Spirit Shield trotted her way through the mostly deserted streets of Canterlot, hoping to make it to her destination before the sun finished setting beyond the horizon. A light breeze rolling down the street against her motion tousled her white mane and made the steady supply of sweat pouring from underneath her teal coat feel uncomfortably cold in the autumn air. Her dark blue eyes scanned alleys and side streets as she passed them, staying alert for signs of any other ponies that might be out looking to cause trouble. Five years had passed since she had last patrolled the streets of Canterlot as one of the royal guard, and if it had changed as much as the rest of the major cities of Equestria had in that time, then no amount of caution in her travel was uncalled for.
Pressing herself up against the building on her left, the mare peered cautiously around the corner and into the intersecting street. Not seeing anypony about, she made her turn and resumed her trot, picking up the pace of her motion as she put distance between herself and the road she had left behind. If she was still a part of the royal guard, Spirit wouldn't have to worry about some gang of thugs mugging her; the protective charms imbued on the armor would have been more than enough to stop them. Unfortunately for her, the entire Royal Equestrian Army had completely vanished by now. It was quite difficult for them to remain in existence without any princesses for them to serve and protect, after all.
After taking several more turns in rapid succession, Spirit had to stop to catch her breath. She leaned up against an abandoned storefront, inspecting the ground to make sure there wasn't any broken glass leftover from the shattered windows. While she sat, her thoughts drifted off to her deceased charges, as they often did during the years following their untimely deaths. She had been on duty that fateful evening, watching over Celestia and Luna while they were trading off the sun and moon. The ritual she had become accustomed to observing silently was suddenly and inexplicably interrupted when first Celestia, and not long after, Luna, fell to the floor of the chamber.
Snapping from her reverie, Spirit stood and continued her trek through the city, still feeling ill disposed to remaining stationary for too long. She was almost at her destination, anyways, and once she was there, she would be too pre-occupied to worry about the past. Nopony really knew what horrible fate had befallen the princesses; the medical doctors responsible for the autopsy on them disappeared, along with all of their notes, records, and most importantly, the bodies. It didn't really concern anypony these days either, since they all had to worry about the gradual collapse of the princess' enchantments that had been keeping The Magical Land of Equestria, well, magical.
The initial impact of the princess' deaths had nearly torn Equestria apart, beginning with the legitimate worry about the state of the sky; both the sun and the moon were up, leaving Equestria in a state of what many thought was going to be eternal twilight. Several powerful unicorns attempted to control the heavenly bodies, just as they had before the time of the princess' rule, but to no avail. The knowledge had been lost in the thousands of years the two had ruled, and nopony could do it any more. The problem had been resolved, not by some clever pony, but because, with the lack of magical control, natural processes that hadn't been seen for millennia began to make their return to Equestria.
Before making the final turn onto the street that held her destination, Spirit stopped to read a poster that had been hung on several buildings in this district. Each one carried the image of a white unicorn stallion with a look upon his face that showed more about his character than he probably wanted to let on. Without even reading what the poster said, she was able to infer that he had been a high class noble before the fall of the old kingdom, and felt that the status of his birth made him instantly better than other ponies around him. Below the photograph on the poster was a small block of text that read "Support Prince Blueblood - Rightful Heir to the Throne!" She simply sighed in exasperation and moved on, not wanting to get herself involved with the continuing political battles that had been waged for what was now mostly considered a worthless throne. The ponies of the land had enough problems on their hooves without having to worry about answering to some higher authority, especially one that wouldn't have their interests at heart.
After a few more moments of walking, Spirit finally arrived at the front door of her destination; a boarded up restaurant with a sign hanging in the window that read "LaFleur Canterlot - Closed". Around the corner of the building there was another door, which led to the second floor of the restaurant, the house portion of the structure. It was here that she stopped and, taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door to announce her presence to anypony inside. Almost immediately, she heard the sound of hoof steps coming from the other side, and not long after, the sound of even more hoof steps coming from somewhere in the alley system she was currently standing in. Spirit Shield suddenly found herself regretting the decision not to carry some sort of weapon into the city, since the talent accompanying her cutie mark, a black kite shield with a drop of dark red blood, and her own hooves wouldn't be able to save her from a band of brigands.
With each passing second feeling longer than an hour to the hardened, veteran guard, it seemed like an eternity passed before a challenge was issued from behind the door by a familiar female voice asking "Who's there?" She sounded frightened, possibly thinking that the pony knocking was a forward scout for the gang coming through the alley.
Desperate to get off the streets and avoid the incoming fight, she quickly responded to the voice, "Stormsong, it's Spirit Shield; let me in before we have unwanted company!" The hoof steps were definitely getting closer and perhaps any moment now, the group, she guessed about five or six, would be rounding the corner. The two of them alone wouldn't stand much of a chance of coming out of such an encounter unscathed.
"Oh my, I'm sorry... I've just got to unlatch the door..." the answer came from the other side, followed by the sound of several latches and locks being released from their positions. The extra security wasn't exactly unnecessary in these hard times, but it was going to end up being the annoyance of getting through them all that risked undoing all of their planning. They couldn't really carry out Spirit's idea that was bringing these few ponies together if one of them was killed or seriously injured right from the start.
Just as the final latch released and the door swung open, the group of thugs rounded the corner at the far end of the alley, some of them with weapons drawn and readied. A unicorn at the front of the pack sent a knife flying through the air toward Stormsong, intending to silence her. Spirit's horn began to glow as she called up her magic, and a wall of force materialized between the knife and the pony she had come to see. When the knife struck the shield, it bounced away and landed on the ground between the two groups before fading away. Spirit recoiled as a sharp pain took her in the neck, and she felt a stream of blood well up and begin running down her front. While it was nothing near the fatal impact intended by the assailant, it hurt enough to break her concentration; that shield spell wouldn't be saving them again until the bleeding subsided.
Spirit Shield turned to run, only to see that several more ponies had silently maneuvered their way to the other end of the alley, sealing the jaws of the trap. The blue-coated mare that had opened the door for her was visibly frightened by the appearance of so many unfriendly faces. Her aquamarine pupils had contracted to almost microscopic specs, and she stood paralyzed in place instead of doing the smart thing and galloping back into her home. Her mess of silver-grey mane and tail even betrayed what otherwise would have been an unperceivable shiver, announcing to the enemy that they had the upper hoof. What made the situation even worse was that her cutie mark, four black sixteenth notes beamed together by two white bolts of lightning, bore no obvious combat applications, lending confidence to their attackers.
Before another move was made, however, the alley darkened as a large, black cloud moved itself ominously overhead. All the ponies on the ground had only a second to comprehend the ponderous mass before a lightning bolt shot down and ran through the thug that had propelled the knife toward the two mares. A bright light filled the narrow alley, temporarily blinding all the ponies in it from the events that were unfolding around them. All that could be heard by any of them was the following sonic boom of the lightning tearing through the air, and then an uncomfortable silence.
When her vision returned, Spirit spotted an orchid-coated pegasus standing between her and the group of thugs that had been struck. She had a short, windswept midnight blue mane, and was crouched low to the ground, wings flared, anticipating retaliation from the thugs. The one she had struck with the lightning bolt was lying motionless on the ground, charred black and still smoking from having been cooked from the inside out. The rest of them seemed to be taken aback by the sudden appearance of the angry pegasus, or perhaps by the cutie mark of a black skull-shaped cloud with crossed lightning bolts under it. Whatever it was, they had become unsure of their success under the glare of her sea green eyes and were slowly backing away from her, hoping to escape without being noticed, or worse, electrocuted.
It didn't take long before they all apparently decided they valued their lives, and the surviving thugs broke and galloped off. Instead of chasing them, as Spirit would have done were she in any condition to do so, the pegasus turned around and grinned at both of the mares she had just rescued. Spirit greeted her with a smile and a teasing tone, "Getting a little soft, Midnight Orchid? The last time I remember Stormsong getting attacked like that, you only let one of them get away."
Midnight nonchalantly responded, "Yeah, only because back then it used to take that much to save somepony's life, before criminals knew when it was time to give up. With the Wonderbolts taking care of the ponies here in Canterlot now, they've gotten a little more jumpy whenever a pegasus shows up." She looked over her shoulder at the damage she had done to the corpse, and continued on, "Besides, the only one that I had a problem with is a little too crispy to be doing that again. I think the rest have learned their lesson."
Spirit began to laugh, but had to stifle her reaction after a small spray of blood erupted from her throat. She held a hoof over the injury and applied some pressure in the hopes she could staunch the bleeding quickly. If it took too much time they might get caught outside by another group of thugs, or worse, reinforcements from the previous group seeking vengeance.
Having taken notice of the problem, Stormsong spoke up in a quiet, wavering voice "Arnica is already inside, I'm sure she could heal that for you, Spirit." As she said that, she stepped aside and held the door open, offering the other two the opportunity to head inside first. Spirit lowered her hoof away from her neck and hurried in, and heard that the other two weren't far behind her. She heaved a great sigh of relief as she began to climb the stairs, glad that Midnight's timely arrival had spared them from anything worse in the way of injury.
As she moved up the stairs at a gallop, Spirit was bombarded with the smell of various herbs and spices, making it obvious that Stormsong had been cooking. Luckily, nothing smelled like it had burnt during the altercation, so dinner wasn't going to suffer because of some idiots who thought they had an easy target. Thinking about whatever delicious meal Storm was concocting for them caused Spirit's stomach to growl involuntarily, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything all day, and it'd been a good week or two since she'd had anything substantial.
Once she made it to the top of the staircase, she moved aside to let the others up and looked around at the distinctly familiar room. Across from where she had entered, there was another staircase that led back down, into the restaurant. On that same wall, to the right of the staircase, was an elaborate double door which opened into Stormsong's parents' bedroom. On the side of the room she had entered, there were four doors going off to other, smaller bedrooms, three of which belonged to Stormsong and her younger sisters. The fourth bedroom on this side of the room was reserved for guests, and had been Spirit's own bedroom on numerous occasions. Built into the wall on the end of the room to her right was a fireplace, which currently had a large cauldron hanging over it; the source of the delicious scent permeating the air. The center of the room was taken up by a large table, which was surrounded by an odd collection of chairs and a sofa.
Reining her attention back to where it was needed for the moment, Spirit scanned the room for Arnica so she could get her healing and inevitable lecture about recklessness and such done and over with. After being distracted by Stormsong trotting toward the large cauldron suspended over the fireplace, she spotted the white-coated mare lying on one of the sofas surrounding the table, a brush being run through her short, dark turquoise mane by a telekinesis spell. Her cutie mark of a red cross slightly obscured by a yellow, eight-petal flower centered over it represented her medical abilities, which were especially potent in the areas related to her namesake: bruises and sprains. The mare's dark blue eyes sparkled in recognition of a certain teal-coated somepony who had become a regular patient recently, and immediately searched for damage.
Before Spirit could even speak, Arnica had teleported over to her and was inspecting the wound on her neck, trying to determine its cause. Not too long afterward, the doctor's horn lit up, and Spirit felt a strange tingling sensation along her neck as her skin knitted itself back together. As if by clockwork, as soon as her skin was completely mended, a wet cloth made its way to her neck next, washing away the blood that had gotten on her fur. Once the doctor was finished, she stepped away and shook her head before saying "Spirit, if you're not more careful with that spell of yours, you're going to end up killing yourself with it. This one was a really close call."
"It's better than Stormsong getting killed, isn't it? Besides, it would take a lot more force than what that unicorn was capable of producing to make a wound like that in just one shot." Spirit retorted, making her way across the room to take a seat in one of the chairs gathered around the large table. Bits of parchment were littered across the table, the highest concentration of it situated around the seat closest to the fireplace. At that particular seat, there was a quill sitting inside an open bottle of ink, and four sets of hoof-sewn saddlebags. Each one had been created using a fabric that matched the colors of the mares in the room, and had clasps on the sides in the shapes and colors of their cutie marks.
While Spirit investigated the saddlebags on the table, Arnica heaved a heavy sigh of exasperation and flopped back down on the sofa. The doctor was completely against reckless acts, and not without good reason, but that tended to comprise most of Spirit's actions during the time she served with the royal guard. After all, she'd had the protection of Celestia back then, and nopony was able to lay a meaningful hoof on her without invoking the wrath of the princesses. Old habits died hard, and she was having quite a lot of trouble adjusting to her increased mortality, which had caused her plenty of injuries over the last five years, and as a result, numerous visits to the doctors of Equestria, including Arnica.
Shifting her attention away from one of the bad habits she needed to kill before it got her killed, Spirit finally inquired about the bags. "So, where did you get these at? They must have been expensive, but they definitely look durable enough for long-distance travel, which is exactly what we needed." She opened the saddlebags with her own color and cutie mark on them and peered inside, curious to see how much each of them was going to be able to pack. "Spacious too; made by somepony who knows what they're doing, that's for sure. We should be able to fit plenty of supplies into these."
It was Midnight Orchid who responded to her question, answering, "A friend of mine that I met a while back during that Windigo ordeal made these for us. I trusted him to follow your specifications, and I used the money I've earned working with the Wonderbolts to pay for them. I trust Cross Stitch's work more than anypony else's, and I have no reason to believe that he would let us down on this." As she was talking, Midnight sat herself down in the chair furthest from the fireplace and lounged her forelegs on the table.
Spirit nodded her understanding and circled the table to take a seat in the chair opposite from where Arnica was laying and brushing out her mane once again. Her curiosity sated, she responded "As long as they'll hold up to the amount of supplies we'll need, that's really all that matters to me. And that reminds me, what is this about the Wonderbolts? I haven't kept up with the goings on of the group ever since I was last in Canterlot, and I can't imagine why a team of stunt fliers would strike fear into the bandit clans around here."
Again, it seemed Midnight held all of Spirit's answers tonight as she spoke up, "Oh yeah, we dropped the stunt flying routine after about three months; nopony is really interested in spending time going to watch that kind of thing any more. Of course, it doesn't help that all the monsters in the Everfree can just come along and rampage wherever they want; they had a terrible tendency to crash our shows. Anyway, we weren't even able to field six traveling fliers because of one problem or another, so Spitfire got this idea that we could be some sort of Canterlot defense team. So now, the Wonderbolts have got this reputation for taking out any lowlifes that try to ruin the city."
"That's not so bad of an idea," Spirit responded, impressed that somepony had taken on the task of playing city guard in the absence of the Royal Equestrian Army. Most of those ponies who were supposed to be loyal to Equestria and bound by honor to protect its lands and citizens had been rather hasty in abandoning their posts when their commanders were no longer around. Sure, some of them had left to be rid of the raging political conflict and were still pulling their weight in the protection of other areas in Equestria, Spirit Shield included amongst them. Most of them; however, had simply returned home, grabbed their family and some supplies, and fled to neighboring lands, seeking protection from their monarchs as refugees.
With a dull thud, a thick wooden board surrounded in a blue aura landed in the center of the table, interrupting the conversation. Just a few moments later, the cauldron that had been hanging over the fire set itself atop the board, the contents steaming and smelling of various vegetables, herbs, and spices. Next, a set of four bowls and spoons made their way to the table, one stopping in front of each occupied seat. Finally, a ladle flew across the room and set itself on the board next to the cauldron, and Stormsong announced "Dinner's ready, everypony. I hope you like it, it's been cooking all day."
Arnica sat up on the sofa she'd been lounging on, her set of saddlebags levitating across the room and swallowing up her brush. She reassured their host, "Oh, I'm sure it'll be absolutely wonderful, Storm. After all, your entire family is full of excellent chefs, and just because you are especially talented in music does not mean that you can't cook just as well as some of them."
Midnight Orchid leapt across the table, using her wings to balance herself as she snatched up both her bowl and the ladle, exclaiming "It smells awesome, so it must taste awesome, and I'm gonna be the first one to find out! Nopony in the Wonderbolts really knows how to cook, so we usually don't get good stuff like this unless we pay a whole lot of bits for it."
Spirit Shield simply sat back and watched as each pony, in turn, filled their bowl of soup, the unicorns handling the ladle by magic. Just in the time it took to get to her turn, Midnight had already drained her first bowl and had come back across the table for a second helping. Noticing just a little too late that there'd been a teal aura around the ladle when she grabbed it, Midnight poured some soup in Spirit's bowl as well before returning to her seat and saying "He he... sorry about that, got a little carried away. This stuff is really good!"
"Thanks, I'm glad you like it so much" Stormsong responded, moving the rest of the saddlebags off the table so they'd be out of the way. "So, Spirit, since this gathering was your plan to begin with, do you want to tell us what was so important now that everypony's here? It took me quite a lot of effort to track down Midnight and Arnica, and to get my family out of the house so we could have privacy, like you wanted."
Spirit Shield took a sip of the delicious soup before setting it back down and closing her eyes, mentally preparing her idea and arguments. "Well, first, I feel like I owe you all an explanation for my disappearance, since I know you all attempted to contact me at least in the immediate aftermath. When I saw the command structure of the Royal Equestrian Army, including the Royal Guard, collapse, I fled the city to try distancing myself from their dishonor. I really didn't know what my goal was going to be at first; I knew it was my duty and my desire to be a protector of Equestria, but as more and more of the princesses' magic faded, the more it seemed to be an impossible task. After all, what can just one mare do against a legion of monsters from the Everfree Forest that's suddenly started rampaging around Ponyville?
"I took on various odd jobs for some time, usually helping out with extra security or with ponies that were moving closer to their families. Heavy lifting, mail delivery, anything that would help keep me in shape comprised the tasks I took on. I found most of them dull, completely uninteresting compared to the rush of battle, but it put bits in my bag and, most of the time, kept me out of harm's way. I was constantly on the lookout for signs of new leadership so that I might return to my old post, but uniformed soldiers never returned to the streets, and lots of smaller settlements either merged together, like Solstice Heights is now, or were completely abandoned, like Appleoosa and Ponyville.
"I was starting to give up hope of ever seeing a group of ponies dedicated to helping others in that same way again, when I came across a band of armor-clad stallions in Hoofington. I was pulling a cartful of fresh fruits into town with somepony when I heard them talking about some manner of awful sea serpent that had attacked the bay, and how they fended it off. They explained to me that a few groups of monster hunters had started to pop up around Equestria; groups of four or six ponies that had taken it upon themselves to... discourage beasts from attacking citizens, whatever the cost.
"That particular group, Arnica, was the first that I brought to your clinic, since they had nearly been killed by the sea serpent and they were in dire need of care. While they were tied down to the medical clinic, I got to know them a bit better and ended up joining their group, using my array of protective spells to keep them safe, and my connections with former Royal Guards to enlist more help. I eventually took my leave of them, as I detested several of their bad habits to such a degree that I couldn't stand to be around them any more.
"However, by the time I had left them, a few scattered groups had turned into a pretty common sight; every city had its own bands of monster hunters by then. Most of them never traveled, which is why I've never gotten involved with another group for as long as that first one. I preferred not being tied down to a single area, being able to help out wherever I was needed; the fame and recognition weren't my primary motivation, as it was with them. This dilemma, which has faced me for far too long, is the reason I asked Storm to gather you all here tonight; I feel that you three are the solution. All of you have lost your dreams because of this nightmare our world has become; I brought you here to offer you a chance to put your talents to use again."
Stormsong, being the only one in on Spirit's plan from the start, nodded her agreement and added, "Midnight and I both understand that there's no demand for the performing arts in a time like this, when survival is the one and only interest of everypony in Equestria. Musical talent is all about the ability to inspire an emotional response to your work, and those responses can be both helpful and harmful, should any musician with enough skill desire it to be."
Midnight was next to chime in, refilling her bowl again while she gave her own response, "Yeah, like I said earlier, nopony wants to see a stunt performance now, so the Wonderbolts have pretty much become one of those local monster hunting teams you were talking about. While their motivation is the same as yours, we simply don't cover enough to be effective. Canterlot just isn't as populated as it used to be because of this 'heir to the throne' nonsense that's been going on."
Everypony turned their heads expectantly to Arnica, eagerly awaiting her response. The white mare sighed, pushed her half-eaten bowl of soup away and said "And I suppose you all are going to need a doctor when you get recklessly violent with a pack of diamond dogs or whatever. I am thoroughly against violence; you all know this, even in the name of protecting Equestria. However, I cannot ignore the fact that these rampaging monsters must be dealt with by whatever means necessary, or else they'll cause even more harm to other ponies. Since the organized medical practice has devolved into simply dealing with the injuries of foalish glory-seekers and protectors of Equestria such as yourselves, I will accompany you as your dedicated team doctor. Just do not expect me to participate in the slaying of anypony or anything; I will leave that horrid responsibility to the three of you."
Spirit Shield beamed at each of them, having been taken completely by surprise at just how easy it had been to get them to accompany her. She had been expected to have a long, drawn-out debate with them, especially Arnica, before they would grudgingly agree to go along with her plan. "Thank you all so much!" she said, excited at the prospect of their budding monster hunting career. "So, that's what this gathering was all about. Once we're done eating, we should probably get our things packed up and get some sleep. We're going to have a long first day ahead of us tomorrow!"
Stormsong chimed in here, since she had helped out with the packing plan, and so that Spirit could actually eat something. "Most of what we want to pack is food, which is why we gathered you all here. There's way more food stored in the restaurant downstairs than the four of us could carry, even if that was the only thing we were carrying, so we can really take whatever we want, as long as it'll fit. As for other things, we'll need to bring along medical supplies, I'll be bringing along some of my instruments so I can play music, and anything valuable you have that you either don't want to lose, or we can get a good trade out of."
"Well, my old saddlebags that I brought with me are full of medical supplies, but these new bags have quite a bit more room. I can carry a little bit of food, though not as much as any of you will be able to." Arnica offered, rising from her seat and beginning to pack up her numerous medical supplies that she always carried around with her. "Oh, and we'll need to stop by my clinic in Solstice Heights so I can grab those valuables you were talking about, and to say my goodbyes to my colleague, Doctor Betterbones."
"Well Arnica, I can put what's left of the soup into a few jars and have you carry that with you, since it won't take up very much room" Stormsong replied, now busy packing her own saddlebags with various food, mostly breads, cheeses, and vegetables. Noticing that Midnight was going back for another bowl of soup she added, "Or it might not take any room at all if Midnight is going to eat the whole cauldron before we even make it to bed."
"I can't help it, it just tastes so good!" Midnight yelled in self-defense before lifting the bowl up and drinking directly from it, her spoon still lying on the table, long forgotten.
While Spirit and Arnica both laughed, Stormsong gently responded "Don't worry about it, I was just teasing you. If you end up eating it all, there's still plenty of food around that we can pack up and take with us instead. Besides, most of what you're going to be carrying along is going to be food, right?"
After setting her bowl down and letting out a loud belch, Midnight responded "Yeah, mostly food for me. I've gotta go out to my cloud home to get a couple things, but that won't take too long, you all won't even have to detour on the way down to The Heights for me."
Spirit Shield, getting her fit of laugher under control first, added on, "I'll also be carrying along mostly food in my bags. I got a little too pragmatic when I left Canterlot, and have already lost or traded all of my valuables, both monetary and sentimental, aside from my sword that Stormsong has been looking after, and that won't be taking up space in my bags at all."
After everypony had eaten their fill, Midnight having returned for one more bowl before caving in, Stormsong led them all down into the restaurant. There, they each filled their saddlebags with food, making sure to leave room for the other possessions they had yet to pack. With that taken care of, Spirit announced that she planned to go to bed right then, and advised the others do the same so they weren't sleepy in the morning. Midnight and Arnica followed her advice, and the three of them made their way into the guest bedroom, found their beds, and promptly fell asleep.
***
Stormsong remained awake after all of her friends had gone to bed, partially because she still needed to pack up instruments. She headed into her own bedroom at the same time that her friends had gone to sleep, but she simply sat on her bed and stared at the wall. While the prospect of doing something aside from sitting at home and making food was certainly exciting, what they were about to do was absolutely terrifying. She wasn't even really sure she would be able to focus on creating music in the heat of battle, but Spirit had been so desperate to do something about the state of Equestria, there hadn't really been any other choice Storm could make.
As the musician sat and mulled over thoughts of the coming adventures, her glance moved around the room and settled on the window, giving her a spectacular view of the moon. Just the same as on many nights before now, she picked out the small, violet light resting underneath it, and wondered what it could mean. It hadn't always been there; in fact, it had appeared exactly one full year after the princesses had passed away. She was certain that it wasn't just a coincidence that a new star had appeared in the sky, and perhaps, that star was the souls of the princesses, still watching over their subjects as they slept. It was a comforting hypothesis, at the very least, to think that they weren't really without their guardians, and that if things got bad enough, they could return to save the day.
Getting up and pacing around her room, Stormsong slowly began to pick a pile of small instruments from their spots along the walls and shelves of her room and place them on her bed. Most important was her favorite flute, one that had not only gotten lodged in her throat during a careless accident during her foalhood, but the same one she had earned her cutie mark with so long ago by playing a lullaby for her younger sister. She also picked out an ocarina and a harmonica, both more because they practically took up no space at all rather than she had a specific plan in mind for them.
Next, Stormsong chose a pair of symbols and a small drum, those being the only truly practical choices of percussion to bring along. To outfit herself with stringed instruments, she chose a violin, so well polished that it looked like nopony had ever played it before, and a banjo, which she could strap across her back instead of using space in her bags. She topped off her selection with a pair of trumpets and a horn before returning to her bed and placing each of her selections into her bags. With that taken care of, Stormsong blew out the candle that had been giving her room light, laid down on her bed, and fell into an uneasy sleep.
