Black Feather

“Your first tour?”

“Yep. I just finished training last month.”

“My third. Be excited! This is gonna be a cakewalk.”

“Think so?”

“You kidding? A small, easy engagement, far from the front lines? I can’t wait to kick some zebra tail and tell my buddies back home all about it.”

“You think we’ll even find zebras? I heard the locals only spotted a few and that they were out in the middle of nowhere.”

“I hope so. Worst case, we get to the villages, do our job, and go home without seeing a single one of the striped bastards.”

Nyx shook her head and smirked as she listened to the banter of the soldiers behind her. She and the commander had taken point in the convoy while the rest of the platoon and the three wagons fell into formation behind them.

The platoon headed west along the race path and into the woods. Up ahead, the dirt path darkened as patchy shadows from the trees fell upon it. Visible through the trees to the south, rolling bluffs marked the edge of the woods. Nyx had been along this path many times as an enthusiastic participant of the annual autumn race. She took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the early-summer breeze and listening to the sound of rustling leaves in the upper branches of the tall aspen trees.

Nyx’s curiosity about the commander grew as they walked along. Her childhood memories of Daisy contrasted sharply with what she saw before her. Daisy had always seemed rather flighty and superficial, but the mare with her now was sharp and focused. And what was with the commander’s barding? The dark-green and brown camouflage was doing something she had never seen before. Apparently, not everything was as it seemed.

“Cool barding, Daisy,” Nyx probed.

Daisy cracked a smile. “You noticed its enchantment, I take it?”

Nyx nodded. “I noticed something. Not sure what I saw, though. Your mane and tail were black, and your coat was chestnut. How’d it do that?”

“Sassy Saddles puts out a nice line of enchanted barding. You only see what a pony really looks like if you’re close to them. What good is camouflage if your natural color is a neon beacon, eh?”

Nyx laughed, looking ruefully down at her own brightly polished armor. “That’s true. So… Daisycutter?”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “That’s just my callsign. I got the nickname in the Reserves when I was living in an Equestrian zebra community. My troops have no end of fun ribbing me for it.”

“Wow, you lived with the zebras? What was that like?”

“I’m not really sure how to answer that. I’ve worked extensively with them for years. Used to be a famine-relief missionary in their homelands before the war broke out. I suppose it felt… normal? You could say I’m kind of the resident zebra geek of my unit.”

“No kidding. I bet you know Zecora then, being that you’re from Ponyville originally.”

“Oh yes, we’re good friends,” Daisy said with a smile. “We go way back.”

Nyx grinned that she had guessed correctly. “I knew Zecora when I was growing up, but we haven’t talked in years. I always did find her rhyming a little unsettling.”

Daisy laughed. “Yeah, she likes to do that because it makes her seem mysterious. She does it when she’s feeling dramatic, which is fairly often. Maybe she lost a bet and has to give the impression that all zebras talk that way.”

Nyx imagined Zecora sitting at home, cursing at her dictionary of rhymes when nopony was looking. “Yeah, maybe. I haven’t had much of a chance to know what zebras are normally like, to be honest.”

Daisy’s brow furrowed. “The war hasn’t helped with that. Maybe I’ll introduce you to some of my friends one day. Maybe.”

The day had grown hot, and Nyx was thankful for the shade over the race trail as they continued westward. The platoon came to a stop where a large tree had fallen across the path. Nyx and Windy Scarlet levitated the tree enough so that three earth ponies were able to push it off to the side. The exertion felt good, giving Nyx an endorphin kick as they continued their journey.

As they resumed, Nyx thought some more about what the commander had said. She had never met a pony with so much direct experience with zebras apart from combat. Perhaps it was an opportunity to shed some light on a few things.

“So, Daisy… What do you usually do when you’re working with the Equestrian zebras?”

Daisy thought for a moment. “Well, most recently, I helped set up security training programs for the new zebra community beneath Canterlot. ~~They’re calling it ‘Zebratown’, if you can believe that.” Daisy rolled her eyes.~~

“Oh yeah, I saw that project just a couple days ago. It was something to see how hard they work. Reminds me of how they fight.”

Daisy chuckled. “Oh, they’re quite good, especially at hoof combat. Tenacious, too. There’s not much that will back them down.”

“You got that right. Every zebra soldier I’ve run across was much more concerned that I looked like Nightmare Moon than the fact that I might kill them.”

“I’m not at all surprised at that. The zebras are deeply mystical and superstitious as a culture. To them, some things—principles, usually—are more important than one’s own life. It’s a concept few ponies can relate to.”

Lunchtime had come, finally. Nyx sat with Rumble along the rocks at the edge of the riverbank, sharing a bag of apples. She looked up at the waterfall cascading over a cliff. Rainbow colors danced through the fine mist which formed near its base.

“This has always been my favorite part of the path,” she said with a smile. “Remember all the time we spent here when we were growing up?”

Rumble nodded. “I remember we used to perch on that rock up there and look over the forest. I should bring you back here someday when it’s not so crowded.”

Nyx’s heart warmed at the thought of their time here. The autumn leaves had painted a colorful vista as far as the eye could see. The picnics she and Rumble enjoyed at this particular waterfall were some of Nyx’s most treasured memories of their early courtship.

After Rumble trotted off to show some of the other soldiers his new lancer frame harness, Flitter sat in his place beside Nyx. Soon, Daisy and Lieutenant Archer joined them as well.

“Lieutenant,” Nyx said with a nod.

“Hey, Nyx. Hey, Flitter.” She paused, looking Flitter over. “I’m a little curious about something. You said you lived in Ponyville before the war?”

Flitter nodded. “I was on the weather team. I worked part time at the clinic as well. My dad was one of their doctors.”

“Is that so? Don’t take this the wrong way, but… why? Didn’t you all live in a colony or something?”

“You’re thinking of Chrysalis and her cult,” Flitter replied. “She had quite a following, but she by no means represented all the changelings. Most of us lived peacefully among ponies in plain sight.”

“Lived—past tense,” Archer said. “I remember hearing that they nearly all died. Not enough love or something. And that everyone who survived vanished with the Crystal Empire. Though clearly, the stories aren’t true; you’re still here.”

Flitter took on a pained expression. “That’s… somewhat true.” She pawed at the ground with a hoof. “It was… I…”

Nyx’s heart went out to her friend. She put a wing over her back. “You don’t have to,” she whispered.

She did anyway.

“Those of us who survived the famine migrated to the Crystal Empire a few years ago—before it vanished again. I was away, visiting friends when I was left behind. I didn’t know. And now… they’re all gone.”

Nyx hugged her tight. “You gonna be alright?” Flitter nodded.

Archer put a hoof to her lips. “I had no idea. I can’t imagine what that would be like.”

Flitter hung her head low. She lost her pony facade and appeared as a changeling for about a second before returning to her usual pegasus form as if she didn’t even notice.

“I miss them,” she squeaked.

“I’m sorry,” Archer said, just above a whisper.

Flitter looked up at her. “It’s okay. I try not to dwell on it. The war has taken loved ones from everypony.”

Archer nodded. “It has. Thanks for sharing anyway. Sorry if I was insensitive.”

She regarded Flitter for a moment, then unclipped her crossbow. “Hey, would you like to try your hoof at this? I’d be happy to show you how. We could do some target practice together.” She smiled warmly at Flitter.

Flitter looked at the strange weapon. “I’m not really a fighter.” Archer began to put the crossbow away. “But thank you. I’d like to try.”

Flitter and Archer walked off to find a good place for a crossbow lesson, leaving Nyx and Daisy behind.

“Flitter is important to you,” Daisy said after they had left.

“She’s family. Family is important.” Nyx looked up at the waterfall as it cascaded down the bluffs and fell into the river in a cloud of mist.

Daisy nodded in silence. The pair sat, eating their lunch together until Daisy spoke up.

“You’ve fought the zebras before.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, a little. Lately, we’ve been testing a short-range threat detection spell. We’ve had a few unexpected encounters. I wish we could have just talked them down. I mean, I don’t have any special love for the zebras, but my belief was that I would never have to kill. I truly thought I could protect others without it.”

Daisy shook her head and spoke gently. “I’m sorry. That’s just not possible in war. Your intentions were honorable, just not very realistic.”

“Why, though? Why won’t they listen to reason?”

“It’s not their way. Remember what I said about how they would give up their own lives over a principle. They are a very stubborn people. That doesn’t make it any easier. The first time I killed one was terrible. I felt guilty for days.

Nyx stared at the ground in front of her. “I know the feeling. I went through that as well.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“I… About three years ago, I stopped a major assassination at a Royal Guard ceremony. Well, mostly stopped.”

“I remember hearing about that,” Daisy said. “What happened?”

Nyx’s voice softened. “I ended up killing a lot of zebras. Before that day, I was one hundred percent against the idea that I would ever kill anyone. All my life, I’ve protected others by using nonlethal force. That day was my turning point. Shining Armor and I had a long talk about it after the attack. I had to accept that sometimes you can’t protect others unless you kill someone.”

Daisy nodded, taking a bite from her lunch.

“It still tears me up inside, though. I know I’m meant to protect ponies. I made a promise to Luna and Celestia about it many years ago. I didn’t realize how conflicted I would feel about it.”

“A promise?”

“It’s a long story. I knew that I was physically stronger than my loved ones—that I could endure more than they could. I committed my life to protecting them. Luna believes I can. Sometimes, I’m not so sure.”

Daisy regarded Nyx with a puzzled look. “Why would you say that? Hasn’t your whole life been leading you up to this role?”

Nyx blinked. “What? No. I never wanted this. I mean, sure, I know I need to protect others, but I’m not a hero. It’s just that I can’t stand by while others get hurt or killed.”

“And yet you’re named after a children’s storybook hero. Your mother had some astounding foresight, wouldn’t you say?”

“That—wait, no, I don’t think you understand, Daisy. Nyx of the Night is about true heroism and bravery. It was about an amazing pony who fearlessly protected her local village from the monsters of the night.”

Daisy spoke softly. “Exactly.”

Nyx blushed. “I wouldn’t go that far. I do what I can, but I’m not that much of a hero.”

“Trust me, Nyx. You are.”

About a half-hour after everypony had resumed moving westward, they came upon a sign with an arrow pointing to the right. Nyx engaged her spell matrix to access its mapping function and compass. Within moments, her vision became enhanced with indicators for trails, landmarks, and some notes which Apple Bloom had put into the map, showing her sister’s old pie-delivery route.

“There, up ahead—that’s as far as the race path will take us. It heads north for a while, then loops back to Ponyville. We’ll have to keep going west. There’s an old trail that should be…”

She glanced up toward the rocky hills that bordered Whitetail’s southern edge. She then looked behind the sign. There it was—a rough trail forked with the main path and sloped down alongside the embankment, into the increasingly dense forest below.

“The map says that this eventually leads to the fire swamp, and past that, to the bayous. We should be okay; it’s not like the chimeras have guns or anything,” Nyx said with a chuckle.

“Sounds like heaps of fun,” Windy muttered sourly.

Everypony made their way off the race trail and continued westward. Windy kept glancing apprehensively around the thick forest. The ambient sounds which surrounded them gave a feeling of being a long way from civilization. The trail was not maintained. In places, it was overgrown with vines and brambles, making progress tedious.

As the platoon made their way deeper into the woods, Nyx walked alongside Archer, admiring the crossbow clipped to her barding. “That’s a nice weapon you’ve got there.”

Archer glanced over her shoulder then back to Nyx, grinning with pride. “It’s something, isn’t it? Custom made for me by my dad. He’s a weapons developer at Muzzle Talk. It fits ten arrows in the clip, and I can fire with just under two seconds between shots.”

Nyx whistled in admiration. “Not bad. Your dad is really talented!”

“Thanks. We’ve always been close. He was very supportive of my interest when I was just a filly. I was hoping to eventually compete in the Equestria Games’ ice-arrow competition, but I was too young the last time the Games were held. When the war started, I found a much more appropriate use for my skills.”

“It's a weird feeling, isn't it? Having your special talent suddenly be in demand because of the war.”

“Yeah, a little. So how about you—what’s your history? You and Rumble are pretty tight. How long you been a couple?”

“Since the war began. But we’ve been married for five years. We were pretty close friends as kids.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“Thanks. He’s awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better stallion.”

The heat of the day had finally passed, leaving behind a cool breeze coming from the west as the sun began its journey toward the horizon.

Nyx and Flitter had flown ahead to scout the trail. The mountain range to the south started to flatten out and veered off to the south-west horizon. Looking back to the east, Canterlot Mountain was no longer visible. In the distance to the west, the air was thick with a smoke-like haze, and the trees took on a darker color. Hints of a foul odor drifted in with the breeze.

“Is that the fire swamp?” Flitter asked.

“Looks like it. I’d say it’s another hour’s walk ahead of the platoon. We should probably head back.”

The pair circled around, getting the lay of the land and committing the best route to memory. Upon returning to the platoon, they found Daisy firing her rifle at some paper targets. She checked her weapon and greeted them.

“I told the troops we can stop here for a while and do some combat drills before dinner. We’re going to want to take advantage of the daylight while we have it. How’s the path looking up ahead?”

Nyx sat down on a large rock next to a supply wagon, and Daisy joined her. “The fire swamp is about an hour’s walk from here. I think we should be okay for a while; we didn’t see any signs of zebras anywhere we scouted. How are you guys doing?”

Daisy pointed at the groups of soldiers across the clearing where they had stopped. “Archer’s got a marksmanship contest going on over there. A few of the others are practicing some hoof combat. We’ll probably eat fast and hit the trail again in a half hour. We shouldn’t wait too long if we want to reach the first town before dark.

Flitter eyed the ponies that were gathered around Archer’s makeshift targeting range. An all-black mare with a white star on her forehead held a portable chalkboard with hash marks on it.

“I’ll be over there if you need me,” Flitter said, pointing toward the others. She trotted off to join them.

Rumble flew up to Daisy and Nyx, hovering for a moment before landing. “Hey, hon!” He was wearing his lancer frame. “This thing is so awesome. I’m practicing my aim.” He gave her a quick cuddle.

“Having fun?” Nyx said, leaning into him.

“You know it! I gotta run, though. I need the practice.” He kissed her cheek and flew off.

Nyx grinned affectionately, her eyes half lidded.

Daisy smirked. “That’s the look of a mare in love.”

“Hm? Of course.” She blushed, slightly.

“It’s good to see. Not enough love in the world these days, you know.”

Nyx chuckled. “You sound like Flitter; she says the exact same thing. Of course, she has a pretty good reason to be saying that.”

“A changeling… yeah, she’s really lucky to have you two.”

“We’ve been through a lot together. Like I said, she’s family.”

Daisy glanced across the clearing to where Flitter had joined the others. Nyx followed her gaze.

“Midnight’s our best shot with a rifle. That black mare over there, Archer, likes to think she is. With a bow, she’d be right.”

Nyx nodded as she watched Flitter in the distance. She was taking aim at a paper target with Midnight’s help.

“Somepony seems to be enjoying herself,” Daisy noted.

“It’s good to see. I worry about her sometimes. She’s been through so much, but she hides most of it.”

Another series of loud cracks rang through the air from Rumble’s LMGs. Nyx and Daisy looked up and smiled, watching Rumble soar past, drawing the attention of the other soldiers.

Platinum Dawn, one of the stallions who pulled the wagons, passed a ration basket to the commander. She thanked him and offered Nyx a sandwich.

“You know, I’ve got a pretty good idea what most of the ponies here can do in battle,” Daisy said. “But there’s still one pony that’s a mystery to me. I’m very interested to know what you can do, Nyx. You’re an alicorn. From what I’ve read, your abilities could be downright catastrophic. If legend is to be believed, a single alicorn can wipe out large armies or level mountains.”

Nyx nearly fell over laughing. “Wow, I haven’t heard that one in a long time, Daisy.” She wiped her eye with a hoof. “I wouldn’t put much faith in the old bedtime stories. Alicorns aren’t the titans that the ancient legends talk about. Those stories are just made up to give little colts and fillies interesting pony-tales to read. Nopony should take them seriously.”

“Hmm. Well, somepony must have had a vivid imagination then. Somepony seemed to think alicorns were terrifying.”

Nyx considered this for a moment. Luna had strongly hinted that Nyx may end up remembering further war spells which Luna had crafted in ages past. But nothing on the scale of the ancient legends. Even Luna herself had no such power.

“Well, I’m not saying we can’t do some pretty scary stuff,” Nyx conceded. “I mean, three years ago, I turned twenty-three zebras into meat confetti. It did put me in the hospital, though. It’s not something I can use in a fight just because I want to. And in a war this size, it wouldn’t tip the scales anyway.”

“So, you can’t defeat entire armies with a wave of your hoof and make my platoon famous for winning the war, then.” Daisy poked Nyx in the side with a smile. “That’s too bad. We sure could use a ‘legend’ like that right about now, wouldn’t you say?”

“I don’t know, Daisy. All the alicorns in those stories weren’t the slightest bit interested in helping out with pony concerns.”

Daisy smirked. “I suppose you’re right, but it’s fun to fantasize about it. So, what’s your story then? Got any cool tricks?”

Cool tricks. Nyx flushed, not expecting to feel so self-conscious about her lack of interesting abilities. “Well… Luna took away nearly all of my magical abilities when she turned me back into a filly. I’ve had to learn magic from scratch. Turns out I’m not multitalented like my mom.”

“How are you in combat, then?”

“I do well enough,” Nyx said after hesitating. She hated bragging, but she reminded herself that Daisy wanted to know her capabilities, not hear her stroke her own ego. “From a position of raw physical power, my body is several times stronger than most ponies. One on one, I can probably win any fight other than against Celestia or Luna. Then again, I haven’t fought a full-grown dragon yet, so don’t quote me on that.”

“I don’t know, Nyx, there are some very skilled zebras. Some of the elites can kick the tails of any Commander. I got super lucky one time when I killed one because he wasn’t paying attention and I got the first blow to the back of his neck. Even with the spinal injury, he kicked my ass before I finally got a lucky killing strike with my zebra blades. He continued to fight even while bleeding out. I nearly didn’t make it.”

Nyx paused to consider this. She had fought several zebras over the last three years, but never one with the level of skill Daisy described. “Wow. Well, I’ll have to keep an eye out for that, I guess.”

“What’s your fighting style then, Nyx?”

“I can put up a class-five shield, and I’ve got a couple types of energy beams, but they drain my power really fast. My magical capacity is… well, it’s kinda low for an alicorn. But I’m pretty good with a blade.” Nyx drew her new sword from its scabbard.

Daisy whistled in admiration. “That’s a beauty. Where were you hiding that?”

Nyx twirled the sword about for a moment. “Pocket dimension built into the armor. I love it.”

“Very cool. May I?”

Nyx passed the sword to Daisy. “It was a gift from Luna. It means a lot to me.”

Daisy examined the sword for a moment, then passed it back. “It’s beautiful. Is a blade more your style, then? I take it you don’t like firearms.”

Nyx scratched behind her ear and took a moment to think. “I’m not sure if I have a ‘style’, to be honest. I think maybe it’s just that a gun wouldn’t really add anything to my fighting ability. I have a medium-ranged weapon already.” Nyx tapped her horn with a forehoof. “I can fight up close with the sword, and I can take a beating that would kill most ponies. I’ve tried firearms: I’m not really that good of a shot, and I feel like they slow me down. You know what I mean? I don’t feel as agile when carrying one.”

Daisy chuckled. “Rumble seems to do okay. I was watching him zip through the trees with a shotgun earlier. That kid absolutely dances with his guns.”

Nyx looked affectionately across the clearing toward Rumble. “That he does.”

Daisy cleared her throat. “Well, I’m glad to have you with us, Nyx. If we run into trouble, you’ll stack the odds in our favor nicely.”

The platoon had packed up, continuing westward through the farthest reaches of Whitetail Woods. It was growing more unpleasant the further they went. Everypony was getting tired of walking along the bumpy, curvy trails.

“Do we know anything about this town we’re going to?” Flitter asked. She and Nyx were taking point with Daisy, and it was Rumble’s turn to scout ahead.

“No, not really,” Daisy said. “Just what you could guess based on where they live. Not exactly what most of us would call civilization.”

Rumble returned from his flight and set down next to the others. “Okay, the good news is that I haven’t spotted anything to worry about over the fire swamp.”

“What’s the bad news?” Nyx asked.

“The bad news is that even if there was something to worry about, I probably wouldn’t have seen it anyway. There’s so much haze over the whole area, I could barely see the ground, much less any threats.”

“We’ll just have to do without, then,” Daisy said. “Thanks for checking.”

The platoon continued along the trail for a few minutes when suddenly, most of the ambient noise of the forest faded away. Everypony slowed their pace and glanced around the eerily silent forest, looking for threats.

“Listen,” whispered Archer, drawing her bow out.

There was a rustling coming from a nearby thicket alongside a ridge. Suddenly, an enormous beast emerged and approached the ponies. It resembled a winged lion, but was probably four times as massive. The creature’s muscular tail was segmented and curled up, ending with a scorpion-like stinger. A manticore was one of the more feared creatures of the Everfree Forest. It moved slowly, getting close enough that Nyx could smell it.

“Shit, shit, shit,” whispered Windy.

“Weapons hold,” Daisy ordered. “Let’s see what it does. Stay alert, ponies.”

The manticore wandered closer and growled at them but did not attack.

“There’s blood all over its mouth and paws,” Flitter whispered. “Maybe it just killed.”

Everypony watched intently as the manticore lumbered dangerously close and let out a roar that nopony would ever forget. The piercing, otherworldly scream echoed through the trees, sending chills down Nyx’s back.

The entire platoon stood frozen with weapons trained on the beast. It paused and sniffed at the air, then seemed to lose interest, making its way past them and eventually disappearing into the woods. Everypony held their breath until it was out of sight.

“Yeah, you better run,” Rumble said in the manticore’s general direction.

“Holy shit,” Windy said. “Anypony else feel a little outclassed suddenly? Good thing it left us alone.”

“If it had attacked, we would have killed it,” Daisy said. “But a beast that size can absorb a lot of lead before falling. One unlucky swipe from a manticore’s claws can take a pony’s head clean off.”

Archer’s expression seemed quite agitated. “Excuse me, but what the fuck is a manticore doing in Whitetail Woods? Those are only found in the Everfree Forest.”

Nyx recalled how most everything living in the Everfree Forest seems to dislike ponies. Why was that, anyway? “She’s right. It isn’t normal for an Everfree creature to be this far from home. It’s worth some extra caution; we don’t know what else we might stumble into.”

The terrain had changed significantly as the platoon continued to push west beyond the edge of the forest. The grass and underbrush were gone, replaced by barren reddish-brown soil with a scattering of ferns beneath large, intimidating trees with gnarled, exposed roots. The air was thick with haze, adding to the creepy feeling of the place. Pools of sticky liquid dotted the landscape, occasionally belching flammable gas bubbles which ignited like flaming geysers as they burst.

“Cesium flecks and methane,” Windy said. “Keep your distance.”

“This is chimera territory,” Nyx warned. “Apple Bloom said they’re hostile, but they shouldn’t be much trouble for us.” The spell matrix around Nyx’s horn glowed as she fed it some magical energy. “T.E.I. shows nothing nearby.”

“Let’s still try to keep as low a profile as possible,” Flitter said in a hushed voice. “We may just get lucky and pass through undetected. I’ve got a very bad feeling about this place.”

Nyx stopped in front of her. “Like, ‘I can smell some zebras’ bad?” she whispered.

“No, not like that. The only other emotions I can pick up right now are from the other ponies. Nyx, most of them are really nervous.”

Nyx glanced around at the platoon. Everypony was taking cautious steps forward, looking all around at the intimidating landscape. “I can see that myself,” she whispered back. “What else do you feel?”

“Nothing at all. That doesn’t mean there isn’t danger. I get no early warning with animals.”

Something strange caught Nyx’s peripheral vision below on her chest.

“What’s this?”

Nyx looked down at her armor. She was surprised to find that its silver edging and shiny filigree had dulled, and the lustrous iridescent plating had become a darker matte finish, blending in with the surrounding terrain.

“Well, that’s different,” Nyx commented with a hint of curiosity. “I wonder if the armor knows something we don’t.”

“You’re nervous,” Flitter said.

Nyx shot her an annoyed look. “Of course I am.”

“That’s probably why. Nice feature.”

The haze made it impossible to navigate, and there was no longer a trail to follow. Nyx checked her compass and approached Daisy. “I’d like to scout ahead and see if I can find the best way out of here. T.E.I. isn’t showing anything nearby.”

“Good idea. I’ll have everypony advance slowly in that direction until you get back.”

Nyx nodded and took off above the trees, out of sight.

Flitter moved closer to Windy Scarlet as the platoon advanced through the fire swamp. “Are you alright? You seem a little uneasy.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Don’t feel bad; I’m nervous too.” Flitter looked into Windy’s eyes and saw a part of herself reflected back at her. “You’re not really a soldier, are you?”

Windy shook her head. “Every platoon needs a unicorn. Multitalented unicorns get a great benefits package for signing up. My family fell on hard times recently… They’ll be taken care of now.”

Flitter’s heart sank. This pony had never seen combat. She couldn’t be older than twenty. “What did you do before enlisting?”

“Entertainment. Performing tricks for school carnivals and things like that.”

“Ahh. You ever hear of Trixie?”

Windy rolled her eyes. “Yes. I tried to join up with her once. We did a couple shows together, but honestly, she’s kind of a bossy, narcissistic bitch. Great and Powerful this and that. Goodness, as big as her head was, there just wasn’t room for me in the act.”

Flitter stifled a laugh. “That does sound like Trixie.” She paused and regarded the scarlet-maned unicorn. She could taste Windy’s anxiety like a bitter spot on the back of her tongue. Her voice became soft and compassionate. “Hey, now. You’re in good company here, kid. This commander’s a good leader. And Nyx is the best pony I’ve ever met. We’ll get through this.”

Windy smiled, and Flitter could tell it was genuine. “Thanks, Flitter. Hey, you wanna see something cool?” She paused, ears swiveling about. “Wait. Do you hear that?”

A high-pitched sound came from the north and was getting louder. What disturbed Flitter was that it didn’t sound like any single thing. More like lots of somethings. Everypony looked around, trying to figure out what was happening as the sound grew louder like a rapidly approaching storm. “What is that?” somepony asked.

Suddenly, a cloud of winged creatures descended upon the troops, biting them and flying erratically. Everypony tried running for cover.

“What the… Vampire fruit bats?” Flitter couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were dozens of bats. Everywhere she looked, somepony was swiping at them with hooves, bucking, dodging, and trying to keep their distance. Somepony fired a weapon, having no luck hitting the agile targets.

One landed on Platinum Dawn’s neck, hanging by its claws from his barding. The huge bat sank its fangs into the vulnerable underside of his neck, spraying blood. The stallion screamed in terror, bucking and kicking, yet unable to shake the creature. “Platinum! Hold still,” yelled Archer from ten canters out as she drew her bow. He didn’t respond, but kept thrashing about in a panic. A nearby soldier unclipped a dagger from his barding and impaled the bat. Platinum stumbled around in shock as blood continued to pour from his neck and stream down his chest.

Another bat was baring its fangs for the attack when suddenly, its head exploded into dozens of bloody fragments. Rumble had dropped his lancer frame in exchange for a drum-fed combat shotgun, and was swooping and dodging through the air, shredding the winged nightmares.

Daisy stood next to the supply wagon, passing shotguns to her troops. A bat landed on her flank and bit hard. She cried out in pain then bashed the creature’s head with the butt of her weapon. The sound of shotguns filled the air, and several more bats met their fate. It wasn’t enough, however. There were just too many, and more ponies were getting bitten.

Flitter flung herself toward Platinum and searched through her pack for something to stop the bleeding. He was lying on his side, blood pooling onto the dirt. Flitter twisted as she felt the impact of a bat landing on her back. She looked back and shrieked in terror just before seeing the little monster get ripped away by a bright-red levitation field.

The bat resisted, beating its wings uselessly as it was carried toward a shield bubble that floated above the ground near the center of the battle. Flitter turned to see Windy Scarlet, horn glowing and her face a combination of abject fear and focused determination. She was crouched low, hugging the base of a tree and trying not to be a target. Flitter could tell that it was taking all her telekinetic focus to maintain her hold on the elusive bats, catching them in midair, one at a time, and dragging them into the shield.

The sound of shotguns still echoed through the swamp as the number of bats gradually fell. Flitter was tending to Platinum Dawn’s neck wound, putting pressure on it to slow the bleeding. It was a bad bite that nicked an artery. She was worried that a bandage wouldn’t be enough. This pony was going to need to have that wound repaired before he could travel. She opened the small inner pocket of her saddlebags and unclipped her XT.

Eventually, the last of the bats were either shot or rounded up in Windy’s shield. At least two dozen flew around angrily within the canter-wide sphere. Nine ponies had been bitten—two seriously.

Daisy trotted around, checking on everypony. “Well, so much for keeping a low profile. Good work, Windy. That was some quick thinking with the shield!”

“What kind of shield is that?” Rumble asked as he strapped his lancer frame back on. “Any shield I’ve ever seen can’t have anything put inside after it’s already up.”

“One-way shield,” Windy replied with a smile. “A trick I learned a couple years ago. Stuff goes in, but nothing comes out.”

“Is it strong?” Rumble asked as he leaned over and put his lips to a clip on his barding.

“Yeah, I’d say so. Probably a solid class-four.”

Archer took a close look at the shield. “So, what are you going to do now with a ball full of angry, bloodthirsty bats?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll…”

One of Rumble’s grenades sailed through the air, slipped into the shield, and bounced around inside for a bit before settling at the bottom.

“Adios, fuckers!”

--BOOM!!--

The shield became an opaque red sphere with hundreds of fragments of bat guts and bone clinging to the bloody interior then sliding down into a pool.

Windy stared at the shield for a moment. “Or… that works too.” She released the shield, and the bat purée landed on the ground with a wet splat.

Archer picked herself up off the ground and gave Rumble a serious look. She then regarded the sticky mess and scratched her head with a hoof. “Okay, can I be the first to call bullshit on the vampire fruit bat attack?! Since when have fruit bats, vampire or otherwise, ever attacked ponies?”

Just then, a rustling sounded from behind a cluster of trees, causing heads to whip around as everypony startled. Flitter could taste how jumpy they all were. Several ponies chuckled, commenting on the false alarm when suddenly, three hideous creatures charged out from behind the trees. Their appearance was that of a lion with a second head like a goat. Their tails ended in snake heads.

Before anypony knew what was happening, one of the chimeras slammed its goat head hard into the side of an earth pony soldier.

Oh no, Flitter thought. It was Midnight—the mare who had helped her at the targeting range earlier.

They tumbled over one another before coming to a stop with the chimera pinning her down. She screamed as the lion head tore at her flesh.

Daisy barked out orders as she drew her rifle. “Flitter, you help Midnight. Everypony else, form a perimeter!” She then fired her rifle three times into the creature, causing it to flinch in pain and dash away, leaving a trail of blood.

Flitter galloped to where the soldier lay bleeding while chaos surrounded her. She was still wearing her XT from patching up Platinum and helping him to the supply wagon. The black mare before her was convulsing in pain, eyes wide and staring into Flitter’s. Her breath came in short gasps.

“Shhh. Try to be still—I’ve got you.” Flitter looked down at the wound. The shoulder was mauled open, the foreleg nearly ripped off.

Another chimera pounced on a nearby earth pony soldier, pinning her down on her back not ten canters from where Flitter was trying to stabilize Midnight.

Flitter took a deep breath. She brought up the holographic image and focused on the open arteries, fusing them with her cauterizing spell to stop the worst of the bleeding. “Just hold on. I know it hurts.” Flitter dug through her saddlebags. She pulled out a nectar stick and broke it in half, putting one half in her own mouth and the other in Midnight’s. Flitter maneuvered the nectar stick between the mare’s back teeth and slapped her jaw, causing the stick to shatter. Midnight shook for a moment then melted into calm putty.

The sounds of gunfire and screaming filled the air in a cacophony of madness while Flitter fought to maintain focus. She glanced up to see one of the soldiers, Radiance, pinned beneath a chimera. It was easily four times her weight and was clawing furiously at her barding, ripping deep gashes into her belly.

Two others rushed to help Radiance. The bright yellow mare cried out in pain as blood flowed down her side toward her back. The beast’s movements were violent and unpredictable, making it difficult for the new arrivals to take aim without risking hitting Radiance. Dodging a swipe from its claws, one soldier fired her rifle into the side of the creature, prompting a pair of goat horns to slam into her head. She dropped her rifle and tried to steady herself while the chimera continued to claw at Radiance.

“It’s such a pretty shade of crimson,” came the calm voice of Midnight as she looked idly at her own devastated shoulder. Flitter grabbed a clean cloth from her saddlebags and soaked up the excess blood from the wound. There were only moments to reattach the blood vessels if she was going to save the pony’s foreleg.

The sharp, percussive sound of automatic machine gun fire sailed overhead across the battle. It was Rumble filling a chimera with lead. Flitter spared a glance in the direction he was firing. The beast was trying to bite at its attackers but was too occupied with the wounds it was receiving. Daisy was crouching behind a large tree, contributing to the assault with her rifle. The chimera roared and tried to take cover, but several soldiers had it surrounded. There was nowhere to run.

The chimera clawing at Radiance became distracted and stopped mauling her long enough to snap its lion head at the stallion that had arrived to help. He slammed the butt of his shotgun into its eye, causing it to shriek. Its snake-headed tail whipped around and snapped at the stallion, but he jumped back, just out of reach. The snake head then sank its fangs into the hind leg of the rifle mare, who was trying to pull Radiance free. She cried out in pain as the tail pulled upward, lifting her off the ground with its fangs embedded in her flank.

Flitter applied her XT’s anaesthetic spell to the wound. “Midnight, when that stuff wears off, you need to hold still. Don’t try to move.” Flitter glanced at Radiance lying beneath the angry chimera. She had stopped moving. Flitter had an empty feeling in her gut. There was nothing she could do. The screaming and gunfire were unceasing. Weren’t there three chimeras? She couldn’t remember.

Flitter saw a pale pink unicorn race past her vision. “Windy!”

The unicorn stopped in her tracks and stared at Flitter with a look of terror on her face.

“I need a shield, and fast. We’re the only ones not fighting, and I don’t think it’ll be long before…”

Then she saw it. Flitter glanced to the right and saw the wounded chimera that had mauled Midnight crouching behind a bush, looking directly at her. It was creeping closer. When they locked eyes, the chimera bolted forward and leapt.

The shotgun stallion blasted the snake head clean off the tail of Radiance’s chimera, which then whipped about, spraying everypony with blood. The rifle mare fell to the ground, the severed snake head still attached to her flank. She kicked the head off her and scrabbled backward. The goat and lion heads roared in anger and pain, and the chimera refocused its efforts against the shotgun wielding pony, clawing and biting at him in a frenzy as its tail thrashed about, blood spurting everywhere.

One… two… and finally three arrows from Archer’s crossbow flew across the battlefield and into the side of the beast, causing it to stumble and shriek. The goat head reached back and bit down on one of the arrows from its side. The beast wailed in pain and snapped the shaft off, leaving the curved broadhead inside its flesh.

Flitter flinched as the leaping chimera slammed into Windy’s shield, causing a red distortion wave to radiate out along the sphere from where the beast impacted. The chimera fell to the ground, confused, and shook its heads. It roared and tried to scratch its way through the nearly transparent bubble that surrounded Flitter, Windy, and Midnight. A moment later, Flitter finally finished stabilizing Midnight, but they were trapped in a shield bubble with an angry chimera trying its best to break in.

The snake-bitten soldier managed to get a clean shot with her rifle at the back of the goat head as it reached for the second arrow, causing it to fall limp. The chimera stumbled over, losing its balance entirely as it tried to remain upright with two of its three brains missing. The lion head thrashed about, trying to find a target while the tail continued to whip blood everywhere. The shotgun stallion shoved the barrel of his gun into the lion mouth and blew the back of its head out.

Radiance was free, but still unmoving. Her rescuers were panicked, trying to get her to wake up. The remaining chimera suddenly stopped clawing at Windy’s shield, noticing easier prey nearby. It crouched low, preparing to pounce.

The chimera had barely left the ground when a beam of intense magical energy lanced across the battlefield. It struck the side of the lion head of the beast and burned straight through to penetrate the goat head as well. The creature spun in the air and crashed dead into the ground beside Radiance.

A dark shape burst onto the scene, armor gleaming a brilliant purple and silver, drawing the attention of all. Her eyes glowed with fury, full of anger and magic, aghast that her friends were being hurt when she wasn’t there to protect them. Her sword was held high, a flashing blade of unrelenting silver.

Nyx had joined the fight.

Flitter seized the opportunity. “Drop the shield now!” Windy and Flitter bolted to where Radiance lay.

Nyx landed near Daisy. “I heard gunshots and an explosion. I came as fast as I could,” Nyx panted. “This isn’t over—T.E.I. showed another pack of the damn things on their way.”

Flitter looked Radiance over. Her belly was shredded, but she was still breathing. She applied the anaesthetic spell and got to work.

“Everypony regroup by the wagons!” Daisy ordered. Within seconds, all who could still fight gathered together in a circle, facing outward.

Nyx approached Flitter. “Who’s hurt?”

“The worst are Radiance here and Midnight. Platinum is out for this fight, but he’ll be okay.”

Flitter’s ears swiveled about. Nyx heard it too—the distant sound of massive creatures thundering through the swamp and approaching fast.

Nyx checked her T.E.I. “Here they come. Five seconds—straight ahead.”

“I can put the shield back up if you want,” Windy said.

The sounds of gunfire erupted once more as the second pack of chimeras attacked from the shadows.

“Do it,” Nyx yelled above the din.

Flitter looked back at the black mare lying on the ground in the open. “Windy! Midnight is defenseless. They’ll go for her first.”

Windy turned to where Midnight lay on the ground, unmoving. She gritted her teeth and reached out with her telekinesis to gently levitate her to safety before raising her shield.

A flame geyser erupted, illuminating the terrifying figure of a chimera sneaking around a large tree. Rumble’s dual LMGs spat hot lead in the creature’s direction, fire visibly erupting from his weapon’s muzzles in the fading light. The beast held up its massive paws in front of its lion face and roared. Blood leaked from its body in several places where the bullets tore into its flesh. It tried to advance, but the hail of bullets was too much, and it fled back into the shadows.

Archer and Daisy were tracking the wounded chimera where it tried to flank the ponies and kept firing in its direction. Rumble set down on the ground in front of where it was headed. The chimera spotted him and charged.

Rumble surely knew what he was doing. What he didn’t see were the two chimeras approaching from the other direction. Nyx ran at full speed toward them with her sword at the ready. She plowed into the body of the first one, carrying it backward a couple canters and slamming it up against a tree. The second chimera followed closely behind. Nyx looked over her shoulder and kicked its lion head hard in the face. She then turned her head back to face the first chimera and ran her sword deep through its belly.

Nyx glanced back to Rumble. He unclipped a small device from his leg, set it on the ground by his hooves, and ran quickly away from the charging chimera. The creature pursued until it reached the proximity mine, and then its abdomen exploded, severing the beast in half. Rumble took flight, looking for more targets.

The second chimera’s snake tail struck at Nyx’s neck, but the fangs were unable to penetrate her armor plating. Nyx sliced the snake-headed tail clean off with her sword and fired her horn at its chest, blasting a cauterized hole straight through its body and leaving a foul smell in the air.

Nyx turned and noticed a pony standing still in the open not far from where Windy and Flitter were tending to Radiance. A wounded chimera had noticed the pony as well. Before Nyx could react, the chimera charged at the pony and ran straight through it, colliding heads-first into a large boulder.

The pony shimmered a bit, but didn’t react. Nyx saw Windy behind her shield, smiling. She disengaged the illusion spell as several soldiers descended upon the stunned chimera, shredding it with overwhelming firepower.

Nyx heard a low growl directly behind her, causing her stomach to jump into her throat. One had managed to sneak around, undetected. With no time to even turn, she pushed off the ground with all four hooves and flapped her wings downward hard. As she rose into the air, she felt a pain in her rump as chimera claws swiped at her. Nyx tucked forward, somersaulting in the air. The chimera sailed through the air below her, leaping through where she had been standing. Nyx fired three pulses of energy straight down through the creature’s back, burning through its spine. She completed her roll and spread her wings, landing gently on her hooves and panting heavily. Looking around, that was apparently the last of them.

The swamp was silent except for the occasional flame geyser. Everypony took a moment to catch their breath before regrouping by the wagons. The bodies of eight chimeras lay in the mud. One of them was burning on top of a flame geyser.

Daisy walked up to Flitter. “How are they?”

Flitter stood up and wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Radiance is gonna make it. They both need to get somewhere safe where they can recover for a few days.”

“We need to get moving then.” Daisy turned to the others. “How’s everypony else? Who’s injured?”

Just about everypony raised a hoof. Most had some sort of minor gashes or bites—some more serious than others.

Rumble noticed four red streaks on Nyx’s rump where the chimera had swiped her. His brow furrowed. Nyx turned and put a wing over his shoulder. “I’m fine. Let’s help the others.”

Flitter knelt down to check on Midnight. During the battle, Windy had helped put a dressing over her shoulder while Flitter was putting Radiance’s underside back together. The holographic image of Midnight showed several broken ribs where the chimera had slammed into her. Flitter carefully maneuvered the bones back into position and cast her XT’s tissue binding spell on them. The image showed a lot of damage where the chimera had tried to rip her foreleg off.

“It’s going to take a bit of time to stitch her shoulder back together,” Flitter said. Midnight was still in shock, not able to move.

Daisy turned to face Nyx as she approached. “Please tell me you found a way out of here.”

“I think so. When I had to turn back, I noticed a large clearing in the trees that might be a settlement. It’s not much farther to the bayou from here, but we need to hurry in case more chimeras heard us.” She looked up toward the sky, noticing the stars. “It’s getting dark pretty fast. The chimeras seem to be attracted to gunfire, so…”

Daisy nodded. “Grab some blankets out of the supply wagons and put them on top. Would you mind lifting Midnight and Radiance onto the wagon? We can’t stay here any longer.”

Everypony worked to get the pair of wounded ponies comfortable on the makeshift ambulance. Nyx then checked her compass and led the platoon through the shadowy mist.

Daisy was worried about her troops. The platoon had finally reached the edge of the fire swamp and made their way along the path which Nyx had found. Walking had become arduous with so many wounded, and the platoon was travelling at half their usual speed.

Mentally cataloging the sustained injuries and combining that with the task ahead, Daisy considered the impact it would have on their mission. She trotted to catch up with Nyx, who had taken point. “You sure this is the right way?”

A faint flash came from Nyx’s spell matrix, followed by a nod of her head. “This path winds around a river, then heads straight toward the clearing. Should be less than an hour’s walk.”

After some time, Archer spoke up. “Nyx, did you say that a little filly went through this area?”

“Yeah, she did. It was a long time ago. Clearly, things have changed since then. It wasn’t supposed to be this dangerous.”

“It’s not just that it was more dangerous,” Archer said. “Manticores are not supposed to be outside the Everfree Forest. Vampire fruit bats don’t attack ponies. And those chimeras were damn aggressive and attacked in packs. What does this mean?”

“Those questions might have to wait until we can tell Luna about it,” Nyx said. “Maybe she can have somepony look into it.”

The terrain had become a labyrinth. A canopy of trees made it difficult to navigate by moonlight. Windy provided light with her horn so the platoon could follow the path, but it was pitch black other than what was right in front of them.

After an exhausting trip through the darkness, the trees opened up into a clearing. There were houses! Strange houses built on stilts were scattered about the clearing, and lamps hung on poles giving light to the grounds.

There were several ponies who sat on their porches, talking with one another. They sat up and took notice as the battle-weary platoon stumbled into their courtyard. One of them, a middle aged charcoal earth pony with a curly black mane, approached the exhausted soldiers.

“Who might you be?” he asked.

Daisy stepped forward and tried her best to be professional despite feeling on the verge of collapse. “I’m Commander Daisycutter, 21st Platoon, Lunar division. We’re here because there have been reports of zebras making their way inland through the bayous. We were sent to prepare the local towns to deal with them. Our team was just attacked by chimeras, and we need shelter.”

The pony looked them over, taking note of the injuries suffered and the military supply wagons. “Alright, come this way. The name’s Blackberry. I’m the town elder. You folks look mighty tuckered. Come, let’s get y’all fixed up and rested.”

“We have some who are seriously injured. Do you have any place where we can treat them?”

“Yes, we have a small infirmary,” Blackberry said. “There’s some portable cots we can set up.”

Nyx levitated Midnight, along with her blankets, off the supply wagon as she and Flitter followed the elder. Several other ponies who were wounded in the battle followed along. Windy followed behind them, carrying Radiance.

Blackberry paused a moment to speak to a passerby. “Can you go fetch Willow? These folks will be needing her.” The other pony nodded and trotted off in the opposite direction.

Daisy took a deep breath, realizing that they would finally be able to recover with the help of new friends. She watched as Flitter and Nyx helped get all the injured ponies resting comfortably. After a moment, a white unicorn with a pale yellow mane showed up and began looking their injuries over.

“Willow’s our town nurse. She’ll tend to your wounded best she can.”

“Thank you for your help, Blackberry,” Daisy said. “We’re in your debt.”

“All this was caused by chimeras?” Blackberry asked incredulously.

“And bats. Don’t forget the bats,” Rumble added.

Blackberry raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? I reckon that don’t make no sense. We don’t go in there much if we can help it. Chimeras are nasty critters, although I wouldn’t have expected fightin’ ponies like yourselves t’have this much trouble with ’em.”

“We were attacked by eight chimeras,” Daisy said. “They were very aggressive.”

“Oh wow, no, they ain’t usually that bad. Normally there might be one, or at most two, but beatin’ them off with a stick or pitchfork usually gets rid of ‘em. They also don’t tend to attack at all if there’s more than say, four of us in a group.”

“We would truly appreciate it if we could stay for a short while. We need to camp here and help your town prepare for zebras anyway. We brought weapons and supplies to help you out.”

Nyx returned from the infirmary. Through the gathering locals, Daisy could see glimpses of Flitter tending to Midnight.

“How bad are they?” Daisy asked.

“Her shoulder is pretty bad. Flitter’s going to need an hour or so with her XT to mend all the tissues back together. Midnight will need several days to recover, but she should be okay. She was lucky she didn’t lose her foreleg.”

“Thanks, Nyx. How’s everypony else doing?”

“Lots of minor wounds. But not bad, considering. Willow is tending to the less serious injuries. Lots of scrapes, bruises, bites, and cuts that won’t need surgery. Radiance is in rough shape, but she’s stable. She was nearly killed by the chimera who pounced her. Willow changed her dressing, and Flitter is going to finish repairing her gashes when she has time. Platinum’s neck is doing much better too; he should be fine by tomorrow. Speaking of that, everypony is just exhausted. We’re going to need a place to crash.”

“We have some extra tents and bedding we can set up if you need ’em,” Blackberry offered. “We’re a friendly bunch, and y’all are welcome to camp in anypony’s yard. Best stick to the front yards though. Critters have been known to come wanderin’ up the back at night on occasion.”

“Thanks, Blackberry. We’re grateful,” Daisy said. She and Nyx trotted off to help get everypony bedded down comfortably.

“And folks,” Blackberry called out to them. “Welcome to Gatorton.”

Nyx and Rumble settled down in their tent, which was pitched in Willow’s front yard. The white unicorn had returned home from tending to the platoon’s injuries, and Nyx could hear the sounds from the house as they drifted through the front yard. After a moment, the lamps were extinguished, leaving Nyx’s tent in darkness. Before long, the only sounds to be heard were the rhythmic chirping of hundreds of distant frogs and crickets.

Rumble was cuddled up to Nyx from behind with his body pressed tightly against hers. She loved being held close like this. He was kissing her neck gently, and she melted like putty under his touch. Nyx savored the attention for a few minutes then flipped over to face him. She kissed him for a long moment, hugging his neck tightly.

Nyx leaned back from the embrace and formed a mischievous smile. “It’s been a while since we’ve slept in a tent,” she said playfully as she grabbed Rumble. She held him tightly to her chest, rolling onto her back and looking up into his eyes. “Do you remember?”

Rumble saw the look in Nyx’s eyes as she lay beneath him. “Oh I remember,” he said softly. “I remember that you liked when I did this…”

She began to pant as he preened her feathers with his teeth while his foreleg caressed under her wing. Rumble reached further down, and Nyx could feel his gentle touch in tender places which caused the air to briefly catch in her throat. Her eyes went wide and unfocused. It was one of the few times her claustrophobia worked to her advantage, giving her just the slightest thrill and sense of danger from the closed space while pinned beneath the body of the one pony she trusted the most.

Flitter had finally mended Midnight’s wounded shoulder. It had taken an hour and a half to repair the severed tissues and make sure all the nerves and tendons were connected properly. She was thankful for her XT’s anesthetic spell, which completely numbed sensation on the area being worked on. Midnight was finally resting comfortably on her cot after spending much of the evening in shock.

“I owe you one, Flitter,” Midnight said with a smile. “Thanks for putting me back together.”

Flitter smiled back at her. “I’m happy to help. Just take it easy, okay? Your major injuries are healed, but it’s going to take a while for your body to fix all the cellular tissue damage. You’re going to be quite sore for a few days. The healing potions should help speed that along.”

“That’s great, thanks. But I have to know, where did you get that awesome trippy stuff you gave me when I was all ripped apart?”

Flitter laughed. “I’m a changeling actually,” she said as she clipped the XT back into its pocket inside her saddlebags. She fished out a nectar stick and held it in front of Midnight. “This is what I eat if there’s not enough love in the air.”

“Oh! Really? I… I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. I could have sworn you were a pegasus when I first saw you on the path in Whitetail. That’s pretty cool.”

Flitter chuckled. “Thanks for not freaking out. Most ponies are still fairly skittish around changelings.”

“It’s okay. I guess I’d rather judge a pony for who they are rather than what they are. So where does it come from? That trippy stuff?”

“It’s secreted when I’m exposed to a lot of love and my belly’s already full.”

“Secreted? From where?”

“None of your business.” Flitter grinned.

Midnight watched as Flitter transformed back into her pegasus form. “Heh. That’s okay. I’m just glad you were there to help. Hey, I saw that thing on your horn you were using. That’s some pretty amazing tech!”

“Yeah, no kidding! I love it. You three were actually my very first patients with it if you can believe that.” Flitter chuckled. “Well, I’m gonna go tend to Radiance then take a walk and get some sleep. I’ve really got to unwind. Take care!”

“See ya, Flitter. Thanks again.”

Nyx lay on her back with beads of sweat on her forehead and Rumble at her side with his foreleg draped over her chest. He had fallen asleep first—typical, but she didn’t mind. Nyx was feeling much better now, and she could finally relax. She treasured having somepony whom she could be truly vulnerable and intimate with. It was an uncommon privilege for somepony with such a complex and often difficult life.

She listened to the crickets for a while and thought about the day’s journey. She thought about how strange everything was with the manticore, and then the bats and chimeras. Something was different, and Nyx didn’t believe in coincidences or in letting such issues go unchallenged. Her mother had always taught her to seek out clues about everything until the rational conclusions present themselves.

Nyx’s thoughts were interrupted when she thought she heard something for a moment through the background noise of the crickets. It was a faint sound which piqued her curiosity. She listened for a minute, then decided she better investigate. She rolled to her side a bit, carefully maneuvering her wing under Rumble’s foreleg to slide it off her body. She then slipped out from under the blanket and wrapped it around her sleeping stallion.

Carefully unzipping the tent, Nyx stepped out into the cool nighttime air and swiveled her ears around, trying to pick up the sound again. Nothing. Surely, her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. She gave a mental shrug and turned to go back in, looking forward to cuddling up to her stallion’s warm body. Then, she heard it. Something wasn’t right. Nyx could barely make out the sounds of distress. Somepony was in trouble.