Blood Legacy: Book 1: Darkness Rising

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: Life in the Vale
Chapter 2: Assault of Vale Town
Chapter 3: This Shattered Life
Chapter 4: The Road South
Chapter 6: Van Hoover
Chapter 7: New Problems
Chapter 8: Taking a Stand
Chapter 9: Bandit Camp Raid
Introduction
Chapter 5: Encounter in the Forest

Prologue

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Chapter 1: Life in the Vale

The dim light of the candle was one of two things that lit my way as I walked among the shelves of the old fort’s library. The tall bookshelves towered far above me, but since I was a unicorn, reaching the books on the top shelf proved to very easy. The other source of light was from none other than the bright full moon, which graciously shined it’s pale light through the stained glass window near the top of the room.

It’s light reflected nicely off my pale purple coat, as well as my darker shade of purple mane. My cutie mark was that of an open spell book, which you could tell, meant that I was extremely gifted with magic. The candle began to flicker ever so slightly as I stopped and gazed up one of the shelves, and with a quick breath, my horn began to glow a shade of deep blue, as a few of the books among the shelf became enveloped in my aura, and slowly made their way down to me.

I had to be extra quiet, since I technically wasn't allowed to be here this late, mainly because the other students at the fort, were fast asleep, but as midnight drew ever nearer, I found it increasingly hard to fall asleep. Although I could never explain it fully, I had always found great comfort in the world of literature, not to say I wasn’t the social type, I had many friends among the other students, despite that being a few amount. But when it came to more trivial matters, such as stallions, dates, and overall ‘Girl Talk’ I never really found much interest, which in truth, should interest me since I'm a mare of my early 20’s.

Many of the students here had a similar origin story, either they were left here by their parents when they were little foals, or their parents had been killed by bandits, and they survived, the list went on. I guess you could say my origin story was similar in some ways, I have very vague memories of my parents, and most of the time I can't remember their faces, but they still linger in my mind.

All I did know was that the head teacher at the school, Satchel, had taken me in when I was very small, and raised me as a pseudo-daughter. Not that he paid me special attention in the classes when other students, but he had told me he was close friends with my parents, and that was why he was my adoptive father, and I had no reason to argue. Satchel is a great stallion, and he taught me everything I know about magic.

As my mind reflected through my earliest memories, I failed to hear the library door creak open, and a new presence fill the room. “Star Dust? What are you doing here?” an elderly voice spoke.

I shrieked and nearly jumped a few feet in the air, before I instantly spun around and took a defensive stance, but I felt my heart rate slow when I saw that it was merely Satchel, all dressed up in his dress robe, levitating a candle next to him with his unicorn magic, his dark brown coat illuminated by the light. He had all the typical physical attributes of being a senior citizen, including a grey mane and short beard, as well as a wise look on his face, indicating that there was more to him than ponies initially seen.

Satchel served as the head teacher of our school, along with three other teachers, who each taught certain subjects, while Satchel taught things like ‘Advanced Magical Learning’ and “Equestrian History’. I took a deep breath and calmed myself from that momentary shock, as I gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry Satchel, I…I guess I couldn't sleep…again. So I came here” I said as I began to put the books back in their pile.

Satchel stared at me for a moment, but his confused expression quickly turned into a warm smile. “I see, you certainly have an aptitude for reading, even after class hours. Of course, I shouldn't have to explain to you, again, that the library is off-limits at this hour, especially without an escort” he said with a wise and stern tone, but the smile never dropped from his face.

I chuckled nervously, but he quickly walked over to me and began to levitate the books back up to their proper places on the shelf. “Now then…care to tell me what really brought you here?” he said in a more concerned tone. The nervous smile began to fall from my face, as I remembered the entire reason I had come here in the first place, true it was from lack of sleep, but that was brought on by something different.

“I see…” he said as he stroked his beard lightly and examined my disturbed expression, “You had that same nightmare again didn't you?” he asked, but I felt too ashamed to look up into his eyes. So I did the next best thing.

I nodded.

“Yeah…the same one…like always” I said in a somber tone as I turned away from him and lowered my head, my ears pinned back against my head. By this point, I knew I would never be able to lie to him, because he always found a way to see through it, or somehow get me to admit the truth, through some clever wording.

But it was the same nightmare I had been having for weeks on end, every night always the same one, always the same sights.

Fire.

Buildings Burning.

The terrified cries of mares, stallions, and foals.

I felt a chill run down my spine, but I quickly heard Satchel walk over to me, and place a comforting hoof on my shoulder. “Star Dust, listen to me. I know you must be wandering what these nightmares mean, and I know your frustrated, but I can promise you, the answer will come in time.” He said in his trademark wise tone, which always managed to make me feel better.

I looked up at him and managed a smile, and he quickly returned one, “Come! I have something that will help you sleep.” he said as I levitated my candle to me and walked with him out the door.
________________________________________
(Vale Town Fortress, Satchel’s Private Study)

Satchel calmly walked through the upper levels of the fort on his way to his study, where he would catch up on some work before heading to bed himself. After giving Star Dust something to help her sleep, he sent her off to her quarters to try and sleep, even making sure she got there safely. They were lucky enough to have an entire fort as their home, which meant each student could have their own room, and even though they had close to 20 students there, the place still often felt empty.

Satchel entered the room with a heavy sigh, and stretched his old bones before he made his way over to the desk. He loved the crackle of the fireplace and, despite the containment spell he placed on it before he left, he enjoyed the warmth on his coat. But before he could fully settle in for the night, the warmth he felt was quickly interrupted, when he felt a cold breeze tickle his coat.

He turned towards the source, and saw that his window was wide open to the outside, letting the cold in, and making the drapes flap gently. Just as he began making his way towards the window, a voice cut through the silence, “Good evening, Master Satchel” a calm and dignified voice rang out, nearly making Satchel jump out of his skin.

He immediately turned to face the intruder, and saw a cloaked stallion standing by the fireplace, a glass of wine levitated by him. The intruder removed his hood, revealing a stallion with a dark blue coat and natural silver mane, which only brought comfort to Satchel. After calming down from the initial shock, Satchel recomposed himself and stood properly, “Master Cross Fire, what an unexpected surprise. I should have known it was you, you always did have a knack for making things purposely obvious.” He said in a smooth tone.

The other unicorn stallion chuckled, and gently sipped from his glass, “It’s good to see you as well, old friend. Nice to see that your reflexes haven’t dulled…too much. I hope you don't mind, but I helped myself to a glass of your wine, it’s rather tasty.” He said as he sipped again.

Satchel groaned slightly and walked over to his wine cabinet, removed as glass and the bottle his friend had poured from, and poured himself a glass. After returning to his desk, and taking a sip of his wine, Satchel turned to address his friend. “So…to what do I owe this surprise visit? Business or Pleasure?” he asked in a calmly fashion.

The other stallion chuckled lightly and placed his glass on a nearby table, “Well, as much as I would want to say I am here to catch up on lost time, I’m not. Sadly, I'm here on important business, the Grand Master sent me” he said, and just as Satchel heard those last words, he nearly dropped the glass that was near his lips.

Satchel cleared his throat and swallowed nervously, and then turned to his friend, still trying to remain calm and dignified. “The Grand Master sent you? Has something happened?” Satchel asked with a concerned voice. Cross Fire simple sighed and drank down the last of his wine.

“I’m afraid so. Something that involves your student…Star Dust” he said in a somber tone. But hearing the name of his pseudo-daughter be mentioned at a moment like this, only brought dread to his mind.

Satchel waited for his colleague to continue, which he did after composing himself again. “As I'm sure you are aware of, a few months back, one of our intelligence convoy’s was raided by imperial soldiers, and many classified documents were stolen. One of such documents, held Star Dust’s location, as well as the other students here.” He said as he let Satchel soak up and process the words.

Satchel stood dumbfounded for a moment, fear beginning to cloud his mind, but he swallowed nervously and drew a shaky breath. “How? How could they have possibly found that information? Those files were heavily coded!” Satchel spoke out in a more outlandish tone, which was unusual, compared to his normal calm demeanor.

Cross Fire simply nodded, “Yes, those files were coded, but we believe that the Emperor’s Spell Master, Night Storm must have completed the code. We believe that they will be coming for her.” He said in a calm yet worried tone, as they both could only imagine what would happen if she was found.

Satchel found himself at a loss for words, which rarely ever happened, but this time had been different. Cross Fire noticed his friend’s hesitation to speak, so he continued with the real reason he was here. “The other Masters and I…talked it over with the Grand Master. We believe…that it is time we move her” he said in a straightforward tone.

Satchel’s ears perked up at the words, as he stared into his friend’s eyes.

“What? You want to move Star Dust? But…I'm not sure if she’s ready, she hasn't finished her studies!” he began to babble various reasons as to why she shouldn't be moved, even though he knew deep down, that this was the best move. He wanted nothing more than to protect her from harm, that was the promise he made to her parents, and the other masters.

Cross Fire placed as hoof on Satchel’s shoulder to calm him, “We know you care greatly for her, and that you think of her as your own daughter, but doing so will not bring back your own daughter. The Grand Master placed her in your care, so that she might grow up away from all this trouble, and you've done a tremendous job, she’s a very gifted magic user, just like those before her, and you've taught her everything you known. But…she would have to find out the truth sooner or later, you know you can't protect her from it forever.” He said in a wise and comforting tone, which Satchel felt was strange since he was normally the go-to stallion for wise advice.

Satchel stood there for a moment, simply taking in what his friend said. He didn't want to believe that it was true, but he knew there would be no other way, the only thing he cared about was Star Dust, and the other students, which brought up another question. “If were moving Star Dust, then what would stop the empire from slaughtering the other students here?” he asked his friend.

Cross Fire seems slightly surprised by the question, which made he take a few steps back slightly. “Fear not my friend, the students here will all be moved to new places, but our main priority is Star Dust, if the empire notices a sudden exodus of ponies from Vale Town they will be encouraged to attack quicker. The other students will be moved shortly after Star Dust, in smaller groups every other day” he said with a more confident smile.

Satchel sighed and watched as his friend approached the window, and opened it once again, letting the cool night breeze in. Cross Fire quickly hopped up and turned to his friend, “The other masters wish to have a meeting tomorrow, so I would suggest you find a way to clear the students out for the day, we will discuss further details then, farewell Satchel” he said as he jumped back and disappeared, just as his magical aura closed the window behind him.

Satchel sat by his desk for a few moments, simply letting everything he had just learned fully sink in. he levitated his glass over to him and downed the rest of his drink, before placing the glass on his desk.

Tomorrow was going to be a hard day.
________________________________________
(Vale Town Fortress, Star Dust’s Room)

Satchel was right when he told me that his little trick would help me sleep, mainly because the second my head hit the pillow, I was pretty much asleep. Satchel had told me that his trick meant for a dreamless sleep, especially for those ponies like myself who had troubled dreams.

The next thing I felt was the warm of the sun, draping down across my face, shining through my closed eyes, making it harder to stay asleep.

Ugh! Go away sun! Let me sleep some more!

I groaned to myself, but the light persisted to wake me up. I silently cursed to Celestia about her mornings, but I knew I couldn’t fight it. I slowly pushed myself out of the bed and looked around the room, my tired eyes finally resting on my clock, which read well past my usual wake up time.

Crap!

My eyes shot open in shock as I hurried out of bed and nearly tripped as I made my way to the bathroom to try and get ready, “Can't believe I slept in…” I grumbled to myself as I hoped into the shower and turned the warm water on. Despite the nice feeling it had as the warm water ran down my coat, I quickly washed all parts of my body and coat, and then dried myself off with a towel and moved to the mirror, towel still wrapped around my waste.

I knew Satchel wouldn’t like the fact that I was late to class…again, so I had to try and hurry. I fixed my mane to it’s normal form, which was tied back into a tail of it’s own, that hung around my shoulder, which I had come to accept as my usual style. I quickly smiled to myself and went out into my room to collect my books for the day, silently praying that Satchel wouldn't be mad.

Just as I set my books into a pile on my desk, I heard a quick knock on my door, “Come in!” I called out as I put the books in my bag, along with all the necessities, such as paper and pencils. I heard the door quickly open and I turned to see none other than Satchel at the door, smiling warmly at me.

“Ah! You are awake, judging by the way you're going about, I take it you slept in?” he said with a light chuckle. Despite my initial hopes, I felt a light blush appear on my cheeks, as I set my bag on my back and walked up to him.

“Yeah…sorry about that, I slept like a baby all night, but…I’m ready for class now!” I said in the hopes that he wouldn't scold me again, as it had been in my nature to occasionally sleep in, or fall asleep during some of his more boring lectures.

But I surprised to see him chuckle again, “Actually, that’s why I'm here. A little situation has come up, and I need to have a private meeting with the other instructors. It’s nothing you and your friends should worry about, I just want you to know that classes are canceled for today.” He said with a smile. I could tell based on the way he looked at me, and the feeling I had, that my jaw had nearly dropped to the floor.

“Say what?” I asked in a dumbfounded way.

He smiled again, “Like I said, it’s nothing bad, I just need to discuss some…new learning plans with the other teachers. That, and I know your birthday is tomorrow, so think of this as an early birthday present. I suggest you go and meet some of your friends!” he said as he stepped away from the door.

Birthday? Oh! That’s right, I turn 24 tomorrow!

I composed myself to a point where the bag had dropped from my back and thumped to the floor. I felt a pang o stupidity at the fact that I had momentarily forgotten about my own birthday, but I was still dealing with a bunch thoughts rushing around my head. Instead of questioning the reason of canceled classes like a more attentive student should do, I instead leapt at him and wrapped my hooves around his neck, catching him partially off guard.

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I said as I rushed out the door, most likely leaving a dust outline of myself in the room.
________________________________________
(Vale Town Fortress, Main Hall)

I happily trotted down the hall towards the fort’s main entry way, where I would find something to do with my time, although I wasn't entirely sure what, but I would find something.

After making my way through the maze of halls that served the fort, I couldn't help but admire the structure of it all. In many of my classes, we learned about the history of our ‘school’, that it was once a military fort, to warn and protect from northern invasion, but that was back in the old days. We had been told that the place was abandoned, shortly before Emperor Grey Sky had overthrown Celestia and Luna, but still had many valuable items that were forgotten. The story was pretty simple, a group of caravan traders decided to raid the fort for any valuables and saw the rich potential, so they opened a small trading post, where ponies traveling west from the Crystal Empire would have a place to trade while traveling to the western border.

While our town wasn't rich, the caravans that came up here from Van Hoover, brought with them enough supplies so ponies here could live comfortable lives. But living up near the northern most portion of the empire, meant that we had many climate problems to deal with, especially in the winter, when heavy storms would bury us in large layers of snow, but…it was a life of peacefulness and happiness.

“Hey Star Dust!” I heard a female voice call out, by that point I had entered the Main Hall, and turned back to see a unicorn mare of my age, running up after me. She caught up with me and stopped to take a quick breath, “Calm down Crystal, don't wear yourself out this early” I said with a light chuckle, she smirked at me and gave my shoulder a light punch.

Crystal had a light grey coat and a shining light blue mane, and her cutie mark was that of a of open scroll and a quill pen by it, dipped in ink, indicating that she was a very well-rounded pony in many subjects. She smiled at me and we began to walk, “oh shut up! If any of us is a light-weight, it’s obviously you! Miss Read-All-The-Time!” she called out in a playful manner. I knew she was kidding, but I still couldn't help but let a light blush cross my face.

Crystal and I had been friends since our early years at this school, we met in one of our classes, realized we had many similar interests, and we became lifelong friends. But if I had to choose which one of us was the more outgoing and daring type, it would definitely been her, since she was more comfortable talking about stallions and other various girls things, and while I did partake in those conversations with other female students, she was much more…vocal.

I smiled at her snide comment, and bumped her back, “Maybe I do read a lot, but that means I'll be smarter than anypony here!” I said with a proud smile as we continued walking, eventually making our way out to the courtyard.
________________________________________
(Vale Town Fortress, Courtyard)

Much like the rest of the fort, the outer wall was indeed a testament to it’s time, built with the heaviest stone available, it was easily one of the strongest forts built, long ago. But if one good thing were to have come from Grey Sky’s rule, it would be that after uniting the surrounding kingdoms, let Equestria have access to riches we've never had before, which made old places like this pointless and a relic of the past.

Aside from occasionally being allowed into the town below, the walls and hallways of the Vale Town Fort was all we knew here, as it had become a regular site in our lives.

Crystal and I calmly made our way across the courtyard, and over to the gate, whilst many of the other students were out enjoying the day off, playing common sports and talking with friends.

“It’s so weird that Master Satchel would give us the day off. I mean, he’s done it in the past, but that was really only for holidays, or some other reason, but why today? Is there some holiday we don't know about?” I asked as we walked along the path.

“Who knows? But I'm not one to complain about a day off. Let’s head into town and enjoy the time there, tomorrow is your birthday after all, I say we get a head start on celebrating!” she said with her usual enthusiastic voice. I couldn't help but smile at my friend’s endearing gesture, which is strange considering she had probably one of the most tragic foalhood of anypony here.

The first time she ever told me about her life before this was when we were little, and she snuck into my room one of the nights, as a terrible storm raged outside. I was confused as to why, but she confessed that she was always afraid of lightning and thunder, but after asking her why, she broke down and told me her story. I wrapped us in a blanket and lit a few extra lamps to keep us warm.

She told me that she had grown up in a small town in the western mountains, and that it frequently saw bandit activity. One night, during an unusually violent extortion of her family’s shop, the bandits got cocky and tried to make a move against her and her mother, in which her father jumped to their safety, resulting in his being shot. Not satisfied with just one death, they beat Crystal’s mother and dragged her off with them, leaving her alone with her dying father.

By the time the authorities had arrived, Crystal’s father was long dead, and her mother was long gone. She was put up for adoption when she was founded by one of the school’s teacher’s, who had been traveling in the area, looking for ponies to join them.

It was in these moments, that I questioned how she could look past her brutal past, and remain as happy and enthusiastic about life, but I was not sure if I would ever know.

By now we had made our way to the main gate, and noticed the guard in the tower look down at us. “Hey! We want to go into town!” Crystal yelled up, but the stallion simply gave us a suspicious look. Crystal groaned and called out again, “It’s fine! We have permission from Master Satchel, you can ask him if you like!” she yelled up. The guard stallion simply shrugged and walked to the lever.

After a few seconds, we listened as the heavy oak doors began to creak open, letting the mid-day sun shine in our faces. As soon as it was big enough to fit through, Crystal turned to me with a smug look, “Last one there has to do the other’s homework!” she yelled as she sprinted off at full speed, which was unfair since she was slightly more athletic than I was.

“Hey! No Fair!” I yelled as I quickly sprinted after her, both of us heading straight into town.
________________________________________
(Vale Town, Market)

As we came into the town, we both stopped near the edge of the marketplace, Crystal pulling in just a few seconds before me. She stopped to catch her breath as I slowed to a trot next to her, “Ha! You have to do my homework now!” she said in a mocking tone.

I simply took a deep breath of air, and smiled at her and gave her a light punch in the shoulder, “Not a chance! You got a head start” I said as we made our way in to the market, where we saw the usual ponies going about their daily lives.

Although we were located in a more remote part of Equestria, we still had a few trading caravans run up here to trade, since we were one of the few places, where ponies could get Heart Stone for a relatively cheaper price, then what traditional government funded stores sold it for.

Heart Stone is a rare mineral, only found in the Crystal Mountains north of the Crystal Empire. Legend has it that the tyrant King Sombra, forced many of his slaves to mine it for his purposes, since it was one of the few elements to have magical energy stored inside it, which could be harnessed with the right spell. Rumors say that Emperor Grey Sky has turned the Empire into a large mining camp, where they mine the mineral, and ship it to New Canterlot.

Vale Town was also known to be popular for hunters, since the area was full of game. Timber Wolves populated the area, and the hunters would sell the wood from them and other various obtained items, since it was commonly known that Timber Wolf wood burned longer and brighter, as well as smelled nicer.

As Crystal and I walked along the shops and stands, the friendly townsfolk greeted us in kindly manners, in which we returned as well. The town seemed as lively as it always did, with ponies going about their daily business, which was one of the many things that I loved about this town, it’s serenity.
________________________________________

A few hours had passed as Crystal and I went about town, visiting our favorite shops, while Crystal rambled on and on, about how she would love to meet a nice stallion, settle down, open a shop of her own, and have a few foals. I could only roll my eyes at her enthusiasm of her future, but I wasn't one to crush somepony’s dreams.

By the time we had finished running around town, greeting the locals and catching up on lost time, we saw that the sun was beginning it’s descent on the horizon, which came quicker than usual since Vale Town was located in the middle of a valley, or…vale, as the town was aptly named.

As we walked towards the edge of town, and back up to the fort, we both failed to notice the strange hooded pony, walking up to us, she seemed to have the height and shape of a mare, but we were too engrossed in our conversation. Instinctively, we tried to move to the side slightly, but just as she was next to us on my side, she moved close, faster than I could have thought, causing our shoulders to brush against each other.

As if the exact moment we did, I felt an instant cold chill crawl across my coat, and I wished I had brought a cloak of my own, but that wasn't the strange part.

The sight of me walking along the street with Crystal simply flashed away, and I was assaulted with familiar sights:

Fire! Everywhere!

Buildings erupting ad becoming engulfed in flames!

Charred corpses littered around me!

Then…just as quickly as it had come, the visions flashed away…all in a manner of seconds, almost to quick for me to catch on. I quickly found myself kneeling back on my haunches, panting heavily, with Crystal standing in front of me with a worried expression.

“Star? Hey Star! Snap out of it!” she said with a raised tone, and my eyes snapped to meet hers.

I looked into her eyes for a moment in confusion, and then looked around, and saw that everything was as it should be. I stood up and shook my head, “What happened?” I asked her with a distant tone, but she seemed to relieve herself of her complete confusion and manage a smile.

“Well…you spaced out for a moment. You look you had seen a ghost or something.” She said with a more amused tone, which only made me blush in embarrassment slightly. Then I remembered the strange cloaked pony, and I turned around to look, but I saw nothing more than the usual sights of shop keeps cleaning up for the night. “What…what about that pony that passed us by, where did she go?” I asked looking over to Crystal, who seemed to have that confused look on her face again.

“What are you talking about, Star? It was just us walking on the street, there was no other pony.” She said in a calm voice. I looked around again, but there was no sign of the mysterious pony. I sighed and shivered slightly, as the natural late day chills began to blow in. after a few moments of silence, Crystal spoke up again, “Damn, you look kind of pale, we should get back, you look like you could use some rest.” She said as she nudged me along the path, which I obeyed her order, but couldn't shake the feeling that came over me.
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(Vale Town Fortress, Courtyard)

As Crystal and I finished climbing the hill, I had finished explaining for the tenth time, that I don't know what caused my ‘spacing moment’ as she had come to call it. But I wasn't aware that I was in for another surprise.

As we both came up to the gate, we saw that it was already open, and Satchel was standing in front of the gate, talking with an unfamiliar pony. As we walked up they turned to greet us, the other pony appeared as a dark blue stallion unicorn, who looked just as old as Satchel.

This can't be good

As we came up, we both noticed a cart inside the courtyard being loaded up with traveling gear, we came to stop near the two older stallions. “Star Dust. Glad to see you're back safe, I hope you enjoyed your time with Crystal. How are you my dear?” Satchel asked in his usual tone, but I could sense some sort of falseness to it, that I never could see before. Crystal smiled, “I'm doing well Master Satchel, just so you know, I've been keeping Star out of trouble” she said with a nervous laugh, which only earned her a more confused look from me, and unimpressed looks from the two elder stallions.

Satchel smiled again and nodded, “Glad to hear that. But…we have important business to discuss with Star Dust, if you would be kind enough to give us a few minutes, she'll be with shortly.” He said as he gave her a reassuring smile. She looked at him for a moment and then smiled calmly and walked inside the gate, leaving just me and the two elder ponies.

Just as Crystal left, I finally managed to form the right words into speech, “What’s going on? Am I in trouble?” I asked in a worried tone, but Satchel chuckled lightly.

“No Star, you are not in trouble. We have something important to discuss with you, you may remember my colleague Cross Fire, we both studied magic together.” He said in a respectable tone, while the other blue stallion smiled and gave a slight bow, “it’s a pleasure to see you again, I can understand if you don’t remember me, you were a small filly when we last met.” He said in a tone that matched Cross Fire, only it didn't quite have that fatherly element to it.

I stood there with a confused expression, and waited for them to continue, Satchel was the first to speak up. “Star Dust, we have both been tracking your progress over the years, and we've decided to initiate your final tests.” He said with a proud expression, but I reacted differently.

What? Final Tests!?

Millions of thoughts instantly formed in my mind and began to swim around like a crowded market place, trying to purchase thought space. I shook my head to try and silence them, as I pushed up my dropped jaw, “Final Tests? Why now?” I asked in a shocked, confused, and concerned tone.

Satchel briefly glanced at Cross Fire, who simply nodded, and then turned back to me. “Well, you have been doing well in your studies, and while your fellow students are nearing their final tests as well, you are going to be the first. Now, I'm sure you've noticed the wagon we've been packing here, your test…will be taking a trip with Cross Fire and myself, to test your magical abilities in a different environment, to see how well you can adapt to various situations.” He said in a happy tone, but even I could see that he was some different truth to this story he was telling me.

I simply stared at the two in disbelief, not entirely sure how to answer, but Cross Fire stepped in to attempt to ease my misgivings. “I know this may come off as a shock, but this will mean that you can advance to the next level of your studies. You should only be gone for a few weeks, but you will return to see your friends soon enough. You're encouraged to sleep on this, so I would suggest you begin packing and get some rest.” He said, as if he had come prepared to make that little speech.

I stood there for a moment simply staring at him, m gaze quickly shifted to Satchel, who simply stared at his friend in concern, but he looked to me with a reassuring smile.

Despite my initial concerns, I slowly began to make my way to the fort, my mind still racing with confused thoughts.

I knew this was going to be a long night.
________________________________________
(Vale Town, Outskirts)

Just outside the valley, up along a hill, where the edge of the valley met the Northern Forest, a unicorn stallion in sleek black armor stood, his gaze stretching over the valley, but locked on one single target.

Vale Town Fortress.

They had arrived earlier in the day and made camp not far from the valley, just as they had been ordered to do.

The stallion stood there, simply gazing from afar, at the peaceful northern settlement, as well as the fort it surrounded. He felt the cool night breeze tickle his coat through the armor, and he inhaled deeply, sighing with relief. But his thoughts were interrupted, when another set of hooves broke the silence, and a male voice shattered his thoughts.

“Sir! The soldiers are all ready to go, by your command!” he said with a salute. The armored stallion opened his eyes, and spoke up in a calm, but menacing tone.

“Not yet Lieutenant. Sent a message to the Emperor, let him know we are in position, and inquire on how we are to proceed. The time is nearly here.” He said in a menacing tone, that would scare the daylights of any other pony.

The Lieutenant saluted and walked off back into the trees, the Black armored stallion turned to follow, but not before glancing back at the distant fort, menace glowing in his eyes.

“Soon…you will be mine, girl!”

Chapter 2: Assault of Vale Town

Author's Note

Okay! So i managed to get enough time to push this chapter out sooner than expected, but that does not mean that the next TFC chapter will be delayed, it sill still be released within the next week.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this story!

Chapter 2: Assault of Vale Town

(New Canterlot Castle, Dining Hall)

Emperor Grey Sky sat calmly at the farthest end of the large dining table, and although there was plenty of space for others to join, he was perfectly fine eating by himself. The only other ponies in the room, were the butler’s and servants who attended to his every whim, whether it be a fresh glass of wine, or a completely different meal altogether.

One of the many perks of ruling a whole Empire, was that he could taste different types of delicacies from the kingdoms now under his control., and having the best chef’s in that nation never hurt either.

As he continued to eat, he heard the main door open and his trusted advisor, Night Storm, walk in. “Ah! Night Storm, a pleasure to see you again, would you care for a glass of wine?” he asked with a welcoming smile. Night Storm walked to the side of the table where he was sitting and gave a respecting bow to his lord.

“With respect My Lord, I think I will have to pass, I come bearing news from The Black Ranger” he said in a formal tone, and he watched as the Emperor didn’t seem fazed by the news, he calmly levitated his glass of wine to his lips and tipped it back, enjoying the sweet grape taste. He placed it back on the table, and sighed with content, not seeming to worry that the servants were fully aware of their conversation.

“Tell me Night Storm, have ever tasted some of the wines that were kept in the castle vaults? I must say they are rather tasty, I must say, Celestia and Luna, did have a rather impressive knowledge of fine wines” he said as if ignoring his advisors comment. Night Storm simply remained silent, as he knew better than to push for an answer.

“No sir, I’m afraid I haven’t, I’m rather content with my own selection” he said, playing along with the Emperor’s game. The Emperor smiled at his apparent victory, and gestured for Night Storm to take the seat nearest to him.

“Please, take a seat my friend, there’s no reason we can't discuss business over a glass of wine” The Emperor said with a charming, yet deceiving smile. Night Storm seemed confused by the offer, but he slowly climbed into the seat, just as a butler pony, came by with a filled glass of wine and placed it in front of him. The old unicorn sighed and levitated the glass to his lips, and drank down the liquid, and then turned to see the Emperor smiling contently at him.

The Emperor adjusted himself in his seat, and pushed his plate away, and waved for a butler pony to come and remove it, while he discussed business. “Now then, what news from our friend?” he asked in a calm and professional tone. Night Storm drank and sip, and cleared his throat, before turning to address the situation.

“The Night Ranger contacted us via radio call, telling us that he was in position outside of Vale Town, he was waiting on your orders to attack” Night Storm answered with a serious tone, and it was only now that the Emperor seemed to take the situation as it should be.

The Emperor’s face darkened slightly as he slowly registered what to say next, but The Emperor was nothing, if not a clever word-smith. The Emperor sat back a little against the chair, and looked to his advisor, “I believe he knows what to do. Kill the target and those who protect her, I want them all wiped out, leave none alive” he said in a dark tone, but the calm expression never left his face.

Night Storm nodded and got out of the seat, as The Emperor had gotten up as well, and walked over to the large stained glass windows that lined one side of the wall, much like the throne room. But, before Night Storm left the room, he turned back for one last question. “With all due respect My Lord, what of the civilian population? They are faithful taxpayers, what she happen to them?” he asked in a more concerned tone, then he should have let on, even though in truth he couldn't care less about what happened to the ponies of the empire.

Emperor Grey Sky simply stared out the windows for a few minutes, thinking of a proper response, he sighed and looked on. “Our friend’s only concern is to eliminate the target. One small trading community, will make no difference. If he deems them a threat to the mission, so be it. All I care about is finding this mare, she is our only concern as of this point.” He said with a menacing tone, one that indicated that he was dead serious.

Night Storm stood there for a moment and smiled, and then gave a respectful bow to his Emperor, “By your command, My Lord.” He said with a calm expression, as he made his way out of the room.
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(Vale Town Fortress, Star Dust’s Bedroom)

As I sat on the edge of my bed, I couldn't fight the racing thoughts in my mind, each of them arguing about how I should go about this.

Should I got for it?

Yes dammit! This is what you've been training all these years for!

But what about Crystal? I can’t leave my friend!

What if I fail!?!

Each of these thoughts and others, raced around in my head, trying to outdo the other in voice and volume, until it came to a point where I had to throw myself back on the bed and scream into my pillow, nearly knocking off the suitcase I had begun packing.

Those thoughts were only silenced when I heard a loud rapping on my door, I sat up in time to see my friend Crystal walk into the room, a smug smile on her face. “You little sneak! Why didn't you tell me you were going on a trip away from here?” she said as she happily pranced into my room, and sat on the bed beside me, and despite my earlier frustration, I couldn't refuse the smile that cracked on my lips.

“I guess…I'm still trying to process this all myself. I…I just don’t know how to take it, I mean…this is great news! I never thought I would get this far! But…I’m not sure how well I’ll do, Satchel seems to believe I have the talent, and I’m grateful for his faith, but…what if I fail?” I asked as I turned to my friend with a helpless expression.

Instead of her usual snide and smug response, she actually gave me a comforting smile and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Listen to me Star Dust, you are a very intelligent mare, sure you can be a bore sometimes, but in your core, you’re a smart, talented, and beautiful young mare that can conquer any challenge, is she puts her mind to it” she said with a kindly tone. It was these moments that I had come to cherish with her, in a way, she was the closest thing I had to a sibling, and just like me, I was the same to her.

But despite all that, there was still a few lingering doubts in my mind, “But…what about you? I’d never forgive myself for leaving this place without you, your my friend.” I said to her in a concerned tone, but she simply smiled at me, and brushed my mane slightly.

“Listen Star, you will always be my friend, and you’ll always be in my heart. Regardless of what happens, you’ll be back sooner or later. You don’t think I’ll stop bugging you, just because your all high and mighty now do you?” she asked in a her common smug tone, in which we all chuckled lightly. After calming down, she wrapped her hooves around me and pulled me into a loving hug, something along the lines of the hug you would give a sister, or brother.

As we pushed away, she hoped off the bed and made her way to the door, but as she left, I called out once again. “Hey Crystal! Thanks, I don’t what I would be without you” I said with a smile, she smiled back as well.

“I would hate to find out, besides…think of it as repayment. You helped instill some confidence in me, when I was afraid and lost, so it’s only fair I do the same for you in your time of need. Now get some sleep! I’ll be there to see you off in the morning.” She said as she left the room, and closed the door behind her, leaving me alone again.

For the first time today, I felt as ease, knowing my friends were supporting me in my efforts, the rushing voices in my mind failed to speak up again, even as I finished packing all the things I thought were necessary: books, clothing, parchment, and pens. Everything I would need for a finale test.

With a more comforting feeling in my heart and mind, I untied my mane from it’s tail, and climbed into my bed, switching off the lamp, and drifting off to dream land.
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Although I was not sure of the reason why, but I found myself staring at the ceiling of my room, still wrapped under the covers. But, despite the warmth they gave, I felt a disturbing chill crawl through me, not sure what it meant.

I turned to read the clock by my bed, which only added to my frustration, since I should be well asleep by this hour.

Midnight. Ugh! Why can't I fall asleep!?!

Despite my complaints, I found that my throat had become dry from lack of water, so I threw the covers off with a groan, and made my way into the bathroom for a drink of cool water. I turned on the faucet and reached for a glass from the medicinal cabinet, and poured so cold water. Usually I don’t drink from faucet water, but it’s proximity, compared to the main kitchen, made it more appealing.

I sighed to myself as the cool water washed down my throat, and I then reached up and returned the glass and closed the cabinet, but something strange happened as I did.

Creak!

I heard the sound come from my room, and I immediately felt my body freeze up, and it wasn’t from the cool night chills. I stood staring at the door, into the darkness of my room, half expecting for some nightmarish creature to leap out and eat me. But, I managed to rationalize the situation, that monsters only existed in the stories to make little colts and fillies behave.

Regardless of my rationalization, I cautiously stepped toward the door, and pushed it open with my hoof, and noticed it made the same creaking sound as the one I heard.

Whew! Get a hold of yourself Star. You're just…nervous about tomorrow, that’s all!

I felt my heartbeat begin to return to it’s normal pace, but I still had the uneasy feeling that something was off. Despite my reassurances, I found myself walking over to my desk, and levitating up a candle, and striking a match to light it.

The small light filled my room, and cascaded my shadow across the walls, I stayed facing my desk, but I gazed around the room, sighing to myself that everything was as it should be.

Creak!

I immediately stiffened up again, and felt another cool chill run down my spine, and I noticed that the flame of the candle was flickering in what seemed to be a breeze.

What? A Breeze? I thought I closed the window?

Instead of turning fully to look at the window, I felt a strange, alien feeling grasp hold of my heart and my senses.

Fear.

My eyes looked up to see a shocking and heart-wrenching scene.

The window was wide open!

I don't know what possessed me to act next, but it must have been the unyielding desire to prove that I was only making this up in my mind, and that I would wake up in a second and find myself snug in my bed. But my result was something far more terrifying.

I turned sharply, only to be met with a quick shadowy figure that jumped out from behind my bathroom door and tackled me to the ground, causing me to slam my head into my desk, and drop the candle from my grasp, making it go out.

I cried out in pain, as I felt myself be pushed on to my back, my mind dull with pain, but it didn't compare to the sire above me.

A shadowy Pegasus stallion stood atop me, smiling down at me with a sinister smile, which only caused my fear to rise into a shrill scream, but he quickly covered my mouth with his hoof, and leaned down to my ear.

“Shh…it will only make it worse if you struggle. It’s shame I was tasked with killing you, you truly are a beautiful young mare, such a shame.” He said as he pushed back part of his coat and revealed a glimmering dagger, which he removed and raised above my throat.

My eyes filling with sheer terror, my eyes darted around to try and finds a means of escape, when I saw the candle holder I was just using. Despite feeling the deepest amounts of fear in my body, I tried my best and focused my magic on the knob, and flung it at him.

He looked up in shock, as the brass part of the plate slammed into the side of his head, the force knocking him off me, allowing me to scramble away from him, and jump on to my bed. I tried my best to sooth my pumping heart, but the mix of adrenaline and terror, kept me on the edge, just as he grasped on to the edge of my desk.

He groaned and turned to me with an enraged expression, “You Little Bitch!” he shouted as he lunged at me with the blade fixed to pierce my chest.

This has got to be a dream!

I looked around for the best means of defense, and saw my suitcase sitting by the bed on the floor, deciding it was my best option, I picked it up with my magic, and brought it up between myself and the knife.

Clang!

I heard the sound ring off, as the metal blade struck the hard exterior of my suitcase, luckily for me, it was one hard piece of material. I looked up to see the shocked expression of my assailant’s face, so I used the opportunity to push back, which resulted in him losing balance, and me swinging the case as hard as I could.

I felt my insides churn, as I heard what partially sounded like bone cracking, as he flew against the wall, and slumped to the floor. A line of crimson blood slipping down the side of his head.

Sweet Celestia! What did I just do!?!

My breathing was hard and heavy, the case still levitated in my grip, I slowly began to calm down as the threat vanished, but my gaze quickly fell to the edge of the suitcase I had struck the stallion with, which had a small splatter of blood on the pointed edge.

As it always did, my mind began to rationalize the situation, but I knew just as well, that the answer was pretty clear.

This Stallion was trying to kill me!

I dropped the suitcase and stumbled backwards slightly, my vision slowly dimming, and my stomach began to swirl and churn in repulsion. The stallion remained unmoving, even as I slowly inched toward him, and despite my better judgment, I reached forward and touched his throat, and felt a wave of relief wash over me.

He was alive.

The second the thought crossed my mind, I began to question myself.

Why should I care?

You still don’t know what happened.

He tried to kill me!

But, you're no killer yourself!

The thoughts began to race in my mind again, but they were quickly interrupted by another shrill scream that pierced the night.

The scream of another mare, one that I instantly recognized.

Crystal!

Instead of bothering to tend to my attacker, I raced out of the room at top speed, determined to save my friend from whatever thing might be attacking her as well.
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My hooves carried me as fast as they could, swerving through the large halls, to where my friends room was, and despite the halls being mostly dark, I found it easy to turn and race down the next hall.

As I heard Crystal’s cries for help grow louder, I began to hear two male voices as well, and they both sounded a little too enthusiastic about their actions.

“Come on! Were just supposed to kill them!” one of them said in an urgent tone, as I slowed down to a crawl, and leaned up against the wall, and peeked inside, to see a horrible site.

Crystal was on her back, the look of sheer terror in her eyes, as one of her attackers climbed on top of her, grinning evilly, both of them dressed in apparent bandit armor. “That may be true, but who said we couldn’t have a little fun with the mares first? This one is particularly beautiful.” He said with a sinister grin.

“Somepony! Please! Help Me!” Crystal called out, even as he smacked her across the cheek, which only made her cry out more, tears spilling down her cheeks.

The stallion on top, struck her again, “Shut your mouth, Bitch! Your mine now!” he said, as I felt my blood boil to an overloading point. I looked inside and saw a lamp sitting on Crystal’s desk near the door, I focused my magic and levitated it up, and quickly flung it at the stallion on top of her.

Crash!

The lamp shattered across the back of his head, with enough force to instantly knock him out, even as he flew off her, in which Crystal scampered away and looked to see the stallion turn towards the door, just as I stepped out. “What the Fu-“ he tried saying, but I quickly knelt down and focused my magic into an offensive spell.

A powerful blast of blue aura shot from my horn and slammed into his chest, knocking him back against the wall, with enough force to shatter bones.

Worst. Nightmare. Ever!

I stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, simply staring at the stallion as he crumpled to the floor, the room seemed to fall silent for a moment, a tense ringing in my ear, even as I heard the muffled voice of Crystal call out to me. I felt my body grow numb and heavy, as I staggered backwards slightly and fell on to my haunches, tears beginning to fill my eyes, making it nearly impossible to see.

What have I done!?

I felt the question swim around in my mind, being the most prominent among the others. I had never lashed out at another pony for any reason, aside from the occasional punch at the school bully when I was a filly. But I never thought I was capable of doing real harm to another pony.

My mind returned to the present world, when I felt a hoof on my shoulder, I turned to see Crystal looking at me with a worried expression, tears of her own filling her eyes. My vision and hearing fully returned as she pulled me into a large hug, which momentarily shocked me, but I quickly hugged her back, even feeling tears hit my shoulder, as my own fell on hers.

“I’m Sorry!” I found myself whispering to her over and over again, as if trying to justify my actions, but it fell short. Half of me expected for Crystal to push away and slap me across the face, telling me what a cruel monster I am, but she gently pushed away and looked into my eyes with a warming smile.

“It’s not your fault, they attacked me in the middle of the night, I had no hope of fighting back” she said as my gaze turned to the bruise on her cheek, in which she frowned and rubbed it.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, mostly because I couldn’t find anything else to say, this being the only words I could form. She smiled and we both stood up, and faced the two unconscious stallions.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to face me, “I’ll be fine, and I’m more worried about you. I don’t know what’s going on, but we have to find the other students and meet up with them, Satchel will kn-“ she tried but she was cut off as there was a loud explosion near the exterior of the fort, which made the room shake lightly, causing the lights to flicker.

What in Luna’s name was that?

We both looked at each other with worried expressions, but I was the first to speak up. “Okay, I know this is going to sound crazy, but we should split up, I’ll go look for Satchel in his study. While you go down and try to regroup with the other students and teachers, we’ll be down to meet you soon.” I said with a determined tone.

I was half expecting her to argue and complain about my sudden burst of stupidity, but she actually managed to smile and nod, and again pulled me into a quick hug. “I understand, you go do what you have to, I’ll meet the others. Good Luck!” she yelled as she ran out the door. I couldn’t resist the brief smile on my face, but that quickly faded as I ran out the door and down the other hall, and up the nearest flight of stairs.
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(Vale Town Fortress, Main Hall)

Crystal ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, and this wasn’t like racing her friends, this was a race for survival. She quickly founded her running to the top of the main staircase in the Main Hall, only to see a sight, that stopped her dead in her tracks.

Ponies were fighting each other!

She looked around and saw that many of the teachers and students were engaged in deadly combat, with what appeared to be ponies in bandit armor. She looked on in horror, as some of her classmates, were slaughtered down by sword, arrow, or magical blast, none of them standing a chance against the assailants. The only ones who were managing to hold their own, were the teachers.

As she ran down the steps, avoiding swipes of swords, pole arms, and spears, she looked to see the familiar older Blue Unicorn, fighting off two attackers with ease. Crystal ran up to him, nearly slipping on crimson red liquid, as she watched him knock them back with a powerful blast of magic. He panted as she ran up to him.

“Cross Fire! What’s going on!?” she asked in a greatly induced state of panic, the old blue Pegasus simply turned to her and sighed sadly, as most of the attackers had begun to retreat to the courtyard.

“What does it look like? Were under attack! Where’s Star Dust?” he asked in a hurried tone, but Crystal had almost momentarily forgotten about her friend.

“She’s…She’s going up to find Satchel, she said she’ll join us soon” she said with the most confidence she could muster, but Cross Fire’s reaction was not as enjoyable. She watched in confusion as a horrified look appeared on her face.

“What?! She’s going alone…she’s going to get herself killed. Let’s Go!” he shouted as he broke into a surprisingly fast run, as he bolted up the stairs, Crystal broke into a run after him.
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(Vale Town Fortress, Upper Levels)

Never before in my life had I expected to see such gruesome scenes before my eyes. They were enough to make even the most battle-hardened pony, at the least, cringe.

Blood! Everywhere!

The first room I had come upon was one of the stallions I shared a history class with, but I found the exact opposite of what I was expecting. I found his body sprawled on the floor, a look of pure horror frozen on his face, a pool of crimson blood around him, filling the cracks along the stone floor. The room itself, looked as if a tornado had struck inside, the bed was overturned on it’s side, the desk flipped against the wall.

The site before me, was only something one could have visualized out of a gruesome horror story. But here I saw it before my eyes, and the resulted nearly had me puking in the corner, but instead of wasting my time with checking for any vital signs, I knew I would have to get to Satchel fast, before whatever horrifying creatures, that had done this, could get to him first.
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Each room I visited had a similar result, none of the ponies that had faced this cruel bloodthirsty monster had survived, and they had all been cut down like dying animals. Regardless of gender, age, or anything else, they were hunted with extreme prejudice.

I quickly found myself near the top floor of the fort, where Satchel had his private study, to which I had been only a few times in my life. But now was for completely different reasons. As I approached the door, I heard the grunting and clinging of swords, and my body immediately filled with fear again, even as I recognized one of the voices as Satchel’s.

I ran into the doorway to see a horrific site unfold before me, Satchel was standing near the far end of the room, with the back of his attacker facing me. He had a pained expression on his face, and sweat was pouring down his face, small cuts and bruises littered his body, cutting through his cloak.

“Satchel!” I cried out in fear, and my voice seemed to cut through the thick atmosphere of their fight as they both turned to look at me. His attacker was a stallion dressed in sleek black armor, and although I couldn't see his face, I knew he was staring directly at me, which only made my heart seize up from dread.

“Star! Get out Now! Go!” Satchel yelled at me, but my fear had frozen my hooves to the ground like stone, and just as he charged forward, a shining sword clutched in his magical grip, I saw his attacker quickly jump to the side and teleport behind him, indicating that he was a unicorn. I saw the surprised and fearful look on Satchel’s face, as he turned around, even as the attacker shoved his sword forward.

Time seemed to slow around me, as I gazed on in true fear, this opponent was clearly more than a match for Satchel, even in his old age, but I had never seen him in such a condition. Satchel moved his sword in position to block, but the assailant was too quick, and I heard the painful sound of sword piercing flesh.

Time slowed to a near stop, as I watched in utter horror, as the assailant plunged the blade into Satchel’s chest, resulting in the shocked and horrified look on his face.

Sweet Celestia…no!

Time resumed to it’s normal pace, as fresh blood poured from Satchel wound, and dripped along the blade, I watched in terror as the Black armored Stallion pulled the blade out and wiped the blood off on Satchel’s robe, in which Satchel stood for a few moments, before collapsing to his side.

No! No! No! No! NO!!!

The attacker turned to me with his sword at the ready, “Finally! We get the chance to meet face to face, prepare to join your beloved teacher, in Tartarus!” he yelled as he lunged forward. But things didn't quite happen as he expected.

I felt tears stream down my cheeks, as I gazed at the dying form of my teacher, my caretaker, my…father. I shut my eyes closed, in an attempt to shut the vision away, but it was locked into my mind, forever torturing my thoughts. My teeth clenched together, almost to the point of hurting.

My hooves reached up to my head, as I felt a pounding sensation, drum in my ears, to the point of pain. In one fell swoop, I slammed my hooves down hard enough, to the point where I heard cracking, and I was sure that I had nearly broken my hooves, but my eyes shot open, and all I could see was red around me.

“NOOOO!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, as the attacker inched closer, and my horn began to glow brighter than it ever did, and as much to my surprise as his, I looked to see a shield form around me, and just as the edge of his blade cut it, he was pushed back against the wall with stone shattering force, and it did so. The impact of his armor on the wall, caved in a part of the wall behind him, and I looked down to see that my hooves had made a small crater in the floor around me.

I looked up to see the shocked expression of the armored stallion, and much to my shock again, I felt a sinister smile creep along my lips, as I slowly began to step towards him. He quickly stood up and called out, “Soldiers! Kill Her! Kill her now!” he yelled, and I heard the fast clopping of hooves, as I turned around to see three other stallion enter the room, each of them wielding a different weapon.

I frowned and instinctively levitated out Satchel’s sword and yelled out as I charged at them. One of the stallion, armed with a long pole arm, stepped forward and swiped at me, but my reflexes had tripled in speed, and I swung the blade faster and cut the pole in half, and then blasted him away with a surprising blast of magic, which shoved through the wall behind him and beyond.

The second one, readied an arrow on his crossbow and fired, but it harmlessly bounced off my shield, and struck the wall beside me. I smiled evilly at the shocked look on his face, and my horn glowed brightly, as he suddenly clutched at his throat with his hooves, and began rising into the air.

The stallion beside him looked on in horror, but he turned to face me and unsheathed a sword of his own, and charged at me, screaming wildly. While the second one choked in the air, I had no problem dodging his wild attacks, and in one fell swoop, I thrust my sword forward and slashed him in the throat.

His eyes went wide as he fell to the floor behind me, choking on blood made from the freshly made wound, and he soon dropped to the floor…dead.

Please! Stop This!

I felt a voice ring in the back of my mind, but I was too bust turning back to the second stallion and tightening my magical grip on his throat.

You’re No Murderer!

The stallion gasped wildly for breath, as his back hooves began flailing around in desperation, the smile on my face simply widening in sheer joy.

You're Killing Him!!!

The voice in my head begged me to stop, to release the stallion and spare his life, but the physical side of me simply chuckled and tightened even harder, which caused me to smile as well.

“Good! They All deserve to die!” I spoke and in one quick flick of my horn, the stallion’s neck twisted almost completely the other way around on his shoulders, and he dropped to the floor.

No…What have I done?

I sighed in content and turned to face the black armored stallion, who had fully stood up, and gazed at me with utter surprise, but he quickly chuckled and sheathed his sword. “So…this is the power they were talking about. Now I see…you are more than meets the eye, rest assured girl! We will meet again!” he said as he hoped up into the window sill and jumped out.

As if that was the end of it, my vision returned to it’s normal look, and I felt a heavy weight return to my body, and a painful ache in my heart. I gasped as I reeled back and fell on to my haunches, gasping as I placed a hoof over my heart, and then to my head to ease the pounding. I couldn't explain why, but I suddenly felt weak, and on the verge to collapse, without so much of strength, that I could barely sit up.

I looked over to see Satchel laying on his side, I willed myself, despite the pain, and lumbered over to him, and turned him on to his back, tears beginning to fill my eyes again. His breathing was weak and raspy, and he gazed up at me with tearful eyes.

“I…I…I’m Sorry Star Dust” he said in a weak tone, but by that time tears were beginning to cloud my vision once again, making it hard to see the weak smile he gave.

“No! I’m the one who should be sorry, I should have gotten hear sooner, but…I failed. I failed you!” I said in a high-pitched tone. The tears making it hard for me to concentrate, along with the exhausting desire to simply fall asleep.

His smile fell and he reached and stroked my cheek with his hoof, even leaving a small trail of blood, “No Star Dust! Listen…t-to me. You could have never failed me, none…none of this is your fault. But…you can make things right.” He said as he coughed a little, causing more blood to leak from his wound, as he tried to hold on longer, but I knew he was losing that battle.

“Listen, I’ve taught you…ev-everything I know, and you’ve become a wonderful young mare, and I’m confident you will su-su-suceed. You just have to…believe in yourself.” He said as he slowly began to drift away, his eyes narrowing ever more closed.

No! Celestia Please! NOO!

“Cross Fire…he will take you…to s-see the Light Seekers, they…c-can help you” he said as I nearly lost all control of my emotions. The pony I had come to call my father, was dying in my hooves, and I was the cause of it, even though he said it wasn’t, if I hadn’t distracted him, he would have survived.

“No! Please don’t leave me! I’ll be lost without you!” I cried like a newborn foal, my tears falling into his blood soaked coat, but he quickly silenced me with more words.

“Don’t blame yourself for my death, I would do it over again to protect you. Heh…there’s s-so much I have yet…t-to tell you. The Light Seekers…they can help you find the truth…a-about your past. I’ll Always b-b-be with…you” he said as his eyes finally closed, and his hoof went limp in my grasp.

No! This can't be happening! Please! Come Back!

“Star Dust!” I recognized the sound of my friend call out, and I turned to see Crystal, Cross Fire, and a group of unrecognizable armored ponies standing in the doorway, each of them with shocked and horrified expression, but the last thing was the blackness that took we away.

Chapter 3: This Shattered Life

The last thing I remember feeling was an overwhelming amount of rage boil through my veins, but that feeling quickly gave way to an unbearable amount of sadness and fear flow through me. I felt like I was trapped in some alternate dimension, unable to control my own body and magic, but I could see it all unfold before me. I can’t exactly remember what I saw, but I knew it was horrible, it was a part of me that I had never known existed.

It wasn't me!

Only this side of me, seemed perfectly more content with causing pain and terror whenever it was unleashed. The visions of what happened still elude me, but I can clearly remember the screams, the sound of metal ripping through flesh, and the gut-wrenching sounds of bones cracking.

Never before in my life had I felt such a rage, one that would cause me to lash out at the nearest living thing. But I had also never felt that brutal amount of fear and sadness, that washed over, as I vividly remembered the sight of my adoptive father die before my eyes.
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I felt a strange sensation of cold, like I was caught out in the middle of the icy northern tundra, with no hope of warmth or safety. But in a way, I felt welcomed inside of it, like I was embracing a new side of me I never thought possible.

With a heavy groan, I felt my eyes began to inch open, but my vision had become to blurry to tell where I was. The last place I remember being, was inside Satchel’s study, but that was before I was taken by the overwhelming darkness. Along with the strange chilling sensation, I felt a throbbing pain in my head, that only seemed to increase as my eyes opened further.

Not long after, my vision began to return and I looked around to see I was in a sort of tent, with a single lamp lighting up the place. Judging by the level of light outside, I saw that it was still nighttime, and although I wasn't sure how long I had been out, before I could investigate further, I heard the clopping of approaching hooves, and I immediately turned my head to fake my sleeping.

I heard the flap of the tent by pushed aside and closed my eyes so that they wouldn't know I was awake. “She’s still sleeping?” I heard a young female voice ask, one that I instantly recognized as Crystal’s, but a male voice quickly broke into conversation.

“She’s been through a tough ordeal, it will take time for her body to rejuvenate itself. I’m not sure how long it will take, but we better hope she wakes up soon.” The male voice answered back, one that I could scarcely remember as Cross Fire’s voice.

I suddenly felt a weight on the side of the bed, and a hoof stroke down my cheek lightly, followed by Crystal’s sigh of sadness. “What was that we saw? I’ve never seen anything like it.” She said in an unsure tone, but I heard Cross Fire sigh sadly.

I began to feel the urgent need to open my eyes, and let them know that I was listening to their conversation, but I was just as eager to hear Cross’s answer, as Crystal was.

“It’s…not something I can explain to you now, but I will in time. She should be fine when she wakes up, but as for her mental state, that I cannot say. But…she is one very lucky mare, it’s not the first time something like that has happened to a powerful and gifted unicorn. We should go, we must finish tending to the wounded.” He said in a quiet tone, as if not trying to wake me.

I felt the weight lift off the side of the bed, and the tent flap open and close again, and then silence. I allowed myself the smallest peek, and saw that nopony else was in the tent, I sighed sadly to myself and closed my eyes for real, and let my tiresome body fall into sleep again.
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(New Canterlot Castle, Throne Room)

Emperor Grey Sky paced back and forth in front of his throne, his mind racing with many thoughts, just the night before, he felt an incredible magical disturbance in the night, one that prevented him from sleep.

As he paced impatiently, the door to the throne room opened, and Night Storm calmly walked in. as the Emperor paced, he turned to see Night Storm walk up with a calm expression, and watched until he took a respectful bow.

“You summoned me, My Lord?” he asked as he stood up, the calm expression on his face. Grey Sky simply sighed and stopped his pacing to face his advisor, and Night Storm could see the displeased look on his face.

“Tell me Night Storm, what news from our agent?” he asked in an impatient tone, and despite his aggravated state, he did his best to remain as calm and dignified as possible. Night Storm stood there for a moment and sighed.

“Ah yes! The Black Ranger…radioed in this morning, he has done as you asked, and wiped out the school of Light Seeker apprentice’s. But…there was a problem, when he confronted the girl. As he reports, he was bested by the girl, when she unleashed an overwhelming increase of magical energy, and killed three of his finest soldiers with swift ease. He made a tactical retreat, but he wants to assure you that he will capture her again. As for the others, we have reports that he managed to kill one of the Order’s highest ranking masters.” He said as he reported the news, as the agent had described it.

Grey Sky stood listening for the moment, letting all the information sink in, before he turned and made his way over to the nearest stained glass window, and simply gazed outside. “So…she truly is the one were looking for. That explains the disturbance I felt the night before. Now…your telling me, she’s escaped and running rampant across my lands?” he asked in a tone, that seemed to tense more and more as he spoke.

Night Storm watched in his usual calm demeanor, in all the years he’s served the Emperor, this wouldn’t have been the first time he’d seen him tense or angry. As his loyal advisor, he knew better than to say anything that might provoke him further. Emperor Grey Sky raised his hoof and looked at it, before his expression turned angry, and he yelled out as he punched the stone next to the window, with enough force, that the stone cracked around his hoof.

Night Storm merely flinched at the sight, but he had seen it before, and the power his Emperor held was amazing. Grey Sky pulled his hoof back and examined the light scrape on his hoof, which magically healed itself. He slowly turned and walked back over to Night Storm who remained as still as always, even despite his Emperor’s tense mood. Grey Sky walked right up next to his advisor and brushed his mane away and spoke directly into his ear, “Tell the Black Ranger to pursue them, if she were to reach the Light Seeker’s before that, then your job will become that much harder. If she succeeds in her task, then she could threaten everything I have built. Am I Understood?” he asked in a slow and menacing tone.

Night Storm simply stepped away and turned to meet his eyes, “Of course your majesty, their only option is to go south from Vale Town, and I will have the Black Ranger monitor those roads. I assure you, we will find them. I shall have him use the Shade’s.” he said before giving a respectful bow, and making his way out of the room. Grey Sky simply watched him go until the door closed behind him, leaving the Emperor as the only one in the throne room.

But before he could return to his throne to relax, he felt the pendant around his neck vibrate against his chest, his eyes widened as he pulled it and saw it glowing faintly, with the symbol of his master. Grey Sky cleared his throat and smoothed his mane back, before he turned to his throne, and pressed the pendant.

He looked up to see a magical window open before him, only to be greeted by a pair of fiery eyes glare back at him through the void. He himself got down and gave a respectful bow, “Master Nocturne, an honor to see you again. To what do I owe this surprise visit?” he asked in a calm tone, but no voice answered at first.

A loud booming voice answered back, “Spare me the formalities Grey Sky! I have felt a great disturbance in Equestria…one of great magical power.” The voice answered back. Grey Sky felt the slightest bit nervous toward this comment, but he recomposed himself, and addressed the shadowy figure.

“Indeed My Master, I have felt it too. I am confident that it is the mare we’ve been searching for, she’s finally come out of hiding. She managed to escape the first time by sheer luck, but I’ve entrusted by best agent to track her down and eliminate her. I hope this pleases you Master.” He said as he gave a confident smile. But his smile fell from his face, as the fiery eyes narrowed and growled at him.

“Do not underestimate this girl Grey Sky, she is the only one that could hope to stand up to us. So long as she is prevented from discovering the truth, she is not your greatest concern.” The voice said in a menacing tone, but Grey Sky felt confused by the statement.

“I’m sorry my master, but…I do not understand. If she is the one the prophecy spoke about, then she should be our main concern!” he said back, but was quickly silenced by an evil hiss, that seemed to emanate from the window.

“If she is not yet aware of it, then she cannot hope to stand against us. You must use this time to finish the job I tasked you with, taking the Gryphon kingdom over.” The voice hissed at him. Grey Sky frowned slightly and looked away for a moment, and then looked back and nodded.

“As you wish, My Master. The weapon we are building to help us in the war, will be ready in the following months. Then…we shall seize victory in the Gryphon’s homeland, and they too shall fall under my banner, and then the world will follow suit. I will do as you ask, and I will stop the prophecy from coming true.” He said as he gave a respectful bow of his own.

He watched as the window faded and the pendant stopped glowing, he sighed and placed it inside his robe, before returning up to his throne.
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(Vale Town Fortress, Courtyard)

The next time I woke up, I felt much better than I did the first time, the intense throbbing sensation in my head was gone, and I found myself able to sit up. As I did so, I looked around the tent, and saw the glow of what appeared to be the early morning sun, which only made me wonder more, about how long I was out. I looked around the tent and saw that I was alone for the time being, but something caught my eye on the table beside the bed.

It was a glass of water, and the second I saw it, I realized just how thirsty I was and tried to levitate it with my magic, but I was greatly surprised to see a weakened aura envelope the glass. My aura enveloped it and I tried to lift it up, but the slightest magical effort, made my head begin to throb again, and I lowered the glass to the table.

I simply settled with reaching out and grabbing it with my hoof, and greedily sucked down the chilled liquid, sighing with relief as it parched my throat. As I drank the water, I heard the tent flap be pushed aside, and a light gasp from a familiar mare. I turned to see none other than Crystal, standing with the flap open behind her. Instead of running up and throwing her hooves around my neck like she normally would have done, she must have realized I wasn't in the best physical shape, and simply smiled widely and walked over to the bed.

“You're finally awake! Thank Celestia!” she said as she sat by me on the bed and gently reached forward and hugged me, careful not to hurt me any more than I already was. I could see the faintest of tears in her eyes, and I couldn't help but smile, and tear up myself, as I hugged her back.

We separated and she scooted away slightly, as she levitated another pillow behind me to help me up, I chuckled and groaned a little as I adjusted myself. “Heh Yeah. What happened? How long have I been out?” I asked rubbing my head, finally realizing that I had a bandage wrapped around it.

She cringed lightly at the question, but took a deep breath and put on a more serious face. “You've been out for about a day now, maybe a little more. As for what happened…I’m not quite sure how to explain it.” She said with a troubled look on her face. Seeing that look, only worsened my already sour mood, but I waited for her to respond.

She bit her lip lightly and then turned back to me, “I’m not sure if I can explain it now, but this is what I remember seeing. Cross Fire was worried that you might have fallen into a trap, and we raced up to find you, but…as we approached, we heard the sound of fighting, and then when we walked in…” she tried saying, but I could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes, as if she was still having trouble believing what she saw.

I waited patiently for her to continue, occasionally sipping on the fresh glass of water she had poured me. She wiped her eyes a bit and cleared her throat, and turned to me with a morbid, concerned expression. “You…you were holding a stallion up by the throat with your magic, choking him. Another stallion lay next to you, bleeding from the throat, and in one quick swoop, you…snapped his neck, like you would to a pencil.” she said as if expecting me to explain my actions.

I guess I couldn't blame her, I should have an explanation for my actions, but…I was as lost as she was. But before I could speak up, she continued on with her tale, “But that wasn't the weirdest part. Your eye’s…they were glowing white, and…you had these, transparent, I guess they looked like wings, at your sides. But, while you did all this…you were smiling.” she said with a terrified look in her eyes, as if she couldn't tell it was really me she was talking to.

I quickly began to feel sick to my stomach again, but I washed it down with some water, even as the gruesome images from last night flooded back to memory.

You're killing him!

Good, they all deserve to die!

I felt the words echo in my mind, but I shook it off and looked down at the sheets for a moment, before I reached over and took her hoof in mine. “Crystal…I can't even begin to explain to you what happened. All I know…all I can believe, is that the pony you saw up there…it wasn't me.” I said with the best confidence I could muster, only hoping she would understand.

She gently smiled at me and wiped a single tear away, before placing her other hoof over mine. “I know, but…regardless of who that pony was, I knew you were inside there somewhere, watching it all happen. Listen Star, for the ponies who care about you, seeing you in all that rage and pain is terrifying. The Star I know would never do such a thing, and I know that, but…it doesn't change the fact that you played some part in it.” She said in an honest tone, which in truth, was all I could ask for.

I looked down for a moment, as the memories of that night began to flood back to me, even the cause of all that rage, pain, and sadness.

Satchel…was dead.

My eyes immediately began to tear up again, as I vividly remember holding in my hooves as he died, as he whispered his dying words to me.

My Teacher.

My Friend.

My…Father.

I began to openly cry as I leaned forward into Crystal’s shoulders who seemed only too happy to hug me back, even tolerating the tears that slipped down on to her shoulder. She began to cry with me as well, as I let all the pain and sorrow out in one fell swoop, weeping into her shoulders.

“It’s…it’s all my fault! He’s…he’s dead and it’s all my fault! I…I…I should have been there for him, but…I was to fucking late to save him!” I cried into her shoulder. I rarely ever cursed, and the word felt strange leaving my mouth, but I was too caught up in my emotional rage to care who heard it. Crystal didn’t seem to care either, as she simply let me rant, all the while trying to calm me down, so we wouldn't attract the attention of those around the tent.
________________________________________

After my emotional breakdown had subsided, Crystal had informed me that Cross Fire wanted to discuss business with us, when I was able to get out of bed, and with Crystal’s support, I managed to make it out of the bed and walk beside her, giving me support as I leaned.

We walked out of the tent, and into the bright morning, momentarily blinding me, but I quickly adjusted, and was shocked to see the damage around us. The exterior of the fort had scorch marks and missing pieces of stone all across the walls, even one of the towers ad caved in on itself.

As we made our way across the courtyard, I noticed other ponies with unrecognizable armor sets on, but they were helping to assist any injured. According to what Crystal had learned from Cross Fire, was that some of the town’s ponies heard the fight, and tried to aid, but many had been injured, and only two stallions were killed.

My heart began to grow heavy again, as I saw many of the injured ponies being treated for cuts, bruises, and burns. My mood only worsened, when I saw a cart full of bodies, covered by a white sheet, as one pony began to pull it away.

As we walked along, we came to the front of the fort, where we saw Cross Fire, talking with some other stallions. He turned to see us coming, quickly finishing up his conversation, and turning towards us, he calmly smiled at me and nodded to Crystal. “Star Dust, glad to see your back on your hooves. How’s your head?” he asked in a kindly manner.

I stepped away from Crystal and balanced myself, gently rubbing my head with a pained expression, “Still a little fuzzy, and my magic seems to be really weak right now.” I said as I lowered my hoof and cringed again. He nodded in understanding and watched me closely.

“Yes, that is to be expected. Physically…you should be fine with a day or two, and you should be back to your old self. But mentally…wounds like yours will take time to heal.” He said in a sorrowful tone. I frowned slightly as well, but he quickly walked up to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “I know it may not mean much, coming from me, but I offer you my condolences. Satchel was a dear friend to me as well, we've known each other many years, but…I can't even begin to fathom the bond you shared with him.

Therefore…I thought it’s only fair, that we wait until you had awaken to give him a proper burial.” He said in a calm tone, but I could easily tell the sorrow behind it.

After a few moments of silenced followed his little speech, Crystal spoke up, “Anyway, Cross Fire was going over our next plan.” Crystal said gesturing to him, simply trying to lighten the mood, and neither of us could blame her or complain.

Cross Fire cleared his throat again, “yes indeed, as for the casualties on the assault, as far as we are concerned…you two are the only surviving students here. Many of the teachers are unaccounted for, so we have no choice but to presume they are dead, as for the town’s population, only two deaths, some severe injuries, so we must tend to their needs before we go” he said in a calm tone.

I could tell he was truly saddened by the losses, but the way he spoke about it, made it suggest this wasn't the first time he had seen a massacre like this. But the last thing he said was what really caught my attention. “Go? Go where?” I asked in a confused tone, looking between Crystal and Cross Fire.

Cross Fire cleared his throat, “Now that your position has been compromised, I have been tasked with escorting you to safety. The Emperor’s forces will probably be searching every route in the region, but our best bet would be to walk to Van Hoover.” He said in a tone, that only made me more confused.

“What!?” I yelled in a confused tone, cringing slightly, but I continued none the less. “What are you talking about? What compromised position? What safety? What about the Emperor? And what’s in Van Hoover!?” I yelled at him, but he didn't even seem fazed by it, despite the quick flurry, in which the questions came out. Crystal on the other hoof, merely shook her head in confusion, and looked awkwardly between us two.

Cross Fire breathed in deeply, and cleared his throat, “There’s too much to explain now, but I promise I will give you the answer’s you seek. For now…all you need to know it that you are no longer safe here, Emperor Grey Sky will likely send his lackey here again, and I can guarantee you won't be as luckily a second time if he finds you.” He said as he calmly walked away, leaving both Crystal and I very confused, as we simply stared at each other with shocked expressions.

The silence was broken by a deep rumbling, in which I realized it was my stomach growling hungrily, which made me blush heavily. Crystal shook off her shocked expression and turned to me with a smile, “looks like somepony is hungry! Let’s get some food, and then we should go and back things up.” She said as she walked off, but before I followed her, I briefly glanced back at Cross Fire who was talking with one of the armored ponies, but I quickly turned and trotted after my friend.
________________________________________

After Crystal and I had gotten something to eat, Cross Fire came to us and told everypony that we were having the funeral ceremonies at sundown, which only made the sinking feeling in my heart return.

As sundown came, all the students, teachers, and the two stallions from the town were buried in respectful graves. Despite this not being a actual cemetery, each of the fallen had their own grave dug, and the body was placed in with the utmost care. Even though the attack was mostly directed at the fort, many of the ponies from town made the walk up the hill, to witness the ceremonies.

Even though the ponies of Vale Town rarely interacted with the school directly, whenever the students came to town for a visit, they were greatly welcomed with open hooves. The students and teachers of the school, managed to live in harmony with each other, until they peace was shattered by war and death.

Cross Fire insisted on giving Satchel a more formal ceremony, in which the ponies of the town, graciously offered large piles of wood, that would be stacked into a pyre. Crystal and I stood next to each other, in the front row of the audience, despite them all be formed into a sort of half circle. The sun was beginning it’s slow descent on the horizon, as some of the armored ponies carried out Satchel’s body on a bed.

His body was wrapped in a clean white sheet, and as they moved along, my heart sank to the lowest level it could, as tears slowly began to well up in my eyes. They placed his wrapped body on to the top of the pyre, and we all turned to see Cross Fire walking behind them, a solemn look on his face, as a he levitated a torch beside him.

I felt my heart tighten as he passed by us, and I don’t know what urged me to do what I did next. I placed a hoof on his chest and stopped him, and he turned to me with a confused look, as did Crystal. I frowned sadly and gestured toward the torch, he looked between me and the torch, and then sighed sadly before levitating it over to me.

Instead of using my magic, I grabbed it in my hoof and hobbled forward, until it was at the minimum safe distance. I looked at the torch with sadness and then reached back and threw it at the base of the wood stack. The soldiers had dug a small trench around, to prevent the fire from spreading.

The torch landed in between two large sticks which immediately caught fire, and began to spread the rest around. The tears in my eyes had finally begun to spill down my cheeks, as I stepped back, to which Crystal wrapped her hoof around my shoulder. The fire slowly began to climb it’s way up, until it began to lick at the pristine white sheets.
For me, it felt like hours had passed, as the flames slowly began to consume the lifeless corpse of my adoptive father. It was then that I turned to look at Cross Fire, who was standing next to me, he had a sad look in his eyes, and I could even see the fire reflect in them, to which he then began to whisper something quietly to himself. Despite the fact that I was next to him, I couldn't quiet tell what it was he said, but I was sure it was something along the lines of:

“Goodbye…Old Friend”

Chapter 4: The Road South

The day after the funeral, Cross Fire sent Crystal and myself, up to our rooms to gather whatever things we would need for our journey. I used to feel such joy in these halls, but they held only dread for me, as the innocence this place once held for me, was stripped away in one single terrifying night.

Despite our apparent victory, Cross Fire sent a small groups of the armored ponies to hang back and guard us. After we split up, I sadly opened the door to my room, the door giving off an eerie creak for me, as I slowly stepped in. I saw the iron candle holder lying on the floor, the wick of the candle broken in half. The suitcase I used to defend myself from the assailant, lay scattered on the floor, the clothes I packed had flown everywhere.

Cross Fire had told us not to pack too much since we were going to travel lightly, so I tossed the suitcase aside. Not that a decision like that was hard to make, but the options were clearly so many. I had initially planned to take a week’s worth of clothes, but that alone would be too much, so I would have to pack less, and there was the idea that I would never return here again, so I would have to take something of the utmost importance.

I looked over at the desk, which still remained mostly the way I left it, aside from the few pages of my notes that had scattered around the floor. Normally, I wouldn't classify myself as a ‘Neat Freak’ but I did always have a knock for having things in order, which I supposed I had simply gotten from Satchel’s habits.

I calmly walked over to the desk and examined the damage, until I saw a few of the pictures I stacked near the top. I levitated one of them down to me and wiped some of the dust off the glass, and smiled warmly at the picture. It was a picture of Satchel and myself, only I was very young, it was within my first few years here at the school.

Although Satchel considered me as a sort of adopted daughter, he made sure not to treat me better around the other students. When it came to class time, he made it seem as if I was simply another student, even though I could tell some students knew and were jealous by the fact. I chuckled when I remembered, that one time one of the bigger male students confronted me on the fact, but I was miraculously saved by Crystal, and one of the teacher’s intervened before things got ugly.

When it came to personal time together, Satchel taught me many of the things I know today, most of which weren't even from his educational lessons. He taught me some of the more complicated spells I know today, including Advanced Levitation, Basic level Offensive and Defensive spells such as blasts and shields, and even some basic teleportation. On the rare occasion, he even taught me how to defend myself with a sword, which of course was wooden when I was young, but he eventually trusted me with an actual metallic sword. He had even begun to teach me how to properly hold a pistol with my magic, and how to reload it!

I smiled at the picture and wiped a single tear away, as I levitated the other picture to me as well, which was one of Crystal and I when we were playing as young fillies. I smiled to myself and levitated the suitcase back on to my bed properly, and began levitating the pictures, some of my favorite books, and a few minor clothing items such as a scarf, black cloak, and my sleeping attire, and even added in some essential items from my bathroom.

Stacking everything into the suitcase nicely, I smiled to myself and latched it shut, just in time to hear a knocking on my door. I turned to see Crystal standing in the doorway, a gentle smile on her face, I smiled back and picked up the case with my magic, which proved to be mildly difficult, since my magic was still regenerating.

I took a deep breath as I used my magic to tie back my mane like it always was, into it’s tail. I turned and made my way to the door, but before I stepped past the threshold, I turned back and looked around the room. My mind flashed back to all the memorable times I had in this room, from when Satchel first brought me here, when I first arrived, to the night I spent with Crystal, wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace, as she told me her past.

Despite everything I had come to learn here, and despite my thoughts speaking against it, I knew everything in my life was about to change. I sighed sadly and turned to leave the room, the light from the crack in the door, slowly diminishing until the room was completely enveloped by darkness.
________________________________________
(Vale Town Fortress, Courtyard)

As Crystal and I stepped back outside the fort, we saw Cross Fire waiting for us, standing calmly by a small cart, were an earth pony stallion was latched to it’s metal harness, another Pegasus stallion sitting on top, armed with a rifle.

As we walked up he smiled to us, “Glad to see you had a chance to say your goodbyes, if may be a long time until you see this place again, if you ever do.” He said in a calm but serious tone. Even though Crystal and I still had no real grasp on what it was he was planning, we both knew he was telling the truth.

I did my best to smile, “Yeah…I think were good here. I will admit it was hard, but…I suppose that’s what it means to move on.” I said to him in a calm fashion. He smiled and nodded before turning to the wagon and activating his magic. We watched in surprise as he levitated over a sword, it’s sheath, and two pistol holsters, and set them down in front of us.

We both simply stared at him in confusion, until he cleared his throat, “What? I trust Satchel taught you how to defend yourself with a sword and pistol?” he asked in an amused tone, and we both simply gulped and looked at each other.

Crystal cleared her throat and spoke up first, “Well…yeah, but…why would we need these?” Crystal asked, which only seemed to amuse Cross Fire, who chuckled lightly.

“Well, for starters, we'll be traveling in a small party, so it’s best if all of us are armed. Secondly, the Emperor will likely send patrols across the northern routes. We’ll be taking a lesser known path to Van Hoover, it’s a little bumpier, but our wagon is designed to handle it, plus it runs parallel to the trail south to Van Hoover.” He said in a calmly fashion.

Crystal and I yet again exchanged confused looks, but before we could say anything, Cross spoke up again, “Oh! That reminds me. Here…put these on, not only will they keep you warm, but it will help to disguise us as simple traders, when we arrive in Van Hoover.” He said as he tossed each of us a cloak, and made his way around the cart. Crystal and I sighed and put them on, which they turned out to be surprisingly warm and comfortable, despite the look they had. We both latched on the holsters and sheaths, when I quickly noticed that Cross Fire had forgotten to give me my sword, that and my sheath looked different from Crystal’s.

“Uh, Cross Fire? I think you forgot you give me my sword.” I told him as he came around again, levitating something behind his back, that neither of us could see.

He simply smiled at my comment and chuckled, “Oh trust me Star! You're not getting any regular sword, you shall wield this!” he said as he pulled out a strange looking sword and levitated it close to me. Both Crystal and I looked on in awe, he smiled and continued his talking, “This sword…is very different from others. I believe Satchel was planning on giving this to you for your birthday, it’s name is…The Aura Blade!” he said in a very proud tone, he said as he gave it to me.

My eyes still shining in shock, and my mouth hanging open with disbelief. I took it in my hooves first, but I levitated it up and lifted it up to examine it, Cross Fire watching with a pleased look. I stepped back from the others and gave it a few experimental swings, until I saw a small pile of wood by the wall, and I turned to swing my sword at it. I felt no resistance at all, as the blade cut cleanly through, and after a second, the pieces of wood began to slide apart, a near flawless cut!

I laughed a little bit, and then ran my hoof along the flatness of the blade, to my surprise, it felt so much lighter than it looked. “What is this made out of? It’s so light!” I said in amazement, which only caused Cross Fire to chuckle again.

“You see Star, this sword is embedded with magical properties. It’s blade was made from Heart Stone, which is known as one of the strongest materials in the world, and it’s strictly found in the mountains north of the Crystal Empire! The magical powers in the blade, allow you to use your magic to amplify it’s abilities, even to the point where you could shoot magic from the blade itself! But…that will take a great amount of practice, training, and magical discipline. Legend says that it was the blade wielded by one of the four Princesses of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle herself!” he said with a proud smile.

I smiled and sheathed it into it’s case, and turned to him with a thankful smile, but I quickly turned to see Crystal bare a jealous expression, and I instantly felt bad for her. “Wait! What about Crystal? I don't want to have something better than hers, how’s she supposed to fight, if I have such a powerful sword?” I asked him in a concerned voice.

Cross Fires seemed to have an answer for that question as well, as he smiled and cleared his throat. “Like I said, The Aura Blade will take a great amount of time to master, it will be a long time before your sword can do most of the things I said it could. For now, it’s simply just a sword that is sharper than others, nothing more than that. However…I know you feel bad for Crystal, but I can assure you that she will have a chance to pick out a special weapon of her own choosing. Now…as for using the sword, I must ask that you refrain from using that sword as much as possible. If we run into any conflicts, you two let us take care of it.” He said with a more serious tone.

Crystal and I gave each other confused looks, and I could tell Cross was simply waiting for me to ask the obvious question.

“But…why?”

He sighed and took a deep breath, “Because, that weapon is extremely rare, the only one of it’s kind, they are other weapons made from Heart Stone, but this one is unique above all others! If somepony were to see you have it, especially an imperial soldier, it will bring nothing but trouble, and our position will be compromised, is that clear?” he asked with a serious tone, as he pointed to me with his hoof.

I looked at Crystal who seemed just as confused as I was, simply shrugged her shoulders. I turned to him with a determined look, and gave him the best nod that I could. At first, he gave me a slightly suspicious look, but he lowered his hoof and cleared his throat again. “Very good, just as a safety precaution, I placed a ‘Hidden Detect’ spell on it, that way it will remain invisible until being used. Of course, you will still feel it’s presence, but it will make it impossible for others to see it directly, unless you use it.” He said as he looked between us.

“Alright then! Now…we shall be traveling south to Van Hoover, by a lesser known trail through the woods. We will have to be quiet, since the trail runs close to the main route.

The journey should take approximately two days, so we need to be long gone from this valley by the time we make camp. Our escorts here are highly trained warriors, they know their duty is to keep watch for any danger, that is all they are here to do, and they will keep watch while we sleep. Now, your pistol holsters come equipped with the necessary items to reload your pistol, but they are only for emergencies, as in you happen to get disarmed by an opponent. Hopefully…that won't be the case. Now then! I hope you're ready to walk, because it’s a long trip, and we don't have much time before nightfall, so…Let’s Get Going!!!” he shouted and both Crystal and I exchanged confident glances, as the earth pony stallion began pulling the cart, while one of the two Pegasus stallion loaded our things inside.

Cross Fire smiled and motioned for us to move ahead, and we started after him, the wagon close behind us.
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By the time we reached the edge of the valley, the sun was beginning it’s descent across the horizon. Cross Fire planned for us to me well aware from here by the time we were to make camp, as the journey would take a few days. As we began to diverge from the main trail, and head for the forest’s edge, I couldn't help but look back to the town.

As we passed through the outer gate that protected the city from wild animal attacks at night, the entire town had come to say their goodbyes, some of which Crystal and I had come to accept as friends. Some of them even offered us food for our journey, to which we were all to kind to accept.

I stopped and looked across the valley once again, feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness wash over me. The fort stood in the distance, now nothing more than an empty shell from what it used to be. But, it wouldn't have been the first time the fort had been abandoned, since it was once abandoned by the troops who inhabited it. It now served as the hollow shell of the once pleasant memories it held for Crystal and myself, as all the friends we had once made there were murdered in cold blood. The same for the stallion I came to call a father.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder as I turned to see Crystal looking across the way as well, and I could see the sad look in her eyes. “Ladies, as much as I hate to break this up, we have to get moving, before it gets dark.” One of the escorts said to us, as he flew back up on top of the wagon and perched there.

Crystal turned and made her way after them, but I turned back to glance one last time, feeling a gentle breeze flow through my mane. I sighed sadly and turned away as well, believing it to b the last time I would ever see this place again.

My home.
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By the time the light of the sun was nearly gone from the sky, Cross Fire had stopped us in a small clearing along the path he chose. We all pitched in to set up camp, but it was awkward for Crystal and I, since we've never been camping before in our lives, but we guessed it would become our new normal life.

The life of a traveler.

Well, it could be worse! At least we have food, a fire, and something soft to sleep on.

I sighed as Cross Fire used his magic to start a controlled fire, even placing a ‘containment’ spell over the blaze. At that point neither Crystal nor I realized it, but we were completely starving from the journey. Mainly because neither of us had ever walked for that length of time.

Luckily, one of the escorts was a very experienced chef, and made us all some delicious soup and bread, and we all ate with happiness. Our three escorts ate around their own circle near the wagon, which left Cross Fire, Crystal, and myself to eat around our own fire. Despite the fact, that knew close to nothing about him, other than the fact that he was good friends with Satchel. Towards the end of our dinner, I decided it would be best to strike up a conversation with him.

“So Cross Fire? How…how long did you know Satchel for?” I asked, even with the awkward tone in his voice, which seemed to be more mixed with curiosity and intrigue, then it was sadness. I knew the best way for me to come to turn with Satchel’s passing, would be to learn more about him, and his connection with Cross Fire.

Cross simply drank down the last of his soup, and looked to me with curious eyes.

“Why do you ask?” he asked me in a similar curious tone, Crystal turned to me as well, but I could see that she was just as curious as I am.

I looked away for a moment, and a strange silence fell between us. “It’s just that…I've always felt like I knew so much about him, but after meeting you, and everything falling apart…I feel like I know less about him now than I ever did.” I said in an honest tone, as I took another bite of my bread and drank it down with some tea.

Cross Fire seemed to approve of that answer, so he smiled lightly and cleared his throat, “Very well, I suppose you deserve to know that much. I've known Satchel for many decades, we practically grew up together, and practiced the same professions. Of course, I saw him less and less over the years he ran the school, but that doesn’t matter, I suppose.” He said as he sipped his tea again.

I looked to Crystal who simply shrugged her shoulder and drank more of the soup, so I decided to prod deeper with my questions. “Okay, then…how long have you been doing this…’profession’ of yours?” I asked in an honest tone, and that was met with a loud chuckle from Cross Fire, who turned to me with an amused smile.

“Since long before you were even born, as the saying goes, ‘long before you were even a twinkle in your father’s eye’.” he said as he stretched his hooves up a bit. I smiled to myself at my small victory, and after another moment of silence fell between us, so I decided to go for the big question that was really on my mind.

“Okay, if were taking this journey with you, the least you could tell us, is what’s waiting in Van Hoover?” I asked with a more serious tone, and Cross Fire seemed to catch on, as the smile faded from his face, and he gingerly sipped his tea. Crystal felt the same as she patiently waited for him to answer, while I did the same and sipped my tea.

He placed his tea on the ground and cleared his throat, “I suppose you at least deserve to know that much.” He said as he opened his eyes and looked between us. “In Van Hoover, I have an associate, who is going to arrange for transportation to Las Pegasus. From there…we will meet up with some friends of mine, and make our way to the Light Seeker’s Sanctuary.” He said in a calm and dignified tone, as he could see that his answer would only bring more questions to my mind.

But before I could get a chance to voice them, Crystal beat me to it, and asked, pretty much the same thing I was going to. “The Light Seeker’s? Who are they?” she asked in a curious tone. By this time, the escort’s conversation had completely faded from our concentration.

Cross seemed to be expecting his question, as he sighed and thought for a moment. To which I could only assume that he was thinking of the best way to describe his answer.

He opened his eyes and looked away for a moment, but sighed and looked back to us, determination in his eyes. “It’s hard to explain, and it’s a long story.” He said, but he could see that we were perfectly willing to listen.

“The short version, The Order of the Light Seeker’s is an organization of gifted ponies of all races, who come together to fight the Emperor’s forces, and restore balance and harmony to Equestria and the surrounding lands. The order was first founded by Princess Twilight Sparkle, a few years after she was crowned princess. Back then, the order was primarily composed of the most gifted unicorns in Equestria, and it was our purpose to study and experiment with the magical possibilities of the three races. You see, Princess Twilight, was as much a scientist as well as a gifted magic user, she believed that we could find a sort of ‘happy medium’ between the two ideals.” He said as he recounted all he knew of the Order.

Crystal and I listened with the greatest curiosity, as he stroked his beard a little, and continued his story. “Needless to say, that purpose quickly changed a few years later.” He said as he looked at the two of us and fell silent. I stared at him in awe, but I still felt like he was keeping something from us, but I wanted to know more.

“Well? What happened?” I asked leaning forward slightly, feeling the heat of the fire increase on my face.

Both Crystal and I watched in confusion as he closed his eyes and stood up, he began to walk away, but he turned to look back at us, a look of concern mixed with anger in his eyes.

“Grey Sky happened.” He said as he walked off to his sleeping bag and pulled a book out to read.

Crystal and I sat there with confused looks on our face, but we both looked up into the sky and saw how late it was, so we both stood up and stretched and made our way over to our bags as well, to get ready for bed.

We all knew tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Chapter 6: Van Hoover

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 7: New Problems

Crystal and I spent the next hour talking in her room, and even after all the times I countlessly apologized, she would just smile at me and nod her head. It was there that I broke down and told her everything I was feeling from that night. All the strange dreams I had, more specifically the one about seeing the ‘Other’ me committing those horrible acts. But I also told her about my experience with the Shade, how it infiltrated my thoughts and took on the form of Satchel.

The entire time she listened with the greatest patience and concern a friend could offer, which was one of the many reason’s as to why I was incredibly grateful to have a caring friend like her. In all the years we had known each other, we had never had a fight as bad as the one we did the previous night. Of course, we did argue back and forth many times in our youth, but they were mostly about trivial matters, mostly pertaining to school and stallions.

As the midnight hour drew closer, we finished up our conversation and decided it was time to go to bed. I wish I could say that I was tired from everything we’ve been through, but in truth, the source of my tiredness, came from my emotional apology earlier. I bid Crystal goodnight and one last ‘Thank You’ before heading off to my room to get some well needed sleep.
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Star Dust…wake up!

I groaned as I felt a cold chill tickle my coat, which was strange since I was sure I put the heater in before I went to bed. The voice tickled my ears in an annoying manner, as if the pony speaking the words, had placed their mouth a mere few inches from my ear.

Star Dust, it’s time to get up! I want to help you!

The voice was more eager than ever, only this time it didn’t sound like Crystal’s, or even Satchel’s! The voice was distant, and yet it seemed so very close.

As if it was in my very mind!

My eyes slowly began to flicker open, as I looked around, and strangely found myself not sleeping in the comfortable bed at Fleet’s family inn. I looked around and saw nothing more than black stone walls, and the same cobblestone floor from my previous dream. The unlit torches lined dotted the walls down either side of me.

Shit! Not this again!

I slowly pushed myself up and looked around, the hall stretched endlessly to my left and right, an eerie silence filled the air, and made my heart begin to beat at a faster rate. I felt that same nervous feeling come over as it did the last time, and a nervous sweat began to drip down my face. I stood still and took a few deep breaths, in an effort to calm myself.

Okay Star, you can handle this! Just…try and find a way to wake up, make this all go away!

I looked down both ways, and began to walk off to my right, hoping that it would somehow take me to an exit. As I walked, the torches began to lit themselves, with each step I made. With every few steps, the torches would lit another few spots down the way. My steps echoing off into the distance, making it the only sound that was heard, which was quickly accompanied by my heavy breathing.

Hurry!

I felt the words being shout right by my ear, and I quickly made a sharp turn to face this opponent. But I was shocked to see no physical presences had spoken the word. Just as I turned around to continue walking, the hall around me started to shake.

Hurry! It’s coming for you! You can’t let it reach you! RUN!

The words shouted in my mind again, but the sound echoed around the hall as well, as I turned back and looked down the hall behind me. I felt my heart rate increase again, as I saw a sort of red light begin to appear towards the far end behind me.

I fully turned back and focused my vision, while the strange voice screamed in my head for me to turn and run off. I squinted my eyes more closed as the red light seemed to take the shape of a pony, more specifically a mare, about my height and figure. I looked closer as the figure came into a full view, that’s when the realization hit me.

The ‘Other’ me!

The same vision I had from the night before, when I found myself staring at the gruesome acts I committed the night Satchel was murdered. The ‘Other’ me had white glowing eyes, it’s mane was flowing slightly, and I could see the same transparent wings at it’s side like before.

RUN! It’s going to catch you! You have to run now!

My eyes widened in shock and fear, as I quickly turned around and sprinted off in the other direction. My hooves thumping along the cobble ground as I sprinted at full speed, my heart beginning to match it’s pace, as it beat faster and faster in my chest. Regardless of how fast I ran, I continuously heard the calm stepping of the imposter behind me.

As I ran the voice in my head began to slowly fade, as a new and much more sinister voice took it’s place.

Good! They all deserve to die!

The voice ran all around me and inside my head, but no matter how fast I pushed myself to run, I could not evade the voice as it continued to repeat the same phrase. I looked back behind me as I ran, only to see the imposter pony, slowly catching up to me, despite it’s slow walking pace. It seemed that no matter how fast I sprinted away, it was gradually catching up.

They all deserve to die!

All deserve to die!

The voice ringed eerily in my mind, even as I shut my eyes and kept running. The voice spoke in it’s demonic tone, which sounded nothing like my own, but no matter what I said to myself, it still remained present.

Shut up! Get out of my head!

I screamed the words back at it, both in my mind, and from my mouth. But still it persisted on and on. I glanced back only to see it nearing closer and closer. I turned forward and saw a much more welcoming site.

The door!

Hurry! Run for the door! Your only chance for survival is on the other side of that door! It’s coming!

My hooves ached painfully at the speed I was running, but the helpful voice in my mind told me to keep on going, which in doing would lead me away from this nightmare.

Deserve to die!

To die!

The demonic voice continued to repeat like it was a sort of mantra, it’s voice slowly gnawing away at my resolve, making it harder and harder to keep my focus on the door, which seemed to slowly getting closer.

Die!

DIE!

The words reached shrieking point as I looked back and saw the floor beginning to crumble as I ran. The imposter didn't seemed phased by the floor missing, but it was quickly catching up to me, and I didn't have the advantage of having wings.

My heart increased to the point where I could almost literally see it thumping against my chest, but I was quickly approaching the door. As I neared it, instead of stopping and opening the door, I used my magic to grab hold of the knob as I was running, and nearly tore the door off it’s hinges as I ran towards it.

I was blinded by a piercing white light that made it impossible to see past the frame, but that didn't stop me from leaning down and putting all the rest of my energy into one final leap. I kicked off the ground, with enough force to leave a fracture in the stone, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I flew through the door.

Then…darkness.
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My eyes flew open as I immediately shot up in bed, feeling a cold, nervous sweat drip down my face, as I looked around with a fearful expression. I quickly came to realize that I was calmly sitting up in my bed at Fleet’s family inn. My hooves gripping the blanket tightly, but as I began to calm down, my grip loosened.

I took a deep breath and looked around the room, and wiped the sweat from my brow, and slowly got out of bed and made my way over to the window. I pulled the string, and the drapes flew open with ease, as I looked outside across the square.

The town square was nearly deserted, as a thick layer of fog blanketed the town, making it hard to see fully across, but I could see some pony’s walking around. Whether they be soldiers, the town’s local police force, or simply travellers arriving late at night, I sighed to myself and looked away.

The sky was a dull grey as the morning began it's slow rise, but the sun would be blocked from shining today. I was just about to close the drapes and return to bed, when something down in the street caught my eye.

I narrowed my eyes and tried to see through the layer of frost on the window, but I could only make out so many features. It appeared to be a pony standing by the gate of the inn, simply staring down the path to the door. The light from the lamp post barely giving enough light for me to make out the shape of a mare. They were draped in a black cloak, and they stood almost like a statue firmly planted to the ground.

In just an eerily of fashion as it stood there, the hooded mare slowly turned it’s head and looked up toward the second floor. It took me a moment to realize that the mare was looking straight at my window, but not just that, I could see that she was looking straight at me. It was as if she knew I was staring at her through my frost-covered windows. I felt a strange tingly sensation fill me up, as I simply stared at her, expressionless.

What I felt couldn't have been described as fear, or maybe even nervousness, but it definitely felt strange and foreign to me. I slowly began to move my hooves to open the window, and just as I did, the mare turned from the gate and walked off into the fog. I fully opened the window and leaned out, but as I watched her walk off, she looked back at me, only this time, her eyes seemed to be glowing.

It was the only thing I could see inside her hood, no muzzle, ears, or anything else, just her mesmerizing eyes. I narrowed my eyes at her and moved back inside the window and closed it, before I ran toward my door, levitating my cloak, and tying it on. I opened my door and left the room in a quick pace.
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I tried my best to maintain a quiet, yet quick pace as I slowly walked down the halls and stairs. I wanted to be able to catch up with the mysterious mare, but I didn't want to wake up the other guests, especially Crystal and Cross Fire, who would be the most concerned my quick disappearance.

I slowly walked down the stairs of the main hall, and saw that it was virtually empty. Even the front desk was left unattended too, the only thing supplying any light was a small candle, that was lit on the desk. I took a deep breath and stepped down to the floor, and made my way over to the door. I took a deep breath and tightened the coat over my shoulders, as I gripped the knob with my magic, I slowly opened the door.

Stepping out into the cold early morning air, I could instantly see my breath coming out in puffs of smoke as I exhaled. The layer of fog remained all over, keeping the town in it’s chilling grasp. The other ponies I had seen walking around from my window were gone, and the fog seemed to grow thicker as I walked past the gate.

The lamp above the gate was the only thing that provided any light, but as I walked away from it, the fog grew more and more encompassing around me. Even though I still wasn’t fully aware of the town’s layout, I knew enough to know that I wasn’t going to walk into anything. As I walked along, the sights of the buildings that surrounded the square, began to disappear, only to be replaced by more fog. I felt the strange sensation return as the fog slowly began to swirl around me, and as I turned to look behind me, my eyes widened as I saw the light above the inn’s gate suddenly get blown out. I slowly began to walk back over to it, but even as I walked back the exact path I walked from, the gate was no longer there.

What is Luna’s name is going on here? Is this another dream?

I looked around as the fog began to swirl around me faster and faster, even closing in on me too. I felt a panicking sensation crash over me as I tied to find an opening to escape, but the fog was too thick to run blindly through. Suddenly there was a loud ‘Whooshing’ sound as the fog began to slow again and spread out more. Feeling the sense of panic and dread begin to dissipate as well, I broke off into a run into one direction.

After running for five minutes or so, I found no signs of any familiar building, nothing more than fog greeted me. I cleared my throat, “Hello? Is anypony out there? I need help!” I called out into the fog but my only response was silence.

Okay Star, just take a breath, and try to calm down. This has to be another dream, it has too.

Dear Star, do you truly believe it to be that simple?

I nearly jumped at the sound of a new voice filling my thoughts, but it sounded much different from the other ones I have heard. This voice didn’t sound like the demonic version of my own, or the one that desperately urged me to run, but it sounded calmer and wiser. I could immediately tell that it was the voice of a mare, but not one that I recognized.

“Hello? Who’s there? Show yourself, you coward!” I yelled out into the fog, but the voice in my head simply chuckled.

Oh! Trust me Star, I can assure you that I am everywhere! But, I am no coward. If you wish to see me in my physical form, all you have to do is will it.

I was tempted to ask what the voice meant by that, but I knew better than to argue with voice’s in my head. I simply closed my eyes and focused on seeing this newcomer, focusing all my mental energy into this thought. As I did, I heard a simply ‘whooshing’ sound come from in front of me, and I calmly opened my eyes to see a mare, about my age, standing in front of me.

Her coat was solid white, and she had a shining golden mane, but she strangely had no cutie mark, which was strange despite her age. She smiled calmly at me as I composed myself better, “Who are you?” I asked in the calmest tone I could muster.

The mare simply chuckled at me, and smiled again, “I can go by many names. But, given the circumstances…and this body, I think…Golden Star is appropriate.” She said with an unnervingly calm smile.

I stared at her in wonder, to which she simply stared at me with a warming smile. The feeling I felt before, while staring out the window, began to fill my body again, but I still couldn't describe it as fear, but it was something different.

I thought about my next question and looked up to her, “Okay, where’s your cutie mark?” I asked in a tone that matched her own, but it still didn’t make me feel any more relevant to her status.

She smiled and looked back at her flank, not seeming to care about it, despite it being the mark that tells the world what a pony’s talent is. “I can assure you, Star Dust, that I have no need for such a trivial matter. My ‘special talent’ cannot be measured by a mere picture on my flank.” She said as she looked back at me, to which I simply stared at her with a surprised expression.

I swallowed nervously as I stared at her, “How…how do you know my name?” I asked as I felt that nervous sweat return to my body, feeling my heart rate increase again, not really sure what I could expect from this mare.

She smiled wider at me and took a step toward me, “I can sense the fear inside you, but you need to be fearful of me Star Dust. I am not here to harm you, only to help guide you. As for how I know your name, let’s just say that I’ve known you long before…how does the saying go again? ‘Since before you were but a twinkle in your father’s eye’ as you friend Cross Fire phrased It.” she said with a calm tone.

I backed up slightly as I swallowed nervously again, feeling the sweat trickle down my face. That was the exact thing Cross Fire said to me, when I asked him long he had known Satchel!

That’s not possible! How can she know about Cross Fire?

I can assure you Star, that it is very possible.

I nearly jumped as her voice rang in my head without her even moving a muscle, I looked up at her with fearful eyes. “Like I told you, you have nothing to fear from me. I only want to help guide you.” She told me, but I still couldn’t help myself. I saw the comforting gaze in her eyes, and I felt my body relax slightly, and I wiped the sweat from my brow.

“Yeah? Guide me along what?” I asked in a more offensive tone, but she didn't even give the slightest budge, which meant she had a strong resolve. Stronger than anything I could hope to have.

“To guide you along the path you were meant to take. I guess you could say that is my ‘special talent’. Every living creature has a set path to walk in life. Yours has been set since the day you were born.” She said with a calm expression.

I stared at her for a moment, thinking of another way to go about this. She seemed to be very good at being vague, but I had a feeling that any attempt to pry further would fail, so I went with my next best option. “Alright then, how about this? Why are you following me? It was you that I saw in Vale Town that day? And then just now outside the inn, wasn’t it?” I asked her in a more determined tone.

She simply chuckled and looked down for a minute, and then smiled at me, “Guilty as charged. I have been watching over you for some time now. But…I fear our time is drawing to an end, it was fun meeting you, but I have other matters to attend to. Goodbye Star Dust, we will meet again soon!” she said as she looked around, and then nodded at me as she turned and walked off into the fog.

“Hey! Wait a minute! I'm not done asking questions! Come back here!” I yelled after her, but she simply vanished in the fog. I was left alone again, simply staring into the fog after her. Suddenly, the fog began to swirl faster around me again, only this time, I felt an incredibly heavy wave of weakness come over, and I lost my balance and fell to my side. My eyelids felt heavy as I fell over on to my side, and slowly drifted off into a heavy sleep.
________________________________________

I felt a light knocking echo around me, as my eyes slowly began to flutter open. I blinked a few times as my vision came into full focus again, and I groaned as I found myself lying on my side, facing the door. I shifted on to my back, and rubbed my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment, when the knocking sound came back.

It took me a brief moment, but I quickly realized that it was somepony knocking at my door. “Star! You in there? It’s time to get up!” I heard Crystal speak through the door. I turned to the door and slowly got out of bed, groaning as I lazily dragged my hooves with me.

I unlocked the door with my magic, and opened it to see Crystal smiling warmly at me. “Hey Crystal. What’s up?” I asked as I yawned and cracked my bones, sighing with relief as I relieved the pressure, and loosened them up.

She simply smiled and chuckled at me, “Well, for one thing, it’s nearly noon. Secondly, you need to get ready, before you set one hoof outside this room.” She said as she backed me inside. I stepped to the side and closed the door behind her, groaning as I made my way into the bathroom. I flipped on the lights and looked into the mirror, my eyes widening as I saw my mane was a complete mess.

After spending the next few minutes freshening up, I walked back out into the room, where I saw Crystal calmly waiting by the door. “What are you doing?” I asked as I tied my mane back, and let it drape over my shoulder.

She smiled and opened the door and walked out, “Oh nothing! I was just thinking we could spend the day together. We never did get a chance to go out and explore the town, come on!” she said as she stepped out, I couldn't help but smile as I followed out after her.
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As we walked down the hall, I couldn't help but notice that Crystal remained silent the entire time, which was strange compared to her normal chatty self. She had a slightly faster pace than mine, like she was in a hurry to be ahead of me. Despite my curiosity, I had a feeling that asking her, would be rather pointless.

We slowly made our way down the stairs, but as soon as our head’s cleared the room’s ceiling, I received the scare of my life.

“SURPRISE!!!!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin and tumbled down the stairs, but I luckily managed to grab on to the railing and hold myself still, while I placed a hoof over my beating heart. I tried to slow my breathing, as I looked over at Crystal, who was smiling wickedly at me. “Do you like it? I know we never got to celebrate your birthday back in Vale Town, so I asked Cross, Fleet, Violet, and their mother to pitch in, and put together a little celebration! Happy 24th birthday Star!” she said to me as she helped down the rest of the stairs.

I finally managed to regain control of my body, as I properly stood up and managed to smile at everypony, giving my thanks to all. I watched as Cross Fire stepped forth, and placed a comforting hoof on my shoulder, “Happy Birthday Star Dust! I understand that some unfortunate events happened to occur on your actual birthday, so Crystal decided to throw this for you here! With Fleet and his family’s help, we managed to throw this. You should enjoy yourself today, you have your whole life ahead of you.” He said with a comforting smile, as he stepped away.

I walked over to the table and saw a large cake there, as well as a two bottles of champagne. I smiled and walked up to Fleet, who simply smiled warmly at me, as he poured himself a glass of champagne. “This is very sweet of you. You didn't have to do this.” I said to him with a smile, as he kindly poured me a glass as well. One might say it was too early to drink, but since I was more than of age to drink, and have tasted some of Satchel’s fine wines, it mattered not to me.

“That may be true! But it’s all thanks to your friend, she insisted we make a cake and celebrate. It just so happens my mom was in a baking mood. Although, between us, think of it as repayment for our…discussion earlier. It seems we both helped each other out.” He said with a sly wink, as he offered his glass to mine. I smiled myself and clinked my glass against his.

“Happy Birthday kid!” I heard another male voice ring out, as I turned to see none other than Silver Heart standing by the door, holding a glass of his own. I couldn't help but smile and walk over to him.

“Silver Heart? What are you doing here?” I asked him as I sipped on my champagne. To which I felt the bubbly liquid slide down my throat.

He smiled at me and took a drink of his own, “Well, your friend there, managed to run into me in the market. She told me that they were planning a little surprise party for you, so she asked me to come. I can never turn down a glass of free champagne.” He said with his smug smile.

I smiled at him and clinked my glass up to his, “Hmm? Is that really all you came for?” I asked him with a raised eyebrow and a smug smile of my own.

He smiled back and looked past me, “Better hurry! Looks like it’s time to cut the cake! Enjoy yourself, you're only young once.” He said as I turned to see Crystal trot over and pull my hoof away. I simply laughed and followed after, over to where they let me cut the first piece.

________________________________________

After finishing my little makeshift party, Fleet came up to me and offered to take Crystal and I on an official tour of the city, and all it’s best places. We were both only so eager to accept his generous offer.

After cleaning up the party, Fleet lead us out the door, and showed us around the town. As we walked he pointed out all the best places in town, whether it was for eating, browsing the local stores for good, or even simply enjoying the scenery. Even as we walked, I couldn't help but think back to the way Fleet described his view of this town. He warned me not to be deceived by the welcoming community, but despite all that, I couldn't help but find the place relatively charming.

He took us too many of the place’s he enjoyed in this town, he even introduced us to many of the food vendor’s he had known since foalhood. But as we walked, I could see Fleet acting like he always did, even when talking with the townsfolk, which seemed strange to me, especially after what he confide in me.

“So Fleet? What’s this I hear about you and Star getting to know each other a little better?” Crystal asked him in a sly tone. My eyes widened as I felt my face catch fire, and as I looked up at him to see his reaction. I felt myself become slightly relieved when I saw him blush and rub the back of his head nervously, to which Crystal burst out laughing, and looked back at me with a sly smile.

At that point I just wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide, fearing that Crystal’s infectious laugh would catch with the other ponies around. I sank back slightly, but I managed to recompose myself, when we heard a nearby cry. Crystal instantly stopped laughing and we all turned to look across the square, at a lovely antique shop.

But the items in the window weren’t what caught our expression, it was the three shady stallions standing in front of a cowardly elderly couple. The older ponies had sunk down while on of the stallions began to trash the room, knocking over valuable items to the floor with a crash.

“Listen you two! If we don’t get our money right now, then you can kiss your little shop goodbye! When we're done here, it’ll take year to put the place back together!” he said as we all started looking towards the scene, even the townsfolk looked towards it, but none of them seemed even remotely surprised or in a hurry to make a move.

We all watched with a surprised look on our faces, as a young stallion burst through the crowd and stepped in between the stallions and the cowering couple. “Leave them alone you bastards! You'll have to go through me!” the young stallion said in a brave tone.

The apparent leader of the group simply laughed and got right up in his face, and although we couldn't see since his back was facing us, we could tell he wasn't happy. “So, we got a smartass on our hooves! I think you need to be taught a lesson, about who rules this town!” the leader said as he reared his hoof back and delivered a strong blow to the younger stallion’s face, sending him flying to the floor.

The young pony cried out in pain, as the elderly couple cried out in fear. Two of the ponies moved toward the young stallion and began to kick at him while he was on the ground. The pony’s cries of pain echoed across the silent square, as all the ponies simply watched the gruesome scene unfold, none of them making a move to stop, some of them didn't even look phased.

I looked over to see fleet tensing all across his body, and I could tell that it was hard for him to fight the urge to help the poor stallion. If what he told me was true, then he would be banished from the city if he were to intervene in the situation. But I was surprised to look over and see Crystal’s expression.

“no…” she said in a quiet tone, as she leaned her head down, covering her face with her mane, making it hard to see her expression, but I knew her well enough to know she was seething with rage. Even Fleet seemed to notice and looked over to her with a concerned expression. I slowly began to step toward her, reaching out with my hoof to try and comfort her.

Meanwhile, the screams of agony from the stallion seemed to stop as the leader walked up to him. “Hold on boys! This one’s got spirit…I think he'll do nicely in our work camp, we might even get a raise from the boss!” he chuckled as he took out a set of chains from the cart they had brought along, and snapped them on to the pony’s hooves. They hauled him up and began pushing him toward the wagon, his face was badly cruised and bloody, and one of his eyes had swollen to the point of hardly seeing it.

“No…I can't…take it…I have to…NO!!!!!” Crystal cried out in anger as she, took off at full speed to the trio, even kicking up dirt in launch.

“Crystal! Wait!” I yelled after her as I took off after her, but I was quickly surprised to see Fleet running beside me. We both turned back in time to see Crystal ram one of the stallions right in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby table. Everypony in the crowd watched with awed expressions, as the second stallion turned to her and reeled his hoof back to smack her, but not before I reached him and grabbed his hoof in mine.

He turned to me with a surprised expression as I narrowed my eyes at him, “Keep your filthy hooves of my friend asshole!” I said as I twisted his hoof to the side, causing him to cry out in pain, to which I simply spun around and balanced on my front hooves and delivered a powerful kick, which sent him flying into the wagon, nearly knocking it over.

The leader turned to me with a snarl, and pulled back his cloak, and unsheathed a sword, and got into a fighting position. “You little bitch! I’ll teach you a lesson, you and your little bitch friend!” he said as he charged at me, but since he was a Pegasus, he had to take off in flight to charge at me. I readied myself into a fighting position and narrowed my eyes, just as he stopped and swung his blade at me, I leaned back to dodge, the blade narrowly missing my throat.

I jumped back and looked for the nearest weapon, or something I could make into a weapon. I looked to my side and saw a candle holder, and gripped it with my magic, and brought it in front of me as defense, just as he brought his sword down. The force of his attack knocked me on to my back, to which he quickly jumped on me and tried to push his sword down to my throat.

“STAR!” I heard Crystal cry out as she removed the chains from the younger stallion. I looked around for the best method of escape, because I knew I couldn’t keep this up much longer. I narrowed my eyes and shifted my hooves so that I could kick him.

Come on! Have to think fast!

He tried his hardest to force his blade down, but I quickly reeled back my back hooves and delivered a powerful kick to his stomach, which knocked the wind out of him. He cried out with a shocked expression, as I pushed myself up and turned to him, just as he turned around and leaned up against the wagon, trying to catch his breath. I looked down at the candle holder and growled at him as I charged at him.

Time seemed to slow around me, but I cried out in anger, as I raised my weapon up high. But as he turned to me, I felt my blood run cold as I came face to face with myself, only my eyes were glowing white! I stopped in my place, just as the stallion’s face returned to normal, and he flipped his sword around and bashed me in the face with the hilt.

I felt the pain rack through my body, as I cried out in pain as I stumbled back, as he took the opportunity and charged at me, swinging his sword again. I felt the stinging pain, as the edge of his blade cut into my cheek, making it bleed lightly. But his speed forced me to trip and fall on to my back again, only to look up and see him draw out a pistol and point it right at me, making so I could stare down the barrel.

My eyes widened in fear, as I stared down the dark hole that was my death, but before anything could happen to me. I watched as a large rock had flown by and smashed into the side of his head, knocking him against a nearby wall, I watched in shock as he fell to the floor unconscious.

Both Crystal and I turned our heads to see Fleet standing there, with a shocked expression on his face, still stuck in the throwing position. The ponies of the crowd simply watched with shock and awe, and slowly stepped away from him. Crystal rushed over to me and helped me up, continuously asking me is I as okay. But my focus was kept on Fleet, who looked down in shock at his own hoof, the hoof that could have very well ended a pony’s life.

I was helped up by Crystal, but I was still in shock from the events that happened all too quick, even as the stinging sensation on my cheek continued. I watched as Fleet turned to the other young stallion and ran to his side, but before I could follow him with my gaze, I focused on the pony standing behind him in the crowd.

A mare with a solid white coat and a golden mane!

My eyes widened at her, but she simply smiled and nodded, before turning and walking off into the crowd. Time resumed it’s normal speed, but I quickly turned to see Crystal staring worriedly into my eyes. “Star! Hey Star! Come on, snap out of it!” she said as she shook me, to which I looked at her and shook myself back to reality, rubbing my head as it thumped.

“I’m fine Crystal, really! Don’t worry about me.” I said as we both turned to see Fleet attending to the young stallion.

“Somepony get a doctor! We need a doctor!” Fleet yelled to the crowd, and finally some ponies from the group stepped forward and lifted the poor unconscious pony and carried him off. The three of us watched, as other ponies dressed in law enforcement attire showed up and cuffed the three bandits. They moved to open the wagon, and we watched with shocked eyes as a few young ponies stepped out, all various ages, some of them even little fillies and colts.

I felt a heavy feeling sink into my heart, as I turned to look at Crystal, only to see the shocked, and yet, regretful expression on her face. Fleet had a similar look, but he quickly shook that off and walked off, to which we both soon followed, knowing we were going to get the lecture of a lifetime.

Worst. Birthday. Ever.
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Crystal and I had returned to my room, where she helped treat my wound, the entire time Cross Fire paced angrily back and forth, muttering to himself. “I can't believe you would do something so stupid!” he said to us, or more specifically to Crystal, since it was her that was the initial cause of the fight.

We both sat on the side of my bed, while Crystal dabbed my cut with medicine, she sighed and turned to Cross. “Would you have preferred that I simply let those bastards, beat that poor stallion and drag him off?” she asked him with a stern tone.

Cross Fire groaned in annoyance, “No! That is not what I'm saying. But we have other priorities, than to worry about every ponies petty problem’s.” he said to us, as he sat down and began rubbing his temple, “you two are nothing but trouble…” he said with a quiet tone.

As Crystal finished placing a bandage on my cheek, I pushed her away and moved toward Cross with a frown. “Well excuse us for wanting to help ponies in need! I don't know if you've done your research, or if you even care, but Crystal was a victim like that young stallion, when she was very young! Her family’s shop was constantly extorted by bandits, and they eventually went too far and beat and dragged her mother off, and even killed her father! Did you even care to think, that maybe she couldn't watch that happen to another innocent family!” I yelled at him.

He looked at me with momentary shock, as he stood up, but he quickly sighed and turned to face me. “I'm well aware of Crystal’s past, and I can understand the desire to help those in need, I would have done the same at your age. But, you must realize this…our mission, getting you two to the Light Seeker’s, is of the gravest importance.” He said as he made his way to the door.

As he grabbed on to the knob with his magic, he turned back to us, “The ship that will be taking us to Las Pegasus tomorrow. So I suggest you all get an good night of rest, and pack your things, we'll be lucky if they let us stay another night.” He said as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. I couldn't help but sigh sadly as I looked down for a moment, and feel back on to my haunches.

I heard the bed springs groan as Crystal got off the bed and walked over to me, “You didn't have to do that for me. It was my fault that you got hurt. That stallion nearly killed you!” she said in a concerned tone.

I couldn't help but turn to her and smile, as she helped me up again. “Yes I did, I know what we did was right. It still surprises me that none of the ponies in the crowd even moved an inch to help. Fleet was right about this place, their all nothing but cowards.” I said with a grim look on my face.

Crystal looked at me with a concerned look, but she quickly cleared her throat, and walked over to the door. “Alright then, I'm going to go to my room and pack, just in case I don’t see you until tomorrow, good night.” She said in a quiet tone, as she opened the door and stepped out.
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After making sure everything I wouldn’t need for tonight, was packed up in it’s case, I decided to go down and grab a small bit to eat, since it was only evening. I calmly walked down the hall, to the stairs where I could hear a group of ponies talking with Fleet’s mother.

“…I know Fleet was involved with today’s…incident. Now, I'm well aware that you and your son are highly respected members of this community, Radiance, so I'll let this one slide. But, should I find out that he either instigates or partakes in another incident such as this, I will have no choice but to enforce the law on him. Am I understood, Radiance?” I heard a deep male voice ask with a questioning tone.

I stopped at the top of the stairwell, and moved to the side, just enough so that I could see the speaker. “Yes mayor Brick, I completely understand! Fleet will make no moves against our esteemed ‘guests’” I heard Fleet’s mom reply, or I guess her name was Radiance.

I looked down the stairs just enough to see this ‘Mayor’ pony. As I peeked down, I saw an older earth pony stallion, standing next to two Pegasus guards, dressed in police attire. He had a dark brown coat and a dull yellow mane, and a pair of broad glasses on his face. He frowned slightly and cleared his throat, “excellent! Glad we could come to that understanding. Now then, I've been told that our latest ‘guests’ are leaving tomorrow?” he asked in a more stern tone, as he fixed his glasses.

I could see Radiance look over to Fleet, with a worried look, to which he sadly nodded, “Yes Mayor, as far as I'm concerned, they'll be out of our hair soon enough.” she said in a straight tone. The Mayor nodded and made his way to the door, but just as one of his Pegasus guards moved to open it, he looked up the stairs and our eyes met. He simply stared at me with a stern expression, but quickly pushed his glasses up again, and walked through the door, the other guard closing it behind them.

I cautiously stepped down the stairs, and came into Radiance’s view. She looked up at me and frowned, but it wasn't a frown of anger, but something more of remorse, even borderline fear. She quickly turned to Fleet, “Fleet? Why don’t you take Violet and run to the market place. We are in need of a few things.” She said to him.

Fleet looked between me and his mother, and nodded before turning and calling to Violet. “Violet? Mom wants us to run to the market! Let’s go!” he said, as the young filly came running from the kitchen, and he helped her on to his back. As they walked past, he flashed me a sad look, but quickly looked away as he made his way to the door.

Soon it was just Radiance and I, “I'm sorry. For everything I’ve caused here. I never meant for Fleet to get involved, I was just trying to help my friend. I can understand if Fleet hate’s me now, I've put you and your family in jeopardy.” I said to her with a sad look in my eyes. Luckily for us the main hall was empty, so it was just left us two there.

I was surprised when she smiled and stepped forward, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “You listen here! You have nothing to apologize for, you saved that young stallion from being hauled off to a bandit prison camp, and not just him, but all the other’s as well. You showed these ponies, that they don’t always have to live in fear of those bandits, you've been the major topic on everyone’s lips. Fleet doesn't hate you! In fact, he was quite amazed by you and your friend standing up to those ruffians! He intervened to save your life, because he believes that you could make a difference, and you have. Fleet is right when he calls this town a bunch of cowards, Mayor Brick made a deal with the bandit leader a few decades ago. The bandits would not destroy our town, and they could freely walk around and extort our businesses and kidnap our citizens as much as they pleased. It hardly seems fair, but the bandits outnumber us by a lot, so fear becomes a powerful motivator.” She said as she walked behind the desk.

I was shocked to hear her say that, mostly because I was half-expecting her to shout in my face and tell us all to get out. I shook those thoughts away and walked up to the desk, “but…it won’t matter whence I leave. It seems like things will always stay like this.” I said with a sad look in my eyes.

She smiled at me and moved to the kitchen, and quickly brought out a tray. The tray had two cups on it, and a bottle of fine wine. I watched in confusion as she poured a drink, and pushed it over to me, “I wouldn't say that. Many ponies around town are starting to talk about you and your friend. Many of these ponies may be cowards, but there are a good amount who believe in fighting off the bandits. The only reason they don't act is because the mayor has a tight grip on everypony here, and if they were to act out, they would be banished from the town. About ten years ago, a group of ponies rose up and demanded that we form a task force to try and to rescues our loved on from the camp in Tall Tale. But when nopony else joined them, they were overpowered and banished.” She said in a sorrowful tone.

I drank too and sighed as the cool liquid poured down my throat, after drinking her glass and pouring us both another. “Fleet is a lot like you. He want’s what’s best for ponies, and I hate to see him confined to this town. He’s a strong stallion, but I know he would refuse to leave, on account of his sister and myself. If given the right opportunity, Fleet would do anything in his power to help these ponies.” She said as we continued to drink and chat the evening away.
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After finishing my talk with Radiance, I returned up to my home and decided it was best to get some sleep. The light buzz from the alcohol made me a little sleepy, so I quickly crawled into bed and flipped the light switch off.

The next morning came with ease as I woke up early in the morning, and proceeded to get ready for the day. I went around the room, making sure that I had everything I brought with me, and made sure that I packed it into my suitcase. As I did so, I heard a knock on the door, and turned to see Crystal walk in, with her calm smile on her face. “Morning! Cross is downstairs, you ready to go?” she asked in a calm tone.

I smiled and lifted my suitcase up, and turned to her as a different pony walked into the room, with the cart of all of belongings. I smiled at him and placed my suitcase by him, to which he smiled and lifted it up into the cart, and moved out of the room. I walked with Crystal out the door, and down to the main hall.

As Crystal and I walked down the stairs, we saw Cross and, surpassingly, Silver Heart, sitting at a table, drinking their morning coffee. It was surprising to not see them at each other’s throat, instead they were calmly chatting, as we walked up. Cross stood and turned to us, “Glad to see you didn’t sleep in. we’ll be having some breakfast, before we head over to the port, so eat up!” he said as a different pony came over with plates of food.
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After eating our breakfast, we made one last check to make sure we had everything, and when we were satisfied, we made our way outside. I was surprised to not see Radiance or Fleet through the entirety of our meal, mostly because I wanted to apologize and say my goodbye’s to Fleet. I guess Crystal was right, when she was teasing me about my liking him.

I really did like him. He was like me in many ways, and I thought of him as a good friend. I sighed sadly as we made our way through town, still thinking about the talk I had with radiance, the night before.

“So Cross, if we're going to this ‘Light Seeker Sanctuary’, why don’t we just take this airship to wherever it is?” Crystal asked as we made our way past the town limits. I was cut from my thoughts as Cross answered.

“Technically we're not supposed to be on this ship. It’s a cargo ship set for Las Pegasus, it’s run under the Equestrian Shipping industry. The company keeps close track of their ships, if they were to notice one of their ships going way off it’s path, they would likely report it as a theft to the military. No, when we get to Las Pegasus, we'll be meeting with somepony who is an associate with the Light Seeker’s, he'll help us get into contact with them, and from there they will help us get to the sanctuary.” He said as we made our way on to the field.

Crystal and I widened our eyes, when we saw the large ship, docked on the field. It had the insignia of the ESI on it, and we both smiled as this was the first time we would have ever ridden in an airship.

Cross Fire walked over to another pony and whispered something in his ear, and brought out a bag of bits, to which the stallion smiled and nodded, gesturing for us to go up the ramp. Crystal and I simply watched as Cross turned to us and smiled, motioning for us to follow him up. Crystal smiled and eagerly ran up to him, to which I simply chuckled and began up the ramp.

“Miss Dust! Star! Wait! Please!” I heard a faint voice call out, as I stopped dead in my tracks, and I turned to see a distressed looking Radiance run up to us.

I frowned and got off the ramp and met her at the bottom of the ramp. Her mane was slightly disheveled, and her eyes were lightly blood-shot. “Radiance? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked as Crystal ran to her side as well.

She leaned down to catch her breath, and then looked up to me, tears beginning to form in her eyes, and I could feel a sense of dread wash over, as I feared what she was going to say. “No! It’s Fleet and Violet! They never returned from the market last night! More of those bandit thugs caught up with them, and hauled them both off to the work camp to the south. Please! You have to help me get them back!” she said as tears spilled down her cheeks.

I gasped lightly and turned to Crystal and saw the concerned look in her eyes, she looked at me and nodded in confirmation. I did the same and looked past her at Cross Fire, who simply stood there waiting. I frowned at him with a look of pure determination in my eyes, and shook my head.

“Were not going anywhere!”

Chapter 8: Taking a Stand

Author's Note

Hello, Fellow Readers! I sincerely apologize for being away for such a long time, but i had fallen out of my writing inspiration, and was dealing with my college semester finals as well. It took a few weeks, but i have finally found the inspiration to write more, so i've written another chapter for this story.

I'm sure you all know what i'm going to say, but i'll say it anyway!

Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 8: Taking a Stand

A heavy silence fell between all of us, as I stared up at Cross Fire with a stern expression, determination shining in my eyes. He simply stared blankly at me for a few moments, before he quickly looked down and began to chuckle to himself. I remained as stoic as possible, even as he laughed and gestured to me, to which both Crystal and I remained silent.

He stopped laughing and looked down at me from the top of the ramp, “Wow! That has got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard you say! It’s a noble gesture and all, but we don't have time to be playing games, now come on!” he said as he motioned for us to follow. I simply stood there with a stern expression on my face, and holding my position firm.

When he realized that I wasn't joking, his smile quickly disappeared, “Star…I know this may mean more to you, but we can’t solve the problems of everypony we run in to. You've had plenty of time to enjoy yourself here, now it’s time we move on. I had to reiterate myself, but we have a mission to complete, and that means getting you and your friend as far ahead of the imperials as possible.” He said in an equally stern tone.

I simply stood there, my expression staying the same, as I took a step back, and stared his down, “This isn’t about helping everypony we meet. This is about helping a friend, a friend who saved my life, now I’m not leaving until we help Fleet.” I said in a calm, yet deadly serious tone.

I was momentarily surprised to see Crystal walk off the ramp and stand next to me, a stern expression on her face as well. “Yeah! If Star’s not going then neither am I!” she said with a stomp on the ground to add more emphasis.

We watched a Cross took on a more angry tone as he stepped down the ramp slightly, and glared at us, and we could both tell that he wasn't in a gaming mood. But he was quickly about to find out, that we weren't either.

“Need I remind you, that we have a large number of imperial soldiers tracking us down? My job is to get you to the Light Seeker Sanctuary in one piece, and that’s what I intend to do! Now get on this ship!” he said in a threatening voice, which would normally make us nervous, but we both stood firm.

This time Radiance stepped up and looked toward him with pleading eyes, “Please! I’m not asking you to do this for me, but I’m begging you…as a mother! Please! Help me find my children! I already lost my husband to those bastards, and I can’t lose them too!” she said with a pleading tone.

“Hey gramps, we need to get this ship in the air! You coming or what?” the pony operating the ramp said to him.

I looked back at Radiance and gave a comforting nod, and then turned back to Cross, “We never asked you to escort us there. You want to get on this ship so bad, you’re missing your chance, but Crystal and I are staying. That’s final!” I said with a stomp of my own hoof. Crystal nodded in favor of my comment, as Cross Fire slowly widened his eyes in surprise.

He looked between the two of us with wide eyes of shock, “You…you two are serious about this….aren't you?” he said with a quieter tone.

Crystal and I looked at each other with confident expression and nodded, before turning up to glare at him again. He stared at us with surprised expression, one that neither of us had seen on him before, he brought his hoof up to his chin and thought, directing his attention at me, as if he was studying me closely, for the first time. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, and then looked up to us with his trademark dignified expression, and he took a deep breath and walked down the ramp to us.

The pony operating the ramp shrugged his shoulders and walked up, picking up a radio and pressing a button, “Alright then Captain, were ready for takeoff. Start the engines and let’s get in the air!” he said as he pulled the lever and the ramp slowly began to rise up.

Cross Fire walked past me, and regarded me with a concerned eye, “I truly hope you know what you're doing. That was our ride out of here, and we'll be lucky if we can get another chance.” He said in a worried tone, to which I gave him a comforting smile.

“Don't worry, as soon as we help Fleet and Violet, we'll find a new way to get to Las Pegasus.” I said as I quickly turned to Radiance. “Alright then, let’s get back to the inn!” I said, and she gave a relieved and thankful nod, as we both ran back into town.

I really do hope I know what I'm doing!
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After returning to the inn with radiance, we all gathered around a table, while one of the inn’s helper’s brought us so drinks. As we sat down, Radiance began to tell us what she knew, according to the late night desk manager, Fleet and Violet never came home the entire time he was on duty, and since they had a guard at the backdoor, he never reported seeing them either.

“In this town, it’s very common for the bandits to prowl the streets at night and kidnap any foals they can find, and haul them off to their work camp. I fear that they must have gone after Violet, but Fleet intervened, and they took him as well.” She said as she quietly sipped her drink, her hooves shaking with nervousness.

Cross had seemed content with leaning against the wall near the door, but after she spoke, he walked over and cleared his throat. “With all due respect Mrs. Radiance, I really do understand your fears, and Fleet and Violet seemed like great children. But what makes you think we can help?” he asked in a serious tone, while Crystal and I simply listened.

She looked up to him and then down, “I can only hope you can help me. I didn't know who else to turn to. I knew you would still be in town, so I rushed to the airfield, and caught up with you. I'm truly sorry for disrupting any plans you have made, but…I'm desperate!” she said in a sorrowful tone, she pushed her drink away and began to weep again.

I quickly got up and walked over to her, wrapping one of my hooves around her shoulder, “No! You don't have anything to feel sorry for, we're more than happy to help. Now, do you know where it is they might have taken him?” I asked in a calming tone.

She sighed sadly and wiped the tears from her cheeks, “The most likely option, would be that they took them to their base in Tall Tale. It used to be a thriving community, but the bandits took over and made it their Base of Operations in the north. They take their prisoner’s there, and they eventually ship them off to their other camps across the country. Why?” She said with a sad tone, as she reached for her drink again.

I stood up and stared down at her with a serious expression, still contemplating if this truly was the right thing to do. I turned to see the other’s staring at me with impatient expressions, so I sighed and looked back down at her. “You asked for our help. We'll help you get Fleet and Violet back, and not just them, but any other ponies they might have kidnapped.” I said in a determined tone, while all the ponies in the room turned to me with shocked expressions.

The next thing I heard was the sound of Cross Fire’s chuckling, as he walked over and faced me. “You know, I never thought I could hear of a plan that ridiculous! Planning on rescuing your captive friend’s is one thing, but you're talking about infiltrating an actual bandit camp! That idea alone is the very definition of crazy!” he said to me with an angered tone.

I simply looked back at him and narrowed my eyes slightly, but I remained as calm as I needed to. “Maybe it is, but who’s to say it can't be done? If we do it right, we can get them all out safely. I would like to think that a Master of the Light Seeker Order, would have been taught not to abandon innocent ponies and leave them to suffer, or are you ponies not as high and mighty as you claim to be?” I asked him with a mock tone.

He seemed shocked by my retort, but instead of calling me an ‘insolent child’ or something along those lines as I had expected him to, he simply looked away and sighed sadly. After he remained quiet, I turned back to Radiance, “I promise you, we will get them back…tonight!” I said to her as I turned to Crystal, and looked to her with hopeful eyes.

She looked around and smiled at me, “you know I’m in! You think I'd let you get all the fun?” she said to me as we heard the front door open.

“You can count me in too kid!” we heard a male voice say.

We all turned to see none other than Silver Heart walk over to us with a mischievous smile on his lips. I couldn't resist the smile that spread on my face, as I stepped toward him. “Silver Heart! You want to join us too? There wouldn't be much pay in it.” I asked with a happy expression.

He turned to me and gave a confident nod, but I could see a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “That may be true! But I’ve been waiting nearly ten years for a chance at revenge against those sons of bitches! So I wouldn't miss this for the world! Plus, I told you that Radiance is a friend of mine, and I'm always willing to help a friend out” he said with a confident smile towards her.

Despite his motive’s, I knew it would be a good thing to have him on our side, and then I turned back to radiance and smiled, “There you have it! We'll help you get them back, and stop those bandits once and for all!” I said with a confident glare.

She looked around at us and smiled happily, fresh tears began spilling down her cheeks, but I had a feeling these were tears of joy. “Thank you! Thank you all! But, you won't be able to defeat the bandits with so few. As I'm sure you've heard, I'm one of the more respected members of this community, I know some friends who will gladly help us with this. You're welcome to stay for the night again, I have to go around and do some recruiting!” she said as she stood up quickly and made her way to the door. As she opened it, she looked back at us and gave a happy smile, as she walked out the door.
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We had all returned to the rooms we had just stayed in, earlier in the day, as we knew it would be best to get some rest before we head out. I set my things on the table, and quickly got ready for bed, knowing that I would need to save my energy. I climbed into bed, and despite it being just the afternoon, I managed to drift off into sleep.
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Star Dust…time to wake up now.

I felt the strange voice whisper in my ears, as my eyes slowly began to drift open, and I felt a chilling breeze grace my coat.
You have to get up now, you sure are a lazy bum.

I groaned as the nagging voice, kept me from falling asleep again, and my eyes began to focus better. My eyes began to focus on a gray, hazy looking sky, which felt strange, as I was sure I fell asleep in the bedroom I was staying in. My eyes widened more, as I looked to my left, and saw a white-coated mare standing above me, looking down at me with a gentle smile.

My eyes instantly snapped open and I dodged back and scrambled to my hooves and turned to face the newcomer. My eyes widened again, when I recognized the mare as the one from my previous dream.

The mare with no Cutie Mark!

I looked around and found myself standing in the clearing of a forest, but the entire tree line was engulfed in the same haunting fog as the last time. The only thing that remained visible of the tree’s, were the twisting limbs of the vines.

She kept her calm gaze on me, even as I placed a hoof over my heart and tried to relax, to which she simply chuckled and smiled again, “Wow! You truly are an easy scare! I told you before, there’s nothing to fear here. So…I see you've managed to find your way back to me.” She said with a smug smile. I felt my heart slowly began to relax, as I composed myself better and looked at her, even as she stared me down with that uneasy stare.

“You? You're the pony from my last dream! What do you want? How did I get here?” I spat my questions at her, with an admittedly rude tone, but she didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

She smiled wider and clapped her hooves on the ground in a congratulatory manner, “Very good! It’s nice to know that you actually remember me! Most ponies seem to forget about me when I visit them, but oh well! As for your first question, as I've said before, I'm here to help you.

But for your second question, the answer is more…challenging. You see, this is my world!” she said with a chuckle, as she looked around with a happy smile.

I looked around me again, and then turned to her with a frown, she still smile and spoke up again, “I can see you are confused, which is understandable. So…what do you think? Of my world?” she asked me again, as I thought of the best way to answer.

I quickly decided to go with the answer, that would finally get a different reaction from her, “well…to be honest, it’s not all that great, it’s just seems like a foggy forest clearing! Nothing really special about that!” I said to her, with a slightly cocky tone.

She simply laughed at my false sense of security, which immediately shattered, “Oh dear! You actually think you can actually get me to react in the way you want? That’s quite amusing, but it will take a lot more than that. Now then, I must ask…what are you doing here?” she asked with a more curious look on her face, but the smile still remained.

I looked around nervously, trying to think of the best way to answer the question, I smiled to myself and turned to face her again. “If you truly are as good as you say you are, then I think you already know why I'm here, don't you?” I asked her in a confident tone.

She chuckled to herself, and then looked up at me, her eyes glistening with amusement. “Very good! You are learning from your past experiences! You are correct, I am fully aware of why you are here. You’re here to answer a simple question, or maybe it won't seem so simple to you. There’s one thing I'm not so sure of. This stallion…the one you are trying to rescue, what makes him so special? You've barely known him for a few days, and yet you are willing to risk your own life to save his. Why is that?” she asked me in a calmer tone, as her smile turned into a curious one.

As soon as the question left her lips, I knew what my answer would be, so I took a deep breath, and looked into her bright eyes. “I’m sure you already know why…he saved my life. I think it’s only fair to repay that debt.” I said to her in a confident tone.

She stared at me for a moment with quizzical eyes and then smiled again, as she lowered her head slightly. “Or…is it something else? Something you don't fully understand yourself. Regardless of your reasons, a pony like you wouldn't simply throw herself in harm’s way, unless she felt a genuine connection to the one in need. Doing something like this for your friend Crystal is understandable, but for Fleet…I think it’s something different.” She said in a mocking tone.

It took me a moment to realize what she was hinting at, but when it clicked in my mind, I felt my face heat up slightly. She was teasing me in the same manner as Crystal was a few days ago, and it was already irritating from her. I looked away for a moment and cleared my throat and turned to see, a sly smile spreading across her face.

“If you're implying that I have feelings for Fleet…you're wrong! Like I said, he saved my life, and I think it’s only fair to save his. In the time I've known him, I found out that we are similar, and I think we could use his help on our journey. Nothing more than that! Now then…if you're done playing twenty questions, I have a battle to prepare for! Now let me go!” I yelled at her, but she didn't even move a muscle.

She smiled yet again and stared me in the eyes. “If you wish to leave, you have every option to do so. I have nothing to keep you here, but…before you go…” she said as the smile finally fully fell from her face, and she looked at me with a serious expression.

I felt my heart rate increase slightly, and even though I had been wanting her to drop that disturbing smile, her serious expression made it all the more eerie. “This isn't your first battle, and it certainly won't be your last. You think you've had a true taste of fear, but you’ll be proven wrong in time. Normally I don't do this, but…your case is…special. You can go into this fight, but I must warn you…your friend isn't the only thing you will find. Something dark and powerful awaits you there, and you will have to face it.” She said to me as stared at me dead in the eyes.

I felt a nervous sweat trickle down my face, as she spoke to me, and I felt a sense of fear rise up in me. Not necessarily at her words, but the way she spoke them, and what she meant by them. “What is that supposed to mean? What’s dark and powerful? And why is my case so ‘Special’?” I asked her.

She simply lowered her head and the eerier smile returned to her face, only this one made me feel even more uncomfortable than the other smile’s she had shown me. “You’ll find out in time. I’m afraid our time is coming to an end again. Rest assured, I’ll be keeping an eye on you, and even though you won’t be able to see me, I’ll be watching…always. I wish you luck on your future endeavors…until we meet again!” She said as she gave a slight bow.

My eyes widened and I watched in awe, as she quickly faded into a cloud of fog, and drifted off into the trees. I was about to call after and run, but I quickly found myself being dragged to the ground by a heavy force, and then everything went black around me.
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My eyes began to flutter open, as I found myself, lying on my back, staring right into the ceiling. The strange mare’s parting words, still echoing off into my mind, as I slowly began to sit up. I looked over to the window, and saw that it was nearly night.

I have to stop being surprised by all this

I climbed out of bed, and made my way over to the bathroom to freshen up. It seemed so trivial to be worrying about my dental hygiene, on the eve of what could be a battle, but I ended doing everything I always did after waking up. Just as I finished tying my hair back, I heard a knock on the door, and walked into the room.

As I did, the door opened and Crystal stepped into the doorway, a solemn expression on her face.

“Everypony’s ready downstairs, are you?” she asked with a more concerned tone, but it was something I couldn't blame her for. I walked up to her and smiled, giving her a comforting nod, as we both left the room, and headed for the main hall.
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Walking down the stairs, we saw that a large group of ponies was gathered around a table, with a detailed map of the region. As we walked down, we saw Radiance at the head of the table, and she smiled as she saw up walk up. “Good, you two are here. Now then, since none of us have actually been inside the bandit’s base, somepony will have to scout, and map out the camp for us.” She said looking between all the ponies. Many of which I recognized as some of the shopkeepers from the market, all of which were wearing cloak’s and had visible bulge’s at their side. Indicating that they had brought weapons with them.

We all watched as Silver Heart walked up and looked at everypony, “Don't you worry about that! I've done plenty of scouting mission’s before, I’ll map out the area, and they won't even know I was there!” he said proudly, as he puffed out his chest.

Radiance smiled at him, and then turned to the other ponies, “All of you shall stand by, and wait for our signal. We'll try to open the gate from the inside, and then we'll finish them off for good! Now then, we'll have to be quiet sneaking out, and Mayor Brick will easily notice a large number of ponies leaving, armed with weapons, and try to stop us.” She said turning to my friends and I. she pointed at me, Crystal, Cross Fire, and Silver Heart.

She placed a hoof on the map, but kept her eyes on us, “We'll be the ones to sneak out first, and we'll make our way there. It’s about an hour’s walk, maybe a little longer, since we'll be staying off the roads. From there, we'll sneak our way around and find where they hold the prisoner’s, and then we'll infiltrate the control room and open the gate’s.” she said with a serious look in her eyes.

Everypony quickly voiced their approval of the plan, and started breaking apart, just as Radiance walked over to us. “Are you sure you want to come Radiance? No offense, but you're not exactly young and spry.” Crystal said with a slightly amused tone.

Instead of taking offense to the comment, Radiance quickly chuckled, and pushed her cloak aside, and unsheathed her sword, and swung it a few quick times. “That may be true, I’m not as young as I once was! No doubt Fleet has told you about my history as a mercenary for hire. My late husband and I were known as two of the best ponies for hire, one could buy! It’s been quite some time, but knowing how to fight, is something you never forget.” She said with a large smile, as she sheathed her sword.

I couldn't help but snicker at Crystal’s shock, but I quickly stopped as she walked away and Cross Fire walked up in her place, a straight expression. I kept a calm expression, “What now? Here to try and talk me out of this? I told you before, we are going to rescue Fleet. You're welcome to join us.” I said with a slight irritation in my voice.

He stared at me for a moment, before sighing and looking down. “Actually, I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior. I know you're trying to do the right thing, and I highly respect that. Plus your right, as a Light Seeker, it is my duty to help those in need of it. I gave my word to the other master’s, that I would bring you to the sanctuary, but if we need to forgo that plan to help those in need…so be it. But…this doesn't mean I think you're any less crazy! Aside from that, you'll need this!” he said the last part with an amused tone, as he smiled and levitated my special sword over to me.

I couldn't help but smile back as I hitched it to my side, and followed my friends out the door.
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As we made our way across the square, we quickly noticed that all the ponies had abandoned the street, even though this was about the time they would close up their shops. Not a single pony inhabited the street, as we all made our way across. Even the lights that kept the square lit up, had been put out.

We kept a watchful eye out for any of the Mayor’s police force, knowing that they would make their move any second. I walked in between Radiance and Crystal, as we made our way to the city gate. “Keep an eye out, Mayor Brick isn't just going to let us walk out.” Radiance said as we neared the gate.

FLASH

Two bright lights blinded our vision, and we heard the thundering of hooves around us, as we all huddled together in a circle. We instantly heard the cocking of rifle’s, as the light’s quickly dimmed down. I lowered my hoof, and looked around with a shocked expression, as I saw that we had quickly become surrounded by Mayor Brick’s police force. Each of them had rifles pointed at us, some grasped in levitation, others held by hooves or in mouths.

Just as I was about to reach for my weapon, I felt a hoof touch the hilt, and I looked up to see Cross look down at me and shake his head. I sighed and released it, as we all turned to see the Mayor himself step out of the row of officer’s and stand before us.

“If you honestly thought that you could sneak out of my city undetected, you're all dumber than you look!” he said with a stern expression, but he held a certain professionalism to him, that sent a chill of nervousness through me.

We remained silent at first, until Radiance stepped forward and stared him down. “We are leaving Brick! There’s nothing you can do to stop us!” she yelled out with fierce determination. As we all looked at her with surprise, as even the ponies who had known her for years widened their eyes in shock. For years, they had known her as the quiet, kindly inn keeper, but now they got see a different side to her.

The Mayor frowned at her and sighed, “As far as I'm concerned, the disobeying of the town law, makes you all criminals! Should I even begin to list your offenses?” he asked her in a mocking tone.

Radiance scowled again as she planted her hooves firmly, “Laws that you put into place, without the consent of the citizen’s! For years we have lived under constant fear from these bandits, forced to give in to their whims! But, since that’s not enough, they see fit to kidnap our children too? No! This has gone on long enough! We are getting our children back!” she yelled at him, as some of the ponies in our group cheered her on.

I couldn't help but feel a nervous sweat trickle down my face, curious as to how this might play out. The Mayor simply looked at her with a calm expression, before sighing and removing his glasses. “Radiance…I understand where you’re coming from, truly I do. But, have you forgotten that for all these past decades, we have managed to co-exist with the bandits? If things were different, they would slaughter us all, easily! I have kept order in this city, and now you are threatening to unravel it!” he said gesturing to her.

Radiance scoffed at his claim, and didn't budge a muscle, “But at what cost? Our dignity? Your so called ‘Order’ is just a cover for us living in fear! We all know of the deal you made with the bandit clan leader! You are your family remain safe, while the rest of us are easy game! But no more! We're tired of living in fear of your rule! You can’t stop us!” she yelled at him, but he sighed again and put his glasses back on.

“Oh Radiance…I thought you would be more rational about this. As much as I consider you a friend, you give me no choice but to place you all under arrest! Take her!” he yelled as he stepped back, and signaled for his armed guards to step toward her.

I felt my heart rate increase, as four guards began to close in on her. I felt myself tense up as I reached for the hilt of my sword with my magic, but since Cross didn’t stop me, I gripped it and unsheathed it. I cried out as I rushed through the crowd, and instantly knocked back all the guards with a quick swipe of my sword, sending them all back, with little injury. The Mayor quickly looked at me with a shocked expression, as I stood up fully, just as the guards pushed themselves up, and looked back at him.

“You won’t go anywhere near her!” I said in a threatening tone.

Before anypony else could make a move, I watched as Cross Fire stepped up next to me, and reached into his pocket. I watched in amazement, as he pulled out a medallion from his pocket, and made sure all could see it. “If I may speak now Mayor Brick? My name is Cross Fire, and I am one of the head masters of the Order of the Light Seeker’s! This medallion proves my rank and status, and within the boundaries of that right, I am hereby claiming this mission to be fully sanctioned by the Order! That being said, you are free to try and stop us, but I must warn you…doing so will be considered an act of war on the Order, and we shall come with full force in retaliation!” he yelled across the crowd.

I turned back to see many of the ponies in the crowd gasp in shock, and begin to whisper amongst themselves. I looked over to Crystal, and saw the helpless expression on her face, as she shrugged at me. Even the police force, began to lower their weapons in hesitation, as they all looked to Brick for further orders.

He looked on with a shocked expression, as he looked between his police force, but quickly look back to Cross and narrowed his eyes. “And what if I were to call your bluff? What if I were to have you shot dead in the street? The Light Seekers have only existed in history books, how do I know if you're telling the truth?” The Mayor retorted back.

I watched with a confused expression, but Cross simply smiled and chuckled to himself, as this clearly wasn't the first time he faced the threat of death. “I can assure you that we are very real! But, whether you believe me or not is your choice! I've already laid out my warning, and if you do not let us pass, it will be considered an act of premeditated violence, and we will reign down on you! You seem like a stallion of logic and reason, so I'll leave it up to you! So long as this mission is under my command, if we are harmed now, during, or any time before our mission is complete, violence will be met with more violence. As a pony of reason, I trust we can be assured our safe return? I trust that none of these ponies will be harmed upon our return?” he asked in a more confident tone.

I couldn't help but watch in amazement, as he pulled a new trick from his sleeve. He looked back at me and winked, to which I looked back to Silver Heart and Crystal and nodded to them.

We all turned back to see the Mayor heavily contemplating his options, he glared angrily at Cross, and then toward me, and then toward Radiance. I couldn't help but smile in triumph, as he sighed in defeat and turned to the officer ponies. “Stand down! You are not to interfere with these ponies, or any job they might be performing. Upon their return, they shall be greeted back into the community. Is that understood!?” he yelled to all of them.

The armed ponies quickly sheathed their weapons, and pulled their rifles back, and saluted to him. All the ponies in our group cheered, as we saw the look of bitter defeat on Brick’s face. He glared angrily at all of us, as the gate opened, and we all quickly made our way out.

We knew we couldn't enjoy our success for too long. The hard part was just around the corner.

Chapter 9: Bandit Camp Raid

After leaving the town limits, we walked off into the forest, taking the path that Radiance had insisted on. We knew the second party would be leaving the town soon, so we would have to have our job done, by the time they got into position. As we walked along the small forest trail, my mind kept reflecting back to what Cross had said in the square. He seemed so calm, even as he revealed who he truly was, and threatened the Mayor.

As we walked for over a half-hour now, he had chosen to remain silent for the majority of our small trip, as I could see that he too was partially surprised by his actions. I sped up my pace to catch up to him, and then matched his, “Hey Cross Fire? About what you said back there. Did you really mean it?” I asked, in a nervous tone.

He looked down to me with a comforting smile, “Yes and No. As one of the highest ranking master’s in the order, each of us is given a particular job to oversee. My job is to manage and maintain the missions we send our agents out to do. Satchel’s job was to oversee the education of our youngest, which is why he was tasked with taking care of you! Anyway, my job is to make sure our missions go according to plan. To be completely honest, I am not authorized to declare our presence to the world, not without the Grand Master’s permission. ” He said as we walked along.

I looked at him with great interest as he told me more about the Order, to which I grew more and more curious. “Why? Why weren’t you authorized to do that?” I asked him as we slowly began to trail behind the group.

He glanced briefly at me and cleared his throat. “The Mayor was right when he said the Light Seeker’s only existed in history books, and that’s the way it should be! For many decades now, we’ve managed to remain a secret from the world, until we could mount a true comeback, and announce our presence once again! The Grand Master made it clear that we are not to reveal ourselves, until we get you there safely.” He said as we continued walking.

Before I could ask any other questions about the subject, Silver Heart dropped down and began hovering next to us as we walked, “Hate to cut in on your conversation, but were almost there.” He said as he flew back up. Despite all that, I shook off the feeling and turned ahead, as we crested a small hill, and looked down to see the remains of a once large community. It wasn’t quite the size of Van Hoover, but it definitely seemed to be an ideal community. Now the majority had been reduced to rubble, as only one part remained mostly intact.

A large palisade surrounded one portion of the city, where we saw multiple groups of bandits walking around. We all crouched on the hill, as Radiance pulled out a pair of binoculars, and peered through them, just as Silver Heart took off into the air.

“Hmm, the place doesn’t seem to be too heavily guarded. But I see some imperial soldier walking around as well. The rumors were true! Those bastards are selling some of their captive’s to bolster the military ranks!” She said as she passed the binoculars to me, her voice seething with anger.

I looked through them and scanned the area, being able to see much closer at the bandits. I focused my vision and looked around, until I saw a group of chained up ponies being led into a building. I focused in on them, as I gasped when my eyes fell on one particular stallion.

Fleet!

I felt a wave of happiness wash over me, as I say that he was still alive, but I quickly became frustrated, when I couldn't spot Violet. “There’s Fleet, he’s being led into a building I can't see from here. But, I can't seem to locate Violet.” I said as I passed the binocular’s to Cross, and turned toward Radiance. She sighed and then looked forward, narrowing her eyes in determination.

A few minutes passed as we readied everything we would need, just as we heard the flapping of Pegasus wings, as we all turned to see Silver Heart land by us. “Well…the good news is, there’s not many bandit’s at this camp! The bad news…there’s an awful lot of imperial soldiers walking about. There’s multiple squads walking around, which could mean they have a higher ranking officer down there as well. The prison is next to the wall, so we should be able to sneak along the perimeter of the wall, and hop over behind the building.” He said with a confident tone.

We all looked at each other and exchanged confident nods, as we all made our way down the hill, walking as quietly as we could.
________________________________________

After splitting up with the main group, our little posse carefully made our way along the perimeter of the wall. We made sure to hug along the wall, as to avoid the watchtowers above us, which occasionally shined spotlights in our direction. We had too many close calls to count, as we had to stay perfectly still as the lights passed near us. Even as we moved along the wall, I was still struggling with the idea of my actually being here! Here I was, about to break into a bandit camp, to rescue a stallion I hadn't even known a week!

I didn't have long to ponder the idea, as we quickly came up to the spot that Silver had pointed out. He landed in front and turned to us, “Okay! When I was scouting, I found a weak spot in the wall, and cut a hole big enough for us to squeeze through. But we have to be quick, the hole is within sight of a tower, and they'll alert the whole camp, if we get seen!” he whispered sharply at us. We all nodded as he flapped his wings, and drifted up to the top of the wall, clearly looking out for the spotlight.

I looked down and gathered around my friends and looked up, just as Silver reached out his hooves. After a few tense moment of silence, his eyes widened, and he urgently motioned for us to run through. I looked down to see Radiance kick the wall in, as she ducked in, and motioned for us to follow after. Cross moved to the side and let Crystal and I through first, and he ran in after us.

We all practically leaped to the wall, as Cross neatly placed the cover back on the hole as Silver landed next to me. “Keep to the wall! The spotlight doesn't have a large enough angle to see us back here.” He said as he leaned forward just enough to look at the tower. He gasped and leaned back, just as the light crossed over the wall where we just were, and hovered there for a few seconds. I could feel sweat drip down my forehead, as I covered my mouth with my hoof, to try and stifle any noises that I made.

After a moment, the light moved back, presumably to check another section of the wall. We all gave a heavy sigh of relief, and turned to Silver Heart, since he seemed to know the layout of the base better than we did. “Alright then! The gate control room is most likely in the chief’s office. Star Dust…I think it’s best if you call the shots.” He said to me with a confident expression. I stared up at him for a moment with a surprised expression, and turned back to see Crystal give me a confident nod, as well as Cross and Radiance.

I turned back to him and thought it over for a moment. “I got it! Silver? You and Radiance make your way over to the armory, while the rest of us infiltrate the prison, and get Fleet and as many others as possible out! If everything goes according to plan, we'll meet up with you two there.” I said in a hushed tone.

I could immediately see the worried expression come over Crystal’s face, and I knew she was going to object. “What about you?” she asked in a concerned tone.

I took a deep breath and smiled at her, “After we rescue the prisoner’s, we'll take them to meet the others!” I said to her in a confident tone. I could already see the objections rise in her mind, as I spoke. But I was quickly surprised to see her sigh and nod at me.

“Okay, just make sure to stay safe, and don't get caught.” She said as I turned to Radiance and nodded. She nodded back and ran over to Silver, and they both leaned out as they waited for the right moment to make a break for it. They would have to make their way to the armory without being spotted by guards, but I had a feeling they could make it, I had every confidence in them.

Before they left, Silver looked back to me, “One last thing. Try to use as little magic as possible, the military had placed a few Magic Detectors around the camp. I saw a few of them, as I flew around. You should be able get away with some minor levitation, but don't use any offensive spells, or they’ll be on you like flies to rotting food!” He said as he returned to Radiance. In one quick burst, they bolted ahead and managed to dodge behind another building, just as a light past where they were, and focused back to our spot. Leaning back against the wall, I looked across and saw them, to which they nodded and continued on.

After the spotlight moved away again, I turned to my friends and nodded again. “Okay, we need to find a way inside…” I said as I looked up and saw an open window above us, with a light shining through. I looked at Crystal and nodded.

She smiled and I stepped right beneath the window, and leaned up, placing my front hooves on the wall. “Come on! I’ll boost you, and then you help me up.” I said to her, and nodded. She slowly began to climb on to my back, luckily for me, she wasn't very heavy for her age. As she scrambled into the window, I sighed when I heard the light clop of hooves inside.

I looked over to Cross Fire and motioned for him to do the same, but to my surprise, he simply shook his head and chuckled, “Me? Not a chance! I have my own way inside. Something less…cliché.” He said as Crystal reappeared in the window, and leaned forward, offering her hooves to me. I knew I wouldn't have time to question him, but I quickly grabbed Crystal’s hooves and she pulled me inside.

I groaned as I landed in the cramped room, and was surprised to see it was a simply broom closet, just big enough for us. After dusting myself off, and waiting to see if any guards had heard us, I sighed with relief as everything was quiet outside. “Hey! Where’s Cross?” Crystal asked, and I was about to shrug my shoulders, when I heard a slight humming sound, and we both turned to see a hoof stick through the wall behind us.

The hoof was transparent, and we watched with wonder as Cross himself, slowly walked through the wall, his entire body had turned transparent! Crystal and I simply stared at him in amazement, to which he simply smiled. “How in Equestria did you do that?” I found myself asking him.

He simply smiled at me, and flicked his horn, and his body returned to normal. “A transparency spell. Only high level unicorns can master it, but I can assure you…you learn this spell, and many like it when we reach the sanctuary. Now then…let’s make sure the coast is clear.”
________________________________________

After using a crafty spell, that allowed him to see through the door, Cross turned back to us. “Okay, I don't see any guards, so now will be our best chance to make a break for it.” He said as he moved to open the door. But before he could open the door even the slightest, Crystal spoke up.

“Wait a minute! It might be better for us to split up! Star and I will check the lower level, while you run through the upper level.” She said, and Cross and I looked to each other and nodded.

“She’s right! The quicker we cover more ground the better. Cross Fire, I think you'll be able to handle yourself alone, right?” I asked him with a calm expression. He nodded to me and checked the door again, to make sure there were no guards around us.

“I may be old, but I can do more than just handle myself against a few bandits! I don't think you need me to tell you to be careful, these bandits will be all too happy to kill you! If you can, incapacitate the guards, if they see you, they will alert the whole camp to our presence.

Good luck!” he said as he slowly opened the door, enough to poke his head out and look around.

We both watched as he expertly snuck along the hall, until he presumably turned up a flight of stairs and disappeared. I turned to Crystal and nodded to her, “You ready?” I asked her in a straight tone.

She smiled at me and gave me a confident nod, “I always got your back.” She said in a comforting tone, which caused me to smile back at her. With a quick nod, we began to slowly creep down the hall, hoping not to get caught.
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Since neither of us had ever had any experience in sneaking, we were both greatly surprised to have not been caught by this point. We slowly snuck along the wall, being as quiet as we possibly could, until we came up to another hall.

“You hear something?” A deeper male voice cut through the air.

Crystal and I instantly seized up, and waited for a moment to see if the owner of the voice would come rushing around the corner and spot us.

“Forget about it! This building is one of the oldest in the camp, so it was probably just some leaky pipe down the hall. Anyway, what was it you were telling me about the Imperials?” a second male spoke out, and we both let out a deep sigh of relief.

We slowly snuck to the corner, and I quietly leaned out and looked to see two armored guards standing at the far end of the hall, facing away from us. They were dressed in regular bandit armor, and had swords strapped to their sides. I leaned back and turned to Crystal, and gave her a confident nod.

She simply gave me a confused look, as I turned back and in one quick swoop, I leaped across the hall, and landed quietly on the other side, to which I quickly leaned up against the wall, and looked back to her. When I didn't hear any particular reaction from the guards, I looked back to her, and saw her let out a silent groan of frustration at my lack of caution. Just as I leaned back to check on the guards, I heard them speak up again.

“Oh yeah! Look, all I know, is that some big higher up is visiting here, under the orders of the Emperor himself! Who knows, maybe we'll get an extra big payday if they like some of our prisoner’s.” the first one said as they continued talking amongst themselves.

As they did so, I looked back across at Crystal and nodded at her. “Anyway, I have to make another round. So I'll catch up with you later for drinks!” the first one said again, as he said goodbye to his fellow guard. Crystal quickly looked at me with a panicked expression, but I simply raised my hoof to her and looked around the corner. My eyes widened, as I saw one of the guards turn and walk down the hall toward us, while the second went in the opposite direction and vanished around a corner further up the hall.

As I watched the one bandit guard make his way toward us, I quickly remembered my sword and looked down at it. I took a deep breath and gripped the hilt with my magic, and slowly unsheathed it and looked across at Crystal. I saw her eyes widen at the sight, as she began to mouth words at me. Even though I couldn't fully understand them, I was pretty sure, she was begging me not to kill him.

Before I could react, the guard turned the corner in her direction, and I stepped into view of the hall. “Hey! How did you ge-“ he tried to say, as his eyes fell on Crystal, but he didn't get the chance to finish, as I bashed him over the head with the hilt of my sword. The blow knocked him out cold, as he crumpled to the floor at Crystal’s hooves. I took a deep breath, and looked up at her as I sheathed my sword, and began to grab the stallion’s hooves.

“What are you doing?” she asked me, as she began to calm down from that moment of shock.

“We can't let them find the body, or they'll definitely known we were here. Are you going to help me or not?” I asked her in a calm fashion. She looked at me and groaned, clearly not liking the idea of dragging an unconsciousness stallion around, but she knew I was right.

It took a few moments, but we managed to drag the stallion’s body back to the broom closet, and push him inside. We both quickly made our back to the hall, and began to slowly sneak along the next wall, until we made it to the next corner. After doing so, I held my hoof back to her, and leaned around the corner to see, but sighed with relief when I didn't see any guards walking down toward us.

I looked back to her and motioned for her to follow as we turned and walked at a fast pace, until we came across a row of cells, all kept shut by heavy metal bars. As we came up to the first cell, we saw a small group of stallions and mares, of varying ages and some of them in worse conditions, but they all looked disheveled.

One of the stallions in the first cell, looked up at us and gave us a confused expression. “Huh? Who are you?” he asked in a weak tone.

I walked up to the bars and looked at the lock, to check if it had any weakened spots, but they were brand new locks. “It’s going to be okay! My friend and I are here to break you all out, but you have to be quiet!” I hissed at them. Just as I began to shake the bars in frustration, I heard a gasp from the next cell, and somepony run up to the bars.

“Star! Crystal! I'm over here!” I heard a familiar male voice call out to us in a hushed tone.

Fleet! Thank Celestia he's okay!

I felt a surprising wave of relief wash over me as I ran over to the cell he was in, “Fleet! We're so glad to have found you!” I said to him as I stood in front of him. He looked a little beat up, as he had a few bruises on his body, and a small cut on his forehead, but it was already in the process of healing.

He had a disbelieving smile on his face, as if he was believing that we were nothing more than his imagination, but I could also tell that he knew his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

“I’m glad to see you both as well! But…what are you doing here? How did you get in here?” he asked as I walked over to the cell door and began to fiddle with the lock.

“Everything is going to be fine. We're here to break you and the other prisoners out! We've brought a few friends as well! We're going to make sure these bandits never mess with Van Hoover again!” I said as I frustratingly kicked the gate, which gave off a louder squeak than I intended, as the sound vibrated through the hall.

I instantly froze, as I heard a pony call out in the distance, and the approaching sound of hooves. Both Crystal and I turned to see a guard pony run up from the hall we just came up from, and turn to us.

“Hey! What are you two doing he-“ he tried to say, before a hooded pony jumped from the hall and slammed the pony into the wall, with enough force to knock him unconscious. Both Crystal and I simply stared with wide eyes, as the pony turned to us and removed their hood, revealing to be none other than Cross.

“I can't even leave you two alone for a few minutes, without you nearly getting caught!” he said in a louder voice than I had hoped.

“Cross! We have to be quiet, there still might be guards around!” I hissed at him urgently, but he simply smiled at me, and reached into his bag, and threw a ring of keys to my hooves.

“You don't have to worry about them. I've incapacitated all the guards upstairs, and this guard was the last one. I found those keys in a supply closet, and freed the prisoner’s upstairs, so we have to be quick! I discovered where the back door was, so we all wouldn't have to fit through the broom closet window.” he said to me as he moved back to the hall.

I immediately went to work, and fiddled with the keys until I found the key to the cell, and opened it for them. I stepped forward and tossed the keys to Crystal, who went to unlock the cell by her, but as I turned back, I was quickly caught up in a hug from Fleet. I immediately felt my face light up on fire, as he cleared his throat, and pushed away from me, his face bright red as well. “Umm…thanks for saving me. But…why are you here? Is it just you three?” he asked, while looking past me as Crystal opened the other cell, letting the other prisoner’s out.

I shook myself out of the previous moment of embarrassment, and cleared my throat, “N-no! There are others with us, but we need to meet up with them near the gate. I’ll explain it later, but we managed to get out of the town with a force big enough to beat these bandits, and make sure they never hurt the ponies of Van Hoover! Let’s get you all out of here!” I said, as we all turned to leave. I couldn't help but feel amused, as they were all too happy to leave.
________________________________________

We quickly followed Cross to the supposed back door, we came up to a different part of the building, and saw another small mass of ponies by the door, but as we walked up to them, Fleet slowed and looked at all of them with a concerned expression. I noticed him slowing, and turned to him, “What’s wrong?” I asked him as I moved to place a hoof on his shoulder.

My voice seemed to shake him out of his trance, as he looked at me, and then to the crowd of ponies. “I…I don't see Violet. Where is she?” he asked, pushing past me and walking up to Cross Fire. The older stallion tuned to Fleet, and frowned slightly, “I’m sorry Mr. Fleet, but your sister wasn't in any of the cells upstairs.” He said in a calm tone, but he did show concern for Fleet and Violet.

Fleet seemed to freeze in shock when he heard the news, but he kept still, the expression frozen on his face. I sighed and looked away for a moment, but I took a deep breath and turned to them all. “Crystal? Cross? Take these ponies to the rendezvous point. I'll meet you there.” I said as I turned and began walking down the hall.

“Wait! Where are you going?” I heard Crystal ask after me, which caused me to stop momentarily, and turn back to her.

I knew she would immediately disagree with my plan, but I knew I had to do it. “I’m going to go further into the base and find Violet, and as many as I possibly can! I can't just leave her here.” I said in a stern tone, but before Crystal could object, Cross Fire beat her to it.

“Listen to me Star Dust. I know you want to help as many ponies as possible, and that’s a noble gesture. But if Miss Violet isn't here, then the most likely option, is that she was already sold, or she was sent to a different camp. Don't waste the time we have now to escape, considering you were the one that devised the plan. Besides, it will be far too dangerous for you to run around a bandit camp alone!” He said to me in his calm demeanor.

Now it was my turn to be cut off as Fleet sighed and spoke up, “She won't be alone…I'll go with her. She’s my sister, and I refuse to just leave her behind! I promised I would protect her, and I won't just run away!” he claimed in a stubborn tone. I looked at him with a shocked expression, and I was about to refuse, but then I stopped myself. I looked up, and saw the sheer determination in his eyes, and I saw the determination to protect his younger sibling at all costs. I knew I could never hope to understand that desire, since I was an only child, but I knew it would be wrong of me to deny him that.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, “Okay, Fleet and I will make our way across the camp and find Violet and the other young foals! You two have to meet with Radiance and Silver Heart, and get that gate open! If we're not back in 10 minutes…start the attack.” I said to them, but Crystal quickly stepped forward.

I was prepared for her to slap me, trying to knock the sense back into me, but she simply smiled and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Alright, but this doesn't mean I approve! We'll wait as long as we can, just…make sure you all get out safely.” She said as she wrapped me in a big hug, which greatly surprised me, and even made me blush slightly, since she rarely ever did anything like that before. We have given each other plenty of hugs in the past, but this one seemed to have much more emotion put into it.

She quickly pushed away and gave me a confident smile, to which I smiled back and then nodded to Cross, who looked as if he was about to protest in his own way. He quickly stopped himself, as if he was used to my brash antics. I smiled to him and he nodded back, and they all turned and made their way out of the building, while I turned to Fleet and he simply nodded, and we followed them out the door, slipping off in the other direction.
________________________________________

After splitting off from the others, Fleet and I made our way across the camp, via moving along the inside of the outer wall. Fleet had told me that he had overheard some of the guards talking about, the younger prisoner’s being held in the basement of the old sheriff’s office, which looked like many of the buildings in the camp, only it was well guarded, since it was the chief’s office as well. Fleet and I came up alongside the building, and snuck over to a small basement window, as to where we could look inside.

Wiping the window clear so I could peer inside, he kept an eye out for any guards. From what I could see, the basement had definitely be rearranged as a prison, and I scanned the room until I laid eyes a cell in the far corner, and I saw her, and not just her, I could see a small group of fillies and colts huddled together in the cell.

Violet! Thank Celestia she’s okay!

I sighed with relief, and turned to Fleet, “I see her! She’s in the basement, but…how do we get inside to get her?” I asked him. He looked back at me with a concerned expression, but before he could answer me, I saw one of the spotlight’s shine on him. A blaring alarm soon followed, as more spotlights quickly shined on him as well, he quickly turned to me with a panicked look, “You have to get out of here! They’ve only see me! GO!” he said in a panic.

“Hey! You there! Stop!” we heard a guard voice cut through the air.

I felt panic rise in me, as I thought of a way to get inside while I had the chance, before the guards could capture me as well. My mind raced with a thousand options, but I settled with the quickest one, by wrapping my hoof in part of my cloak, and quickly smashing through the window. Luckily, the sound of the alarm masked the shattering glass, and I quickly slid in. just as I did, I heard Fleet cry out in agony, as he was most likely tackled to the ground, or worse. I couldn’t help but feel a guilty pang in my heart, at leaving him to such a fate, but I promised I would get him out.
________________________________________
(Tall Tale Bandit Camp, outside the armory)

As Crystal and Cross Fire made their way alongside the outer wall, they saw Radiance and Silver waiting for them, on the opposite side of the wall from the armory, with Silver cutting a hole in the wall near them.. As they ran up, Radiance sighed with relief and trotted up to them, but slowed, when she didn’t see a sign of Fleet or Violet. “Wait a minute…where’s Fleet? And Violet?” she asked in a concerned tone.

Crystal came to a stop in front of her, and took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to explain the new development. “We…got to the prison, and freed the captives. But…according to Cross Fire, there was no sign of Violet, or any other younger prisoners. Star and Fleet split from us to look around the rest of the camp. They said they would join us soon, we just have to have faith with them.” She said with a confident tone.

Radiance stared at her for a moment, and was about to say something, but was quickly cut off by the sound of a blaring alarm. Our heads all snapped to the center of the camp, where we saw multiple spotlights, fixate on one specific location. Crystal stepped forward and looked on with a worried expression, “Damn! They’ve been caught! We have to go rescue them!” she said in a sorrowful tone.

Cross Fire stepped over to the others, “Alright, we have to accelerate the plan! Let’s get inside and open the gate for the others, hopefully that will buy them the time to escape. Come on!” he said as they all made their way inside.
________________________________________
(Tall Tale Bandit Camp, old sheriff’s station)

The camp chief sat behind his desk, talking with the Emperor’s newest arrival, over the reason as to why he was here.

“While I am honored to know that the Emperor has sent one of his best agents to stay with us for the time being, I can’t help but remain curious, as to why? We have already sent out our last shipment of prisoner’s to your boot camp. Our next shipment isn’t set to go out until next month.” He said in a calm fashion.

He watched as a stallion dressed in sleek black armor stepped from the shadows, his helmet was removed, and he had a calm expression on his face. “I can assure you chief, that I’m not here to collect a shipment. The Emperor has ordered me to locate and capture a wanted criminal, who’s been hiding out in Van Hoover. Once I have said criminal in my custody, my troops and I will leave you to your business.” He said in an equally calm fashion.

Before the chief could say anything back, he looked to see the door fly open, and two of his guard’s dash in with a young stallion they dragged between them. “What is this about? I thought I said I wasn’t to be disturbed? And why is the alarm going off?” the chief asked in a raised voice, but the guards simply threw the young stallion in front of us.

“Sorry chief, but we found this stallion sneaking around outside the station. He’s one of the prisoner’s, but somehow he’s managed to escape. When we captured him, we saw the window to the basement was shattered, so it’s likely he had some help escaping. We sent a guard to check the prison, to see if any other’s got out.” One of the guards said.

The chief simply got up and made his way around the desk, just as the young stallion pushed himself up with a groan. The young stallion had a grey coat, and a striped blue mane, and it looked as if the guards had done a number on him, as he was bleeding lightly from the lip, and had a darkened spot around his left eye. The chief leaned down and motioned to his guards to hoist him up to eye level.

“So…you thought you could escape my camp? Tell me, who else is with you, and where they are hiding.” He said to the young stallion. The young stallion simply groaned as he was forced up into a sitting position.

“You’re wrong! I was trying to break into the basement to get my sister! I didn’t have any help!” the young stallion said with a determined look on his face.

Before the chief could react, the stallion in the black armor stepped forward, and cleared his throat. “Clearly you can see that he’s lying to you. If your security is as good as you say it is, then he’s clearly had some help getting out. I suggest you get your bandits together and handle the situation.” He said in a calm tone, as he suddenly gasped out, his eyes widening in shock, as if the realization had suddenly hit him.

The chief looked up at the black armored stallion and then fully stood up and looked to his guards. “Increase the security by the gate, and check the prison for the others! Take this one back to his cell. Move!” he said to them, and they nodded before turning to run off. But before they could leave the room, they watched as another guard ran into the room out of breath.

“Chief! The prisoners are gone! Some pony knocked out all the guards and freed the prisoner’s!” he said in a panicked tone. The Chief looked at him with a shocked expression, as he turned to the Emperor’s agent, who simply stared blankly for a moment. The stallion shook himself out of his daze and looked back at the Chief.

“I think I might know the leader of this little insurrection. Call your bandits together and prepare to fight. This might be an act from the town’s citizens! Lock down the camp!” he yelled as he turned to his lieutenant and nodded, before putting his helmet back on and making his way out of the room.

The chief stood momentarily frozen, but he quickly looked back down the young stallion. “Throw him in the basement! We’ll deal with him when this is over! Go!” he yelled as the two stallions grabbed the young stallion and dragged him out of the room.
________________________________________

I cried out in pain as some of the remaining glass shards in the frame cut through my coat, resulting in some minor cuts, as I slid through. I groaned as I landed on the floor, and scrambled to slide against the wall, as some of the guards above me ran past the window, shining lights into the basement to look for me.

After they went away, I sighed to myself, and immediately ran over to the cell where the young fillies and colts were being held. They all immediately ran over to the cell bars, and began asking me a flurry of questions.

“Who are you?

“Can you please help us?”

“I want my Mommy and Daddy!”

I rushed over to them, and began fiddling with the lock on the cell, and cried out in frustration at it being locked. “It’s okay children, I’m here to get you out! Violet! Violet are you here?” I asked into the small crowd. Since I never really got the chance to study the details of her body, it made it hard for me to see if she was here.

In a few short seconds, a young familiar filly stepped forward. “Miss Dust! I’m right here! Where’s my brother?” she asked in a worried tone. I was surprised to see her not crying like many others, but she seemed to be a stronger filly than most.

“Your brother is fine. We’ll be meeting up with him and your mother shortly, but right now I have to get you all out of here.” I said as I turned and looked around the room for something to force the cell open. It took me a minute, but I quickly saw a ring hook by the stairs, and saw a small key right dangling from it. I groaned in annoyance and mentally slapped myself, as I ran over and grabbed the keys and unlocked the cell. As I opened the cell, I heard the door to the upstairs open, and two guards drag some pony down with them.

I looked up toward the stairs in a panic, and turned to shush the foals, and closed the door again, quickly racing under the stairs as they came down. “Come on already! Let’s just throw him down there and get going! Why do we have to throw him in with the little brats?” one of the guards said, as they came down I saw the pony they were dragging and recognized him as Fleet!

“The Chief wants to deal with him later. Let’s just drop him and go!” the second one said, as they went over to the cell. I took a deep breath, and slowly looked down and grasped the hilt of my sword once again with my magic.

“Wait a minute, why is the cell unlocked?” the first one asked, and I took the moment to unsheathe my sword, and flip it to the blunt side.

I quickly stepped out and raised the hilt, just as the second one turned to see me step behind his friend. “Look out!!!” he tried to say, but before the first could turn, I cracked him over the head and he fell to the ground. Before I could do the same to the second, he unsheathed his sword and charged at me. with one quick swipe ,he knocked my sword from my grip with one swipe, and reared back and delivered a hard kick to my chest. I cried out in pain, as I was knocked back, feeling the pain rack through my body. I felt an intense dizziness, as I looked up to see the second guard charge at me.

“STAR!!” I heard Fleet call out, and time seemed to slow as he tossed the unconscious guards’ pistol to me. I reached out with my hoof, and caught the pistol, quickly levitating the pistol and aiming it at the guard. I closed my eyes and quickly fired off the round, resulting in a loud boom, and a puff of smoke to erupt from the pistol.

Everything fell silent, as I opened my eyes to look to the results of my action. I looked to where the assaulting guard was, and my eyes widened in shock, as I looked toward his unmoving body, sprawled on the floor, a bleeding hole in his chest. I slowly looked over at the pistol, and saw the smoking barrel, and threw the gun away.

“FLEET!” I heard Violet call out, but it had a distant echo to it, as my eyes fell back on the lifeless corpse of my assailant. My heart racing at a million miles a second, at the thought of the action I just committed.

I killed him! I. Killed. Him!

It’s the natural order of things! how does it feel to have taken a life all on your own? to feel the weight of a pony's life, resting in your hooves!?

I looked up to see Fleet hug Violet, as all the other foals cautiously stepped out, and adjusted to the new situation. I felt a sickness rise up from my stomach, and I could feel a surge of vomit shot up through my throat. I rushed to the corner and coughed it all out, feeling that moment of disgust leave my body, I slowly stood up and felt a hoof on my shoulder.

“Star…I’m sorry…it’s my fault! I made you do that…I…shouldn’t have tossed the pistol to you.” I heard Fleet say to me in as comforting tone as I possibly could. I knew I couldn’t hold it against him, since he acted on instinct, just as I did in firing the round. I fully pushed myself up and wiped my mouth clean, and continued to try and calm my racing mind and heart.

After another few moments of making sure I had coughed it all up, I fully stood up and took a deep breath before turning to him. “It’s not your fault. You did what you could at the moment, and it saved my life. I should thank you…” I said to him as I looked him in the eyes, and walked past him to look up the stairs. He didn’t say anything back to me, but I could just feel the guilt emanating in the room. I calmly walked over and levitated up my sword, and sheathed it back into it’s scabbard.

“We should get going! If the alarm has been set off, then we need to get back to the others. Radiance is probably fearing the worst.” I said to him as I looked back to him. He shook the guilty look off his face, and then turned to see Violet walk over to him, and huddle next to his front hoof.

“Fleet? Are we going to see mommy?” she asked him with innocent eyes. I watched as he leaned down to be eye level with her.

“Yes, we are! But we have to go find her first! She’ll be on the other side of the camp, so you’ll need to follow Miss Dust and myself. Can you do that?” he asked her in as calm a tone as he could muster. Violet looked at him and nodded confidently, and he looked to me and nodded.

I nodded back and walked over to the children, “Okay children! We have to go now. We’re going to find your parents, they’re waiting for us on the other side of the camp. Just follow us, and we’ll get out safely.” I said to them and they all began to follow me, with Fleet tailing in the rear.

I kept a watch for guards as we descended on to the ground floor, “Hey Star, is it getting hot or is it just me?” Fleet asked from behind.

Normally, I would have considered that a joking question, but I couldn't detect any humor in his voice, not to mention I felt it to. As we came up the stairs, I felt an increasing level of heat encompass my body.

As we came to the ground floor, I saw the hall had become thicker with a layer of smoke forming close to the ceiling.

The building was on fire!

“We have to move! Come on children, we need to hurry!” I said to them all as I looked back to Fleet, to which he nodded back. I began to go down the hall, nearly running, when I looked back to see them running with me.

He’s here!

I quickly felt a strange sensation fall over me, one that I had never wished to feel again. It was the same feeling I had that night, the night I was in Satchel’s study. I felt an immense feeling of fear and dread wash over and it caused to stop in place, and freeze up. My muscle’s locked up and refused to move, and everything seemed to slow around me, as my eyes widened in a panic, and a cold sweat. I quickly felt a hoof on my shoulder and I looked over to see Fleet stare at me with a concerned expression.

“Star? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked me, but it was strange to notice that his voice was distant to me. Instead of answering him, my gaze slowly shifted to the hall in front of us, where I quickly saw a group of imperial soldiers run down the hall, but then I saw…him!

The stallion in the black armor!

He slowly stepped into view of the hall, and time seemed to slow even more as he turned to look down the hall at us. I could clearly see that his gaze on me, as well as I could feel it burn into my soul. The unrelenting feeling of fear, made it so I couldn't take my eyes off him.

“Star! We have to go! NOW!” I heard Fleet yell at me, and I turned to him, and then back to the armored stallion.

“Get Them! Kill the others, but bring the girl to me alive!” he shouted, as he pointed down the hall at us.

I looked to Fleet in a panic, “We need to go! We can get out the front door a different way!” I said as I sprinted off in the direction of the way we just came. I quickly looked back to see Fleet and the foals following me, but I could also see the armored stallion following us further down the hall, and even through his helmet, I could see the intent to kill in his eyes.

After turning down another hall, we saw the entrance in our sight, and quickly ran for it, but I stopped to make sure they got through first. As they ran out the door first, I looked back to see the armored stallion turn down the hall we did, and look in my direction. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel him narrow his eyes at me, to which I gulped nervously, and looked around me. I looked up at the ceiling above me, and saw that it was slowly beginning to weaken, and that it would break after much more exposure to the flames.

The idea hit me like a brick, and I looked up, and took a deep breath and focused my magic. I felt my horn glow, as I narrowed my eyes and shot a powerful blast of magic at the ceiling. I smiled to myself, until the realization hit me, that I was still under it. I looked down at him to see charging at me, I scrambled toward the door, and jumped out of the doorway, just as the ceiling broke down, and blocked the main entrance.

I managed to evade the ceiling, but I neglected to mention that the entrance was on a wooden porch, and that I was quickly flying over it, and directly into the dirt. I cried out in pain, as I tumbled next to the floor, and did a roll, to minimize any further pain. I forced the numbing pain from my mind, as I pushed myself up, just as Fleet and the foals ran up to me.

Before either of us could say anything, we heard a loud explosion fill the air, and we all turned to see a shocked sight.

The Citizens. The imperial soldier’s. Fighting!

I was right to assume that Radiance, Silver, and Cross would continue on with the mission, but this turned out to be a bigger battle than I had imagined. Luckily, it looked like we were winning, since we had the advantage of surprise. I turned to look at Fleet, who had just as shocked as I did, “Alright, let’s go find the others! We have to get these foals out of the fighting!” I said to him, and he turned to me and nodded confidently. Just as we began to move, we heard a loud bang from behind us, and turned to see a powerful blast of magic, break through the rubble blocking the entrance to the sheriff’s station.

I felt the fear from earlier return, as I saw the pony in the black armor emerge from the burning building. He calmly stood there, and stepped down the stairs, simply staring at us. Without looking to Fleet, I grasped the hilt of my sword, “Get them out of here Fleet! I’ll hold him off!” I said to him in a calm fashion.

I didn’t need to turn to him to feel his eyes turn towards me in shock and concern. “What! You can’t stand up to him, he just walked out of a burning building, without a scratch on him! He’ll kill you!” he said in an urgent tone. I knew he was just concerned with my safety, and while I was thankful for that, but if anypony could even hope to stand up to him, it was me.

“We don’t have time to argue! Go! Find Crystal and Cross Fire, they’ll help get the foals out of here. Don’t worry about me…I can handle myself!” I said to him, and he just looked at me with concern. I saw the regret in his eyes, but he nodded, and quickly ran off, the foals not needing me to tell them to go, they quickly ran after him.

I took a deep breath, and quickly drew my sword out, and turned to him, just in time to see the building collapse from being engulfed in flames. He simply stood at the bottom of the stairs, and I heard him chuckle, as he unsheathed his own sword, to which I couldn’t help but grow more fearful.

The sword that killed Satchel!

You can do this Star! You just have to be quick!

NO! You have to run! He’ll kill you!

I refuse to keep running! I have to face him!

I took a deep breath and turned to him and raised my sword, to which I simply heard him chuckle. “Very brave of you to send your friend away, and face me yourself. But you've just made my job all that much easier! After I'm done with you, I’ll make sure to make your friends suffer!” he said as he got into a charging position, and burst forward.

Giving his sword a nice swing, I raised my sword to defend myself, and braced for the impact. His sword clashed with mine, and I looked to see our faces a mere inches apart, and I found his strength to be overwhelming, but I managed to barely hold my own. I looked up and could see through the slit of his helmet, and into his eyes.

Those eyes…

He laughed at my struggling, and began to taunt me. “Come on Girl! Where’s all that power you had! Show me what you can truly do!” he said as he broke away, and jumped back.

“It appears you have a blade made from Heart Stone as well! Both my sword and armor are made from the same material, my armor is impervious to any attack, but only a blade made of the same material could counter it affects! At least your former master, had a good taste in weapons. I'll make sure to give it to the Emperor, when I bring you to him.

Before I could even react from his momentary retreat, he launched forward, and swung his blade again, nearly knocked from my grip. After he gave another swing, I ducked under it, and used what moves Satchel had taught me in some of my fighting classes. I readied my sword, and did a quick swipe, to which he jumped back and dodged, as my blade cut a fine line in the dirt.

He laughed as he readied his sword for another attack, “There we go! Let me see what you’re truly capable of! I think Master Satchel would be ashamed of his prized student! I still remember the feeling of shoving my blade into his heart, and hearing his dying gasp!” he taunted me.

I clenched my teeth together in frustration, as the terrible memories resurfaced, and I felt a familiar anger rise in me.

You have no other choice! Just let your anger out! Don't let him taunt you like that!

No! I won’t give into that! Not again….

I felt tears begin to spill down my cheeks, but I managed to suppress them enough to see my foe, and I readied my sword for an attack. I swung my sword back, and cried out in anger as I charged forward.
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Fleet led the foals through the fight, looking for signs of his mother, and came across a group of citizens fighting some imperial soldiers. He looked closely, and felt a wave of relief wash over him, as his eyes fell upon his mother.

“MOM!!!” he cried out, over the roars of the fight around them.

Radiance pushed back an attacking imperial soldier, when she heard a familiar voice, and she turned to see Fleet standing not far away, with Violet by his side. She felt tears of joy fill her eyes, and ran over to the, just as Silver and Cross Fire finished off the remaining soldiers.
Radiance ran over and hugged them both, with tears flowing from her eyes.

“Thank Celestia you two are safe! I was worried sick about you!” she said to them, as Fleet pushed away, but Violet remained, and climbed on to her mother’s back. Before Fleet could answer, Crystal, Silver, and Cross walked up to him.

“Wait a minute, where’s Star? I thought she was with you!” Crystal asked in a panicked mode, and Fleet turned to her with a concerned look.

“We managed to free all the young ones, but we were pursued by this stallion in black armor. I guess he’s one of the imperial’s general’s. She stayed behind, to give us the chance to get to you!” he said in a slightly sad tone. Crystal’s eyes widened, at the mention of the stallion in black armor, and looked back to Cross. He matched her expression, and looked over to Radiance.

“Miss Radiance, get these children out of here! Silver, you come with us!” he said as he charged forward, and Crystal and Silver Heart quickly followed after him.
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As I sung my sword at him, he simply dodged and turned around, and delivered a hard kick to my chest, which sent me flying a few feet away. I groaned as the pain racked my body, but the adrenaline let me stand up quickly, as he ran toward me, and swiped his sword at me. I raised my sword up, and he proceeded to swipe at me a few times, but I managed to block each of them.

I could feel my endurance slowly slipping, but it looked as if he was just barely getting warmed up. He cried out in anger, and swung his sword up, with enough force to knock me on to my back. I hit the ground with a thud, and looked up to see him thrust his sword down at me, but I managed to roll to the side.

Damn! He’s stronger than I remember! I can’t beat him with my sword, but I do have him in a vulnerable position!

If you won’t run, remember your blade! It can be a powerful ally!

My eyes widened, as I remembered what Cross Fire had said to me about my blade, or as it should be called…The Aura Blade. I remember him telling me, that I could use my own magic to amplify it’s abilities, so I knew what to do next.

I looked over to him, and saw the stallion struggling to remove the blade, even as it was firmly planted into the ground. Instead of taking the chance to swipe at him, I looked down to my blade, and saw my reflection in my eyes. I smiled to myself, and slowly closed my eyes, and took a deep breath, letting my magical aura envelope not just the hilt, but the blade as well. The blade began to glow brightly, and I looked over at him and frowned.

I swung it back and then cried out in anger as I swung it toward him, and much to my surprise and his, a slash of magic energy flew from the blade and at him. He looked toward me with a shocked expression, as he pulled the blade out, and turned to block the attack, but was too late. The energy slash, crashed into him, and knocked him back a few feet, and surprisingly sent his helmet flying off his head.

He crashed to the ground, and didn't move for a few moments, as the blow did a big number on him. After letting the energy off, I felt a sensation flow through m, that made my vision blurry, and my muscles ache, but it strangely passed, as I looked toward him. I saw him trying to push himself up, and I decided to take the chance to attack him again.

Swinging my sword to my side, I cried out and charged at him, he managed to push himself up. Just as I was in the motion to swing my sword, he pushed himself up and looked to me, giving me a full view of his face. His face seemed strangely familiar, but I couldn't place from where, and the result made me slow to a stop, and stare at him with wide eyes.

Those eyes! That Face!

His coat was a solid blue, and his mane was chestnut brown, and he simply stared at me with a shocked expression as well. “I…I know you! Your face….who are you!?” I asked him with a shocked expression, nearly dropping my sword from my grip. Instead of answering, he simply growled and his horn glowed, brightly, shooting a powerful blast at me. Too shocked to react in time, I cried out in pain and flew a few feet away, and skidded on my back.

I groaned as I tried to sit up, but I was quickly blocked by him pointing his sword at me. He didn't take the time to put his helmet back on, but he stared at me, with a confused expression on his face. It wasn't fear that filled, but it was a feeling I quite couldn’t explain.

I looked past the blade and at him, and he simply stared me down as well, but it wasn't anger in his eyes, but something akin to sadness and regret. “I…know those eyes! How? How is that possible?” I asked for to myself than to him, but he quickly looked me dead in the eyes, and I saw the look of somepony who recognized me, even though I didn't recognize him. His sad frown turned to one of anger, and he pulled the sword back to thrust it at me, but a blast of magic came out of nowhere, and he quickly jumped back.

He jumped back and levitated his helmet to him, and put it back on. I looked over and saw Crystal, Fleet, and Silver run over to me, and help me up. Crystal had tears of happiness in her eyes as she pulled me into a hug, but I was still in a state of shock, too much to hug her back. “Oh Star! Thank Luna we got here in time. Are you okay?” she asked me, and her questions brought me back to reality.

I looked over to her and groaned as the pain finally hit my body at full force, “yeah…I'm fine.” I said in a distant tone. We all looked over to see Cross Fire turn to face the armored stallion, and draw his sword, who simply stared at him.

“I had a feeling the Emperor would send his personal lapdog, to do his dirty work! I suggest you give up, you're no match for me!” Cross said in the most threatening tone I had ever heard him say.

The stallion simply stared at him blankly for a moment, but refused to draw his sword. “Have you forgotten that I killed your friend in battle, what makes you think you can best me?” he asked in a strangely calm tone.

Cross seemed to tense at that reminder, but he remained calm and dignified, even when facing such a deadly opponent. “That may be true, but Satchel was out of practice. I can assure you, I’ll be a much more worthy opponent!” he said to him with anger in his eyes.

The armored stallion simply frowned and then stepped back, “No. I know when I'm in a battle I can’t win. You have this round, but next time…you won't be able to save her!” he said as he teleported away in a flash. I watched as Cross sighed and sheathed his sword before turning back to me.

“Glad to see you're okay. The rest of the imperials and bandits have retreated into the woods, so…it looks like we won.” He said looking around with a small smile. I tried my best to smile, but I felt an overwhelming sleepiness come over me, and I began to tilt forward. I could see Crystal and Fleet rush over to catch me, but I hit the ground with a thud, and darkness began to encompass my vision.

With the last of my energy, I managed to mutter one last thing.

“Night…Gale…”

Introduction

Destiny.

There are some ponies who believe, that our lives are guided along their path, by some strange, unseen force. A force that we cannot recognize or define with words, but it is there all the same, driving our lives from beginning to our inevitable end. There are some who believe that, there are those who have grander destines than others, and that they are destined to rise up and become hero’s, to conquer great adversaries and challenges. But if you were like me, when I was younger and more stubborn…then you would not believe in such a thing as fate or destiny.

But before I go too far into my life, allow me to explain, how I came to realize what I do now, and how my destiny, helped to shape a new age in Equestria. But before I get into that, let me tell you more about the world that I live in.

The Grand Empire of Equestria.

How you might ask, did the once small kingdom of Equestria, grow into a large Empire? The answer to that question, is a tricky one indeed. Well…if you ask me, it all started with a deal.

The deal between Lord Nocturne and Grey Sky.

Before you ask, allow me explain some things about our history. Lord Nocturne is a very powerful and ancient spirit that dwells in the pits of Tartarus, he was known to have frequently found ways to escape and travel to the mortal world above, to tempt unsuspecting mortals with pacts, that would give them power beyond imagining, but at the price that they sells their lives into servitude. On many occasions’ through Equestria’s history, Princess Celestia and Luna have defeated him, and returned him to his solitude.

It was only a matter of time, before they would fail to stop him.

As history tells it, Nocturne made a deal with a valiant, but greedy young Lieutenant in our army. The deal would be, that Grey Sky would be given unimaginable power, and control over Nocturne’s army of shadowy figures, known as Shade’s. But in return, Grey Sky would use his great power to conquer Equestria and the world, and become his servant. With Nocturne's guidance and leadership, Grey Sky initiated his plan of dominance.

The Princess’s watched helplessly as their kingdom fell around them, as none of Equestria’s soldiers, could best the might Grey Sky’s demonic army. In a final desperate defense of the capitol, Celestia and Luna sacrificed themselves to stop Grey Sky, in doing so, sealing Lord Nocturne in Tartarus for eternity but their sacrifice came to be in vain, as his army rolled across the land, punishing all those who stood in their way.

Soon…the neighboring kingdom’s of Maretonia and Saddle Arabia fell to their army as well. But Grey Sky did not stop there, a few decades after he had taken over the kingdom and cemented himself as the true ruler, the armies of Equestria swore their allegiance to him, and sent his armies across the Great Sea, towards the Gryphon’s homeland. But not just to the east, he sent his armies down south across our border, and right into the heart of the Dragon’s territory as well. With the element of surprise on their side, Grey Sky’s army quickly overtook their land under military occupation.

The war with the gryphons went on for nearly a century, but with the advantage of fighting on their terms, the Gryphon’s had managed to stop Grey Sky’s advances, to the point where the war had reached a temporary halt, and has been for many years after.

All hope seemed lost in our world, but there was a shining light of hope left in the world.

The Light Seeker’s.

The Light Seekers were a society of ponies, founded by Princess Twilight, whose sole duty was to study and unlock the infinite magical possibilities of all pony races. Not long after Grey Sky had conquered Equestria, Princess Twilight enlisted the Light Seeker’s in her quest to fight against Grey Sky. Years later, Princess Twilight mysteriously disappeared under strange circumstances, and the society of magical knowledge seeker’s, quickly found themselves outnumbered and forced into hiding. But they vowed to uphold their promise to the Princess of Magic, and have been fighting ever since.

After conquering Equestria and the surrounding lands, Grey Sky had himself crowned Emperor, and united the lands as one official Empire.

A little over 200 hundred years have passed since then.

My story begins in a small town in the far reaches of Equestria, where I found myself forced into a conflict I wanted nothing to do with. But It was there that I started the journey that changed my life forever, and helped me to realize the true meaning of destiny.

My name is Star Dust, pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Here is my story.

Chapter 5: Encounter in the Forest

After our conversation with Cross Fire over dinner, and what the plan really was, he advised Crystal and myself to get some sleep, since we would have to cover a greater amount of land tomorrow. I would be lying if I said that the sleeping bag I had wasn't comfortable, but for reasons I could not fully explain, I found that sleep continued to elude me thought the night.

I had tried various sleeping positions, but none of them seemed to suit me, until I finally managed to feel the embrace of sleep fill my mind, as I turned on to my side, facing towards the dim fire. Cross Fire had placed a ‘containment’ spell on it, to prevent it from spreading while we slept. I felt the comforting warm feeling from the fire, ease me into sleep, as my eyes eventually drifted closed.
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Star Dust…wake up.

I felt the faint voice tickle in my ears, but I simply brushed it off as Crystal trying to play a trick on me, so I simply kept my eyes closed and tried to drift off back into place.

Star Dust…wake up child.

The voice seemed to come off as louder and more persistent, only this time it didn’t sound like Crystal’s voice. But the alluring call of sleep kept me from opening my eyes, and I simply brushed it away from my ears, as if it was some bothersome fly.

Star Dust…you let me die!

The voice shouted with enough volume, to shatter whatever sleep I had placed myself into, as my eyes shot open, my senses became fully aware of what was happening around me. My eyes focused to my surroundings as I found myself lying on my back, simply staring into an infinite blackness. I slowly rose up into a sitting position, and rubbed my eyes, to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

What in the world?

I slowly pushed myself up until I was fully standing and I looked around. I saw nothing but blackness around me, and with another quick rub to my eyes, I understood that it wasn't my senses playing a trick on me, it was something else.

“Hello? Is anypony there? Crystal? Cross Fire? Hello!!” I called out into the blackness, but I was greeted by nothing except the echo of my voice. Deciding it would be pointless to simply stick around, I began to walk forward, trying to find some answer as to where I was. It felt like I walked for hours on end, but in truth it was only a few minutes, until I felt the familiar feeling of cobblestone under my hooves.

I looked down with curiosity to inspect it and was surprised to find the black, shapeless floor I was walking on, had suddenly turned to a familiar looking cobblestone. I looked up with a confused expression, only to be slapped in the face with more.

The empty blackness I had been walking in, had suddenly turned into a dark, stone hallway, with unlit torches that lines the walls, which equally seemed to stretch on for eternity. I felt a strange sensation wash over me as I looked behind me, only to see that the part that stretched behind me had also turned into a long stone hallway, with no seeable end either.

I began to feel the faintest feeling of a nervous sweat come over me, and I placed a hoof over my heart, and tried to calm myself, by taking a deep breath.

Relax Star, this is…all just some strange dream you’re having! Yeah! Must have been something in that soup!

I tried to rationalize the situation, but each time I did, I felt something nagging in the back of my mind, urging me to rethink my answer. I took a deep breath and continued to walk down the dark, empty hall, which seemed to echo with my hoof steps. After some time, I noticed a faint light begin to grow as I neared what I thought would be the end of the hall.

I felt a wave of relief wash over, as I hoped to finally find something that could help me realize what was happening, but what I really got, only furthered my confusion of this strange place.

As I got closer to the light, I saw the shape of a pony begin to form, which became more and more defined as I stepped closer. The outline began to take the shape of a stallion, but the closer I got the more familiar he looked.

Wait a minute! Satchel!

My mind began to think of the possibilities as to how this could be, but it came up with nothing logical. Indeed, it was Satchel that stood at the end of this dark hall, levitating a lantern beside him, his side facing me, as he examined something on the wall, something I clearly couldn't see.

Despite all that, I felt a comforting wave of relief wash over me, and happiness swell in my heart, which quickly formed to tears in my eyes. “Satchel! It’s Star, I'm here! I'm so happy to see you!” I called out to him as I got closer, but each step I made, seemed to advance me no further towards him, as he simply turned his back to me and walked along the hall. My eyes widened in shock, as he quickly disappeared into thin air.

“Satchel! Wait for me! I’m coming!” I cried out as I broke into full gallop after him, only to receive the same answer as I did before. But, my prayers were answered as the hall finally came to an end, revealing a normal sized wooden door, nothing on either side. I slowed to a trot as I looked around, the hall didn't seem to break off into other halls, and it simply ended with this door. I could only assume Satchel had gone through it.

I felt a cold chill tickle my coat as I approached the door, my hoof cautiously reaching for it, which caused the nervous sweat to build up again, as my hoof began to tremble.

Don't be nervous. What you seek is on the other side of that door.

I felt a voice whisper around me, but when I turned around, I was simply greeted with the endless black of the hall behind me. I took a deep breath and grasped my hoof around the knob and turned it, slowly opening the door with a creak. As I opened the door fully, I was shocked to see nothing more than more of the endless dark void beyond it’s threshold, not even an empty hall to greet me.

Go inside. There’s nothing to fear. I want to help you.

I felt another chill brush past my coat, but this one seemed to ever so slightly nudge me toward the door, to which I had not budged past yet. I couldn't understand why, but I felt I had no choice but to obey the voice in my head, and with a few careful steps, I passed through the door.

I stepped through with a few eager steps, careful one where I stepped, even though I found it unlikely that I would step on something dangerous. As soon as I was past the threshold, I heard a strange creaking sound, as the door suddenly slammed shut behind me, causing me to shriek and spin around, only to see that the door no longer appeared. In it’s place I found myself staring at a familiar looking wall, with a few pictures hanging on it, some of them with me in them.

What in Celestia’s name is going on here?!

It was a question I had no answer to at the time, but I wouldn’t have time to figure that question out, once I heard the sound of clanging metal and flesh ripping behind me. I felt fear seize my body, as I slowly began to inch around, until I was fully facing the noise, eyes clenched shut tight.

I began to open my eyes, only to open them upon a gruesome scene. I found myself standing is Satchel’s study, the night he was murdered! I saw the black armored stallion, lying against the wall, watching with a surprised look, only to see myself standing with my back to him. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the stallion beside the copy of me, holding his throat while he gagged on his own blood, a fresh sword cut along his throat!

But the worst part came when I looked again, and saw a stallion hanging in the air in front of my copy, front hooves desperately clawing at his throat, while a bluish aura squeezed the life from him. His back hooves kicked and scrambled for escape, as his eyes widened in terror. I looked to the copy of myself, as I realized it looked just as Crystal had described it.

My mane was flowing slightly, despite there not being any wind, my eyes were glowing a bright white, as tears spilled down my cheeks. But the strangest and awkwardly, the most fascinating part about it, was that I had these transparent wings attached to my sides, like a Pegasus’s wings would be. My body froze up in fear, as I watched the scene unfold before me, to horrified to form any words at the time, but as I saw the sadistic smile on my copy’s face widen, I screamed the best thing I could think of.

“Stop it! You’re killing him!” I screamed out, but for some reason, my voice didn’t come out as strong as it previously did, but my voice failed to do it’s thing. Instead, the ‘other’ me simply turned to look in my direction, which only made me more fearful.

It simply smiled at me and tightened it’s grip on the stallion’s throat even more, “Good! They all deserve to die!” it said to me as it flicked it’s horn back, and the stallion’s neck simply twisted around to the other side completely, ending his life. The copy, simply threw the body to the side and turned to face me, slowly walking towards me, a look of insanity, pure rage, and uncontrollable sorrow in it’s eyes, but I was too afraid to face it.

I heard a low rumbling sound and turned to see the door behind me had reappeared, to which I quickly turned around and bolted to the door. I gripped the knob with my magic and nearly tore the door from it’s hinges as I opened it and ran into the gaping blackness. Hearing nothing more than my own sinister cackling behind me.
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“Star! Hey Star! It’s time to get up. Come on already!” I heard a familiar voice say as my eyes snapped open, and I found myself lying safely in the sleeping bag, I had fallen asleep in. I spot where the fire had been was now almost completely out, as I looked around and saw that it was the early morning, and a thick layer of clouds covered the sky, giving it a lite grey look to it.

I placed a hoof over my chest, to try and calm my panicking heart, even as I rolled on to my back. “Star? You okay?” I heard the familiar voice ask again, and I turned to see my friend Crystal standing beside me, looking down at me with a concerned look. I groaned as I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eye, while still hearing the menacing cackle echo in my mind.

I turned to face her and did my best to smile, “Yeah, I just…had a really crazy dream.” I said to her as I rubbed my eyes again, trying to make the visions from my nightmare disappear.

She gave off a comforting smile and sat down next to me, “I can see that troubled look in your eyes. You want to talk about it?” she asked me with a concerned gaze. My eyes widened slightly, how could she have possibly known what I was dreaming about? Or was she guessing? Or maybe I was just that obvious? Which only made me blush slightly.

I thought about how to respond to her question, I knew it would be best for me to share my troubles with her, because she was my friends and she would never abandon me. But, I also didn't want her to worry about me unnecessarily, if it wasn't for these nightmares that kept happening, I would be perfectly fine.

I looked over to her with best smile of confidence I could muster, “I'm fine, really, I am. Thanks for the offer, though.” I said to her with a smile.

She looked at me for a moment with suspicious eyes, but she gave a warming smile and brought me in for a hug, to which I responded with an eager hug of my own. “Alright then! I just want you to know, that…I’m always here for you. No matter what it is you want to talk about, I’ll listen. Anyway! Cross Fire made some rather delicious breakfast, you should get yourself ready, we’ll be heading out again, soon.” She said as she walked over to where Cross Fire was sitting as he made breakfast.

I sighed and slowly stood up, fixing my hair into it’s usual style, and then turning to my bag, and began folding it up. The entire time I did so, I glanced over at Crystal and sighed sadly to myself.

Should I tell her? What would she say?

She’s probably call you crazy! Then tell you to get lost!

What! No! Crystal would never do that! She’s my friend!

We’ll see soon enough!

I cursed the voice in my head for saying such a terrible thing, Crystal and I had known each other for nearly 20 years, and she would never do that to me now. Not after everything we’ve been through together. I sighed and rolled up the bag, and tied it shut. Deep down, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide it from her for long, but I wanted to find out what my dreams meant more than anypony.

I won’t let anypony else die for my protection! Never again!

I levitated the bag up and made my over to my friends, my stomach rumbling with the desire for food.
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After eating breakfast, we finished packing up our supplies and continued along the road. As Cross Fire had told us. We would need to cover a lot of ground today, if we were to make it to Van Hoover on time, which he said we should be there by tomorrow morning, which would give us time to settle in and he could speak with his contact. One of our Pegasus escorts had flown ahead, to watch for any potential hazards along the path, while we all stayed behind and continued to walk along.

As we walked, Crystal and I had remained mostly silent towards each other since this morning, but I had a feeling that she was slightly hurt by my refusing her offer, so I knew I had to find a way to make it up to her. I looked over to her and saw her eyes gazing at the trees around us, clearly trying to find something to occupy her mind.

“Crystal?” I asked in a nervous tone.

She turned to me with a quizzical look, trying to remain her normal cheerful self, but that only made me feel worse. I sighed and cleared my throat, “Listen, about this morning. I really do appreciate your offer, but…I want you to know that I really do feel fine! It may take some time to heal, but…I know I have you as a friend, and that makes it all better.” I said with a kind tone, and silently cursed myself for coming off so sappy.

She smiled at me and nodded her head, “I know, I just wanted you to know, that I’ll always be here for you.” She said to me in a kindly tone, which made me smile back at her. We continued walking on, until we heard the familiar flapping of wings, and looked up to see the Pegasus escort, land over by Cross Fire. Crystal and I exchanged curious glances and trotted over to them.

“Private, what do you have to report? Is something wrong?” Cross asked, as the Pegasus cleared his throat, and stood up properly.

“Master Cross Fire, I was scouting ahead like you asked, and I found something suspicious further up ahead. I found an abandoned trader’s wagon, in the middle of a clearing a few yards ahead of us.” He said in a straight, military tone.

Cross Fire looked toward us for the moment, but turned back to the young Pegasus. “Interesting, did you see anypony or anything in the area around it?” he asked, putting more emphasis on the ‘thing’.

The Pegasus guard simply shook his head, “No Sir! It appeared to be abandoned, from what I could see there was some bodies down there. My guess, is that it was bandits.” He said in a fixated tone. Crystal and I both watched in anticipation, as Cross Fire brought his hoof up to his chin to think for a moment.

He looked back up to the Pegasus, “alright then, get back to the wagon and remain on guard!” he told him and the Pegasus saluted and flapped over to the wagon, and took a seat next to his friend, as the earth pony stallion began pulling it once again. Cross Fire quickly turned to us, “okay, here’s the plan. We’re going to head through that clearing, and keep an eye out. If there’s any trouble, let us handle it. Don’t get involved unless you have to, is that understood. Star, I suggest you keep the Aura Blade close, but only use it if necessary.” He said with a serious look.

Crystal and I looked at each other and nodded in confirmation, before turning to him and doing it again. He looked back to the guards and motioned them for us to follow, as we quickly began walking again.
________________________________________

After cresting up another hill, we came into view of the small clearing, and slowly made our way down to it, until we stood by the edge of the forest. Cross Fire examined the area, looking for any possible sings of a threat, but he found none as he turned to us. “Alright, we’ll head into the clearing, but keep a sharp eye out for anything that might pose a threat.” He said as he walked back over to us.

Crystal and I simply glared at him with confused looks, until she cleared her throat and spoke up. “Don’t you think you’re being the slightest bit paranoid? It’s just an abandoned wagon, it could have been there for years.” Crystal said with an amused look, to which I chuckled at, but it quickly went away when the one Pegasus stallion that reported it, spoke up.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. The wagon seemed brand new, and there were signs of a battle that took place. Plus…I was sure I saw some fresh bodies.” He said in a solemn tone, that made the two of us share concerned expressions.

Cross turned to us and gave a serious look, “one thing you’ll come to learn soon enough, nothing is as it appears to be. Let’s go!” he shouted as he turned and made his way down the small hill, while Crystal and I slowly trotted after him.
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As we entered the clearing from the tree line, we kept an extra eye on our environment, while the two Pegasus stallions flew over to the wreck. As we approached, my eyes widened in shock and horror as I saw the place around the wagon, littered with the bodies of dead ponies. All of them stallions and mares, some dressed in bandit armor, which indicated that these ponies put up a fight.

All manner of weapons scattered the ground, even some pistols, that looked like they had been fired off. I removed my hood as I walked up to the bodies of one stallion and mare, who appeared to holding hooves together as they died. I felt a deep pang of sadness fill my heart as I looked at the death and destruction of reality.

This is horrible! What kind of a pony could bring themselves to do this?

I felt a set of hooves walk over to me, and I turned to see Cross Fire looking at the dead ponies, a sorrowful look in his eyes. “I can understand that this may seem a shock to you. But the truth is…this world is a cruel place, where the innocent are shown no mercy. You’ve had a taste of what this world can throw at you, but…trust me when I say…it doesn’t get much better.” He said as he sighed and walked away.

The look in his eyes, told me that he had seen more than his fair share of violence and death, but I could still see that it affected him greatly. I felt a single tear trickle down my cheek as I turned to walk away, but I was quickly stopped by something else.

WOOSH!

I heard the quick flap of wings, but before I could react fast enough, I felt a powerful force knock me off my hooves and on to my back, smacking my head on the ground in the process.

“Star!” I heard Crystal call out, but it seemed to be far off in the distance, as the pain rung through my head. I tried to push myself up, but I felt a hoof press me down on my chest, to which I looked up with fear filled eyes.

After my vision returned to normal, I looked up to see a dark grey coated Pegasus stallion, standing above me, looking down with anger fuelled eyes. My eyes widened in shock and terror, as he reached under his coat and quickly pulled out a pistol and placed it against my temple, only adding to the fear pulsing through my body.

“Fucking bandit scum, I got you now! Move one muscle, and I’ll blow your brains across the ground!” he shouted in my face, as his came into better view. I was shocked to see one of his eyes covered by a patch, and the beginnings of a scar running from the top to bottom of it. I felt my body freeze up, and my mouth go dry, as I thought of a proper way to defuse the situation, but another pony quickly beat me to it.

I heard a sword unsheathe and suddenly be placed around the Pegasus’s throat, as his eyes widened in shock too. We both turned to see Cross Fire levitating the sword to the pony’s throat, a look of anger and determination on his face. “If I were you sir, I would think logically about your next move. If you so much as even move a muscle, and I cut your throat open before you could even blink!” Cross fire said in a challenging voice.

I watched in utter shock and confusion as two ponies stared each other down, the new Pegasus saw the determination and seriousness in Cross Fire’s eyes, that he looked down to me with a shocked expression. “Wait a minute! You…don’t look like bandits.” He said as he slowly began to step off me and back away slowly, while Cross still kept the sword pointed at him. I coughed slightly and rubbed my chest, just as Crystal came rushing over to me, to help me up.

I rubbed my chest, as I fully stood up and walked toward him, but Cross held out his hoof to stop me. “Wait a minute, we don’t know who this guy is, and he could be working for the imperials!” Cross said in a menacing tone. But the strange Pegasus stallion burst out laughing, as he relaxed a little bit.

“Imperials? Ha! I wouldn’t be caught dead working for those bastards! I think your mistaking me for somepony else gramps.” He said in an amused tone, which only caused Cross to scowl and point the blade further towards his throat, which quickly silenced him.

“I would advise watching your tone with me. I am a Master of the Light Seeker Order!” Cross said while puffing out his chest with a sense of pride, while Crystal and I simply deadpanned.

“Oh! So you’re a Light Seeker, I’ve heard about you ponies. You prefer to hide and wait, while Grey Sky conquers the rest of the world! That’s something to be proud of!” he said the last part in a sarcastic voice, which seemed to anger Cross to a point that I had never seen him.

Oh! That’s not good!

“why you foolish, insolent b-“ he said as he pulled his sword back for a swing, while the other Pegasus reached for his blade as well, while he readied his wings for takeoff, but I managed to intervene before things got ugly.

“ENOUGH! Both of you, let’s not let things get out of control.” I yelled as I stepped between them, to which both of their eyes widened, as Cross simply stared at me with a confused look.

“But…you can’t be serious! He pulled a pistol to your head! He just tried to KILL you!” Cross said with an angry voice, but I simply glared at him. I quickly looked to the other Pegasus, who simply shrugged his shoulders, and pulled his hoof away from his weapon, and eased back into a normal standing position.

“That may be true, but he didn’t, I’m perfectly fine. So let’s all calm down, and try to figure this out. That means putting away your swords, that means you guards as well!” I shouted over to them, as they simply stared at me in confusion, and then glanced over at Cross for further orders. He simply sighed and sheathed his sword, and nodded to the others.

I smiled and turned to the newcomer and gave a friendly smile, to which he glared at me with a suspicious look. “Now then, let’s try and settle this on good terms. I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding, so let’s try to be adults about this. My name is Star Dust, and this is my friends Crystal, the cranky old stallion you were about to fight is Cross Fire, and these three other stallions are our escorts. Who are you and why are you here?” I asked in as calm a tone as possible.

I didn’t even need to look back to see Crystal’s confused and shocked expression, but I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it. He continued to glare at me with suspicious eyes, before he opened his mouth to speak. “You are a rather…trusting young mare. Now why is that? You meet a stranger in the woods who easily had you at gunpoint a few moments ago, and now your kindly asking for my name? For all you know, your cranky friend there could be right, maybe I was sent to kill you.” He said to me with a confident tone.

I looked back at Cross, who simply rolled his eyes at being called cranky. But I quickly turned back to him and gave my friendliest smile, “I think…that if you were sent here to kill me, you would have done so long before you even tackled me.” I said with a certain level of confidence that even surprised myself. Truthfully I really didn’t know if he was good or bad, but I did know that a true assassin, would have simply killed from afar, rather than rush into a group of trained fighters.

The surprised look on his face told me I was right, as he looked around and sighed deeply, which only made me smile. “Smart girl. Anyway, the name’s Silver Heart, it’s a pleasure to meet you, and I would like to apologize for that inconvenience, I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.” He said with a calm smile, as he removed the hood on his head, revealing a dark red mane.

I smiled and shook my head, while Crystal gave a sigh of relief, and Cross stepped next to me. “If you’re not with the imperials or the bandit clans, then what are you doing here? And why attack us?” he asked in a calmer more reserved tone, just like he always did.

Silver Heart turned to Cross and frowned slightly, “to be honest, I thought you were the bandits! I was hired to protect this caravan while we traveled north to Vale Town. Sadly, we were ambushed by bandits, and most of the traders were dragged off into the woods south of here, I tried to go after them, but they know these woods better than I do, so I came back to find you sniffing around, so you’ll have to forgive me if I attacked.” He said in a calm fashion, as he stepped toward the wagon and looked at the dead bodies sadly.

I watched him with a concerned look, as I stepped toward him, “Hired? Wait a minute? So…you’re a mercenary?” I asked in a confused tone, while he simply turned to me with a small smile.

“Indeed I am, these ponies hired me in Van Hoover, and I found a safer route that ran next to the main road, but...as you can see, it turned out differently.” He said with a distant look, but before either of us could say anything, Crystal spoke up for the first time during this endeavor.

“Well, I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but…Vale Town isn’t the safest place right now. The school we came from was attacked by imperial soldiers, and many of our friends were killed in the attack.” She said in a sad tone, as she looked over at me, which caused me to sigh with sadness as well.

He looked shocked at what she said and stepped toward her, “Wait a minute? You’re saying that Vale Town was attacked by imperial soldiers? I mean, I’ve heard of the school you’re talking about, but…that’s something I’ve never heard of. Vale Town always seemed so peaceful, I can’t believe the soldiers would attack it.” He said in a shocked town, while I simply looked at the ground and walked away.

“Believe it, my teacher was murdered in that attack, so we’ve been forced to flee. Crystal and I are the only remaining survivors of the staff and students. We’ve been traveling south to Van Hoover for a day or so now.” I said as I stood up and turned to him, while I watched Cross simply face-hoof in the background.

He looked down in sadness, “I’m sorry to hear that, but…I think I’ve hung around here long enough. I hope you make it there safely, maybe we’ll see each other again.” He said as he readied his wings to take off, but was cut off by Cross silencing us all with his hoof.

“Quiet! All of you, there’s something out there.” He said in a low tone, that forced all of us to look towards him with confused stares, even Silver Heart stopped his flight preparation and walked over to us with a confused look, to which we simply shrugged. Cross looked back to the guards, and motioned for them to walk towards the spot he was staring at.

The three stallions nodded and unsheathed there swords and started cautiously began walking over to the edge of the forest. We all watched with tense expressions as the soldiers approached the trees.

WOOSH!

In one quick instant, the three stallions were knocked back by a powerful burst of magic, which knocked them back to where Cross was standing, and in one moment, three shadowy figures burst from the tree line, and sprinted at us. “Damn, I knew it!” Cross yelled out as he unsheathed his sword, just in time to block an incoming blow from one of the assailants.

The attacker came into better view, as Cross struggled to hold him back. His body seemed to be completely encased in shadow, to the point where you couldn’t even tell the difference. Their eyes were a complete white color, no sign of even a pupil, just empty whiteness. It didn't seem to have any proper features of a pony, yet it seemed to take the shape of one

What is Celetia’s name is that thing?!

As if seeming to instantly recognize my presence, the creature snapped it’s head towards me, and then instantly broke away from Cross’s resistance, and sprinted at me with incredible speed. Time seemed to slow, as I narrowed my eyes, and gripped the hilt of my sword with my magic, but before I could even unsheathe it, the creature appeared right in my face, staring blankly into my eyes. I felt fear crawl through my body again as it reeled it’s hoof back, and delivered a hard slap to my cheek, with enough force to send me flying. I cried out in sheer pain, when I crashed into a nearby tree.

Dammit, that thing’s fast!

I slid to the ground and rubbed my head, my vision had become blurry again, but I quickly looked up to see the creature stepping towards me closely, giving me an ever better look. The shape appeared to be that of a stallion, but I couldn’t see any other features that labeled it as a real pony, not even a mouth could be seen. At first I thought the creature was merely draped in the shadows of the forest, but I quickly saw the jet black coat, or whatever it was called, was it’s real coat.

As it stepped closer, I tried my best to stand up, but the force of the blow had left me weakened, but I managed to ignore the pain, so that I could stand up. But when I looked back to face the creature, instead of it’s black coat, and empty white eyes, I saw something that only added to the fear, already coursing through my body.

Star Dust…you wouldn’t hurt your own teacher would you?

Standing before me was none other than Satchel himself, slowly walking towards me, a warming smile on his face, the same kind he would give me whenever I was scared or confused. I felt my hooves grow weak again, and begin to tremble, to the point where I fell back down, my eyes widening in utter terror.

This isn't real! It can't be him! You watched him die, and you burned his body! FIGHT IT!

I felt the thought scream and shout in my mind, but the sight before me told me that it was truly him. I watched in terror, as the cruel imitation stepped closer, everything else around me simply fading away. Despite what the thoughts in my mind screamed, I still felt my body lock up and refuse to act.

Star Dust, don't be afraid. Let me ease your fears child.

As the creature, imitating my beloved father figure, inched ever closer, I heard a new voice enter my thoughts. “Hey kid, watch out!” I heard another voice call out, as another pony entered my view, knocking the creature to the side, instantly knocking the memories out of my mind. I shook my head and looked up to see none other than Silver Heart standing above me, offering me a hoof with a kindly smile.

“You alright? I don’t know what happened there but you looked like you had seen a ghost.” He said in an amused tone. I fully stood up and turned to him and gave a thankful nod, but before he could react, he was knocked away by a powerful black blur, that moved faster than either of us could see.

I heard Silver cry out in shock as I turned to see the shadowy creature pinning him to the ground, and despite the attempts he made to break free, repeatedly punching the creature in the jaw, or where you think the jaw would be located, and the creature didn't even flinch.

I watched in shock as I looked around to see one of the escorts down on the ground and unconscious, while the other two seemed to be having enough trouble fighting off another one of the creatures. I looked over to see Cross Fire trying his hardest to evade swipes from a third one, while Crystal simply watched in fear. The silence was quickly broken, by Cross Fire’s voice.

“Star Dust! Crystal! Run! Get out of here! Head for Van Hoover! Go Now!” he yelled at us as he exchanged blows to his fierce opponent. I stood there frozen in fear, he was telling me to run, to hide and let them all die.

What should I do? Should I listen to him?

You have to leave! What do they matter to you? What difference would it make if they died?

No! I have…to help them! I have to! I can't just let them die!

But why not? What good will it do if you end up dying for such a pointless cause!?

It’s not about that! I promised myself that I would never let anypony else die for my protection!

I felt my muscles and nerve’s tense up, as I began to grit my teeth to the point where it hurt. I moved the coat away to grasp the hilt of my sword with my magic and drew it out, looking at the blade glisten in the sunlight. I opened my eyes, and felt the anger in my body boil over the fear, as I turned toward the one that was overpowering Silver Heart.

The pony standing above him, began to open it’s jaw, which revealed a row of sharp, shining teeth. I could see Silver’s expression turn to that of fear. Seeing this only caused my anger to boil over it’s breaking point.

I looked to my sword and frowned, time seemed to slow as I took off at full speed, even kicking up small bits of dirt, each time my hoofs wedged themselves into the soil.

“I won't let you hurt any of them!” I yelled out as I slowed to a stop in front of the creature straddling over Silver Heart, and swung the sword as hard as I could. The creature turned to me, and actually briefly looked surprised, as it jumped away from him and landed a few feet away. To which I simply kept charging at him, swinging my sword wildly.

The creature kept dodging my attacks, even as I cried out in anger each time, only increasing my swings. At one point, I reached my limit, as I felt my magic aura increase significantly, until the point, where my aura did not simply envelope the hilt, but the entire sword itself. I cried out in rage as I swung the sword one last time, to which the creature jumped further back than my blade could reach.

But to the surprise of all of us, a bright flash of blue magic ejected from the sword’s blade in the manner of a cut, that simply went until the creature landed in front. Traveling at a speed not even the creature could react quick enough too, I watched in awe, as the slash cut through the creature’s throat completely, instantly severing it’s head from it’s shoulder. I watched as the creature’s head flew a mere few inches off it’s head before both it, and the creature’s whole body simply faded into a black smoke, the sank into the ground and disappeared.

Time seemed to slow again, as I watched everything unfold around me. I felt a heavy weight wrap around me, as my vision grew dark. I felt the gravity pull me down, to where I collapsed to my side. The only thing I heard last was Crystal’s voice calling out to me.
________________________________________

I felt a heavy pounding in my head as I slowly began to open my eyes. My vision came out slightly blurry, but I instantly recognized the midday sky, to which I sighed and began to push myself up.

“Whoa there! You have to take it easy, your body might still be recovering.” I heard a familiar voice call out, and I leaned my head back, only to find the comforting eyes of my friend staring back into mine.

With her aid, I managed to push myself into a sitting position, and I turned to find myself surrounded by all the other ponies I had come to know. Even Silver Heart had decided to stay, while I rested my body. “Ugh! What happened?” I asked looking around, to which Cross Fire stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“You passed out after fighting that creature. But, you used a technique I never thought possible, at least for a mare your age. You used what was known the ‘magic blade’ technique, it’s activated when the user of the Aura Blade’s magic, reaches a certain level, to which it sends out an unstoppable slash of magical energy, that can cut through nearly anything. But…the fact that your son young and inexperienced, meant that you used too much of your energy, so you passed out. That was a very reckless move you made, but…it did help us in the end.” He ended with a small smile.

I smiled back at him and looked around, “where…where did the other two go? And what exactly where they!?” I said in a more demanding tone, to which Cross simply sighed and looked toward the tree line.

“Those…were known as Shade’s. They serve as the Emperor’s demonic servants, a gift after his deal with Lord Nocturne. Legend says that each of them is the soul of a former pony, whom was tricked into a deal with Nocturne. They are incredibly powerful and very dangerous, few who ever face them survive. they have a nasty habit of getting into a pony's head and distracting them with visions, it's how they beat you. the other two fled the fight after you killed the first one.” He said as he turned away and sighed heavily.

“I knew the Emperor was desperate to find you, but…I never thought he would result to that.” He said in a quieter ton as he turned back and cleared his throat. “Anyway, you’ve been out for almost two hours, and that puts a major dent in our schedule, so we have to hurry and get back on the road.” He said as he made his way over to the wagon, to which the three guards followed.

I groaned as Crystal helped me up, and I leaned on her for support until my head cleared and I could stand on my own. We both turned to Silver Heart, who regarded me with a curious look, but I was more confused as to why he was still here. “Um, not to sound rude, but…what are you still doing here? This place isn’t safe anymore. You should leave while you can.” I said with a curious expression.

He simply smiled at me and chuckled, “Wow, you have got to be the strangest mare I’ve ever met, and yet…you saved my life. If it weren’t for you, that thing would have…done whatever it was going to do to me. So…I would like to repay that kindness, please, allow me to escort you the rest of the way to Van Hoover.” He said in a kindly tone, while giving a slight bow of thanks to me.

Cross seemed to overhear that part, and rush back over. “I’m afraid we’ll have to decline your generous offer. You see, we’re on a tight schedule, and we must be on our way.” He said as he began walking away. But before we could move, he stopped him and called out.

“Hey gramps! Stop telling the kid what to do! I was talking to her, and I think it should be her decision not yours!” he said in an amused tone. Crystal and I didn’t need to see Cross’s face to know he was becoming more and more irritated. He quickly turned back and walked over to us, intently staring at me.

I looked between them and then to Crystal who simply shrugged her shoulder’s. I looked down for a moment and thought hard. In a way, a part of me was still suspicious about him, but he had saved my life from that Shade.

I looked up between them and turned to smile at Silver Heart, “I think…we could use the extra help! Besides were not leaving yet.” I added to the last part, as I turned and walked over to destroyed wagon and sighed sadly.

Cross Fire’s jaw nearly hit the floor as he shook his head and walked over to me, “I’m sorry, I thought I heard you say we weren’t leaving yet. Firstly, need I remind you, that I am in charge of this mission, and that we are on a very strict schedule? Secondly, why should I even allow this…mercenary to come with us?” he asked in an irritated tone, but I remained silent for the moment.

I sighed and turned my head up to the trees, simply listening to the sound of the wind, and sighing as it blew through my mane, I looked down and turned back to him. “Firstly, it’s better to travel in numbers, and he could prove to be useful. Secondly, were not going anywhere, until we give these ponies a proper burial, they deserve that much at least. Or are you saying that they’re not worth our time?” I stared back at him with a challenging look.

Crystal and Silver’s jaws nearly hit the floor at my response, while Cross Fire’s eyes simply widened at my comeback, and he thought for a moment. I waited for him to answer, and after a moment he caved and sighed, “Fine! We’ll give them a proper burial, guards! Get some shovels from the wagon.” He said as he walked off. To which I smiled at Crystal and Silver and winked as I followed after him.
________________________________________

After giving each of the fallen ponies a proper burial, we packed up our wagon, as well as taking any useful items from the destroyed one, we set out on our journey. Silver heart calmly walked beside us, but it was amusing to see Cross’s annoyed expression as we talked to him. But, before we left the clearing, I glanced quickly back at the graves we set up and sighed sadly, before I continued on with the others.

Our next destination…Van Hoover.