of the tree branches and looking peeved at that comment. It took all of a second before the pegasus stallion realized what he had done and nervously chuckled.

“Hi, Star, Del…”

“Hi,” they said in unison.

“So, mind explaining what you’re doing in that tree?” asked Starburst knowing the answer.

“I-I was, uh, I was, uh…NAPPING! Yeah, I was napping till I heard you two talking,” said Prism.

Well they already caught him in lie right there, most of them knew of Prism’s favorite napping spots, and this wasn’t one of them.

“Uh-huh, the jig is up Priz, we know that y’all are followin’ us.” Del then lowered his gaze till he was staring at the bushes a few feet from the tree Prism Bolt was in. “Claire, June, Ah’m talkin to you too.”

A frustrated groan could be heard coming from the rustling bushes. Claire promptly emerged and looked very cross. “Well that was a wasted effort, you couldn’t have kept quiet?!”

“Hey, I’m not just going to sit here and be insulted! What do you guys think I am, some kind of perv!?”

Silence was the only response, until Candy popped out of the leaves next to Prism, “Trust me, you don’t want us to answer that, especially from what Whirlwind told me.” She then disappeared back into the leaves and out of sight.

“Ditto,” agreed June.

“Wait what!?”

“Alright guys, the show’s over. Everypony –!”

{…Hoist your swords high into the clouds
Hail Griffonia!}

Everypony froze when they heard the familiar music, it was unmistakable, and filled many with a mixture of dread and anger. Star flew up into the air and noticed that many of the ponies were heading towards town square, which was where the Griffon Empire anthem was being played. Without warning, Star flew straight for the source at top speed.

She landed at the head of the gathering group of ponies, Star could feel their collective fear through her ring, and as well they should be. This was the second time their airways were intercepted.

“Star!”

The pegasus mare turned towards the voice and saw T and Annie amongst the crowd, she quickly made her way to them and stood beside them as they waited for the anthem to stop playing. No doubt another one of Emperor’s scare tactic speeches about how “superior” the griffons were to the ponies. But when the song ended, it was not Emperor Stratus’s voice that came out, however it was a familiar one.

{Greetings ponies of Equestria, I am Commander Steel Wing.}

STEEL WING!!?

{I am broadcasting live from your fallen territory, Maretonia. Let me be clear before I start, the Duke and Duchess of this pathetic region are dead, and we are in total control of the region.}

Many in the crowd gasped at that news. They knew the griffons had taken over Maretonia, but they didn’t know that had killed its Duke and Duchess. Starburst gritted her teeth and tensed her body, cursing this griffon in her mind. Just wait Steel Wing, when the invasion force to take back Maretonia arrives you’ll be –!

{You’re High Rulers, as of yesterday, sent an attack force to free Maretonia. They arrived and upon that vessel was none other than one of your High Princesses, Twilight Sparkle. I’d like to be the first to announce that the High Princess, as well as the Captain of the Guard, Valiant Heart, Prince of the Crystal Empire, are now prisoners of the mighty Griffon Empire!}

Starburst felt like the world had come to a grinding halt; she stood there, stunned and wide eyed. Her mother was in Maretonia, even her cousin Lance, and now they were prisoners. The Griffon Empire had taken her mother and cousin as prisoners!

She barely noticed when Annie started whimpering and tears flowed down her cheeks. She didn’t even hear the rest of her friends come pushing through the crowd to get to her, nor did she feel it when Del started to shake her.

{Yes, your High Princess and Prince are ours. Equestrians, you believe your High Rulers to be above us, even yourselves, warning us they will smite us in their wrath. Well, I have faced that wrath and have been left wanting. Now, here and now, we will see if your so called “goddesses” are truly that.

For those of you not assembled here, we are now in the Maretonian Palace in Bucephalus City, more precisely, in its courtyard. Aired across the Territories and Equestria, we invite you to the public flogging of Twilight Sparkle, High Princess of Equestria!}

The crowd burst into a panic, many shouting and crying for someone to stop this. Starburst was still frozen in place; it felt too much like a bad dream. Her mother and cousin were alicorns. Her mother was gifted in the power of magic, and Valiant Heart was an unstoppable warrior, surely this was a joke, just some scare tactic meant to make them believe that it was her mother.

{Soldier, at the ready!}

The sound of a cracking whip echoed loudly over the speakers, making all in attendance flinch.

{For standing against the might of the Griffon Empire, and defying the will of our Emperor, High Princess Twilight Sparkle shall now be subjected to corporal punishment. Twenty lashes.}

More cracks of the whip were heard, the unknown soldier readying his weapon.

{ONE!}

The sickening crack of the whip and the sound of it striking made many retch, but only after hearing the pained cry of a mare.

{TWO!}

Another crack of the whip was sounded, followed shortly by another wail of pain, along with some sniffling and whimpers mixed in. The gasps of the crowd witnessing it in Maretonia could be heard, nopony here could imagine seeing this and not feeling sick.

{THREE!}

“Oh Faust, somepony make it stop!” Shouted a mare in the crowd.

The group of friends looked to the direction of the voice and saw that their parents had found their way to the head of the crowd as they did.

{FOUR!}

More wails and cries were heard. Spike was busy comforting Rarity as his eyes burned with a rage that only a dragon could muster. Fluttershy was hugging Anthea who had taken to crying into her chest from hearing this. Applejack gritted her teeth, trying to remain strong as Caramel stayed close beside her, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before her strength gave out.

{FIVE!}

Starburst tried to stay in denial about this, but with every crack of the whip, every pain filled scream, she couldn’t deny it, that was her mother’s voice, and she was being tortured while she just stood here and listened.

{SIX!}

Del looked upon Starburst, not knowing how to comfort her. He was about to wrap his forelegs around her, but stopped at the last minute. Treating her like a fragile mare would be an insult to her.

{Switch to the mark on her left flank.}

{No please– !?}

{SEVEN!}

{AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!}

That was it, she couldn’t take this anymore, and she wouldn’t just stand here and listen helplessly! She wasn’t helpless, she wasn’t powerless! Starburst’s body began to tremble as the anger rose inside of her, her friends took this as a sign that she was trembling from sadness, but that wasn’t the case.

Cotton Candy trotted close to Star, “Oh Star…” the blue mare started to reach out a comforting hoof to her friend, but Starburst quickly and violently swatted her hoof away.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Star shouted, gaining the attention of the crowd. “I’m not going to stand here and listen this! I’ll make them pay!”

“Star, you got to calm down, I know this is bad, but we can’t do anything right now,” said Spike.

“NO! None of you can, but I can! Ring, deactivate EM Distortion and retrieve Power Battery!”

[Warning: Civilians in the vicinity, identity will be compromised.]

“I DON’T CARE, DO IT, THAT’S AN ORDER!”

[Acknowledged, deactivating cloaking. Commencing power battery retrieval.]

“Star, who are you talking to –?”

Before Del could finish his sentence, Starburst thrust out her right hoof. The air around her right hoof became wavy as something started to appear around it. In a matter of nanoseconds the yellow ring of Fear came into view, the ring the fired a beam into the empty space before her. The beam tore open a hole in nothing, taking out what appeared to many as a yellow lantern.

The power battery floated towards Starburst, who then stood on her hind legs as she gripped the handle bar in the crook of her left hoof. “STAND BACK!” Star’s friends and their families all did so, making a large circle around her. The pegasus mare then pressed her right hoof into the opening of the power battery, activating the device and causing it to shine with the power of the yellow light.

“IN BLACKEST DAY, IN BRIGHTEST NIGHT,
BEWARE YOUR FEARS MADE INTO LIGHT!
LET THOSE WHO TRY AND STOP WHAT’S RIGHT,
BURN LIKE MY POWER – FEAR LANTERN’S LIGHT!!!”

Star’s body was then engulfed in a pillar of yellow light as the power reached its apex. When the light dimmed, Starburst was now donned in her Fear Lantern uniform, her power ring shining as she floated a few inches off the ground with yellow energy lapping off of her body.

[Power levels at 100%.]

Starburst nodded to her ring and spread her now golden wings in preparation to take flight. She then turned to Del who now looked upon her with confusion and astonishment. Star smiled sadly at the stallion, this wasn’t how she wanted to tell them, but there was notime for keeping secrets, it was time for action.

“Sorry, Del.”

With that said, a golden helmet materialized around her head before she took off into the sky. Star then flew in the direction of Maretonia, a trail of blazing yellow light streaking across the sky. Amongst all those who witnessed this transformation, one pony, a mare wearing a Wonderbolts hoody, sighed and began to back away from the crowd.

“Dammit Star…”

Maretonia, Bucephalus City…

The citizens of Bucephalus were forced to watch this brutal spectacle, forced to endure the screams of High Princess Twilight Sparkle as the whip slashed her body with each crack. Those who weren’t able to see were the lucky ones, at least they didn’t have to watch it all happen, hearing and seeing just made it all the more worse.

Twilight was strung up by her forelegs, her hooves secured within the cuffs. Her hind legs were also shackled, both secured by a mechanism that that pulled upwards to keep her straight, and the lower ones pulled downwards, keeping her legs fixed to the stage.

The shackles for her wings were removed, but right now, Twilight had neither the strength nor the will to fly. Her back was littered with seven bloody gashes, at least two of them right over the wing joints, a noted sensitive area for winged equines, only amplifying the searing pain and making her wings fall limp to her sides.

Her flanks had six bleeding gashes on each, for a total of twelve. The blood and open wounds almost made her cutie mark unrecognizable. Her face was matted from the tears, she was even sure she had lost consciousness for a few brief moments, only to be reminded that the nightmare hadn’t ended.

Steel Wing, halted the soldier from delivering his last blow and got closer to Twilight. She was panting and heaving, the pain threatening to make her vomit on the spot, and she hoped it would be now with Steel Wing so close her.

“It would seem that a goddess can bleed.”

“B-Buck…you…” Twilight cursed in a hoarse voice.

“Consider this the lesser of two evils. There are plenty of things one can do to a mare in your position, in front of a crowd, heard across Equestria. If you surrender yourself now, and pledge allegiance to his majesty, then maybe you’ll be lucky enough to become a courtesan of the Emperor’s. How does that sound?”

Twilight’s response was her spitting directly into Steel Wing’s face. The silver griffon drew back and wiped his face calmly. “Perhaps, you are in need of more punishment? Yes, I believe an additional thirty will see you a change in attitude.”

All the while, Lance had tried repeatedly to get free of the brainwashed Guards and Pinpoint, being forced to watch as his aunt was being publicly tortured. He then shifted his rage filled eyes to Pinpoint who just watched the entire thing transpire.

“Are you seriously going to tell me that you’re alright with this!!? Don’t you feel anything!!?”

Pinpoint looked down at Valiant Heart and sighed. “I accepted this as an inevitability, get used to this Captain, soon Celestia, Luna, and even your mother, Mi Amore Cadenza will suffer a similar, if not worse, fate then your dear aunt.”

Suddenly, the sky rumbled with the sound of thunder. Everyone paused to see what the cause was, but when they looked up, they could see nothing.

“What was that,” asked a soldier.

“Sounded like thunder,” said another.

“There isn’t a cloud in the sky, how could it be thunder!?”

“Silence!” Steel Wing growled. “Soldier, prepare to deliver an additional thirty lashes!”

“Yes sir!”

Twilight watched as the griffon soldier stood some ways away, readying his whip to strike her from the front. The alicorn mare braced herself the best she could for the impending burning sting of the whip. But it did not come.

From the sky shot down a pillar of golden light, hitting the griffon with the whip and incinerating him on the spot. Javelins made of the same light then rained down and impaled many of the attending griffons. At the same time, gruesome monsters appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, each one attacking a griffon, devouring or tearing them apart.

Many of the citizens watched as a bright yellow light descended down and landed at the top of the gallows. The light faded and revealed the Fear Lantern; wings spread out and ring shining like a second sun. The citizens recognized the fabled hero who saved Cloudsdale and Stalliongrad, letting loose a roaring wave of cheers.

“Fear Lantern!” Lance shouted.

“Damn, I didn’t think that pony would show up.” Pinpoint took his hoof and struck Valiant Heart behind his head, knocking out the alicorn stallion. “So long as she doesn’t know, we might still get the upper hoof here.”

Pinpoint then teleported himself and his merry band of brainwashed Guards away from the battle, waiting to see what will happen when the dust settles.

Fear Lantern then raised her right hoof into the air, creating a barrier around the gallows, encompassing Twilight, Lance, and herself, while forcefully pushing Steel Wing and any other hostiles away from them. Star floated down from the top and landed before her mother. She had to bite her lip to keep from breaking into full out sobs, tasting blood as a result.

“Ring…is she…?”

The ring released a probing beam. [Subject has multiple gashes and is experiencing blood loss; risk of entering shock is moderate.]

Star didn’t know what to do, her ring could heal, but it only healed minor injuries and aided in the healing process, but the ring would only work for Star, she couldn’t just slip on her mother and hope for it to work.

“Th-The collar…The seal…g-get them o-off…”

Starburst noticed the arcane devices, she then created a claw construct to get the ring on her mother’s horn off, and after, she slipped a tendril of yellow light under the collar, and proceeded to cut the medieval looking thing off. The collar fell with little effort, but the ring on her mother’s horn was proving to be particularly difficult.

It must have some kind of magic keeping it there! You will come off of her, NOW!!!

Starburst focused all her power onto the ring, wrapping it in her yellow light and fighting whatever magic was in it. She remembered the ring telling her that if her spirit was strong, the weakness of the yellow ring could be overcome, and right now, her spirit was blazing and roaring like an inferno, no magic was going to stop her.

The ring, for a brief moment, blinked a different color. Star didn’t have time to dwell on it as the seal around her mother’s horn shattered into pieces. Star felt like that took more out of her than she was prepared for, but it didn’t matter, she needed to help her mother and cousin.

Starburst then created three different scissor constructs, each one taking a position near the chain links. In one swift motion, Star cut the bonds that kept her mother held in place. Twilight immediately fell, making Star catch her, being mindful of the wounds she suffered. At first Starburst was worried that her mother would die in her forelegs, but as she looked upon the horrible wounds on her back, she noticed how some of them had started to heal quickly.

How is this…Never mind, it’s a good thing. I need to get them to that airship! Then I can focus on the city afterwards!

Fear Lantern wrapped her mother in a bubble of yellow light; she then shot off another beam towards Lance, encasing him in the same. Star repeated the process of removing the collar and seal, finding it easier to do after the first time. She then took off into the air and flew towards the Avalon. The fortress airship was within sight, having already left the edge of the city and crossing the expanse of barren space between them.

“Just hang on; we’ll be at the ship soo –!”

[Alert: Incoming attack from above.]

Starburst quickly erected a shield around them, just in time to be pummeled by a barrage of metal plates that whistled as they cut through the air. The sudden attack forced Star straight to the ground, forming a crater on impact. When the barrage stopped Star rose from the crater, protected by her spherical shield. It didn’t take the heroic mare long to figure out who that attacked belonged to.

As if on cue, descending from the sky was Steel Wing, landing on the ground with a thud. He then stared at the Fear Lantern through narrowed eyes. Starburst knew she couldn’t fight Steel Wing and keep her mother and cousin safe from the beast. Starburst lowered her shield and transformed the bubble constructs into capsules. She then fired them in the direction of the Avalon, hoping that the medics on board the ship would hurry to them.

“You needn’t have wasted your power on keeping them safe, my business with that mare is done.”

Starburst growled from behind her faceplate, staring daggers at Steel Wing as the white slits of her helmet flared with yellow light.

“You’re angry, good, you’ll make several mistakes. All according to plan,” said Steel Wing with a smug grin.

“What are you talking about!?”

“I needed a way to draw you out, Twilight Sparkle was just the bait that would do that. The public torture of a High Princess of Equestria, if that didn’t get your attention, nothing would’ve.”

Starburst hovered a few inches of the ground, using her large wings to keep her aloft, trying to save as much of her rings charge as she could. “Steel Wing, you will pay for what you have done here. You won’t escape me, I will show no mercy. Today, on this barren field, you will die and face justice by the burning fire of my yellow light!”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, because the truth is…” Steel Wing released dozens of his quill panels; they swirled around him till a violet light from within sucked them in and covered his entire body in heavy armor. “I was given an order by the Emperor, and that was to kill you.”

“RAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!!!”

Starburst charged her ring, took aim, and then fired a powerful beam right at the armored griffon. The beam slammed against him, exploding on impact. Fear Lantern smirked but that smirk turned into a scowl. Emerging from the explosion site was Steel Wing. He walked slowly towards her, his armor sizzling from the heat of her attack.

“Okay, so you have some fancy armor…Let’s see how strong it really is!”

Starburst stood on her hind legs as she went to work creating her construct. Drawing upon the knowledge she gained from the comics, she created a plethora of weapons. A large backpack formed on her back as Star tucked her wings in. The pack then grew two pillar sized rotating cannons, ten barrels on each. Around Star’s forelegs she formed two more, single barrel cannons. The light spread out as two enormous boxes formed three feet on Star’s right and left. A panel shifted down and revealed dozens upon dozens of rockets ready to fire.

Steel Wing came to a stop, gawking at the construct weaponry that the Fear Lantern had created. “Impressive…”

“Let that be your last word.” A visor construct appeared over the eyes of the helmet, Star watched as the sights lined up and read in big bold letters: LOCKED ON. “FIRE!!!”

The Gatling cannons fired first, spinning at a rapid pace and releasing their ordinance at a high rate of speed. The energy blasts struck Steel Wing repeatedly over and over again, pushing him back from where he stopped. The two cannons on her forelegs fired while the ones on top continued. In contrast to the Gatling cannons, the ones on her forelegs were a little slower in speed, but with each shot came a thunderous blast of yellow light that exploded on impact. The rockets in the packs fired away, zooming through the air as they detonated on Steel Wing’s position.

Star didn’t let up, she continued her barrage. The area was starting to catch fire and fill with a dark dust cloud from the constant blasting. Explosions rang one after the other, never relenting, never ending; just a constant barrage of energy discharges again and again. Star stopped the attack. She then flew into the air and stopped once she was at a good height. Bringing her forelegs together, Star created another construct. A large cylinder formed the base, with a ten foot long barrel. A targeting sight appeared on top of the cylinder, with the Fear Lantern insignia at the center.

The barrel then split into three parts, forming a triangle. Yellow electrical energy began to arc between the three halves of the barrel, at the center a sphere of yellow light was building up power, the electrical arcs speeding up as the sphere grew to fill the barrel. Taking careful aim, Starburst fired the charged shot. The orb sped away at a ridiculous speed and disappeared in the dust cloud. What followed next was an incredible explosion that shined with yellow light. The wind blustered as the thunderous boom and shockwave ran out in every direction.

Starburst slowly descended to the ground, panting a bit from the constant attack, but she did it.

[Power levels at 50%.]

“Blew half my charge…but it was worth it.”

Starburst turned around and was preparing to leave the battlefield.

[Alert: Enemy life signs detected.]

Starburst’s eyes went wide, she quickly turned around and saw that Steel Wing was, once again, unharmed and strolling towards her at a leisurely pace.

“That’s not possible…!”

“Nothing can penetrate my Iron Defender Armor, Fear Lantern. Even the alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, failed and her magic is powerful.”

Even Mom couldn’t hurt him?! No, he’s bluffing, that had to have done something to him! Guess there’s only one thing to do!

Starburst created a couple of broadsword constructs and flew right at Steel Wing. “If I can’t blast it off, I’ll peel it off of you!”

Steel Wing watched as his prey got closer and closer, she had no idea the kind of wrath she was about to walk into. When she was in range, Steel Wing unfurled his metal wings.

[Warning: Energy build up detected.]

“Metal Reaver!!!”

Suddenly, Steel Wing’s armor morphed, changing from the heavyset tank to a more streamlined form, but that wasn’t the most dangerous part of this transformation. No, the real danger came in the form of razor sharp, tendrils the lashed out in Star’s direction. Star’s eyes grew wide, seeing the tendrils and the glowing razor blades hurling towards her and with nowhere to go.

All at once the tendrils attacked her, from the sides, from behind, from the front, it was an allover assault! The attacks struck swiftly, but with such strength that it nearly felt like her bones would snap apart, and that’s on top of watching the blades slash and tear at her uniform again and again. At the last minute, Steel Wing emerged from the barrage, the tendrils moving away as if they were a blossoming flower. He then delivered a punch straight to her chest, sending the mare flying in the other direction.

Starburst bounced on the ground a few times before she had enough sense of mind to create an anchor construct to stop her. She thought she had a minute to get her bearings, but that wasn’t happening any time soon. The moment she looked up, Star saw the form of Steel Wing, but with the same amount of unbelievable speed, Steel Wing once again barraged her with blows from every angle imaginable. It felt like he was everywhere at once!

At last, the griffon relented, jumping back and away from Starburst as she lay on the ground in a beaten heap. Slowly she propped herself up on her forelegs to see what happened to him. Steel Wing’s quills had changed into numerous razor wire like tentacles, his tail had become an armored spike that seemed to move and extend in the same unnatural way as his wings. The gauntlets each sported three foot long razor claws that retracted back into the gauntlet itself. Two razor tendrils sprouted from his shoulders as well, and another two from the sides of his thighs, lastly, two more from sides, a few inches underneath his barrel. The armor itself was shimmering silver, spotless and clean as if made of the purest of the ore.

Steel Wing’s helmet visor and face plate opened, allowing Starburst to see his face as he grinned manically at his beaten opponent. “This is my ultimate power, Fear Lantern, my Metal Reaver Armor!”

Starburst slowly rose to her hooves, her body ached in protest, wanting to stay lying down and still, but she wouldn’t oblige. “Since when could you do this?!”

“Our first encounter didn’t give me time to unleash my true abilities, the light from your ring saw to that, but now I won’t hold back, and I won’t underestimate you a second time.”

Suddenly, the shining silver armor glowed. The numerous razor tendrils that made up his wings weaved back together, turning into his trademark metal wings. The other tendrils wrapped around their host as the same odd light shined and melded it all back together, reforming the bulky armor from earlier.

Star couldn’t believe this, after spending all that time training and going up against the simulation constructs of him, Steel Wing was still the stronger. But she wasn’t going to let this keep her from beating him. “Ring, analyze that armor.”

[Understood, preparing for analysis.]

Starburst recreated her broadswords and took off once again. Steel Wing remained steadfast as she approached, any minute now she expected the Metal Reaver Armor to activate again, strangely, Starburst’s sword made contact with his armor, but nothing happened. Not wanting to lose the momentum, Star went into a flurry of blade attacks. Thrusting, slashing, spinning and striking, anything she could think of.

All the while Steel Wing continued to stand there. It felt like Star was trying to fight a steel statue with her bare hooves. After a minute of her attack, Star disengaged and landed a few feet away from him.

[Warning: Imminent attack.]

Steel Wing transformed once again into his Metal Reaver and sped towards Starburst. The Fear Lantern focused her power into defense, forming a perfect spherical shield around her. Steel Wing’s attacks struck swiftly, strongly, and rapidly. The razor tendrils attacking the orb from every direction like before, making the orb bounce around like a pinball. Star held fast, feeling the blades and strikes weaken her shield, seeing cracks and fissures all around it.

At last the sphere broke apart and Star was now at the mercy of Steel Wing. But, thankfully, his armor retracted and changed back into Iron Defender form. Steel Wing snorted in indignation from the sudden change.

“Pity, I thought that would last longer.”

Starburst breathed a sigh of relief; she had another chance to figure out why she couldn’t take him down, and how that armor morphed between one form and the other.

[Analysis complete, detecting trace elements of kinetic energy dispersal.]

“What the heck are you talking about?” asked Star.

“Seems the weapon is smarter than the wielder.” Steel Wing noticed the dirty look that Star was giving him. “Kinetic energy, put simply, is energy transference. For example, say I wished to roll a ball across the floor so I give it a push. As soon as I make contact with the ball, from my talon to that ball, energy is being transferred, and the distance the ball travels after I roll it is dependent upon how much kinetic energy I put into rolling it.”

Starburst got it, but she still didn’t understand how that explained his power. Steel Wing sighed in annoyance of her ignorance.

“In other words, with every strike that is landed upon my armor, with every detonation from a weapon that has hit me, and with every energy based blast that is unleashed upon me, no matter what it is, kinetic energy is in each and every attack dealt upon me. My armor absorbs it, and reinforces my Iron Defender. When it has reached its zenith, I unleash all that built up power in the form of the Metal Reaver, tearing apart all that stands in my wake!”

Starburst, out of nowhere, began to laugh out loud, making Steel Wing cock his head in confusion.

“I can’t believe it; you just exposed the biggest flaw in your armor!” Starburst took in a few breaths before speaking again. “Basically, so long as I don’t attack you, you can’t use Metal Reaver, and that means you’re stuck in that bulky armor, unable to attack unless you remove it. But then that means I get to use my power, and it’s not dependent on someone else to generate it.”

“Oh dear, that is a big flaw in my armor, I guess you’re right, I should give up……Or I could do this!”

Steel Wing flared his metallic appendages, the panel quills then launched themselves from his wings in rapid succession. But instead of flying towards Starburst, the panels changed direction and started to strike against his armor. Star couldn’t believe this, he was aware of the flaw, and had a solution from the beginning. The clanking of metal striking metal could be heard everywhere in the barren field and with each hit more and more power was being built up. Star wanted to stop him, but even if she did, she would just feed into his power.

At last, Steel Wing had built up enough kinetic energy to unleash his Metal Reaver once again. There was flash and then a whooshing of air as the silver griffon sailed in Star’s direction. Deciding that the only time he was exposed was while attacking, Starburst sent out a wave of doppelgänger constructs in his direction.

Steel Wing didn’t see the copy constructs as a threat, he merely carved through them. The tendrils slicing, piercing, and pummeling each and every one that dared to enter his zone of death. The real Starburst shot straight up into the air, preparing to counterattack while he was distracted.

The veteran soldier saw her move to higher ground and followed after her. With the same unnatural speed, Steel Wing was once again staring Starburst in the face. She gasped and was then assaulted once again; Steel Wing backhanded the mare across the face, sending Star spiraling in the other direction.

Starburst used her wings to correct herself and stared down the incoming griffon. “Enough is enough! If I can’t attack you physically, then I’ll attack you mentally!” Starburst raised her right hoof into the air. “FEAR SHINE!”

The yellow power ring let out a radiant yellow light that bathed over Steel Wing. He paused in midair as he felt the ring’s power invade his psyche, and started to assault his mind with flash images of his fears. Starburst could feel it working, his armor may protect his body, but his mind was still as vulnerable as anyone else’s.

“Do…you…think…that I would let my fears…get the better of ME!!!”

Suddenly, Starburst felt the Fear Shine backlash, the blow from the resistance nearly sent her mind reeling, she almost lost consciousness for a minute the moment she felt the mental impact. Unfortunately, Steel Wing wasn’t about to let her recover as he once again continued his onslaught of the Fear Lantern.

“I am Chalyvas the Steel Wing!” The griffon grabbed the Fear Lantern by the right shoulder, digging his claws into her and eliciting a yelp of pain. “I am the shield that protects the Empire from all its enemies!”

Steel Wing then used his right claw to punch Fear Lantern in the stomach, a shock wave rippled through the protecting aura and continued behind the mare. Star tasted blood coming out of her mouth as she felt the damage done to her internally. Steel Wing then threw her up higher and started lashing at her body, slicing away at the protective aura and uniform, and cutting the flesh beneath.

“And I am the sword that cuts down all who oppose the might of the Empire! That is what you are up against Fear Lantern! That is the strength of my devotion to my Emperor, to Griffonia!”

All of the tendrils coiled together in a tight weave. Steel Wing then released the pent up power, striking Star and sending her hurtling to the ground. She impacted the unforgiving dirt, skidding to a halt twenty feet from where she first impacted. Steel Wing landed a few ways away, changing back into his Iron Defender as he walked towards his downed prey.

Starburst was in a catastrophic amount of pain right now. Her aura and uniform were barely protecting her, feeling the force of each blow and now the stinging sensation of the cuts and slashes as the uniform reformed around the cut areas. She couldn’t attack him when he attacked, she can’t attack him when he’s defending, and he has way to initiate his strongest attack without her having to do anything. Was this it?

[Attack pattern analysis complete.]

“W-What…?”

[Analysis shows that enemy has a moment of exposure between armor shifts from offensive mode back to defensive mode. Readings show a concentrated form of energy is released to initiate transformation. For that brief time, the enemy is vulnerable.]

Starburst looked to Steel Wing; he was already pelting his armor with quill panels, building up energy. “How much time will I have?”

[Factoring in time from last assault, to when enemy will be open to attack: one minute, forty-three seconds.]

“That’s it, you got to be –!” Starburst paused; a crazy idea was forming in her head. One that if pulled off could either get her killed or ends up defeating Steel Wing. Either way, she didn’t have much of a choice, so long as Steel Wing had his armor, there was no possible way to stop him unless she took this chance. “Ring, can you increase my overall speed in increments, and sync them to my movements?”

[Such a feat is possible, but sudden changes in speed could put strain on your body.]

“Remember who you’re talking to.”

[Understood.]

Starburst stood up, noting how much pain she was in right now, and shrugging it off. She then turned to Steel Wing, flared her wings and lowered her head. Steel Wing watched as the Fear Lantern did this, smirking beneath his faceplate; the griffon veteran believed that this was a sign of surrender.

“So you finally accepted your fate. You have been a formidable opponent Fear Lantern, were you fortunate to be born a griffon I would’ve gladly made you a general in our army, personally. Maybe in your next life then,” Steel Wing stopped his self-assault and prepared to unleash his Metal Reaver for the last time, “I shall make this a quick, warrior’s death!”

Steel Wing changed and dashed for Starburst. All the while, she blocked out most of the world, drawing deep within herself to find that which she needed. A rhythm, a beat, something to throw off his game, and just like that, Star’s ears rang with a tune that she knew would work for this fight.

Steel Wing launched his many razor tendrils at the Fear Lantern, at the last second before they landed; Starburst flapped her wings launching her right up into air. Pirouetting in midair with such grace and style that it baffled Steel Wing, Starburst then launched two spear constructs at the griffon. The armored griffon easily knocked them away, but before he was able to counterattack, Starburst had already landed on the ground, and fired a barrage of energy beams from a quickly created Gatling cannon.

Steel Wing’s many razor tendrils swatted the blasts away easily. He growled and launched a few more of his tendrils Star’s way. Faster, she thought. At the moment before the tendril struck, a yellow aura surrounded Star and doubled her speed, allowing her to backflip away from the tendrils. Steel Wing released a dozen more, but none of them hit. Star swayed to the right, dodging three, she swayed to the left, dodging five more. A second backflip helped her dodge another round. Seven tendrils were heading her way all at once, but when Star’s hind hooves made contact with the ground, a wall of yellow light shot up, making the seven tendrils imbed themselves in the construct.

[50 seconds left until mode change.]

Star then swiftly moved from behind the wall and made her way towards Steel Wing. As she moved, Starburst unleashed fifteen doppelgänger constructs at her opponent. Steel Wing tried to cut them down, but each one was moving in the same strange way that the original was. This was not like any fighting style Chalyvas had ever seen, the movements were too fluid, too precise, it was like the Fear Lantern was dancing instead of fighting, no it was more of a mixture of both, combining the offense of the constructs with the movements of a dance.

Faster! The aura tripled her speed, creating a faint after image of her as she did so. Starburst then transformed the copies into self-detonating bombs. When each was pierced by a tendril, they exploded spectacularly and damaged a few of his tendrils, but otherwise they were alright. Faster!! Starburst could start feeling the strain on her body, the increased g-forces were pushing down on her already sore body, but that was of little concern.

[25 seconds until mode change.]

The tendrils continued to lash out at Starburst, but none of them hit, she concentrated on the music playing in her mind, not wasting a movement. Gliding across the battlefield with the skill of a dancer, and the ferocity of a warrior, she was as her name, a starburst.

[15 seconds until mode change.]

Starburst stopped, the tendrils took this time to try and wrap her up, but a quick jump into the air saw that this attempt was made in vain.

[10 seconds until mode change.]

The Fear Lantern then turned in Steel Wing’s direction and plummeted straight towards him. The tendrils once again lashed out, but Starburst went into a spiraling spin that allowed her to weave in and out of the attacks with ease.

[5 seconds until mode change. 4…3…2…1.]

Starburst watched as the barrage of tendrils receded and headed back to their point of origin. That’s when she saw it, an orb of violet light that emerged from the griffon’s body and hovered just a few inches away from his chest. That was her target. FASTER!!! With a thunderous boom, Starburst was propelled at breakneck speed towards Steel Wing. She then cocked back her right forehoof and charged it with yellow light energy. The armor around Steel Wing was just about to morph into Iron Defender, but Star wasn’t going to give this griffon the chance to try again, this was it!

The Fear Lantern appeared right before Steel Wing in a whoosh of blustering wind. The face of the griffon went from agitated, to shock, and then finally horror as he saw her now glowing right hoof. Starburst then thrust the very hoof right at the orb of light, smashing against it and sending the two of them flying as Star continued to drive her punch forward. The armor dismantled around him, and even Chaylvas’ metallic wings were falling apart. With one final burst of energy, Star pierced through the orb and into the griffon, firing off the pent up power in the form of a beam that exploded out of his back and sent the orb into the distance.

Starburst retracted her hoof, letting the body of the Wing Commander fall to the ground dead. In the distance another explosion took place, signaling the destruction of Steel Wings power, and the fall of one of Griffonia’s great warriors.

After confirming that the griffon was indeed dead, Star started to pant, tired and nearly spent. Her body rang out with pain, protesting every little thing she had done to obtain this victory. But it was done, and now she could sleep for the next three days, that is, after she checked in on her mother and Lance. “Ring, check power levels.”

[Power levels at 18%.]

“I should recharge…but, it shouldn’t be a problem just to walk to them.”

Just then, a flash of light appeared in the distance and Star entered an attack stance, ready to do battle with whatever dared to challenge her. She was tired, achy, in pain, most likely had a number of fractured bones and other internal injuries, and she was not in the mood. But her fury quickly cooled when she saw that it was the Royal Guard that ran out to meet her, the leader, a brown unicorn stallion quickly made his way to her, along with his contingent of twelve.

“Fear Lantern, are you alright?”

“I’ve been better, um…”

“Pinpoint.”

Twilight had never, in her whole life, felt this miserable. Her back and flanks burned, every little movement she made only served to intensify this feeling. The fur on her face felt matted and crusty, knowing the cause all too well. She slowly opened her eyes and saw white. Was she dead? Twilight opened her eyes more, seeing that she was staring at a pillow that her head was now resting on. She was lying on her stomach, with bandages wrapped around her flanks, and barrel. The alicorn mare tried to move as slowly as possible, it still hurt, but Twilight thought she could minimize the pain by moving very slowly.

“Your highness!” shouted a voice.

A mare medic pony quickly made her way to the rising High Princess.

“I…I…” Her voice still sounded hoarse, and was probably going to be like that for a day or two, or until she cast a healing spell.

“You’re alright; you’re on the Avalon in the medical bay. The Fear Lantern got you and Captain Valiant Heart to the ship before she engaged with the griffon.”

“Wh-Where’s Lance…?”

“Right here Aunty.”

Twilight turned her head to the right and saw that Valiant was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking relieved to see his aunt awake. Twilight smiled at her nephew, reassuring him that everything was alright.

“I’ll be fine; my magic will fuel my body’s regeneration. What’s happening now?”

“Don’t know, the Fear Lantern got us away and, like she said, was fighting Steel Wing.”

Twilight shuddered at that name, but that’s when her eyes went wide as she remembered her encounter with the griffon. “We…We need to warn her! His armor…his power, if we don’t she’ll –!”

At that moment an explosion rumbled through the air, echoing within the haul of the Avalon. Both Twilight and Lance looked to each other in worry that the Fear Lantern may’ve been defeated. Twilight forced herself to get out of the bed, much to the protests of the medic mare.

“Lance…Get me to the bridge…now!”

The alicorn stallion knew that his aunt was going to get herself there one way or another, better it be with him by her side than her stumbling and falling in a painful heap later. Lance got close and gently placed a wing over her back, keeping her stable. The two alicorn’s, with the medic following close behind, and made their way to the bridge of the Avalon. The hatch separating it from the other portions of the ship automatically opened. As soon as they entered, many of the Guards stood and saluted their Prince and High Princess, some having sad expressions on their faces from seeing the state Twilight was in.

“At ease!” Lance ordered.

The Guards went back to their earlier duties, some offering to help the Prince with Twilight. The two them made it to the front observation post of the bridge, allowing a full, unobstructed view of the battlefield. It was a mess from what they could tell, and they saw a cloud of black smoke rising in the distance.

“Status report, what’s been going on?!” asked Lance.

“Sir,” one of the Guard stallions approached the two alicorns, “the Fear Lantern was in the middle of battling the griffon known as Steel Wing. From what we can tell, the Fear Lantern seems to have emerged victorious, despite receiving a considerable amount of damage from her battle, Sir!”

Twilight’s eyes locked onto the Fear Lantern, shoulders slumped and body trembling slightly, standing before the dead body of the Wing Commander. She was glad that their savior was safe, and that she was able to defeat that monster.

“Maybe we should consider making her part of the Royal Guard,” said Lance.

“At this rate, if the other Wing Commanders are as deadly as Steel Wing, we may not have a choice. C’mon let’s go and –”

“Ma’am, it’s lieutenant Pinpoint! He’s alive!” shouted a mare Guard.

Twilight and Lance’s eyes widened after hearing that name. They both stared towards the Fear Lantern, who was now being approached by the traitor and his brainwashed Guards.

“I WANT ALL GUARDS ON DECK!!! CAPTURE PINPOINT, HE IS A TRAITOR!!! THAT’S AN ORDER!!!”

“Lance, look!”

“Oh crap!”

“It’s very fortunate that you arrived here, Fear Lantern. I am ashamed to say that despite our best efforts, we were not able to stop Steel Wing from capturing High Princess Twilight and Captain Valiant Heart.”

“It’s alright, really. I barely made it through that fight, so don’t beat yourself up,” said Star.

“Thank you. You are truly our Golden Star; with you at our side we’ll surely end this war.”

Starburst couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride from Pinpoint’s words. She had always admired the Royal Guard, that was no secret, and the fact that one of them, like Sunny, recognized her abilities and usefulness in ending this war, made her feel all the more confident that she was on the right path.

Suddenly, there was a flash of purple light in the distance. Star immediately recognized this flash as the light of her mother’s magic, and low and behold, her mother was there, along with Lance. The two of them were rushing towards Star, both with worried and panicked looks on their faces. That’s odd, why are they looking at me like that? Steel Wing’s dead so –

[Alert –]

Just then another flash of light happened behind Starburst. Before she could do anything to defend herself, Star felt as something pierced through her left shoulder, driving her down to the ground and pinning her there. Starburst was too stunned to react to the pain; she looked and saw that a spear had gone straight through, blood dripping from the blade and pooling underneath her.

She looked up and saw that Pinpoint was the one holding the spear, and pushing it further into her, intensifying the pain. Pinpoint then switched with one of the other Guards, allowing this one to keep pressure on the spear, while two others slammed their forehooves onto her back, keeping Starburst further pinned. If she wasn’t still in shock, Star would be screaming in pain from having her wings and spine partially crushed, and having a spear through her shoulder.

“Don’t you come any closer!” Pinpoint yelled to Twilight and Lance. “Do so, and we’ll kill the Fear Lantern here and now!”

The two alicorns stopped in their tracks, glaring daggers at the traitorous Royal Guard.

“It’s over Pinpoint, Steel Wing is dead, and the rest of the Guards are coming to arrest you! You have no chance,” said Twilight.

Pinpoint growled in anger, scowling down at Starburst. “This is all YOUR FAULT!!! If you hadn’t appeared, this war would’ve been over now!”

He’s a traitor…?

“Release her Pinpoint or I swear I’ll –!”

“You’ll do what?!” Pinpoint shot back. “So long as I have this wretch, I’ll still secure a spot for myself in the Griffon Empire!”

He…He let them take my mother…and let them hurt her like that…? He let them torture her, and let them broadcast her screams throughout Equestria!!?

Just then, Star’s body glowed with the yellow light of Fear. Pinpoint backed away a little. “How dare you…HOW DARE YOU!!!” The aura building up around Star then burst forth, raging like an inferno and pushing the three Guards away from her, she rose into the air a couple feet as she turned to Pinpoint. Star then thrust her right hoof forward, creating a claw construct that grabbed Pinpoint and held him in a vice grip. She then brought the unicorn right up to her face, eyes blazing with yellow light as she glared at him.

“‘In days of peace, in times of war, protect the crown forever more. With our lives we will defend, our wills shall never bend!’ That is the oath of the Royal Guard…an oath you and all the Guards took the moment you entered the academy, to defend the citizens of Equestria, and to protect its rulers! And you spit on that oath by handing over my Mother and cousin to those bloodthirsty, sadist, griffon bastards!!? You are a traitor, you’re worse than the griffons!!! You don’t deserve to even call yourself equine!!!”

Pinpoint was about to teleport himself away from this crazy mare, but Starburst saw the beginnings of a teleportation spell. She launched a tentacle from her aura, sharpening it till it became a blade and sliced off Pinpoint’s horn. The unicorn wailed from the pain, having put his senses into charging a spell and feeling the severing. Magical plasma dripped from the wound as his horn lay on the ground.

Starburst then used another claw construct to rip the spear from her shoulder, causing her to scream from the intense pain. She held out Pinpoint with her outstretched right claw, and drove the spear through his chest with the other claw. The unicorn’s eyes went wide, coughing up blood before slipping away. Starburst dropped the body and turned her attention to the twelve who were shaking their heads as if in a daze.

“All of you…you betrayed Equestria…and almost got my family killed!!! You don’t deserve to live – NONE OF YOU!!!”

“NO WAIT!” Twilight screamed.

But it was too late, “FEAR SHINE!!!”

The light of Fear blazed from her ring and bathed the twelve Guards in its power. The twelve writhed and screamed as their minds were being assaulted by the horrifying images of their worst fears, over and over again. Twilight and Lance shielded their eyes from the light, not wanting to get caught in the same effect as the Guards. Starburst saw that they were scared out of their minds, but it wasn’t enough, not for these traitors. So Star put even more power into the assault.

[Warning: power levels at 12% and declining. Recharge highly recommended.]

Starburst didn’t even listen to the ring, she was through with mercy, and these thirteen, her fellow ponies, had the audacity to call themselves Royal Guards! The Fear Shine shone with a greater intensity, causing the twelve ponies to scream in agony as many of them began to foam at the mouth. Then, suddenly, all was quiet. The twelve Royal Guards all fell to the ground, eyes rolled into the back of their heads. Starburst then fell to the ground, completely drained, as she lay there passed out.

Twilight and Lance quickly rushed to the site, wincing at the sight of Pinpoint’s demise, but not feeling too sorry for him. Their sympathy and grief were more saved for the twelve Guards who were now dead. The two alicorns then stared down at the Fear Lantern, trying to figure out what she meant by “handing over my mother and cousin”. Could her family have been killed at Stalliongrad, surely she couldn’t have meant them?

[Power levels at 3.1%. Entering power save mode.]

Twilight and Lance watched as the Fear Lantern’s uniform dispersed into particles of yellow light. But as soon as it did, they gasped in complete shock at who it was. The orange coat and large wings, that navy blue tail and mane with two stripes of pink and cobalt, there was no way it could be her, it just couldn’t be.

“No…this…this isn’t possible!” Twilight cried.

“T-This is a joke right…? Please tell me that this is a joke!?” Lance shouted.

But this wasn’t a joke; this was real, staring them right in the face. The identity of the Fear Lantern had now been made known to Twilight and Lance. And it was none other than Starburst.

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

Proofread by: joeSFX

Escape

There were very few times that Sunny Skies had been called into the EBE office and she could count them all, three. The first time was when she was asked to give a report to the Captain of the Royal Guard himself, Prince Valiant Heart. She hadn’t met the stallion directly until that time, but she had to admit, he was cute. But unfortunately, it did not diminish the importance of her being called in. The report she was asked to give was on her finding out that the pegasus mare known as “Daisy Cutter” was in fact Princess Starburst in disguise. They grilled her for hours and asked many questions. Everything from “Did you know that that was Princess Starburst?”, and “Did you conspire with the Princess to put her in harm’s way?” Of course the answers to all of these were no, no, and no.

The second time was when she was summoned to the office, secretly. She had entered the room and found Prince Valiant Heart in the room. The Prince had a mission for her, should she had chosen to accept it. It was to ensure that the Princess wouldn’t do something like she did again. According to the Prince, they had sent Princess Starburst to live in Ponyville for the next three months. This was obviously some sort of punishment on their part, but according to the Captain, he was doing this to protect his cousin. It was the first time she had seen him look so worried and, although she may have imagined it, guilty. Nonetheless, Sunny was chosen because she possessed a unique skill set to keep tabs on the young mare, and if she were found out, at least Princess Starburst wouldn’t feel like it was a total stranger.

And now we arrive at the third and current time. Starburst had, in a fit of rage, revealed her identity as the Fear Lantern to half of Ponyville and her friends. To be honest, Sunny might have been able to keep that hush-hush for a bit, but she didn’t think that anymore, not after what she heard, which was why this was looking more like an interrogation than just her giving a report.
Sunny was sitting in the same office. Two officials of the EBE and Captain Valiant Heart himself sat in on the questioning, making it feel like a tribunal.

“State your name.”

“Sunny Skies, Agent of the EBE, and Lieutenant in the Royal Guard.”

“Who is your handler?”

“Captain Valiant Heart, I report directly to him.”

“State the events that occurred in Ponyville during the day of the incident.”

“Yes sir. At around 1503, the broadcast was heard in Ponyville. Many gathered to the town square and listened as the…ahem…event took place. Princess Starburst was, to say the least, distraught from hearing what she heard. And that’s when she ordered her friends to back away from her. She then pointed her right hoof forward and a ring appeared around it, somehow the ring brought forth what looked like a lantern. She put the same hoof into the one of the open portals, spoke some kind of oath, and was transformed into the Fear Lantern. Princess Starburst then took off into the sky, and, from what I could assume, was heading to Maretonia.”

Sunny waited for them to ask the obvious question, but for whatever reason they decided to have her answer some questions regarding Star’s routine and daily activities. Then, the question was asked, and it was asked by none other than the Prince himself.

“Sunny Skies, did you at all suspect Princess Starburst as being the Fear Lantern?”

This was the pinnacle moment in Sunny’s career, she could either lie through her teeth or deny knowing that Star was the Fear Lantern, and she knew that Starburst would most likely back her up on that. And then there was the option of telling the truth, she could be court marshaled, bumped down to private, or face jail time for withholding valuable information to the identity of the Fear Lantern, and let’s not forget, willfully allowing a Princess of Equestria to enter a warzone on more than one occasion.

But, for some reason, be it the wing of Faust herself, or her own conscious. Something told Sunny that the truth needed to be told, so, steeling herself for what was to come, Sunny spoke, “Yes, I did suspect Princess Starburst was the Fear Lantern.”
Sunny noticed how Valiant Heart knit his brow, “For how long?”

“Going on two months now, Sir.”

“And you didn’t think to bring this up because?”

Sunny opened her mouth but stopped. Why had she kept it a secret for so long? Was it merely out of debt because she saved her life, and her mother’s life along with Cloudsdale and Stalliongrad? Or was there something more to it? Something that she knew wasn’t good, she had grown attached to the young mare, never mind a physical attraction, but she found Starburst easy to converse with, even if she was a little more uptight than usual, it was always fun to see her blush and to get her to smile.

“Because…” Sunny sighed, “Permission to speak freely sir?”

“Granted.”

“Because I believe in Star, Sir. Yes she’s young, yes she can overdo it, and yes, she can be a bit reckless. But you cannot deny that with Star wielding that ring, Equestria stands more of a chance against the Griffon Empire. She’s practically a one mare army. Despite what you may believe Captain, she is a mature mare, and has been making decisions and fighting for the lives of all her people. Just as any Royal Guard would do.”

Valiant Heart rose from his chair and walked around the table to face Sunny Skies. “And you believe that this is a good reason to withhold vital intel?! To allow a Princess of Equestria to put herself in danger!?”

“With respect, Sir, Star is a lot tougher than you think. I would think you of all ponies could see that, given that you witnessed her strength and determination in the Cloudsdale incident.”

Valiant Heart snorted. “You’re dismissed Lieutenant.”

Lance walked around her and was preparing to leave room. “I can’t believe she looked up to you.”

The alicorn stallion stopped. “What did you say, Lieutenant?”

“I didn’t stutter, Captain. I said: ‘I can’t believe she looked up to you’.” Sunny repeated, not bothering to look at the Guard Captain.

“She’s my cousin; of course she’ll looks up to me.”

“She deserves respect, Sir, which is less than what you’re showing her now. Star has worked herself into the ground, training under you, and training even more on her own. All so that she could earn her spot in the Royal Guard, to fight alongside the cousin that she looked up to and idolized, like her father, and her uncle. What right have you to take her dreams and aspirations, away from her?!”

Lance didn’t turn to look at her; his gaze was downcast as the stallion gritted his teeth when old feelings started to re-emerge. Without saying another word, Valiant Heart left the room, leaving Sunny to be further interrogated by the remaining two officials.

Ponyville, 1 Hour Later…

Many of the townsfolk celebrated the news that High Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Valiant Heart were saved by the Fear Lantern, of course, they were even more happy since now they knew the identity of the famed hero, and that it was Princess Starburst herself, the daughter of the High Princess.

While many were off celebrating, others were busy contemplating. Del, Candy, Annie, T, Prism, Claire, June, and Whirlwind had gathered in at the barn at Del’s place. They didn’t feel like talking at Sugar Cube Corner, nor at Carousel Boutique, and honestly, they wanted some time to think about what they had just seen.

“I can’t believe Star’s the Fear Lantern,” said Whirlwind.

“For once…I’m stumped,” said Candy.

“To be honest, it does explain some things. Why Star wanted to know how I was able to maintain my focus while using my telekinetic magic,” said Claire.

“It also explains why she asked me about energy conservation when casting spells too. We were unknowingly helping her train with that…thing she has on her hoof,” said Annie.

“Same here, especially when it came to my maneuvering skills. But honestly, I could totally see Star as the Fear Lantern, I mean, how many other pegasi have wings that big?!” Prism explained, flaring his own for emphasis.

“Ahem.” Turquoise cleared his throat and flared his own large membrane wings.

“Well, aside from you, T, and besides, they weren’t dragon wings they were feathered wings.”

“Why didn’t she tell us, did she not trust us enough to keep her secret?” asked June.

“It might be the opposite, June,” spoke Whirlwind, “she trusts us, and cares about us enough not to tell somepony.”

“I have to agree with Whirly, I mean, from what I read in the comic books at the shop, typically, when the superhero reveals their secret identity to their friends and family, it usually doesn’t turn out so well for the friends and family.”

“I see, she kept it secret to protect us should the griffons start seeking information about the Fear Lantern,” said Claire.

“When you put it that way, it makes more sense. I mean, Star cares about us, she wouldn’t want us to be put in harm’s way. Just look how fearsome she got when she heard all that,” said Turquoise.

Prism shuddered a bit, “Yeah, her special talent is intimidation, but damn, she was crazy scary when she went Fear Lantern. I almost feel sorry for those griffons, y’know, almost.”

The whole time that this conversation took place, Del had remained silent. He just kept thinking back to Starburst’s sad face, and how powerless he felt when they heard her mother scream from getting whipped all the way in Maretonia. He wanted to comfort her, to give her strength, but in the end he couldn’t do any of these things.

“I just wish that they’d tell us something, all they keep repeating is that Maretonia is on its way to being liberated and that High Princess Twilight and Valiant Heart are alright, but they’re not saying much about what happened to Star after the fact…” Annie mentally face hoofed herself, knowing that Del was probably more worried than all of them; he had been unusually quiet since they gathered.

Just then, they heard a knock at the barn door. Everypony tensed, wondering if it was a good idea to answer it. Being the lucky one closest to the door, June walked up to it and said, “Who’s there…?”

“A friend and a boyfriend, I tend to switch between both depending on the situation.” There was flash of magical light from the other side of the door, and in an instant another flash emanated from inside the barn, revealing Prince Illusion. “Hey Claire bear.”

“Illusion,” gasped Claire.

“What are you doing here!?”

“I missed you too.”

“Lulu!”

Illusion brought up his hoof and claw up in a placating manner, “Easy, easy, I just thought I’d lighten the mood in here a little. I could feel some heavy emotions from outside.”

“Well, spit it out, why are you here?” asked Prism.

Illusion sighed; he did not bring good news. “I’ve been a fly on the wall, literally, I turned myself into a fly, and listened in on some things going on in the castle, the majority of which is concerning Starburst and her recently revealed Fear Lantern identity. First off, from what they’re saying, Star fought against one of the Wing Commanders of the Griffon Empire, Steel Wing. She received a lot of injuries, got banged up pretty bad, but she was able to put the bastard down and is back at the castle.”

Some sighs of relief could be heard all round, along with some high hooves from Turquoise and Prism, celebrating the defeat of the griffon who hurt Star’s mother. Annie looked in Del’s direction, she couldn’t see, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sense how happy he was from knowing that Star was alright.

“Thank goodness,” said the farmer.

“Unfortunately…She’s…She’s being held in the dungeon…”

The happiness level of the room went from a solid ten to zero in the blink of an eye. All eyes were now on Illusion, some thinking that he was joking and were waiting for the punch line. But no punch line came, and the look on the Prince’s face told them that he was serious about what he had said.

”You’re lyin’…”

“Cuz…?”

“YOU’RE LYIN’!”

Golden Delicious rushed towards Illusion, using his great strength, he shoved the Prince till his back was up against the wall and pinned him there with his hoof. Prism was getting noticeably angry from hearing the news as well and would’ve done the same if Del hadn’t, but he was happy to lend a hoof.

“I’m not lying, Del…I wish I was, but I’m not,” said Illusion in a solemn tone of voice.

“Star has done nothin’ but protect Equestria and the ponies who live in it from those griffons and you’re tellin’ me that for all her trouble, they threw her in the damn dungeon!!?”

Claire, having shaken off the surprise of seeing Del act so aggressively, rushed to her bou’s side. “Del let Illusion go!”

“No, he’s lyin, or at the very least someone’s got a screw loose for doin’ this!” Del yelled.

“DEL,” Claire growled warningly, “let him go, or I’ll make you let him go.” The stallion and dragon-pony mare stared each other down before Claire added, “Please.”

The earth pony stallion calmed himself a little and released Illusion, letting him stand on both his legs. “I’m sorry Del; I wish that wasn’t the case.”

“Why…? Do ya at least know why they did it?!”

Illusion was hesitant with this information, Del had already flown into a rage and Prism wasn’t far behind, he didn’t know how much bad news everypony could take right now. But the pleading looks for information compelled him to answer their questions, despite it being bad, it was better than them imagining the worst.

“Star’s being held for the murder of twelve Royal Guards…”

The room was deathly silent, many eyes widened, and their breath seemed to catch in their throats. It was known that Illusion was a prankster, but even he knew where to draw the line, so that’s why when he said “murder” they knew he wasn’t joking, although they wished to Faust that he was.

“That’s…That’s bullshit!” Prism yelled as he glared at Illusion. “Starburst is the last, and I mean the last pony who would do something like that! She idolizes the Royal Guard, I mean, she bucking goes all goofy and star struck around them! And you’re going to stand there and tell us that she murdered twelve of them!”

Annie huddled closer to T, shaking her head in disbelief. “No…No, Star…Star would never do something like that!”

“Illusion…Why would she do that?” asked Claire, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer of what would drive her friend to murder twelve Guards.

“From what I heard, the reason behind Aunt Twilight’s and Lance’s capture was a unicorn Royal Guard. He betrayed them, and brainwashed twelve other Royal Guards in order to help him. When the fighting was over, that same Guard thought he could take advantage of Star after fighting so long, but in the end, she killed him.”

“Good riddance,” spat Prism, “he was traitor, and helped get Star’s mom hurt! So how is that a bad thing, they would’ve executed him or put him away for life, so what!?”

“You’re right, but that’s not the issue. The issue is, after the unicorn was killed his hold on the other twelve was released, but Star…I don’t know if she was just angry or too tired and fatigued to think straight, but she flew into a rage and killed those remaining twelve…they were innocent guys…they had no control over what they were doing…”

“So…She killed innocent Guards, without realizing it?” asked June.

Illusion nodded in confirmation, and for the rest of the night, the friends were silent, their thoughts all on their friend and what fate awaited her.

Canterlot…

Starburst remembered this feeling, the soreness, the throbbing headache, the feeling like crap, it was the same way she felt after Stalliongrad, good times. Star slowly opened her sore eye lids, when they fully opened she was greeted by the sight of a stone ceiling. For a second, Star thought she was in Maretonia, she was also aware of feeling a soft bed under her, and the blankets covering her. That’s when she remembered, the memories flooding into her mind. Star attempted to bolt upright, but stopped as she yelped from the piercing dull pain emanating from her left shoulder.

“You shouldn’t move so quickly, honey. You’re wounds have healed but your body may still feel some the phantom pain from your injuries.” Starburst turned her head to the left and saw her mother standing at her bedside. “I would’ve had the doctors bring you some painkillers, but I didn’t want to overtax your body…If it hurts too much I could cast a relief spell to numb it…?”

Starburst shook her head, “It’s…It’s fine, not the worst thing I’ve ever felt.” Seeing her mother here, and added to the recent events, Star had no doubt that her mother and Lance most likely knew by now, if not from Maretonia then certainly from Ponyville. “Mom listen I –”

“I know you’re the Fear Lantern…” Twilight interrupted, “Why did you keep something like this a secret and for how long?”

It was the obvious question, and truthfully, she was tired of pretending and hiding her power from everypony. “I got the ring when I was in Stalliongrad, it helped me to beat back the griffons…I wanted to tell you…but…I was afraid you would take it away from me…after you guys and Lance banded me from joining the Royal Guard, I saw this as my chance to defend Equestria. Not as a Royal Guard, but as the Fear Lantern of Equus.”

“Star…you should’ve told us, you kept putting yourself in dangerous situations, why are you so bent on doing this to yourself!?”

“Mom…?”

Twilight sat on her haunches as her eyes began to water, “Don’t you see that you’re going to get yourself killed if you keep pushing yourself like this! And now you’re thrusting yourself into warzones, wielding some unknown power that you haven’t a clue about –!”

“Hold on,” Star narrowed her brow, “I know all about my rings power, where it comes from, what it’s powered by, I – wait?” Starburst raised her right hoof to check and see of the ring was there, but her foreleg didn’t get that far up as she felt something tug back. “What the hay?”

“Star listen…”

The young mare tried to lift her right foreleg again, but she couldn’t even get it above her head, she also noticed the distinct sound of chains rattling somewhere within the room. Feeling a slight amount of panic, Star maneuvered her foreleg from under the blanket and stared wide eyed at was on it. Her ring was gone, but in its stead, was a shackle, the chain leading all the way down to the anchor in the wall next to the bed, given just enough slack to make some adjustments. Star immediately lifted her left foreleg, wincing from the pain that still lingered but finding that her other appendage was shackled as well. Starburst began to hyperventilate.

“M-Mom, what’s going on, w-w-why am I shackled to a bed in a hospital?!”

“Because…you’re not in a hospital Star.” Twilight moved away and allowed her daughter to see the horizontal bars of the cell a few feet behind the alicorn mare. “You’re in the dungeon cells in Canterlot Castle…”

“WHAT!?” Starburst bolted upright, wincing again from the pain, but the panic of the situation more than dulled that sensation. She couldn’t rise up far however, as the shackles became taut and prevented her from going any further than a sitting position. “Why am I in a dungeon, Mom!? O-Or is this some kind of sick illusion magic…I’m a prisoner of the griffons aren’t I?!”

“Starburst!” Twilight quickly put her hooves on her daughter’s shoulders and forced her to look her mother in the eye. “It’s me Star, this isn’t some illusion! We’re in Canterlot. And…you really are in a cell.”

Starburst looked to her shackled hooves and back to her mother in disbelief, “Why…? Why I am I chained up in a cell!? I know I didn’t tell you about the ring, and I’m sorry for disguising myself and going to Stalliongrad! But this is way too far Mom!”

“DO YOU THINK I WANT YOU IN HERE!!?” Twilight shouted, making Starburst flinch from the intensity. “Don’t you think I’d rather see you resting in your room, with all of us together!? But I can’t overlook what you did Star, as much as I want to, too many ponies saw what you did!”

“What did I do!? Tell me and I’ll apologize!” Star pleaded.

“You killed Royal Guards Star, that’s something that an apology can’t fix.”

Starburst was taken aback, yes she remembered killing Royal Guards, but they were traitors. These were the very ponies who helped the griffons capture her and Lance and took them prisoner, the very same who stood by while she was being whipped in front of populace of Bucephalus!

“You’re keeping me here because I killed traitors?! After what they did to you Mom! They disgraced the Royal Guard and trampled everything that other Royal Guards have fought and died for! They were worse than the griffons, and they deserved to die!”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her own daughter. “How can you talk about killing so easily…? Did what you go through at Stalliongrad change you that much or…” Twilight’s horn lit up, rising from her tucked wing was Star’s yellow power ring. “Was this thing the cause of it all?”

“My ring!”

“Answer me Starburst, was it because of this ring!? I already know this thing doesn’t work like any kind of magical item I’ve heard of or seen in my life! So where did you get it, who gave it to you!?” Twilight demanded.

Starburst snorted. “It chose me, Mom, because I have the ability to not only instill fear, but because I have a strong sense of justice. As far as where it came from, it fell from the night sky and it is the only reason I’m alive to have this conversation with you right now!”

“So it works on fear…strangely it fits your special talent, but still, you don’t know anything about it! You should’ve told us!”

“I know more than you think Mom! I had it tell me all about it, where it was made, who made it, and why they were made! But that doesn’t matter; the fact is that it chose me to be Equus’ protector, its first Fear Lantern! And really, after you, Dad, and Lance took away my dream, you could see why I was reluctant to say anything!”

Twilight’s heart grew heavy, although she thought they had made up some time ago, Starburst still harbored some resentment towards what they did. Honestly she couldn’t blame her; she’d be the same way if her parents had told her that she couldn’t study under Princess Celestia when she was a foal. But this was completely different; she was learning magic and was under the protection of Celestia herself. But Starburst, she was such a scared little thing when she was filly, and deep down, Twilight could still see that side of her. And it made her and Flash worry about the day when she was accepted.

“I’m sorry Star…We’re sorry…”

“I forgave you for that, somewhat, because I’m now part of something greater and bigger than the Royal Guard! I’ve been given the responsibility to fight for Equestria!” Star stopped for a moment, an idea forming in her head as a small smile curled upon her lips. “This could actually be a good thing.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Star shook her head. “No, don’t you see!? Now that ponies know that I’m the Fear Lantern, we don’t have to prance around anymore! We can take the fight to the griffons directly!”

“Star, you saw how powerful Steel Wing was.”

“I beat him!”

“Barely!”

“Point is the two us can take on the Empire together! The power of my ring and your magic, together we can end this war! Strike their capital and make Stratus rue the day he and the rest of the griffons challenged Equestria and killed so many!”

“Listen yourself Starburst, how can talk about doing all this!?”

Starburst scoffed and laughed at the notion. “Mom, do you have any idea how many griffons I’ve killed between Stalliongrad, Cloudsdale, and Maretonia combined? And besides…” Starburst looked down at her sheets, “It was either fight and kill them, or lie down and let them violate and kill me. Which one would you have rather have happened?”

The thought of somepony or anyone hurting Star in such a manner made Twilight’s blood boil and made her sick all at once.

“I fought for survival, because I realized that it was either going to be me or them, was I going to come back home, become some griffon’s slave plaything, or die, I chose to rise above my fears, and instead I wanted to be the thing that they feared! And my weapon, the instrument to make all that come true, was that ring.”

Twilight’s gaze was downcast after hearing all of this. “You’re not my Starburst…”

Star looked at her mother quizzically, “Mom?”

“The Starburst I held in my arms when she was foal, who cried and was painfully shy as a little filly, the Starburst who got injured more times than any filly her age would’ve gotten, that filly I watched grow into a brash, strong, and confident young mare…” Twilight sniffled a bit, “That Starburst wouldn’t be so quick to pass judgment on her fellow equines, traitors or not, she would’ve at least given them the benefit of a trial. Not become the judge, jury, and executioner all at once!”

“In the heat of battle that’s what I am! I dispense justice by putting fear into the enemies of Equestria! Just like I did those traitors!” Starburst roared.

“THEY WEREN’T ALL TRAITORS STARBURST!!!”

Star stared blankly at her mother. “What…what are you saying?”

“Pinpoint, the stallion who stabbed you with a spear, he used a mind control spell to brainwash those other twelve Royal Guards. They did everything he told them, they didn’t have a choice! They cried, Star, I saw one of them cry when they were putting me in chains, and I saw true sadness in his eyes, and it was reflected in his comrades. The moment you removed Pinpoint’s horn, you cut off the magic controlling them. Star, they were innocent, forced to do things they didn’t want to do! They were free for that brief moment and you…!”

Starburst shook her head slowly, her eyes widening as the full weight of what she had done bore down on her. “I…I…I killed innocent Royal Guards…I killed them…! No…Oh dear Faust!” The young mare had tears falling from her eyes, she had robbed those ponies of their lives in her anger, taken away somepony’s husband, father, brother, friend, uncle, she did that and now their families would never seem them again. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry Mom…”

Twilight wanted to badly to hug her daughter and tell her everything was going to be alright. But it wasn’t, there was no getting around that Starburst murdered innocent Royal Guards, not after Lance, and the crew of the Avalon saw all that. Twilight then looked at the ring that floated in her magical grasp, scowling at the yellow object.

“This thing…It’s turned you into something you’re not. It has to be the ring…” Twilight rose up and started to walk towards the door of the cell.

“Wait,” Star called out, “Where are you going with my ring!?”

“This ring, it’s bad for you, it’s turned you into something you’re not Starburst. I’m going to lock it away where it can never hurt you.”

“NO! Mom please, the ring is a part of me, I’m sorry for what I’ve done and I promise I’ll do whatever I have to, to make it right! Just don’t take it away from me, please don’t…not again, you, Dad, and Lance banned me from joining the Royal Guard, being a Fear Lantern is all I have left Mom, please don’t!”

Twilight kept her back turned to her daughter, not wanting to show how painful it was to hear Star speak with such desperation and sorrow, it felt like she was ripping away another dream from her all over again. But she had to think, if this ring was the real reason to why she was the way she was now, then maybe her actions were just because of the rings influence. As gut wrenchingly painful as this was, Twilight had to do it for her daughter’s sake.

“I’m sorry Star, but…you won’t be seeing this ring again.”

Starburst lowered her head, her bangs covering most of her face as she wept, taking in raspy breathes as she tried to remain strong in her mother’s presence. “I hate you…”

Twilight’s heart felt like it had been pierced with a knife and twisted. She almost broke down right there in the cell. The Guard on the other end opened the door and Twilight left the cell. She then turned to the Guard and spoke in a shaky voice, “P-Please look after her…Contact me if there’s something wrong, no matter what it is, no…no matter what I’m doing, you come and get me or High Prince Flash Sentry. If she’s in pain contact a doctor immediately, that’s an order.”

“Of course your majesty.”

Twilight then began to walk down the long hallway of the dungeon, hearing the sobbing cries of her daughter echo through the stone corridor, and knowing that she was the direct cause made her motherly instincts stab at her heart.

“I’m sorry Star…”

Starburst had lost track of how much time had passed by since the dam of emotions broke open. She hated crying, especially while there was a Royal Guard not ten feet away from her, it reminded her of when she was filly, always a crybaby, hiding behind her father’s wings or her mother’s forelegs. Left in the silence of the dungeon, Star’s mind wandered to different things.

She thought of her little brother, Nighty. Although they had there spats and fought like cats and dogs sometimes, she still cared about him and she knew he did too. Star didn’t know what he would think of her when Nighty found out, if they told him. But he’s a smart colt…He’ll figure it out soon…Star imagined the disgusted face he would make when her little brother realized what she had done, it made her heart ache more.

Soon her thoughts wandered further, to her friends back in Ponyville. Even now she was cursing herself for being so reckless when she transformed in front the entire town. One pony in particular occupied her thoughts, among all the others, one stallion. Del…She couldn’t forget the look on his face, confusion, shock, a bit awestruck, and, maybe disappointment. Maybe that was why she felt compelled to say she was sorry before leaving, because she had kept this secret even from the stallion whom she now regarded as her coltfriend. Well…That, and because I cut our date short…I’m so going to have to make it up to him…If he even wants to talk to me after they find out what I did.

Star started to wonder if the ring had chosen the wrong mare to wield its power. Her drive to fight off the griffons and instill fear in them, to bring justice to the wicked Emperor Stratus and his merry band of killers, was that so wrong? She just lost control, and really, anypony would after hearing your own mother being whipped and screaming in pain. Anypony would kill the one responsible.

The young mare started to hear hoofsteps echoing from the hallway, she assumed it was another Guard coming to relieve the one currently outside her cell. The steps got closer and Star turned her body so that she was staring at the wall, one Guard knowing that she had bawled was enough, she wasn’t about to let a second see her in such a state.

“Hey Star.”

Starburst’s ears perked up at the sound of the familiar voice. She slowly glanced over her shoulder and saw that Lance was standing outside her cell. A mixture of emotions filled Starburst, happiness from seeing her favorite cousin, anger for barring her from entering the Academy, a modicum of respect, and predominately, shame. No doubt he was here for his own answers as to why Star had kept this secret from them, and honestly she was in no mood to go through the same thing with Lance as she did her mother.

“Hey,” she responded.

Starburst heard the metal clanking of the door unlocking, and creaking of it opening. She also heard more hoofsteps as Lance entered the cell. There was silence between the two cousins, neither one had spoken since the incident at Stalliongrad, and right now the tension in the air was thick.

“Lance…I really don’t feel like talking right now…If you want to know what I was thinking, or how I got the ring, you can ask my Mom…” There was a slight hint of disdain and resentment when she said “mom”, she didn’t mean for it come out like that, but with how she was feeling, Star didn’t care.

“I know how you got it, Sunny told me.”

Star immediately sat up and turned to her cousin. “Sunny Skies!? What did you do to her!? Lance, it wasn’t her fault, she had nothing to do with me being the Fear Lantern!”

“Calm down Star. I haven’t done anything beyond questioning her.”

The young mare relaxed a bit, after everything that has happened, the last thing she wanted was for something to happen to Sunny as a result of her keeping her secret. Star then looked directly at Lance for the first time months, besides the time she talked to him as Fear Lantern in Cloudsdale. That was a different circumstance. She wanted to know, no, Star needed to know the answer to a question she had been meaning to ask him ever since she was in Ponyville.

“Lance…why did you ban me?”

“You know why.”

“You could’ve suspended me from joining for a few years, or even make me do the suckiest assignments and jobs that a cadet can do, I would’ve accepted both…But why did you ban me when you know my dream was to join the Royal Guard!?”

“………”

“Damn it all Lance, answer me! I deserve that much from my own family don’t I!?” Star yelled as she glared at her cousin with watery eyes.

“Because you’re too reckless! You’re so eager to prove that you belong in the Guard, you drive yourself into the ground, and train like there’s no tomorrow,” said Lance.

“Aren’t those the kind of traits you want in a new recruit!? Out of all the Royal Guards, you know you could count on me in any situation! We could’ve been the best of the best!”

“Star, I was behind you joining the Royal Guard! But when I saw you like that…after Stalliongrad, your wing broken, body bruised up, and blood coming out of your mouth…It scared me, really scared me.” Lance shook a bit, trying to stave off some of his growing sadness for this whole situation.

“Lance…I didn’t…”

“When I heard about what Aunt Twilight and Uncle Flash said about you joining, you weren’t the only one angry Star! Yes I went through some rough patches because of my royal status while in the Academy, yes I had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of the other Guards and to become Captain! But that didn’t mean you were going to go through the same thing! You had twice the determination, and twice the grit to blow through the Academy!”

“And you’re just telling me this now!? If that’s how you felt then why?!”

“Because everything that would make you such a great Royal Guard are the same things that will get you killed quick! And despite all of us telling you differently, you still continue! That’s why I did it, that’s why, as much as I hated it; I knew it was the only way to keep you safe!”

Starburst scoffed in disbelief, “And you thought the best way was to crush my dreams!?”

Lance went silent, he knew all this when he made the decision. Still, that didn’t mean he liked it, he didn’t like it all, but like he said, it had to be done, to keep Star from getting herself killed. And yet, despite his best efforts, Starburst still managed to put herself in harm’s way not once, but twice. And now, Star was in trouble.

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry isn’t good enough Valiant!” Starburst yelled. “Why did you even come here!?”

“……I came here to tell you what’s probably going happen to you Star. You killed twelve Guards, that’s not going to go away.”

I don’t need to be reminded…

“You’re mom, Aunt Twilight; she’s talking with Celestia and Luna, along with Discord, Supernova, and your dad. They’re thinking of keeping you in here for while…”

Starburst stared at her cousin incredulously. “They’re not…They’re not actually considering…?”

“Star, you’re not yourself, you’ve become something else. Something dangerous, whether you realize it or not, and right now, time away from the war and battlefield, might be better –”

“Get out…”

“Star?”

“GET OUT!!! I DON’T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN VALIANT HEART!!!” Starburst screamed as even more tears flowed down her cheeks.

There wasn’t anything else left to be said. With a heavy heart, and a stabbing pain in his chest, Lance left the cell. He hated seeing Starburst sad, even when she was a little filly, he hated seeing her sad, and did whatever he could to see her smile. But now, he was the one to cause her sadness. When the alicorn stallion made it further down the hall, he slammed his right hoof into the wall, making a sizeable crater as his own tears flowed from his eyes.

Starburst hadn’t cried this much since she was a little filly, which only made this miserable day even more miserable, or night, she couldn’t tell what with there being no windows in the dungeon. The only thing that kept her prison lit were a series of light stones set up in each cell and along the hallways of the dungeon. She figured she ought to get used to it, at the rate her situation was going, her cell would soon become her new home.

I lost my ring…my dreams…my family is against me…and on top of all that I’m a murderer…Maybe I was better of letting those griffons do whatever it was they were going to do…violate me, kill me, both… if I knew this was what was waiting at the end of it all, I would’ve just given up…

Starburst brought up her right hoof and stared at the spot where her power ring once resided, a sort of phantom feeling was present, like it was still there even though it clearly wasn’t. Star attributed this to the many times she had the ring cloaked and knew it was there by the feeling of it on her hoof as she went about her day. Now it was really gone, and in its place was an iron shackle.

The sound of hooves started to echo in the dungeon, no doubt a changing of the Guard, or maybe it was another visitor. Starburst wasn’t sure if she could take one more pony coming to visit her, no matter who it was.

“It’s not time for a shift change,” said the Guard.

“Yeah, but I thought you could use the rest, you look a little sleepy.”

I know that voice!

“I’m fine; you can come back in a few hours if you want, just clear it with the Captain.”

“Actually, that’s not part of my plan.”

Suddenly the clanking of armor, along with the sound of grunts could be heard behind Starburst. She quickly turned around in time to watch as the Royal Guard who was standing sentry at her cell fell to the floor. And by the hooves of none other than Sunny Skies herself.

“SUNNY!”

“S’up Star,” she replied.

“What are you doing!?”

Sunny started to search the Guard’s armor, “Oh, possibly ruining my career as a Royal Guard and agent of the EBE, while also aiding and abiding a prisoner, and facilitating a jailbreak in that order – Aha!”

The light-yellow mare produced a ring with keys, it only took her a few seconds to figure out which one belonged to Star’s cell. Sunny opened the door and rushed to the young mare’s side, searching through the keys for the right one to her shackles.

“Sunny you need to stop right now!”

“Look, I’m not that desperate that I’d take advantage of a mare while she was chained to a bed.” Sunny looked to Star, “No matter how cute they are.”

“This isn’t time for one of your dirty jokes – I get enough of that from Anthea – so stop now and leave! I’m not worth this Sunny!”

“That’s where we disagree Star,” Sunny found the right key and proceeded to free Starburst, “you are worth it, all of it!”

“Why, because I’m a Princess!? Because I’m the Fear Lantern!?”

“One: because yes you are a Princess, two: because you are the Fear Lantern. But it also because I know that you’re the only one who will be able to see Equestria through all of this, you’re our only trump card against the griffons and you give many ponies hope! And…” Sunny undid the last shackle and smiled to the mare. “And, also, because you’re my friend Star, and I think what they’re doing is wrong. So, are you going to argue with me, are we going to get your ring back and get the buck out of here!?”

Starburst looked to Sunny and then the open cell door. Should she run, at this point they’re already about to label her a murderer and they were going to keep her in this cell like a caged bird. Well, it’s time to spread my wings and fly.

“Do you know where they’re keeping my ring?”

“In a vault up a couple of floors from here, it’s one of many different vaults were they keep magical items that are off limits to pretty much everypony.”

“I hope you know a way to get there without being seen?”

“Weeeellllllllll~”

30 Minutes Later…

“THIS IS SOME ESCAPE PLAN SUNNY, I’M REALLYLOVINGTHIS!!!”

Starburst was currently engaged with a Royal Guard, while Sunny was taking on a couple of her own.

“So sue me, you want to get the ring back or not!?”

One of the Nocturne Night Guards flew at Sunny, she easily dodged his swooping attack, but nearly fell victim to the unicorn Night Guard as he fired some stun spells at her. Sunny back flipped, using her wings to give her extra power for the left off. With amazing speed Sunny dodged each of the bolts of magical energy, appearing right before the unicorn Guard. Sunny then went into series of pinpointed strikes on the stallion’s body, hitting his neck, foreleg, and any exposed area. Before he knew what hit him, the unicorn stallion fell to the ground from Sunny’s nerve attack.

Starburst was faring just as well, the unicorn Guard didn’t want to hurt the Princess, and that worked to Star’s advantage. The unicorn fired one stun spell after the other, but using the same tactics that she used during her fight with Steel Wing, Starburst swayed and danced around his attacks, totally confusing the Guard, finding it hard to aim his next blast. Star glided towards him, and dropkicked the stallion with her hind leg, and with the same swiftness, struck him across the jaw sending him smacking against the wall and out cold.
Sunny whistled as she saw Starburst fight, seeing just how much she had improved in such a short period from when she first met her, it was astonishing. Especially, using the same grace and skill, she leaped up, somersaulted in midair, and coldcocked the Nocturne Night Guard, driving him down to terra firma. She ended all this while landing softly back to the ground, barely showing any signs of fatigue.

“Damn, that’s hot Star!”

The young mare blushed but still held her serious expression, “Yeah, yeah, let’s hurry already!

Starburst and Sunny continued to make quick work of any Royal Guard that they happened to come across, taking them down quickly and as silently as possible. Sunny knew the vault would be guarded, but with her and Starburst together she figured they could handle the rest. Soon the two mares made it to the vault, and just as Sunny predicted, there were Guards standing sentry outside it. Two unicorn Night Guards, two Nocturne Night Guards, and…You got to be kidding me!?

Out of the four Night Guards, there were three that Starburst immediately recognized. A pegasus stallion with a rusty red coat and wings, and grayish blue eyes, known for his recklessness and quick temper, Hot Head. The second was a handsome unicorn stallion, with a purple coat, and dreamy lavender eyes, a stallion known as a real pretty boy and charmer of mares, Lucky Star. The last one was a earth pony mare, she had a dark yellow coat and an orange mane, with intelligent green eyes, known for being snarky and rebellious, her name was Amber Lily.

“I seriously don’t get why we have to guard this particular vault,” grumbled Hot Head.

“Can’t be helped, whatever’s inside is probably something really valuable or really dangerous, or both,” said Amber.

“Consider it an acknowledgement of our abilities, they picked us to head the Guard detail here among all the others, when you think about it, it’s kind of a great honor in a way,” said Lucky.

Hot Head contemplated this for a moment as a proud grin appeared on his face. “Heh, I guess you’re right Lucky!”

The other Night Guards rolled their eyes at how easily he was played. Neither of them knew why they had increased security at this vault, but knew that it had to be something important to warrant bringing in those three.

Starburst face hoofed herself, she did not want to end up fighting Anthea’s friends. Sunny looked down to her friend and the apprehensiveness on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Those are friends of Annie’s, I don’t want to have to fight them…”

Sunny didn’t want to add this to the growing list of things that were going wrong in this young mare’s life, and thankfully, she thought of a way that could help.

“Hit me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Punch me in the face as hard as you can,” said Sunny.

“…Okay, you’ve definitely lost it, but alright.”

Starburst spun around and punched Sunny right in the face, sending the mare sprawling onto the floor. She grunted inwardly as her face erupted with pain, glaring a bit at Starburst.

“You don’t even bother to ask why I asked you to punch me?!”

“Consider it payback for all those little dirty jokes you kept getting me with, now we’re even.”

“Oh, ho, ho, I’m sooo getting you back for this as soon we’re safe.”

Sunny came stumbling out of the corridor and collapsed in front of the entrance to the vault. All seven Guards rushed to Sunny’s side and adopted a fighting stance as if anticipating an attack.

“What happened to you!?” asked Amber.

“Princess S-Starburst…she escaped…I…I tried to stop her but…she’s so strong for a little mare…”

“Where is she now,” asked unicorn Night Guard.

“Down the hall, to the right…I don’t know where exactly she was heading but…”

“That’s fine, you three, stay here and tend to her, the rest you, let’s move!”

The Night Guard swiftly exited the room and went down the way that Sunny Skies specified. Hot Head helped the mare get back onto her hooves, who wobbled a bit back and forth.

“Do you need anything Miss? Maybe we should take you to the infirmary,” suggested Lucky

“No…actually…” Sunny, with her great swiftness, struck the neck mana point of all three ponies in rapid succession. “I’m feeling better now.”

Hot Head, Lucky, and Amber all fell to the ground, paralyzed from the neck down as they struggled to move. Sunny struck another point at the base of Lucky’s horn, he went cross eyed for a moment and felt a strange dizziness, but it quickly wore off. He prepared to launch a stun spell at the mare, but every time he reached for his magic, his horn wouldn’t light.

“W-W-What did you do to my magic!?” asked Lucky in a panic.

“Don’t worry, the paralysis will wear off on its own in a couple of hours, and as far as you’re concerned, I blocked the mana point which helps facilitate magic flow to your horn, you won’t be able to cast any spells for the same amount time.”

Sunny then whistled. Signaling Starburst to enter from the opposite direction the Guards went down.

“Princess Starburst!” Hot Head exclaimed.

There was a slight look of shame on Starburst’s face, but she couldn’t afford to let that stop her, she needed to retrieve her ring. Ignoring the paralyzed trio, Sunny and Starburst walked up to the door. When Sunny said it was a vault, she did not lie. It was made of steel and had multiple spells cast upon it to keep any unauthorized removals from within. It was also warded to repel all types of physical and magical intrusion.

“What are you doing!? Whatever it is you want from in there, you won’t be able to get it without a unicorn opening it for you,” said Lucky.

“He has a point Star, we can’t get in unless I reconnect his mana flow, and by then he’ll probably knock us out with a spell before we can get that far.”

Starburst knew they were in a bind, so close and yet so far, her companion and weapon were stuck behind this giant vault door and she hadn’t the means to enter, it was times like this Star wished she was born a unicorn. That would’ve solved a few issues growing up with Mom…Wait. Starburst concentrated, reaching out with her mind. Even standing right here, she could feel something calling out to her.

“My ring…”

“Star?”

“I…I think I can get it.”

“Then hurry and try!”

Starburst raised her right hoof and pointed it at the vault door. She closed her eyes and pictured the ring in her mind’s eye, seeing the yellow glow of its light of Fear. Shining like a lone star in the night sky, begging to be noticed. Starburst noticed, and she mentally reached out for the light. She began feeling a tugging sensation, as if she were physically pulling at something, drawing it to her. She reached out further and further until finally, “I got it!”

[Ring Recall Protocol initiated.] A voice echoed from within the vault.

Sunny watched as Starburst continued to keep her foreleg extended, while she held her gaze at the vault door. Suddenly, something ghostly phased through the door. The older mare’s jaw drop as she witnessed Starburst’s ring fly right out of the vault like a specter and zip right to her, fitting itself over her hoof as it became solid.

[Recall complete. Hello Starburst.]

“Hey ring good to see you again. I need a power level check.”

[Power levels are less than 1.5%.]

Starburst winced when she heard the number. “Is there enough to get the power battery?”

[Power levels are sufficient, be warned, after retrieval, power levels will drop to zero once complete. Recommend immediate recharge upon retrieval.]

“Got it.”

“I’ll stand guard at the entrance, hurry and recharge that thing.”

Sunny did just that, keeping an eye on the halls in both directions. Starburst pointed her hoof to an empty corner of the room and prepared to open the pocket dimension to get her power battery.

“You need to stop this Starburst,” said Amber, “before this goes any farther.”

“We’re already past that Amber Lily,” replied Star.

“Princess, you don’t need to do this! Surrender now and I promise you we’ll back you up, we’ll say you were coerced into this, that the ring made you go insane or something.” Lucky appealed.

“That’s not the case, I’m thinking clearly. I’ll defend Equestria, but my way, following my own sense of justice. You can think me a villain if you want, so long as a few know what I’m trying to accomplish and appreciate my efforts, and that my friends will stand by me,” Star looked to Sunny and smiled, “that’s all I can ask.”

“So that’s it!? You’re just going to become a criminal! Do you know how many ponies you’re going to hurt!? Annie, your mom and dad, your little brother, and everypony else who cares about you in Ponyville, do they mean anything to you!”

“……Tell my little brother that I’m sorry, and…and that I love him. And tell my friends I’ll miss them…”

The ring shot out a beam and punched a hole in space, reaching into the void, the yellow lantern power battery floated out of the pocket dimension and landed before Starburst. The rings glow quickly went out, becoming dimmer and dull. Star readied herself, taking one last look at the three ponies who had expressions that spoke, “Don’t do it.”

With a long sigh, Starburst placed her hoof into the portal, “In Blackest Day, In Brightest Night…”

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

I am what I am...

[Power levels at 100%.]

Starburst had finished recharging her ring, and was now donned in her Fear Lantern uniform. The trio below her still looked upon the Princess with combination of disbelief, a little anger, disappointment, and pity. Starburst felt like she should say something to them; reassure the three that she wasn’t doing this because she was acting out, possessed by the ring, or even rebelling to become a criminal. She was doing this to protect them, and all ponies who were losing their lives in this senseless war. But Star could see from the looks in their eyes, any attempt at explanation wouldn’t be sufficient to sway their thinking.

That’s fine…Actions speak louder than words, when the griffons are defeated, and Equestria is safe, it’ll make all this seem like a bad dream. I’ll have to remember to do something for the families of those Guards…

Star shook the depressing thoughts out of her head, she couldn’t afford to dwell on them now, not when she and Sunny still had to escape the castle. The Fear Lantern walked past the paralyzed ponies and met up with Sunny Skies, who smiled confidently seeing the young mare in her full, heroic glory.

“Thanks Sunny, I…”

“Hey, no thanks necessary Star, but, if you’re thinking of a way to repay me, maybe you can allow me a kiss for my troubles,” said Sunny, smirking slyly.

Starburst blushed, “Sunny that’s not funny! I’m being serious here!”

“I know. So am I.”

Star’s blush intensified and she went quiet for a little bit. She then said in a low grumble, “One – and I mean ONE kiss! That’s all, nothing more! You even try something I’ll literally fly you to the moon and leave you there!”

Sunny chuckled, but accepted the terms. “Very well, but I’m not talking about no quick peck on the lips or cheek. Gotta make sure you’re ready for the real thing with that coltfriend of yours.”

“DEL!? I-I – He’s – We just started dating and –!”

“Relax; we’ll worry about that once we get out of here.”

Star tried to calm down, but Sunny was making it hard to do so after making her promise to do something like…that after they were safe and away from danger. “Alright, so, what’s the next part of the plan?”

It was now Sunny’s turn to blush, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “Um…to be honest, this was as far as I got…”

The young pegasus mare’s eye twitched upon hearing that confession. “Let me get this straight…You planned a jailbreak, and a theft, only to not think of an escape plan for it all!!?”

Sunny raised her hooves in a placating manner, “Hey, hey, calm down! I had an idea, I just thought that maybe you could use your rings power to ghost us!”

“‘Ghost us’, what does that mean?” asked Star in confusion.

“You know that thing you do when you pass through walls and become invisible.”

Starburst made an “O” face when she understood the analogy, but she wasn’t sure if she could actually do that. She knew that the Intangibility and EM Distortion functions could do that for her, but Sunny was a different story. And even if she could find a way, those two abilities in tandem drained good portion of the rings energy, and Star believed they’d need every ounce of energy the ring had to get away.

“I’m not sure if I can do that for the both us, and the only other way I could see this working is if I carry you and use the rings abilities then, but my wings would be hindered, and I’d have to rely on levitation, which will also drain the power faster.”

“I could always carry you on my back and then you could use those abilities, you’re, um, ‘petite’ enough that I don’t think you’ll get in the way of using my wings.” Sunny suggested.

Starburst’s deadpan expression conveyed just how much she liked that plan, about as much as having both her wings broken and all her teeth pulled at once. She was not about to be carried around like some helpless filly, when she was unconscious and beaten up or when she burned herself out and collapsed from exhaustion, that’s a different story. But not when she was physically capable of walking and flying was that going to happen.

[Starburst, it is possible to expand the EM Distortion to encompass other objects, or, in this case, subjects.]

Starburst held up her right hoof, bringing the ring close to their level. “You can really do that?”

[Affirmative. However, it is not advised to use both EM Distortion and Intangibility functions at the same time while supporting a second, ring energy will be cut down considerably.]

“Shouldn’t be that much of a problem, we’re a couple of fast flyers. All we need to do is head to a platform and take off from there, no passing through walls or anything.”

Starburst thought it over for a bit. “We’ll have to move fast, after that little performance, they’ll have the whole city on high alert.”

“Then let’s move!”

Starburst and Sunny galloped through the halls of the castle, luckily, undetected, for now. Sunny attributed this to the false direction she gave the Guards, making them think Starburst was escaping via another route. The whole time they ran, Star continually sought to convince Sunny that she didn’t have to come with her, that she could still save her career, Starburst even told her that she could blame her, say she was brainwashed by the power of ring during her stay in Ponyville, and not have to spend all her time on the run with her. And, as always, her response was thus:

“Forget it; you aren’t weaseling your way out of our deal! And besides, there’s no way I’d let you go this alone! We’re a team!”

The mare was stubborn, but nonetheless, Star was appreciative of her loyalty and friendship. She thought that one day in the future they’d look back on this time in their lives, when they were both older and the war was over, and have good laughs over the craziness of this whole situation, and no doubt Sunny would regale others of the embarrassing things she said to her, and all the times she got her to blush.

The pegasus mare duo finally made it to an unoccupied landing pad. Starburst looked to Sunny, and Sunny to Starburst, with a nod of confirmation from both Star’s yellow aura covered her entire body. A thread of yellow light snaked its way towards Sunny, and upon contact, spread itself over her form. In the next second, the EM Distortion field was brought up, making both mares invisible to everyone but themselves.

Star and Sunny spread their wings and galloped towards the platform, flapping as they gained speed for takeoff. Within a few seconds the two of them were airborne, gaining altitude as they climbed higher. Starburst took one last look over her shoulder, to the castle she had called home for so long, and to the ponies who occupied it, family, friends, all would soon be after her, labeled a criminal.

[Alert: Energy field detected.]

Starburst and Sunny flapped their wings hard to stop their movement upon hearing the rings warning, but it wasn’t fast enough, the two of them hit something, hard. The two of them nearly went into free fall if it weren’t for Star’s ring levitating them both. Star looked to see what they had hit. Something rippled in the sky, sending waves out across a vast expanse that seemed to go on, covering the sky around Canterlot Castle.

“What in the blue Tartarus is this!?” asked Sunny, gesturing to the force field.

“A barrier, erected over the castle to keep us from escaping. Guess I’m going to have to use phase us throu –”

Suddenly bolts of magical energy were launched into the air, they whistled like fireworks as they flew higher into the air. Once they had reached a certain altitude the bolts exploded in midair, bathing the area in bright light. At first nothing happened, the two orbs merely illuminated the sky like flares. But it soon it became apparent what their real purpose was.

[Warning: Electromagnetic disturbance, EM Distortion failure.]

Neither mare had time to ask what that meant as the aura field began to lose some of it shimmer, and it didn’t take long before some spot lights were aimed right at them.

“I think we’ve been found out Star!”

At that moment another whistling sound echoed through air, following an explosion of force that nearly sent both Star’s and Sunny’s minds reeling from the strength of the burst. They began to descend quickly as the blasts kept bursting in the air. Star could tell that the blasts weren’t necessarily being aimed at them, more like where they were going. They were being forced to go where they wanted them to.

Star and Sunny finally landed on the polished, ivory stone of the castle grounds, panting and rubbing their heads from the slight headache they were feeling.

“What were those?” asked Star.

“Concussion rounds, they fire condensed air and energy. When the ordinance explodes it sends out a wave of force that buffets the target, both mentally and physically, more for crowd control than for taking out a target. Or in our case, making us go where they want us to,” said Sunny as her gaze narrowed.

Starburst took a look around them; indeed the concussion ordinance forced them to land right in the clear, where a battalion of Royal Guards was waiting for them. Many of the RG’s had bewildered and pensive expressions, as if quarreling with an inner turmoil that they were trying to apprehend a Princess of Equestria. Some looked at Sunny Skies with angry eyes, after the news that the unicorn Royal Guard, Pinpoint, betrayed Equestria and helped the griffons capture High Princess Twilight and Prince Valiant Heart, they were on edge about traitors amongst them.

Star could feel their fear and anxiety feed their slight paranoia. And if she were honest with herself, she was a little paranoid as well.

“That’s enough Star,” said a familiar voice.

Starburst looked in the direction of the voice and scowled. “…Lance.”

The alicorn Prince walked boldly towards them, his eyes locked with Star’s. The area became tense, a thick and heavy layer befalling all those nearby as the two cousins stared each other down.

“You need to stop now Star, before you make things any worse for yourself!”

“How much worse can it get!? You, Mom, Dad, you’ve all pretty much labeled me a murderer! A criminal! How much ‘worse’ can it really get!?” asked Star, her voice carrying a hint of sarcasm.

“……Starburst Senturia Sparkle……By order of the Royal Guard, I’m placing you under arrest. Will you come peacefully, or,” Lance’s horn glowed with magical light, drawing his dual broadswords from their sheaths and readying them for battle, “will I have to take you in by force?”

Despite this whole bad situation, Starburst couldn’t help but a let the sides of her mouth curl up into a grin. “You know, Lance, I’ve always wanted to fight you in a serious bout,” Star’s ring shined, before her materialized two scimitar constructs, “guess now’s as good a time as any.”

“All Guards, stay back,” he ordered.

“Sunny, you need to step back too, way back.” Star suggested.

The sun yellow mare wanted to tell Star that they should get out of there, but with the barrier up, and those cannons aimed at them, their options were limited. At the very least, Starburst fighting her cousin would by her enough time to figure out a way out this mess.

Star and Valiant began circling the other, their blades dragging against the ivory stone, piercing the ground and cutting it as their blades let out a screeching sound of metal against rock. They stopped for a moment and regarded each other. The looks in their eyes was deathly serious, neither one wanted to harm their opponent, but knew that this was an unavoidable fact of battle. Star may be angered by her cousin, but she had no desire to harm him beyond making him submit.

The night air shifted direction in that instant, signaling the start of the fight. Valiant Heart dashed towards Starburst with a speed she hadn’t seen even in their training sessions. She brought both blades to form an X, blocking the first strike, but because of this, Star was unable to block the second sword now barreling towards her. Star’s eyes widened as she saw the sharp blade draw closer, but at the last second, the sword switched to its flat side and smacked up against Starburst’s left side, sending her flying.

Many of the Guards dropped to the ground to avoid her slamming into them. Starburst continued to sail until she impacted against a stone wall, leaving an impression of herself in the wall itself. She grunted in slight annoyance and soreness that she wasn’t able to dodge that attack. Starburst flared her aura as she broke free from the wall and zoomed towards Lance. The alicorn stallion flared his own magical aura and took off into the sky, prompting Star to follow suit.

The a royal blue light and yellow light clashed in the skies above Canterlot Castle, the ringing of blades striking each other sounded through the air and carried further by the acoustics of the mountain range. Starburst had never seen her cousin fight like this, his gaze was more serious, his power and speed were twice that of what she felt during their sessions.

“Did you forget who showed you how to fight with a sword in the first place, Star!?”

Lance went in for a thrust, but Star quickly parried the attack, moving in for a diagonal slash across his armor, just enough to make him feel the power of her strike rather than to pierce his armor. But Lance was ready for that, his horn flashed and in an instant he appeared behind Starburst just as she swung her sword, cutting nothing. Starburst whirled around, using the same style of fighting she used with Shadow Wing and Steel Wing, combing her dancing and fighting skills into a new form of fighting style.

Starburst twirled around, her swords dancing with her, blocking several strikes from Lance’s swords. The alicorn stallion was caught off guard by the change in his cousin’s fighting style, she dodged his attacks with such fluidity that he thought he was fighting air. Starburst managed to get in close, holding off his blades with her own; she cocked back her right hoof, energized it, and punched Lance right in his chest plate. The ring released a small burst of energy, sending Lance flying into one of the nearby castle towers.

“You may’ve taught me, but I’ve learned a few new things since then!”

A light shined from beneath the rubble of the ruined tower, and just as quickly, a beam of magical energy shot forth from the beneath the debris. Starburst surrounded herself in a bubble of yellow light as the beam smashed against her shield. The bubble cracked here and there, but Starburst wasn’t about to give up. Concentrating, she powered up the bubble and turned it into a beam of yellow energy that clashed against Lance’s beam, pushing it back.

The pegasus mare and alicorn stallion were locked in a clashing of beams, one pouring their energy into their attack to overwhelm their opponent, sparks of royal blue and yellow light shot off in different directions at the meeting point of their two attacks, roaring and churning from the conflicting powers, sending out pulsing, thunderous waves with each pounding of the beams.

Down below, however, the Royal Guards and Sunny Skies watched the fighting as it continued up above, in sheer awe of the Prince and Princesses’ powers. Sunny could tell that Starburst had really gotten better at combat thanks to her past battles, but Captain Valiant Heart, despite not having a ring like Star, was able to match her. There was a slight twinge of fear that Starburst could lose to Valiant Heart, he did teach the mare everything she knew of combat, and from what she had told her, Starburst hasn’t yet seen what her cousin was capable of when he got serious.

The only thing good about this fight is that neither of them are trying to kill each other, but still…Star still lacks the experience needed to best her cousin, and magic already has an adverse effect on her powers.

The two beams could not withstand it any longer, the center exploded, sending waves of royal blue and yellow light in all directions. The shockwave alone was strong enough to knock many ponies on their rumps or flat on their backs. Sunny had a good view from her new position on the ground, watching as Starburst created a hydra construct around her body. The nine headed monster hissed and roared at Valiant Heart as their eighteen eyes gazed upon the Captain of the Guard.

Four of the nine heads all lashed out, striking the area where Valiant Heart was standing. Each head collided with the tower, sending up a puff of dust with each impact. A cloud settled over the area, obscuring the hydra heads and Valiant Heart. After ten seconds of waiting, a flash of royal blue light appeared behind the four heads. They were about to attack again, but Valiant Heart got to them first. With blinding speed, the four heads were sliced to pieces in the wake of multiple royal blue light slashes.

Valiant Heart brought the weapons he used to do the deed. A pair of swords made of pure magical energy, the blue light lapped off the blades like fire, making his intense eyes shine with a greater intensity. Sunny could see it from here, Star was caught surprised once again, her expression made that clear enough. Valiant Heart’s Mana Blades were his signature weapons, but he only ever used them when he got serious in battle, and right now, Sunny could tell that the fight was going to get more intense.

Still, this did not deter Starburst; the two cousins went at each other once again. The sky erupting into thunderous booms with each impact of their attacks, it was either out of pure curiosity or awestruck for the battle that the Royal Guards didn’t want to arrest Sunny or pay her any mind. She certainly wasn’t complaining, but there was one thing that unsettled her about what one of Guards was talking about with one of the lower ranked Guards.

“The Captain is holding his own, even against the Fear Lantern!” The Private said.

“So…what can we do, we’re not exactly at their level, not by a long shot!”

I don’t like where this is going…

“………Contact one of the closest cannon turrets, tell them to load a…lethal round and prepare to fire it.”

Sunny’s eyes went wide and watched as the Private pull out a CommCrystal, she then rushed towards the young earth pony but was quickly blocked by a few pegasus and unicorn RGs.

“Are you insane?! That’s Princess Starburst, daughter of High Princess Twilight Sparkle and High Prince Flash Sentry, and you’re going to kill her!”

“Shut up traitor…We’re not going to kill her. Private, once they’re loaded, tell ‘em they are only to cripple her, aim for her wings.”

“You bastards!”

Sunny’s eyes quickly scanned the castle towers, looking for the hidden turret the Guards had contacted. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunny saw movement from one of the towers, a cannon muzzle pointed up, rotating around to find the perfect firing angle. Sunny looked to the turret, and then to the quarreling ponies above her, if she made a Beeline for the turret, the Guards would surely stop her, but…there was a second option.

Starburst was panting hard, never before in their many training sessions, and sparring matches had Valiant Heart fought her with such resolve and intensity, it was almost overwhelming. She knew her cousin was a gifted fighter, but not to this degree, it slightly angered her that he was holding back during their sparring matches. Now she contemplated how many of those matches she supposedly “won” were just given to her. But that was the past, and this, this was the present.

Magic had certainly seemed to be a bit of a problem with her constructs, not being a unicorn like Anthea, or an alicorn like her mother or Lance, Starburst had no real way to counter magic attacks, other than to overpower them with her spirit and strength, but even that was wearing thin, it took a little more effort to use her constructs and to maintain them due to their fragility against the mystical might her cousin, and others like Shadow Wing, wielded.

Now the two were hovering in the air, sizing the other up as they chose the best way to fight. Starburst had a claymore sword construct grasped in the crook of her hooves, while Lance still wielded his dual Mana Blades. She noticed that the stallion had a slight smirk on his face, whether it was out of superiority or, maybe, genuine respect for her fighting skills, she did not know. She hoped for the latter rather than the former.

“You really have gotten stronger Star,” said Lance.

“Thanks, I didn’t know you were this strong,” said Star.

“I meant it though, you really would’ve been a great Royal Guard, and you would’ve been my second-in-command in no time, and later, Captain when I decided to retire. I looked forward to the day I could mentor you through the Academy…”

Starburst lowered her sword a bit and sighed deeply, “You really suck Lance…I could’ve used you that day…If you were there…Maybe…Maybe none of this would be happening.”

Lance looked saddened, even more so than he did earlier in the dungeon cell. “I know…Star, please just surrender…I admit it, I wasn’t there when you needed me, and I’ve made all the wrong choices up till now, but let me make up for it now! I’ll do whatever it takes to help you; I’ll fight for you Star! I swear it!”

Star looked at her cousin, gazing at his shimmering eyes, seeing within them the determination and conviction of his words. The young mare felt the grip on her construct sword loosening, at the same time she saw that Lance’s swords were lowering as well, not into an attack position, but much the same way as hers was. Star decided to take a chance, she released the construct, and to her surprise, Lance released his Mana Blades. He was sincere.

“Lance… I… I …”

“It’s alright Star, I mean it. I’ll help you.”

“STAR LOOK OUT!!!”

Everything happened in slow motion for Starburst. There was the distinct sound of cannon fire, the distressed voice of Sunny screaming at her, the surprised look on Lance’s face, she watched it all as it began to change and gradually speed as if somepony were playing with some film reel. Starburst watched as bright light formed behind Lance, but before she could inquire what it was, Sunny Skies appeared before her.

“Sunny what are you –!?”

“I’m sorry…!”

Sunny grabbed hold of Starburst and threw her off to her right, catching the Fear Lantern off guard by the action. From the angle she was now at, Starburst watched as a bright, light-blue beam shot passed Lance, startling him as he moved to evade the attack. That same beam continued to sail, heading right towards…

“SUNNY!!!”

The beam pierced through the mare’s chest, she stiffened in midair, her wings locked up. There wasn’t even a scream of pain as the beam sailed on and eventually dispersed into particles. Starburst, and even Lance, stared at the sight before them. Sunny then began to fall from the sky, Starburst immediately shot towards her friend, catching her in a bubble of yellow light and joining her inside of it. Starburst gasped upon seeing the wound, it had burned all the way through her, blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. Star’s vision became blurry as panic and tears started to build up.

“Sunny! Oh, Faust, please stay awake, stay with me, c’mon!”

The sun yellow pegasus mare coughed, making more blood spill from her mouth, she lazily looked up at Star and gave her usual smirk.

“Well…that hurt…”

Starburst didn’t know what to do, her mind quickly remembered that her ring could heal wounds, minor, but maybe it would be enough! She then pointed her ring at Sunny, “Ring, heal her wounds!”

[Unable to fulfill request.]

“THIS ISN’T A REQUEST, THIS IS AN ORDER! HEAL HER!!!”

[The light of Fear is not a healing light. My functions only allow me to heal minor wounds to my bearer.]

“Dammit!!!” Starburst cursed.

“It’s alright…”

“No it’s not! Sunny I’m taking you to the hospital, now!”

Sunny raised a shaky right hoof to Starburst’s chest, making the Fear Lantern pause. “It won’t don’t any good… By the time you get me there…I’ll be dead…I got about a few more –” Sunny coughed up a little more blood, “seconds, before I…”

Starburst brought Sunny close to her, squeezing tightly as if thinking this would keep her from slipping away. “No! No you won’t die! We…We survived Stalliongrad, fought through that Tartarus together! I need you…You’re the only one who…Who believes in me!”

The soldier mare chuckled lightly, “I do Star…But now, you have to believe in yourself. Believe in the Starburst, that I do………Can I ask you one last thing…?”

Starburst separated herself from Sunny a little, looking down at her comrade. “Anything…”

“Since…Since it looks like I won’t b-be able to collect on that payment…Can I…” Sunny closed her eyes, a slight feeling of shame befalling her, “Forget it….”

Starburst put her hoof on Sunny’s cheek, making the mare open her eyes and look up at the young mare. A sad smile was on her face, but it was one that spoke the answer to her question. Star leaned down, closing her eyes slowly, prepared to give her friend this…last show of her gratitude and friendship.

[Life signs: Zero…]

The young mare opened her eyes, seeing Sunny’s eyes closed and a content smile on her face. “No…Hey, c’mon Sunny… I-I haven’t even kissed you yet…You can’t zonk out on me now, this is embarrassing enough as it is…Sunny…? Sunny…? SUNNY!!?”

The bubble landed on the ground, disappearing into particles of yellow light. Star hadn’t even noticed, she just continued to stare at the lifeless body of the only pony who risked it all because she believed in her, and now she was gone. Star held Sunny’s body close to her, sobbing loudly, not caring in the slightest that Royal Guards, or anypony else for that matter, saw her.

Lance flew down and landed with a thud, shaking the ground slightly. He then looked angrily to all his Guards, staring daggers into each and every one of them. “Who gave the order to fire?! I didn’t authorize any use of the cannons!”

“Sir, we were just –”

“QUIET!” Lance ordered in harsh tone.

Suddenly, something snapped in Starburst, anger, cold fury, it all welled up inside her, flowing through her body. The ring shined with intense yellow light as her body glowed with a fiery yellow aura.

“You crush my dreams…” Star laid her friend’s body down gently as she spoke, her tone cold and menacing, “Then my family turns its back on me…” The aura grew stronger, the ring building with power. “I save countless lives and for my trouble I am labeled a criminal by those I trust and love…!” The wind kicked up as Starburst’s power began to grow even stronger, “But when I find something that gives me purpose and hope, you and my mother want to take it away from me! And now, when I find somepony who truly believes in me, and calls me friend, you kill her!”

“Star that was an accident! I didn’t order that!”

“You’re all liars…and you’re all weak!” Starburst’s eyes were no longer the shade of magenta they once were, but were now a bright yellow, filled with the power of her ring. With a wave of her right hoof, Starburst created a shockwave that slammed against all the Guards, sending them flying like ragdolls into the walls and through some windows. Starburst then looked over her shoulder, to the turret that killed her friend.

“Star don’t!”

The Fear Lantern pointed her ring hoof at the turret and fired a single beam. The structure exploded into a shower of stone and fire, but not a moment later, that same turret exploded a second time, detonating from the ordinance that was stored within it. Starburst stared at Valiant Heart, her body silhouetted against the burning fire of the turret.

“You don’t have what it takes to defend Equestria, Valiant Heart, nor does my mother…None of you do.”

Valiant Heart recreated his blades and dashed towards Starburst. She evaded his first strike, but it was only a feint for the real one from the left blade. Starburst’s eyes shifted in the same direction and in that instant arched her back, letting the blade pass over her. Valiant then went into a flurry of slashes, but Star moved with such grace and speed that it baffled the alicorn stallion. An after image started to appear in her wake, making Valiant either over or under calculate where he was to land his blows. It disturbed Valiant Heart, seeing how drastically her fighting style changed, and even more so with the change in her eye color.

Just then, Starburst created a claw construct around her right hoof and thrust it forward, grabbing Valiant Heart by the throat and hoisting him up. Star began to apply pressure, but before she could do anything, Valiant Heart’s Mana Blades cut the construct arm off, making Star back away, taking to the air once again. Her body shined brighter, illuminating the darkness of the night. Starburst flared her giant wings as the yellow light coalesced around them, in the blink of an eye her wings became pure light energy, letting out sparkling particles of the golden light. Star brought her hooves before her, and to them formed a sword unlike the others she had created.

Its guard was oblong shaped, and had the insignia of the Fear Lantern Corps upon it, the blade was single edged like a Neighponese katana, but the edge blazed with yellow energy. Starburst then took an attack stance and with a flap of her energized wings and took off! An after image was forming in her wake with each movement, her eyes still shining as she headed straight for Valiant Heart.

The alicorn stallion met her in the air, their blades clashing. Starburst brought down her sword for an overhead strike, but it was quickly parried by Valiant Heart’s left sword, allowing him to lead with a thrust from his right blade. Star wasn’t one to be caught off guard by the same trick twice. She quickly created a shield around her left foreleg and brought it up to block the magical blade. Sparks flew as the two grinded against each other, letting Valiant and Star slide past each other.

Valiant Heart took advantage of Star’s recovery, bringing one of his Mana Blades up and slashing it towards her. But Starburst was quicker than he anticipated, using the same incredible speed to dodge the attack. To her left hoof, she formed an orb of concentrated yellow light; she then struck the Mana Blade with the orb and detonated it. The resulting explosion disrupted the flow of mana to the magically constructed weapon, causing it to disperse. Starburst then raised her sword, charging it with her yellow light of Fear. Golden particles of light flew towards the blade, setting it ablaze.

Starburst then slashed in a wide arc, unleashing a powerful crescent wave of light right at Valiant Heart. The Guard Captain formed a shield bubble around himself, just in time for the wave to impact against it. The power and force of the attack was stronger than he had imagined, it was literally pushing him back. Valiant was about to attempt a teleportation spell, but stopped when a second wave crossed over the first, forming a glowing yellow X. The two attacks together doubled the strain on the shield, causing it shatter, and leaving Valiant Heart to take the brunt of the wave.

The X shaped blast sent him straight into the ground, causing yet another explosion when they hit. A crater was formed in the same shape was the two arc waves, Valiant Heart was at the center, groaning in pain as he rose up slowly. In the blink of an eye, Starburst had reappeared before him, the blade of her katana only mere inches away from his throat. The alicorn stallion tensed, becoming perfectly still.

“Do you understand now, cousin? This is the resolve that is needed to defeat the Griffon Empire, something that our Royal Family lacks. All of you showed me that I can’t rely on help from anypony, not the family I trusted and loved, and not the Royal Guard I admired and respected.”

“Star you don’t –!”

Starburst then removed her blade from his neck, spun, and back hoofed Valiant in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Star pointed her blade at him again, showing that this wasn’t a request. Cupping his now throbbing cheek, Valiant Heart looked upon his cousin. Her expression was calm, but her eyes held a fury behind them the blazed like the light that now shined within them.

“This is what you and our family have made me into, what I’ve had to become to realize what I am meant to do, so thank you.” Starburst then looked to the body of her dead friend and comrade, floating in protective sphere of yellow light. “Give Sunny Skies a proper burial, full honors, am I clear?”

Valiant Heart nodded.

“Good…”

Star’s katana lowered, she then began to rise up into the air, taking one last look at Sunny Skies. The katana faded away as her aura wrapped around herself, and in a matter of seconds, she disappeared from sight. Not even Valiant could sense her.

One of the Royal Guards, having picked himself up from the earlier assault, made his way to his Captain. “Sir, do we pursue? Send out a search party?”

Valiant Heart took one last look into the sky, and, with a heavy sigh, he spoke, “No…start helping the others get back on their hooves and…” The alicorn stallion looked to the body of Sunny Skies, “……And get a coroner down here, I want Lieutenant Sunny Skies’ body handled with care, and that’s an order!”

The Guard saluted and went off to do just that. Valiant Heart walked over to Sunny’s body. He then used his magic to maneuver her forelegs so that her front hooves rested upon her chest. He then cast a spell over her body that would keep it from being harmed by anything until she was moved to the morgue. The alicorn stallion looked upon the mare, her content smile, it haunted him.

“Rest in peace, Lieutenant Sunny Skies…”

Author's Note

To Be Continued…

Proofread by: joeSFX

Blood and Shadow, Fear and Light

A day had passed since Starburst’s departure and Sunny Skie’s death. It was a somber, solemn time. Spitfire and Fleetfoot had come to see the body of their only daughter, Rainbow Dash and Soarin, along with Prism Bolt and his little brother Icy Storm accompanied them to Canterlot Castle. The six pegasi trotted through a hall to a room with stained glass windows, each of the windows depicted several different ponies, soldiers from the past captured in a moment of their most noble or historic deed. Not a word was spoken as they walked down the velvet carpet to the other end, where a white oak coffin stood.

Lance was at the other end near the casket; his face was bruised, but somewhat neutral. Most likely he had steeled himself for what was coming. He looked up to the approaching pegasi and stood at attention.

“Miss Spitfire…Miss Fleetfoot. Mrs. Rainbow Dash, Mr. Soarin…Prism, Icy.” Lance nodded to each pony as he spoke their name, looking at them directly.

The coffin was closed as per the protocol. It was only to be opened upon request of the immediate family. Spitfire and Fleetfoot took shaky breaths and gave the Guard Captain the go ahead to open the casket. Lance sighed heavily, lighting his horn and lifting up the upper part of the coffin.

It wasn’t a pretty sight. The two mothers broke down into tears upon the sight of their daughter lying pale in the coffin. Prism Bolt saw this as well, remembering Sunny from the few times their families got together, Icy was the same, he hadn’t known her as long as Prism, but it was still a sad sight to see death, especially two tough mares like Spitfire and Fleetfoot cry so hard.

Prism noticed, probably before his parents and the grieving mothers, that the mare had a smile on her face. The dark blue stallion didn’t know what to make of it, was she happy that she died, or was she happy about something else? He then noticed Lance nudge his head forward, catching onto Prism’s curiosity and indicating that they needed to talk separately. Prism was able to excuse himself from the group and left to talk to Lance. The two stallions walked until they were out of the room, the echoing sobs of the two pegasus mares could still be heard even from their distance.

Once alone, Prism gave the alicorn stallion a slight glare. “Let’s just make this clear, don’t BS me, alright?”

“Say what?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but Starburst feels like she’s at the center of this, even her death. I don’t believe for a second that this was some accident,” said Prism with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Lance’s gaze was downcast as he remembered the events of last night. “It was…and it wasn’t…Believe me when I say that the one who were responsible got the asskicking of a lifetime!”

Prism noted the amount of anger in his voice; he was just as sore about Sunny’s death as he was. “So, what’s happening with Starburst? Something tells me she ain’t here anymore.”

The alicorn stallion thought it over, it wouldn’t be hard to lie to Prism Bolt, he wasn’t always the sharpest tool in the shed, but sometimes he surprised you and others with how he could grasp a situation. So, reluctantly, Lance spilled about what happened last night, it was painful recalling every event, especially with how close he came to convincing Star to stay with them and his promise to fight for her. In the end, it was all shattered by some overzealous idiots. Lance would’ve banished them to the surface of the sun if he could, but instead he settled for insubordination and the indirect mareslaughter of a fellow Royal Guard.

Once Lance was done he waited for Prism’s response. He gave it in the form of a swift punch to the jaw, in the same spot that Star had hit previously, sending the alicorn stallion sprawling to the ground from the cheap shot. Lance growled in anger and pain from the returning soreness. “What the hay Prism!?”

“Believe me, that’s less than you deserve you plothole! I can’t believe you and her mom, High Princess Twilight of all ponies, went and did that!!!” Prism shouted in anger.

Lance slowly rose to his hooves and shot the pegasus stallion a glare of his own. “I thought I had no choice Bolt! She was putting herself in danger, and using a weapon with unknown magic to do so!”

“She used it to help your sorry asses! And you put her in a dungeon for it! Tell me, are you jealous of her or are you just that pathetic!”

That tore it, Lance launched himself at the arrogant, loud mouthed pegasus and the two started to roll on the floor, punching and kicking as they did so. Prism bucked Lance off of him and shot back up to his hooves, snorting as he stared down the alicorn stallion. Lance recovered quickly and zoomed right for Prism again.

“You have no idea how I feel about Star! I care about her, I want her to succeed! She’s my family dammit!”

Lance thrust his right hoof forward for a punch, but, utilizing his quickness; Prism dodged the attack and launched himself at Lance. The resulting tackle smashed the Guard Captain into the wall. Prism was about to throw another punch when Lance’s horn flared, catching the punch and tossing him against the opposite wall.

“And you show how much you care by taking away the one thing she wanted more than anything! Her life’s goal, her dream! As far as I’m concerned she let you off light last night! Can’t say I would’ve done any better! She’s practically a freakin’ saint!” Prism shouted.
The two stallions dragged themselves up off the floor, huffing and staring at each other through narrowed eyes.

“What would you have done in my position then?! Oh why am I even having this conversation with you?! You don’t even take anything seriously, so why does this ruffle your feathers!” Lance yelled.

Prism snorted in indignation, “Because one of my friends is labeled a criminal, is hurting because the pony who risked everything for her is dead, the guy she was dating back home is worried about her, along all her other friends, that’s why I’m taking this seriously!”

“Says the pegasus who was rejected by the Wonderbolts.”

“BUCK YOU!!!”

Prism dashed for Lance, the alicorn stallion lit up his horn to tried and take hold of him in a telekinetic aura. But Prism’s quickness and sharp turns made it hard for Lance to accurately focus on him when the pegasus kept zigzagging all over the place. Before he knew it, Prism landed one punch across his left cheek and another across his right, sending a bit of blood flying into the air. Prism then brought up his forelegs and used them as a battering ram, slamming into Lance’s chest as he propelled himself with his wings. The dark blue stallion brought his left foreleg higher, pinning Lance by the neck as he glared daggers at him from his intense green eyes.

“PRISM BOLT!!!” Both stallions turned to the sound of the familiar voice. Rainbow Dash was standing in the middle of the hallway, her gaze furious as she looked at the injured stallions. “Let him go Priz.”

“Mom, he –!”

“I SAID LET HIM GO, NOW!” Rainbow ordered.

Reluctantly, Prism released Lance, letting him fall to his haunches as he coughed a bit. Rainbow Dash then trotted up to Lance, offering him a hoof up. She then stood before her son and stared him in the eye. There were few things that could make Prism feel small and fearful, one was definitely Claire, another was Star when she flared her wings and used her special talent, and the third, his mother’s gaze.

“Mom…I’m sor –”

Before Prism could finish Rainbow Dash slapped her son across the face, making him stare wide eyed at her. “We’re here to support our friends who just lost their only child, and you decide to pick a fight while their crying their eyes out not fifty feet from you?!” The pegasus stallion stayed silent. “Now go back in there and pay your respects to Sunny, and tell her you’re sorry while you’re at it!”

Prism Bolt didn’t say a word; he took one last look at Lance, snorted, and then proceeded to head to the room where the family was grieving. Rainbow Dash stood there, breathing in slowly to calm herself down as well. Lance got back onto his hooves and looked over to Rainbow Dash sadly.

“Mrs. Dash, it’s not entirely his fault…”

“Don’t even get me started with you, Valiant Heart. I heard every word you said to Prism.” Dash noticed the surprised look on Lance’s face. “I didn’t buy that malarkey that the Guards told Spitfire and Fleetfoot, but I pretended to, because I planned on asking Twi about it when I got the chance, but now that I know what I know…” Rainbow Dash growled frustratingly.

“You’re…You’re not going to tell them…are you?”

“I should, I should tell them how their daughter died! How she protected one of my friend’s kids who saved my life and Spitfire’s and all of Cloudsdale! I should, but…they’ve been through enough…I’d kick your ass too, but I think you got enough of a beat down from Star and Prism, I’ll chew out Twi later…”

Rainbow Dash turned away from Lance, her tail snapping like a whip in a sort of warning. Valiant Heart didn’t think he could feel any worse than he already did, but he was wrong, unfortunately…

Two Days Later…

Starburst cried all the tears she had left during the last couple of days, she had mourned the loss of a friend, an ally, a comrade, and now she was going to pay her respects. Star had gone into hiding after that night; taking refuge in the one place nopony would look for her, the Everfree Forest. She stayed close to Ponyville, hearing the rumors being spread throughout the town of Starburst’s unknown whereabouts, and as well as the funeral that was going to be held in Cloudsdale for the fallen Royal Guard Lieutenant, Sunny Skies.
The Fear Lantern flew to the floating city and stopped when she saw the procession flying by. Spitfire and Fleetfoot, Sunny’s mothers, were at the head of the group, looking so defeated and downtrodden; it hurt Star to see them in such a state.

It’s all my fault…I’m so sorry…

Starburst also saw that Rainbow Dash and Soarin were there as well, along with Prism and Icy. There were also dozens of Wonderbolts, both current and former members, along with them were lines of Royal Guard pegasi. Further ahead was High Princess Celestia leading the procession, while four RG pegasus stallions served as the pallbearers for the coffin. Starburst choked up upon seeing it, but kept silent.

She followed the procession to a special graveyard for pegasi. Star learned this as part of her heritage when she was twelve years old. The Pegasus Tribe lived primarily in the air, so they had nowhere to bury their dead like unicorns and earth ponies. Because of this, they adopted a system of cremation, collecting the ashes and placing them in an urn to keep or to place within a special family mausoleum. It wasn’t until a few hundred years later that they discovered another way to deal with their dead. They used winter storm clouds to create a hard coffin made of solid ice. Not only would it preserve the body, but it would also allow the family to visit them.

They wouldn’t cremate her, not after what Spitfire and Fleetfoot had to go through to conceive Sunny. Most likely they’ll put her on ice…cremating her would be like saying she never existed…

Starburst continued to follow the procession into Cloudsdale. There were more Wonderbolts standing by, they were dressed in their usual uniform, but each was wearing a black band on their right forelegs. The orange pegasus looked up as they started to fly overhead, she had to admit, Celestia must’ve gone out of her way to make sure that this day was particularly bright, clear, vibrant, and sunny. No doubt it was in homage to Sunny Skies’ namesake.

Something had caught her eye that she didn’t notice earlier, Valiant Heart was there. At first Star scowled in anger, wondering where he got the audacity to show his face at Sunny’s funeral. If it weren’t for the fact that she was in hiding, Star would throw the stallion out of the funeral right now. But she could tell by the look on his face that it was guilt ridden and sad. As much as she wanted to blame him for her death, in the back of her head, she knew it wasn’t his fault, but that still didn’t erase everything else.

The funeral procession continued on till they reached the graveyard, or what counted as a graveyard by pegasus standards. Starburst perched herself on top of a mausoleum, looking and listening as Celestia gave a eulogy for Sunny, highlighting her many accomplishments over her years of service, it honestly surprised Star to hear of her contributions to the Royal Guard, she was sure there was more since Sunny also doubled as an agent of the EBE, but those were probably top secret and need-to-know kinds of things.

After Celestia finished, Sunny’s parents were next, saying how on the day of her birth there was a storm going on, when she arrived on Equus, the sun shined and skies cleared. Which is where they got her name, and, it was also alluding to how Sunny made them feel, happy and filled with joy. After a few of Sunny’s friends and other family members said their peace, Celestia stepped forth and opened the coffin, her body had a preservation spell cast upon it, to keep it from decaying until they could fully perform the ceremony. The Ceremonial Weather Ponies brought in the specially created clouds, floating them over a designated pedestal slab where Sunny would rest. Once Celestia placed her there, the pegasi working the clouds gave them a swift kick with their hind legs, unleashing an icy flurry upon Sunny’s body. It didn’t last more than twenty seconds before they stopped.

Sunny’s body was now encased in a block of ice, normally, a team of pegasi would sculpt the ice into something smaller and refined, however, Celestia announced that she would do it personally. With a flare of her horn, the alicorn mare’s magic sliced and chiseled the ice down till it was smaller and etched with intricate designs that best represented the fallen soldier mare. Celestia stood aside and let Spitfire and Fleetfoot inspect her work, they approved and thanked the High Princess.

From there, many ponies departed to attend the wake. Some stayed behind to pay their respects to Sunny. Once she was sure they were all gone, Star flew down to the pedestal slab, and landed softly on the hardened cloud and took a shaky breath. She was just as she left her, with that same smile on her face; it made the reality of her death all the more painful. Starburst rested her hoof on the ice, not minding the cold; she had to stifle her own whimpers lest she be found out.

I’m sorry Sunny…You didn’t deserve this! You deserve to be with your mothers…! Dammit…!

Just then Star heard the sound of approaching hoofstesps. She quickly turned around and saw Prism Bolt walking towards her. Starburst quickly moved away, not wanting to make him alert to her presence, but still remained close to Sunny’s resting place. The young mare watched as Prism looked upon the frozen casket, his face scrunched in anger.

“Sunny…I wish I knew you better…hung out more, something. You’re the second mare I know who went maverick and tried to be something else other than what others thought you would or should be…Despite being raised by two Wonderbolts, you decided to become a Royal Guard, I doubt they were happy with that…”

Starburst thought she should leave, this was Prism’s private talk with Sunny and she wasn’t one to eavesdrop.

“And then there’s Starburst…” The young pegasus mare stopped upon hearing her name. “Talk about a legacy to live up to…Her uncle and father were decorated Royal Guards and High Princes, her mother, a student of Celestia, and ascended alicorn, and an Element of Harmony like my mom, and an aunt who’s also the High Princess of the Crystal Empire. She could’ve followed in her mother’s hoofsteps, learned how to become a good ruler or something…But I don’t see Star sitting on a throne all day and listening to nobles whine, if anything she’d punch them out.”

Starburst couldn’t help but giggle inwardly, she would do it too, and nearly had a few times in the past.

“Both of you chose to go and pursue something that made you, well, you. And what have I done…?” Prism’s gaze turned downcast. “When I couldn’t make it into the Wonderbolts, I could tell how disappointed my mom and dad were. They’ll never say it out loud, and that’s fine, I don’t need to be a part of the Wonderbolts! The truth is Sunny, I admired Star for doing what she wanted, and giving everything she had and pushing herself to the limit and beyond…I guess…I sorta admired that about Star…maybe even liked…y’know?”

Starburst felt her heart beat faster and her face heat up. Was Prism Bolt actually confessing that he…had a crush on her? The young mare shook her head furiously and slapped her face a few times to disperse the blood that was filling her cheeks. Don’t think that way Star, remember, you and Del, you and Del! Although…his eyes are still cool…Ugh!

“I may not be going anywhere with my life, but I know what I’m going to do. I’m not going to just sit back and watch as one my friend fights in this war alone! I’m joining the Royal Guard!” Prism proclaimed.

WHAT!!?

“I’ll fight twice as hard for you Sunny, and watch out for Star if I find her. And fight three times as hard for Star, wherever she is…” Prism gave a slight bow of his head before saying, “Goodbye Sunny.”

Starburst watched as the pegasus stallion took off into the air, leaving her alone with Sunny. The orange pegasus mare could hardly believe what she was hearing, Prism was going to join the Guard because of Sunny and her, the laziest stallion she had ever met was going to fight to protect Equestria. Star had to sit for a moment to let the reality of this situation sink in. And as it did, it made Starburst dread. The images of Prism dying by the claws of the griffons, and the eventual sorrowful faces of his parents and brother…Star looked to Sunny for a moment, her face slowly started to morph from worried, to angry, and then determined.

“I won’t let another friend die in this pointless war!” Starburst rose to her hooves and placed her right forehoof on the ice. “I promise you Sunny, you will be the last friend I lose to this war. It’s time to bring justice to the Griffon Empire…” Star’s eyes shined with the yellow light of Fear. “Once and for all…!”

The Capital of the Griffon Empire, Griffonia…

Starburst stood upon some clouds that were drifting over the capital, she looked down upon the city that was the center of the Griffon Empire, watching as the inhabitants went about their day, like a hawk keeping close watch over its prey. It sickened her, watching so many of the griffons go about their day as if nothing was happening, as if the brutality of their actions was the furthest thing from their minds. Families playing, friends hanging out, all of it reminded her of Canterlot, but at the same time, she hated the sight.

“Murder, violation, torture, all these atrocities are taking place at this moment and they don’t give a damn about any of it!” Star grumbled under her breath.

Star had made her way to the Griffon Empire at great speed a little after Sunny’s funeral. When she arrived she waited, watching, biding her time until the right time to strike arrived. While she waited, Star planned her attack route, it was easy, the entire capital was carved into a mountain, with different parts jutting out like platforms leading up to the highest point, the palace of Emperor Stratus. She thought it so arrogant, his palace set atop all else, Star was more than happy to bring his place of power crashing down around his ears. But she couldn’t get wrapped up in the anger, no; anger would not serve her well. This was not vengeance, she reminded herself. This was punishment. A sentence brought down upon by one chosen by a cosmic power to do so.

“I’m sorry mom, but this day, I am judge, jury, and executioner.”

Starburst continued to watch and wait. Celestia’s sun started to set on the horizon, bathing the city in twilight, and making way for the full moon. The stars came out and made this night truly beautiful, honestly Star couldn’t have asked for a better backdrop to this moment.

“Ring, can you hear me?”

[I can, Starburst.]

“What happens if I die…well, what happens to you?”

[As per my programming, if you were to die then I would immediately begin searching for another who is worthy of wielding the yellow light of Fear. Why do you ask?]

“This might be our last fight…We may’ve beaten Steel Wing, but Shadow Wing is still alive, along with two other Wing Commanders. I haven’t a clue if they’re in there, but if they are…I want you to know that you’ve changed my life, despite all that’s happened, I don’t regret taking on the mantle of a Fear Lantern, and having you as a partner.”

[Starburst of Equestria…thank you.]

Starburst pointed her ring and fired a beam from it, tearing a hole open in space and dragging out her power battery. Starburst took the lantern into her left hoof, she then stood on her hind legs and leaned back, letting gravity take hold. She leaned back more and more till she fell off the cloud. The wind roared in her ears as she continued her free fall, there was something different about this moment, more liberating, freer. Star knew she may be facing certain death by doing this, but that didn’t frighten her, this feeling wasn’t fear, but excitement. It was reassuring to know that even if she were to fall here, there might yet still be hope for Equestria.

Starburst brought her ring to the open portal and the lantern shined like a star in the night sky, causing the citizens below to look up in wonder of what the light was. The power of the yellow light of Fear coursed through Starburst, energizing every molecule, every cell of her young body.

Star was then enveloped in a torrent of golden light, swirling about her as her armor appeared over her body. The golden star continued to descend further and further down towards the city. Many of the citizens still watched, but now they were being filled with a sense of impending doom the longer they looked at it. At last, Starburst made landfall, striking the ground with such force that it sent a shockwave in all directions, shattering window, damaging a few buildings, and throwing a few of the citizens, both in the air and on the ground, in almost every direction.

Griffon soldiers were immediately called to investigate the incident, hovering around the crater, waiting for the dust cloud to settle. They didn’t have to wait long as the cloud was quickly dispatched by the powerful aura of the Fear Lantern. The soldiers immediately recognized the armor clad mare and dove to attack her. Star didn’t move from where she stood, but her ring shined, reacting to her mental commands. The aura surrounding her began to lash out, changing into thorny vines the struck with the speed of a cobra.

One griffon tried to outrun the tendril, but the vine wrapped around him and extended its thorns, piercing the griffon soldier from every angle and made the vine drip with blood. Another tried to slash at it, but the vine weaved in and around his attacks and struck the griffon through the heart. Star could sense it, they were afraid, and the ring’s light shined even brighter because of it. There were five remaining soldiers and Star handled them personally. She flared her wings, energizing them with yellow light. With a light flap, Starburst was airborne, with shimmering sparkles and golden feathers left in her wake.

Star summoned her katana to her hooves and began slashing at a rapid pace, becoming a blur of yellow light as she cut down one griffon after the other. When she finished, Star reappeared before the full moon, wings still aglow. Star then flicked the droplets of blood from her blade and at that moment, all five griffons burst apart in a shower of blood a limbs. Star looked over her shoulder and saw the fear and terror in the eyes of the civilians as they witnessed her slaughter.

Starburst then raised her ring hoof into the air, “I call forth the fiercest of the night constellations, Ursa Major!” Star’s ring fired a single beam into the air; it then traced the outline of the constellation she spoke of. The outline then took form, filling in to become the dreaded giant bear creature. The construct landed on the ground with a thunderous boom, roaring into the air loudly and causing the fear level of the citizens to skyrocket.

“Scorpio! Draco! Cygnus!”

Three more constellation constructs lit up the sky, one landed beside the Ursa Major, a scorpion with menacing beady eyes, wickedly sharp pincers with barbs, and a long stinger on its tail. While in the air, the last two constructs took form. One was serpentine, growing two arms and legs, each bearing four long claws. The head formed next, filled with razor sharp teeth, two antlers, and draconic slit eyes. The last was a giant bird, a swan, as graceful and beautiful as the golden bird appeared to be, its eyes did not betray the fierceness that lay within it.

These four constellation constructs gathered to their creator, waiting for her command. Starburst watched as numerous airships were being launched from the top tier of the city, she could also tell from the glimmering in the distance that dozens of griffon soldiers were heading her way.

[Enemy numbers: 10 vessels, 500 combatants. Warning: Enemy numbers growing.]

The four star beast constructs turned to Starburst; with a wave of her hoof she gave her order. “Dispatch!”

The four beasts released their different bellowing calls and charged forward. The Cygnus and Draco constructs flew towards the airships, immediately the griffon ships began to open fire on the two star beasts. Draco and Cygnus shrugged off the ordinance as if it were nothing, still barreling towards their targets. A squadron of the griffons broke off and tried to attack the Draco construct, but they never made it. The Cygnus construct saw this and, with a flap of its mighty, majestic wings, unleashed a volley of light beams that sailed towards the squadron. The griffons were shredded by the light beams, as well as a good half of the griffon soldiers that were flying towards them.

Draco continued on to its target. The dragon construct wrapped its body around an airship and began constricting it. Two other ships advanced on Draco and opened fire on its body, hoping to make it release the ship. But constructs felt no pain, and these ships’ cannon fire was little more than a joke to the great beast. Draco drew its head back and released a torrent of golden fire, hitting the first airship and blowing it up spectacularly, sending the flaming wreckage careening for the city below. The fireball continued to plummet till it made contact with a building, creating a secondary explosion which sent chunks of debris smashing into the nearby structures. The star beast construct released a second torrent, this time at the second ship that was trying to flee.

But the fire blast was too wide and caught up with the ship, detonating it. The second joined its fellow airship on the ground, hitting a building or two before finally hitting the solid earth. Draco then craned its neck to see the bridge of the ship, its slit eyes narrowed as it saw all the griffons that were inside, each one with a look of pure terror on their face. Bolstered by their fear, Dracon tightened its body in one swift motion, crushing the airship into a heap of twisted metal, wood, and balloon mesh. For good measure, the Draco construct whipped its body forward; launching the wreckage and making it topple over five structures before hitting the wall of the city.

Cygnus was faring just as well, the swan construct did not crush or tear, it sliced. Using its wings and speed, it flew by the airships and cut through them as easily as air. The remaining ships tried to fire at it, but the Cygnus construct was too fast, too swift for them to hit. The downed ships ships that the swan construct destroyed didn’t detonate on contact from its attack, instead they fell from the sky, hitting the ground exploding with great force, turning the ships into bombs.

Cygnus watched as a new wave of airships was about to rise up and launch, but the swan construct flew high into the air, right above the new wave. It then flapped its wings, releasing a massive volley of light beams raining down on the ships. It continued this attack, blasting at the launch bays as each one made itself known. Draco joined Cygnus and together the two of them flew over the city, using fire and energy blasts to destroy them before they rose up.

Meanwhile, the Ursa and Scorpio constructs tore through the city, acting as Starburst’s battering rams as they busted through one tier gate after the other. Starburst wanted this, to give them a taste of the fear and helplessness of what the ponies of Stalliongrad felt, to know what it feels like to be overwhelmed and blitzkrieg-ed in the dark of the night. Thanks to her ring, Star could feel it all, all the fear, the terror, and the horror, her ring was practically shining like the sun itself. And the best part was, the ring had barely lost any of its power, syphoning its energy from the collective fear of the masses. She was going to show them fear as she made her way to the palace, even if the Wing Commanders flew out to meet her, with how much power she felt coursing through her, not even they were dumb enough to challenge her.

The Ursa Major construct rose up on its hind legs as they approached the fourth tier wall, the muscular beast brought down its right paw and smashed through the stone and mortar, sending the remnants falling like meteorites right into the streets, buildings, and homes of the citizens below. On the other side, however, was a line of cannons readied by the griffons, each one fired in rapid succession, blasting away at the giant bear.

This did little more than annoy the Ursa construct, but Starburst bade the beast to hold its ground. Star glanced from the corner of her eyes and watched as her Scorpio construct began to crawl over an undestroyed portion of the wall, making its way behind the firing line. Scorpio then raised its stinger tail, the tip collected particles of yellow light. The insect construct then fired the pent up energy in a single beam, swiping it quickly over the firing line. The result was a delayed reaction as a massive explosion ignited from where the beam began to where it ended.

“Can you all feel it!? Can you all see it!? This is the power of justice! The wrath of all the terrified citizens of Equestria!”

The Ursa construct swiped its claw, raking through one structure after the other, toppling them like dominos. Scorpio used its sharp pincers to slice other buildings in half, bringing them down like tall trees, and for others it fired off the beam from its tail, causing even more damage.

“I am the Fear Lantern of Equus, and on this night, I will show you what it means to truly be afraid!”

Starburst and the star beast constructs continued their trail of destruction, carving out a fiery path of rumble and flames with each fallen wall. Finally she approached the final wall, the wall to the seventh tier, where the wealthier residents resided, but more importantly, this is where the Emperor and his palace were. Starburst had her constructs move aside as she created a fifth one. The yellow light of Fear shined forth, creating her newest weapon. When it was finished, Starburst had created her own Equestrian airship, but this was no ordinary airship, it was one that Starburst new from memory, made all the more apparent by the name that burned in glowing letters on its hull, “Nightingale”.

With a great battle cry, Starburst hurled the ship construct right for the wall. The ship attacked as a battering ram, completely decimating the fortified wall and bringing it crumbling down. On the other side of the wall were even more griffon forces, airships had been deployed into the air and were now hovering, fifty in all. On the ground and nearer the skyline, hundreds upon hundreds of more soldiers stood ready to defend their Empire.

Fools.

Twenty minutes later, Starburst had annihilated the enemy forces and was now walking through the palace of the Emperor. She had gotten some directions from a soldier where the throne room was, after some intense interrogation. She didn’t know if Emperor Stratus would be there or not, she hoped he would be, in fact, if he was even half the arrogant plothole she thought he was, then he’d be there waiting for her. Most likely wanting to prove his strength against her, to show his subjects he wasn’t afraid of some pegasus mare with a powerful weapon.

Faust I hope he’s that stupid.

As Starburst walked through the halls to the throne room, she encountered a contingent of soldiers in one of the rotundas. They surrounded her, weapons drawn, claws bared, ready to fight and die for their Emperor. It was almost sad to see such fierce loyalty wasted on the likes of such a bloodthirsty dictator, almost. Starburst smiled under her faceplate as she took count of how many griffons had encircled her, eight in all. The griffons were about to pounce before Star started talking.

“Eight vital points…liver, lungs, larynx, jugular, spine, collar bone, kidney, and the heart, do any of you know what the difference between each of them is?”

The soldiers were caught off guard by the sudden question, which was all Starburst needed. She dashed forward, creating seven different copy constructs of herself at the same time. Each of the copies struck the vital points Star had indicated earlier in quick succession, with the original Starburst striking the griffon before her in the larynx. The griffon grabbed his throat and gasped for air, but blood was pooling in his beak and made speech all but impossible.

“The difference is how quickly you die. But you can figure out how fast on your own,” said Star.

The Fear Lantern continued her pace through the halls, all the while she could not shake the feeling of being followed, a feeling that was confirmed by her ring.

[Detecting multiple cloaked enemies.]

“Well, at least I’m not imagining things then.”

Starburst kept walking, knowing that there were enemies nearby was better than not knowing, least now she could tread with a little less caution. It wasn’t long before she ended up in the Great Hall, a large hallway that had statues lined up of different Emperors from the past, leading to the large double doors at the other end where her target awaited her. Star took a few steps down the hall, but stopped when she reached the middle.

“I know you’re there, either come on out and flee with your tails between your legs, or die. The choice is yours, but I think I already know the answer.”

Suddenly the hall was filled with griffons, they appeared out of nowhere as if a veil had been lifted and revealed them to her. Star noticed that they had on familiar armor, that of the Pretenders, the elite assassination and infiltration unit of the Griffon Empire. No doubt they wanted payback for her killing their comrades at Cloudsdale, and making an overall mockery of their elite status.

Starburst took a deep breath and stood on her hind legs, making all the Pretenders flinch and enter defensive stances. Star then closed her wings, and brought her forelegs above her head, adopting a stance that none of the soldiers had ever seen before. The yellow ring shined once again, creating a construct around Starburst’s waist. It was solid ring, with five curved blades that resembled the flow of ocean waves. It was lopsided, with one end clinging to her waist, and the other extended a good five feet to her right as one blade tip touched the floor. One of the Pretenders got fidgety; waiting for her to make a move was making him anxious. He couldn’t take it anymore and charged for Starburst.

The Fear Lantern sensed the attack and swayed to her left; dodging his initial strike, but what the griffon didn’t see was that the motion of Star’s sway made the blade ring move along with her. Before the griffon knew it, the ring blade passed right through him, slicing him at the waist. This was the trigger that Star needed to get the momentum going, now that the ring was looping around her she swiftly made her way into the crowd. Star pirouetted around and around, turning into a buzz saw that slashed through several of the Pretenders. Seeing this, the griffons began moving with their own agility and swiftness, trying to get in close to Starburst.

Star didn’t stop; she swayed her body back and forth, making the ring follow her momentum up her body. As the first few griffons started to get closer, Star maneuvered the ring to her right hoof and slashed upwards in a wide arc, cutting down three of the Pretenders at once. She quickly and flawlessly passed the ring to her left hoof and took out another four. She continually did this, passing the ring from one foreleg to the next, stepping to the rhythm of a song only she could hear.

Star jumped off her hind legs and into the air, she then flung the ring blade while still in midair, sending the killing disc cutting through multiple opponents at once, but the ring didn’t stop, it ricocheted off the floor and headed to the ceiling, slicing a griffon down the middle, bounced off the ceiling, cutting down several more, and bounced off the wall.

The griffons decided to make for Starburst while her flying disc of death kept bouncing off the walls and cutting down any Pretender who wasn’t paying attention to its movements, which was quite a few. But no matter which way they came at her, Starburst easily dodged them, or used their opposing force against them, redirecting it towards their fellow Pretender.

At last the ring blade made its way back to Star, who caught with her left hind leg, twirling it around as it cut the head off a griffon that got too close. She then did a backflip and tossed the ring again, the disc whistled as it cleanly severed limbs, torsos, and heads, it was Star’s personal audience; this was her dance, the Dance of Death.

Star stood in the middle of the hall once again, only now the bodies of several griffon Pretenders were strewn across the floor, body parts littered the entire way, along with splashes of blood that painted the walls like modern splash art. And the statue, walls, and ceiling all had large gashes from where her construct bounced, it was a literal slaughterhouse.

She panted a few times, the fight taking a bit more out of her than she anticipated, the Pretenders were tougher here than they were at Cloudsdale, she attributed this to the fact that they were trying to defend their Emperor. But a little fatigue wasn’t going to stop her now. Starburst brusquely walked through the corpses and found herself before the intimidating pair of double doors. With a powerful blast from her ring, Starburst destroyed the door, rendering them to mere splinters.

Her eye slits narrowed as she stared down her enemy. Emperor Stratus was sitting upon his throne, and right beside him was Shadow Wing. She didn’t like it; the black griffon had only waited till now to reveal himself? But then again, she reasoned, it would make sense to keep your strongest asset close by.

The young mare made her way into the throne room, noting the tapestries of the previous Emperors before Stratus. And of course, the grandiose stained glass window behind the throne. Starburst kept walking, cautiously, waiting to see if a trap was about to spring, knowing Shadow Wing, there must’ve been one. But Star reached throne, at least fifty feet from it, and nothing had happened, yet.

“Emperor Stratus,” Star spoke in her altered voice, “you have committed heinous crimes and must now answer for them.”

“You may drop the act, Princess Starburst,” said Emperor Stratus.

Starburst let out a small gasp in surprise that the Emperor knew of her real identity; there was no way he of all people could’ve found that out this quickly. There was no point in keeping her helmet on to mask her identity now. The golden helmet disappeared in a matter of seconds, changing into light particles that faded away as the helmet deformed.

“How did you know I was the Fear Lantern?” It was more of a demand than a question.

Shadow Wing stepped forward, “That would be my doing, Princess. You see, I kept an eye on old Steel Wing during his arrival to Maretonia. Imagine my surprise when he captured your mother and cousin. Of course that was nothing compared to your spectacular battle with the old feather duster –”

“Take care how you speak of Chalyvas, he was the pride of the army, don’t forget that,” interrupted Stratus.

“Sorry, my Emperor, that aside, I stayed out of sight long enough to see you without that armor, I recognized you immediately from that day, it feels like that was such a long time ago, but I never forget a cute mare,” said Shadow Wing.

Again, he made Star’s skin crawl. “Regardless, knowing my identity will not change what’s going to happen tonight!”

Emperor Stratus rose from his throne and stared down Starburst. “And what, pray tell, is about to happen tonight?!”

“I’m going to pass judgment upon you, for all the lives you have taken, and all the pain and misery you caused others!”

Shadow Wing flared his wings of darkness, standing in front of the Emperor. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, I do think so!”

Starburst pointed her ring at Shadow Wing and fired a powerful beam of yellow light right at him. But Star didn’t aim for Shadow Wing directly, her angle was down a little, causing the beam to hit the foot of the throne, exploding and sending a dust cloud into the air. Emperor Stratus quickly flew up to avoid being caught in the cloud, but just as soon as he did so a construct collar and chain lashed out at him, and secured itself around his neck. The armored griffon tried to remove the binding object, but to no avail. Starburst then pulled back on the chain, swinging it around till she slammed the regal griffon onto his back in the middle of the room.

Shadow Wing fired a beam of dark magical energy at Starburst, but she quickly erected a shield to block the attack. “You can’t keep that up forever, Princess!”

“Don’t have to!”

Before Shadow Wing realized it, he was blindsided by a by a battering ram from his left, sending him sailing until a construct copy of Starburst appeared in his path and punched him in the face with an armored claw, a second copy then bucked him with its hind legs, sending Shadow Wing up to the ceiling, a third appeared and fired a yellow energy blast, impacting him right to the floor. The constructs then flew right at him, combining into one large energy ball that struck the black griffon and detonated upon impact.

Starburst knew that Shadow Wing’s dark magic would give him an advantage, so she took away his ability to use it by quickly assaulting him, and not giving him a moment to defend. It seemed to work, because when the smoke cleared, Shadow Wing laid still in a smoldering crater. Starburst felt a tug on the chain, out of the corner of her right eye she watched as Stratus tried to attack her with his claws. Star jerked the chain and forced the Emperor down to the ground, with another pull she tossed the griffon right back to the steps of his throne, slamming him again, and leaving a body sized impression on the steps themselves.

The Fear Lantern released the chain construct and hovered over to him, forelegs crossed over her chest as she stared down at him with her magenta eyes. “It’s over Stratus…and I hereby pass my judgment upon you.” Starburst raised her right hoof and up above Stratus a construct formed, it was a large sword, easily the size of a stone column. It dangled over the fallen Emperor’s body in preparation to deliver the final blow. “Any last words?”

The regal griffon coughed out a chuckle, he then slowly raised his head to meet the cold gaze of Starburst. “It seems that I was wrong about some you ponies…”

“What do you mean?!”

“It seems some of you do possess the ferocity and killing instincts, while others are weak, you do not hesitate, you fight and destroy your opponents! This is the kind of thing I strive for in my Empire…!”

Suddenly Starburst remembered the words of Steel Wing: “…were you fortunate enough to be born a griffon I would’ve gladly made you a general in our army, personally…”

“A pony with the soul of a griffon…” Stratus laid back, closing his eyes and smiling, “I have no regrets, this is an honorable death!”

Those words struck Starburst like a hammer to the head. Her actions from the night of Sunny’s death, and even tonight’s, were being replayed in her mind. The way she tossed the Royal Guards like ragdolls, her fight with Lance, and just recently, the trail of destruction she left as she made her way to the griffon palace, the terrified screams of the innocent civilians, she had taken their lives, griffons though they were, they were not combatants, they were just harmless citizens, children, husbands and wives, she slaughtered and destroyed them all as she tore through half of Griffonia to get to this place.

It’s too late to go back now! I’m the Fear Lantern! I must follow my sense of justice!

Star raised her hoof higher; the sword glowed with more intensity than before. She then brought her hoof down and the sword mimicked her motion, but, in that instant, another voice echoed in her mind and in her heart.

“…you have to believe in yourself. Believe in the Starburst, that I do……”

The moment the blade made contact with Stratus it shattered like fragile glass, disappearing into particles of golden light. Stratus opened his eyes and saw that the Fear Lantern had gone still. “What’s the matter?! Why did you stop!?”

Starburst looked Stratus right in the eyes. “I’m not like you, or any of your bloodthirsty kind! I believe in justice, and the just thing for me to do is to drag your sorry ass back to Equestria! You will be brought to the Council of Nations, and answer for your crimes!”
Stratus propped himself up on his forelegs, glaring daggers at Starburst. “You stupid little mare! Even with all that power, all that ferocity, you’re still weak! That is why you will never win this war!”

“It’s already over, we’ve won.”

“Now we can’t end it here.”

Starburst was suddenly struck with a powerful blast of dark magic, sending her flying into a pillar. The sudden attack caught her off guard; her aura not at full power let her feel nearly the full force of the attack. Star weakly looked up and saw Shadow Wing walking towards Stratus.

“Finish her Nox! Finish her and take the ring! With it, we’ll be unstoppable! Soon the whole world will know the might and superiority of the Griffon Empire – GACK!”

Starburst stared wide eyed at what she saw. Shadow Wing’s black wing had materialized a spear, and rammed it through Emperor Stratus’ barrel. The regal griffon looked at the spear in disbelief his gaze changing from the spear to Nox.

“What…What are you doing!?”

“I was hoping that she would kill you father, it would’ve made things so much easier. But now I have to do the deed instead.”

“You…! This was just some trick of yours to seize the throne!”

A black tendril lashed out and grabbed Stratus’ right claw, pinning it to the floor. A second spear formed from the darkness and Nox quickly plunged it into the palm of his father’s claw, causing the Emperor to grunt in pain.

“You see it’s because of that narrow mindedness that you can’t see the bigger picture father, believe me, I don’t want the throne. Tell me, what’s better than a hero?”

Nox repeated the same thing with Stratus’ left claw. He then forced the griffon’s wings to unfurl, and pierced them with spears as well. Starburst could only watch in confusion and horror at what was going on before her.

“The answer: a martyr. You dying by the Fear Lantern’s hoof, who is a Princess of Equestria no less, would ignite a fire in the souls of our troops, and the civilians. The plan to conquer Equestria may’ve been laid out long ago, but it’s too singular, we must broaden our horizons, and sadly, you’re not the one to see that vision through.”

Nox formed two more spears, both of which found their home in Stratus’ upper chest. The regal griffon wheezed as blood filled his lungs, anger and fear warring within him at the sight of his son killing him. And then, there was nothing, Stratus went still. Nox stepped back a bit and took a moment to look over his work, he then brought up his talons using his thumb and index talons to make a picture frame and angling it like a director of a movie would.

“Good, this will do. But just to add a little flare, I think I’ll remove his head and mount it on a pike. Get medieval with the whole thing. What do you think, Starburst?” asked Nox.

“You’re sick, insane! You killed your own father!” Star shouted.

Nox shrugged off the comment. “I was originally going to just let you kill him, and then play dead until you left. But since you were going to go and spare his life I had to improvise. And besides, don’t act all high and mighty, you would do the same,” said Nox, a devilish grin forming on his beak.

Starburst adopted an aggressive stance, “I would never kill my parents! No matter how much I hated them!”

“Well this is all a moot point then, because now you know that I killed my father, and while I don’t think anyone will believe you, I can’t have others looking into my actions.”

“So now what you become the Emperor!?”

“Hardly, I prefer to work from the shadows, it’s in my title after all.”

Starburst’s aura flared up as she spread her wings in preparation to fight Nox. “I will defeat you!”

“Not this day I’m afraid, or ever.”

Nox brought up his right talon and snapped it. Below Starburst a magic circle appeared out of nowhere, the circle then erupted into a column of dark magical energy, bombarding Star from all sides with pure dark magic power. The aura field hardened itself, trying to protect Starburst. But it couldn’t hold! It shattered apart and left Star to receive the full force of the attack. After an agonizingly long minute of the being in the column of dark magic, Starburst was released, her body sizzling, and her breaths labored.

[Power levels at 40%.]

“H-H-How did you…?”

“Created that while you were lying on the ground, used my shadows to draw it without you knowing. I wish I could’ve gotten to know you better Starburst, you really are attractive for a pony mare, even in that armor, but alas, play time is over.”

Nox’s dark wings quickly combined overhead, forming a sphere of dark magic that he fired at Starburst. The young mare brought up her hooves quickly to block the attack. When it hit the impact tossed her till she hit another pillar. But before she could recover, Nox had rushed her, bringing his right claw around her neck and raising Star up the pillar’s length. Starburst struggled against his grip and was about to summon a construct to remove his arm. That is until she let out a pained gasp, feeling something going through her. Star looked down and stared in wide eyed horror. One of Nox’s spears had pierced her barrel, right through her protective armor and through the other side, pinning her to the pillar.

Starburst let out a painful scream from the searing pain of being stabbed, but could barely do so with Nox keeping his claw around her neck and steadily applying pressure. “Hmm, usually by now you would’ve made something to cut off my arm or blow me away. I wonder can you not make those strange creations unless you’re concentrating. It must be distracting to be in this much pain.” Nox’s eyes traveled to Star’s flailing hoof, using a dark tendril, he wrapped it around Star’s right foreleg, keeping it from thrashing about. “So I’d wager there’s nothing keeping me from doing this.”

Nox then removed the ring from Star’s hoof with his left claw, and immediately Star’s Fear Lantern uniform completely vanished, leaving her completely at Nox’s mercy. “My…My ring…!”

Nox released Starburst from the choke hold, and left her there to hang from the pillar. Blood started to seep down the column, pooling a bit at the bottom. The black griffon examined the ring, curious as to how such a small object could boast such tremendous power. He then slipped the ring over his left, middle talon.

“I suppose I won’t have total control over it until you die. But that shouldn’t be much longer.”

Starburst could barely think, her body was already in pain from the earlier attacks, and now she had a spear through her gut, it hurt worse than the time when Pinpoint hit her in the shoulder, way, way worse. She looked upon the griffon, now wearing her yellow ring, she couldn’t believe it, she was going to really die here, and her most powerful weapon, the only hope for Equestria, was now going to be in the claws of this psychopath.

She could feel the warmth of her body leaving her, her limbs failing her, vision blurring, she was dying. It took a moment for Starburst to wrap her head around that, she was going to die. In a weird way, that was fine, just as Sunny sacrificed herself for Star, so was she sacrificing herself for the safety and security of Equestria. Her eyes focused on the ring, its insignia becoming less clear as the seconds passed.

It’s fine…the ring will find somepony else…someone better than me…

But what if it didn’t? Star’s eyes started to slowly open, that one thought buzzed in her mind. What if the ring chose Shadow Wing instead? He had the ability to instill great fear, there was no question about that, but did he have the sense of justice? And who’s to say that the ring might not be lead astray into thinking that Shadow Wing was the best candidate?

Images of Star’s friends, family, all of Equestria, the world, all of it falling in terror and fear under Shadow Wing’s dark magic and fear light powers. That thought terrified Starburst, out of everything she had faced, had been exposed to, these thoughts truly terrified her.

I…I can’t let that happen…!

Starburst started to raise her head, and tried to focus her failing vision on Shadow Wing. Nox nodded his head at seeing this, “Even when you’re life is about to be taken away, you still cling onto it, there’s something to be said about your fighting spirit. But tell me Starburst, aren’t you afraid to die?”

“Who isn’t…but that’s not what terrifies me…It’s you wielding that ring…”

Nox noticed that the yellow ring on his left claw started to glow.

“You have no fear…you lack it…and because you do, you’ll never know what it feels like to imagine what I can…!”

The yellow ring shined brighter, Nox raised his claw up to his eyes, watching as the object continued to glow. The black griffon believed it was responding to Starburst’s fears, but he was only half right.

“I can almost see all the pain and misery…all the lives that will live in fear because of what you could do with that ring…My friends and family all consumed by your power, it terrifies me…but…I am not scared.”

The ring shined with greater intensity, Nox was starting to realize that something was off. He tried to slip the ring off his talon, but it wouldn’t come off.

“That fear does not weaken me; in fact it strengthens me…! Because I want to do everything in my power to make sure that that doesn’t happen…!” Starburst gripped the ebony spear that still kept her pinned to the wall. Yelling into the air, Starburst ripped the weapon from her body, tossing it away before she fell to the floor. “Not even death will frighten me from stopping you…! In order to snuff out those fears, I must become stronger than them!”

The ring’s light blazed upon Nox’s claw, it slowly started to creep up is foreleg. A searing pain radiated from the limb with each inch covered in the yellow light.

Starburst struggled to rise to her hooves, but she did so, although shakily. “I am that which evil runs from, I am the light in the darkness…!” The yellow light had completely engulfed Nox’s left foreleg, he then stared at Star with his ice cold eyes. “I am a Fear Lantern!”

[You are not worthy.]

The light around Nox’s left foreleg flashed, incinerating everything that it had covered and separating itself from him with a burst. Nox pulled away, stumbling about till he landed on his right side, and cupped the now burned off limb, now a cauterized stub. The ring flew to Starburst in a streak of light, striking her right hoof and enveloping her in bright, golden light. Nox had to turn his gaze away from the brilliance of the light, which somehow seemed to have grown stronger.

The power of the yellow light of Fear reinvigorated Starburst; her pain was lessened, but still there. The protective aura wrapped around her body, layering over the gaping wound in her midsection. Star’s eye color changed to the intense yellow from before, but unlike last time, Starburst was in full control of herself, her emotions centered, her mind sharp. Starburst flared her large wings, lowering down and assuming her intimidation stance.

Nox tried to lash out at her with his wings of darkness, but the light emanating from Star’s body burned them away. “What is this?! How is this possible!?”

“You’re starting to sweat Shadow Wing. Do you feel it, that chilling feeling running up your spine, the shortness of breath, the heightened adrenaline!? You may not know fear, but you will be afraid of me!” Starburst’s light grew brighter, nearly becoming a second sun within the room.

Nox tried to look away, but the light was captivating, and dangerous, drawing his attention like a moth. The intensity of the yellow light burned his wings of darkness away, his power dwindling as he felt a new sensation overtake him, one that he wasn’t familiar with. No, he refused to believe what this feeling could be, he was above feeling –!

[Fear detected.]

“FEAR SHINE!”

The light of Fear shined like a supernova, blasting Nox with its power, attacking him both physically and mentally at the same time. The black griffon screamed in horror as image upon horrifying image bombarded his mind, and with each wave a powerful burst of raw power from the light buffeted his body. Star’s eyes were shining like new newborn stars, her wings shimmering in the light she emitted. It was in this moment, that a new oath was born. New words found their way to Star’s mind, and it was these words, she swore, it was her oath.

“In twilight’s dusk, in moonlit night,
Evil shall cower before my might!
When darkness comes to cloud my sight,
I’ll shine like my power – Fear Lantern’s light!!!”

The power of Fear bellowed forth, washing over Shadow Wing like a tidal wave. The energy carried him straight into a wall, slamming him with unrelenting force and power as his psyche was torn to shreds by the overwhelming power of fear! Starburst released the Fear Shine, nearly falling from sheer exhaustion and blood loss. She took a moment to examine Shadow Wing, wanting to make sure that the griffon was really dead.

Star levitated herself over to Shadow Wing and looked at him closely. His body lay slumped up against the wall, sizzling from the intense power of the Fear Shine. His wings of darkness were completely gone, and his eyes, they looked like charred rocks, with tiny fissures of golden light. Just to be sure, Star had the ring fire a probing laser, scanning his body up and down to be doubly sure.

[Enemy life signs: Zero. Subject deceased.]

“Good riddance…oomph!” Starburst was starting to feel the pain of her wound again now that the adrenaline rush of the battle had worn down.

[Warning: Severe trauma to abdomen, internal damage detected. Bearer life in danger.]

“I noticed…” Starburst groaned as she clutched at her wound. “Is there…anyway you can buy me some time…?”

[Construct mesh can facilitate the replacement of damaged internal organs, but it is a temporary measure. Power levels are at 30%, calculating time to nearest medical facility.]

“Don’t bother…do we have enough power to make it back to Ponyville…?”

[……It is ill advised, but current power levels should be sufficient.]

“I have faith in you partner…Let’s get out of here fast, I don’t really want to get into another fight…”

Starburst rose up into the air and fired a beam at the stained glass window, shattering it to pieces. She then flew out of the window and into the night sky.

All was quiet in the throne room, but not for long. The shadows started to move towards the body of Nox, like slithering snakes they glided across the floor. Shadowy tendrils started to slowly emerge from the walls, and a black sludge like substance began to pour down from the shadows overhead. This blackness started to surround Nox, cocooning his body in ebony shadows.

Something else rose from the shadows, a black object that suddenly zipped into the cocoon.

…Rise…

Author's Note

To Be Concluded…

Proofread by: joeSFX

Goodbye

Anthea was worried tonight; she hadn’t heard her mother sound so distressed since she was a filly. The pegasus mare didn’t say much ,but from what Annie could hear, it was something serious, otherwise her adoptive mother, Fluttershy, wouldn’t have left her home alone. Of course Annie liked her independence, but her mother could be overprotective sometimes. A lot of times actually, but she didn’t mind, it was just her way of saying she loved her daughter dearly.

But right now, it was late at night, almost eleven. Fluttershy had told Annie not to wait up for her, but Annie couldn’t help but worry. Ever since they heard of Starburst’s jailbreak, her friends, Annie included, had been worrying sick over what was happening. So far nopony had given them a straight answer, or, maybe they were reluctant to give one. So here Annie sat, on the couch, sighing, and waiting.

Suddenly, Annie saw a flash of light coming from the window. She didn’t know what it was, but the color was yellow, of that she was sure. Suddenly she heard knocking at the front door. Anthea immediately bolted to her hooves and stared at the door. There shouldn’t really be anypony out this late, well there were occasionally, but not many ponies came wondering this far out, not even a random pegasus pony flew unless they had to round up some clouds.

Annie lit her horn, she didn’t know who it was, but her mother had always warned her of strangers who might take advantage of a blind mare. It took her some time when she was older to figure out what her mother meant by that.

“Wh-Who’s there!?”

“Annie…it’s me…Star.”

Anthea’s eyes went wide from hearing that name, “Starburst?! Where have you –!?”

“Listen,” she interrupted, “I don’t have a lot of time to explain, and I need your help, badly.”

The pink unicorn mare didn’t know what was wrong, but Star’s voice sounded strained, hurt even. “Okay…what do you need me to do?”

“I need you to turn off all the lights in the house.”

“WHAT!!?”

“I don’t have time to argue this, just please do it Annie!” Anthea didn’t know where this was going, her fear of the dark was not helping the fact that Star was acting strangely. “You can leave a candle lit if you want, just turn the lights off!”

Anthea sighed, she could accommodate that much. With a flick of her horn she lit a lone candle on the coffee table; she then used her magic to turn off all the lights in the house, leaving her with the faint light of the candle for her blotchy vision to focus on. “O-Okay their off…can I open the door now?”

Annie grabbed hold of the door with her telekinesis and opened it slowly. The first thing to hit her was the smell wafting in from the wind. It was mixture of various things, Star’s natural scent, cannon powder, sweat, and…blood. The pink unicorn cringed when she smelt that particular scent, there was no mistaking that irony, metallic smell. Anthea watched as Starburst slowly entered the cottage, she could see a faint yellow light emanating from her right hoof.

Her ring, she thought.

“Annie, how good are you at healing spells?”

She gulped, “I, um, I’m pretty far along in the advanced texts…your mom said that I’ve caught on to the spells very quickly.”

It was true; one of the first, among many, spells that Twilight had the young mare learn was a healing spell. Since Anthea lived with Fluttershy, she no doubt assumed that Annie would help in the caretaking of the woodland critters. She taught her various types of healing spells, thinking that it would help should an animal be injured badly, or if an animal injured her. Which never happened so long as Fluttershy was around, any animal that dared to hurt her was met with some severe consequences.

“Good I need you to cast one on me, a strong one.”

The pink unicorn was going to ask why, but decided to try something else instead. She used her magic to send out a pulse wave, this wave was in fact a diagnostic spell and would give Annie a better idea of why a healing spell was needed, and if so, what kind. She felt the wave hit Star and immediately the information of her vitals was sent to her mind. Annie’s eyes were wide as saucer plates, her mouth hanging open.

“STAR, OH MY GODS, YOU’RE – YOU’RE –!”

“Yeah, more or less at death’s door…”

Annie rushed over to her friend, walking towards the area where her spell told her the wound was. “I need to see what I’m dealing with first, give me a minute.”

Starburst gingerly lifted her right wing to give Annie better access. The pink unicorn touched Starburst’s side with her horn. She flinched from the contact but did not shy away. This was how Annie often figured out the shape of objects and other things, since her horn was more sensitive than her hooves were, Annie often used it to figure out details of objects, in this case, she was assessing the damage done to Star. Annie’s lower lip trembled as her magic painted a picture of what had happened to Star’s body.

“Oh Star…You’re…” Annie gulped. “You’re stomach’s been pierced…A bit of your lung has been nicked, but otherwise whatever hurt you doesn’t seem to have hit anything else. But this wound is bad nonetheless…Star I think we need to take you to the hospital.”

“No Annie…!”

Anthea raised her head and stared at Star as intensely as she could, despite being told that her attempts at doing so made her look cute.

[Power levels at 7.5%. Construct mesh is in danger of deactivating. Bearer life in danger.]

“What was that!? Did your ring just talk!?” Annie exclaimed, jumping back a bit.

“Yeah…and now you know why you have to be the one to heal me. I don’t have time to make it to a hospital…”

Annie looked worried, there was a spell that she knew, one that would completely take care of Starburst’s wound, but there was a downside to it. “Starburst…I do know a spell that can heal you…but, it’ll be really painful because of where you’re hurt, and I haven’t learned any kind of anesthesia spells.”

Starburst let out a dry chuckle. “After everything I’ve been through Annie, pain isn’t something I’m unfamiliar with…”

Anthea didn’t want to do it, but she could hear the seriousness and confidence in her voice. The pink unicorn’s horn lit up, preparing to cast the spell. “Star…I can’t stress how much this is going to hurt…I also need you to remove whatever that ‘mesh’ stuff is when I start.”

“That’s fine! Don’t stop until it’s done!”

Taking a deep breath, Anthea cast her spell, focusing her magical energy on the wound. When Starburst felt the tingling sensation of Annie’s aura, she sent the mental command to drop the mesh, allowing the wound to reopen. Anthea quickly poured her magic into the spell, surrounding the wound. Her horn flashed and the spell took full effect.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

Star cried out in pain, feeling the spell reconstruct and heal the internal damage. It hurt so much but Star gritted her teeth, trying to bear the pain of the regeneration. Annie was afraid, she didn’t like to hear her friend in pain, and it was worse when she knew she was the cause of it, but there was no helping it, she couldn’t stop the spell now, it would only hurt Star more.

[Regeneration process has been accelerated. 25%, 47%, 53%...]

The ring was tracking the healing process, not only that, but it was aiding the spell. Starburst fell on her side, writhing on the floor from the intense pain that still radiated from the wound. She just had to hold on for just a bit longer.

“Hold on Star, it’s almost done!”

“AAAAARGH! I CAN TAKE IT, JUST FINISH!”

The wound was almost closed as green mana and yellow light worked in tandem to heal the injured pegasus mare. Finally, after what felt like hours to Starburst, the wound was completely closed.

[Regeneration complete. Power levels now at 2.5%, entering power save mode.]

Star let out a relieved sigh. Annie cut off her magic and did the same, thankfully, whatever strange power the ring used to help the healing process, made it so that she didn’t have to use as much of her magic as she thought. Annie then dropped to the floor and lay beside Starburst. Without saying anything, Star maneuvered herself closer to the pink unicorn, resting against her side.

“Sorry…Annie.”

“It’s fine, you did this for me when I needed help.”

“I’m a little tired…can we just rest like this for a few minutes?” asked Star.

Anthea had so many questions for Starburst. What happened to her? Where did she go? Why was she on the run to begin with? But that could wait; her friend had been through a lot that much she could tell.

“Alright, I’ll be right here,” said Annie.

30 Minutes Later…

Annie began to squirm; she no longer felt the warmth of a pony lying close to her. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times and rubbing the sleep away. She looked around till she saw a yellow light near the table where the candle flickered. Annie could also hear the distinct sound of a pen scribbling on paper.

“Star…?”

The scribbling paused for a moment, but resumed after that. “I was hoping to have this done and be gone before you woke up.”
Annie quickly rose to her hooves upon hearing that. “Leave?! Why?! You need to let your body rest Star!”

“My ring will take care of the rest from here. Well, after I recharge it.”

Annie sighed dejectedly, she couldn’t believe Star, after all she’d been through, she was still going to push herself and leave after an intense healing session. “Starburst, you need to just stop! Tell me what’s wrong, maybe we can help you!”

Starburst sighed, yet smiled despite this. “I’m really happy that you want to help me, and that the others are willing to as well. But……I can’t let you. Not after what I did tonight.”

Annie didn’t like the sound of that. There was a sort of heaviness in Star’s voice that she couldn’t shake. The blind mare made her way to the young pegasus and gently placed a hoof on her shoulder, at least she thought that was her shoulder.

“Is there a reason you’re touching my flank, Annie?” asked Star.

The unicorn blushed. “I was trying to put my hoof on your shoulder…sorry, let me just um…” Annie removed her hoof and guided it to where her shoulder was. “That’s better. Anyway, talk to me Star, please? Tell me what happened.”

Starburst sighed again. She then placed her right hoof over Annie’s, taking comfort in this contact with her friend, and, rival for her mother’s affection. “I’m sure you’ll hear all about it soon enough…just know that I can’t come back home, not now.”

“…How bad is it?” asked Annie with trepidation.

“Just…Just promise me that whatever they say, continue to believe in me. That’s all I ask. I saw things tonight Annie, and now I know that the griffons have had this planned out completely, for how long I don’t know, but I know that what happened tonight won’t stop it. I have to keep fighting, I’m the one thing that they didn’t plan for and I need to use that to my advantage.”

Starburst gently pushed aside Annie’s foreleg. She then pointed her right hoof at the spot where they both were laying down and fired a beam of yellow light, making Annie jump back in surprise. The beam punched a hole into the pocket dimension and brought out the yellow lantern power battery, having it drop gently onto the floor of the living room. Starburst then walked across the room to pick up the lantern, creating a construct rope to sling it over her right shoulder.

“I left a note for Nidra on the table there. The next time you visit my mom in Canterlot; can you give it to her? I’d do it myself but the cities on high alert for me.”

Annie couldn’t believe she was hearing this. “Star I can’t let you do this!”

“Honestly Annie…” Starburst raised her ring hoof up. “You can’t really stop me…”

At that moment, Starburst created an orb of yellow light that filled the room. Annie had to shut her eyes from the blinding light. Annie then heard the sound of the front door opening and tried to move towards the sound, but the orb expanded into a solid wall that blocked Annie from going anywhere. She then heard Starburst speaking outside, after a few seconds the light wall disappeared and allowed Annie to gallop to the front yard. Once outside, Anthea lit her horn to illuminate the darkness, she then swiveled her ears to and fro, trying to pick up on the slightest hint of where Starburst was. Sadly, she could neither hear nor see any sign of Starburst. The pink unicorn scuffed the ground with her hoof as tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Star…”

Sweet Apple Acres…

Del tossed and turned in his bed. He hadn’t slept well in days since he heard about what happened with Starburst, first the news that she was the Fear Lantern, then there was finding out that she was being held in the dungeons back at Canterlot for killing some Royal Guards (that he was still finding hard to believe), and now there was her jailbreak, and nopony knew where she was. The whole thing didn’t set well with Del, he felt so powerless. The mare he cared about, had been friends with for so long, was in trouble, and yet there was nothing he could do to help. The stallion continued to toss and turn, getting to sleep now wasn’t any better than last night.

“Del…”

The earth pony stallion grunted.

“Del, wake up.”

He started to feel somepony shaking him lightly. Del groaned and swatted at the hoof that was trying to wake him from his sleep. “Api not right now…Ah just want to be left alone.”

“Sorry Del, but I don’t have that much time.”

Del opened his eyes upon hearing the familiar voice; he bolted upright in his bed and saw Starburst standing at his bedside, fully armored. “STA –!”

A yellow ribbon quickly wrapped around Del’s mouth, muffling his voice. “Shh, Del, I don’t want your family knowing I’m here. Okay?” asked Star in a hushed tone.

The tan stallion slowly nodded his head in agreement. The ribbon then disappeared allowing him to smile at Star. “Star, Ah can’t believe you’re here!”

“Thanks, and I know you have some questions for me, but let’s talk somewhere private.”

Del watched as Starburst walked towards his bedroom window, she then beckoned for him to come over. The farmer threw off his blankets and walked towards Star, she then held out her hoof. Del grasped her hoof and looked at Star curiously, he was glad it was dark otherwise she could probably see the slight shade of red on his cheeks. Suddenly, a thin layer of yellow light appeared over Star’s body, and it quickly enveloped Del as well, lighting up the room a bit. And now she could see said red tint, but Del noticed that Starburst was blushing too.

“Hold on and don’t let go.”

“Wait what’re you – WHOA!”

Del suddenly felt weightless, he looked down and saw that he and Star were floating a good two feet off the floor. He then felt a forward movement, taking them closer to the wall. At first he thought they were going to hit it, but he was surprised when the two of them passed through the wall. Del had to stay calm else he’d freak out a little. The two levitated further through the wall till they were outside, floating out from the two story farmhouse. This was an odd sensation for him, being an earth pony, and never having had been off the ground like this.

Starburst smirked a bit, seeing the reaction she was getting from Del. She squeezed his hoof tighter, letting him know that she wouldn’t let him fall. That seemed to calm him because he smiled back at her. Star then began to fly them in the direction of the orchard. The two of them flew over the numerous rows of apple trees, Del had to admit, this was actually fun. The cool night air brushing over them, the smell of the apple trees at night was different from how it smelled during the day, sweeter almost.

Del looked over to Starburst and noticed that she was smiling. So this is what it’s like to fly in the skies. Ah can see why she and Prism like it so much.

They flew for another two minutes before Starburst found a clearing for them to land in. She let Del down first, slowly and gently. She looked around to make sure that they weren’t in some unknown area of the orchard, although Star knew that this was impossible, since Del had lived on this farm since he was colt and could navigate it with his eyes closed if he had to. Star then landed in front of Del, releasing her aura field, along with her uniform. She didn’t feel right talking to him as the Fear Lantern.

The two of them sat on their haunches across from each other. The tension in the air was thick, both were nervous, despite having talked just a few minutes earlier. Starburst rubbed her foreleg, looking down at the ground, while Del was rubbing the back of his head, staring up at the bright full moon.

“Luna’s moon looks nice tonight,” said Del.

“Y-Yeah…it is…” Star stuttered.

“Ah, uh, Ah missed ya, Star.”

Starburst glanced up at Del, smiling a bit. “I…I missed you too.”

Del cleared his throat, this was ridiculous, they were friends, well technically they were coltfriend and fillyfriend now, but that was beside the point. Days without knowing if she was alright or safe and he was just going to act like some shy colt?!

“Ahem, Ah’m glad to see ya Star. Ya had me worried somethin’ fierce.”

“Sorry…a lot of stuff’s happened lately, but I’m sure you know,” said Starburst, a hint of shame in her voice.

“Ah know what others have told meh, Ah’d rather hear your side of the story.”

Starburst stopped rubbing her leg and looked up at him fully. There was no judgment in his eyes, just concern, but they also held strength, as if saying he was there for her. Star finally let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, feeling the tension leave her body. The pegasus mare then started to tell Del all that had happened in the past few days. Sunny’s death, her visiting of the funeral, her rampage of Griffonia. The whole time Del kept a stoic expression, something that he no doubt learned from his uncle. She did however leave out what happened with Stratus and Nox, and she did remain a little vague on some details, she didn’t want to get Del in trouble, and she thought the less he knew the better, just like Annie.

When she was done, Del took in a deep breath and then exhaled it, having taken a moment to absorb all that Star had told him. “Ah’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this alone…”

Star shook her head. “It’s okay; I know you guys will have my back. But I wouldn’t blame you for thinking me a monster.”

“Ya aren’t a monster Star!”

“You may rethink that once you hear what happened.”

Del placed his hoof on Star’s shoulder. “Just tell meh what happened.”

“If I do, you’ll have nightmares Del, I’m the only one who should bear that burden.” Starburst placed her hoof over Del’s; she then leaned forward and rested her forehead on his board chest. “But thank you.”

The tan stallion had gotten over the embarrassment of such contact, being more focused on Star. “So…what happens now?”

Star let out a sad sigh. “I have to keep fighting Del.”

Del’s eyes went wide as he looked down at the young mare. “You’re not serious?!”

“…I am. I have to keep fighting, I’m the only thing that the Griffon Empire didn’t account for in their plans, I have a chance to stop them, or at the very least I can slow them down and give us time to counterattack.”

“Star…You don’t have to do this!” Del contested.

Starburst pulled back and looked up at his chestnut colored eyes. “I do,” Star raised her right hoof, making Del stare at her ring, “I was given this power to make a difference in our world, to protect our land from those who would do our fellow ponies harm. It’s my responsibility Del, and I accept it.”

Del furrowed his brow a little upon hearing this. “Why did ya really come to see me?”

“To say goodbye…” Starburst gently removed Del’s hoof and moved back a bit from him. “I have to go and do what I can, my parents won’t understand, Valiant Heart won’t understand, and I doubt anypony else in Canterlot will.”

“Star c’mon, ya don’t need to go off and fight this war! Just…Just take the ring off, ya can hide out here!” Del pleaded.

Star grinned. “I couldn’t do that to you, or your family. Besides…this ring, it’s all I have left Del. It’s the only thing that gives my life purpose…”

Del stamped his right hoof onto the ground. “And what about us, yer friends, do we not mean anythin’ to ya?!”

“It’s because you guys mean something to me that I need to do this…” Starburst turned around and looked up at the night sky, preparing to unfurl her wings.

Just then, she felt two strong forelegs wrap around her body, holding her tight. Star let out a small “eep” upon feeling the sudden embrace of the stallion. Her face was bright red, she had never been held like this before, especially by a stallion she liked. It was then that she felt something wet hit her shoulder. Her embarrassment was forgotten when she felt a slight trembling from Del.

“Ah don’t want ya to leave, Star…Ah just can’t let ya! Star Ah…Ah…” Del choked up, he had to say this. He had to let her know.

“Please don’t say it Del…please, I don’t want you to say it just to keep me from doing what I believe in my heart is right…” Starburst brought up both her hooves and placed them on Del’s forelegs. “If you really do feel that way about me…then…then please let me go.”

“Star…Ah…” Del squeezed a little tighter, trying to keep her there with his great strength.

Starburst knew he wouldn’t let her go, and that was fine. If anything it let her know just how much Del really cared for her. But, as difficult as this was, as much as she liked being held in his strong forelegs, as safe as she felt right here in this moment, it couldn’t last. Star’s ring glowed and she started to pass through Del’s forelegs. She then levitated herself with her ring, floating out of his grip easily.

Del desperately tried to hold onto her when he felt nothing in his grip. Star then hovered over him, out of his reach, a sad smile played across her lips. “Someday I’ll come back Del. I promise I will…till then…” Starburst floated forward and kissed Del on the cheek. She then floated up higher, changing into her Fear Lantern uniform. “…Goodbye Del…”

With that said, Starburst vanished from sight, leaving Del to stand and watch as she faded away into the night. The farmpony cupped his left cheek where Star kissed him, he then gritted his teeth and stamped the ground with his hoof repeatedly, cursing his own weakness, and that he lacked the strength to help her, or even to stop Star from leaving.

Author's Note

The End...?

Epilogue

Across the infinite number of stars, a blue planet floats in an unknown solar system. Oddly enough, this solar system orbits, not the sun, but a blue planet at its center. Unknown to this planet, heading towards it at a speed that many of its inhabitants could barely fathom, were two shooting stars. One was fiery orange and the other a wispy violet-pink.

These two stars had been streaking through the universe, searching, seeking, and looking for something or someone specific. These two stars were now within the general vicinity of the blue planet and were about to pass it by, like they had done for many others thus far.

Suddenly the two stars stopped, hovering in the emptiness of space. They blinked rapidly until they finally shined and took off towards the planet they were just about to pass by. Their long journey had come to an end...

[Avarice detected.]

[Love detected.]

Author's Note

Coming Soon

Prologue: "I! AM! FEAR!"

There was fire, a raging fire that spread through the border city of Stalliongrad. To the east was the Griffon Empire, were the race of half lion, half eagle war-like people resided. For years the ponies and griffons had shared a tentative peace. Neither one exactly on good terms, more or less tolerating each other’s existence. The Griffon Empire never fully challenged Equestria, the rulers of the kingdom, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, always kept their land safe. Threatening to unleash their great power upon the enemies’ should they dare cross them, and for years that has kept them at bay. But now things were different.

Stalliongrad was burning to the ground; many of the city’s residence were either evacuated or slaughtered out right. The skies and ground were filled with griffon soldiers as they made their way through the city, furthering their path of destruction. Leading his contingent of soldiers was a large, sliver feathered griffon, with cold blue eyes, and scar running down his left eye. A strange apparatus was wrapped around his midsection, his wings folded against it, making a kind of clanking sound against his armor.

His keen senses alerted him to the many sounds of the city. In particular, the sounds of ponies trying to flee from them, and it just so happened he heard some. The silver griffon’s eyes roamed to the right, staring at a building that had yet to be touched by the flames. He then pointed with two talons at the building, signaling for two of his troops to enter it. Two of the armored griffons rushed inside and immediately searched inside.

“General Steel Wing.”

The silver feathered griffon turned to the soldier. “What is it?”

“We just got a report in. And…well, we’ve lost contact with the squad moving through Sector 48.”

“Nothing to worry about, the TeleCrystals have a limited range. After we get closer to the center of Stalliongrad we should regain contact with them shortly.”

“Yes sir.”

After a couple of minutes the two soldiers came out of the building, tossing a family of ponies at the ground before the large contingent of griffons. The first was a unicorn stallion, with his wife, an earth pony mare, and lastly, two foal fillies, both looking terrified at the sight of the griffons. The earth pony mare made her children stay behind her, while the stallion stood in front of them, acting as a shield between his family and the murderess griffon soldiers.

“Take a good look here my soldiers. This is what we fight against. These lowly, weak, and insignificant ponies…” Steel Wing started to move towards the family, circling them menacingly. “They think themselves our betters, because of what they can do, and because they believe their great princesses will save them from all harm.”

“Just leave us alone, please, just let us go,” pleaded the mare.

“They are not our betters, they are not our equals. They are nothing. We, my soldiers, are the superior race, the strongest and the swiftest, our mighty Empire as existed long before they were united, where we were always united, under our great Emperor!”

“HAIL, HAIL, HAIL!!!” The griffon shoulders shouted in salute as they slammed their fists against their chest plates.

“Ponies were put on this world to serve us! To serve as our labor, to serve as our slaves,” Steel Wing eyed the mare and fillies, a malicious smile crossing his beak, “and some will be put to service our needs as well.”

The unicorn stallion tensed upon hearing those words, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the fear in his children’s eyes, the fear of his wife, knowing exactly what kind of fate would await them, death would be a blessing compared to what the griffon was thinking. The stallion assumed an attack stance, his horn glowing with magical energy as he prepared to take on the griffon contingent and defend his family to the death.

“I will kill any of you who dare to touch my family!”

Steel Wing’s menacing smile changed into a disapproving and annoyed glare. “Now see, my soldiers, this is what I speak of. They believe themselves so high and mighty, that even when faced with an overwhelming force, they still think themselves superior. As admirable as such a trait is…it is wasted on you and your kind.”

Steel Wing extended his two large wings. The stallion gazed upon them, for they were not normal wings. They were metallic, attached to some kind of special harness tied around his body. The metal wings bent and moved with amazing flexibility, showing off the many razor sharp panels that made up its feathers. Steel Wing’s metallic avian appendages caught the light of the fire, making them appear even more intimidating and terrifying.

“Despite what you might think, I do have some honor, pony. I will give you one free shot, if you kill me then you and your family can go free.” Steel Wing looked to his soldiers. “Do you hear, none of you are to harm them should he prove victorious, that is an Absolute Order!”

The griffons all made a grunting sound as they pounded their chests once again, affirming they understood. An Absolute Order was the same as an order from the Emperor; it could not be broken, no matter what. It was something that was deeply ingrained into the soldiers of the Griffon Empire from day one of training.

The unicorn stallion charged his horn, building up all the mana within his body, tapping into his reserves, knowing that his family’s lives were on the line. With one powerful burst, the unicorn unleashed a beam of pure magical power at Steel Wing. The griffon’s metallic wings quickly folded in front him, forming a shield. The beam struck the wings, but there was no explosion. Instead the beam seemed to fall apart, turning into particles that dispersed into the open air. The stallion ceased his attack, completely drained of all magical energy.

“Now it is my turn.”

Steel Wing extended this right wing and slashed horizontally, the motion was so quick, that the only thing that indicated that he moved was the sheen of the metal. At first nothing happened. The unicorn’s family and soldiers wondered if Steel Wing had even done anything at all. That was, until the stallion’s horn fell off from his forehead. Sparkling ichor bleed out, the physical manifestation of magical energy. The stallion started to wobble, his knees weakening as he felt the energy, literally, pour out of him. With an evil sneer, Steel Wing brought his next slash with his left wing. This one did more than cut off the remainder of the horn, it took off everything else.
The mare and fillies watched in horror as the stallion’s head fell from his body, landing on the ground as his eyes rolled in the back of his head. The headless body fell over and gushed out blood from the open wound, gathering into a pool along with the blood from the severed head. The fillies screamed and cried in sadness, the earth pony mare was crying, and trying to keep herself from completely breaking down.

Steel Wing then turned to his soldiers, “Now, You four,” he pointed with his wing at a group of four griffons in his ranks, “take them, and enjoy the pleasures they provide. The rest of you, we march on to the center of Stalliongrad!”

The four griffons started to move towards the mare and her children. She knew she stood no chance against these beasts, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to do everything in her power to keep these filthy beasts from touching her daughters.

Just then something happened. From high above, four yellow stars appeared. The griffons and ponies looked up at the sky and wondered what they were. At that moment the four stars descended upon the four advancing griffons. They were each skewered by four large, yellow, jagged bladed spears. The griffon soldiers, Steel Wing, and the mare, all stared wide eyed at the sight. The four griffons, coughed up blood, writhing in agony from being pierced before they each gave up, and died.

“What…Who…WHO DID THIS!!!?” Steel Wing shouted in anger.

The four spears disappeared into particles of yellow light, allowing the bodies to slump to the ground. From out nowhere, powerful explosions discharged behind Steel Wing. The griffon commander watched as his soldiers were thrown from the detonations, while eithers were vaporized on the spot. Many of the griffons broke ranks, trying to stay out the line of fire, even though they knew not where the attack came from.

Before they could rally a defense, arrows made of yellow light shot forth from out of nowhere. They whistled as they flew through the air and pierced the helmets and chest plates of many of the griffons. They all dropped to the ground, forty warriors, all dead in a matter of seconds. There were only three left. Steel Wing glanced about, noticing that the mare and fillies had not been hurt.

That’s when the commander saw something in the distance. A yellow light made its way towards them. Something was wrong about his light, it radiated a strange power, of that he was certain of. As the light got closer, Steel Wing was able to make out what was coming towards them. It was a pegasus pony, clad in golden armor, with a black mesh-like underclothing. The pony had metallic, golden wings, a strange insignia upon its chest plate, and on its right bracer was circular ring, glowing with power. The pegasus wore a golden helmet, obscuring the face. The whites of the helmet’s eyes glared daggers at the griffons. Steel Wing could feel a strange sense of terror coming from this pegasus pony, something he never felt.

“What in Tartarus are you,” demanded Steel Wing.

The pegasus halted in its tracks, appearing as if they were thinking it over.

“What am I? I am justice! I am a defender! I am your worst nightmare come to life!” The pegasus’ body then erupted with a powerful golden aura that brightened the night. “I! AM! FEAR!”

Author's Note

And so...the journey begins...

You Have Been Chosen

A few hours had already passed since the departure of the Nightingale and Starburst was still anxious. She had explored some of the ship, getting familiar with the layout. A few RGs passed by her, some she saluted and others she simply waved a greeting. Luckily the glamour was still holding up, but there was always the niggling feeling in the back of her head, a slight fear that the charm would wear off at the most inopportune time. Still she didn't let that stop her, this was her dream, and she was going to see it through, come Tartarus or high water.

Starburst eventually made it to the room of the pony she was supposed to meet. Steeling her nerves, Starburst knocked at the door and awaited a response.

"Come in," said a mare's voice.

Starburst turned the nob and opened the door. The inside was fairly spacious. There were two sleeping cots on both sides of the room, a porthole to view the outside, and a retractable table at the center of the room. At the table sat a pegasus mare, her coat and feathers were yellow like gold, but her long mane and tail were a dingy white. Her eyes were piecing blue color, almost as if she were seeing straight through you. The mare, who had her mane in a ponytail, looked up from a map that was laid out and quirked an eyebrow at the newcomer.

"You're not Duke Hazard. Who are you," she asked.

"Oh, I’m Private Daisy Cutter, ma'am!" Starburst saluted the mare. "I was told to come see you regarding the recon for the supply run."

The pegasus mare face hoofed herself, "Duh, now I remember. The Lieutenant sent word that I'd be getting a rookie. I told Duke a thousand times, 'If it smells funny and been on the ground for more than five seconds, don't eat it!’ But hey, what're ya gonna do. Anyway, name's Sunny Skies, Corporal. And you can skip the formality while we're in here."

Starburst quickly lowered her hoof and let her body go lax and less rigid. "So, um, I guess I'll be your wingpony during the recon?"

"Yep, and it should – and I stress should – be a simple milk run. Look," Sunny pointed to a red circle near the outside of Stalliongrad, "we'll land here. From there the others will start unloading the supplies. Meanwhile, the two of us will move quickly and silently down this route to our fellow RGs fighting at the front. Our last intel told us that the griffons are sweeping through Stalliongrad."

Starburst watched as Sunny moved her hoof across the image of the city, showing how the Griffonian forces were advancing.

"Ma'am, I don't understand. Why not just hit them with the airship cannons? We can bomb them from above and drive them out quickly," asked Starburst.

"Unfortunately, there are still some ponies trapped behind enemy lines. We can't just go and aerial bomb the occupied parts of the city, not without killing the innocent ponies waiting for us to rescue them. Besides, we'd be leveling their homes and businesses. They may not have much to come back to when this is over, but it's better than nothing at all."

Starburst hung her head in shame, thinking herself foolish for not taking that into consideration. "Sorry..."

"No big," Sunny patted Star on the back, "besides, we'll get Stalliongrad back. No way am I going back home without freeing the city first!"

Starburst was starting to admire this mare, her determination and pride were infectious, and it only made the young mare want to try even harder. With that said Sunny Skies rolled up the map and tucked it into a container in the corner of the room. The whole time she was doing this, Starburst couldn't help but eye the mare, there was something about her that seemed...familiar, although she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. Sunny must've noticed her stares, because the older mare glanced over her right shoulder and smirked in Starburst's direction.

"See anything you like rookie," asked Sunny.

Starburst's cheeks went red at the implication, "Nonononono! I wasn't staring! Well, I was – but I didn't mean to! I just – UGH!"

Sunny chuckled at the embarrassed mare before her, "Don't worry about it, I'm flattered, really. But, you're too young for me, I mean, I'm twenty-five and you look too green to be eighteen yet."

Guess the glamour charm didn't make me as old as I thought it did, thought Star.

"Y-yeah, you're right. But that honestly wasn't the reason why I was staring. It's just, you remind me of somepony."

Sunny Skies quirked an eyebrow at that, but after a second or two, she understood who it was she reminded her of.

"I know, I probably remind you of my Mom. Her name is Spitfire," she said.

"Spitfire, as in Captain of the Wonderbolts, that Spitfire?!"

Sunny nodded.

"Whoa, I mean, I went to a few of your mom's shows, well, I mean her and the whole team, when I was filly. Strange, I don't remember there being anything about her having a foal?"

"Really, why's that?"

"Well...if I remember correctly, she and her teammate, Fleetfoot, got into a relationship and I heard they were still together," said Star.

Sunny Skies moved to her cot and laid back on it. "Yep, you're right. Spitfire and Fleetfoot are my moms."

"Oh, so they adopted you? One of my friends was adopted."

"Nope, my Mom, Spitfire, gave birth to me."

Starburst was now confused.

"Wait, what? So, did they get a donor or something?"

Sunny grinned, "Nope, my other Mom, Fleetfoot, she's my biological mother too."

Starburst was now drawing a complete blank and was racking her brain trying to figure out how two mares could have a child, when all the anatomy books she had read, and the embarrassing talk she had with both her parents, told her that a mare and a stallion were required to make a foal. Sunny could see the metaphorical smoke coming out of Star's ears and decided to have pity on her.

"Okay, let me clarify. Apparently there are clinics that will help mare couples have foals. The ponies there have unicorns who can cast a spell that can temporarily endow another mare with the necessary 'stallion parts' to get her partner pregnant," explained Sunny, air quoting the word stallion parts.

Star thought about it for a minute, letting her mind piece the information together. It didn't take long for her to figure out, if the glowing red that was now her face was any indication. The young pegasus mare stammered incoherently, trying to form words but having them come out as gibberish. Sunny Skies couldn't help but laugh at Star's realization, finding her reaction priceless.

After finally regaining her composure, Starburst spoke more clearly to Sunny. "I've...ahem...heard about mares that use 'that' sort of spell, but for other things. I didn't know that it could actually, get a mare pregnant..."

"Well, the one you're thinking of is a normal version; the one my Moms used was more complicated and required a trained professional. Otherwise they could've just asked a unicorn friend of theirs to cast the spell. Unfortunately, the spell can only allow mares to have fillies, has something to do with genes and chromosomes and some other complicated stuff. But, yeah, here I am, in the flesh."

"Wow, sorry, but I've never met a pony – mean – I'll shut up now before I embarrass myself again."

"Heh, heh, don't worry about it. Fun aside, we better get some shut eye, we might not get much of a chance to once we get there, stock up while you can."

Heeding Sunny's advice, Starburst went to her cot but paused before climbing in. My armor, I can't take it off with her in the room! The glamour can only mask the look as long as it's on me. If I take it off and she sees it looking smaller compared to me, or looks differently than when it was on me, I'll be found out! That leaves only one option...

Sunny Skies watched in confusion as Starburst climbed into her cot, with her full armor on. "I'm sure you've guessed that I'm into mares, but I'm not going to jump you in your sleep."

"What? Oh no, that has nothing to do with it, I swear! I just...I just want to be ready, you know, for when we get there, don't want to waste time getting my armor on in case something happens," said Starburst, chuckling nervously.

Sunny rubbed her chin, after a few tense seconds the older mare smiled in understanding.

"I get it. First deployment jitters, you're armor makes you feel safe, and it's your best friend on the battlefield, I get it, every newbie goes through this. But they eventually learn how much more comfortable to sleep without it. Night, Daisy."

"Night, Sunny."

Starburst managed to find a semi-comfortable position to sleep in and let her eyelids grow heavy. The weight of what was to come didn't quite hit her as hard as she thought. Maybe it was the adrenaline, the anticipation, or maybe it was because she made a friend in Sunny Skies. Whatever the reason, Starburst knew that when she next woke, she'd be in Stalliongrad about to live her dream.

Five Hours Later

*KA-BOOM*

The sound of an explosion woke Starburst from her sleep and made her jump out of her bed.

*KA-BOOM*

Another powerful explosion roared, the force of it rattled her teeth and shook the entire room. Starburst quickly looked around and saw Sunny Skies already suited up in her armor. Her expression was different from the kind and tomcoltish one she had before. Now it was serious, her brow furrowed and eyes glaring with the awakened soldier within her.

"What's going on," shouted Star.

"We're under attack Private, look alive!"

{Alert! All crew members to battle stations! Repeat! All crew members to battle stations! Sustaining heavy cannon fire from below!}

"They can't be serious," cursed Sunny, "C'mon we're heading to the loading bay!"

Starburst followed Sunny's orders. All throughout the ship everypony was scrambling, explosions continued to go off outside the airship. Star knew that all that was needed was for one of those cannons to get in a lucky shot and the whole ship could go down in flames. She tried to push that unpleasant thought as far into the back of her mind as she could, instead trying to focus on where they were going. After navigating the ships hallways, Sunny and Star made it to the loading bay. Medics and Royal Guards were all assembled, formed by ranks as they stood at attention. The Lieutenant, a gruff and older looking earth pony stallion, paced back and forth slowly.

"Listen up, we have a situation! The griffons have gotten ahold of our anti-airship cannons, and as a result they are now firing on us with our own weapons," he said.

"How come we didn't know about those, didn't we get communication about the takeover," asked a guard.

"Communications are spotty with the ground forces, we're not entirely sure what's causing it, but suffice to say we missed the important stuff. This of course changes our mission. If the enemy has advanced that far into Stalliongrad then it means that the situation has only gotten worse, we have to assume that our landing site and route are compromised. We may need to turn back."

Murmurs could be heard among the troops, they had come all this way to give aid to their fellow Royal Guards and now they had to turn back?!

"I'm sorry Sir, but I think I speak for everypony here when I say that is not acceptable," said Sunny.

All the RGs and Medics turned to look at Sunny Skies; their Lieutenant raised a curious eyebrow.

"Pray tell, how would we go about it?"

"An Air Drop, Sir."

"'Air Drop?!"

"Yes Sir, we drop the supplies at the designated site. I and one other pegasus will accompany the supplies to the ground and protect it until you and others can rendezvous with us. We'll use a TactCrystal to mark our position," explained Sunny.

"You realize that the only other pegasus on this boat is Private Daisy Cutter there? This is sounding like a suicide mission Corporal; I can't order somepony to do this. It has to be her decision."

All eyes were on Starburst now. She could feel the pressure being put on her to make a decision. Star could tell that this plan wasn't entirely sound, the original plan had a higher chance of survival, with Sunny's, that chance became less than a sliver. Starburst then looked up to Sunny Skies, her eyes locking with hers and feeling the fierce determination rise within her. She had come all this way to prove she had what it took to be a Royal Guard, to back out now would make everything she had done be for nothing. Starburst stood at attention and saluted the Lieutenant.

"Sir, I volunteer for the suicide mission, SIR!"

Almost everypony's mouths were agape at what she said. Sunny merely smiled her gratitude while the Lieutenant smirked.

"Ah, hay, the route we were going on had a 47% chance of us getting killed anyhow. Let's set'em up and roll'em out!"

"SIR, YES SIR!" The Royal Guards shouted as one.

"Swift, tell the bridge we're initiating an aerial drop! Thumper, get some ponies on the cannons, see if we can draw the enemy’s fire! Well c'mon you apes, you wanna live forever!?"

"HOORAH!"

If everypony was scrambling before, they were hustling now. The RGs worked fast to get the supply crates fitted with parachutes while the Nightingale maneuvered swiftly to avoid any direct hits. The cannons on the starboard and port sides fired off one round after the other at the ground below, aiming at the muzzle flashes of the anti-airship cannons below. Starburst and Sunny Skies were busy getting outfitted. Sunny had equipped a couple of blade bracers; each one housed a ten inch steel blade. Star opted to carry a dagger; she would've used the blade bracers as well, but was unsure if they would interfere with the glamour charm.

The packages were ready; the loading door slowly opened up and revealed a night sky, lit up with the thunderous explosions of cannon ordinance. Star and Sunny stood at the edge of the platform, looking down at Stalliongrad. The city was large, spanning hundreds of miles in each direction, easily dwarfing Canterlot and coming in as a close second to Manehattan. Star had seen pictures of Stalliongrad once before, and had wanted to see the city one day, but now some of it was burning, and other parts had gone pitch black.

"You ready Cutter?"

"Oh I'm ready, are you Sunny?"

"I was born ready, how about you?!"

"I couldn't be more read!"

There was a brief silence between them.

"We're procrastinating out of fear, aren't we," asked Sunny Skies.

"Oh most definitely," agreed Starburst.

Sunny Skies sighed, "Well, regardless of what happens, I'm glad to have met you, Daisy Cutter, and there's no pony I'd rather do this with." The golden-yellow mare extended her hoof to the young mare before her.

Starburst grinned and hoof bumped Sunny, "Back you, Sunny Skies."

Both mares looked over the edge one last time to steel their nerves.

"It's a good day to die, Cutter!"

"What –!?"

"RELEASE!!!"

At her order the load was released, the heavy crates quickly left the airship and descended down. Both Star and Sunny dove off in pursuit of the crates. All around them explosions went off left and right. The whole time both mares kept their wings tucked tightly against their bodies, allowing gravity to take hold of them as they angled out to align themselves with the falling supplies. Starburst could feel the g-forces rack her body as they continued their dive. The city was growing closer and closer with each passing second, the cannon fire continued to burst all around them, it would only take one of those to blow her or Sunny out of the sky and Star didn't feel like getting shot down.

The two pegasi finally caught up with the crates, Sunny looked up and then down, determining the best time to deploy the chute. It was when one of the cannon shots strayed too close did she deem it time to deploy. Star quickly hit the button on crate and the parachute released before them. Both pegasi kicked off the crate and began their flare, unfurling their wings and allowing the air to help in reducing their speed. The two of them grabbed either side of the crates, holding it still and aiming the combine load to land in a roughly defendable area. The sky then gave way to towering structures of stone and mortar; there was a heat that wafted through the air, no doubt from the fires that raged unattended.

"Get ready, Private, this is going to be rough," warned Sunny.

Star watched as the ground approached rapidly. She braced herself the best she could while flapping her wings as fast and hard as she could. Combined, the two mares were able to make the crates stop with little jostling. Both Sunny and Star panted hard, their hearts beating fast and furiously, threatening to burst out of their chests at any moment. After taking in gulps of air, the two of them quickly looked up and watched as the Nightingale started to move away from the city.

"Well, the hard parts over, now all we need to do is –"

Sunny was cut off midsentence by the loud gasp of Starburst. She quickly looked skywards and gasped in horror. A blazing shot of cannon ordinance whizzed through the night and struck the bridge of the Nightingale. The bridge of the airship exploded, causing the balloon attached above it to ignite and further increase the explosion's magnitude. The two mares watched as the remnants of the ship cascaded down in a rain shower of fiery destruction. Starburst couldn't stand up; she fell back on her haunches, her mind unable to fully process what she had just seen. The Nightingale, its crew, the Royal Guards, and the Medics, all of them were gone in mere minutes after the two of them had jumped off. Star didn't even realize that Sunny had walked up next to her and placed a hoof on her withers in comfort.

"Say a prayer, Daisy. A lot of our brothers and sisters didn't get the chance to."

Star new of death, it was hard to escape it. Old relatives, grandparents, pets, they all died at some point, and even some young ponies like her, usually due to a bad accident, or some debilitating disease. But this, these ponies, whom she only known for a few hours, had so quickly and so violently been killed before her eyes. Their dreams and hopes brought to an end. Their family and friends, their lovers, they'd never get to see them again. Star's eyes stung with tears as sadness gripped her heart, grinding her teeth and squinting out of anger.

"Alright, let's hunker down someplace and activate the crystal."

"Sunny, the Nightingale is gone...no pony's going to come and give us backup," said Star.

"No, somepony will. The TactCrystal sends a magical energy signal that can be picked up by any Equestrian devices that are scanning right now. I have no doubt that a lot of ponies and griffons saw the Nightingale go down, which means they may've also seen us dropping out from it," said Sunny.

"So what now, what do we do now?"

"We hide, we keep watch over the supplies, and we fulfill our mission. Let’s make sure that their deaths weren't in vain. I know you're angry, sad, and scared right now rookie, but right now I need you to mare up and watch my back." Sunny then draped her foreleg around Star, bringing her into a half hug. "I'll keep you safe, no matter what; I promise you'll see your family again."

Starburst leaned into the hug, finding comfort and solace in the older mares embrace. "Thank you."

"C'mon, let's hide."

2 Hours Later...

When Star left Canterlot, it was six o'clock. Five hours from there to when she awoke, it was eleven o'clock. Fast forward to now, it was at least one in the morning. Although that's what the clock read in the building they were in, it felt like the day had already begun. The orangey hue of the sky, compliments of the fire, made it appear as if it were day and severally messed with Starburst's internal clock. Every now and again she'd catch herself dozing off, sometimes she she'd slap her cheeks to keep her awake, but she quickly gave that up when her cheeks began to throb in pain. She then resorted to nipping at her foreleg, but again, she stopped when she saw she was drawing blood.

Despite Sunny Skies' numerous offers to let her catch a few winks, Starburst refused. She didn't want to be asleep should something happen, or if an enemy were to sneak up on them while she was out. Dying peacefully was one thing, but dying in your sleep, knowing that you could've prevented it was something she was not ready to let happen.

The two of them had taken refuge in an abandoned building a few feet from the crates of supplies. The crate was hidden behind some rubble, using the parachute to cover it up to make it look like it was part of the rubble, making it hard to see unless you had their vantage point, or an aerial one. The area was an enclosed park, buildings on either side, with four ways in. One from the building they currently occupied, the second from the structure across from them, and the third and fourth were to their left and right. Entrances used for pedestrians to cross one side of the block to the other.

For some ponies, going through everything that Star has seen, such things would make other ponies reconsider ever joining Royal Guard, maybe even quit all together. But not Starburst, she knew that along with the honor and glory you must also take the gritty and the dirty. And right now, it didn't get any grittier or dirtier than where she was right now. Quitting after everything she had gone through would not only insult the ponies who died today, it would tarnish her honor as a mare, and a Princess.

"Hey, Daisy."

Star was snapped from her reverie and glanced over at Sunny Skies.

"What's up?"

"Just wondering, what was your life like, you know, back home in Canterlot?"

"Well...it's nothing grand. My life was great; I have a Dad who used to be a Royal Guard stationed at the Crystal Empire. A little brother, a unicorn, he's really into magic and books, I mean, I swear every time I see him he has his nose in one. And then there's my cousin, he's in the Guard; he taught me everything I know, and then some. Only..."

"Only what?"

"Apparently he had it rough during his academy days, and even during his service. I never knew anything about it, and...I feel terrible that I couldn't do anything to help him..."

"You're cousin, how old is he," asked Sunny.

"He's twenty-five – scratch that, he'd be twenty-six now."

"Well that means you were only a filly, maybe he didn't want to burden you with all his troubles, maybe you were the reason he kept on going, his inspiration not to look uncool in front of his cousin."

Star thought it over for a minute, she'd never considered that. She did remember times when he would take time out of the day to play with her, or to look after her and Nighty when her parents had something important to do.

"So, what about your mom?"

Star's gaze turned downcast, "My Mom...she's… she's really smart, pretty much a genius. She's even great at magic; it's more or less her special talent..."

"You don't sound like you're too fond of her."

"She never really liked the idea of me joining the Royal Guard, even though she said she'd support me in my decision, deep down, I knew she didn't want me to succeed in getting in...A couple of days before I left, I had a fight with my parents, I think I hurt my Mom...I mean, I know I'm not the perfect daughter she hoped for, I can't help it that I was born a pegasus! I just wish that...that she could see who I am and be proud either way...!"

Sunny Skies gave her companion a sympathetic look. "In a way, we're similar. My Moms never really understood why I wanted to join the Royal Guard. They're a part of the fastest and most highly decorated flight team in Equestria. And I've inherited that speed, agility, and fast reflexes. But it didn't feel like my talents weren't being put to good use just doing air shows and races. My Mom, Spitfire, was head of the Wonderbolts Academy, so she knows a thing or two about having a sense of responsibility. My other Mom, Fleetfoot, she needed more convincing before she came around. But the point is she did come around. Don't write off your mom just yet, if she's anything like mine, she'll love you either way."

I just hope I live long enough to find out...

Sunny's ear flicked, her body tensed as her eyes scanned over the area. Star quickly joined her in surveying, her heart nearly stopped when she saw them. Two griffon soldiers were entering from the west opening. They were garbed in dark gray armor, metal gauntlets with razor sharp claw attachments that clicked against the stone pathway. They each had a sword strapped to their backs, a full chest plate, and protective helmets.

"Not much room to get in a decisive blow, best bet is to strike at their jugulars, it's the most exposed, but they know that and they won't make it easy," whispered Sunny.

"We're seriously going to fight them," whispered Star.

"Not unless they see the supplies, if they leave and don't see them, we won't, but if they do, we have to strike fast or else they'll call for reinforcements. You see that," Sunny pointed at a crystal that was embedded into a collar griffons wore around their necks, "that's a TeleCrystal; they can use it to call out their position and communicate between their fellow griffons. If we can get those collars, we'll be one step ahead of them, if we're lucky, we can get those to somepony on our side so can intercept their communications."

"Sounds like a plan," said Starburst as she gulped.

The griffons continued to walk around the mini-park, seeming agitated by their search.

"Damn it, why do we have to go searching this area," groaned the brown feathered griffon.

"Because, they shot down that airship," answered his partner with purple feathers.

"Yeah, but it went down in flames, way over there! There'd be nothing left but burning carcasses and twisted metal."

"Reports say right before they blew it up, something dropped out of it, and that's what we're looking for."

"Big deal, I say, we leave. Grab a crossbow or two. Smoke some scared little ponies out of their hidey-holes and use’em for target practice,” he said with a wicked grin.

"Yeah, you want to be the one to tell Commander Steel Wing how we screwed around while the thing we were supposed to be searching for got picked by the enemy?"

The brown feathered griffon thought it over, his face contorting as some unpleasant images appeared in his head.

"Let's keep looking," he groaned.

Starburst cursed under her breath, not that she wanted them to do all that stuff, but at least they would've given up and left. Now it looked like combat was all but inevitable. Star unsheathed the dagger from her left shoulder strap, keeping it nestled in the crook of her right foreleg. They kept getting closer and closer to the supplies and with each passing moment so too did the tension rise. Sunny already had the blades of her bracers extended, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. They were getting closer to the mound of rumble they hid it behind, if they bumped into it now they'd surely be able to tell that the parachute covering it was only that, a parachute.

"Ready...steady....and –!"

"STAY YOUR WEAPONS!"

Star and Sunny turned around, in the doorway were two more griffons, both leering at them from and poised for battle.

"GO!!!"

Sunny leapt out the window, followed suit by Starburst. Sunny Skies aimed for the brown feathered griffon, catching him off guard, she sunk the two blades of her bracers straight into his throat. The griffon soldier reared back on his hind legs, and flailed with his forelegs, trying desperately to tear off Sunny. But she didn't release him; instead she crouched lower and forced the remainder of the ten inch blades into his throat. Sunny quickly withdrew, flapping her wings to give her leverage as she pulled back and dislodged her weapons. The moment she did, blood sprayed profusely from the two open wounds, the griffon merely fell to the ground, drowning in pool of his own crimson life essence.

For Starburst, it wasn't so easy. She was ready for the kill; she'd played the scenario almost a thousand times in her head. Fly straight ahead, cock back the right hoof, and the slash across the throat. It was a perfect, swift, and skillful kill tactic, it couldn't fail. However, when she reached her target and prepared to deliver the death blow, the griffon saw her at the last second, his face filled with horror as she saw her approach with the glinting dagger. The horror filled expression, the one you make when you see your death coming, but can do nothing to stop it. It was this look that made Starburst hesitate. Yes this was her enemy, yes they had killed hundreds, and tortured thousands more, but when it was all said and done, could she really take the life of another?

It was this question that gave the griffon ample time to reach out with his right claw and catch Star by her throat. He then pushed forward and slammed Starburst onto the ground, back first. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs; she almost passed out right that second, if it weren't for the pain of having her throat crushed from the griffon. The terrified look in his eyes was gone now, replaced by murderous intent. The griffon continued to squeeze tighter around Star's throat, making her flail as she swiped the dagger back and forth. The blade nicked the griffon across his cheek, the red gash bled, stinging like Tartarus. The scarred griffon used almost all his strength now, Star felt like she was about to pass out, her throat about to collapse at any second.

Suddenly two golden blades sprouted out the griffon's neck. He let out a pained, gurgling noise as he attempted to scream in pain. Star felt his grip loosen; her eyes looked further up and saw Sunny Skies, standing on his back, her blades piercing the griffon's neck. Starburst rolled out from under the griffon and quickly stood up. She then watched as Sunny made a jerking motion and stretched her forelegs outwards, the resulting motion allowed the blades to sever the rest of the way through, completely decapitating her enemy. Sunny then jumped off and allowed the beheaded body to fall to the ground.

She huffed and panted, looking up at the window where the other two griffons were still lurking in wait. Star made her way closer to Sunny, only to get slapped across the face. It wasn't too hard a slap, but it still stung considering what she had just been through.

"Sunny?"

"You idiot! Never hesitate when going for the kill! These aren't dummies that bleed sand when you cut them! This is real, flesh and blood, combat! You kill or you die, those are your only options, got it," asked Sunny, her tone was aggressive, yet held great authority.

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Good, let's fly!"

Without another moment to spare, Sunny and Starburst unfurled their wings and took off into the sky. It wasn't long before they heard the shouting of the griffon soldiers and clanking of their armor as they gave pursuit.

"Wait, we can't just leave the supplies behind like that!" Star shouted.

"Don't worry; I left the TactCrystal on the crate. Eventually they'll find it, but for now we have to lead these plot-holes away from the crate!"

Star and Sunny continued to fly through the ruined half of Stalliongrad. As they flew, Star caught glimpses of the carnage that had passed through there before her arrival. Buildings were ransacked or set ablaze, the bodies of mares, stallions, and even defenseless foals, were strewn across the road, hanged from light poles, desecrated or mutilated in various forms and fashions. The young mare felt like she was going to throw up during flight. This isn't a war, it's out right slaughter!

"DAISY, LOOK OUT!!!"

Starburst watched as a griffon came charging at her with a spear, ready to impale her. At that moment she heard a whistling sound, almost like an arrow was shooting by them. It was then that her eyes caught sight of something gold and metallic find its home in the right eye socket of the incoming griffon. The attacker quickly went limp, dropping the spear, and dropping out the air altogether. Star looked over to Sunny, her left bracer's blade was gone, but after she pressed a button, a new blade popped out.

"They can be used as projectiles, I have about nine left, so stay sharp!"

The two mares continued to be pursued as they weaved through dilapidated structures, and dodged a near endless array of spears and arrows being either thrown or shot. As the duo rounded the corner down another road, they were blindsided by two griffons who tackled them. They held onto their prey tightly as all four of them crash landed onto the unforgiving cobblestone road.

Starburst was not going to repeat what happened before. As soon as she felt that their tumbling was over, she sprang to her hooves and drew out the dagger. Star then unleashed a flurry of slashes at the griffon who had brought her down. The griffon solider was taken aback by the speed and ferocity that Starburst showed, his only option was defense. The young mare then thrust out with the blade, missing the soldier by just a few inches. This was his chance, an opening. The griffon lashed out with his claws, trying to catch Starburst in her chest plate. Luckily she pulled back, but the griffon's claws made contact with her armor, scrapping against it and making a horrible screeching sound. Her eyes widened, when the griffon continued his attack, shreds of magical energy lapped off his claws. The griffon jumped back, watching the last remnants of the energy trickle away.

Star knew what he had struck, somehow his claws scratched at the glamour charm that enveloped her body.

"So, you got some fancy magic armor do ya?! Well it's not going to help! Our armor is laced with special metals that repel magic attacks, and our gauntlets were designed specifically to rip apart shields, barriers, and warding magic!"

Oh no, if he lands another blow like that –! "SUNNY!"
Starburst called out for her partner, but was dismayed to see that she was currently locked in mortal combat with the griffon who had assailed her earlier. Without warning, the soldier flew towards Starburst. He swiped at her with his claws, tearing some of the glamour in the process. Star quickly went on the defensive; she couldn't risk her identity being revealed now, not in front of these two, and especially not in front of Sunny Skies. The griffon continued his onslaught, Starburst did her best to dodge the attacks, but with each successful hit a little more of the glamour was torn away.

Finally, with one powerful swipe, the griffon tore away at the last bits of the glamour charm. Both the griffons, and Sunny Skies, stopped and watched as the body of the pegasus mare changed. She was smaller, only came up to Sunny's chest. She had specially made violet, custom armor that was only made for the royals of Equestria. The two griffons seemed confused by the appearance of Starburst's true form, but Sunny Skies was a different story. She could tell that Sunny knew exactly who she was, which made the expression on her face all the more grave.

Quickly, Sunny took this opportunity to attack the griffon she was fighting. With two slashes of her blades she downed the brute, and then made her way to the second. Sunny fired two blades into the exposed gaps in the griffon's foreleg armor. Starburst took the initiative and brought the blade of her dagger straight across his throat.

"What's going on here," asked Sunny.

Star turned to the pegasus mare before her, her eyes now filled with shame and sadness, "Sunny...I'm sorry…I –”

“You’re Princess Starburst…what…what in Tartarus are you doing here!!?” Sunny shouted.

“Sunny…it’s hard to explain…”

“I don’t believe this! I’ve been dragging the daughter of High Princess Twilight and High Prince Flash Sentry all through Stalliongrad, and fighting griffons! Oh Celestia and Luna, oh Faust above, I’m so going to get thrown in a dungeon for this!” Sunny Skies shook her head and slapped her cheeks, trying to regain her composure. “Okay, new priority: We’re getting you out of enemy territory now before they figure out –!”

Sunny stopped when she heard the flapping of many wings coming towards them. Starburst and Sunny Skies turned towards the sound and watched as at least a dozen griffon soldiers descended onto the street, each one glaring at the two mares with homicidal rage and vengeance upon seeing the dead bodies of their comrades. Sunny took a defensive stance, keeping Starburst behind her and extending her wings to obscure their view of the young Princess.

“Princess listen to me,” whispered Sunny, “If I’m right, flying down that road behind me will get you to the front line, try and get noticed by our troops and get to safety. I’ll hold them here as long as I can.”

“No, I’m fighting alongside you,” hissed Star.

“With all due respect, Princess, you’re an idiot! If they get ahold of you, we can pretty much kiss Stalliongrad goodbye! If they haven’t figured out who you are, then that’s better for us right now! So fly and don’t look back!”

Sunny Skies then pulled something from her mane; it was a ruby, a particular one that Starburst had seen before.

“Is that a fire ruby!?”

“NOW!!!”

Sunny Skies tossed the fire ruby at the squad of griffons. When the crystal hit the ground it erupted into a powerful explosion. Blowing three of the griffons away and sending a few others onto their backs. Sunny then launched herself at the disoriented soldiers, quickly slaying the ones that were on their backs. The other griffons, after regaining their senses, roared and charged Sunny.

Starburst wanted to stay and fight, but one glaring stare from Sunny made her think otherwise. Forcing herself to turn the other way, Starburst unfurled her wings and flew off in the direction that Sunny Skies had told her, doing as she told her and not looking back.

Starburst had been flying for what felt like hours, she had to stop on a building rooftop to catch her breath. As much training as she had done, the combined stress and fatigue of the situation was starting to catch up with her body. Star gazed out across the city, the front line still looked far away. She hated herself, leaving behind a Royal Guard like that, her partner and comrade. Her eyes stung with tears as thoughts of what was happening to Sunny Skies entered her mind. Could Sunny fight off that many griffons, even after what she had just done with the fire ruby? Did they call in reinforcements? Starburst didn’t want to think about, but her mind wouldn’t stop imagining the worst.

I can’t believe I just left her there! We could’ve fought them off together! Starburst then noticed something odd. Her right hoof was trembling, how could this be? I’m afraid…? How…how can I be afraid!? Just because I’m alone and behind enemy lines! That’s no reason for me to be……afraid.

Starburst stamped her hoof repeatedly, trying to stop the shaking. Just then she felt five thuds behind her, Star didn’t need to turn around to know exactly who and what they belonged to. She could feel their eyes roaming over her body.

“Well looky what we got here fellas. A little filly pretending to be one of those high and mighty Royal Guards,” said one of the griffons.

“She’s got a nice flank, that’s for sure,” said another.

Starburst slowly reached for her dagger, unsheathing it and gripping the hilt the crook of her right hoof. Star then let out a fierce cry as she spun around to attack her enemies. Her attack was cut short, as one of the soldiers rushed towards her and backhanded her across the muzzle sending Starburst spiraling to the ground. Starburst’s head was spinning, pain radiating from her right cheek, and tasting a bit of blood in her mouth. That’s when Star went stiff as a board, feeling the presence of the griffon looming over her.

“Hey guys, it’s been awhile since we had ourselves some ‘filly fun’, what do ya say boys?”

“Fine with us, just make sure you save some for us!”

Star’s eyes went wide, knowing what he meant by that. She felt utterly powerless in this moment, all the training she had done, all the drills Valiant Heart did with her, the times she ran herself ragged working at Sweet Apple Acres with Del, it was all for nothing. Star had shut her eyes, tears starting to stream as she awaited the eventual pain of what the griffon was going to do to her. Star could feel the griffon’s breath on her neck, sniffing, taking in her scent. The young mare dared to crack open an eye and saw her dagger lying just a few inches from her, the blade reflected the night sky above. Something in the reflection caught her eye, there was a twinkling glint. Star looked up and saw a bright yellow star twinkling, she didn’t know why, but there was something about this glowing light that ignited a fire within Starburst.

She quickly grabbed the dagger, clenching the hilt between her teeth. Starburst then twirled in place and brought the blade of the dagger clean across the griffon’s throat. The soldier lurched backwards, gurgling as his mouth filled with blood. The griffon kept stepping backwards, clasping his claws around his throat, trying to stop the gushing blood. It didn’t take long before he fell on his back, dead. The griffons looked upon their fallen comrade in shock. They then turned their gazes upon Star, ready to make her pay for what she had done. But when they did, they did not expect what they what saw.

Starburst had spit out the dagger. She then flared out her wings to their full length, as she narrowed her gaze. The orangey glow of the distant fires melded with her coat, making the young mare appear more fearsome than she already looked. The griffons started to feel an intense pressure coming from Starburst, it was oppressive, it something they had never felt coming from a pony before, not even from their fiercest warriors.

“I am Princess Starburst!” Star advanced a step, and the griffons took a step back at the same time. “I am third in line for the throne of the great kingdom of Equestria! I do not cower, to likes of you pathetic, savage beasts! I will NOT fear you! You will fear ME!!!” She roared at the top of her lungs.

At that moment something happened. The yellow star twinkling in the night sky started to grow brighter and brighter. The griffon’s attention was then drawn to the star, making the Princess look behind her. The same yellow star that had reignited the fight inside of her was now growing bigger, as a matter of fact, it was getting closer. The yellow star streaked across the night sky, blazing a path as it sailed over the city. Starburst knew she needed to run, but that thought came too late. The yellow star struck Starburst, engulfing her in a giant sphere of bright yellow light. The griffon soldiers stared in confusion and fright at what was happening before them.

Star had shut her eyes at the last minute, thinking that the end was here. When she opened them, she found herself surrounded by golden-yellow energy. Star’s eyes then caught sight of something floating with her inside the sphere. It was a yellow ring, with a strange insignia carved onto it. The ring faced Starburst, glowing with the same power that flowed around her.

[Starburst of Equestria, you have the ability to instill great fear. You have been chosen.]

“‘Chosen’, chosen for what,” she asked the ring.

[You have been chosen to bring justice to your world, to wield the power of the yellow light of Fear. Do you accept this power?]

Starburst didn’t know what to do. This talking ring was offering her power, the power to fight back, maybe the power she needed to turn this situation around. Should she take hold of this ring, and the power it offered? It only took her a matter of seconds to reach her answer. Starburst slowly raised her right foreleg and stretched it towards the floating ring in front her.

“I accept!”

[Welcome to the Fear Lantern Corps.]

The ring turned around and slipped itself over Star’s right foreleg. Starburst then felt a surge of power course through her veins, charging every cell, every molecule within her body. The yellow light then lashed out at Starburst’s armor, breaking it down and reconstructing it. A black mesh like material formed over her body. The armor pieces then latched to her body. Her hind legs and forelegs had yellow boots and bracers, with silver studs on the sides. Her chest plate had the same insignia as the ring, with eight feathers fanning out from it. Her wings took on a golden metallic appearance, sheening in the light of energy sphere. Star’s purple eyes then changed color to that of the energy that swirled about. And finally a helmet formed around her head, with a face plate to obscure her identity.

The sphere then broke apart, revealing the new Starburst. The griffons didn’t know what to make of it, and neither did Star as she expected her new uniform.

“ATTACK; KILL THAT PEGASUS BEFORE SHE TRIES SOMETHNG!!!”

The griffon soldiers all took flight and prepared to pounce on Starburst. The young mare looked up and, as if by instinct, she brought up her right hoof. The ring started to glow with intense power. She then swiped her hoof in an arc in front of her. At that same time a cutlass sword, formed from yellow light, materialized before her. The sword construct then followed her movement and cut down all four of griffons in a single motion.

Star’s eyes went wide at the sight of what she had done. All four severed griffon bodies fell onto the roof in a bloody mess of parts. She then watched as the construct sword turned into particles of light, disappearing into thin air. Starburst then looked down at the ring.

“What…what are you?”

Author's Note

To Be Continued...

Learning The Art of Fear

Valiant Heart was busy scribbling away at some reports he had just been given. He found this particular task of being a Guard Captain to be tedious, especially when the majority of the reports were from rookies who knew not the proper way to fill one out, so much of his time was spent deciphering what they had wrote. Normally it was only a handful of those types of reports, but now, with the recent draft and lowered Royal Guard entry age, they were now starting to become tall towers of paper, making him remember the book stacks his Aunt Twilight would litter a room with.

*Knock*

“Who is it,” he asked, not taking his eyes off of his current work.

“Your favorite uncle,” responded the voice.

“Discord?”

The door then flew open as an orange pegasus stallion stood in the doorway with a shocked expression.

“How in the hay is Discord your favorite uncle!?”

Valiant Heart couldn’t help laughing at his guest’s expense, “I’m sorry Uncle Flash, I-I couldn’t resist seeing that look on your face.”

Flash Sentry rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. The High Prince closed the door behind him and made his way to Valiant’s desk. The office hadn’t changed much during his time in the Guard. The Captain’s office had a bookshelf on one side of the wall, filled with texts on military strategy, history, topographical maps, and atlases of different nations. And to the left wall was a shelf with all of Valiant Heart’s awards and medals during his service as a Royal Guard. The shelf had seen and bared many plaques, medals, and other knickknacks that the Captains before Valiant earned. When they stepped down, they were allowed to keep them or donate one to a special display for past Captains.

“So how goes it,” asked Flash.

Valiant released the quill pen from his magical grasp; he then took the time to pop the kinks in his neck before answering.

“So far, it’s unclear. Stalliongrad was retaken; we’ve fortified it and brought in airships to help guard it. They’re still cleaning up last I heard, but for now they have the place under control, which is why I’m back here dealing with this pile,” said Valiant.

“Stalliongrad sounded like it got chaotic. I’ve also been hearing rumors about somepony glowing yellow?”

“Oh yeah…” Valiant concentrated and used his telekinetic aura to grab stack of reports from one of the towers and placed them on the desk. “These are all the reports on the Golden Star.”

Flash looked up at Valiant skeptically, “The ‘Golden Star’?”

“That’s what ponies are calling this supposedly, unnamed, pegasus, wearing golden armor and bearing an insignia that doesn’t match anything we have on record.”

Flash grabbed one of the reports and skimmed through it, his years of being a Royal Guard allowed him to pick out key words and interesting points within these documents. He came upon one entry which struck him as interesting.

My children, my husband, and I were hiding during the invasion; we didn’t want to run into the streets for fear that we might get caught too easily. Unfortunately, our fears were realized when we were found by an army of griffon soldiers.

They dragged us into the middle of the street and threw us before their leader, Steel Wing if I remember correctly. My husband…My husband tried to protect us, to save us from a fate worse than death. But sadly…he was…cut down in front of me and my daughters. Steel Wing ordered his soldiers to…take us…but that’s when it happened.

Four of the griffons were skewered by glowing yellow spears! There were explosions centered on the griffon soldiers, and then yellow arrows appeared out of nowhere and dealt with the rest. In the end only Steel Wing and four of his soldiers remained. That’s when saw our savior, it was a pegasus, want to say it was mare, judging by the voice, but I’m not sure. She proclaimed to Steel Wing that she was “fear”.

I understood why she said that, she glowed with a power that made me somewhat more fearful than I already was. I even thought for a moment that she might attack us too. But then she told me to take my daughters and run as fast as I could. Thankfully we were able to find a safe place to hide out until it was over.

Ponies are calling that mare the “Golden Star,” I’m not sure where she came from or how she did the things she did, but as far as I’m concerned the Golden Star is a hero to us, and I will never forget it.

“If you can believe it, this Golden Star took on most of the invading army single hoofedly.”

Flash Sentry put down the report and gave his nephew an inquisitive look. “What do you believe?”

“I believe that I saw the Golden Star blast away an entire airship fleet in a single shot, I also believe that the Golden Star is also responsible for retaking the AA cannons and kept our airships from being shot out of the sky, and I believe that the Golden Star was instrumental in taking back Stalliongrad. Of course, paperwork isn’t about what I believe, it only deals in facts, and the facts are that it’s ‘under investigation’, at least that’s what the official record will say. And then onto more reports.”

“Well, you might not have to deal with it much longer. We’ve received word that the Griffon Empire has attacked other Equestrian provinces. Neighpon, Prance, Trottingham, Maretonia, Mustangia, Maretania, Saddle Arabia, they’re even attacking Zebrica, and they’re their own nation! So far each is holding their own, but for how long is another story.”

Valiant Heart grimaced at the news; he knew that the griffons were trying to push forward, but on this scale? “This seems too organized to just be a spontaneous act of war. They must’ve drawn up battle plans and setup their forces in advance, and made adjustments accordingly. They’ve been planning this, question is why? What’s they’re end game?”

“Hopefully we never have to find out.” Flash took a look at the clock hanging from the wall. “Well, I better let you get back to it; you don’t want to be up all night doing this.”

“I should be so lucky that it’s only one night,” he chuckled.

As Flash started to make his way to the door he paused for a moment.

“Something wrong Uncle Flash?”

Flash Sentry turned around and gave his nephew an uncertain look. “You haven’t asked how Star’s doing.”

Valiant Heart turned his gaze away, finding a very interesting spot on his desk to stare at.

“How is she?”

“Physically, she’s fine, Star’s in Ponyville so she’ll be able to recover faster there than here, get her as far away from stress as possible,” said Flash.

“Good…but, I’m guessing there’s more.”

“She was…devastated when we told her that she was banned from ever joining the Royal Guard, and a little hurt that you didn’t want to see her.”

“I have my reasons Uncle Flash, but you, me, we all knew that banning her was the only way to protect her from herself,” said Valiant.

“I understand, believe me, I don’t ever want to see her like that again or to experience the pain she endured all over again. But…as a father, it killed me, in my soul, to crush her dreams like that. Twilight’s even worse, and I don’t blame her. We might as well have clipped her wings while we were at it!”

Flash stomped the floor as his anger rose, he then took a few calming breaths before saying anything else.

“I understand Uncle. It wasn’t easy for me either. I helped train her, she looked up to me, but in the end it’s the best thing for her and everypony,” stated Valiant Heart.

“Will you at least think about talking to her?”

“……I’ll think on it.”

“Fair enough.”

Flash Sentry then exited Valiant Heart’s office and left him to his paperwork and thoughts. Valiant had made the right decision, he was certain of it. He had to convince his aunt and uncle that Star couldn’t be in the Guard. Her impersonation was going to go on record and damage any chance of her getting in, royal status or not. To him, it was better to outright ban her now while she was still young and able to find a different course for her life. At least this way she wouldn’t have to spend countless hours training herself for something that she was going to get rejected from later.

With his decision reaffirmed Valiant went back to work, taking the writing quill pen into his telekinetic aura he began to write. Something was off though; his magical grip on the quill pen was wavering, causing his words to look skewed and warped. Valiant simply used his magic to crumple the paper up and start over on a new sheet. Unfortunately, the same thing happened with this sheet, which caused him to get another. And another, and then another, now he was on his fifth sheet, seventh, tenth, twentieth, and now he was on his fortieth sheet of paper.

At that moment Valiant Heart let out a frustrated yell as his horn snapped the quill and blasted the papers into the air, scattering them everywhere in his office. Valiant Heart then brought down his right hoof onto the desk, hitting it hard on the oaken wood. The alicorn stallion then bit his lip to stave off his tears for robbing Starburst of her dream. The very thing she worked so hard for, and looked up to him for as well, was now gone from her future.

“I’m sorry Star…”

Ponyville, 4 Days Later…

Starburst felt as if her brain was going to explode and take her head with it. When she had asked the ring about information regarding her Corps and other things, she had no idea that it would open up to so much. She got more and then some. For nearly a week Star did nothing but eat, research, eat again, a little more research, and then sleep, in that order. But even with that regimen, Star felt as if she barely even scratched the surface.

“I could live to be a hundred and I’m sure I’d barely be able to get past the surface,” said Star.

[I possess knowledge gathered from nearly every corner of the universe. For you, Starburst, to learn all I am programmed with, would take you 864, 384, 636, 556, 647, 132 years. ]

Starburst eyed the ring on her foreleg indignantly, “Are you saying I’m stupid or something?”

[Incorrect. I am merely calculating the number of years required to “scratch the surface”.]

“Great, so what you’re telling me is that I need to become an immortal alicorn just get that much in,” said Starburst, throwing her forelegs into the air in annoyance. “Forget it; at least I got the bare essentials down.”

This was true, according to the ring Starburst was the only Fear Lantern in Equestria, and that there were in fact seven different corps, each with their unique color and emotion that fueled their power. She was a bit concerned when she found out about the rings being able to choose a planet to become a lantern, a living planet at that. Star contemplated what would happen if her ring were to somehow find its way to Equus’ core. She shuddered at the thought. Star then looked to the clock, which indicated that it was nine o’clock.

“Del should still be working in the fields…” Star looked herself over, touching her sides and inspecting her forelegs and hind legs. “I may not be training for the Royal Guard anymore, but I can at least get a workout in, don’t want to get out of shape and put on too much weight.”

[Starburst, at your current weight of –]

“Don’t you even say it!” Star warned.

Starburst may not be into the whole looking prim and proper like her Aunt Rarity, but there were just some things that were taboo to talk about, despite the ring having a female voice, she didn’t want know how much weight she had gained while recovering.

Starburst made her way to Sweet Apple Acres, the smell of fresh apples wafted through air and right to Star’s nose. It had a calming, homey feeling to it. Star, before leaving, had hid the yellow ring in a safe place. She figured that there was really no need for her to carry around a powerful weapon like that in Ponyville, no matter how versatile its uses were. As she approached the farm house Starburst saw that her Aunt Applejack was busy toting some apples in her wagon. Api bounced happily beside her, making Star wonder what craziness the little filly got herself into during her time in the library.

Guessing from the lack of destruction to the town, it was a quiet day for her, thought Star.

It wasn’t long before she was spotted by Applejack and Api. While Applejack unhitched herself from the wagon, Api sprinted over to Starburst, latching onto her foreleg.

“Hi Starburst!” Api greeted.

“Hi to you too, Api.” Star used her free hoof to ruffle the little filly’s mane, at that time Applejack was starting to make her way towards them. “Hi Aunt Applejack.”

“Howdy Star, good to seeya,” Applejack leaned in and gave Star a little half-hug before pulling away, “Ah’m sorry to hear about well…ya know.”

“Y-Yeah, don’t worry about it, really. Is everypony in the fields right now?”

“Nah, Caramel’s out doin’ the shoppin’ since it’s his turn today. It’s just me, Del, and little Api here – wait where’d she go?”

Starburst looked down at her foreleg and noticed that it was short an earth pony filly. “Guessing Aunt Apple Bloom and Uncle Pip are out of town?”

“Eeyup, but just for a couple of days, what brings ya here anyway, not that it ain’t nice to see ya,” asked Applejack.

“Well…I was wondering if I could help Del out with the chores?” Applejack was about to protest but Starburst beat her to the punch. “I promise to not overdo it, I’m sure Del will keep that from happening. Please Aunt Applejack?”

Applejack rubbed her chin with her hoof in a contemplating fashion. After about a few seconds to mull it over, the farm mare came to a decision.

“Alright Star, ya can help out, but Ah don’t want ya passin’ out like ya usually do. Yer still not one-hundred percent from what ya went through, so if Del tells ya to stop and rest, ya stop and rest, deal?”

The look on Applejack’s face told Starburst that she wasn’t going to let her do so otherwise. Star sighed in defeat, but kept her usual cocky grin.

“Sure, no problem Aunt Applejack.”

“Good, Del’s in the northeast orchard. Now excuse me while Ah track down –”

There was a crashing sound originating from behind Applejack, along with the sounds of dozens of apples thudding to the ground. Applejack dared to turn around and look, and Star dared to sneak a peek as well. Api was somehow hitched to the wagon and now suspended in up there by the hitch. The wagon had tipped backwards, and with not enough counterweight in the front Api was left to flail her legs in a vain attempt at trying to correct the imbalance.

“Oh boy…Ah swear, it is one thing and then another with that little filly,” said Applejack as she made her way to save the helpless filly.

After having a good chuckle at Api’s shenanigans, Starburst headed towards the northeast orchard. Anypony would probably get lost in the thicket of apple trees that made up the Apple family’s farm, but thanks to Del and Red June, Starburst was able to figure out how to more easily navigate through it on hoof. Besides, if she ever got really lost all Star had to do was fly out of the orchard. It wasn’t long before Star happened upon Golden Delicious. The earth pony stallion was hard at work apple bucking the trees so that they release their spoils. The red fruit fell in a cascade of thuds as they hit the waiting baskets at the base of the tree, it amazed Star how they could so accurately predict their fall, while still accounting for the occasional one or two that missed.

Also was he always that toned? Starburst froze in place at hearing what she just thought. I did not just think that! Damn Nidra and her “shipping” fixation!

“Hey, Del, what’s up?!”

Del looked in Starburst’s direction, she watched as his furrowed brow was relaxing as he started to smile at Star’s appearance.

“Star, finally, Ah was startin’ to think you wanted me to drag ya outta there by the tail,” said Del.

Starburst blushed a bit from the insinuation, “O-Of course not! Why the hay would I want you to do that!”

Del laughed heartedly at his flustered friend, causing Star to look away with an indignant expression.

“C’mon Star, ya know Ah’m just pullin’ yer leg. But really, it’s great to see ya out and about.”

Star sighed and grinned despite herself, “Yeah, well, I’m glad I am too. I was starting to get a little bored of resting and decided to help you out. And before you ask, your mom said yes.”

Del nodded his head, “Alright, if Ma says you can, that’s good enough for me. Just so we’re clear, if Ah think yer overdoin’ it, Ah want ya to stop and take a breather for a bit, and if Ah have to, Ah’ll tie you to a tree.”

“Pfft, as if you…would…”

Del walked over to his saddle bag and took out a long lasso. He then looped it over his body before responding to Star, “What was that?”

“Um…nothing, nothing at all!”

With the parameters established, Del and Starburst went to work apple bucking. They made it through about forty trees before Star started to feel some soreness in her hind legs, flanks, and lower back. It annoyed her how that had set on so fast, she could make it through a hundred plus without feeling achy like this. Nevertheless Star continued her work alongside Del, noticing just how much happier he was with her around, and, if she was honest, so was Star.

Doing the chores felt weird to Star, back before she would work twice this hard, and had set a goal for herself with each session, and when she met it, she raised the bar higher, ever striving to better herself. But now, now there really was no purpose in her actions; she was just doing chores for the sake of doing chores. After bucking a few more trees, Starburst was starting to pant. Del, who had been keeping a close eye on her, decided that that was enough.

“Alright Star, you’re done for now. Sit under that tree and rest up a bit,” ordered Del.

“I’m fine I can keep –!” Star then noticed that Del was starting to get his lasso ready. “Fine, fine, I’m stopping!” The orange pegasus mare walked to the nearest, fruitless tree and sat under it, leaning her back against the smooth bark. “Happy now?”

“Very.”

Starburst, although reluctantly, started to close her eyes. The warm sun shining through the trees, and the gentle breeze lulled the teenage pegasus to sleep, as much as she tried to fight it, she couldn’t. Eventually Star nodded off, her head slumping onto her shoulder as her chest rose and lowered with each breath.

Del glanced over his shoulder to keep an eye on his friend and to make sure she was actually resting. To his surprise she was fast asleep against the tree. It was honestly nice seeing Star resting like she was, not overworked and completely exhausted. She was actually kinda cute, just resting there; it was different from the way she rested on the couch back at his house. Now that he thought about it, the way her bangs gently swayed from the cross breeze, and…and…What the hay am Ah thinkin’!?

Del furiously shook his head, already feeling the annoying heat in his cheeks. Consarn it Del! Don’t go thinkin’ that way! She’s…she’s…Del glanced back at the sleeping teenage mare…She’s sixteen and Ah’m almost twenty for Celestia’s sake…

After a few minutes had passed by, Starburst began to yawn and stretch out her limps. Blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light. Soon her mind caught up to where she was and Star immediately shot up to her hooves, looking right and left to find her friend. It didn’t take long for Starburst to find Del bucking an apple tree a few feet away. She groaned inwardly as she saw the amount of baskets that were already filled by him.

“Del!” Starburst trotted to her friend, who just finished striking one of the trees. “Why didn’t you wake me, we were supposed to finish up the work together!?”

“Sorry, Star, you were just sleepin’ so peaceful like that Ah couldn’t really bring mehself to do it,” said Del.

Starburst sighed, “Well…it looks like you mostly got it all done. I’m getting kind of hungry. Do you…wanna go and get something in town, my treat?”

Before Del could answer Starburst his stomach had decided to do answering for him, growling and grumbling for sustenance. Del blushed in embarrassment while Star smirked.

“I’ll take that as a yes, c’mon.”

Star and Del had decided to hit their usual spot, Sugar Cube Corner. The store had expanded, but just a little, putting out chairs and tables outside to give it a café feel. The two of them sat outside at one of the tables, Cotton Candy noticed her two friends arriving and came out to greet them. After getting their drinks and orders, Candy went back inside to give her mother the order.

As they sat outside, Star couldn’t help but notice some of the ponies who were reading the newspaper. The headline read “Stalliongrad Back on Track, Rumors of the Golden Star Spread.” Starburst had heard many of the ponies talk about the so called “Golden Star”, of which she knew they were referring to her. Del apparently noticed her staring at the paper and cleared his throat loudly to gain her attention.

“Sorry, Del…I just, haven’t heard much about what’s been going on with the war lately,” said Star.

“There ain’t no point in worryin’ about that right now. Stalliongrad is fine, if they need ya back at Canterlot Ah’m sure yer mom or dad would send ya a letter. Just relax Star, Valiant Heart and the Royal Guard got it under control.”

Starburst sighed sadly, “I’m sure he does…but, he doesn’t want to see me or talk to me, not anymore…apparently ever.”

Del raised an eyebrow at that, yeah he was going to give Star the silent treatment, but he wasn’t going to make it last any longer than a day or two, but to not want to see her ever.

“That’s a bit excessive, even for Lance, why did he do that?”

Starburst sighed heavily, “Why else…he’s angry at me. And I don’t blame him…after what I did, getting my dumb self nearly killed. I disgraced the Royal Guard, and pretty much ruined all the respect he gained during his time serving…He probably thinks I used him to help me secretly do what I did, I don’t think he’ll ever trust me again…”

Del’s heart grew heavy seeing Starburst so downtrodden, it also made him angry to think that Valiant Heart would do something like that. Family was important to Del, but just as much, he believed that that should be something etched deep into everypony. To hear that Valiant pretty much doesn’t want to have anything to do with her, it was like kicking an injured animal, no pun intended.

“Maybe Ah should go have a talk with Lance, ya don’t deserve to be treated like that Star, not by yer own kin.”

“But, weren’t you going to give me the silent treatment when I first got here,” asked Star raising a curious eyebrow.

Del rubbed the back of his head with his nervously, “Well…y-yeah…but it wasn’t like Ah wanted to not see or talk to ya! Ah was just a little ticked…”

“Understandable…I ticked off a lot of ponies, but I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you guys.”

The golden-brown stallion shook his head, “No ya don’t, not as far as Ah’m concerned.”

Starburst looked away nervously with a slight blush, “Thanks Del…”

Suddenly the door to Sugar Cube Corner burst open with a stallion looking all kinds of panicked.

“MARETONIA JUST FELL, THE GRIFFONS TOOK MARETONIA!!!”

Everypony who was sitting outside turned their heads towards the yelling stallion, shocked and horrified expressions were plastered on everypony’s face. Many of the outside patrons rushed inside the store, and Starburst and Del weren’t far behind them. Many ponies were gathered around the radio, which had the volume turned up to allow everypony to hear. Cotton Candy spotted her friends and quickly went to them.

“Candy, is it true!?” Star asked.

“It is, they said so a few seconds ago –!”

{This is the Canterlot Radio News. We have received confirmation that Maretonia has…has fallen. The Duke and Duchess of the Equestrian Province had surrendered due to the griffons’ overwhelming forces…From what we’ve gathered thus far, it appears that other provinces are under attack as well. They are as follows: Neighpon, Prance, Trottingham, Maretania, Saddle Arabia, Mustangia, and even the nation of Zebrica.

For now that is all the information we have, our hearts and prayers go out to the ponies of Maretonia, and for our brave Royal Guard who no doubt do all they can to defend us, and to our High Prince and Princesses to bring this to a peaceful resolution. Reporting for Canterlot Radio News, this is Jacquelyn Whinny, signing off.}

The radio cut back to the music station that it was on and began playing the soothing music from earlier, but right now, there was little that that music could do to sooth anypony right now. Del and Candy could already sense Star’s anger and fury, but instead, when they both looked to the teenage mare, she had a calm expression on her face. Which, to be perfectly honest, scared them more than if she had a POed face.

“I’m…I’m heading back to the library…”

“Star, maybe we should go with –”

“No Candy!” Star yelled; interrupting her friend and making the pink maned mare jump a bit from the intensity of her voice. “I just…need to be alone.”

Starburst calmly walked out of Sugar Cube Corner and flew towards her temporary home. Once inside Starburst let out a furious shout that echoed throughout the entire house. She screamed, yelled, and let loose one curse word after the other, proclaiming her frustration, anger, and her sorrow for what happened to Maretonia. She grabbed the closest things she could and flung them about, not caring what she hit.

Outside, Del and Candy were listening as their friend’s muffled, anger filled cries, as well as the sound of multiple objects being thrown and hitting against the walls and other things they couldn’t see at the moment. Candy was getting worried about Starburst and wanted desperately to go in, as dangerous as it would be at that moment, and comfort her friend. But Del placed a strong hoof on the mare’s shoulder, keeping her from doing just that.

“But why?! Why can’t we go in, she needs us Del!?” Candy pleaded.

“With the way she is right now, you’re more liable to get yerself hurt, and then how’d you think Star would feel?”

Del let the question hang in the air for a few minutes. Candy seemed to understand, she didn’t like it, but she understood.

“Best we can do is wait out here and let her get it out of her system. If she gets too bad, we’ll go in and help.”

Candy wanted to protest, but she could see in the stallion’s eyes that this was just as hard for him to hear as it was for her. So, reluctantly, the two earth ponies stood outside and listened.

Five hours had passed since she got home, and now it was night time. Starburst lied on the floor of the library, exhausted and slightly sore. The room was a mess, of course. Books strewn all over the place, papers flung about, and a table or two were knocked over. Star took a cursory glance of her destructive rampage, she groaned inwardly at what she did to her foalhood home away from home. Starburst got up and walked over to a cookie jar, it was a lame place to hide a super powerful weapon, but in all honesty who was going to check a cookie jar for something like that? Star opened the jar, which was emptied of its cookie contents, and shook the jar. The yellow ring dropped out onto the counter top with a light clinking sound.

Star slipped the ring back onto her right hoof and walked back down to the library. Concentrating, Star used the ring to shoot out dozens of tiny claw like hands to grab hold of the books and papers, some of them grabbed the tables and put them back up. She placed the papers on one of the tables, while some of the other hands shelved books she had thrown. Once the room was cleaned up Star trotted back up the stairs and into the living area, but then she stopped. Star looked down at her ring for a long time.

“No more…I won’t stand by and watch as the griffons murder my people and destroy their homes! I feel it…I can feel their fear…and I hate it! They shouldn’t have to live in fear! I’ll become Fear itself! I’ll make the Griffon Empire fear ME!”

The Next Day…

Starburst had renewed vigor and determination. She was no longer going to stand on the sidelines and just watch as the war raged on around her while she rested in Ponyville comfortably, pretending that the threat of the griffons didn’t concern her. She had the weapon, the power, and the skills to fight back! All she needed to do was to train better with the ring, but unfortunately, Star knew she couldn’t train in the library, even the basement wasn’t big enough if she wanted to try something that was possibly going to hurt somepony on the outside, the ring would protect her but not somepony else.

Currently she was pacing back and forth, trying to think of the best way to leave the house without anypony seeing her. If she wanted to train, the best place was Ghastly Gorge, nopony came out to that place, and she could go buck wild without hurting anypony. The location was set, but with the lingering notion that there was an undercover RG in Ponyville, it was going to be really hard to evade him or her, which was why she was currently pacing about trying to figure out that exact thing.

“Okay, undercover Royal Guard probably watching the house right now. I need a way to get out and not be noticed…wish you had some way to make me invisible.”

[I do possess such a function.]

Star stopped pacing and brought her ring up to eye level, staring at it incredulously.

“You can make me invisible!? How!?”

[I am able to manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum to bend light, thus rendering you invisible.]

“And why, for the love of Celestia, did you not tell me this when we were in that warzone!? I could’ve tiptoed around some of those griffon soldiers instead of plowing head first into them!”

[Starburst, during explanation of my functions, you stopped me after I spoke of light constructs. Stealth function would have drained ring energy faster, and, after reading the situation, energy consumption was better spent on offensive and defensive capabilities.]

Starburst was about to lay into her ring, but stopped when she recalled that she indeed did that very thing. Starburst sighed; the ring had been starting to develop more of a personality since she started conversing with it like an actual pony. She even got it to start getting it to refer to itself in first person instead of third.

“Okay, so you can make me invisible, so we’ll start training in Ghastly Gorge, and slip out without anypony noticing!”

[Affirmative.]

Starburst opened the doors to the balcony, making sure she wasn’t seen doing so. The good thing was that it was becoming a hot summer day, so nopony would think it suspicious that she opened a window to cool down. Starburst unfurled her wings and gave a light flap, minding the slight weakness in the left.

“Alright, do it.”

[Activating EM Field Distortion.]

Suddenly the ring emitted its usual yellow glow as a thin layer of yellow light wrapped and modeled itself to the contours of Starburst’s body. Once complete, Star examined herself; she didn’t see much difference from how it differed from her normal aura, she could still see herself. But the real test would be if anypony else would see her.

Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Star took a running start, flapping her wings in time to gain speed. She got closer and closer to the balcony till she jumped and gave a mighty flap of her wings, propelling her into the air. Star ascended a bit and stopped to hover in the air, she quickly looked around to see if anypony noticed her takeoff. Apparently no one had; in fact, they all seemed oblivious to her presence in the sky. Starburst wanted to test her invisibility further. Luckily, there were two ponies, well, one pony and one dragon-pony, she thought perfect to test it out on.

Anthea, a light-pink unicorn mare with an equally light-green mane and tail, was walking alongside a large half dragon, half pony…stallion? Turquoise, with green scales and dark-green spines and claws, walked close to Anthea, keeping his right wing draped over her back.

Starburst knew Anthea was partially blind, so her other senses would be heightened. Turquoise, like his big sister Claire, had heightened dragon senses, sight, smell, and taste. Both presented as excellent test subjects, if she could, even for a moment, could go unnoticed by these two then nopony could sense her. Before getting close to her targets, Star had the ring help with flight. If she kept flapping her large wings, both T and Annie would know she was there.

The teenage mare slowly floated towards them, carried only by the power of her ring. She watched as the two just walked about the town, Anthea and Turquoise didn’t really seem like they were going anywhere, probably just enjoying a walk together. Just a mare and stallion couple enjoying their time together. There was a slight stab in in Star’s heart; Anthea was being taught magic by her mother, in a way, acting like the daughter she probably wanted. On top of that, she had somepony like Turquoise to look after and protect her; he’d do anything for her, because he loved her. And it pained Starburst, knowing that Nidra liked
Turquoise too, but could never have him.

Starburst followed the two of them for at least four minutes, and so far neither of them noticed her presence. She was starting to feel confident, that is, until Anthea and Turquoise stopped walking. Then Anthea did something that almost made Star shoot up into the air out of fright. Anthea turned around and stared directly at her. Starburst froze, holding her breath, doing all she could to not make a move and alert her further.

Turquoise looked back and forth between Anthea and Star’s position several times. He then scratched his head in confusion at what his marefriend was seeing.

“Annie, what’re you looking at?”

Anthea squinted her eyes, her ears flicked to and fro, and her nostrils flared a bit. She was using all her senses, save for her magical abilities, to detect a presence.

“Sorry T…I just…I don’t know. It felt like someone was following us. I guess it was just my imagination,” said Anthea, feeling a little embarrassed.

Turquoise stared in the direction that Anthea was more closely. Now Starburst was starting to sweat a bit. The dragon/pony hybrid stared intensely at Starburst, titling his head from one side to the next as if to determine if there was indeed something there. After a few tense seconds Turquoise looked at Anthea disappointedly.

“Sorry, Annie…I mean, it feels weird, but I don’t see anything there.”

Anthea sighed and smiled up at Turquoise, “It’s okay T, don’t worry about it.”

With that, Anthea and Turquoise started walking again. Star released a long held breath, but tensed again when Anthea glanced over her shoulder for a bit.

Okay, invisibility works. But I have to be careful around those two, along with Claire and Uncle Spike.

Finally, Starburst made it to Ghastly Gorge. She landed in one of the large fissures and de-cloaked herself. Star took a look around, no pony around, a vast rocky terrain, with hundred plus foot walls of hard rock, and total isolation. It was perfect. But still, Star couldn’t afford to be careless here.

“Ring, can you tell if there’s anypony around?”

[I can scan for life forms as far as is needed of you.]

“Alright, then…scan for life forms, within at least fifty miles.”

[Processing…]

The ring then let out a short burst.

[There are currently no civilians, hostiles, or wildlife within a fifty miles of your position.]

“Good, then suit me up, and get ready.”

[Acknowledged.]

The yellow ring shined brightly. Starburst’s armor reformed on her, wings covered in a metallic golden armor, her chest plate shining with the insignia of the Fear Lantern Corps. All except her head was covered, but her eye color was different, like before, it had taken on the color of the light, showing that its energy flowed within her.

“Ring, did you happen to memorize the way those griffons fought, even Steel Wing?”

[Yes, I recorded all battle data during our first encounter.]

“That’s what I wanted to hear. I’m going to create constructs of the griffons we fought in Stalliongrad. Is there any way you can use what you learned and make it so that they can fight like them?”

[I can successfully recreate the fighting patterns of the enemies we fought. Preparing to initiate training simulation, on your command.]

Starburst focused her mind and created at least seven griffon soldiers, with the seventh being an exact recreation of Steel Wing. The teenage mare eyed each of the constructs in turn and snorted with determination.

“BEGIN!”

[Initiating combat simulation.]

The six griffons attacked at the same time. Starburst’s helmet immediately formed over her head and she too charged the griffons. Star conjured two cutlass sword constructs and swung them at the same time, taking out the first two griffons. She then used her ring’s flight capability and let her wings compensate for finer movements. The four griffons took flight as well, chasing her down in the air. Two of them wielded swords while the other two brandished long spears. Starburst was ready for them, but was curious to see that the Steel Wing construct hadn’t moved an inch since the start of the fight.

Why is it not attacking like the rest? I thought the ring made it so that they fight like the actual griffons from Stalliongrad…Does that mean –!?

Starburst didn’t get to finish her thought as the two griffons with swords lashed out. With her protective aura, she intercepted the two blades on her forelegs, feeling the impact but nothing more than that. She then pushed off her two assailants only to watch as the other two constructs came at her from above and below. Star then flapped her wings, propelling herself backwards and allowing the two spear wielding constructs to zoom passed the other.

Unfortunately, Starburst went back too far and hit the canyon wall. The sword wielding constructs charged for Star, with her back against the wall, her options for evasion were limited. Before either of the two griffon constructs could land a blow, Starburst erected a barrier around her body. The swords clanked harmlessly against her defensive sphere, and, with a great battle cry, she unleashed the barrier in a burst of energy, sending the two griffons flying. Now it was her turn to go on the offensive.

Starburst quickly thrust her ring hoof forward, producing two claws that reached out and grabbed both griffon constructs by the hind legs. She then brought her foreleg up and then down in one swift motion. The action caused the claws to whip their captives straight into the ground, where, upon impact, they dissolved into tiny particles of yellow light.

The teenage mare, seeing her next two targets in sight, flew straight at them. But it wasn’t to last. At that moment the Steel Wing construct zoomed away and quickly found itself right behind Starburst. Too late to react, the construct used its armored claw to backhand Starburst back to terra firma. She shot down like a meteor, hitting the dirt with such force that it sent up a dust cloud and created a medium sized crater. Star groggily rose to her hooves as she scowled up at the Steel Wing construct.

So, the ring deduced his style. Waiting and watching for a perfect moment to attack, thought Star.

“Well I’m not giving you that chance!”

Starburst took flight once again, her new target, the Steel Wing construct. She immediately took aim with her right foreleg and started to barrage the construct with yellow energy blasts. The mock Steel Wing evaded each blast, skillfully and with little to no wasted effort. Starburst knew she needed to get creative with her attacks, having a weapon that can create almost anything from your mind doesn’t account for much if the user has little imagination.

Starburst fired two beams at once from her ring. Predictable enough, the mock Steel Wing evaded them, but that’s where Star changed it up. Instead of the beams just zooming off she made the beams bend. The Steel Wing construct now noticed that he was being tailed by the two attacks he avoided earlier and was not taking evasive action. The beams dogged the construct with each turn he made, Star was relentless, she wouldn’t let her enemy go, especially one as dangerous as he was.

Then something happened that surprised Star. As one of the beams neared him, the mock Steel Wing dove right for one of the griffon soldiers. Right before the beam struck the construct, he masterfully flew around him, but the beam wasn’t as fast and struck the spear wielding construct instead of its intended target. The Steel Wing construct employed this tactic a second time, taking out his second underling. He then sent out a metal quill barrage at Starburst, she reformed her barrier and winced when the attacks struck the outer shell. It was even more surprising to her that the ring was able to recreate the intensity and strength of his attacks.

I remember this, any minute now he’ll dive down and force me to ground! Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice –!

Starburst then channeled more power into the barrier and unleashed it in a column of yellow energy up into the sky. After a few seconds Star cancelled the blast and her barrier, she then stared up into the sky and smiled smugly under her helmet.

Shame on – Star then felt a tremendous blow to her abdomen, knocking the air right out of her lungs – me!?

She looked on with wide eyes as the mock Steel Wing buried his fist in her stomach. He then retracted his fist and brought both claws together into a double handed hammer fist, bringing it down full force across Star’s face. The teenage mare was sent flying right into the side of the canyon wall, leaving an impression of her body. Starburst groaned painfully as her senses started to come back, only to gasp in fright as she watched the Steel Wing construct fly right at her, claws positioned for a spear-hand thrust. Starburst closed her eyes and awaited her demise.

[Simulation terminated.]

Star heard the voice of her ring. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that the construct was only mere inches from completing its attack before it dispersed into yellow light particles. After breathing a sigh of relief, Starburst peeled herself off the side of the canyon wall and floated back down to the ground. Her helmet disappeared as she shook her head, panting hard from the exhausting training exercise.

[Minor injuries detected, regeneration process initiated.]

Before Star could ask what that meant the ring flared up her yellow aura. The slight pains she was feeling were now becoming nonexistent.

“Glad I found out about that useful feature, I probably would’ve spent longer recovering if it weren’t for you, thank you.”

[No thanks is necessary, Starburst. It is merely one my pre-programmed functions to insure the survival of my Bearer.]

“Well, thanks anyway. Ugh! What was up with that Steel Wing construct, was that really how he fights!?”

[Analysis of enemy, Steel Wing’s, attack pattern shows a lack of empathy towards his subordinates, seeing them only as pawns. This allows him to effectively use them to his advantage; with no emotional ties to his subordinates he can freely sacrifice them if it is able to fulfill his mission.]

“Makes sense, he killed that one griffon I spared, why wouldn’t he do the same to save his own hide!? So I can expect that kind of resistance from Steel Wing, he’s adaptive, quick, and surprisingly strong.”

[Affirmative.]

“I’ll have to work harder at this. Anticipate his moves and think two – no – three moves ahead of him! Let’s start again!”

[Simulation ready.]

“GO!”

Day 2…

After long hours, and a recharge or two, of training, Starburst’s goal to best Steel Wing was showing very little progress. It quickly dawned on the young mare that combat wasn’t the only means of which to attack one’s enemy. Recalling the Fear Shine, which was what drove off the murderess warrior in the first place, Star started to think that there was more to the ring’s fear power. She realized that when it came to any physical sport or fighting, it was sixty percent mental readiness and forty percent physical effort. She had the physical prowess, and the mental fortitude to fight, but if there was a way to manipulate that sixty percent in another, the fight could be won without necessarily coming to blows.

For this, Star had started to do the one thing that she never thought she’d mimic her mother in, she did research. Star went through the library and found every psychology book the library had to offer. She even picked up some horror themed novels to help give her ideas when forming constructs.

The orange pegasus mare gazed upon the tower of books she had gathered and groaned, “Just mare up, Star! Just think of it as adding more weapons to your arsenal!”

After that self-motivating speech, Star opened the first book in the stack, Psychology 101. Star sorted through most of the pages till she happened upon one section of the book that dealt with fears.

“‘The mind holds many rational and irrational fears, some stem from a traumatic experience suffered during childhood or sometime during the patient’s life. Others stem from the fear of the unknown, what we perceive is dangerous because of ignorance (i.e. lack of understanding), so the rational mind comes up with ways to rationalize the fear, even if it is farfetched, so long as the mind thinks it’s real, it simply is.’”

Starburst pondered this and found that the book had some truth to it. Recalling her fillyhood when she was scared of something hiding under her bed or in the closet, the tales of the Headless Horse, the Olden Pony, and the Pony of Shadows, did frighten many a foal, and Star admitted, she was too, but that was before she realized her special talent and knew she could totally take on any of those monsters. Starburst continued to read on, finding the psychology of fear to be a bit fascinating.

“‘Arachnophobia: fear of spiders, aerophobia: fear of heights, achluophobia: fear of darkness, agoraphobia: fear of open spaces or ponies and large crowds in general…’ Wow, didn’t know there were that many fears, well, shouldn’t surprise me, everypony has them…In any case, guess I’d better start reading up on them.”

Starburst read all she could about a pony’s fears, how it can scar them psychologically, how, in extreme cases, a pony could die from sheer fright overloading their mind. Star was starting to see the devious nature in the power she wielded, but so long as she used it to protect the innocent, then she would gladly wield it.

Many hours passed and Starburst had devoured most of the knowledge in the books she read, even breezing through some folklore and horror stories. It was instances like these that showed Star that she did indeed have some things in common with her mother. But now that many of the books had been read, and the time now resting at two o’clock, Star was starting to wonder what else she could get inspiration from. Then it hit her.

“The comic shop!”

Star remembered that Ponyville had gained a comic book store a few years ago; luckily it was the un-enchanted books, her mother made very sure that those particular comics were stamped with a BIG RED warning label before anypony read them. Starburst made her way to the comic shop, remembering that she had brought Nighty here a while back. It was slightly nostalgic walking in, the racks filled many different genres of comics, the odd collectibles hanging from the walls or displayed in glass cases, and of course the strange room with a red curtain for a door. Star shrugged at it, not really knowing what was in there.

The teenage mare trotted to the cashier’s counter and cleared her throat. “Ahem, excuse me, can you help me? I’m looking for a certain type of comic.”

“Sure,” said an oddly familiar voice. The pony rose up from behind the counter and revealed it to be none other than Cotton Candy, “what can I – Star?!”

“Candy!? What are you doing here!?”

“Oh, silly, you know I like taking on the odd job or two,” she said as if it were a matter of fact.

Now that Star thought about it, it was like her to do something like this. She was always looking to master skills other than that of what her cutie mark says. It was an admirable trait that Star liked in Candy; she always strived to better herself.

“Any who, what’re you looking for, Star? I just got in the latest New 42 Power Ponies! Interested,” she asked.

“Oh-oh! Uh, no thank you, Candy. I was, ahem, looking to see if the shop carried any comics in the genre of horror, maybe?”

Candy looked at her friend taken slightly aback by her choice, “Wow, I totally had you figured wrong. I always thought of you as an Action/Adventure kind of gal, or maybe sci-fi, with just a smidge of romance, but, oh well!”

Candy hopped, literally, over the counter and led Star towards the racks with the comics she was asking for. Star hadn’t been in a comic shop for a while, and it was plain to see, since the last time she was here, a slew of new comics had occupied the racks. Candy stopped once they reached their destination. Starburst looked upon all the comics, each featuring a terrifying creature along with their titles, “The Hunter,” and “Hayraiser,” and “Extraterrestrial.” Each of them already gave Star ideas on how to use them in combat, but she kept that excitement bottled inside less it show on her face.

“So, which would you like?” Candy asked.

“Hmm, one of each, the first parts, I don’t want to jump into a story halfway through.”

“Wow, you must really like horror stories! Hey, if you want, they’re showing a really creepy movie if you want to go and see it this Friday, maybe we can get Del, Prism, and Claire to come along?!”

Starburst chuckled a bit at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I’ll think about it, also, could throw in that.”

The pegasus mare pointed to a large book labeled “Space Wars: An Encyclopedia of All Tech and Characters.” Candy just looked at Starburst with an “I thought so” look on her face, although, unbeknownst to her friend, Star’s motives for wanting that encyclopedia weren’t exactly innocent. That cannon I created was from that movie, Space Wars. It’ll help to boost my arsenal with weapons that the enemy has never seen before.

After taking a large stack of thirty comics, and one encyclopedia book, to the counter to ring up, Star took a peek at one of them, truly the contents within were horrifying and slightly twisted and grotesque, but still, Star thought she could do better.

“Hey Candy…?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Do you have anything more…I don’t know, more graphic than this?”

Candy paused right before hitting one of the register keys. She looked at her friend with trepidation, wondering if she tell Star or not.

“Well…yes…they’re actually behind that red curtain over there.”

Candy pointed a hoof in the direction of the room with said red curtain door, “Oh, really, cool, I’ll be right back with another one.”

Unknown to Starburst at that moment, Candy’s eyes went as wide as saucer plates as she watched Star make her way towards that particular room. With the same unnatural speed that her mother had, Candy zoomed ahead of Starburst and blocked her path, denying her entry into the room. Starburst just looked at her friend with confusion and a slight amount of annoyance.

“Candy, what are you doing,” asked Star.

“Y-You can’t go in there!”

“And why not?”

“Because you’re not old enough,” she blurted.

Starburst raised a questioning eyebrow at that statement.

“Look…in there, that’s where the owner keeps the really, really, REALLY graphic comics. Stuff that’s only for older ponies, like eighteen and up, some have pictures showing…you know…stuff.”

Candy was starting to visibly blush and so was Star once she got the idea.

“T-T-Those aren’t the ones that I want! You said that there were horror ones in there too, right?!”

Candy nodded.

“Then that’s all I want, nothing like-like that!”

Candy shifted her gaze from Star and then back behind her. She then let out a long sigh and took a firm stance.

“I’m sorry, Star, I can’t. I may be eighteen, but even I don’t go in there unless I have to. And, I really don’t think the stuff in there is right for you…I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.”

Star wanted to be very clear that she did NOT want anything beyond the horror themed stuff. But the stern look in Candy’s eyes told her that the blue earth pony mare before her wouldn’t budge on this, plus she really didn’t want to risk Candy’s job.

“All right Candy, you win.”

“…I’m sorry, but you only have to wait two years, it’s not that long.”

With that said, Candy ringed Star up, money was exchanged and then Candy waved her friend goodbye as she left the store. But, what Candy didn’t know was that Starburst was wearing her yellow power ring the whole time, having ordered the ring to cloak itself so that she could wear it in public. So Star used the ring to fully camouflage herself and sneak into the red curtained room. Candy then heard the swishing of the curtain but looked to see that no one besides her was inside the shop. She then turned her back, returning to her earlier task, but then she heard the sound of the store door opening and closing. Candy turned around to greet the customer but again, there was no pony there.

Star didn’t become visible till she was back at the library. She felt wrong for doing that, and even more for the stuff she saw. They may’ve just been the front covers but even that was enough to make Star’s face blush a bright crimson. Quickly shaking her head, and the images, out of her head, Star placed all that she had bought, and ‘borrowed’ on the table. Out of the five she procured at random from the horror section in the RC room, three stood out the most.

“‘Rainbow Factory’, ‘Cupcakes’, and ‘Cheerilee’s Garden’? Huh, one has Prism’s mom on it, another Candy’s, and June’s mom too. Must be one of those ‘fanfiction comic’ things that Nighty told me about.”

Nighty had informed Star a while back that some fans of stories often times created their own stories revolving around their favorite character(s) from a series. Star had never given it much thought, but she soon found out that, during her mom’s younger years, it wasn’t uncommon for somepony to come to them and ask for an autograph on a work of fiction they wrote about them. Apparently it was a common thing, even Nidra and Illusion’s mothers had some literature written about them. Although it confounded her why they would write about her mom having romantic relationships with her friends, and even her mentor High Princess Celestia and best friend High Princess Luna, nonetheless, Star opened the first comic titled “Cupcakes”.

“Seems innocent enough.” Star read the first few pages and shrugged, it just seemed like somepony writing about a normal day of her Aunt Rainbow Dash and Aunt Pinkie Pie baking. “Sheesh, what was Candy worried about? There’s nothing in here that’s – what the!?” She had gotten to the page where Rainbow Dash apparently is drugged and now wakes up on table. “O-Okay…that’s a little freaky, but then again they do like to pull pranks, like mothers like son and daughter. “Oh…wait…is she…WHAT THE BUCK!!!? Is she…with the knife…no…no…NO! Not her wings! Please not – Oh good Faust!”

Starburst, out of sheer morbid curiosity flipped through the rest of the pages, her jaw dropping steadily with each passing second and along with her eyes growing wider at the same time. After a minute or two the comic fell to the floor, a stunned and horrified expression was plastered on Starburst’s face, she even found herself unconsciously rubbing her wings and cutie marks as if to insure that they were in fact attached to her. Starburst eyed the other two comics, wondering if she should even dare open them and look at their contents. With a shaky gulp, Star moved to the one entitled “Rainbow Factory”.

Again, it started out innocently enough. It seemed centered around little Echo’s mother, Scootaloo. She remembered, during the few times Star met the mare, that she had trouble flying when she was a little filly. But the Scootaloo in this story was older and taking some kind of flying test in Cloudsdale. It seemed fine, until she and some of the other pegasi who failed the test were taken to some weird facility.

“Oh no…why are they…” She continued to read on. “GO! GET THE BUCK OUT OF THERE!!!”

By the end of the story, Star was starting to have serious suspicions about the Weather Factory in Cloudsdale, and how anypony could write her Aunt Rainbow Dash in such way. Those two were as tight as if they were born sisters. Needless to say, she opened “Cheerliee’s Garden”, and was treated to another barrage of gory, if not crafty and creative, killing that ended rather poorly for her mother. Now Star felt sick and had a strong urge to give her mom a hug. Starburst eyed the three comics that were on the table, her right hoof slowly rose up as the yellow ring began to hum with built power.

“I probably should burn these, if Candy saw them – if June or Prism saw them!” The pent up energy in the ring began to glow bright. “But…if I do that, then Candy will get in trouble………Ring, you wouldn’t happen to have a memory erasing function, would you?”

[I do not possess such a function.]

“Of course not, that’d be way too easy.” Star sighed heavily. “I pray that they never see these. Let’s just finish the last two and get them back as quick as possible.”

Day 30…

They had all been assembled at Del’s house, but they didn’t know why. Turquoise and Anthea were there, along with Golden Delicious, Cotton Candy, as well as some others. There was another dragon/pony hybrid among them, a light lavender scaled mare, with a purple mane claws, and two horns on her head, Turquoise’s older sister, Crystal Clarity. The last was a Pegasus stallion with a dark navy blue coat, and mane of yellow, blue, and red, and a cutie mark of prism shooting out a rainbow, the cocky member of their group, Prism Bolt.

“Okay…so, anypony have any idea why we’re here,” asked Turquoise.

“Duh, I called us all here to talk about Star, of course!” Candy exclaimed.

Everypony looked at the hyperactive mare with confusion.

“What’s wrong with Star,” asked Anthea.

“Haven’t you guys noticed that she’s actin’ weird lately?”

“Del, dear, you’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that,” said Clarity.

“When she first got here she was…down, sad, like her world was shattered.”

“Well losing your dream can do that to a pony,” said Prism.

“Yeah, but ever since she heard about what happened at Maretonia she’s been, I don’t know super motivated lately!” Candy emphasized her point by flailing her forelegs into the air.

“I still don’t see how it’s a problem. If Star’s found a way to lift her spirits then I don’t think we should take that away from her. She’s been through so much lately…I like seeing her like this, she’s like her old self again,” said Anthea.

“None of us really liked what was done, Annie. But…Ah just feel like there’s somethin’ strange goin’ on with her.”

“Lover’s intuition?” Turquoise teased.

“Watch it T,” he warned.

“It’s not only Del; I think there’s something up too. I mean, a few days ago Star came by the comic shop and asked for nearly all the comics in the horror section.”

It was obvious that that struck the others as odd. Star had earned her reputation as a buzzkill, but she never showed an interest in such things.

“Now that you mention it…” Claire started, “She did come to me to inquire about something…Star wanted to know how I was able to multitask with my magic, more specifically, concentration and focus techniques.”

“Seriously sis?”

“It was strange, I mean, she didn’t ask it as if she were fascinated by my ability, but more like in the ways she could apply the techniques, it was truly strange.”

“Wait, she came to you too!?”

All eyes turned to Annie.

“Last week, Star asked me how I was able to conserve energy for spells and ways to spread out the energy without losing potency. I thought it was odd at first, I mean, she’s not a unicorn, so I thought that maybe she was trying to take up an interest in magical theory. Maybe as a way to get closer with her mother, I mean, they can’t have left on good terms.”

“Come to think of it…” Now they stared at Prism, “Star was really into flying, I mean, she was REALLY into it. She was asking for tips and tricks that – and make no mistake, she’s a damn great flyer – but they were ones that were a little dangerous and required just a bit more agility.”

“Same thing with me, Star’s been putting more of herself into doin’ the chores here on the farm, and it’s gotten to where Ah’m carryin’ her back to the house like before.”

It was starting to come together, but into what was anyone’s guess. According to all assembled, Starburst had been asking odd questions, working harder than before, and had somehow regained the vigor she once had before the incident at Stalliongrad, no, if they were honest, her fervor was intensified ten times from what it used to be. While they all agreed, it was a joyous thing to see their friend not depressed anymore, they couldn’t help but wonder if this just a prelude to something worse on the horizon. And it worried them that Starburst was going to try something reckless again.

“Let’s face it guys, she lost the one thing she wanted most in life, to be a Royal Guard. Her backs’ against the wall, she has nothing to lose.” That statement earned Prism a glare from Claire. “What!?”

“You make it sound like Star’s going to commit suicide or something, we’re trying to think of ways to help her, not think of the worst case scenario!’ Claire chided.

“I might have an idea, but it’ll take some time and effort to get done correctly. In the meantime, I think we should make sure she’s safe,” said Annie.

“Don’t worry, everything will be alright, I know it will!” Candy proclaimed.

“How can you be so sure,” asked Turquoise.

“I don’t know, I just do silly.”

Ghastly Gorge…

Starburst once again found herself at Ghastly Gorge, but this time was different. The canyon was being lit up with flashes of yellow light, hundreds of griffon constructs swarmed around Starburst as she attacked one enemy after the next. And just like she had hoped, all her research and practice had come together, she was creating monstrous creature constructs which would devour some of the griffons or savagely beat them six feet under. Her concentration was improving as well, the more she trained and focused the easier it was to create more and more complex light constructs without risk of them falling apart easily. And with more training came the addition of learning more functions of the ring.

During the battle, a mock Steel Wing tried to make a grab for her, but Starburst merely smirked as the claw of the construct merely fazed through her body. She didn’t make the construct weak, rather it was a new ability, she was able to become intangible and therefore unable to be physically touched if she so chose. She could become like a ghost, moving in and out of the battle, appearing in one place and reappearing in another. Added with her strength training with Del at Sweet Apple Acres and her added flight practices with Prism, coupled with the focusing and energy conservation techniques she learned from Annie and Claire, Star had become stronger and faster than before, driven by a new goal to become Equestria’s hero, it’s “Golden Star”!

Suddenly all the griffon constructs decided to attack her all at once, surrounding her completely and brandishing their weapons. Starburst merely smirked as she brought up her right hoof. The ring shined brighter as Star cocooned herself in a swirling sphere. The sphere spun around and around till it burst open and lashed out with hundreds of thorny vines that shot straight for the oncoming fodder. The vines whipped, slashed, and pierced through every enemy that dared to enter her zone of destruction. Meanwhile, Star floated at the center of it all, forelegs crossed in front of her chest, wings flared, and a proud smile that only broadened.

At that moment, three Steel Wing constructs appeared out of nowhere and were about to strike Star down.

“That’s not going to work!”

In the blink of an eye, Starburst zoomed up into the air. She then raised up her right foreleg as yellow light particles gathered around the lower half of her leg. The particles formed a large futuristic cannon that was attached to Star’s right foreleg. She brought the cannon into position; a sights visor popped out the side of the cannon and started to target the three mock Steel Wings. With the yellow ring powering it, Star unleashed a powerful blast of golden light straight down. The resulting explosion wiped away all the remaining constructs in one shot, and caused some of the canyon to cave in on itself. Starburst dismissed the cannon and resumed her original stance.

“Guess I overdid it a bit…” Starburst glanced out of the corner of her right eye. “Or maybe not.”

Within a matter of seconds, the Fear Lantern insignia formed behind Starburst, with the extending prongs turning into steel chains that shot out wide. One Steel Wing construct was diving right at Starburst from high above, but before it could lay a claw on her, it was struck from both sides by two skyscraper sized columns with jagged spikes on the front, and connected by the yellow chains. The two effectively smashed the construct flat, turning its body into light particles. Starburst hadn’t moved from her position, she merely chuckled.

“We’re ready.”

[Affirmative. ]

Author's Note

Before some of you start questioning why I added the invisibility and intangibility functions to the yellow ring I will direct you to this comicvine page which details the Qwardian ring's (aka yellow power ring's) abilities provided in the link below.

Sinestro Corps Power Ring.

To Be Continued…