Dawn of Crystal Empire

Chapters

Twilight/Lullaby - Chapter 1
Lullaby/Spike - Chapter 2
Twilight/... - Chapter 3
Applejack/Honey - Chapter 4
Lullaby/Gladius - Chapter 5
Twilight/Rarity/Rainbow - Chapter 6
Applejack/Lullaby - Chapter 7
Shining Armor/Cadence - Chapter 9
Lullaby/Dachuur - Chapter 10
Shining Armor/Twilight/Rarity - Chapter 11
Gladius/Bulba - Chapter 12
Cloud Catcher/Dachuur - Chapter 14
Conclusion - Part 1
Part 2 - Introductions
Lullaby/Honey - Chapter 15
Fluttershy/Twilight/Cadence - Chapter 16
Bedim/Pristine - Chapter 17
Wit/Quill - Chapter 18
Luna/Javelin - Chapter 19
Lullaby/Bedim/Gladius - Chapter 20
Fluttershy/Applejack - Chapter 21
Lullaby/Bedim - Chapter 22
Twilight/Rarity - Chapter 23
Pristine/Bedim/Crisp - Chapter 24
Titus/Bedim - Chapter 26
Twilight - Prologue
Dachuur/Rarity.Fluttershy.Applejack - Chapter 8
Lullaby/Gladius/Honey - Chapter 13
Applejack/Luna/Cadence - Chapter 25

Twilight/Lullaby - Chapter 1

Twilight stared at the date on the first entry. It was well over a thousand years ago.

This book predates even Princess Celestia. I think it might even be as old as the original Hearth’s Warming Eve. But wait? That’s impossible. I don’t think the Crystal Empire was created until a while after that.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Twilight.

Wait, just how old is the Crystal Empire? I’ve read plenty of history books here and they’re all quite fascinating but I can’t seem to recall anything mentioning the events surrounding the creation of the Crystal Empire.

Twilight took another look around. It hadn’t been obvious before due to the dim light but now that her eyes had adjusted she couldn’t help but notice it. There was no crystal. This room and the long tunnel that led here was cut from a section of the castle’s foundation that was mere stone.

That makes no sense. The entire kingdom is composed of crystal. Sombra’s crystal staircase goes pretty deep into the earth too.

She recalled a geological essay she had read a couple months back that stated the kingdom’s foundation was composed of crystal all the way to 200 cubic hooves below the surface. Twilight was quite sure she had only gone down a hundred hooves at most.

Why haven’t I been asking these questions this whole time? A lost kingdom reappears after a thousand years and I don’t question its existence? How were the crystal ponies created when Equestria was still being colonized? Every bit of history I’ve read corroborates that they weren’t around first. And that date…

Twilight took another look at the date on the page. There was something about that particular year that she couldn’t quite place.
Twilight wrinkled her brow in thought until her eyes began to slowly close. She shot back up in alarm, having nodded off for a second. She rubbed her eyes, exhaustion finally hitting her.

Regardless of all this, I’d better get some sleep.

Twilight lifted the dragon skin bound tome into her saddle and walked back to the door. She paused in the doorway considering if she should take anything else. The chest looked like it could hold more books. She slowly nodded off again and this time bonked her horn on the door frame.

Ow! Guess I can just come back for anything tomorrow. Oh, and I can show Cadance this place too.

Twilight left the small stone room and followed the tunnel once more until she was at the hole. She flew out and was greeted by a familiar sleeping face.

Time for little dragons and little ponies to go to bed.

Once more she lifted Spike and placed him on her back as she walked out of the library.

On the ceiling where the pillar once stood there now was a rune. The archaic symbol no longer on the bottom of the pillar blocking the hole. From deep beneath the library floor, past the twisting tunnel of rock, in the small room of stone, inside the ancient chest there comes a sound. The lid opens ever so slightly. An eerie blue glow illuminates the room.

“So what do you think? Doesn’t that sound amazing?” Twilight voice was frantic. She could barely get any sleep last night wanting to tell Cadance about what she had discovered. Now at breakfast, she was excited to know what her loving sister-in-law/foal sitter thought about it.

Cadance slowly wiped her face with a napkin as she excused herself from the table. When she had finally pushed her chair back in politely she turned to Twilight.

“That is the most amazing thing ever!” The older alicorn princess exclaimed excitedly. “I mean I know this old place has literally hundreds of secret passages and alcoves but what you’re describing sounds like it could predate even the castle.”
“You think so?”

“Absolutely! I have a pet project going right now. I’m trying to map out a history of the castle’s construction since I want to get rid of some of the more dangerous stuff that’s still hanging around. You’d never believe how many pitfalls Sombra installed while he was in charge.”

A member of the staff who was clearing the table suddenly disappeared down a hole that appeared where he was standing. There was a crash of plates followed by a soft grumble of affirmation to the fact that he was okay.

“Anyway,” the older alicorn coughed embarrassedly. “I’d love to go check that out! I just need to wrap up the festival and should be done by the afternoon.”

“Great! I’ll check out more of that book.”

“Okay but don’t spend the entire day reading, Twilight. Last day of the Festival.”

“I know, I just want to read the first couple entries.”

The two sisters walked out of the room leaving behind a slightly confused Shining Armor who still sat at the table, a Manish pastry on his plate. He turned to an orange Pegasus guard standing beside him.

“Do you think they even noticed I was in the room?”

“Nope,” the Pegasus sighed.

“Women and their archaeology, huh?”

“Tell me about it.”

Twilight lifted the tome from her saddle and placed it on her desk, opening it to the first entry.

“It is foolish to assume you are alone. Those are the words I lived by growing up. No doubt, Lullaby’s constant utterance of the phrase contributed to my motto. However in these last few years of my life I have come to the realization that some forms of loneliness cannot be helped. Never mind the friends and allies I have made nor the sense of accomplishment and prestige I have achieved over the course of my life. At the heart of all ponies in my position, there will be a loneliness.

I am Bedim Haze. I write this record of my life for two purposes. That my story may live on in some form and that what I have been through never reiterates itself upon another.”

Twilight shifted slightly, a intrigued expression growing on her face. She read on.

“I suppose all memoirs must start at the beginning, yet to the utmost of my knowledge I have none. Lullaby told me everything she could before her passing but I cannot say if it is all truly definitive or if some is the nonsense of dying mind. My love for the only mother I’ve ever known inclines me to the former. Regardless I do not wish to speak of such dark foundations even in my own tome and will carry those secrets to my grave. I will begin at my first established memory. The wings…

The baby foal playfully batted her wing as Lullaby walked down the street. She carried the basket with her mouth now, keeping a close eye on the rambunctious contents. A forceful shove pushed her attention elsewhere.

“Watch it! I’m walking over here!”

Lullaby gave a glare at the blue earth pony that had just pushed her in the street nearly knocking the basket out of her mouth. As he slowly passed with his wagon in tow she gave a swift kick with the back of her legs to the front wheel. The wheel shattered and toppled forward spilling its contents of bags and bags of flour onto the hapless wagon driver. He turned back to scowl at the black Pegasus but she was already gone. Slipped into the crowd. “Oops,” she whispered through her open mouth.

Lullaby had arrived late last night. The city was a settlement in the north known as Crystal Falls located a day’s walk from the northern mountains. The name was more of an inside joke though since Crystal Falls had neither crystals nor water falls. The settlement had been established as a mining community. A home for those ponies that thought they could make their fortune with the minerals found in and around the mountains.

It was merely a two lane town. One street housing the various shops and trade posts that kept the ponies living in decent comfort and the other housing the ponies themselves. Lullaby had found a small shed on the outskirts of town. It was no palace by any stretch of the word but it was enough for now. She had to find ways of making a living.

The main street was bustling with ponies today. Nearly every bit of the dirt road covered in ponies’ hooves walking from this store to that. Lullaby kept an eye out for any “Help Wanted” signs.

She was confident that she could accomplish any job no matter how menial. In her previous life she had been a jack of all trades. But then, her previous circumstances sort of called for that. It was here in the new world, Equestria, that many ponies were finding themselves put into niches. The earth ponies till the land. The Pegasi direct the weather. The unicorns studied magic. Not that the country she came from was very different but at least there was a sense of community.

Here, the leaders of three strictly species pure races had become friends and demanded that their people share the same friendship and camaraderie. Racial tensions do not dissipate that easily. The street was filled with every kind of pony. Yet none were talking to each other unless it was to yell.

At the end of lane near the settlement’s forest edge Lullaby finally found what she was looking for. A small school house, recently built, was sporting a sign that said “Teacher Needed.” She out on her best smile and walked in.

The inside looked to still be under construction. Earth ponies hung from the rafter nailing into the roof while on the floor others sawed and sanded down desks and chairs. At the far end stood a tan maned filly with a green coat and glasses. A sensible dark blue dress obscured her cutie mark. She seemed to be at the forefront of the operation, looking at blueprints spread out on top of a small desk and giving out directions to anyone who might approach her.

Lullaby walked up and placed the basket down beside her. “Ahem.”

The green earth pony looked up from her blueprints. Her smile appeared completely genuine. “Yes, how can I help you?”

“I’m here about the teacher position.”

“Oh!” The bespectacled pony appeared slightly perturbed at this comment.

“I’m sorry if I’m catching you at a bad time.” Lullaby rubbed her hoof behind her head in a noncommittal manner.

“Oh, no, it’s perfectly alright!” she rolled up her blueprints and placed them in the desk. “I just didn’t expect a Pegasus to be the first to apply.”

Lullaby felt a twinge in her eye. “You don’t say?”

The pony in the dress looked at Lullaby in a confused manner and immediately gasped. “Oh! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. It’s just- I think- Sorry, actually this is my first time meeting a Pegasus in pony.” She gently extended a hoof in greeting. “Honey Crisp.”

Lullaby returned the apologetic greeting. “Lullaby Hush.”

Honey’s smile brightened. “What a lovely name!”

Lullaby blushed slightly, the memory of getting angry earlier making her embarrassed.

Honey opened another drawer and removed some formal looking papers. “So, are you new in town?”

“Yeah, just got in last night so I haven’t been able to find a job yet. You’re the first one that popped out so here I am.”

“Great, though I’m surprised you didn’t try the trading post first. They’re always looking for new Pegasus delivery ponies.”

“Yeah, but then I’d have no one to watch this little guy when I’m away.”

Lullaby motioned to the basket at her feet and rocked it gently with her hoof.

Honey looked into the mass of blankets. The small black unicorn foal now slept soundly, his horn now as black as his mane.

Last night Lullaby made sure to rub ash over it. There was no need for anypony to ask too many questions.

“Aw, he’s adorable,” Honey cooed. “So you’re married to a unicorn?”

“Ah, it’s a little more complicated than that.”

Honey smiled warmly. “I think I can understand. The wild frontier makes strange bedfellows.”

Lullaby blushed once more.

“In fact,” Honey continued. “I have my own little bundle sleeping in the back.”

She pointed to a small crib in the back corner of the school house, well away from the construction ponies. Lullaby trotted over to peer at the sleeping baby. He had a tan mane with dark yellow coat.

“What’s his name?” asked Lullaby.

“Apple Crisp,” Honey replied. “After his father.” Honey’s voice sadly trailing off.

Lullaby turned to her. “Where is he?”

“Oh, he just works at the mines. Not doing anything dangerous like going into those holes, thank goodness. No, he’s just a cook for the camp.”

“I saw those cabins and tents on the mountain side of town. Must be a lot of workers there?”

Honey sighed. “Pretty much every filly in town has a colt that works in those mines.” Her eyes trailed out the window gazing northward. “They’re all just a walk away and yet we rarely see them.”

“I’m sorry,” Lullaby stammered. “I didn’t mean to bring up anything difficult.”

“Oh, it’s perfectly alright sweetie.” Honey placed a reassuring hoof on Lullaby and smiled warmly. “Now back to the position.”

They both walked over to the desk again. Honey picking up the papers she had pulled out previously.

“Do you have any previous experience?”

“Actually, yes!” Lullaby replied enthusiastically. “I used to train Pegasus fillies at flight camp.”

“That’s good!” Honey wrote something down. “So you’re familiar with child discipline?”

“Uh huh. Though I never really had to deal with too much insubordination.”

“Insubordination?”

“Uh, I mean-“ Lullaby stammered. “They were never enough of a handful to warrant too much discipline.”

“Oh,” Honey scribbled something else down and flipped a page. “What topics are you familiar with?”

“I know quite a bit about Pegasus and unicorn history. Earth pony too, to an extent. I’m fluent in Prench and Horse Latin. I have a firm grasp of euclopian geometry and algebra. Anything else I should know for the job?”

“That sounds like a wonderful resume. I really think you’ve got the basics.” Honey gave her another dazzling smile and walked around the desk.

They shook hooves once more. “The school won’t be done until the end of the week and I do need to accept other applicants. First thing next week we’re holding a couple practice sessions with the children to determine which applicant has the best chemistry. Oh! Know any of that?”

“I know a little bit about science.” Lullaby smiled to herself.

“Great, we’ll expect you next week then.”

Suddenly there was the sound of a frantic bell. In the distance there was the sound of ponies screaming and running in terror. Honey’s faced went pale.

“Oh no.”

“What?” asked Lullaby.

“They’re back.”

The sound of heavy wings flew past the roof of the school house. Lullaby rushed to the window to see the commotion. Baring down and closing in fast were creatures of both bird and beast. A literal swarm of griffins were approaching the edge of town.

Lullaby/Spike - Chapter 2

Lullaby braced herself as the griffins made a sweeping pass across the roofs of the small town. The power of their wings beat down rattling the roof and shaking the insides of the small school house. Construction ponies toppled from the rafters and ladders fell to the ground in heaps. Honey dashed to her child’s crib and placed her body over the bed to protect him from falling debris. Lullaby did the same with her own.

For a few long seconds the wings continued to beat down as they passed. When the shaking stopped Lullaby opened her eyes once more. The school house was a wreck. Chairs and desks were strewn everywhere in piles of wood and splinters. A rafter had fallen and nearly crushed Honey’s desk. Honey stood back up and cradled her child in her hoofs. His crying not the only sound of pain coming from the ponies inside.

Lullaby looked down at the baby in her basket. Still sleeping. How could any child sleep through such a storm? She smiled and moved away to help the ponies that were pinned down or hurt.

Honey was finally able to calm Apple Crisp down and sit him back in his crib when another shock hit the school house.

“They’re coming back!” shouted a random pony from outside. “It’s a raid!”

Lullaby peeked her head out the door and looked up to see the griffins returning once more. Another sound accompanied theirs and Lullaby turned in the opposite direction. Coming straight at the reapproaching horde was a squadron of Pegasi in dark blue tunics and fake leather helmets. As they grew closer they split apart to encircle the griffin horde. Shouts came from below as well and Lullaby turned to the street to see several unicorns making their way through the frightened crowd. They were pulling a contraption with a long rope attached to a trebuchet containing a large boulder. She gasped as she knew what they were about to do.

“No! Wait! They’re still in the air-“ she yelled but she was cut short as the unicorns let fly the giant rock. It did its job and knocked down several griffins but also ended up clipping a young red Pegasus in the wing. He slowly fell as he lost control.

Lullaby rushed to Honey in the school house. “Watch him for me!” She pointed at the basket then swiftly turned around and in a flash was gone.

The young Pegasus was still falling, about to limply land on the roof of some store, when suddenly a pair of hooves caught him under the hoofpits. He dazedly looked up at his savior, the force of the boulder still rocking his vision. All he could make out was a black blur with wings carrying him to the ground safely. He felt his hooves hit the ground and slowly sank to a heap of limbs on the dirt road. He rolled over on his back as his eyes focused once more. A beautiful Pegasus stared back with a worried expression. “Thank you,” he winced.

Lullaby smiled, but then reeled on the unicorns manning the catapult. “What were you thinking? There were still fliers out there in the scuffle. You’re lucky no one died!”

“Ma’am,” an official looking old gray unicorn with gold plated armor stepped forward. “We need you to go back inside and stay away this is a dangerous area.”

“No thanks to you, windbags!” She was in his face now.

“Ma’am,” his voice was now more serious. “We have the situation under control.”

“No you don’t! And you know why?”

“Why?”

“Cause your catapult’s busted.”

The grey unicorn turned back to his men and his siege weaponry only to find that it had indeed come apart after the last fling. Pieces that appeared to have been securely nailed or tied to together had burst apart. The whole thing was now a pile of dead wood.

The gray unicorn muttered a swear that Lullaby had never heard before. “We still need to get in there!”

“No, you don’t! As long as the Pegasi are in the air there’s no point to a ground attack.”

He gave Lullaby a perplexed look. “And what do you suggest?”

Lullaby searched the sky for signs of the fighting pegasi. “Which one is the team leader?”

Gray unicorn pointed to a small blue pony in the distance that was zipping around an aggravated griffin. “His name’s Cloud Catcher.”

“Perfect, just stay here and protect the citizens, get them inside. I’ll go see what I can do from our end.” Without another word she shot off towards the blue Pegasus.

Gray unicorn stood perfectly still, a deep frown plastered on his face. He walked up to the red Pegasus lying on his back. “Stand up, soldier!”

The red Pegasus did just that and wearily raised a hoof to his head in salute.

“If you can’t fly then you’ll walk. Protect the civilians, Gladius.” With that the gray unicorn walked away.

“Yes, Uncle.” Gladius whispered as he turned his head toward the black mare flying away toward the unfolding battle.

Lullaby dodged and ducked between mobs of griffins and pegasi duking it out in the air. Once she noticed that a griffin had been on her tail she would corkscrew in another direction forcing the griffin to do the same. In a maneuver only a pro could pull off she stopped on a dime in front of a wall and flew up leaving the slower griffin to hit and crumble against the wall.

After a few minutes of dodging tails in this manner she finally made it Cloud Catcher. The blue Pegasus did not look so good. His opponent had caught him by flying in a wide circle that was shrinking every second. When Cloud Catcher went up, the griffin would as well. Leaving him only two dimensions of travel. Lullaby had to act fast or he would be shredded.

She flew high into the sky above the cloud line and set herself directly above the griffin and Pegasus. Then she began a slow rotation going in the opposite direction of the griffin’s predatory circle. Within seconds the speed of the rotation began to accelerate, collecting clouds and moisture. Soon she had a small funnel of air that fell down between the griffin and its prey. When the griffin’s circle tried to breach the funnel it was immediately stopped by wind pressure. Lullaby flew into the heart of her tiny tornado to talk to the Pegasus captain.

“That was something!” he exclaimed in a joyful expression. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen cloud play like that before. Thanks for pulling my flank out of the fire.”

He reached out an appreciatory hoof.

“Your welcome but we don’t have time for this!” Lullaby pushed his hoof away. “Listen, they’re evacuating the citizens from the street. This is our chance to sweep the horde out without any casualties.”

Cloud Catcher cocked his eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”

“Your team are all trained in weather manipulation, right?”

“The best we’ve got.”

“Well,” Lullaby motioned to the funnel surrounding them. “Think we can make a big enough one of these to push them out?”

Cloud Catcher stroked his chin with his hoof. “Young Lady, that sounds destructive and completely irresponsible.” He paused to watch her expression. “I’m in.”

Lullaby smiled and they bumped hooves in decision.

“Just give me a minute to let my boys in on the plan.”

At that there was a sudden burst of air and something careened past them, completely dissipating the tornado. The two pegasi looked onward at the figure that had cut through the wind pressure like a hot knife through butter. A long male griffin with spotted haunches and slightly yellow and red feathers on the tips of his brow caught their gaze as he landed on a treetop. His piercing blue eyes catching them from hundreds of hooves away.

“I don’t think we have a minute,” Lullaby muttered nervously.

“I’ll make it quick,” was all Cloud Catcher had to say before flying off.

Lullaby stared straight at her new opponent. He was large. Probably a good head above her. His wings were enormous with the same pattern of red and yellow highlights accentuating his tips. He dug his claws into the tree, ready to spring forth at a moment’s notice. Lullaby decided that if she would have any advantage it would be the first move. She flew away.

Within moments the griffin was at her tail, staring her down with a blue eyed glare. She made a quick stop and changed direction but this did not impede her pursuer. Next she tried a cork screw through the trees. The griffin continued in an identical manner matching every move she made. He wasn’t trying to catch her. He was faster than her and he knew that. This was some kind of game of follow the leader.

“Think we can talk about this?” she yelled at her back. The griffin merely gave her a playful smirk, his eyes widening ever so slightly. “Thought not.”

So he proved he was fast, strong, and pretty good at wing control with those forceful turns. But there was one thing that Lullaby knew she was better at than him. She finally exited the forest of trees and rose higher for coup de grace. Suddenly Cloud Catcher was there.

“Nice work, rookie! Kept that loose cannon off our backs with plenty of time to set up!”

She took a look at the town. An enormous funnel was forming in the street below, created by the Pegasus team. The most of the griffins were down for the count but the rest struggled in vain to circumvent the ponies’ magical tornado. It was really working.

A burst of air and then a red and yellow blur shot past the two skyward ponies. It dove straight into the funnel and began to fly the opposite direction. Slowly but surely the funnel was disappearing.

“That’s bucking unbelievable!” Cloud Catcher shouted. “We got twenty pegasi down there!”

This was indeed bad. Not only were they losing the twister but with the momentum generated by the red and yellow griffin there could be a total reversal. One the pegasi in the middle of all that would be the victims of.

Lullaby pumped her wings and flew down to join them, Cloud Catcher in tow. She hit the wind pressure barrier like a wall of water and began flying with all she got. Sure enough the griffin had started a reversal and the wind was against her now. She looked above her as the griffin continued to pass her over and over again. Twice a second. Three times a second. How was he this fast?

Lullaby could feel her wings beginning to cramp. They had added just enough pressure to keep the funnel deadlocked, no spinning either way. Now it was just twenty something pegasi and a griffin in a dust storm. As Lullaby passed the streets below her she could notice through the clouds of dirt that the griffins were rising again. Their second wind clearly restored. There was no more time.

Lullaby shot into the sky once more and spun around. This was going to take finesse. She calmed herself and examined the pattern of the griffin in the storm. She took a deep breath and began to rotate through the air. Slowly but steadily until she was pulling in clouds behind her. As she continued to spin faster and faster the clouds behind her condensed turning grey and dark. They shot off a spark, then another. She could feel it, she was reaching her terminal speed. She placed her hooves above her head and she bucked the clouds brewing behind her and sent a shock wave through it. A pillar of lightning shot out pushing her with speed unseen before into the funnel. She felt her front hooves connect with her target.

She looked up past her hooves for the briefest of seconds. The griffin was there, his talons up in front him blocking the attack. He had finally stopped circling but was now standing perfectly still being pushed with extreme force by her. There was no fear in his eyes. In fact he was smiling. He gave her a playful wink and then with a loud “POW” was sent careening into the horizon.

Lullaby, still moving at an extreme speed, plowed into the earth. Conveniently creating a safe hole from the twister that, now free from the griffin’s speed, was created easily. It swept through the town picking up every last griffin and leaving all the homes and businesses slightly shaken but still better off.

When the twister reached the edge of town all the pegasi disengaged from the funnel and let it continue its path towards the mountains. Townsfolk slowly poked their heads out of their houses to investigate. Lullaby popped her head out of the ground. The townsfolk looked at her for a quiet moment and then burst into cheers. Gray unicorn was the first on the scene.

“That was completely irresponsible!” he shouted over the whoops and hollers. “Do you know what would have happened if that had gone south?”

“But it didn’t!” Cloud Catcher was there along with his whole team at his back. The only one not there being the red Pegasus standing behind gray unicorn. Cloud Catcher pulled her out of the ground. “This mare just saved our and your sorry flanks, Javelin! She’s a hero.” A cheer rose again from the spectators.

Gray unicorn, now identified as Javelin, pinched his face in anger. “She’s still a civilian! To perform such an act on the orders of a civilian are-“

“Are what Captain?” Cloud Catcher’s voice was now serious as he removed his leather helmet. “My team doesn’t answer to you.”

“The civilian committed an act of insubordination!” Javelin flared angrily, now right in Cloud Catcher’s face.

“As I said!” Cloud Catcher continued. “My TEAM doesn’t answer to you.”

Cloud Catcher proceeded to place his leather helmet on Lullaby’s head. She looked up at him with a shocked expression. Javelin just looked annoyed.

“I gave my nephew a position in your ranks because I was told you were the best warriors the pegasi had. But if you let any rebellious rookie join you then I suppose I was mistaken.”

Cloud Catcher shoved his face in Javelin’s once more. “You’re not really going to take the kid’s future from him just to spite me, are you? You don’t want to come off that petty.”

Javelin took a look around him. Ponies were everywhere, staring at him, judging every action. He turned to his men and nodded his head in a way that said “We’re leaving.”

Only the red Pegasus stayed behind. He looked completely unsure of where his loyalties stood. Cloud Catcher motioned for him to join them, “Come on, Gladius. You’re uncle’s just blowing off steam. Come meet our new recruit.” Gladius followed his team leader’s advice.

Off in the distance, as he walked away Javelin muttered to himself, “Filthy savages.”

A unicorn soldier to his right spoke up. “Sir, are you speaking of the griffins or the pegasi?”

Javelin fixed his subordinate with a look that sent a shiver up the soldier’s spine.

“So what’s your name, kid?” Cloud Catcher asked.

Lullaby could not stop her blushing. She had never had such attention heaped on her. “I- I think there’s been a mistake. I’m not trying to join-“

There was chorus of voices and questions from the other pegasi. “Where’d you learn that?” “Did you train at Cloudsdale?” “Can you teach me that move you did?” “You looked amazing.”

That last one coming softly from red Pegasus named Gladius. His red face turning and even deeper shade of red as everyone gave him a quick glance.

“She certainly was,” Cloud Catcher continued. “Now are you going to give your name or do we have to beat it out of you?” He nudged her shoulder jokingly but it still sent a wave of pain through her body.

She winced. “Lullaby. Lullaby Hush.”

“Well, Lullaby, welcome to the Great North’s 12th Pegasus Legion. We go by Wonderbolts for short.”

Spike had retired from the festival a little early today. Not that the attractions and treats weren’t spectacular but a dragon’s got to know when to call it quits, especially when you’ve just spent the previous day binging on said treats.

He had just turned down the corridor towards Twilight’s room when something caught his eye. Something was glowing at the far end of the hall. A faint blue light spread across the corner of the crystal hallway illuminating a bust. Spike stepped past Twilight’s door, slightly curious. When he was two or three steps away from the corner the light disappeared once more. He quickly turned the corner and notice the glow had gotten further down the hall. It almost looked like somepony carrying a blue torch. But once again it dived behind a corner almost as if it knew he was in pursuit.

Something drew Spike even faster toward the luminescent glow. Though he had to stop frequently to catch his breath he never once lost sight of the glow. It quickly ducked inside a room and Spike followed suit, immediately running into a long elegant pink hoof.

Spike tumbled to the floor. “Ow, my head.”

“Spike, are you hurt?” Princess Cadance extended a hoof to help the tiny dragon up.

“No, I’m fine,” he replied as he rubbed his head. “Did you see-“

“A blue glowing thing that looked like a pony holding a torch?”

“Oh, you have?”

“Yeah, it just flew past and into the library.”

“So what is it?”

Cadance gave a concerned expression. “I’m not sure, but I couldn’t sense any love from it.”

“Which means?” Spike asked hesitantly.

“Either it’s an illusion or something far worse.”

“Why does it seem with me, like every situation is the latter?” Spike threw up his hands to the sides of his head in a pleading gesture.

Cadance let out a small giggle. “So,” she stared at the shelves of books where the blue glow had gone. “Feel like a little adventure?”

“Uh,” Spike was hesitant. “I guess we’ll be safe if I’m with you right?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen.”

“Well, okay.”

The two began to walk down rows of ancient tomes. Spike sticking close to Cadance’s hooves.

“So what are you doing in the library?” Spike asked. “I thought Twilight said you were supposed to be at the closing ceremony.”

“That’s not for another hour at least. And besides, when you’re expected to attend all ten days of a festival it gets pretty monotonous after a while.”

“I suppose,” he gave an embarrassed grin. He had been able to whoop it up for the entire ten days. Now he just felt a little gluttonous. “So you’re looking into that room that Twilight found?”

“Well, not exactly. I was doing my own runs of the castle looking for secret passages. It’s kind of a hobby I’m working on.”

“Found any?”

“Tons! You wouldn’t believe all the trap doors that are in the throne room at least.”

Elsewhere, a slightly scraped up member of the castle staff began to polish the bannister of window in the throne room. He heard a loud click and looked down. He gave a short exasperated sigh as his body tumbled into a deep hole. The only sound in the throne room being his grunt of “I’m okay.”

“Why do you suppose Sombra would build so many traps in his own castle?” the young dragon posed.

“Probably because he had a lot of enem-“

Cadance was cut short, or rather made speechless. They were now before the hole that Twilight spoke of. There in the center of the library wing sat a round hole, its insides black as night.

Cadance threw Spike a sly grin. “You think we should?”

“Uh,” Spike stammered. “Maybe we should just wait for Twilight.”

“I’m pretty sure the blue glow went down there. I mean, this is the way it came and there’s nowhere else to go.”

Spike gulped loud enough for Cadance to hear. She smiled and wrapped a reassuring hoof around him.

“It’s okay, Spike. We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Suddenly the thought of the blue glow raced through his mind. Something about it reigniting his baser instincts and pushing his mind to tell his body, “Follow.”

“No, I want to go,” he replied resolutely.

“Okay,” Cadance picked him up with her magic and set him on her back. “Hang on.”

The two slowly floated to the bottom, Cadance’s full height not that much shorter than the entrance’s height. She made her horn glow a faint blue that lit up the tunnel.

“Onward to adventure?” She asked.

“To adventure!” Spike shouted, immediately slapping a claw over his mouth.

The echo channeled down the narrow pathway and back up, sounding longer and more ominous than before.

“Uh,” Spike cleared his throat. “Yeah, let’s go this way.”

The two began to walk slowly down the twisting tunnel, the only light coming from Cadance’s horn. It was certainly dark but Spike could not feel anything like fear. In fact, he felt serene, almost at peace. Constantly he found himself nodding off only for Cadance to make a small hushed noise that would bring him back awake.

They finally reached the end of the long tunnel and peered into the tiny room. Cadance could stand at her full height in here but the ceiling was still mere hooves away. She cantered over to the desk and examined the ever-burning candle.

“Amazing!” she murmured. “An indestructible spell on the wax? Maybe the wick? And the flame! All these years burning underground. This should be in a museum, don’t you think so, Spike?”

When no response came she turned around to find Spike fast asleep on her back. She smiled and rested him on the dusty bed. Spike immediately curled into a ball and hugged the blankets tight to his scales.

Cadance turned her head back to the desk and what sat next to it. An ancient chest. There was no markings that could determine date or ownership and there was no lock.

No harm looking inside then. Cadance thought to herself.

She began to lift the lid slowly with her hoof.

KATHUNK!

The sound sent shivers up Cadance’s spine. Nothing in the room made such a noise. It was like a large object came crashing down on another.

“Oh no.” Cadance’s eyes went wide.

“What was that sound?” Spike was up, attempting to rub the drowsiness from his eyes.

“Come on!” Cadance grabbed Spike once more and placed him on her back.

This time she galloped through the tunnel. They reached the opening in mere minutes, however now there was no opening to be found. Cadance looked up at the ceiling where the hole once was and found herself staring at some kind of rune or sigil. It was etched into the stone with what appeared to ancient ash. She forced all the magic she could muster into her horn and let it loose. The blast hit the rune and it appeared to glow a deep red and then fade back to black. Cadance tried again and again with only the same result. She backed away from the wall, this time aiming her blast not at the rune but at the stone wall around her.

I hope this doesn’t collapse this place and kill us, she thought to herself.

The blast she let loose once again dissipated, this time clearly being absorbed into the wall.

“Spike, this is bad.”

When no response came she lifted Spike off her back once more. The tiny dragon was asleep again. Cadance laid him on the ground on his back and put her head to his chest.

“Oh no.”

His heart beat was slow and getting slower.

Cadance took a few steps back and turned around the tight tunnel. Her eyes began to well up with tears. “What have I done?”

Author's Note

Okay so I know I might get some people pointing stuff out about the name I gave for the Pegasus team, but keep in mind that it is merely a name. I'm not insinuating that this is the true origins of the Wonderbolts since I do like to keep as much to canon as possible. The name has a purpose I assure you, just not that one.

Twilight/... - Chapter 3

Twilight didn’t hear her brother knock on the door. She didn’t hear him enter. She didn’t even hear him say her name twelve times. She did however hear him scream in her ear.

“Ow!” Twilight yelped. “Who? What? Why?”

She finally noticed Shining Armor standing next to her, a somewhat nervous expression on his face.

“Oh, Shiny!” Twilight carried on not seeming to notice her brother’s apprehension. “You’ve just got to read this! It’s absolutely fascinating!”

“Twily!” Shining Armor spouted in a rather harsher tone than necessary. Twilight immediately zipped her lip. “I’m not here for that I have a question. Unfortunately, you being here alone kind of answers it already.”

“What?”

“Have you seen Cadance? The ending ceremony for the festival begins in twenty minutes and she’s nowhere. I’ve had the castle staff combing the halls and the guards searching the crowds outside but so far nothing.”

Twilight took a look at the clock on her wall. She had begun reading the journal this morning at eight, it was now close to five in the afternoon.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten engrossed enough in a book to lose that much time. Still this is weird. Where could she be?

Twilight looked at the journal on her desk.

No, she couldn’t have. Shiny said they checked everywhere, they would have seen the hole. Still…

“She wasn’t in the library examining the hole I discovered? Cause that’s the only place I can think of.”

“Actually that’s another thing, Twily.” Shining Armor furrowed his brow. “There is no hole in the library.”

Twilight stared at the pillar in front of her. The same pillar from the night before only one detail missing, the indentation of a horn.

“It was right here!” she shouted to everyone in the room. “The keyhole was right here!”

Shining Armor had assembled a squad of castle guards and the castle librarian to accompany him and Twilight to the pillar. Now, after five minutes of Twilight jumping around and squatting down searching for any sign of the secrets that pillar the previous night held, the old bespectacled librarian began to lose his patience.

“Princess Twilight,” said the crystal librarian. “I assure you there’s no hole. I’ve worked here since even before King Sombra came to power and I know every inch of this library like the back of my hand. All its traps, pressure pads, and even switches.” He proceeded to pull a candelabra that was jutting out of the wall.

Elsewhere in the castle there stood a staff pony brushing dust from his hooves. Having just spent the last few hours climbing himself out of a hole. He was scuffed beyond repair and his neat white collar was now frayed and riddled with dirt. He sighed and began to walk towards the castle infirmary only to hear another *click.* He looked down discover he was walking on air. He let out a cry of frustration as he fell once more, deep, deep into a dark abyss.

“Hmmm,” the old librarian pulled the candelabra down a few more times yet nothing happened. “Odd, that was supposed to make the wall spin. I suppose it’s this other-“

He began to walk toward the candelabra on the other side of the room but heard a *click* from crystal panel where his hoof had landed. The library shelf behind him immediately spun and scooped him up with a shocked gasp and into the room beyond, the shelves now replaced with a bare wall.

“Look if Twily says there’s a door here then I believe her,” Shining now seemed to proclaim to no one but himself. “Do you think maybe Cadance went down there?”

“I don’t know!” Twilight could feel herself getting riled up. It had been there, she knew it had. How else would she have gotten the book?

The Book!

Twilight blinked out of the room in a bright flash and immediately reappeared carrying the dragon bound tome around in her hooves. She put it on the ground and paged to the back.

“If I found the journal inside the secret passage then there’s probably some mention of it. At least at the very end.”

Finally she found what she was looking for. At the eighth to last page a single phrase caught her well trained eye: Secret Room. Twilight read the passage aloud.

“I write this memoir during my own self-imposed imprisonment in my secret room. It is only here, resting in the stone carved from the mountain that I grew up with, that I can feel peace and tranquility. I have locked myself beneath the library, one of my favorite places, and barred the entrance with a Black Dragon Sigil. Others may come to visit me by the light of the moon, but the sigil will always keep me a prisoner and I prefer it that way.”

The academic in Twilight wanted to continue reading but something else told her she had all she needed.

“By the light of the moon, huh?” she scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Of course! The keyhole must only appear at night! We just have to wait till sunset.”

“Uh, Twily,” Shining loosened his collar. “That doesn’t exactly change the situation we’re in right now! If we want the closing ceremonies to work and spread joy throughout Equestria then we need Cadance out now.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight answered sheepishly. “Don’t worry I know how to deal with that. I can just send a letter to Princess Luna through Celestia. Spike take a letter.”

It was only when no reply came that Twilight came to a realization. Spike hadn’t been with her all day. He was at the festival. Was he still there?

“Oh no,” Twilight’s face became pale. “Spike’s still at the festival!”

“What?” Shining shot a look at the grandfather clock in the library wing. 5:05 pm. “The closing ceremony’s already started! We need to find him!”

Within minutes every guard was combing the crowd. Twilight teleported to the festival grounds and begun to ask anypony if they had seen the purple dragon. Plenty said yes, but only from a few hours ago. It was like Spike had disappeared off the face of Equestria.

Minutes rolled by and the gathering crowd around the crystal heart began to murmur with anticipation, then nervousness, then dread. It was 5:49 and their princess was still nowhere to be seen.

Twilight looked up at the lowering sun. The sunset was scheduled for six. That was the moment when the solar body would cross the horizon and extinguish the light of day for the light of night. Twilight blinked to the castle square and checked the crystal heart. The light of the sun could clearly be seen receding from the reflective surface. They were running out of time.

Twilight blinked back to the library and leaned against the pillar exhausted. Shining reappeared a moment later running briskly into the room.

“Anything?” he asked.

“No,” Twilight could feel tears build up in her throat. “I can’t find Spike anywhere!”

“If that’s so, then…” Shining Armor shot a glance at the pillar Twilight stood before.

Twilight reeled around and sank to her knees. “Spike!” she shouted with all she could.

“Twilight?” came quiet but distant reply.

“Cadance?”

Twilight could hear galloping beneath her and then the voice was louder, “Twilight! Thank Celestia you’re here!”

Shining Armor sank to his knees as well and leaned towards the base of the pillar. “Cadance! Are you alright?”

“I’m okay… but Spike…”

Twilight felt her entire body shiver. She sprang to her feet and began to pound her hooves against the pillar.

“Open up!” Tears began welling in her eyes. “Please open up!”

“What happened?” asked Shining.

“I don’t know,” Cadance replied. “I think it’s this place. His breathing is getting slower.”

Suddenly the ambient light in the room was gone. In its place the candelabras along the wall began to magically alight. Twilight turned to the window. The sun had set.

Twilight ran her hoof along the pillar’s edge and found the hole she had searched for before. She pushed her horn in and heard the loud tumble from above. She stepped back as the pillar rose into the ceiling. She got a brief glimpse at the sigil the book had mentioned.

It was ashen black with a long line don the center and six smaller radical lines on either side. An oval and curved line intersected the top while the bottom displayed an unconnected semicircle. A Black Dragon Sigil, was what the book called it.

Cadance shot out of the hole and placed Spike on the ground. Twilight rushed over to the baby dragon and placed a hoof on his face.

“Spike?” Twilight asked through tearful sobs.

“I think it’s some kind reaction to the stone in there,” Cadance turned to her husband. “Either way we need to get him to the infirmary.”

Shining Armor nodded and put Spike on his back before running out of the room. Twilight followed them out. Cadance began to follow but caught sight of the window and uttered a gasp.

“How late is it?” she exclaimed.

Twilight turned to her for a brief moment, “Too late,” she replied dejectedly.

Suddenly the bare wall behind them spun around to reveal a library shelf and a confused looking librarian.

“Oh, I’m back,” he said. “Thank you, kind sir. You were quite helpful in showing me the way.”

He turned to his right as a ghostly blue flame passed through the wall there. It looked like the shadow of a pony held the blue flame in a lantern.

“You!” Cadance shot the ghostly body a nasty stare and directed a blast of magic from her horn at it.

The blast passed through harmlessly but the hovering flame still burst outwards covering the room. Twilight could swear she saw a face in the flame. Then just like that it was gone. The librarian took off his glasses to rub his strained eyes in disbelief.

“What was that?” Twilight asked, stepping back into the room.

“It’s what Spike and I followed into the tunnel,” Cadance replied. “I think it’s also what shut the pillar on us.”

“What happened down there?”

“We’ll talk about it later. We should go see to Spike.”

Twilight nodded in approval. “I’ll send a letter to the others. I have a feeling were going to need all the help we can get.”

The two princesses began to walk out of the library again. A member of the staff nearly ran into them as he slid to a halt in front of the doorway.

“Princesses,” the out of breath pony cried. “Terrible news!”

Moments later the sisters were in the castle square. Crystal ponies were crying and panicking all around them as a trio of guards made way for the two.

“Look it’s the princess!” came a voice from the crowd. “She’ll fix it!” “She’ll fix everything!” “What’s going to happen to us?”

The last question hanging in the air as Cadance and Twilight stopped in front of the Crystal Heart.

The crystal’s luster was now gone replaced by a dull shine. What’s worse was the bottom seemed to be petrified, as if turned to stone. The two looked closely and could see the petrification moving slowly up the length of the crystal.

“I don’t know,” was all Twilight could think to say.

Attacked. Not hurt. Still not nice. Pink pony stinks. How pink pony out? Passage sealed. If pony out, dragon out. Dragons dangerous. Why? Why dangerous? Something told once. Can’t remember. Memory fuzzy. Fuzzy. Hazy. Haze. Haze. Haze would know. Haze smart. Crystal everywhere make it hard to think. Feels good. No. Mission. Got mission. Need to stick to mission… What mission again? Mission. Mission. Window. Nice window. Can see mountains from here. Home. Miss home. So much crystal. Can barely feel stone. Wait. Something below. Deep. Deep. Deep. That’s right! Mission. Protect ponies from deep deep. Haze so smart. Smartest pony there is. Deep deep curse can’t touch ponies as long as… Oh no! Passage opened! Sigil out of place! Curse! Curse! Curse this memory. Need Haze. But Haze left… Need. Need. Need ally. Somepony who will listen. Pink pony no help there. Purple one likes dragon. No want help from there… Won’t somepony help? Can feel deep deep stir. Not good. Not good. No good. Without Haze…

Applejack/Honey - Chapter 4

Author's Note

So it's come to my attention that I've been spelling Cadence's name wrong. Sorry about that, gonna change may spelling now. Maybe go back at some point and change the others but for now just letting you know about the change.

Applejack/Honey - Chapter 4

Applejack rested a hoof on the train window and looked out at the terrain rushing by. She and the others had received Twilight’s message that morning. However no letter specifically stated the danger they were facing. Twilight had cryptically called all her friends to the Crystal Kingdom with the words, “Something terrible has happened.” She hoped it wasn’t anything too serious.

“What do you suppose the egghead meant in her letter?” asked Rainbow Dash from the seat behind her.

“I’m not sure,” replied Applejack. “But it’d be downright immature to assume this is a ruse for a party.”

She eyed Pinkie Pie sitting across from her. The pink mare had been filling balloons for the past hour and they had now overtaken her seat covering her features with a rainbow of mylar. She had also somehow produced a cake from the train’s food storage cart that she was now delicately frosting while trying to bat away balloons. Pinkie parted the balloons obscuring her face and faced AJ.

“But it’s so perfect!” she exclaimed joyfully. “Twilight calls us to the Crystal Kingdom just in time for Calamity’s birthday. It’s too fort-it-tude-ness.”

“I believe you mean fortuitous, darling.” Rarity spoke up from her seat across the aisle and buried her nose back in her fashion magazine.

“Yeah, that!” Pinkie replied happily.

“Uh, who’s Calamity?” asked Rainbow Dash as she threw her front hooves over the edge of Applejack’s seat to face everypony.

“You know, silly,” Pinkie waved a hoof at Rainbow. “The crystal pony on staff that keeps falling into those traps.”

“Uh, sugar cube,” Applejack gave Pinkie a confused stare. “I don’t think we’ve met this pony.”

“Oh, sure you have,” Pinkie replied excitedly. “And so have I! I memorize the birthdays of everyone I’ve ever met.”

Pinkie pulled a huge stack of papers from the bundle of floating clouds and began to rifle through them.

“That’s everyone you’ve ever met?” Rainbow asked with shock.

“Oh, no, no, no. This is the list for the Crystal Kingdom. I always bring it with me when we visit! But don’t worry,” Pinkie leaned in closer to the two ponies across from her and whispered conspiratorially. “I have your birthdays committed to memory. Just in case of a birthday emergency.”

“Um, what’s a birthday emergency?” This time it was Fluttershy to speak up. She sat across the aisle with Rarity. The yellow Pegasus apparently quietly listening in on the conversation.

“Please, don’t ask-“ but Rainbow was cut off.

“What’s a birthday emergency?!” Pinkie shouted. “What if tomorrow Princess Celestia and Princess Luna just disappeared and the sun and moon never rose again! Well, we’d have to look at the clock to tell time and what day it was. And I would certainly want to know which ticks of clock I should celebrate with my bestest friends!”

Applejack lowered the Pinkie’s birthday papers in her hoof and sighed. “Yup, she’s got the seconds here too.”

“You know, Pinkie,” Rainbow grinned. “Sometimes I think you might be even more obsessive than Twilight.”

After another hour, the train came to a stop in the Crystal Kingdom’s station. The five disembarked, Rainbow on luggage duty since Spike wasn’t around.

“You know,” Rainbow groaned from below the mass of bags and suitcases. “I wouldn’t mind doing this so much if it wasn’t for Rarity’s stuff.”

“Well, no one knows when you’re going to need the essentials,” Rarity replied. “Now be a dear and hand me my sun hat from bag 2A.”

Rainbow wearily lifted a hoof with a color coded list of items. “Is that the less purple one or the more purple one?”

“It’s fuchsia, darling.”

“Oh,” Rainbow stared up at the rocking pile of luggage on her back. “And that is?”

Rarity sighed as her horn began to glow. A fuchsia colored box squeezed out of the pile and landed in front of her. She opened it with a smile and placed the fashionable hat on her mane.

“Ready!” she announced and began to catch up to the others. “Oh, Rainbow, could you put that back for me?” She pointed at the box.

Rainbow groaned once more as she looked on dumbfounded and slumped to the floor.

Outside the station, Applejack and the others were talking to Shining Armor.

“So, why couldn’t Twilight come pick us up?” she asked the flustered looking colt.

“Everything is a little bit complicated at the moment,” the colt replied. “She hasn’t left Spike’s side for an instant.”

The four present went dead silent. “Something’s wrong with Spike?” Fluttershy asked with tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

“You’ll just have to see for yourself,” he took a quick look around. “Wait, where’s Rainbow Dash?”

Just then Rainbow Dash crawled out of the station doorway, the pile of luggage on her back barely squeezing through and forcing her to pull with all her might. Shining Armor noticed her and walked over. “Here, let me.”

A purple glow encapsulated the luggage as it was lifted off of Dash. Shining strolled away towards a coach that awaited the six ponies.

“Oh, come on!” Rainbow shouted to no one.

“I’m glad you’re here, everyone.” This time it was Cadence to greet the five. They stood in the center of the palace throne room and waited for Cadence to join them from the throne. “Things aren’t looking good.”

“Shining was telling us about it,” Applejack reiterated. “Something happened to Spike?”

“Yes,” Cadence replied. “But that’s not everything.” She turned her head and sighed morosely. “I’m afraid it’s all my fault. I made a terrible mistake and now Spike and the entire kingdom are suffering for it.”

The five glanced at each other nervously.

“How can we help?” asked Rarity.

“First we should find Twilight. She’ll want to show you the problem.”

“Already here.”

The five spun around to see a clearly sleep deprived Twilight Sparkle stumble into the throne room. Her eyes were red with bags under them and the luster in her mane was replaced with frizzles and unkempt knots.

“Twilight!” Applejack hurried to the side of her friend. “What have you been up to?”

“You look terrible,” Fluttershy added.

“I know,” Twilight sighed. “But I’m so glad to have you girls here now.”

“Twilight,” Rarity spoke up. “Shining Armor said something about Spike being hospitalized?”

Twilight chuckled to the surprise of the ponies present.

“How is Spike’s health a laughing matter?” Applejack asked.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight ended her giggles. “It’s just... It’s alright now. And Cadence,” Twilight looked over to her sister-in-law. “You don’t have to blame yourself. It’s just-

-hibernating?!” Pinkie shouted.

The doctor pony shushed her with a hoof to her mouth and motioned around the infirmary where another pony in a staff collar and several casts and scrapes lay moaning.

“I’m not the best expert on dragon physiology,” the doctor began. “But he’s showing all the signs of hibernation. Slowed heart rate. Irregular breathing. And his scales seem to be growing.”

The doctor held up a magnifying glass over Spike’s posterior which the six leaned in close to look through. Sure enough Spike’s scales flexed and slowly slid across his body creating a secondary coat.

“But Spike’s just a baby,” Rarity stated throwing a hoof in the in protest. “How can he be hibernating like a fully grown dragon?”

Cadence spoke up now. “My guess is that it had to do with that place. The stone must be special. Maybe something about it awakened an instinct to sleep.” Cadence blew out a breath of relief.

“Is he gonna sleep for a hundred years like other dragons?” Rainbow asked the doctor.

“Well, again, I’m no expert but-“

“He should be fine in a few days or so.” Twilight cut off the doctor. “At least that’s what the book says.”

“The book?” Applejack eyed her friend. “Looks like there’s a lot more you should be telling us, sugar cube.”

“Yes,” Twilight sighed. “And I will. But first we have a problem that we all need to deal with right now.”

A loud scream of surprise followed by the sound of a kazoo cut the tension. Everypony turned to stare at Pinkie Pie who had just released her balloons and cake into the face of the only other patient in the room. A kazoo hung from her mouth as she stared back. “What? It’s his birthday!”

Twilight walked up to the tarp that covered what everypony knew to be the Crystal Heart. But what lay beneath it looked somewhat different.

Twilight lifted the tarp to reveal a half petrified crystal heart, the bottom half clearly changed into some kind of stone. The five gasped in shock.

“What happened here?” asked Applejack.

“We’re still trying to figure that out,” was all Twilight could come up with.

“It became like this when I wasn’t present for the closing ceremonies of the festival,” Cadence spoke up. “As everypony knows, that is the moment when all the joy the crystal ponies have experienced is redistributed through the Crystal Heart and spread throughout Equestria. However, when I wasn’t able to attend it. This is what occurred.”

“But,” Fluttershy was the one to speak up. “Sombra had the Crystal Heart for so long and the crystal ponies didn’t have a festival. Why would this happen now?”

“Exactly,” Twilight replied. “Which is why I have a theory. Come with me everypony!”

A few minutes later they were all now in Twilight’s room. Pinkie slumped to the floor in sigh of impatience.

“Just how many times are we gonna jump cut today?” she wailed.

Everypony simply gave her a curious glance and continued the conversation.

“This,” Twilight motioned to the tome on her desk. “Is the ‘Journal of Bedim Haze.’”

“Betty who?” Rainbow asked.

“Be-DIM Haze,” Twilight corrected. “He was a pony who lived nearly two thousand years ago, around the time of the first Hearth’s Warming.”

“That’s an amazing bit of history, Twilght,” Applejack stated. “But what does that have to do with our current situation?”

“I’ll show you,” Twilight replied.

Soon enough they were all in the library.

“Oh, come on!” Pinkie exclaimed as she threw up her hooves in vain.

Everypony now gathered around a suspicious looking hole in the center of one of the library’s wings. Twilight walked up to it.

“This is the secret passage to the room I found the book in,” Twilight said. “I thought it was a simple secret room like Sombra’s secret library below the castle but,” She pointed to the ceiling. Above everyone’s heads a strange rune rested in the stone. “That was apparently guarding it.”

“What is it?” asked Rarity.

“It’s called a Black Dragon Sigil,” Twilight replied. “And I don’t really know what it does.” She pulled out the journal from her saddle bag and leafed through. “The journal mentions the name but I’ve still yet to find any mention of what it does.”

“Wait,” Rainbow interjected. “Are you saying that you haven’t finished the book?”

“Mostly. The biggest problem is that some of it needs to be translated. It’s as if some passages are written in two other languages entirely.”

Twilight turned the book around for everyone to see. Sure enough the page she had turned to was covered in some kind of weird scrawling script that none present could decipher.

“Hmm,” Rainbow scratched her chin thoughtfully.

“What is it?” Twilight cocked her eyebrow in curiosity.

“It’s just,” Rainbow paused and thought harder. “I can swear I’ve seen this before. Somewhere…”

She trailed off and Twilight returned to flipping through the book.

“So let me see if I got this,” Applejack lifted a hoof in thought. “You’re thinking that whatever that sigil up there was doing was keeping the Crystal Heart from getting all stone-like?”

“Essentially,” Cadence replied. “But there’s more.”

“No!!!” Pinkie screamed and everyone turned to her. “No more jump cuts!”

Cadence gave an amused laugh. “It’s alright Pinkie we don’t have to go anywhere.”

She directed them to a wall of shelves that appeared to have been burned recently. Her horn began to glow and a soft blue light flooded the room. Standing before them was the afterimage of small flame floating in the air. However surrounding it was a strange shadow in the shape of a lantern and a featureless pony that held it.

“This is what I believe the sigil was keeping at bay.” Cadence’s face grew stern.

“Do you have any idea what it could be?” asked Rarity inspecting the three dimensional image in front of her.

“Not yet,” replied Twilight. “But that’s another reason I needed you here.”

“We have to find it before something else happens.” Cadence added.

Everypony nodded resolutely in agreement. Only Fluttershy didn’t turn back to her friends, her eyes focused on the little flame in front of her.

“R- Right,” she agreed hesitantly and looked away.

“We have most of the royal guard outside doing damage control with the citizens so only the staff has been able to help us with the search.”

“Are you sure it’s still in the castle, Twilight,” Applejack asked.

“Pretty sure,” Twilight turned her head hesitantly. “I’m not sure why, but I think it wants the book.”

“I guess that’s as good a place to start as any.” Applejack turned to her friends. “Alright everypony, Pinkie and Rarity I want you to inspect the upper floor rooms and hallways.”

“Aye-aye, Applejack, sir!” Pinkie replied with a salute.

“Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy will sweep the throne room, library and entrance way.”

“You got it!” Rainbow replied.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Fluttershy added.

“I’ll take the kitchens and servant’s quarters. Let’s meet back in Twilight’s room at dinner time.”

The five ponies broke off into their groups and sped off from the library wing. Applejack began to follow suit but felt a hoof on her shoulder.

“Actually, Applejack,” Twilight leaned in close to the other mare. “There’s something I needed to ask you about before.”

“Shoot, Twi.”

“Have you ever heard the name Apple Crisp?”

Honey settled her rambunctious baby foal into her saddle bag and opened the door. The air was warm and the sky was a bright blue. Summer was coming to a close.

It had been two weeks since Lullaby had bested the griffins and earned a place in the Wonderbolts. Almost every day since then she had asked Honey to babysit. Honey didn’t mind, the two baby foals actually got along quite well. But Lullaby always seemed to be in some kind of rush. Two weeks and she had barely shared ten words with her new friend. Today she was going to get a real conversation.

The walk to Lullaby’s new house was quite pleasant. No raids or stalwart soldiers pushing their way past crowds. Not even that many people out. Just a nice day.

Lullaby now lived on the end of the forest side of Main Street. Close to the soldier’s camp located in the forest proper. She had insisted on being close to town and the leader of the Wonderbolts, Cloud Catcher, had agreed. The house wasn’t anything special but it was a step up from her previous home which she had shown to Honey.

Needless to say, Honey herself had a hand in building the new house. She was the closest thing the town had to a structural engineer and most ponies just went along with whatever she said. She kept her cutie mark covered up most of the time with her dress, out of embarrassment. Unlike most other ponies whose name matched their mark, Honey’s was a little odd. It was a compass and pencil laying on top of a single blueprint.

Honey knocked on the new door to Lullaby’s house and waited for a reply. A few seconds later she could hear a moan and then shocked gasp.

“Coming!” came a voice from indoors.

The sound of wild flying and rustling about could be heard, including the sound of something falling over. A loud swear shot through the house and Honey leaned over to cover her foal’s ears.

More rustling followed then suddenly stopped. Honey could hear hoofsteps coming toward the door and they swung open.

“Hello, Lullaby.” Honey greeted cheerily.

Lullaby looked like she had just gotten out of bed, which she probably just had. Her Wonderbolts tunic was unbuttoned and her hair matted in several places. She fixed her new friend with tired gaze and pointed to the clock in her room beyond.

“It’s five in the morning.” Lullaby proclaimed.

“And you go to work at six,” Honey replied as she entered the home she helped build. “So I thought this gives us plenty of time to chat.”

“Oh,” Lullaby rubbed her eyes as she closed her front door. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Can’t friends just make time to chat? You’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t gotten a word in edge wise.”

Lullaby considered this and nodded agreement. “I guess you’re right. Cloud Catcher has been pushing everyone pretty hard since that last griffin raid. Even put me in charge of training for a few maneuvers.”

“I’m sure you’re an excellent instructor.”

“Yeah,” Lullaby rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry I couldn’t take that position at the school. I really would have loved to work with you.”

“Oh, think nothing of it,” Honey waved a hoof in dismissal. “You’ve got your own important things to deal with.”

At that, there was a cry from the crib in the corner. Lullaby rushed over to pick up the baby foal and rocked him back and forth in her hooves. Until he quieted down. She pulled a bottle of milk from a cold case near the wall and walked over to the stove and began to heat up some of it.

Honey watched Lullaby’s back as she performed her motherly tasks and smiled. “So what’s his name?”

“Bedim,” Lullaby replied nonchalantly then coming to a realization. “Aagh! I can’t believe I haven’t even told you his name yet! I must be such a bad friend.”

Lullaby covered her face with her hoof.

“No need to get so worked up, dear,” Honey smiled. “You’ve got a lot on your plate. I’m happy to pick up some of the slack for a friend.”

Lullaby raised her head and gave an apologetic smile. “Thank you so much for everything. I’d probably be on the street if it wasn’t for you.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Honey warned.

“I just- I just think I’m having a really hard time adapting here, you know.”

Honey furrowed her brow contemplatively. “I know it can seem hard, but as long as you have someone by your side everything will turn out alright.” She placed a reassuring hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

Lullaby gave her a smile and Bedim merely yawned quietly.

Honey took a better look at him. “So, Bedim,” she started. “As in to grow dark?”

“Not the greatest name, sure,” Lullaby returned to heating up the milk. “It’s a name his mother wanted.”

“Oh,” Honey gave a surprised start.

Lullaby slapped her hoof to her face once more. “I didn’t tell you that either, did I?”

“Um, no.”

Lullaby gave a slight sigh and returned her attention to Bedim. “Bedim may not be mine but it certainly is beginning to feel like it.” She gave the foal a quick “boop” on the nose as he smiled warmly. “I’ve kind of grown to like the little guy.”

Honey smiled. “You seem to be doing just fine.”

When the milk was done they both sat down and nursed their foals. The two talked about everything they could think of. Babies, architecture, flying, love, home. By the time they were done the clock was near to six.

“I guess I should get going,” Lullaby handed the foal she was carrying over to Honey by placing him in the saddlebag on her other side. “Cloud Catcher doesn’t appreciate latecomers. I’m kind of worried about this one pony, he doesn’t seem to be doing all that well. Glad- something.”

“Alright, well you be safe.”

“I will,” Lullaby opened the door to leave. “You take care of yourself.”

“I always do, oh,” Honey stopped Lullaby. “About the name, do you think I can call him Beddy.”

Lullaby stared back in disbelief and then burst into laughter. “Yeah, that’s perfect!”

And with that she was off. Honey leaned her head down toward the happy black foal. “Beddy.” She smiled.

Lullaby/Gladius - Chapter 5

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

Twilight/Rarity/Rainbow - Chapter 6

Author's Note

Few things: Sorry it's a three person chapter. I'm not breaking the format yet it's just that I need to get certain events out in a chapter and sometimes it easier with more than two.

Next is a not for everyone who read the previous chapter before I could edit it. The griffins control the WESTERN mountains, not the EAST. If you guys read the opposite then just consider every direction you read in the previous chapter switched around.

Sorry, I really derp it up when it comes to directions

Twilight/Rarity/Rainbow - Chapter 6

You’re gonna have to be a little more specific, Twi,” Applejack replied. “I have at least two cousin Apple Crisps. Then there’s uncle Apple Crisp. Great Great grandpa Crispus Apple…”

Applejack continued to name family members ad nauseam until Twilight held a hoof up to stop her.

“I get it,” she moaned. “It’s a common name.”

Applejack gave Twilight a confused look. “So what’s with the interest?”

“It’s just,” Twilight began but turned her head to the side. “Never mind, we should really start looking.”

“Not with you, we’re not!” It was Applejack’s turn to hold up a hoof in her friend’s face. “Just look at yourself, sugar cube. You haven’t slept in days. And I know it’s me talking here but you could use a shower.”

Twilight frowned but gave herself a sniff. She couldn’t argue.

“Alright,” she replied as she left the room. “But afterwards I’m coming straight over to help.”

Applejack gave Cadence a look that said “you’ll make sure she gets some rest won’t you” to which Cadence replied with a nod that said “of course.”

After a nice long shower twilight returned to her room where two things began to tantalize her. Her bed which called to her aching hooves and tired eyes and the book which lay open on her desk, calling out to her with its siren song of history and secrets. She truly was tired but in the end it was her own nature that won out.

Within minutes Twilight had begun devouring the journal page by page again. Writing notes on separate sheets of paper and gathering dictionaries and thesauri as well as historical manuscripts to help decipher the pages that she could decrypt. Soon enough she was no longer working on her desk, instead lying on the ground in a very un-princess like pose among, many strewn about pages and books scattered around her. This is the scene that Cadence walked in on.

“Twilight!” Cadence exclaimed with a hint of exasperation. “You have to get some sleep! You really are going to be no help to anyone if you continue on like this.”

Twilight was no longer even capable of frowning at her nagger. Instead wearily standing up and shooting her a half pained half sleep deprived glare.

“I know,” she moaned. “But I’ve been over this thing with a fine tooth comb seven times now and I still can’t find anything that will help us.” She lifted the book in her magical field and began flipping through the pages. “There’s no present magic so it’s not the book that’s cursed or anything. Plus the other languages in here are so archaic that even the first edition of Hoofster’s Dictionary of Ancient Language can identify them.” Her magic seemed to sputter for a second and the book dropped to the floor falling onto the first page.

“Oh, and this thing!” she pointed at the date on the page. “The only date in the entire book! But it’s so old I can’t even tell if it’s a real time or not.”

Cadence frowned at the thought of humoring her sister-in-law but walked over to inspect it anyway. The date was odd, three numbers, month/day/year, but I was modified with a phrase at the end. “Year of Sun Tide.” Cadence’s eyes popped open.

“Oh, I’ve seen this format before,” Cadence announced and then quickly galloped out of the room only to return a moment later carrying what looked to be a list. She showed it to Twilight. “This is a to do list posted outside the rooms every morning by the head of the castle to tell them what needs to be done that morning.”

Twilight shot a skeptical, but tired, glance at her sister-in-law. “Okay, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Look at the top.”

Twilight looked and her eyes opened wide. “It’s the same format but-“

“It says Year of Celestia,” Cadence eyes began to beam with curiosity and fascination. “The staff told me about this. Around a thousand years ago it was customary to start off letterhead with the date and denote it with the name of the current ruler.”

“Yeah!” Twilight felt joy at decoding a new part of the journal but immediately fell back into melancholy. “But I have no idea who Sun Tide is!” Twilight motioned to the many books around her. “I mean, I’ve never heard that name in any of my books.”

Cadence’s eyes suddenly darted past Twilight and lowered to give her a reaffirming grin. “Actually it is in your books.”

Twilight gave the most confused and exasperated face she could as she followed Cadence to the edge of the room where Twilight’s bookshelf stood.

“I’ve been through everything already, there’s no mention of Sun Tide in any of my history books.”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking history books.” Cadence pulled open a hidden drawer at the bottom of the book case. Inside were hundreds and hundreds of steamy romance novels. All lined up and alphabetized in perfect order.

Twilight stifled a cough as she blushed profusely. “I borrow those from Rarity! Really!”

Cadence lifted a paperback from the drawer. “Yes, but you borrowed this one from me two years ago.”

Twilight cheeks grew even redder.

“Don’t worry,” Cadence assured her. “I keep mine in a very similar spot.” Cadence giggle and proceeded to open up the book. “This is a story about an older virile pony that visits an island of all mares and falls in love with the beautiful princess and becomes king.”

“Okay! Okay!” Twilight looked as she was ready shoot steam out her nose. “I get it, it’s raunchy, what does that have to do with anything though?”

“Sun Tide is the main character,” Cadence replied smugly.

Twilight lowered an eyebrow in disbelief and took the book flipping through the pages.

“Also remember that half the story is told through letters between the two lovers,” Cadence continued watching over Twilight’s shoulder. “Check out the date!”

Twilight couldn’t help but look. Sure enough, there it was. The name Sun Tide was everywhere and at the beginning of every page that held a letter there was a date with the appropriation “Year of Sun Tide.”

Twilight had to sit down to wrap her head around it. “How could you remember all this and I couldn’t?”

“You have some facts store easier in your brain than me and I have mine.” Cadence gave a bright, but slightly perverted, smile.

“Alright,” Twilight shook her head to get out of her funk. “We have a similarity but how does a journal from over a thousand years ago relate to a recent hot romance novel?” Twilight turned the paperback over to read a brief description of the author, or authors in this case. “Quill and Wit are Canterlot brothers that both went into the study of history. They graduated top of their class at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and were expected to do great things. However, after an incident with the Bureau of Equestrian Study and History, both were banned from the field of academics. Quill is now one of Equestria’s most published authors and Wit aids in research for his brother’s books.”

The top of the page displayed a picture of the two unicorns. Quill stood to the left just a bit taller than his younger brother. Only their heads and lapels were in the shot. Twilight thought she saw something on the shorter one’s collar. She scrunched her eyes and looked closer.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“What! What is it!?” Cadence covered her ears as Twilight finally stopped screaming.

“It’s- It’s- It’s there! It’s just there!”

She pointed at the picture. Cadence slowly came up to take closer look. She caught sight of the pin below Wit’s collar that Twilight was pointing to. Displayed on the pin was a black rune: a line with six radicals on both side, topped with an oval and curve, and the bottom encapsulated by a semi formed circle.

Cadence took in a rush of air and began screaming as well.

Half way through their scream session the door flew open prompting two tiny serious screams from the startled princesses.

“What is going on in here?” Shining Armor asked as he entered the room trying desperately to cover his ears.

“We just-“ Cadence said.

“I think-“ Twilight said over.

“WE JUST GOT THE BIGGEST BREAK!” both said together.

“That’s,” Shining paused as he stared around the room. “good. But Cadence, you were supposed to calm Twily down.”

“I know,” Cadence replied. “But we may have just hit the mother load of resources.”

“We may actually have someone who can give us information on what’s happening,” Twilight added.

“That’s good but I’m afraid there’s some bad news.” Shining crossed to Cadence. “The crystal heart is changing faster than we expected. We can’t wait around for Spike to wake up anymore. I need to go to Canterlot to speak with the princesses.”

“I’ll go with you,” Cadence insisted, her face now serious again.

“No,” Shining placed a reaffirming hand on his wife. “The Crystal Kingdom needs you here. Especially now.” He returned to the door. “I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning. Twilight, is there anything you want me to tell Celestia?”

Twilight’s face became more serious. “Make sure to stress just how urgent this is. Oh, and another thing,” Twilight lifted the paperback once grinned madly. “Find these two and bring them to me! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!”

Then she fell over and passed out. Shining stared at his sleep deprived sister for a few moments and then turned the confused look to his wife.

“I’ll tell you who to meet,” she said with an innocent laugh.

“-so they cooked the boulder. Anyway, that’s how I saved Hearth’s Warming Eve!” Pinkie smiled broadly as she finished her story. The two mares walking slowly down a deserted hallway.

“Yes, that’s…” Rarity considered her next words carefully. “Interesting? Dear.”

“If you think that one’s good I got a lot more where that came from! How about the time I pushed a leprechaun into a well and got a double wish! Or maybe when I-“

“No, no, no need, Pinkie!” Rarity held a hoof to her friend’s mouth to get her to stop talking. “Maybe we should just focus on the task at hand.”

“Right!” Pinkie gave a salute and shoved her hooves into her hair, shaping and forming them until they resembled a radar dish around her left ear. “Oh, blue thing! Come out to play!”

They were now at a fork in the hallway. Rarity considered her options. “Maybe this would be a good time to split up. Meet back here in ten minutes?”

“Okey-dokey-lokie!” Pinkie replied as she bounded off to the left shouting and messing with her radar dish hair.

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her slightly manic-inducing friend bound out of sight. She turned to the right hallway and was greeted by what appeared to be a solid orange wall.

“Oh my gosh,” the wall said. “Are you okay?”

Rarity’s head was swirling as she lay on the floor but she noticed a hoof held out in aid. She took it and the orange wall came into focus as she righted herself. A non-crystal orange Pegasus in a royal guard’s uniform stood before her.

“Ah, so sorry about that,” she apologized. “I’m never usually so clumsy.”

“Think nothing of it,” the orange Pegasus waved a hoof in dismissal. “I wasn’t looking where I was going either.”

Rarity crooked an eyebrow in thought. “Flash Sentry, right? We’ve met before haven’t we?”

“That’s right, Miss Rarity,” Flash added a little bow at the mention of her name. “Though it was pretty brief. I don’t recall giving my name out though?”

“Oh, that was Cadence. She told me you were assigned here from Canterlot?”

“Yes,” Flash gave a polite smile. “I was originally a part of Shining Armor’s personal squad and a few months after reaffirming control of Crystal Empire he sent for me.” Flash turned his gaze downward sheepishly. “To be honest, it’s a little lonely being one of the only non-crystal ponies here.”

“I think I can understand what you mean,” Rarity frowned slightly. “This place is absolutely beautiful and it fills me to the brim with inspiration but I’m sure it can be a bit,” she took a glance around the surrounding area, “monotonous for one who has to stay here.”

“I’m not sure I actually know what it is you do, Miss Rarity?” Flash asked.

“Well, I’m a fashion designer,” Rarity pronounced proudly. “In fact I’ve even done a little work in Canterlot.”

“That’s amazing!” Flash replied excitedly. “So you must have made all those beautiful gowns the six of you were wearing for the gala that first year.”

“Why, yes, that’s true,” Rarity felt her cheeks blush slightly at the praise. “In fact, I’ve designed every dress each of us has worn since then, even Princess Cadence’s wedding dress.”

“I remember those pretty well,” Flash chuckled to himself. “But I think it was those dresses I saw during the gala a few years back that truly struck me as things of beauty. In fact, that’s the real first time I ever met any of you.”

“Oh,” Rarity tried to recall her first gala night, the one that the six had quite haphazardly pre-dubbed “The Best Night Ever.” “I’m afraid I really don’t recall seeing you there, darling.”

“I would think not,” Flash continued to chuckle as he smiled at Rarity. “All six of you seemed a little too preoccupied to notice the staff on hand.”

Rarity recalled her night being full of disappointment in realizing her idolized Prince Blueblood was nothing more than a self-centered pansy. She gave her eyes a quick roll at the memory. “Yes, preoccupied.”

“It was my first time ever meeting the Elements of Harmony, so I was surprised by how you all behaved.”

Rarity blushed again out of embarrassment. “Yes, that was a very dreadful night.”

“Dreadful?” Flash cocked an eyebrow. “I think it was the Best Night Ever!”

Rarity stared at the Pegasus colt blankly for a second and then burst into laughter. “I’m sorry,” she cried as she held her sides. “It’s just, you sound like Twilight.”

“Twilight,” Flash now turned his gaze to the ground wistfully as smile crept up his face. “I remember her dress. Blue with silvery stars that seemed to fade into the ethereal pool of a blue sky.” Flash sighed contentedly.

Rarity now stopped laughing, considering the Pegasus’ reaction. A knowing grin now creeping up her own face. “You like her,” she cooed.

“What,” Flash turned his attention back to Rarity and replied flustered. “I don’t- I- What would I- Um…”

“It’s alright,” Rarity now began to circle Flash. “There’s nothing wrong with a little love interest. Especially when it’s between a princess and her guard.” Rarity began to fan her face with her hoof as her eyes glazed over. “A forbidden relationship that takes them from the heights of romantic bliss to the searing depths of despair as their two un-translatable lives refuse to coincide. All that’s left of what was once royal duty becomes nothing but burning passion!”

Flash darted his eyes back and forth as Rarity rambled on getting juicier and juicier in her fantastic details. “Uh, Miss Rarity,” he interrupted.

Rarity’s eyes shot open as she stopped her circling. “Oh, sorry. Got a little bit carried away there.”

“Perfectly understandable.”

“Was it really?” Rarity asked with blushed cheeks and a cocked eyebrow.

Flash hesitated and drifted his eyes to the upper right corner of his vision. “No, not really.”

The two ponies stared off for a moment or two then caught each others’ eyes again. Rarity stifled a grin. Then Flash chuckled. Pretty soon they were both in hysterics.

When they had finally stopped laughing Rarity took a step closer to Flash. “You know I could help you a bit with that?”

“With what?” Flash replied sheepishly.

“Come on, don’t be coy.” Rarity waved a hoof at Flash. “Twilight might not be the easiest pony to woo, but I’m sure with your kind heart and my brilliant love smarts we can crack this egghead.” Rarity gave a quick *ahem* and clarified, “metaphorically speaking.”

“Are you sure that would work?” Flash said, an unsure expression on his face.

“Trust me, darling,” Rarity touched his shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “I’ll be in town for quite a while I think and when I’m through with you, you’ll be fending Twilight off with a stick.”

Flash looked briefly at the hoof placed on his shoulder and then at the eyes of the mare in front of him. “Okay, let’s do it!” he replied enthusiastically.

“Splendid!” Rarity returned her hoof to her side. “I’ll see you back here tonight at midnight.”

“Right, midnight.”

With that, Flash began to walk away the same direction Rarity and Pinkie had come from. Rarity stayed to watch him leave when suddenly her vision was full of pink.

“Nothing down that way, Rarity,” Pinkie reported, her face mere inches away from Rarity’s own. “How’s it look over on your end?”

“Oh, uh, my end?” Rarity took a quick glance down the hallway she was supposed to have checked. “Well there’s- um, nothing I could see?”

Pinkie gave her friend a scrutinizing look but it was gone in an instant. “Okey dokey then!” she replied as she bounded off the way they had come.

Rarity took another look at the hallway she was supposed to have inspected and furrowed her brow. Surely it wouldn’t matter if they skipped one small hallway. She hesitantly turned away to follow after Pinkie.

As she did a small blue flame passed through the wall and watched as her and her pink friend departed. The shadowy outline of a featureless pony holding a lantern coming in and out of focus around it.

Rainbow lifted the cushion on the throne and looked beneath. Nothing. Searching was so boring. Especially when you don’t find anything. Chasing was good. Rainbow wished she could be chasing whatever the blue thing was right about now. She wondered how fast it was or if it would even put up a fight.

Fluttershy stood in the corner of the throne room looking under tables that shelved vases and flowers.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted from across the large spacious room.

Fluttershy lifted her head and turned around. “What?” she yelled weakly as it struggled to reverberate off the walls.

“I think we should have seen it by now if it was here!” Rainbow continued to shout.

“What?” Fluttershy replied again.

“I said,” Rainbow now strained her voice to be heard. “It’s not here! Let’s go back to the greeting hall!”

She waited a moment for Fluttershy’s response.

“What?”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake,” Rainbow muttered as she flapped her wings and came to screeching halt in front of Fluttershy, some wind catching her hair and fluttering it about. “I said let’s check out the greeting hall.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy replied in a quiet murmur. “Okay.”

The two pegasi turned to walk towards the exit. Fluttershy stopped right before it barring Rainbow from opening the door.

“Uh, Fluttershy, you okay?” Rainbow asked with a concerned look on her face.

“Get down!” Fluttershy proclaimed with as much conviction as she could muster, which accounted to a slightly louder murmur. She grabbed her friend from the air dove beneath a table, both scooching close in the tight quarters.

“What? What is it?” Rainbow asked with an alarmed expression.

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy replied. Her face seeming to be unreadable.

“You don’t know?” Rainbow cocked an eye brow. “Then why did you stash us under this table?”

“Um,” Fluttershy’s default expression of “slightly nervous” broke through her stalwart face. “It was just a feeling, you know?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to argue but closed it instead. She couldn’t argue against acting on instincts. That would be a little hypocritical.

“Well what do you suppose it is?” she asked instead.

Fluttershy turned her head up to the ceiling and pointed. “That, perhaps?”

Rainbow looked up as a faint blue glow began to ripple through the throne room ceiling. Then a tiny blue flame seemed to peek it’s non-head out. It almost appeared to be surveying the area. When it finally decided that it was alone it finally passed through the ceiling. It began to hover in mid-air as if deciding what to do next.

This was her chance. “Hey you!” Rainbow shouted as dove from the cover of the table and pointed a hoof at the blue flame.

There was a slight burst of blue which seemed to stand for recognition as the flame noticed her and it sped off.

“Not today,” Rainbow said resolutely as she dashed toward the flying ember.

Despite its previously shown ability to go through walls the ember simply began to fly through the throne room in a wide circle staying well away from the walls. Rainbow kept pace as the two continued their counter clockwise chase around and around and around. Rainbow started to feel herself get a little sick of this. Not just from not being able to catch up with the flying flame but also from the spinning.

After their twentieth pass, Fluttershy emerged from the table and calmly walked into the two’s path. The flame was stopped dead in its tracks as it tried to dive to the left around her. Rainbow blocked it off.

“Nowhere to go now, Bluey,” she sneered.

The two pegasi began to close the flame in as they cornered it to the wall. Rainbow hovered above so that it wouldn’t take off from the sky and Fluttershy watched on the ground, her expression nervously apologetic to the flame in front of her. They continued to back it into wall until its flames licked the wall’s side. It let out a glass shattering scream.

Both Rainbow and Flutterhsy had to cover their ears as the windows in the room shattered one by one spraying their glass outward into the courtyard. The shriek continued without stopping.

“What do we do?” Rainbow yelled to Fluttershy.

“What?” Fluttershy replied.

Oh not this again.

Fluttershy’s expression changed from pained to resolute once more as the inched closer to flame. Rainbow wanted to reach out and stop her friend but the shriek had now brought her to the ground, both her wings and her legs refusing to work. Fluttershy held a hoof out to the flame and touched it.

Immediately the shrieking stopped. After a few moments, Rainbow slowly opened her eyes to look at what had become of her friend. Fluttershy stood where she had been before and giggled as the blue flame floated around her touching every part inquisitively.

“Stop it,” she giggled. “That tickles.”

“Uh,” Rainbow lifted her body and gave the scene in front of her a confused stare. “What’s going on here?”

“Oh, he’s just curious,” Fluttershy replied. “He’s like a little doggy sniffing someone they meet for the first time. Isn’t that right?” Fluttershy rubbed a hoof below the flame in front of her like she was scratching its belly and it let out a small happy sigh.

“So you can understand that thing?” Rainbow asked interested.

“Well, no,” Fluttershy replied. “But there are some things that pop up when you touch it.”

“What?”

“Hmm,” Fluttershy pondered how to answer. “Well, when I touch him I get these flashes in my mind. Random things. Words. Pictures.”

“Okay, anything helpful?”

“Well, his name is Capper,” Fluttershy replied as Capper now turned his attention to Rainbow beginning to “sniff” the air around her only to let out a noise that sounded like a sneeze and fly back to Fluttershy’s side.

“Swell,” Rainbow replied dryly.

Applejack/Lullaby - Chapter 7

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

Shining Armor/Cadence - Chapter 9

Shining Armor kissed his wife goodbye as he entered the train that would take him to Canterlot. The couple had woken up relatively early to catch the first ride, neither his sister nor her friends having woken up yet.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked. “I mean, I should really get back here as soon as I can. Picking the brains of a couple romance novelists doesn’t exactly sound extremely important when the empire is in peril.”

“I know,” Cadence replied with a sigh. “But they’re the closest thing we have to a lead to this whole thing.”

Cadence gave her Shining a reassuring smile.

Shining smiled back, a look of concern still showing on his face. “If all goes well, Princess Celestia should come back before me. I’ll try to make this as quick as I can.”

“Just ask them about the symbol and the name in the book. You do have it with you, right?”

“Yes,” Shining sighed as he pulled the harlequin romance out of his saddle bag. “You only told me like five times.”

“Well,” Cadence turned her head away in mock disdain. “Then you should remember five times better.”

She turned playful eyes at her husband and the two broke into laughter. They hugged once more and Shining boarded the train.

“Have a fun trip!” Cadence called as the whistle blew and the train began to move.

“I don’t know what’s going to be so fun about a two day trip to plead for help,” Shining called back.

“You’ll see.” Cadence whispered to herself as she waved goodbye.

Shining went to his seat. Due to his status and the fact that not many ponies were in the mood to travel from the Crystal Kingdom recently, he had the back car to himself. Shining rested his face in his hoof and leaned on the window, staring at the passing scenery.

A whole day to get to Canterlot. Not a very pleasant commute for someone without wings.

Shining tried to occupy himself with drawing on the condensation of the window but after five minutes found it a fruitless endeavor. The condensation always reappearing over his drawings. He sighed and began to look through his right saddle bag. Inside he had a spare uniform, rations (which any proper soldier made sure to carry anywhere on a long journey), and the book Cadence had made sure he bring.

Shining lifted the book and stared at the cover. “Romance of the Amazon Island.” He flipped briefly through its pages and caught various dirty words, blushing slightly in response to them.

I can’t believe Cadence and Twily read this stuff. What’s so special about it?

He set the book down next to him on the seat and returned to the window. After several long boring moments his eyes darted to the book again.

Maybe just the first chapter. I mean, if I’m going to ask the writers about it I might as well know something about the book.

Shining let out a brief sigh and resignedly opened the book to the first page.

Two hours later…

Shining turned the final page and saw the blankness of the end. He lifted the book sideways and shook it slightly to see if there was maybe another chapter in there that was just stuck between the pages. Nope. Shining let out a small growl of frustration.

Okay, so that was pretty good. And it did eat up…

He looked at the clock hanging at the front of the car.

Two hours!? I read that whole thing in only two hours!?

He smacked his hooves into his face and dragged them slowly down pulling at his cheeks and eyes.

Gaaaah! What am I going to do now? I’ve got another twenty hours on this Celestia forsaken train!

He finally lifted the saddle bags from his back, deciding to check his rations. Maybe he’d just eat something and take a nap. However, when he lifted his saddle bag, he noticed that the left one was particularly heavy.

That’s weird. I don’t remember packing anything but toiletries in here.

He unzipped the left bag and began grinning ear to ear. Hundreds of paperbacks, all the works of Quill and Wit. On top of them all was a note that read: “Thought you’d be wanting these too seeing as you didn’t bring anything else to pass the time. XO” In the bottom right corner Cadence had made a little doodle of herself giving a tiny wink. Shining couldn’t hold back his happy grin.

I love that mare.

Twenty hours later…

“Sir, sir,” A young pale green colt in a conductor’s uniform tried to get his attention as Shining Armor sat hunched over a book. The seat and floor surrounding him littered with the tiny paperbacks. “It’s your stop I believe.”

The conductor finally was forced to lower the book from Shining’s vision as he suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Who? What? Where did- Are we-“ he sputtered.

“Your stop, sir,” the conductor pony said unemotionally.

“Oh, right!” Shining tried to move his legs but they had fallen asleep and he simply tumbled out of his seat landing face first into his pile of books on the floor. “Ow!”

“Do you need help with that, sir,” the conductor said completely straight faced.

Shining rubbed his head and quickly shot up, gathering all the books into the air with magic.

“Uh, no! No! Please, think nothing of it!” He continued to sputter as he gathered his smutty books into his saddle bag with a blush.

The conductor merely shrugged and walked away. Shining soon followed out of the car and the station. He checked the sky. It was still night, early morning perhaps. Luna hadn’t yet lowered the moon. More than likely Celestia was still asleep. But perhaps he could talk to Luna.

Shining gathered his things and trotted towards Canterlot Castle. The guards greeted him with a salute as he entered the large doors to the atrium. The usually lavish setting for the Grand Galloping Gala was now, at this time of night, a mere hollow shell of its splendor. Torches lit the open area with ghostly luminescence that made the shadows of the grand staircase shift and dance. A member of staff came to greet him.

“Prince Armor,” the tan pony mare said as she bowed her head in respect. “A surprise to see you so early in the morning. I’m afraid the Princess is still indisposed. If you’d care to wait-“

“Actually I was wondering if I may speak with Princess Luna,” Shining cut her off.

“Oh, well, of course. Princess Luna usually stays in the observatory during the night. I can take you there if you wish?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

He followed the mare as far as the door to the tower staircase that led to the observatory. When he had said his thanks and she turned to leave he caught her once more.

“One more thing,” he asked. “Could you make sure to tell Princess Celestia to meet with me as soon as she wakes up?”

“Yes, your grace.”

The two nodded curtly to one another and split apart. Shining followed the dark spiral staircase up into the tower and came to a second set of doors, smaller versions of the front gate’s doors. He knocked.

“Come in,” came a melodic voice.

Shining opened the door wearily and saw the inside. Luna was standing in the center of the circular room staring into a large and impressive looking telescope. Shining could not tell what she was studying with it but the rest of the room was adorned with maps of constellations and stars. Several desks hugged the round corners of the room and had many papers filled with mathematic equations bursting from the drawers and overflowing onto the floor.
Luna sat in the middle of this catastrophe of a room, her perfect mane and complexion not looking any worse for wear. Shining was suddenly grossly aware of how unkempt he must appear. After all he hadn’t slept in close to two days. He straightened his mane in a feeble attempt at looking slightly more proper.

Luna finally pulled her attention away from the telescope to notice who had entered. Her eyes lit up.

“Shining Armor,” she said courteously. “What a pleasant surprise. What pray tell brings you to my humble workspace at this hour?”

“Princess,” Shining gave a bow. “I’ve come to Canterlot with grave news about the state of affairs in the Crystal Empire.”

“Hmm,” Luna merely frowned and looked back at her notes on the boards. “I was afraid of this.”

“Pardon,” Shining felt his ears perk up.

“I just noticed this a week ago.” Luna turned motioned for Shining Armor to come closer to her. He did. “Look in the telescope.”

Shining did so and at first saw nothing. Nothing but stars.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand, Princess.”

“What you are looking at is the 43rd parallel of Orion’s belt,” Luna stated simply. “It’s a system of stars that’s in special alignment with the Equestrian coordinates of the 43rd parallel.”

Shining said nothing, still confused.

“The 43rd parallel is where the Crystal Empire is located.”

Shining still said nothing.

“There’s a bad omen star in the system, see!” Luna motioned him to look through the telescope one more time. He still didn’t see anything that caught his eye.

“Ummm,” Shining attempted to fiddle with the knobs on the sides of the massive lens, perhaps they’d be able to let him see something.

Luna sighed and pushed him away from the telescope. She silently reset the knobs that he had fiddled with and took one more look through the lens. A few seconds later she shot her head back up and stare at him in confusion.

“You really can’t see it?” she asked exasperated.

“To be honest, princess,” Shining rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to be looking for.”

“Ugh,” Luna let out a defeated sigh and trudged over to a black board covered in star charts. She used her magic to sweep the charts clear and then lifted a piece of chalk to the board. “The stars in the heavens reflect the earth of Equestria.”

Luna demonstrated this by drawing two spheres. One small which she marked inside of it “Equestria,” the other large and encompassing the first sphere which she marked outside of it “Cosmos.” She tapped the chalk against the board to see if he was paying attention. Shining nodded.

“I found a set of stars here,” she pointed to a section of the larger sphere and circled it then drew a corresponding circle on the inner sphere. “Had changed about a week ago.”

“Alright,” Shining nodded his head.

“A new star had slipped into this system. A star of ill omen.”

Shining nodded his head once more.

“Now usually when this happens it is seen as an ill omen because the original Romane calendar-“

She was cut off by the sound of snoring. Luna turned to see Shining had fallen asleep standing up. She furrowed her brow once more and picked up a glass of water from a desk with her magic. She dropped it on his head.

“Who? Wha? OW!” Shining shouted startled.

“I had a prophetic dream that the Crystal Empire would be in danger,” Luna said in monotone with a blank expression.

“That’s right,” Shining replied. “The Crystal Empire is in peril.”

Luna sighed again and looked out the bay windows. The sun was starting to rise.

“I see,” Celestia stated solemnly as she looked out the window.

Shining Armor and Luna had brought her the news as soon as she woke up. Now all three stood alone in the throne room, Luna and Shining standing off to the side awaiting Celestia’s response.

“This does sound dire,” Celestia said. “Without the Crystal Empire’s joy, Equestria may fall into despair.”

“To be fair, sister,” Luna spoke up. “There may be more at stake here than that.”

Luna now held the room’s attention.

“It’s possible,” Luna began. “That this petrification may be the first symptom of a larger disease.”

“So,” Shining interrupted. “You’re saying the empire is sick?”

“I’m not saying anything right now,” Luna stated. “There is still much we do not know about the empire. Sombra kept and hid many secrets.”

“You are right,” Celestia broke in. “However, we still must act quickly.”

“Agreed,” Shining stated.

“Agreed,” Luna stated as well. “Which is why I propose that I go.”

The other two occupants of the room stared at Luna in alarm.

“Luna, we can both go. I’m sure that-“

“Sister, you agreed that I was right about this being more dangerous than thought before. If something were to happen to you then Equestria would be without its rightful ruler. Send me and if I fail not much will be lost.”

“I’d still have lost a sister,” Celestia turned away again toward the window and brushed a hoof under her eyes. “I do not want to go through that again, Luna.”

Luna lowered her head in apology and furrowed her brow. “Then,” she began. “Maybe it’s time to believe in me?” She stood up straight once more.

Celestia cocked her ears.

“Believe that I will come back.” She stomped a hoof in an expression that got the point across.

Celestia turned her head slightly to look her sister in the eyes. They showed a fierce determination. Celestia let out a small sigh and smiled. “You win.”

Luna’s expression switched immediately from stalwart to sisterly as she rushed forward and hugged her sister. Celestia smiled warmly as she hugged her back.

Shining breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m just glad that were getting some help with this,” he said. “Twily has been running herself ragged trying to find a solution.”

Luna let go of Celestia as she turned to the Shining. “Do not worry, your sister will have much smarter company to keep soon enough.” With that Luna left the room.

Shining continued to express relief for a few moments until he furrowed his brow in realization. “HEY!”

Celestia chuckled as Shining turned back to her. “Luna should be at the Empire by this afternoon. You should head back too as soon as you can.”

“Actually, princess,” Shining shifted slightly on his hooves. “There is one more stop I need to make before that.”

Shining knocked on the door three times in quick succession. He was jumping from hoof to hoof excitedly like a little school filly.

Calm down. Calm down. You just read their books yesterday. It’s not like you’re a fan or anything.

The door opened and a tall, but still shorter than him, gray unicorn with a black and white streaked mane came into view. He wore a white dress shirt and tan vest, the lapel sporting a paper flower. He wore reading glasses that made him look older. In fact he might have been Shining’s age or maybe a year older. Shining immediately knew who this pony was.

“Mr. Qu-“

“Sorry,” the pony said as he raised his hoof to Shining’s mouth before he could speak. “But I don’t do autographs. Especially to those who stalk me home.” He shut the door in his face.

Well that was rude. But he is a celebrity, it’s easy to assume I’m a stalker.

Shining took another look at himself. He was still wearing his royal uniform.

Hey, wait a minute.

Shining knocked again. The same pony answering again.

“My name is Shining Armor of the Cry-“

“Look I understand your fervor I really do,” this time the pony leaned his side on the doorway nonchalantly and checking his hooves absent mindedly. “It’s just that I get so many people searching me out that I can’t just spend my entire day doing nothing but writing autographs. That is unless I’m on a press tour.”

Shining let out a groan. “Would you just listen to what I have to sa-“

“Of course, then I’m just doing the same motion over and over and over again. Eventually the signature just loses its specialness, its individuality, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I need you to-“

“Is there a problem here?”

The voice came from beside him. Shining jumped as he noticed the shorter stallion carrying groceries that had snuck up between them.

This unicorn was tan with a white and brown streaked mane. Despite his clear height difference to a regularly sized stallion he still cut his hooflocks around his hooves displaying the ivory white beneath giving him the appearance of larger stallion like Shining himself. On his head he wore a brown derby hat with a green ribbon. He too was wearing a vest, black, no dress shirt. The shorter stallion stood still giving no expression as he held his groceries under one hoof.

“I was trying to explain to him tha-“

“Wit! So glad your back! Did you get those strawberry chocolate cream puffs?” The gray unicorn greeted the shorter one happily.

Wit simply stared at his brother, a half lidded expression on his face. “Quill, are you stepping over this colt’s lines in order to get him to give up and leave.”

“That’s exactly what he’s-“

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Quill replied with a look of fake shock.

Wit sighed. “Pay no attention to him,” he said to Shining Armor. “It’s just a coping mechanism he acquired after the first several stalkers started hounding him.”

“I am not a stalker!” Shining shouted, surprised he was finally able to get a full sentence out.

“Yes, well, of course you’re not,” Quill said pointing out Shining’s uniform. “I recognize a Canterlot Royal Captain’s emblem. I also know the face of the pony whose wedding nearly got the entire city enslaved by changelings.”

Shining frowned. “If you knew who I was then why did you make this so difficult?”

“Because I have a problem with authority.” And with that statement, Quill walked back into the house leaving the door open for his brother.

Wit followed and motioned for Shining to come in as well. Shining entered through the door way and stepped onto a slight rise with wooden stairs that led down to the house proper.

The house was small, both the kitchen and living room almost on top of each other. The floor was made of wooden planks and covered by a large red hoof stitched rug. Old green sofas were arranged in a circle in the center of the room with a mahogany tea table center piece. In the back right was a small alcove with doors on either side. No doubt leading to the bedrooms. All this, however, was not what caught Shining’s attention.

The walls, if that was a proper way to describe them, were entirely lined with books. Not a single bit of wall space had been wasted, every nook and cranny stuffed with some book or another. Despite the house’s size, Shining could swear that the collection here might even rival the Ponyville library.

Quill walked over to the kitchen area pulled out a couple of tea cups from the cupboard. Shining noticed that the cupboards’ extra space was reserved for books as well. Quill proceeded to fill the cups with tea that had been sitting on the stove. Wit followed his brother’s example and began to take out some treats from the grocery bag and place them on the mahogany table. Shining came to the circle of couches as the two brothers converged there as well, Quill handing out the cups. They all took sips, except Shining Armor, who was forsaken one cup.

“Quill!” Wit shouted.

“What?” Quill replied. “I wasn’t the one who let him in.”

Wit sighed once more and headed to the cupboard.

Shining simply groaned and put his hoof to his head. “Look, can I please just talk to you about what I came for?”

“Sure, sure,” Quill replied. “What does the royal guard want with me this time? Did that old fart, Senilex, at the academy finally lodge a complaint about the salt I’ve been sprinkling his garden with?”

“You’ve been doing what?!” Wit shouted back angrily from the kitchen two feet away.

“I tried simply ruining his flowers but he just kept planting them again,” Quill seemed completely unperturbed by his brother’s reaction. “Salting the earth was a mercy for that poor little garden.”

Suddenly Wit lunged at his brother, clearing the couch as he did so. The two began to wrestle on the ground kick at each others’ bodies. Shining simply watched this as he floated over his newly prepared tea from the kitchen.

After five minutes of struggling, Wit was able to put the taller Quill into a head lock.

“How are you so strong?” Quill wheezed out.

“Say you’re going to apologize to Senilex!” Wit shouted as he struggled to keep a hold on his brother.

“Fine! Fine! I’ll apologize to the old diamond dog faced codger.”

Wit sighed. “That’s as good as I’m going to get isn’t it?”

Quill moved his head like a nod but a hoof was in the way. Wit released his brother and they both sank to the ground in exhaustion. They both crawled to the couches and sat on different ones still eyeing each other wearily.

“You done?” Shining asked with a half lidded expression.

“Sorry about that,” Wit replied. “My brother has to learn to sometimes keep his mouth shut.”

Quill simply sipped his tea and rolled his eyes.

“We’ll pay for any of the damages,” Wit assured Shining.

“I’m not here for that,” Shining pulled out the paperback from his saddle bag. “I’m here for this.”

“See,” Quill waved his hoof. “He is a fan. You want an autograph, is that it?”

“He’s not a fan.”

“I am not a fan!” Shining raised his voice a tad higher than appropriate as he heard the plates and cups shake.

“Well, if you’re not a fan, what do you want with that book?” Quill asked eyebrow raised.

“I need to know where you got the name Sun Tide,” Shining sighed with relief as he finally got to the point.

The two brother’s exchanged a worried look. Quill’s expression soon morphing from cool and collected to angry warpath. His brow now furrowed and his eyes shooting daggers. “You have some nerve-“

“What he means to say,” Wit interrupted to diffuse a potential situation. “Is why do you want to know?”

“My sister discovered a book in the Crystal Empire that makes mention of it,” Shining paused for a brief moment to let the impact of his words sink in, to himself and the others present. “And saying it out loud makes me realize just how ludicrous it all is. I mean, it’s got to be a coincidence with the name, right?”

The sound of a tea cup crashing to the ground and shattering pulled Shining away from his musings. Wit had removed his hat and was pulling his hoof through his hair, staring into space with an awed expression. Quill was grinning ear to ear.

“Did you hear that!?” he shouted as he sprang to his hooves and galloped over to his brother. He gripped him by the shoulders and shook him hard. “This is it! This the break we’ve been waiting for!”

Wit seemed to come out of his fugue. “You don’t know that!” he spat out quickly. “It could be nothing! It could just be another dead end!”

“It’s the Crystal Empire, Wit!” Quill now seemed to dance around the room as he began pulling books from the shelves. “The place is thousands of years old. If we can find proof anywhere, it’d be there. In fact, I’m not sure why we haven’t gone there already.”

“Maybe because we don’t have money?” Wit suggested. “And we still don’t have money!”

“Purely circumstantial,” Quill replied. “I can always just write another book. Or Prince Shining Armor here can just take us.”

“We can’t just go to the empire.”

“You’re not going to the empire!” Shining spoke up.

Quill stopped in his dance around the room, a pile of books in his hooves.

“I just need information. There is absolutely no way I am taking either of you to the Crystal Empire!”

Shining felt a vein in his forehead ready to burst as he looked at the two now despondent brothers. He actually felt kind of bad about hurting Wit, Quill was an acceptable loss. Shining let out a sigh.

“Look,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of problems you two have going on, but I can’t just bring civilians into this. It’s a very dangerous situation. I can pay you for any information you might have, but that’s about it.”

Wit did not raise his head, continuing to look despondent. Quill, however, was smiling once more. Shining felt the vein in his forehead throb again.

“So if I understand you right,” Quill began. “This is a matter of national emergency. And not only that but you probably need to return as quickly as possible, seeing as you brought your luggage with you to this meeting.” He pointed to Shining’s saddlebags. “So here’s what we’re going to do.” He set the pile of books he was carrying down. “My brother and I are going to pack our bags, wasting your time until the train arrives. Then you’re going to pay us for the information by buying our tickets. After that we’ll have the entire train ride to the Crystal Empire to talk.” Quill sat back smugly on his couch.

Shining rubbed his head with his hooves and let out an exasperated groan. “Graaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Shining gave the bits to the ticket clerk and sighed heavily as he handed the tickets to Quill and Wit.

“You two promise to behave?” he asked as if disciplining a couple of foals.

“Scout’s honor.” Quill made a crossing motion on his heart and gave Shining a roguish smile. Wit carried two suitcases on his back and looked like a foal in a candy store as he rushed past the two into the train car.

“I’m going to regret this aren’t I?” Shining asked himself.

“Probably,” Quill replied for him.

“You’ll see,” Cadence whispered to herself as she waved goodbye.

She stayed at the station until she could not see the train anymore. Cadence lowered her hoof and turned back to the carriage that awaited her.

I wonder how many he’s going to get through. She thought to herself.

The coachpony opened the door for her as she stepped inside. Just as she was about to close the door a scream broke the air. “You did what?!?!” could be heard all the way from the castle. Cadence could swear she even felt the carriage shake for a brief moment.

Looks like Twilight’s up. Better get back quickly and see what happened.

A brief carriage ride later, Cadence was in the castle dining room. Six mares encircled something from her view as she entered.

“Hey,” Cadence called over to them. “Did I miss anything?”

The six, slightly taken aback by Cadence’s entrance, parted a little and she could see what they were looking at. A small blue flame floated in midair between them. Cadence’s expression changed as she furrowed her brow in anger and leaned down to begin an attack.

“Stop!” Fluttershy was the one to shout, which surprised more than just Cadence.

“Cadence, it’s okay,” Twilight assured her sister-in-law as she rushed to her friend’s side. “We’ve been talking to it and I think it’s harmless.”

Cadence let up on her stance a little and raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been talking to it?”

“Well, maybe talking is a stretch,” Twilight shrugged. “It seems to communicate nonverbally, perhaps even on a telepathic level.”

Cadence stood up straight once more. “And how did you figure this out?”

“Well,” Applejack was the one to speak up. “We kinda sorta found it yesterday but didn’t tell you.”

Cadence looked at Twilight. “And you were okay with this?”

“Actually I was pretty darn angry,” Twilight chewed her cheek in frustration. “But once they explained the situation, I was a little less likely to fly off the handle.”

“Please,” Cadence said sarcastically as she started walking toward the group. “Indulge me as to what the situation is. Because right now I just see the thing that made me scared out of my saddle and caused this whole mess.”

“It wasn’t Capper,” Fluttershy insisted.

Cadence threw a confused glance her way and Rainbow Dash clarified. “It’s its name.”

“Ah,” Cadence said simply, still eyeing the flame with caution. “Then did you get any other information out of it?”

“Yes and no,” Twilight pulled the journal out of her saddle bag and began to flip through it. Capper hovered over and began to dance excitedly around it. “I think whatever this thing is it belonged to Bedim Haze. At first I thought it was a familiar, but something like that would have disappeared after the caster’s death. But that’s when it occurred to me.”

Twilight laid the book on the ground and looked back up at her circle of friends. “There was no body.”

“What?” Cadence asked.

“I mean, that secret room was supposed to be where he died.” Twilight pointed out a few lines in the journal. “He constantly makes mention of the fact that he made the decision to never leave. ‘I will make this place my tomb.’ ‘Here I can sleep forever.’ He wanted to be down there.”

“Why would someone want to lock themselves up?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m still not sure about that,” Twilight replied. “But I do know that there was no body down there. Just a bed, a chest and a desk.”

Cadence pondered this for a minute. “You’re right.”

“We need to go back and investigate.”

“Maybe if we take Capper back there he’ll have something to add,” Fluttershy spoke up.

All the ponies present turned to her with an agreeable expression.

“That’s a great idea,” Twilight added. “Think he’d be okay with that?”

Fluttershy turned to the blue flame. “Well?”

Capper did a flip in midair and let out a small purring noise.

“I think that’s a yes.”

Later in the library, Twilight began to list off teams. “Team one will go down into the tunnels. Team two will stay here and make sure the locking pillar doesn’t trap us in again. Cadence, Fluttershy, Capper and I will be on Team one. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Rarity will stay here.”

“Aw, come on, Twilight,” Rainbow sighed. “I want to see the creepy room!”

“You three are the strongest and can probably stop the pillar if it falls,” she pointed out Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie. “Rarity has magic that could be of some use too. Cadence and I have already been down there so we know where to look and I’d feel more at ease with Capper if Fluttershy was with us.”

“Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy gulped. “Do I really have to be on Team one?”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. We’ll be right beside you.”

“Well, okay.”

The three mares and spectral figure entered the cavernous hole. As darkness set around them, Capper’s ghostly figure of a faceless pony carrying a lantern came into dim view. Twilight watched this change with an expression of interest.

After nearly ten minutes of walking down a dark hallway lit only by the alicorns’ horns they finally reached the doorway. Dim light glowed from inside.

Twilight opened the door to find everything was exactly how she had found it. The candle still burned on the desk, not having lost and inch of wick. The chest and bed hadn’t moved either, though the sheets on the bed were slightly crumpled now. Twilight noted this.

“Spike curled up on the bed when we entered,” Cadence said. “He must have moved some of it.”

Twilight examined the chest, making sure not to touch it directly. A good archaeologist never initially disturbs a site.

Suddenly Capper flew past her and jumped into the chest. The lid opened slightly to show a curious blue flame pop its ethereal head out like a lost puppy. Fluttershy giggled.

“So I take it it’s okay to check the box?” Twilight asked Capper.

Capper simply confirmed her question by pushing the lid of the box open from the inside and jumping out to hover at its side. Cadence went over to take a look in as well. Inside the chest were rocks. Hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes. They even looked to be different kinds as well, not just the stone that the surrounding wall was made from.

“Well,” Cadence said. “That’s a little anticlimactic.”

Capper proceeded to jump into the pile of rocks. They all watched as his ethereal form swirled and shaped around the stones as if he was swimming through them. Twilight picked up a rock to inspect it. It was smooth, but more than that, it looked as if it had been worn down. She looked at Capper’s swimming form through the rocks. And noticed that every time his blue flame touched a rock it would pick up slight bits of sediment.

“Are you sanding these down?” Twilight asked.

Capper let out a playful mew.

Cadence took a step back from the chest. “Huh, maybe he eats sediment or something?”

Cadence sat back on the bed behind her and felt the feather stuffed mattress fall flat beneath. A huge cloud of dust billowed out from the sheets and wafted around the three mares. They began to cough as the dust attempted to fill the room. When it finally settled Cadence’s eyes were watering. She looked at the head of the bed where the pillow sat and pulled the sheet down to reveal what lay between the bed and sheets. A massive pile of dust and what appeared to be ash lay beneath the covers.

Capper slowly floated over to the bed as everyone else did. He let out a sad sigh.

Cadence gave a concerned look to Twilight who returned it. “I think we just found Bedim Haze.”

Lullaby/Dachuur - Chapter 10

As the snow began to melt, Crystal Falls began to buzz with rumors and gossip. Lullaby had been hearing them in town, something about a witch coming down from the mining camps. During practice she’d asked Gladius and other Wonderbolts about the witch.

“She’s ten feet tall and as skinny as a stick bug.”

“She’s covered in fur and has horns the size of most elk!”

“I don’t really know that much about her,” Gladius replied. “I’ve never really met her before. She’s a yak that moved down from the northern mountains. She set up shop in the mining camps and began to predict things for the workers and give them charms that would grant good fortune. Supposedly she predicted and even helped with the birth of over ten healthy foals. My uncle,” Gladius paused at the mention, he still hadn’t gotten over that little tick, “he tried to have her forcefully removed from the camps a little over a year ago when he arrived. The miners began protesting and even threatened to stop working so the town councils stopped the relocation.”

“Do you believe she’s a witch,” Lullaby asked.

The two were in their special spot. A brief little clearing of trees just outside of the Training Area. Though Fall and Winter had not been a great time to train, Lullaby still managed to keep Gladius on a routine schedule. Even during the freezing snow they would train their durability. Lullaby was seriously impressed with the colt. In nearly six months time he had jumped ahead leaps and bounds and even beat several of the top ranked fliers in an unofficial game of Aerial Aces. Today was a nice day so the teacher and student had decided they’d just do fifty sets of wing ups. They chatted while exercising, Gladius panting slightly while Lullaby spoke freely.

“I’m not sure,” Gladius asked. “It’s no secret that other races can have magic. Zebras and deer use potions to accomplish alchemy and transubstantiation. I’m not really sure about Yak magic though.”

“Look at you with all those big words,” Lullaby nudged him in the side which knocked Gladius off balance. He quickly righted himself. “You planning on studying magic?”

“No, no,” Gladius blushed slightly. “I’ve just had a unicorn’s upbringing most of my life. My uncle took me in when I was pretty young and sent me to train with scholars and swordsmen. I learned a lot about history and magic is pretty intertwined with that.”

“Well, you still haven’t answered my question,” Lullaby chided him, returning her concentration to her own workout. “Do you think she’s a witch?”

“I’m not even sure I know what a witch is, ah,” Gladius replied as he finally gave in to his exhaustion and fell to the ground. “I mean, huff, does it matter if she can use magic or not? How does that make her a witch when everyone else are, well, normal?”

Lullaby finished out her rep and lowered herself to the ground too. She rolled onto her back and began staring at the sky. “Where I come from, a witch is a term given to someone with great power. Something inherent. Something that’s different from everyone else and sets them apart.”

She closed her eyes as if trying to recall a long forgotten sad memory. “Even the most beautiful of gifts can scare the most neglectful of minds.”

“Neglectful, huh?” Gladius looked away with a melancholy expression.

“Sound like someone you know?” Lullaby joked.

“You know you really shouldn’t make fun of him,” Gladius snapped back.

“Make fun of who?” Lullaby smiled.

Gladius sighed and smiled back. “Never mind.” He joined her on the grass and lay down with his face to the sky.

That afternoon Lullaby began to walk down Main Street. Honey had asked her to pick up some more ice from the broker before she came to pick up Bedim. The market seemed to have died down since the morning, only the few late comers checking if they could pick off whatever the early birds didn’t get to. Some stands were even closing for the day. Lullaby noticed the ice broker just about to clean up his stand.

“Wait!” she shouted as she ran toward the stand. “Can I just get a block really quick?”

“You’re lucky,” the broker replied. “I only had one block left and no one was coming around.”

He went back to his tarp covered wagon and climbed inside, exiting again with a large wet sack that was dripping.

“Better get it home fast,” he warned. “It’s been out here all day.”

“Thanks, I will.” She gave him six bits and went on her way.

However, as she turned the corner of the street a noise caught her ear. She had heard a small gasp and yelp from a slapdash tent set up at the end of the street. Lullaby stopped and walked to the entrance flap. She peered her head inside.

“Everything okay in here?” she asked the dark interior.

From behind a small round table she could make out a thin hoof being raised in alarm.

“Pardon, pardon” came a heavily accented voice from behind the table. “Could maybe you help? Bulba fell and can’t get up.”

“Oh, just a sec.” Lullaby took a few steps into the tent and placed the bag on the floor. She rushed behind the table and helped the tall gaunt hoofed figure up. “Are you okay?”

It was still too dark to make out any features but the figure placed two thankful hooves on hers. “Many thanks! Bulba was just cleaning up when wind flew in from nowhere and blew out candles. Bulba so scared she tripped over her clumsy hooves.” The figure clopped a hoof on the ground and all the candles in the tent immediately lit up. The now visible figure groaned in pain as she rubbed her back. “Bulba’s back not as good as it used to be.”

Lullaby stared in bafflement at the sudden light but then noticed the figure she had helped. Before her stood a tall gray yak with forelocks that covered her eyes. Her mass of fur seemed to cover a skeletal frame that made Lullaby wonder how the yak could even move at all. Her horns were relatively small, despite the rumors, just peaking up over a mop of gray fur on her head. She wore no clothes but had several dreadlocks adorned with hoof stitched cloths in strange colorful patterns. A silver earring adorned her left ear.

“Hey how did you-“

“Come,” Lullaby was interrupted. “Sit down. Bulba must thank you!”

The yak pushed Lullaby into the seat opposite the table, closest to the door. Her host then turned away and began to gather ingredients for tea mixing them into a blue ceramic teapot. Lullaby took the moment to look around briefly.

The inside of the tent was composed of the table in the center and several shelves adorning the back wall. On the shelves were bottles of strangely labeled liquids and ingredients. Lullaby couldn’t make out the language they were written in but she was sure on of the bottles contained some kind of frogs’ tongues or worms. Bulba turned back to her guest and poured a steaming cup of tea for her.

“Uh, thank you,” Lullaby grabbed the blue cup in both hooves and took a sip. She sighed in relief that it was not filled with bugs or any other nonsense. She took another sip and realized something. Bulba had made this tea in under two minutes. That was impossible. Not to mention that Lullaby did not see any place in the tent she could have heated it up.

“You like?” Bulba asked, pouring herself her own cup.

Lullaby nodded.

“It’s yak blend,” Bulba explained. “All ingredients found on mountain.”

“Really?” Lullaby cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Everything a pony needs can be found on mountain,” Bulba sipped her tea and smiled at her. “You have connection to mountain.”

“I what?”

Bulba’s smile widened. “Bulba can see a pony’s true self with the tea. From the tea leaves comes the future. Yours points to the mountain.”

Lullaby looked down at her cup. The leaves inside didn’t seem to be pointing in any particular direction.

“I think I’ll have to take you on your word with that,” Lullaby said with a smirk.

Bulba’s smile did not waver. “You do not believe in the tea?”

“I believe in a lot of things,” Lullaby replied, setting her tea down. “Though I must admit that prophetic drinks are a new one.”

“Go ahead and finish the tea, my little pony. Then Bulba can properly show you her skills.”

Lullaby cocked another eyebrow but proceeded to down her tea in a single gulp. She immediately regretted that as her throat began to burn. Bulba grabbed the cup and began to examine the sediments at the bottom.

“So *ahem* what do they say now?” Lullaby coughed.

Bulba returned the cup to the center of the table so both could look into it. “Your past is shown by the side of the cup in which you chose to drink from.” She pointed out the slightly chipped edge where Lullaby’s lips had once been. “This indicates sad experience. A loved one lost to soon, perhaps?”

Lullaby said nothing, deciding to hold her tongue.

“Next is the immediacy, the present found in the rim of the bowl,” she pointed out the inside of the cup. “The ground is focused on a single wall of cup. You have something that encompasses your thoughts day and night. A new burden or responsibility, perhaps?”

Lullaby’s mind drifted to Bedim.

“Finally there is the bottom of the cup, the future.” Bulba pointed out the small pile of sediment at the bottom. “The grounds rise in a ring around the bottom. There is royalty in your future. A prince, perhaps?”

Lullaby’s mind drifted to Dachuur and she shook her head before it could blush.

Bulba’s eye’s circled the bottom of the cup for a moment longer. A frown crawling across here smile like a caterpillar.

“This,” she pointed to the very bottom of the cup where the sediment lay in a small round mound. Sticking straight up out of it was a single leaf, stalk to the sky. “This is not good.”

“What?” Lullaby found herself leaning in closer.

“The tea leaf impales the mound,” Bulba muttered. “There will be great misfortune ahead for you. Someone you love, will die.”

Lullaby felt a shiver run through her body. She slumped back into her seat and stared into the distance.

Bulba finished her tea and began to clear the table. Lullaby finally spoke up as she turned around to put the cups away.

“Is there anything I can do?” she muttered.

Bulba turned her head and gave Lullaby a reassuring smile. “Future is not written in stone,” she placed Lullaby’s cup beneath a water spigot and began to pump. “It is written in tea leaves,” she brought up the now clean cup to Lullaby’s eyes. “And tea leaves can be washed away so easily. Make with your future what you will. Fate has a way of giving us all what we want one way or another.”

Lullaby stared into her clean cup and smiled. “Thanks, Bulba.”

“No need thank Bulba,” she replied. “Bulba be thanking you. Now go before your ice melts.”

Lullaby shot up, just realizing how long she had stayed in Bulba’s tent. The ice was probably already melted. She turned to grab the bag and found it still solid. In fact it seemed to be even colder than before with the wet exterior having been frozen over and covered with frost.

“But how-“

“Bulba be seeing you again, Miss Lullaby,” Bulba stated as she pushed her guest out the door. “Come back and visit anytime.”

Bulba closed the tent flaps and Lullaby stood there in dumbfounded disbelief. She never gave her name, right?

Dachuur sailed through the clear blue sky, Soracen on his tail. In truth, he had been hoping to have this little visit alone but Soracen had caught him leaving the nest. When he had finally explained who he was seeing, Soracen insisted on coming.

The two griffins made sure to fly stealthily as the place they were headed did not need to be tipped off to their presence. After some expert stealth flying they had secretly passed the pony settlements and quickly descended into the cover of the trees before any of the soldiers could notice them.

Dachuur peaked his head out at the pony Training Area. Several pegasi were circling the track in training but none seemed to be the one he was looking for. Soracen pointed out that she might not be there.

“I know,” Dachuur said with a sigh. “It was a bit of a stretch anyway. Even if I did find her here I doubt she’d want to play right-“

Soracen gasped in shock and ducked her neck down into the coverage of leaves. Dachuur simply looked around confused as to what might have drawn her attention. He found it quite easily.

Standing near the center of camp, engaged in a conversation with actual laughter, Sariel was talking to two ponies. Dachuur’s beak hung open in disbelief. Sariel was smiling.

He recognized the two ponies Sariel was talking to. One had been the captain of the pegasi, Cloud Catcher, and the other appeared to be the earth pony that stood by him before. They both were laughing as well.

Has the world gone upside down and I just missed it?

He stuck his head back in the coverage and turned to Soracen. “Did you know he was here?”

Soracen shook her head “no.”

“Well,” Dachuur grinned. “Then I suppose he won’t mind if we make our own unscheduled appearance.”

Soracen shook her head once more, more emphatically this time.

“Okay, you stay here. I’ll go.”

Dachuur lifted up out of the trees and into the air. He caught the attention of several soldiers training but that was the most of it. Sariel took notice as well and sighed, covering his face with a claw. Dachuur landed next to the three.

“Good morning, gentlecolts,” he stated. “How’s our little songbird treating you?”

The brown earth pony said nothing but Cloud Catcher burst into laughter.

“Songbird?!” he laughed. “He talking about you, Sari?”

“Sari?” Dachuur questioned under his breath.

“What are you doing here, master hunter?” Sariel asked with a sneer and a roll of the eyes.

“I was just in the neighborhood, thought I’d drop by, see some old faces. Looks like you beat me to it. What are you doing here, Sari?” Dachuur snickered.

Sariel’s sneer did not change. “I was meeting with Captains Cloud Catcher and Dusty Crop here to discuss more specifics about the race in four months.”

“Oh,” Dachuur put on a look of shock. “I had no idea you guys were so close.”

Cloud Catcher smiled and slapped a hoof on Sariel’s back. “Since you folks stopped attacking I’ve been able to get letters to the griffins’ nest requesting some more facts about that race, as well as some other stuff.”

Sariel straightened up and cleared his throat. “We have been meeting since late Fall.”

“Wait,” Dachuur held a talon in protest. “You’re telling me you’ve been sneaking off behind Soracen’s back and talking to Pony Captains without any backup?”

“Soracen was there the first time,” Sariel stated. “But I really did not need her anymore after the fifth or sixth meeting. I trust Captain Cloud Catcher enough for that.”

Dachuur turned back toward the tree line and yelled, “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

A small pink feathered head popped out of the foliage and swore at him in griffin.

“Soracen!” Sariel shouted, taking a step toward the tree line. “That is no way to speak!”

Soracen lowered her head and dropped down from the branches. She began to shuffle over to where the four were standing. Several ponies had noticed the outburst and watched with odd expressions as she crossed the field.

“So you brought her with you?” Sariel asked Dachuur.

“She really wanted to meet-“

“What the heck is going on here?”

A feminine voice cut him off as the group turned toward the source. She was walking up to them.

“Lullaby,” Cloud Catcher said. “So glad you’re here. You remember our mutual friends, right?” Cloud Catcher motioned to Dachuur and Soracen.

So her name was Lullaby. Sweet name for such a strong mare.

Lullaby caught sight of Dachuur and let out a small groan. “Oh, him.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Dachuur frowned as he replied.

“Sari and I need to continue our little discussion,” Cloud Catcher continued. “Gladius is out with his uncle today so I know you’re free. Mind taking these two off our hands?”

“What do you expect me to do with them?” Lullaby asked as if questioning why her superior would want her to take a bag of bugbear feces off his hands.

“Eh,” Cloud Catcher replied. “Our young prince here would probably like some competition. Maybe you two could race for a little bit.”

Dachuur immediately perked up and leaned his head down toward Lullaby, a pleading puppy dog look in his eyes. Soracen seemed just as interested.

Lullaby lowered her eyes into a half lidded unimpressed expression. “Fine,” she surrendered as she turned around toward the track. “But I’m not going to go easy on him.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to,” Cloud Catcher called back as the mare and two griffins left.

Dachuur began to stretch his wings as he stepped onto the track. “So, your name is Lullaby. Finally have a name.”

“I don’t remember you ever asking for it?” Lullaby replied with a smirk.

True. Never really had a chance till now. Still, a name doesn’t really matter. This mare has skills.

“So how were you planning on doing this?” Dachuur asked. “A simple run around the track? Maybe take this into the woods for some obstacle flying?”

Lullaby smirked again and turned to Soracen. “Actually I was thinking ladies first.”

Soracen let out a squeal of delight and jumped in the air.

“Oh, come on,” Dachuur whined. “You’re really going to hold out on me for as long as you can?”

“That’s what you get for spying on me.”

Lullaby placed herself at the starting line and Soracen followed, giving Dachuur a raspberry as she passed him.

“One lap is a little short so how about we do this to fifty?” Lullaby asked Soracen as she prepared herself. Soracen nodded an enthusiastic agreement. “You care to do the honors?” she asked Dachuur.

Dachuur simply sighed and stepped in front of the two. “On three?”

“Yes.”

Soracen nodded in consent.

“One… Two… THREE!”

Both shot off like cannons and zipped just above Dachuur’s head. He ran a talon through his plumage to see if some feathers had been clipped.

Both racers were off to a great start. Lullaby was in a clear lead but Soracen had caught up before the first lap was even done. For the next twenty or so laps the racers were neck and neck. The commotion had even attracted some onlookers. Some pegasi were simply amazed to see somepony just as fast as their ace flier. Dachuur sat by the finish line, a bored expression on his face as he followed the action.

The racers had reached the final few laps and Lullaby was beginning to fall behind. Soracen looked a little beat as well but she was still able to keep a steady lead. Dachuur simply frowned as he watched. Lullaby did not have the eyes of someone who would just give in.

She’s lost a lot of endurance. How’s she going to pull through this one?

The final lap and Lullaby was behind by nearly half the track. It seriously looked like Lullaby was going to lose the race. Nearly every pony working was now paying attention to the spectacle, cheering her on.

As Soracen made the final turn into the long distance of the oval track, Lullaby followed moments later. As she turned she leaned her body into it and began to turn over and over in the air. Dachuur perked up as he noticed.

Within a mere second Lullaby was spinning through the air as she once had before. The air before her whistled as she pierced wind wall before her and shot past Soracen in a blur. She landed with a thud on the ground past the finish line, panting and trying to keep her balance.

The crowd was silent. Dachuur stood silent as well as hi beak hung open in shock. Finally Soracen landed next to Lullaby and began grinning at the mare ear to ear. The crowd of spectators burst into cheers.

Soracen was able to give Lullaby a small hug of courtesy before she was mobbed by the crowd. They began asking her questions and giving her numerous praises. Soracen sauntered back to Dachuur’s side, a smug expression on her face. Dachuur was still silent and unmoving. Soracen looked at him, puzzled, then saw that he was staring at Lullaby. Soracen pushed his open beak shut and gave him a wicked grin.

“What?” Dachuur asked defensively as he pulled his attention away from Lullaby. “What?!”

Soracen simply continued to smile and sat down.

When the crowd had finally dissipated Lullaby walked up to the two.

“Well, that got a little bit more out of hand than expected,” she said.

“Y- Yeah,” Dachuur replied. “You looked pretty beat after that. Sure you want to take me on now?”

Lullaby simply gave him a stern glare. “You think I can’t take you?”

“No, no,” he replied defensively. “I think you can take anyone!”

Dachuur found himself blushing as Lullaby pushed her face closer.

“Then we’re in agreement,” she said as she turned away and flicked her tail at him.

Dachuur was stunned for a brief moment. “Hey!” he yelled as he caught up to her. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want a match.”

“You never give up do you?” Lullaby stopped and turned around to face him again. “Fine.”

She looked around to find something the two could compete at. Her eyes caught a couple of clouds drifting lazily in the sky. She grinned. “How about Aerial Aces?”

“Great!” Dachuur replied then pursed his beak. “You’re going to have to explain that one, though.”

Lullaby pointed at the clouds. “The game is simple. We make a current that will move the clouds in a repeating pattern and dodge them like an obstacle course.”

Dachuur scratched his chin. “Sounds fun.”

Lullaby called over a few other pegasi and they began constructing a small weather system in the clouds above the Training Area. Within a couple minutes they had constructed an obstacle course of moving clouds and currents. Lullaby thanked the pegasi who drifted back down to the track leaving her, Dachuur and Soracen alone in the obstacle course above.

“So, prince of griffins,” Lullaby said with a sarcastic bow. “You understand the rules?”

“No need for name calling,” Dachuur replied with a smirk. “I get it. Are you sure you’re ready after that near loss you had with Soracen?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The two racers braced themselves at their places. Soracen flew in front of them and lifted a talon. A brief moment passed as the two racers shared a glance. Soracen dropped her talon and they shot off.

The first obstacle was a simple moving cloud. It wafted up and then down in a rhythmic pattern. Dachuur went high, Lullaby went low.

“High ground takes the lead,” Dachuur shouted as the wind pushed against his face.

“We’ll see,” Lullaby shouted back.

The next set of obstacles were a series of opposing currents. Dachuur felt the wind on his face grow stronger as it fought against his wings to push him back. He knew he was stronger than any wind and simply kept pushing through.

Lullaby went for the more gentle approach, gliding and swirling between the currents and riding them to the end of the obstacle. She came out ahead.

Dachuur grinned and pushed a little harder.

The next obstacle was a set of thunder clouds that had been set up side by side. Lightning jumped and sparked between them in a non-rhythmic pattern. This would take luck as well as skill.

However, Lullaby surprised Dachuur by doing yet another spin. Not only did her speed increase, but when the lightning arced out to touch her it merely bounced off harmlessly. Lullaby straightened herself out as she passed.

Dachuur’s grin grew wider. He wanted to do something even more daring. Show her that he was a truly a match to be trifled with.

He flew straight into the right cloud, gripping it with his talons as he body depressed into it. Within a second he positioned himself and waited for the lightning. The cloud beneath him erupted and lightning shot him forward at an incredible speed. He passed Lullaby who was nearly clipped by his speed and ran directly into the next obstacle. A geyser cloud. The geyser exploded and shot him upward. This had not gone to plan.

Knocked off course by his pass, Lullaby swerved into the geyser explosion as well and the two were sent rolling and screaming into the upper atmosphere. They hit a cloud and everything went black.

Dachuur slowly opened his eyes as he scanned his surroundings. He was laying prone on what seemed to be an endless layer of clouds. He pushed himself to stand and felt aches in places he hadn’t known he had. He surveyed the environment once more. Once again, endless sea of clouds. He noticed a small back wing struggle a few yards away.

Lullaby was struggling to her hooves as Dachuur flew down to help. “What the buck were you thinking?!” she cried.

“I’m sorry,” Dachuur replied with a frown. “How was I supposed to know I’d hit that geyser?”

“Because you need to plan ahead!” Lullaby was standing now and had her face in Dachuur’s. “You keep saying you’ve got some honor… duty… thing with you, right? Well learn a little decorum to go with it!”

“Oh,” Dachuur’s frown grew and he leaned closer to yell. “And I suppose you know just about everything about honor?”

“You don’t know me!”

“I don’t! But I’d like to!”

The two stopped yelling as they continued to glare into each other’s eyes. Their heads mere inches from each other. They could each hear their own labored breathing. Lullaby was the first to turn away.

She looked westward and uttered, “Oh, wow.”

Dachuur turned his head as well. Far off on the horizon the sun had begun to set. It lit the surrounding cloudscape with deep shades of red, orange, yellow, and even pink. The colors blended to produce a beautiful image. Something one only saw once in a lifetime.

“Wow,” Dachuur uttered as well.

They stood there for a few minutes in silence. The two simply marveled at the scene of nature before them.

“Damn,” Lullaby exclaimed suddenly. “It got this late? I need to go pick up Bedim. Ugh, they’re probably looking for us right now.” She rubbed her temple with a hoof.

Dachuur ran a talon through his plumage. “Sorry about today. I know I may not be the most fun to foalsit.”

Lullaby turned to look up at him. A grin spread across her face. “Eh, you’re not so bad.” She gave him a playful tap on the shoulder as she turned to leave. “And for the record, it was fun.”

Dachuur did not move but simply watched as she opened a hole in the clouds to go through. Lullaby turned back once more. “Come visit any time.”

She dived through the hole. Dachuur sat on his hind legs and returned his attention to the sun. Truly a beautiful sight, his heart was pounding with excitement.

Shining Armor/Twilight/Rarity - Chapter 11

Author's Note

Really quick chapter. Mostly to set up events that will happen soon in the end of part 1. Next few chapters will be from the older storyline.

Shining Armor/Twilight/Rarity - Chapter 11

Shining Armor held up a newspaper before him in the train car. In the seats across the aisle, the two brothers murmured about things he really couldn’t understand. Something about letters and ancient history. Shining’s ears perked up at the mention of Sun Tide. He lowered his paper.

“You know you said you’d tell me everything you knew on the train,” Shining said. “Well, here we are. Start talking.”

Quill merely sighed and slumped back in his seat. Wit seemed perfectly eager to comply.

“Do you have the book on you?” Wit asked.

Shining pulled it from his saddle bag and Wit took it. Wit in turn opened one of his bags and handed a medium sized black box to Shining Armor.

“This book is actually based off of historical text,” Wit said excitedly.

Shining opened the box to reveal hundreds of small scrolls and letters.

“Those historical texts to be accurate.”

Shining lifted one out of the box and looked over to Wit. Wit nodded his head in a way that said “go ahead.” Shining carefully unrolled the scroll and peered at the ancient script. It was a little hard to make out due to age but it certainly was written in basic pony. He took a look at the date. Same format as before only this one said “Year of Hippolyta.”

“Please be careful with those,” Quill said with a grumpy expression. “There are no copies.”

Shining Armor was no historian or archivist but he was quite sure that these were the kinds of letters that belonged in a museum or the royal academy. “Just what are you two doing with stuff like this?”

“It’s ours,” Quill replied, a hoof pressed against his cheek as he stared out the window. “Passed down in our family for generations.”

“Quite a few of them are love letters,” Wit spoke up. “So we use some of them for inspiration.”

Shining cocked an eyebrow as he returned the scroll to the box. “So you’re saying the letters in that book are actual letters to these ancient ponies?”

“Essentially, yes,” Wit confirmed.

Shining unrolled another scroll and saw that is was written by a stallion named Astro Wave. Another was signed by a Galaxy Spinner. Each letter was clearly addressed to some mare and was either filled with poetry, or something a little bit more filthy. Shining felt himself begin to blush.

“But you didn’t really answer my question,” he insisted as he rolled up another dirty limerick. “Why do you guys have these? These have to be from several different ponies, why does your family have them all?”

“They’re not,” Quill stated simply, still enjoying his view of the passing terrain outside.

“They’re not your family’s?” Shining asked.

“No,” Quill turned to face Shining once more. “They’re not from different ponies.”

“Each and every one of those letters was written by one stallion,” Wit insisted.

“And who was that?” Shining asked. “Some ancestor of yours?”

“In a way,” Quill’s grin grew wide. “You might remember him as Starswirl the Bearded.”

Twilight wiped her brow as she blew out a breath of relief. It took nearly the entire day but they successfully transported every bit of the dust and ash they had found in the chamber to an urn to be studied. Twilight held the urn out in front of her with her magic as her friends and Cadence gathered around.

“So this is Bedim Haze?” Applejack asked. “Not much left of him.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy wailed. “The poor dear. What do you suppose happened to him?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Twilight replied. “First impressions would be that his body simply crumbled to dust when his life ended. But I don’t know enough about shadow ponies to know if that’s the truth or not.”

“IF he’s a shadow pony,” Rainbow interjected. “We still don’t even know if that journal is telling the truth or not.”

“I suppose,” Twilight admitted. “But it’s way too detailed to be a forgery of some kind. Besides, some of the things in there sound pretty real and detailed.”

“Maybe we should all just curb this discussion for later,” Cadence spoke up. “Judging from the clock, I’d say it’s about time for dinner.”

“Got that right!” Pinkie said. “I’m starved!”

The seven began to walk toward the library exit. Rarity stopped at the door.

“Uh, you go on ahead,” Rarity waved a hoof. “There’s… something I need to check on first.”

Twilight watched her friend walk back into the darkened library. “Okay, well, you’ll know where to find us.”

“Don’t worry, darling,” Rarity called back.

About an hour later they had finished their meal. The cooks stayed in the dining room long enough to talk to Applejack.

“We really can’t thank you enough, Miss Applejack,” one said.

“Oh,” Applejack sputtered. “Well, I uh-“

“You’re reorganizing made everything so much easier!” said another. “I really had no idea the mess I was working in until you came along.”

“Er, you’re welcome?”

“If everyone’s done with dinner,” Twilight spoke up. “Then we should probably figure out what to do with this?”

She plopped the urn down on the dining room table.

“I really wish you hadn’t brought that to the dinner table,” Cadence winced.

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “That’s pretty macaber.”

“It’s pronounced macabre,” Twilight corrected her. “And no it isn’t. It’s just dust and ash now. We don’t even really know if it’s Bedim’s remains.”

“Still pretty gross, Twi,” Applejack added.

“Fine,” Twilight lowered the urn from sight. “But what’s our next move?”

“You mean you don’t know?” Fluttershy spoke up now, having previously been engaged in feeding Capper some rocks she found in the secret chamber.

“No!” Twilight shouted exasperatedly. “I’m not full of answers! I can’t make all the calls! Everything that’s going on is so frustrating! I hate not being in control!”

“That’s a feeling I know all too well, Twilight Sparkle.”

A feminine voice made all the occupants of the dining room turn around as a tall blue alicorn stepped into the grand room.

“Princess Luna!” Twilight shouted as she hurried over to greet her. Cadence followed after.

“It is good to see you, Twilight, Cadence,” Luna smiled generously. “I’m sorry for only visiting during such grave times.”

“No, no,” Twilight shook her head. “It’s perfect that you’re here! Is Princess Celestia here too?”

“No,” Luna replied. “We determined that what may be going on here could very well be more dangerous than anticipated. Thus I convinced my sister to send me.”

Cadence smiled. “Well, we’re certainly glad for the help. Let me show you what we’re dealing with.”

The three alicorns left the castle and headed towards the Crystal Heart. Guards had been stationed around it. They recognized the princesses and let them pass. Cadence grabbed the tarp and pulled it down to reveal the Crystal Heart, now nearly completely petrified.

“Oh, no,” Cadence reacted, reaching a hoof to her mouth. “It’s spreading even faster.”

Twilight turned quickly to Princess Luna. “Do you think you can stop it?”

Luna frowned but walked up to the crystal. She splayed her forehooves and lowered her horn to point at the heart. A pale blue aura shot out and surrounded the Crystal Heart. For a brief moment, the spreading stone seemed to stop.

Cadence and Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

Then, while still enveloped by the aura, the heart continued to slowly transform and petrify. Luna let go of her concentration, falling to the ground on one knee and letting out a gasp.

Twilight ran over to her. “Princess Luna!”

“It’s,” Luna seemed to stammer as her gaze drifted toward the heart. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered. Whatever magic this is, it’s beyond even my years. This is ancient sorcery.”

“Ancient?” Cadence asked.

“Yes,” Luna clamored to her feet. “I will need more information if I am to counteract this. Twilight Sparkle, you said you found a secret room in the castle?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied.

“Take me there.”

“Don’t worry, darling!” Rarity called back as she turned a corner into the library.

Flash was waiting there for her, hiding from sight of the others. A pile of books surrounded him.

“Did you find anything?” Rarity asked.

“I went to visit Spike in the infirmary today,” Flash began. “The doctor still says that she has no idea when he’ll wake up. So then I went here and started looking for a book that could help. I went through books about dragon migration, dragon anatomy, dragon eating habits, even dragon mating habits. Still haven’t found anything about hibernation!”

Rarity noticed the bags under Flash’s eyes accompanied by his sad dog face. She gave him a reassuring smile and lifted his chin. “Don’t worry. I’m here to help now! We’ll find a way to wake up Spike before its time for breakfast.”

“You really want to stay in here all night and help me?” Flash asked.

Rarity picked up a book and began to leaf through it. “What are friends for?”

Gladius/Bulba - Chapter 12

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Cloud Catcher/Dachuur - Chapter 14

Author's Note

Warning: this story is for everyone but there will be some blood and gore in this chapter. I'm hoping I still kept it toned down though. Just a heads up.

Cloud Catcher/Dachuur - Chapter 14

Cloud Catcher tried to move his back leg. Sure enough it was broken, and pinned between a rock and a hard place. He took in a sharp gasp of air that seemed to cause him pain. He brought a hoof to his chest and drew back blood. Hole in his chest. Even better.The old stallion grinned as he winced in pain. Rookie mistake.

He scanned the area. He was sure he’d had someone on his tail, someone had to have heard his scream. Memories began to surface of a dream. He knew how it ended. Cloud Catcher could feel his life slowly slipping away with every hoofbeat from the stampede above.

“Anybody out there?” he cried out. A little blood trickling from his mouth. The cacophonous stampede above seemed to drown out his words. He lowered his head to the floor beginning to feel faint. “Please…”

Suddenly there was movement. The boulder on top of him began to shift. He struggled to turn his head toward the movement. A red hoof filled his vision as it struggled against the rocky ground pushing and shoving at the giant boulder. He faintly heard the struggling sound of the pony trying to help.

“Damn it! Damn it!” the pony seemed to cry.

Cloud Catcher shook his head to clear it. Finally the scene became defined. Gladius struggled ineffectively against the large rock, his face a mixture of pain and frustration. Cloud Catcher caught sight of the cracks in the colt’s hooves, blood was beginning to pool at his feet and his forehooves trembled against the mighty mass of the boulder.

Cloud Catcher furrowed his brow. This wasn’t how it went. He was supposed to do nothing. Just watch me die.

A loud sound rattled through the corridor. Cloud Catcher strained to look further up at the cliff. A large overhang above where the boulder had once been nested at was beginning to crack. In a few minutes they would both be crushed.

Cloud Catcher turned to the young colt whose face was now streaming tears and sweat as he frantically fought to move the rock, making no progress due to his injuries.

He’s too weak. Overworked himself. Still, he actually tried… I hope he recognizes how much that matters.

Cloud Catcher let out a long hurtful sigh and leaned a hoof over to Gladius and touched him. Gladius stopped and slumped to the ground next to him. He turned to the pinned Pegasus and clenched his teeth in anger and determination.

“No,” Cloud Catcher whispered wearily, unsure if the colt could hear him. “You need to go.”

Gladius shook his head frantically and struggled to rise to all fours again, falling to his knees in the process.

“Go!” Cloud Catcher spat blood as he used the last ounce of strength he had to push the colt away. He shot Gladius a serious look.

Gladius continued to grit his teeth, an expression of impotent anger etched on his face. He turned and began to flap his wings and take off. He gave one last look to Cloud Catcher, a new expression the older stallion couldn’t identify, and flew off.

Cloud Catcher lay on the cold hard ground, his hooves splayed to his sides. He watched the blood beneath him pool outward as his eyelids slowly began to fall. He could no longer see anything as the world around him blurred.

“Sorry,” he finally breathed out.

Back in the colosseum, many gasped or screamed as the sound of a rockslide echoed through the corridors.

Dachuur and Lullaby shot out the final outlet, the stands crying out. But there were no cheers. Dachuur landed on the ground and took in his surroundings. The crowd was panicking and screaming in horror. Sariel was up above working to reform the mist mirror. How did that go down?

Suddenly the vibrations hit him. The sound now as clear as a bell and coming in hard. The bowl reverberated with the echoes of hooffalls, effectively shaking everyone in their seats. He shot Lullaby a concerned look.

One by one the racers all followed them out of the outlet, each one surprised by the scene of chaos before them. Dachuur took to the skies and rose above the cliff line. He spotted them just up ahead where he had just been. Hundreds of yaks were stampeding down the narrow pathways of the plateaus, the force of their steps rattling everything in sight. Dachuur thought he could hear a rockslide in the distance.

“Dachuur!” He heard Lullaby shout from below.

He dived down and hovered before her and an out of breath red Pegasus that had collapsed in her hooves. The Pegasus was bleeding from his legs and he seemed unable to stand.

“Dachuur,” Lullaby said more urgently, her face flushed with worry. “Cloud Catcher is still in there!”

Dachuur nodded in affirmation. He sped toward the confused group of griffin racers and singled one out.

“Soracen, you’re with me!” he shouted. The griffin nodded in reply and shot off after him.

They rose above the cliff line and flew towards the stampeding yaks. The charging beasts seemed to pay them no mind as the birds above them tried to scan below for any sign of the Pegasus captain.

Soracen motioned down and Dachuur followed her gaze to a plateau that had half collapsed into the canyon. Dachuur shot down and surveyed the area. Rocks were piled up everywhere. Soracen flew down to join in the search and the two started to scan the vast pile. Dachuur was just about to give up and look somewhere else when a smell caught his nose. A smell he recognized immediately, he had smelled it every day during the hunt, blood. He dropped to the ground and began to pull frantically at the rocks, tossing them to the side.

Soracen began to aid him, a look of worry plastered on her face. Dachuur’s was not much brighter as he found what he was looking for. He pulled away a layer of rocks to reveal a small pool of blood stagnating on the ground. His mind went numb. No! He tore at the rocks to find what was underneath. No! Perhaps he was just injured, perhaps…

Dachuur tossed a large boulder aside and stared down. The last of the yaks passed by above as the prince of griffins lost his footing and fell to the ground. Soracen walked over and looked past his shoulder, she recoiled at the sight. Cloud Catcher’s body was beyond gone, the rocks saw to that. Dachuur felt the world drain away before him as he stared into the horror. He promised them safety. He failed.

Close to an hour later, the spectators had calmed down. The yaks had finished their charge and moved onward to the eastern mountain range. Dachuur had told Sariel about the casualty before he could reproduce the mirror, sparing any onlookers from the gruesome sight. This didn’t save those who looked down, however, as twenty minutes later he and Soracen returned to the colosseum grounds with a bloodied sheet covered body. All the members of the Wonderbolts turned away in recoiled at the sight, some shooting the griffin prince with venomous glares. Lullaby simply stood still, staring at the unmoving sheet expressionless.

The gray unicorn captain approached the circle around the body and pushed his way through the onlookers. When he reached the center of the gathering crowd he spotted the mangled blue wing sticking out from underneath the sheet. An unreadable expression crossed his face, followed by fury. He spun on Dachuur.

“You said we’d be safe!” he shouted.

“Yes, and I can’t apolo-“

“You said nopony would be hurt!”

“I didn’t know the yaks would come through here!” Dachuur asserted. “How could I have known?”

“No,” Sariel seemed to whisper as he continued to stare at the sheet. “No, we should have known.”

Dachuur shot him a glare. “What?”

“Zenfon should have been here to tell me.” Sariel’s eyes widened with realization. He threw a panicked look at Dachuur. “If there was any danger heading our way he should have come.”

It took Dachuur a moment to realize what the older griffin was saying. Then it hit him. His father sat on the griffin throne, he could hear and know the position of anypony for hundreds of miles. Of course he would have been here to stop it if he could. If he could…

Dachuur’s heart grew cold and his face paled.

“I don’t know what you two are blathering about,” Javelin continued. “But there will be Tartarus to pay for this! Do not expect us to forget your promise!”

Sariel tried to listen to the conversation but his realization continued to nag at him. The older griffin took to the skies and began to fly toward the western mountain range.

“Where is he going!?” Javelin shouted after him.

“I’m sorry,” Dachuur said. “I truly am. But I need to go with him.”

Javelin returned his glare to Dachuur. “You leave now and this is the end.” It was more than the unicorn’s eyes full of venom or his low commanding voice. Something in the way the stallion bore himself filled Dachuur to the brim with dread. As if hate had become incarnate. “I see another griffin in my home or around it and I will kill them.”

Dachuur stared at the ground uncertain for a few moments. The worry and apprehension building in his eyes as he clenched his beak in frustration.

“Dachuur,” Lullaby’s voice broke through the tumult of his mind. He turned to her as she approached from the side laying a hoof on his shoulder. “Please.”

She stared into his eyes. Those amber eyes and for a brief moment he felt peace. Peace with everything he’d done or was responsible for. Then he saw the sheet once more and it all came crashing down on him again.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. Dachuur spread his wings as he took to the skies. It took everything in him not to look back. Soracen quickly followed, shooting a sorry glance back at Lullaby.

Several, then many, then all the griffins began to fly off after their prince. Javelin and the other ponies watched as their hosts all left in a spectacular hurry, leaving only the ponies, their chariots and one casualty behind.

Javelin stood still watching them depart, the smallest of grins creeping across his face. He turned to the captainless Pegasus squad. “I know this is quite a hard time,” his voice now taking a serious tone and an expression of pain acted across his face. “But it is getting late. We need to get these ponies home before dark. Every squad member take a chariot and round up a couple pegasi volunteers from the stands to help you pull it. We’ll probably be making two or three trips each so save your strength.”

Nopony argued with him. They all simply walked away from the crowd. Only Gladius and Lullaby stayed behind. An expression of utter sadness and shock on the mare’s face, a look of angry impotence on the colt’s.

Dachuur sped ahead by miles from the crowd behind him. He was beating his wings so fast that he began to breath heavily, seeing the vapor of his exhalation puff out before him. He reached the highest peak where his father’s tent was in less than twenty minutes. Sariel was already there sitting hunched in front of the flaps.

Dachuur’s heart sank even further as landed next to the older griffin. “Father is…”

Sariel did not look up from the ground. “Gone when I arrived.” He lifted the flap for Dachuur to enter. “I thought it appropriate for you to pay your respects first.”

Dachuur wanted to crawl into a cave and die. His body felt numb as he entered the same tent he’d been in hundreds of times before. The air inside was warm for such cold mountain air. The sun peaked in through several flaps in the surrounding fabric and illuminated dust motes that hung suspended in the air. It gave the image before him a “trapped-in-the-moment” quality to it. His father sat as he always did on the tall trunk, his hind legs curled into the wood and his head resting on his crossed talons. His face was calm, almost as if he was sleeping. Dachuur drew closer and noticed something that made him feel slightly better.

His father was smiling. He had passed into the next world happy and content. Dachuur brushed back a loose feather that hung over the massive griffin’s face. That smile that he had seen millions of times before was still just as jovial and warm as the first time he saw it as a chick. Dachuur felt his eyes begin to wet.

He had lost everything he loved today. His pride, his father, Lullaby. How stupid he’d been. How could he not realize the feelings he had for her. He recalled those brilliant amber eyes. How they pleaded with him not to leave. How much he just wanted to stay there and drown in her eyes. But he turned away. Now he was a pariah. She probably hated him more than anyone. He was responsible for the death of her friend. He couldn’t save anyone. He could feel his heart grow cold as everything around him became walled off from it.

Dachuur grit his beak and fell to the ground. For the first time since he was a chick, Dachuur cried.

The miners of tunnel 21A had been working diligently for close to four hours now. Many grumbled about how they were going to miss the big race. Still, work was work and the Equestrian government paid miners quite well. Those that found more than coal or minerals for iron would usually get a bonus. This was the daily life of a miner.

Suddenly a blackened pony came galloping down the tunnel, his face flushed with panic. “Cave in! Cave in!” he shouted. Panic spread fast through the miners who all ditched their stations to sprint toward the cave entrance. They began to feel the rumble come from behind them as they all bolted out into the open area below the mountain.

“That everyone?” an ashen orange pony shouted. They did a roll call. “We’re missing one!”

When the rumbling subsided everyone carefully went back inside to survey the damage. Oddly enough, nothing seemed to be out of place. The miners held their lanterns aloft as they proceeded further in. They finally caught sight of a stallion with an ashen green complexion staring into the darkness.

“What are you doing her? Are you okay?”

The pony made no response but simply looked back at the group and pointed to the darkness. They all trotted over and held their lanterns high. Everypony held their breath in disbelief at the sight. A new tunnel had simply appeared from nowhere. There were no rocks or debris, it simply was there like it had always been. The only thing that made everypony realize this wasn’t a tunnel they had progressed through was the overwhelming presence of crystals. The shiny minerals were everywhere covering almost every corner of the long winding tunnel. They all gulped in shock.

“So do you think I get a bonus?” the ashen green pony asked dumbfounded.

Conclusion - Part 1

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Part 2 - Introductions

“Stop it,” Shining Armor exclaimed unbelievably. “You do not know Calico Lionheart!?”

“It’s true,” Quill replied. “Wit fenced with the guy back in Canterlot Academy.”

Shining Armor turned in his seat to face the younger brother across from him. The train continued to rattle on with the three blissfully unaware. Somewhere along the way, Shining had taken a, well, “shining” to the two brothers. Wit especially. “Seriously? Calico was a grade above me at the academy. He was seriously the biggest jerk I’d ever met. Always tried to pick on me to get a rise.”

“Try being three grades below,” Wit replied with a sigh and roll of the eyes.

“That muscle head actually tried to pick on a pony your size? I know he got left back, but that’s just downright mean.”

Shining noticed the flow of the conversation had come to a screeching halt. Quill gave his younger brother a quick look and pursed his lips, returning his attention to the passing scenery outside.

“Would you like to try that again?” Wit huffed, crooking his eyebrow in a menacing manner.

Shining had struck a nerve. “Well, I mean, it’s just… Your stature for a pony your age is kind of…” He trailed off.

Wit raised to all fours and crossed the aisle, getting right in the taller unicorn’s face. “You got something to say about my height?”

Shining gulped. He really didn’t want a confrontation to erupt. Especially with a pony he’d just started liking. He glanced at Quill hoping the older brother could defuse the situation. Quill simply stared out the window nonchalantly, even adding a little whistle to complete his ambiance. Shining pouted and returned his attention to Wit.

“Look, sorry if I struck a nerve,” he apologized with a sincere lowering of the head. “I really didn’t mean to offend.”

Wit gave one last crook of the eyebrow before returning to his seat satisfied. He turned back to Shining Armor. “It’s not your fault. Truth is I am a little bit sensitive about my height.”

“A little,” Quill chuckled as he returned his attention to the conversation. “You nearly bit off Professor Lilyhooves ear when she called you a squirt.”

“Who’s Professor Lilyhooves?” Shining asked, not recalling that name in the staff of Canterlot Academy.

“Our kindergarten teacher,” Wit replied dryly. “I… wasn’t the most agreeable of fillies.”

“That’s why he went to the academy after graduating Celestia’s School with me,” Quill added with a wave of his hoof. “Felt there was something more he could accomplish.”

Shining’s expression brightened and turned to Wit. “So you’re a soldier as well as a historian?”

The brothers paused and glanced at each other worriedly to decide on an appropriate response.

“No,” Wit admitted with a crestfallen expression. “I had to drop out about two years in.”

Shining turned to notice Quill had returned to watching the window. His bored expression now replaced with a furrowed brow. Shining decided that this was an avenue best left untraveled for now.

“So why don’t you tell me more about this duel with Calico?” he asked earnestly.

Wit’s expression brightened. “It was nothing really. Just a regular fencing match. I hit him a few times, he went down a few times.”

“Yeah, ‘went down,’” Quill chuckled as he lifted two hooves in the air to form quotation marks. “The fight was over the moment Calico called him a ‘silly little fiddle filly.’”

Wit shot his obtuse brother an angry glare and a gnash of teeth. Shining let out a small snort of laughter, unwillingly. He tried to cover it up with his hoof to his mouth but the damage was done. Wit shot his glare at the prince.

“You want some of this!?” the smaller stallion demanded as he jumped to his feet.

Shining shook his head vehemently, “No!” Though the image of Wit in a duelist’s suit now came to mind and drew even more unwanted laughter.

“That’s it! Right here! Right now!” Wit yelled motioning to the open aisle between them.

Shining’s laughter subsided and he shot the short stallion an indignant look. “Hey, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Quill said nonchalantly, tracing his hoof across the window. “You won’t.” He turned to face Shining Armor. “You’re about to see how he beat Calico first hand.”

Shining paid the warning no mind. He stood up to face Wit and projected a magical barrier bubble around himself. “See, no fight if you can’t touch me. Now let’s just calm down and-“

“Ow…” Shining rubbed his swollen eye as he struggled to walk through the open gate of the train. Quill and Wit followed through with Wit carrying the bulk of the brothers’ bags yet again. Wit paused at the gate.

“Sorry about that,” he insisted holding out a hoof in front of his face in an apologetic gesture. “I can get really really mad sometimes.”

The two walked away as Shining began to follow limply. He still wasn’t sure how the younger brother had been able to beat him so thoroughly. The two were stopped just outside the station waiting for Shining to catch up. He groaned as he trudged up to the curb, surveying the scene around him.

“So,” Quill asked with a half-lidded expression. “Is there supposed to be a carriage or…”

Shining shook his head back and forth surveying the street once more. “This isn’t right. It’s too quiet.”

The three ponies stopped their movement to listen and look. Sure enough there was no movement in the streets. Wit gulped. Quill hummed ponderously.

“Cadence should have been here as well,” Shining continued. “I told her I would be on this train.”

“Perhaps something happened to your wife?” Quill asked.

“If that’s the truth then we need to hurry,” he gazed at the crystal spired castle in the distance. “And it’s a long walk.”

The three began to walk briskly down the street, often checking the windows around them for signs of life. Every now and then a crystal pony would come to the window and immediately pull down a shade or close a shutter as they passed.

“Just what do you suppose happened here?” Wit asked worriedly.

“I have no idea but we’re coming up on the castle now. We can talk to Cadence about-“

Shining cut himself off as he sprinted forward to the courtyard beneath the castle. He skidded to a halt before a long thin crack in the earth that seemed to split the castle’s base down the middle. The blood rushed from his body as he noticed the centerpiece of the courtyard missing. The crystal heart was gone.

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” Shining shouted. “Where is it? Where is it?”

Quill and Wit caught up to the frantic stallion and began to look around.

“First impressions are important,” Quill said plainly. “And judging from my first impression, I’d say this place got hit by a tornado. Just what is going on?”

Shining Armor spun on Quill, finally losing his cool with the rude unicorn. “This is why I didn’t want you to come! The Empire is in danger! Whatever’s happening out here it has to do with the Crystal Heart, which as you can clearly not see, is missing!” His last words reverberated through the courtyard and echoed into the misty empty streets beyond.

Quill did not change his half-lidded expression of disinterest. He sighed, “Well, I guess first thing we’ll have to do is find this wife of yours and anyone else who might know what happened. Panicking and screaming isn’t going to do you any good.” Shining Armor pulled back in surprise at the writer’s wise words.

“Shiny?” a voice called out from the mist and then a purple alicorn trotted into the courtyard, followed by a bright pink mare and an orange mare with a stetson hat.

“Twily!” Shining shouted happily as he bound toward his sister. The two embraced.

“Or maybe your screaming will attract exactly those were looking for,” Quill said dryly and clapped his hooves together. “Great job everyone.”

Twilight pulled away from her brother and gave the snide pony a look of confusion. “Shiny, who are these guys?”

“Later,” Shining retorted. “What happened to the Crystal Heart?”

“Oh,” Twilight turned back to her friends with a nervous expression who gave her an equally nervous one. “You’re not going to like this.”

Rarity sat by the infirmary bed with her head slumped in her hooves. Flash lay still, breathing regularly, as he slept mere inches away. His chest and back were covered in crudely prepared bandages, some blood peeking out.

When the earthquake struck, Rarity attempted to find the doctor in the infirmary. However, the doctor had simply disappeared. It took her close to twenty minutes to round up some castle staff to help her and by then Flash had lost consciousness.

Rarity looked up and at Flash’s sleeping face. His eyes were closed but she could still see the fatigue plaguing him. At moments he would spasm sharply in pain. Rarity had been by his side for all of it. She turned to the bed next to him. Spike slept soundly curled into a ball, the baby dragon didn’t seem to even notice the strange earthquake that had struck. She smiled and ran a hoof through Spike’s scales. They had grown large now and the dragon now seemed like the reptile equivalent of a hairy colt.

Rarity returned her attention to Flash. “I hope you two wake up soon.”

A loud muffled cry came from the bed across. Rarity rolled her eyes. The injured stallion across the room had been crying about something for a good day now. Ever since she and the castle staff brought Flash in in a stretcher, the stallion had been crying. A castle staff tried to help but the stallion could only let out muffled words underneath his cast and gauze. In the end the staff decided not to remove any of the casts until they could find the doctor. The stallion was particularly mouthy about this decision. In the end they ended up giving him a sedative and he had been sleeping since. Now he was up again.

Rarity lifted herself from her seat and trotted over to the injured pony. “Look, I’m sorry but I just don’t know what you need.” She gave the pony her sincerest eyes to let him know she was telling the truth.

This made the pony stop his muffled cries. He focused his attention on Rarity and lifted his eyes twice in succession. His head bobbing a little against the neck brace. Rarity’s expression changed to a frown.

Is he trying to get me to come closer?

Rarity stepped forward until she was a mere hoof away from the pony. He closed his eyes tightly and Rarity thought she could make out a smile underneath the gauze. “Okay, now what?”

The pony’s eyes darted open again began to move rapidly back and forth to his left. Rarity turned in the direction. A window with grotesque yellow curtains flapped inward letting in a misty breeze.

“You want the window shut?” Rarity asked quizzically.

The pony shut his eyes tight again and tried to make a muffled cry.

“Fine, I’ll shut the window,” she stated with a turn. “No need to go to such lengths if you’re just a little cold.” The stallion let out a long drawn out sigh.

Rarity proceeded to the window and shut it, the wind blowing the curtain immediately stopping. As the curtain fell, Rarity was just about to turn back when something caught her eye. A statue in the corner of the room which had been obscured by the curtain. It was of some pony in a doctor’s uniform, a panicked expression on her face.

“A little bit tacky for an infirmary, wouldn’t you say?” she asked the only other conscious occupant of the room.

The injured stallion began to make muffled cries again and tried to move from his bed but his cast held him in place. Rarity frowned at his actions and looked back at the statue. The face. Something about the face.

“Oh no.”

Shining entered what had once been his dining room and now had turned into some kind of laboratory. Bottles and beakers were everywhere with machines that made readouts and produced electricity. It seemed like something he’d see in his sister’s basement. Luna stood at the table projecting a beam of light onto the now completely petrified Crystal Heart.

“This is what we’ve been dealing with,” Twilight coughed hesitantly.

Shining surveyed the scene. “Where’s Cadence?”

“She’s in her room, sleeping,” Luna responded cutting off her magic. The blue alicorn turned to Twilight. “No luck again. It seems that it is just a hunk of stone now.”

“You really can’t sense any magic in it?” Twilight asked as she walked over to the heart.

“It seems that any magic or power the heart possessed before has been taken or displaced somewhere else.” Luna furrowed here brow in concern.

“Fascinating,” Quill had appeared between the two alicorns and began to pick up and prod at the heart curiously. “Such an important piece of ancient Equestrian history reduced to such a state.”

Twilight shrieked and grabbed it from him with her magic. “What are you doing?!”

Quill merely straightened his glasses. “Well, all investigations must start somewhere.”

Twilight shot her brother a look. “Shiny, are you going to tell me who these ponies are?”

Luna crooked her eyebrow at the bespectacled gray unicorn. “I would like to know as well.”

Shining sighed and motioned to the brother behind him carrying the luggage on his back. “They’re the two romance writers you wanted me to talk to.”

“Romance writers?” Luna asked, raising her eyebrow in Twilight’s direction.

“What’s this all about, Twilight?” Applejack asked.

Twilight grinned nervously and began to blush, rushing over to her brother to speak to him privately. “Can we talk about this later? Maybe somewhere away from the very serious Princess of the Night.”

“You must be Princess Luna.” Twilight turned back sharply to see Quill picking up Luna’s hoof and planting a respectful kiss on it. “I am Quill, and my brother is Wit. I must say I’ve seen you around Canterlot before but never in person. You truly do live up to your name, as your beauty shines like the full moon.” He flashed her a devilish grin.

“Well,” Luna blushed for a moment then went serious. “I accept your compliment, Sir Quill. However I do wish to know just what it is you are doing here.”

“Quite simple really.” Quill walked over to Shining Armor and placed a hoof over his shoulder. “Our good friend and fan, Shining, here-“

“Not a fan.” Shining mumbled quietly with a small blush.

“Brought us here in hopes we might aid in your investigation.”

Twilight gave her brother a half-lidded expression. “Is that true?”

Shining leaned over to whisper to her. “No, but they wouldn’t give me anything unless we were on the train heading here.”

“And what may I ask can you contribute to this investigation?” Luna asked as she began to circle the brothers suspiciously.

“Well, we are documented historians,” Wit replied with a smile. “Both very well accomplished in our fields.”

Quill nodded in agreement and Luna leaned in closer to the taller stallion, eyeing him curiously.

“You’re members of the Historical Academy?” she asked.

Quill ran a hoof through his mane, trying to keep his cool composure. “Technically, no. But we have been called on time to time for our expertise.”

Luna searched his face for dishonest but found none. Still she frowned in concentration. “I frequent the academy quite often. You do look familiar. Perhaps we have met before?”

“I highly doubt it,” Wit replied before his brother could, trying to change the subject. “We’ve tried to focus mostly on our writing recently.”

Luna decided that this was enough information and shrugged returning to the dining room table. “I suppose any kind of help is good.” She ushered the rest of them to come to the table. Beside the Crystal Heart lay a scattering of shattered pieces of an urn. “This is something I think we should talk about.”

“Amazing!” Wit shouted as he dropped his luggage and ran to examine the pieces. “This is a crystal urn! Probably a thousand, maybe fifteen hundred years old.”

“Well, it is pre-empire,” Twilight bragged. “Or was. But the age isn’t the point.” She turned to Shining. “This urn had the ashes of Bedim Haze. After the earthquake, when we returned, they were gone and this was on the floor.”

“Which stinks because it took us an entire day to collect!” Pinkie added.

Shining examined the shattered urn. “Do you think someone took them?”

“They wouldn’t have time.” Twilight replied. “Plus, there’s literally nothing left. Princess Luna and I did a spectrographic spell on the whole room and there wasn’t a single trace of it.”

“So,” Quill spoke up from the center of the room and everyone turned to face him. “If I have this right judging from what Shining has told us and what we’ve seen here. Miss Sparkle found a book in a secret passage which led to an incident involving Princess Cadence, thus beginning a petrification of the Crystal Heart. You investigate further, find these ashes, then less than a few hours later the heart finishes its transformation and an earthquake strikes. The urn falls from the table with no one in the room and when everypony returns the contents are gone.”

A short silence followed Quill’s summary. “Well, we can probably rule out the idea of it just walking away.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” The voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to face Rarity, her face deathly pale. “Twilight, you’re going to want to see this.”

“Watch it!” A pony pushed by Bedim as he passed.

“Out of the way!” Another pushed.

“One side!” Another.

“It’s a one way street!” Bedim shouted at the large crowd of ponies in road.

There was a brief moment of silence as everypony stared at Bedim. Crisp lowered his head trying to blend in and not look like he was with the crazy pony. Finally the moment ended and the chaos of jaywalkers continued. Bedim groaned in frustration.

“You don’t get along well with anypony do you?” Crisp asked as they continued through the street.

“I just don’t get why we have rules if no one is going to follow them!” Bedim replied exasperatedly.

“Well, I guess I feel for you there,” Crisp glared at the crowd surrounding the market in front of them. “This mob is going to make us late to our first day.”

Crystal Falls was a big city. Several neighborhoods and slums ringed the outside of the center, Crystal Square. This was the hub of the city and its vibrant lifeblood. What had once been mere stalls were big one and two story shops. The market had been replaced with several groceries. Up north of the chaotic square sat the financial district with town hall and the bank, even a hospital. To the south was the industrial district with the blacksmiths, carpenters, and forges. This was where the two friends said their goodbyes for the day.

“Good luck with Steel Girder,” Bedim said. “I here he’s pretty strict on newcomers.”

“I’ll be fine,” Crisp assured his friend with a smirk and a wave of his hoof. “Heck, when they see my blueprints for a more efficient water pump system, they’ll probably make me Master Forger.”

“Yeah, just keep telling yourself that,” Bedim chuckled. He returned his attention to the bank before him and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Crisp placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder.

“You’re going to do fine. They’ll probably just have you making change or even just cleaning.”

“Right, right.” Bedim took a glance at Crisp’s flank. The colt had earned his cutie mark nearly six years ago. A picture of a hammer and screwdriver in a cross adorned his backside. Crisp noticed and shook his head with a smile.

“Who knows, maybe this will be what gets you yours?”

The two gave each other a quick hoof bump and walked away. Crisp going south and Bedim north. Bedim entered the double doors of the bank and took another deep breath.

You can do this. First day jitters. That’s all it is.

For the past couple weeks he had been feeling this strange tingling, almost burning sensation in the back of his head. Whenever he got close to the place where he would start his apprenticeship, the feeling would return. He held a hoof to his head to steady his thoughts and walked in. The inside was spacious and the ceiling intricate with lattices of criss-crossing beams that made a wooden pattern as well as supporting the roof. Bedim took a moment to appreciate them. Crisp’s mother really did great work.

Around the four walls sat podiums and chairs for Ponies to write and sit respectively. In the center of the room guarded by a large wooden box sat a teller, her face obscured by wooden bars. Bedim approached her.

“Uh, hello,” he said hesitantly.

“Deposit?” the bank teller asked, her voice monotone.

“What? Oh, no. I’m here for the apprenticeship.”

The bank teller leaned closer to look at him. “Sorry. With that dark gray coat I guess I assumed you were a miner.”

“Nope, never actually been to the mines.”

The bank teller smiled and chuckled. “Yeah, you do look pretty young.” She pointed to the door on the wall behind her. “The offices are over there. Knock twice and they should open it for you.”

“Thanks,” Bedim said. He trotted to the door and knocked twice. A teal pony in a cap and glasses opened it slightly and peered at him.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I’m here about the apprenticeship.”

“Oh! Perfect!” The pony closed the door and Bedim heard a mechanism unlock, then she opened the door again. “Hi, I’m the bank manager, Bean Counter. But I’d really prefer it if you call me Beanie. Please, come in.”

Bedim hesitantly entered the room and stood agape. The offices were lined with rows of tables filled with ponies. Each one seemed to be working on assorting various pieces of gold or precious metals out of certain piles. Crystals and other jewels could also be seen in the piles.

“This is primarily what you’re going to be doing,” Beanie said as she walked up next to him. “It take a lot of mare power to sort out the stuff those miners bring down from the mountains. With a strong stallion like you I’m sure we’ll get it done faster.” She gave Bedim a friendly nudge in the ribs.

Bedim could feel that burning sensation in the back of his head again. He twitched and rubbed his forehead with a hoof.

“You okay?” Beanie asked with a concerned look.

“Fine!” Bedim replied. “I’m fine. Just a little migraine.”

Beanie smiled and led him to a chair next to several others. “This is your station,” she motioned to the enormous pile of rubies and sapphires before the seat. A small lens left before the pile. “You’ll use this to inspect every piece from the pile. Duds go in the bin,” she indicated the trash bin beside his seat. “Real ones go in a new pile. When your finished bring them to me and I’ll fill out the paperwork.”

“Where do all these things go?” Bedim asked.

“Most of them go to Canterlot for processing,” she replied. “When that’s done, Canterlot sends a stipend that we use to pay the miners wages.”

Bedim furrowed his brow at the sheer amount of rare and precious minerals before him. “There’s really this much crystals and junk in the mountains?”

“I know right,” Beanie smirked. “The whole mountain range is lousy with them. But Canterlot has a high demand for the stuff, as the ‘shining city,’ so it’s a living. I’ll be around if you have any questions.”

She returned to her desk and Bedim took his seat. The feeling hadn’t gone away, he could still feel that burning sensation every time he opened his eyes. He grit his teeth and reached out for a gem. The moment he touched it his mind exploded. The burning now taking form as words.

MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE

Bedim clutched his head in pain and groaned, soliciting the attention of everypony around him. When he opened his eyes again he noticed that he had pulled as much of the gems in the pile close to him as he could. He could feel his hooves burning at the touch of the precious stones.

“’A’ for enthusiasm,” Beanie called from her desk. “But maybe just start with one at a time.”

Bedim gulped and blushed with embarrassment, the ponies around him still fixing him with confused stares. “Right, sorry.” Just what was happening to him?

After a minute or two, the mood returned to normal. Bedim took a deep breath and tried to clear his head. He ran his hoof through his long black mane and screwed his eyes shut in concentration. He opened them again, focusing on one gem before him. He picked it up and felt the burning return. This time, however, he merely winced as he proceeded to check the condition of it. Real.

Bedim put it to the side and felt a wave of relief as the gem left his contact. He let out a long sigh. This was going to be a long day.

Lullaby/Honey - Chapter 15

Lullaby heard the noon bell ring in the distance. She turned to the young fillies in her class.

“Okay, thirty minutes for lunch,” she clapped her hooves to get attention. “No wandering too far this time.”

The fillies proceeded out of the small classroom with their lunchboxes into the small field by the forest. Lullaby lingered for a moment in the classroom, a mirror on the wall catching her eye.

She brushed a hoof through her blue streaked mane. The lighter stripes had become slightly whiter over the years, but she still didn’t look a day over thirty. She gave her reflection a melancholy smile and sighed, following her students out to the field.

“Lullaby!” a female voice called to her as she exited the schoolhouse. She turned to the street into town and smiled genuinely as she saw her friend trot toward her. Honey didn’t seem to have changed much in all these years as well, the only difference being her orange hair in a tight bun giving her the aura of authority she needed so much now.

“Well, well, well,” Lullaby cooed. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Madame Mayor?”

Honey stopped in front of her. “It’s not like I really get to do anything,” she sighed.

“Are you kidding?” Lullaby asked. “You built this whole city from the ground up!”

“Lullaby, that was like the first six years of my term,” Honey protested. “Ever since Commander Javelin declared a state of unrest in the mountains, he put a hold on all elections. Really I’m just Mayor in name only.”

“You still get some cushy digs,” Lullaby offered.

“True.”

The two mares gave each other a look and laughed. Lullaby was the first to stop.

“So what are you doing here?”

Honey rubbed her hoof tentatively, a distressed look on her face that immediately dissolved into a motherly worry. “I’m worried about Crisp. I mean, it’s his first day of something that might be his life’s work. I really want him to be happy.”

Lullaby knew when her friend was being evasive. She also knew when not to prod the matter since the green mare could get pretty agitated when provoked. “Even if he’s not going to be a civil engineer?” She joked.

“He can accomplish many things as a blacksmith,” Honey said defensively. “I just want what’s best for him. What about you?”

“Me?”

Honey nodded. “Yeah. Beddy is having his first day, too. How are you reacting?”

To be honest, Lullaby didn’t know what to think. When Bedim had asked if he could apprentice at the bank, she was hesitant. Bedim had never shown any interest toward finance. In fact, he never showed much interest toward anything. The colt had spent his entire life trying different things, crusading around town trying to find what he was best at. Finally, when everyone his age was choosing jobs, he decided to go to the bank. “I don’t know why,” he’d said. “I just feel this calling.” Lullaby had left it at that, but a strange malaise still affected her mind about the whole situation.

“I want what’s best for him too,” was all she could say.

The two sat on an overturned log and continued to chat and catch up. Honey going on about daily life in the town hall and the vast amounts of nothing she would do while Commander Javelin took everything under his horn. Lullaby was just happy to see her dear friend, she really hadn’t seen enough of her the past couple of months.

Their chatting stopped when the children playing around them began to ooh and ah, pointing toward the sky. Lullaby raised her head as well and spotted the Wonderbolts flying above past them. At the forefront of the perfect V-formation flew a large red stallion with a crimson mane, his face the only one shown as the rest were covered by leather helms. On the crimson pegasus’ belt glinted two long pieces of metal that rustled underneath him as he flew past.

Honey noticed her friends’ sad expression as the team passed. “Do you ever miss it?”

Lullaby returned her attention to her friend and gave her a sad smile and reluctant sigh. “No, but I can’t say it doesn’t bother me. Truth be told I really did consider it when the commanders travelled here to offer me Cloud Catcher’s position. But you know what stopped me?” Honey gave her friend a knowing grin. “Of course you do.”

Lullaby rubbed her hooves together before her and stared at the ground. “After the race I really just wanted to be as close to Bedim as I could. Something… Something just felt lost after that.”

“It was a pretty big loss,” Honey added pointing toward the center of town. “Affected everyone.”

Lullaby frowned. “Yeah, only because Javelin made it such a big deal. Sure Cloud Catcher was liked, but Javelin made his death sound like it was entirely the yaks and griffins faults.”

“In a way it kind of was.”

The statement left Lullaby cut to the quick. Her frown deepened further. The memory of that day, the picture of him turning away and abandoning them all. Lullaby closed her eyes, stifling back her sadness. “I don’t want to believe that.”

Honey simply accepted her words and leaned back on the log, gazing at the sky. “I do miss Bulba somedays.”

Lullaby chuckled. “She was an… interesting individual. I really hope she’s alright with those yaks in the eastern mountains. Y’know if she’s still alive.”

“Do you even know how old she was?”

“Do you?”

They shared a laugh once more, the sound of a bell cutting through.

“Sounds like I’ve got to get back to teaching these kids,” Lullaby moaned.

“And I have to get back to Town Hall. That chair behind the mayor’s desk won’t sit in itself.”

The two mares shared one more laugh and hugged before parting ways, Honey lingering a little longer on the hug than normal. When Honey was out of sight Lullaby began to clap her hooves to get the fillies attention. “Alright, everyone! Back in the classroom, lunch is over!”

As the fillies proceeded into the small school house, a shout was heard. Lullaby stopped and glanced down the street where it was coming from. More shouts, all coming from one pony. A yellow mare in a nurse’s outfit came barreling down the street, her face pale and scared. She was coming from the town square, probably the hospital judging by her clothes. She kept bumping into ponies trying to pass. She was screaming something incoherent that made everyone around her look at her like she was insane.

She tripped over her own hooves as she passed the school house. Lullaby rushed out to help her up, lending her a hoof. The yellow nurse mare grabbed it and looked into her eyes. Lullaby could see panic and hysteria in them. Here words were clear now that she was mere inches away. “Cursed! We’re all cursed!”

“I- I’m sorry I don’t understand,” Lullaby tried to console the hysterical mare.

A pair of unicorn guards in silver armor rushed through the crowd to their location. They took the mare from her and restrained her.

“Hey,” Lullaby shouted in protest. “What are you doing to her?”

“This mare is ill,” One of the silver clad unicorns replied sternly. “She will be taken care of.”

“But-“

“She will be taken care of,” the stallion repeated harshly.

Lullaby stamped a hoof into the ground angrily but acquiesced. The two stallions pulled the mare away, still rattling off scared ramblings. “Cursed! Cursed! We’re all cursed! Cursed in stone!”

Lullaby frowned and returned to her classroom. Cursed in stone?

Honey opened the double doors to the town hall and entered a whirlwind of ponies running to and from different spots in the enormous two floored hall. Two staircases mirrored on either side of the large atrium between the double doors. Above, along a wooden balcony sat the doors to her office and other important workplaces. Below, just in front of her past the staircases, were the rows of desks that many municipal workers operated. These were stations for reviewing permits and approving small decisions that came from the constantly growing bureaucracy. The room was in a frenzy, ponies shouting over each other about something.

Honey knew what it probably was. She passed the crazed mare in the street just a few minutes ago. She was just thankful that not too many ponies knew about the current situation. Not that she didn’t want to tell Lullaby. The fact that she was keeping such a dark secret from her friend stabbed at her heart, but she was still a mayor. She had a civic duty. Honey looked back up at the window to her offices. A tall gray unicorn stood behind the paned glass and talked calmly to a light blue mare Honey recognized as her secretary. Of course he was here. She let out a small sigh of frustration.

A mailmare loaded down with letters crawled past her, her back seeming to buckle from the weight of the basket of letters on it. She gave the mayor a trembling smile as she struggled to hold herself upright and grabbed a letter from the top of the pile. “For you,” the mare squealed.

Honey took the letter with another sigh and began to march up the stairs, a brownish yellow stallion with a short red mane and visor popped his head up from a desk where he had been talking to another and ran after her. “Chief! Chief!” he yelled.

“Don’t call me chief, Rumor Mill,” she replied curtly not paying attention to the stallion.

“You see the nurse out in the streets? Brutal stuff. What’s this word about a curse?” Rumor Mill said all this as quickly as possible, his voice never faltering. A grin playing across his face.

“No comment,” Honey replied.

“Then what’s the Commander doing here? How long have his men been secretly sending away nurses? Just what’s in the hospital’s wing C?”

“No comment,” Honey repeated just as enthusiastically as last time.

“No comment just means I’ll have to guess,” the stallion’s grin grew wider and his eyes narrowed mischievously. “Perhaps our intrepid Commander is here for a little afternoon delight with our beloved chief.”

Honey reached the doors to her office and turned around to face the stallion before opening them. Her face was red and flushed with rage. “NO COMMENT!”

She slammed the door in the stallion’s face, soliciting the entire room to turn toward her. The room was quite spacious with two desks. One was hers, where Commander Javelin now stood before. The other belonged to her secretary, Minty Joy. Javelin and Minty seemed to have been in the middle of a heated argument. Clear from the red in Minty’s face and the frown on Javelin, though that was pretty standard for the older stallion.

The years had aged the unicorn considerably. His muzzle now sported a short goatee and small moustache. While he did not wear his armor wherever he went anymore he did plaster his Commander’s pin on his chest prominently and had tied his mane back into a professional pony tail. He now had the stature most would see in a larger horse than a pony, his yellow hooves clearly visible beneath his gray fur. He glared at Honey.

“I’m sure you’re aware by now,” he said solemnly. “Another one has been born.”

Honey crossed over to her desk and sat in her chair. The papers before her were ones she’d laid out previously, they were construction orders for the hospital that Javelin had wanted her to sign. “I suppose you want to make another addition to the C wing?” she asked with a straight face.

“On the contrary,” the stallion let slip a smile, an omen honey never found good, “I’ve already called for support from the triumvirate regarding this outbreak. They are sending a ‘specialist.’”

“The nurses are calling it a curse,” Honey did not bring her head up from her desk but she did raise her eyes to meet Javelin’s. “You realize we can’t keep this hidden. This is going to get out. In some circles it already has.”

“Those that have evidence have already been dealt with,” Javelin smiled, Honey felt her body shiver at the words “dealt with.” “I can’t let something as simple as this jeopardize everything we’ve worked to build. The western expansion of the mines, our scouting into the far northern territories-“

“All your work!” Honey slammed her hooves down on her desk. Minty gasped in surprise and tried to return to writing. “We were fine before the mines expanded. We don’t need more northern settlements right now. This city should be our priority, but while you seem fixated on making it bigger, I’m the one trying to hold it all together!”

A silence passed between the two, their eyes connecting. Javelin was the first to turn away, another grin playing across his face.

“I have a dream for this place,” he admitted. “A dream that one day it will stand as tall as the mountains. Every street and house will shine like the sun and not even Canterlot itself will compare to its beauty and majesty.” The stallion paused for dramatic effect, returning his gaze to Honey. “I have vision.”

Honey let out a long breath of air and slumped back in her chair. No matter how much she despised the commander, she had to admit that they shared the same ideals. She, too, wanted to see this place become better than any other. It was what drove her to continue. However, she didn’t want to abandon her scruples to do it. It was at times like these that she missed her husband.

When Javelin expanded operations of the mines, the call came in for more workers. Everypony was expected to step up and play their part, especially those that already lived in the mining camps. Her husband had died from black lung nearly ten years ago, his memory still giving her strength.

She lifted her head and glared with purpose at the stallion. “We need to put this out before it becomes a problem. Tell me about the ‘specialist’ from Canterlot.”

Javelin smiled showing a fierce row of teeth. “They call her the ‘Angel in White.’ At just sixteen years of age she’s safely delivered close to two hundred healthy foals. The best record of any nurse in combined Equestrian history to date.”

Honey frowned. “And you think she can stop this?”

“It’s worth a try,” the stallion shrugged and turned around to leave. “And if it doesn’t work, there’s always a scapegoat or two.” The last bit was muttered under his breath but Honey could still hear perfectly. She waited until Javelin closed the door behind him and looked down at the papers on her desk. With an angry cry she pushed them all to the side and they tumbled to the floor.

“Yeah,” Minty spoke up. “That guy’s a bit of a flank hole.”

“No,” Honey replied breathing heavily and turning to look at the doorway once more. “He’s just a dick.”

“Pardon me,” the Old Mare asked, “have you seen the young lady?”

The two soldiers had just sat down to dinner by the fire, the light of the moon illuminating more around them than the flames. One of them, a Pegasus in silver armor, pointed to an outcropping of rocks that reached above the tree line of the forest surrounding them.

“Thank you,” the Old Mare said and walked off toward the rocks. “I swear that girl does this every night. We go somewhere new and she just has to get as high as she can to see it all.”

The old mare reached the base of the outcropping, the fire still within sight behind her. She looked up at the top of the rocks and spotted a silhouetted figure against the moon, she almost appeared to be dancing on the top of the uneven boulders.

“Just what do you think you are doing?!” the Old Mare shouted.

The silhouetted figure stopped and climbed down to a lower set of rocks, her face finally coming into view.

“Sorry, Mother Superior,” she shouted back. “I just… couldn’t help myself. There’s so much beauty here. Especially at night.” The young earth pony mare finally reached the base and trotted over to her guardian. Her mane was white as snow, the same color as her coat. Her eyes were a dazzling shade of pink. She continued to hold her smile and the Old Mare succumbed.

“Oh, I can’t stay mad at you,” she chuckled. “Just come sit by the fire. We should arrive in Crystal Falls tomorrow evening.”

“Yes, Mother Superior,” the young mare replied and followed her.

“And Pristine?”

“Yes?”

“No more climbing on rocks, my heart is too fragile.”

Pristine smiled and nodded, the two of them sitting down around the campfire to eat.

Fluttershy/Twilight/Cadence - Chapter 16

Fluttershy threw the rock down the hall yet again and watched as the ethereal blue flame dashed toward it and began to swirl around the stationary stone, not actually physically able to pick it up. They had been playing fetch for over an hour now and while Capper couldn’t actually, literally, fetch, Fluttershy still found a way to play. Just following the rock herself and picking it up to throw it farther. She didn’t mind, Capper seemed happy.

They had made it all the way back to the hallway where their rooms were when Fluttershy heard a frustrated sigh coming from Rainbow Dash’s room. Being the element of kindness and Rainbow Dash being one of her oldest and closest friends, Fluttershy poked her head in to see what the matter was.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow?” she asked the blue Pegasus.

Rainbow was wrapped tightly in the blankets of her bed, her back turned toward the door. She sighed again, “It’s nothing, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy tentatively stepped into the room, Capper following her. “It doesn’t sound like nothing,” she sat on the edge of the bed and placed a reassuring hoof on her friend’s blanket covered shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

Rainbow turned to face her, a look of frustration in her eyes. “I just,” she slumped in bed and let the blankets fall around her. “I just feel so useless! I mean, we were all in that cave together and what do I do? I try to fly off like an idiot and bust my wing running into the wall.” She pointed to the wing on her left which had been bandaged up. Rainbow let out another long sigh.

“Well, it isn’t like you could have done anything anyway,” Fluttershy assured her.

Rainbow gave her friend a half lidded expression. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Shy.”

“Um, I mean,” the yellow Pegasus stuttered. “Princess Luna had the situation under control. Plus from what Twilight said, you were probably safer down there than we were up here. I mean, the library was a total mess, and Rarity’s new friend was really hurt.”

Rainbow seemed to consider this and sat up in bed. “I guess. Thanks for the support, Fluttershy. I just get so mad when I can’t do anything to protect my friends! I can’t help but feel useless.”

Fluttershy gave her a warm smile and Capper mewed happily as he hopped onto the bed. “Trust me, Rainbow. Nopony thinks you’re useless. I’m sure something scary will happen soon,” her voice dropped its happy tone, “and there will be something else like a monster or another earthquake,” her face became pale and her voice a bit higher in pitch, “then you can protect us from the big bad scary things.”

Rainbow smiled, oblivious of her friend’s unease. “You’re right, Shy! Something else’ll happen soon. And when it does, I’ve got to be healed and ready to be there to protect my friends.” The blue Pegasus jumped from the bed and trotted to the door, she turned back to see Fluttershy still sitting on the bed. “You coming?”

“Huh,” Fluttershy broke out of her fugue of worry and turned toward the door. “Oh, right.”

The two walked out into the hall with Capper in tow. Rainbow took the stone Fluttershy had been using and gave it a good toss, it flew through the air and went over the railing of the atrium below. They could hear it clearly collide with something soft and then a loud “OW!”

Fluttershy and Rainbow ran to the bannister railing and leaned over to look at what they’d hit. A crystal pony in servant’s dress and some loose bandages rubbed his head as he rolled on the floor in pain.

“Sorry about that!” Rainbow winced. Capper flew down from the bannister and circled around the rock mere inches away from the pony in pain. When he caught sight of Capper, the pony let out a scream of panic and jumped up, backing into a suit of armor on display. The suit crashed on top of him, soliciting another wince, this time from both mares. When the dust settled, he was left with a helmet on his head covering his face. The pony tried to remove it with little success. He let out a small sigh.

Fluttershy and Rainbow ran down the stairs. Fluttershy attending to Capper, warning him that it was not right to spook ponies. Rainbow attempted to remove the helmet from him. After two or three huge tugs, the helm came loose and the pony tumbled head over hoof yet again, this time into the wall where a portrait hung. The force of his hit against the wall seemed to make the portrait tilt and wobble, Rainbow and Fluttershy looking on with gasps and bated breath. It soon stopped shaking however and the pony stood, the two mares letting out a sigh of relief.

The pony in the staff outfit brushed any dirt off his bandages and held a hoof to his head to regain his balance. He centered his attention on the two, “Princess Sparkle requests you’re presence,” he uttered.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Rainbow jumped up in the air and floated. “Come on Fluttershy. I bet it’s some big problem only we can deal with!”

She grabbed the yellow mare’s hoof and pulled her along out of sight, Fluttershy murmuring fearfully all the way. Capper soon followed after leaving the pony alone. He let out a breath of relief and turned around, forgetting that his back was to the wall. He slammed face first into the crystal wall and the portrait above rocked once more before falling on his head. The pony struggled to his feet and tried to reach for his throbbing head but found his hooves were blocked by the large sturdy golden frame surrounding his neck. He tried to pull himself free to no avail. The pony let out a small sigh and slumped back onto the ground.

Twilight rubbed her eyes exasperatedly as she lay on the infirmary bed faced toward the ceiling. “This is bad,” she uttered. “This is really bad.” Her eyes shot open and a manic grin spread across her face. “Not that it wasn’t already bad, no. This is just much much more bad. Like unbelievably bad! Stupendously bad! Brobdingnagianly bad!!” She jumped from the bed and shot glances at all the ponies in the room. “And why did it have to be rocks!? I’ve never even touched a petrification spell, have you Princess Luna?”

Luna stepped back at the sight of the now manic alicorn. She shrugged, “The closest I’ve ever come to one was with Discord. But that was the will of the elements of harmony, not me.”

“The elements!” Applejack interjected. “Maybe we could use our new powers the Tree of Harmony gave us?”

Twilight sighed, slightly returning to her normal self. “I already thought of that. Bringing in the Rainbow ability is like using a blunt instrument in a surgery here. We need to be more delicate. Plus, who knows how the eldritch magic at work here would react to something like that.”

Applejack kicked at the floor and frowned.

“Hey, what’s up, everypony!” The crowd turned to the door as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy entered. Luna and Shining Armor attempting to squeeze close to the wall while Rarity was forced to sit on Flash’s bedside.

“It seems to be getting a little full in here,” Fluttershy stated. There were now eleven ponies, not counting the ones in beds, standing around and one of them was stone so it was a little tough to move.

Wit was forced to squeeze next to Applejack, his luggage still on his back and his eyes only reaching to the mare’s chin. Rainbow and Fluttershy were sandwiched between the two larger ponies, Luna and Shining Armor. Twilight and Quill stood at the back near the window, trying to examine the petrified doctor. Pinkie Pie seemed to have been lost in the sea of ponies.

“It seems to me that since all magical avenues have failed, you might want to focus a little less on the magical side of things here,” Everypony in the room turned to Quill, “and more on the scientific.”

Twilight’s manic expression seemed to fade into a contemplative frown. “Just what are you proposing?”

Quill grinned at her, showing off two rows of pearly white teeth, “Simply a few samples would suffice. You seem to have enough to work with in that makeshift lab of yours. We can-“

“We are not cutting into another pony!” Wit and Applejack interrupted simultaneously. They shared a glance as Applejack coughed at the awkwardness of the moment.

Quill didn’t seem taken aback by this retort but Twilight did find herself a little shocked that she even considered going along with it.

“Anyway,” she said. “It’s not a bad idea.”

“Twi!” Applejack shouted. “You’re not seriously suggesting we go through with his plan?”

“Of course not!” Twilight replied. “But it wouldn’t hurt to start looking at this a little more scientifically.” She turned toward the statue, away from her friends. “Maybe we just need an expert.”

A pink tail darted above the crowded room of ponies like a shark fin.

“Somepony that specializes in geology maybe?”

The pink resurfaced again, this time a poofy mane. Applejack looked above and noticed. “Uh, Twi?”

“Do we know any geologists?”

Twilight turned back to her friends and was immediately tackled by a blur of pink. Pinkie Pie shoved her face into the purple alicorn’s, a wide smile spread across her face. “I know a pony!”

“Oh, no,” Twilight muttered exasperatedly.

Cadence was alone. The world around her was dark and thick like fog. She tried to move but everywhere felt the same. No landmarks. No hills. No anything.

“Hello!” she cried out. “Is anypony out there?”

She could hear a cry in the distance. It was a young voice and she could feel the fear and loneliness in it.

“Please,” she pleaded to the air. “Let me help you. Tell me where you are.”

The crying stopped. Cadence tried to strain her ears, maybe the voice had just grown quieter. Suddenly a wall of sound crashed into her. It was loud like a boom, the sound of an explosion or hard collision. She screwed her eyes shut in pain. The sound continued. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Then more sounds joined the fracas. The sound of screaming and shouts. Anger was growing in the air. She could feel it all around her. The hate was enormous, so large it threatened to consume her.

A picture solidified before her. The Crystal Palace, standing tall until bit by bit it begins to collapse. Chunks of hard crystal once thought unbreakable begin to crumble away like dust. The ground below seems to throb with every second, like a monstrous heartbeat. She can see nopony but the screams and shouts still echo through the air. The voices seem to quicken the pace of the heartbeats.

“No!” she shouted. “No! Stop! Please just-

-Stop!!” Cadence shot up in bed, head butting a familiar white and blue stallion that had been standing over her. He crumpled to the floor and clutched his nose in pain.

“Shining!” Cadence said happily before realizing what she had done. “Oh, no! Are you okay?”

Shining stumbled to his feet still clutching his nose, his left eye was red and swollen.

“Sweet Celestia,” she winced. “Did I do that to you?”

Shining moved his hoof to his eye and shook his head with pained smile. “Nah, don’t worry yourself about that. I got this… somewhere else.”

“Okay,” Cadence frowned in worry and tried to get out of bed to attend to her husband. Shining held a hoof to her chest and lowered her back onto the pillows.

“Please, don’t get up,” he pleaded. “From what Twily told me, you’ve had it pretty rough.”

Cadence sighed and closed her eyes in agreement, fatigue overcoming her again. She looked out the window at the setting sun. “Just how long have I been out?”

Shining walked over to close the curtains. “From what I understand, about a whole day.” He returned to his wife’s side and sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you remember anything?”

Cadence rubbed her face with her hooves in an effort to recall the events that knocked her out. “We were in the secret room below the library. Suddenly there was this… Snap. I can’t describe it. It felt like something just blinked off and then…” Cadence rubbed her head as the memories of the screams filled her head. She began to tremble. Shining Armor took his wife in his hooves and held her close. The trembling didn’t stop though. “I… I don’t know. I woke up here, I guess.” She took the moment to survey the room. It was still their royal suite, same crystal ceiling and floor. Obviously things hadn’t eroded or collapsed while she was out. “So what exactly happened after… you know?”

Shining pushed back to hold his wife by the shoulders at eye level. “I’ve got some bad news, some really bad news, and some sort of good news.”

Cadence facehoofed and groaned. “Bad news, really bad news, then sort of good news, please.”

“Bad news: the Crystal Heart has been completely turned to stone.”

Cadence’s eyes shot open and her mouth fell agape. “How is that not the really bad news!?”

Shining waved a hoof defensively. “All that resulted from that was the earthquake. At least until…”

“Until…”

“Until we discovered the castle doctor turned to stone.”

Cadence mouth fell agape again. “Is she okay?”

“We honestly don’t know. Twilight and Luna say that the stone is the same as the Crystal Heart but they just don’t have the specific knowledge to understand it. We’ve got a specialist coming in a few days.”

“A few days! Who’s to say we have a few days! The castle could come collapsing around us tomorrow!”

“Hey, how did you know the castle had collapsed?”

Cadence froze, the memories of her dream clearing. The horrible quakes and the hateful screams. She sat up and drew her legs to her body underneath the covers. Her gaze was far away.

“There’s something coming,” she said simply. “There’s something coming and whatever it is, it’s big. I can’t… I can’t describe it any other way.”

Shining frowned but nodded in agreement. He wrapped his hooves around his wife once more, cradling her close. After a quiet moment between the two Cadence broke the silence. “So what’s the sort of good news?”

Shining Armor tried to look elsewhere as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well…”

Outside, a crystal pony with a frame stuck around his neck sadly trudged past the Royal Suite. A loud “What!?” suddenly shot out from the room, scaring the poor pony. He jumped in the air and came back down, crashing and dislodging the frame. He rubbed his head, looked shocked as he was finally able to do so and jumped to his feet in delight. He sprinted down the corridor to a stair case, eager to get back to his room before something else happened. He took his first step on the long winding stair case and felt the crystal beneath him crumble away. He overextended his hoofstep and fell forward onto the stairs. He bounced down nearly three flights, the force of his impacts creating small cracks in the durable crystal. He finally reached the bottom step and began to roll into an opposing wall. His crash there sent a spider web of cracks through it, ending in a half circular shape. The large piece of wall dislodged and began to tilt inward. The pony was still struggling to get his bearings back, rubbing his head and not noticing the falling wall behind him. The masonry fell with a loud thunk on top of him and shattered in to many more pieces. A small piece of wall sat on his head as a large bump formed. Stars began to play before his eyes and then pony let out a happy sigh before passing out in the rubble.

Bedim/Pristine - Chapter 17

Bedim slammed his head into the desk in front of him in exhaustion as he heard the bell ring. He groaned and looked at the pile of gems he had been able to inspect today. The pile was a mere fraction of everypony else’s. He let out another long groan and stood up. The rest of the employees were beginning to pack up to leave.

“Bedim,” Beanie called out to the colt. “Can I see you for a minute before you go?”

Bedim sighed as he trudged to the boss’s desk. He knew what was coming. Beanie looked at him a sincere smile and worried frown. She steepled her hooves in front of her, a gesture that said she wasn’t angry, but disappointed.

“You seem to be having a little bit of trouble keeping up,” she chided softly.

“I know, I know, ma’am. I’m sorry.” Bedim lowered his head and shook it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just keep getting these headaches.”

Beanie frowned. “Well, if you’re sick then you should really just stay home. I don’t need you here infecting anypony else and slowing down the system any more.” She paused and considered the harshness of her words. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Bedim replied. “You’re right. I should probably take tomorrow off and recover.”

“Good,” Beanie’s smile returned. “Look, since you’re just an apprentice level employee you can take as much time as you want. You just let me know when you want to come back.”

Bedim frowned in frustration but smiled at his kind boss. “Thank you.”

“So you’re calling it quits already?” Crisp asked as they proceeded out of town through the slums.

These were the remnants of the old Crystal Falls. Old cabins and houses that had been built on the outskirts of the new city, closer to the forest. The two friends walked side by side as the sun slowly began to set in the west, sharing their experiences of the day as they made their way to their secret spot.

“I’m not calling it quits!” Bedim replied sharply. “I just need some time. Whatever’s happening to me its not normal and its affecting my work. Y’know I actually laughed maniacally when I held a sapphire today? It was so big and round… the color of the ocean reflecting a clear summer sky… absolutely beautiful. Hmmhmmhmm.” He had begun to chuckle to himself and his mouth curled into a toothy grin, his pupils dilated to encompass most of his eyes.

Crisp frowned and slapped his friend in the back of the head, the dark colt’s long black mane falling over his eyes. “OW!”

“Okay, maybe something is wrong with you,” Crisp admitted. “Have you thought about asking Aunt Lullaby?”

Bedim rubbed the back of his head in pain and turned a scrunched face of anger at the tan colt. He let out a long sigh and returned his attention to the path before him. “No, I really don’t want to bother her with this. Lullaby worked so hard to help get me this apprenticeship, I just don’t want to disappoint her.”

Crisp furrowed his brow thoughtfully. “I guess.”

Bedim quickened his pace and began to trot backward in front of Crisp to talk to him face to face. “So how’d your day go?”

Crisp smiled broadly. “Well, I must be psychic cause do you know what Girder did today?”

Bedim chuckled in disbelief. “They didn’t…”

Crisp reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a gold pin in the shape of an anvil and hammer. He grinned ear to ear.

“A Master Forger at your age,” Bedim muttered in admiration. “You are an absolute genius, my friend.”

“Yes,” Crisp replied smugly. “I know.”

“So what’d they promote you for?”

“Actually it wasn’t my water pump plans like I thought. I mean, I showed those to Girder and he was really impressed, even showed them to some of the plumbers in the district. But today, the commander came around inspecting new weapons. Of course, I had gotten bored building simple swords so I was in the middle of lunch and he and Girder walk in on me setting up the blueprints for this new theoretical magical generator I’d been working with.”

“Magical generator?” Bedim laughed. “You mean that “all helpful, low energy, magic replacement thing” you’ve been talking about?”

“That was like Mark I,” Crisp replied puffing out his cheeks in frustration. “I’ve been through like six or seven rewrites since then. Anyway, the commander suddenly takes the blueprints from me and starts looking at them. He says I have great potential and that I should keep up the good work. A day later, Girder calls me in and gives me the promotion. You’re looking at a fully employed stallion, in his prime.”

In his smugness, Crisp raised a hoof to his chest as he walked and ended up tripping over a rock. He landed face first into the ground, his goggles falling over his eyes.

“Yeah, you’re a real stallion, alright.” Bedim chuckled as he turned around and began to walk forward again.

They soon came upon the edge of the forest. The two stopped just before it and Bedim stepped to the side, offering a hoof for Crisp to go first. “After you, mister stallion.”

Crisp humphed mockingly, “Don’t mind if I do.”

They entered the forest and made their way past the tall foliage. Finally Bedim pushed past the low hanging branches of a crooked tree, their secret spot before them. It was an open area, one of the few in the forest that was nowhere near the old training ground. In the center of the circle of soft grass sat a giant tree, three times that of the rest that seemed to reach above the tree line. When they were younger fillies the two had often stolen away to this spot and played for hours on the rocks, in blatant disregard of their parents’ wishes. It was just how they remembered except for on small detail.

Bedim stayed at the edge of the clearing, hiding behind the branches as his eyes drifted up towards the top of the enormous foliage. A stunning white figure sat on a sturdy branch and looked out above the forest. Her back was turned to him, but Bedim could swear it was a mare.

“Are you going to let me in or not?” Crisp asked impatiently as he waited for Bedim to enter their sanctum.

Bedim grabbed Crisp and pulled him close so he could see what he did. “Look,” he pointed to the white mare in the tree. “Do you see that?”

Crisp squinted and then lowered his goggles, setting a small attached magnifying lens in front of the left eye. “Is that a mare!?” he shouted unconsciously.

The mare above turned sharply, looking for the voice. Bedim grabbed his friend by the mouth and pulled him lower so they couldn’t be seen. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

The color of her coat made her seem almost translucent, like she was made of wind and snow and just might as easily blow away. Her mane was long, the same color. And her eyes were the most beautiful of all. A shade of pink that seemed to shine like diamonds. Bedim felt his mouth fall agape. He had never seen something so beautiful in his life. Then the burning struck.

MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE

Bedim released Crisp and grasped his head, trying to calm down the burning headache. Crisp was relieved to be free but quickly realized that his friend was in deep pain. He grabbed him by the shoulders while Bedim screamed in pain. “Beddy!”

Suddenly a new scream echoed through the forest. Crisp turned to the clearing and saw that two timberwolves had come upon the unsuspecting mare and had surrounded the base of the tree, circling it and snapping their jaws up at her. As if that weren’t enough the mare had been pushed to the edge of the branch she sat on by a huge beast with six arms, fur and the body of bear with wings. The bugbear seemed undecided on whether to attack the mare that had made its way into the tree with its nest or defend its nest further from the predators below. It seemed to pick the former.

“Damn,” Crisp whispered. He took a look at Bedim still rolling on the floor and then back at the mare, uncertain of what to do.

Suddenly there was a blast of light as a unicorn in silver armor exploded from the forest, followed closely by a Pegasus. The unicorn shot bright beam after beam in an attempt to scare the timberwolves off as the Pegasus flew up to assist the mare down. The Pegasus held out a hoof for her to take, the mare extending to reach him. However the bugbear turned its gaze on him and shot a long string of fluid from its back, catching the Pegasus off guard and making his wings stick together. The Pegasus began to drop into a freefall, crashing into the branches below him. He landed just on a sturdy branch mere inches away from the timberwolves jaws, unconscious. The unicorn did not seem to have any further luck as he continued to blast at the creatures. They were too fast and dodged him every time, finally ambushing the unicorn, one behind and one in front. A vicious slashing attack from the back knocked the unicorn in the head. Though his armor deflected most of the damage it was clear that the attack had rendered the pony unconscious like his fellow. The timberwolves moved in closer to finish off their prey.

Crisp panicked and began to look through his bag. He found what he was looking for, a homemade crossbow and some dry paper. He quickly stuck the paper through the bolt and took aim at the timberwolves, then it hit him.

Duh, I need to light it. He checked his bags again, no flint. “Damn!”

Then he noticed Bedim had gotten up, the colt’s face still showing signs of pain. “Beddy, I need you to make me some fire.”

Bedim rubbed his head and looked at the situation that had unfolded. The mare was near to falling off the tree with the bug bear crawling ever so closer. The look in her eyes was filled with fear, a look he did not want to see in eyes so beautiful. His head began to burn again and this time he let it. His horn erupted with a dark flame and his eyes began to emit a dark green and purple corona. The words ran through his mind like a stampede, engulfing his sanity. “MINE!” he shouted angrily.

Bedim burst through the branches hiding the two, the magic around him leaving some leaves burning. Crisp stood agape as he watched his friend run past the timberwolves, distracting them for a brief second. He saw a burning leaf float to the ground and grabbed it before it could fall. “I’ll take what I can get,” he muttered.

Crisp placed the leaf under the paper and watched it burst into flame. He took quick aim and let the bolt fly at the timberwolf closest to the unconscious unicorn. The beast howled in agony as its body ignited and it jumped in the air. This caught the attention of the second timberwolf who turned to see its ally charge blindly into it, igniting it as well. The two monsters ran howling from the clearing.

Bedim reached the base of the tall tree and looked toward the mare in danger. She was fifty hooves above him and the bugbear was mere inches away. He grit his teeth as the burning within him flared again. Smoke began to stream off his body as he jumped onto the side of the tree and, somehow, stuck to it. He paid this no mind as he sprinted up the side of the tree, the smoke trailing behind him blurring his image. He looked like a living shadow, a wraith brought to life. The ash that covered his horn began to chip away as more and more red became revealed. Within seconds he reached the monster and the mare the force of his hooves landing on the branch sending vibrations through the tree. The bugbear turned around in surprise, its bulk blocking the mare from seeing Bedim in his current form. Bedim ground his teeth and smiled wickedly.

“You think you can take what’s mine?!” he shouted angrily.

The bugbear roared in response, swiping a claw at him. Bedim stood his ground and felt the claws penetrate his skin, however the pain was short lived as the smoke around him condensed and healed the wound immediately. The last of the ash flaked away from his horn and left it red as blood.

“That tickled,” he chuckled, moving closer to the beast. The bugbear did not stop roaring but it did move back a few inches, the mare behind it pushed to the edge. She lost her footing and slipped, only holding onto the branch by her front hooves.

She screamed in terror, the shock sending a signal to Bedim’s brain. He shook the smoke from his head and looked down to see the mare dangling. The bugbear saw his attention slip and decided this would be the moment to move. It lunged forward in an attempt to tackle Bedim, the drastic loss of its weight shaking the branch. The mare lost her grip and began to fall.

Before the bugbear could touch Bedim, the corona returned to his eyes and horn. The smoke around him seemed to explode as he dove down through the air, writhing around and through the branches like living shadow. He landed on the branch where the Pegasus had fallen unconscious and held out his hooves to catch the falling mare. She landed hard but he did not seem to acknowledge the force of the impact.

She groaned as she struggled to open her eyes, the first thing she saw was the massive black smoke that arose from Bedim. His eyes still burned with a dark green energy. He smiled wickedly, showing a row of sharp teeth. “You are mine,” he whispered.

The mare did not scream or struggle, but instead smiled gleefully. She wrapped her hooves around the colt and hugged him close. Surprise filled Bedim’s evil expression and the energy around him subsided yet again. “Thank you!” she said. “You saved me!” She pulled away from him, still in sitting in his hooves her arms around his shoulders. “I’ll gladly be yours!” She pulled his face in as their lips collided in a kiss.

Bedim’s eyes shot open as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Most of the events of the past few minutes had been a total blur and now the mare that he had been admiring for maybe thirty seconds was giving him a deep kiss. However, all worries began to fade away as he melted into it, embracing the white mare tighter.

The mare pulled away a little later, her cheeks flushed red. She smiled innocently as she stared into her savior’s eyes and he into hers. “Um,” she chuckled. “We should probably get down.”

Bedim shook his head to clear it. “Oh, right.”

The two jumped down from the branch, the unconscious Pegasus slung over Bedim’s shoulder. Crisp stood by the unconscious unicorn, his mouth agape at what he had just seen.

“Just what…” he stuttered. “I mean…” The tan colt seemed to be at a loss for words.

The white mare galloped up to him as well placing her hooves over his shoulders. “I saw what you did as well! A true hero!” She forced her lips onto his as well staying for a good few seconds. Crisp shuttered in surprise, his eyes shooting open.

Bedim laid the Pegasus on his shoulders to rest on the ground and shot his friend a deadly glare. Crisp could only frown from behind the kiss and shrug. When the white mare finally pulled away, Crisp took in a deep breath. “Alright,” he gasped, a dazed smirk spreading across his face. “someponies repay favors like that with bits, but I guess that works as well.”

“Pristine!” a shout echoed through the forest causing the three young ponies to look up. “Pristine!” The voice was old and seemed incredibly worried.

The white mare frowned in panic. “That’s my guardian!” She turned to Bedim. “She’s going to freak out when she sees this. I am in so much trouble.”

Crisp rubbed his head in an apologetic gesture. “Yeah, that stinks. We should probably get out of your hair then.”

“We’ll stay and explain the situation,” Bedim interrupted, his face resolute.

Crisp pouted, shooting his friend a glare that said “seriously?” Suddenly the tan colt’s eyes shot open. “Beddy, your horn!”

Bedim frowned and tried to look up at the appendage on his head. All he could see was the tip, but it was bright red. “Oh no,” he muttered. “I… I can’t be seen like this!”

The white mare gave an understanding nod and searched the ground. She found some ash left from the burning timberwolves and scooped it up, applying liberally to Bedim’s horn. She leaned her mouth close in to his ear as she did so. “My name’s Pristine by the way.”

Bedim blushed profusely, his cheeks now appearing like his horn had a few seconds ago. He could feel her breath on his neck and it reminded him of the passionate kiss they had just shared. “Bedim,” was all he could reply with.

The sound of hoofsteps came out of the forest and an old light purple unicorn mare with white mane walked into the clearing. Her first expression was one of relief as she noticed her charge, safe and sound. “Pristine! Just what were you thinking going this far away from the camp? I sent the soldiers to find you but-“ she cut herself off as she noticed the two soldiers lying on the ground unconscious. Two unidentified ponies surrounded the young mare. “Just what is going on here?”

Pristine opened her mouth to speak but was beaten to it by Bedim. “I’m sorry, ma’am. We noticed she was in trouble,” he motioned to Pristine, “and we acted on it. The soldiers had been knocked unconscious by timberwolves and a bugbear, so we did what any self-respecting pony would do and drove them off before they could cause any more damage.” He neglected to mention the part where the Old Mare’s charge had nearly fallen to her death from the tree.

The Old Mare frowned. “You two defeated a bugbear and a pack of timberwolves?”

“To be fair,” Crisp interjected. “We never really dealt with the bugbear.”

All ponies present looked up as a large roar shook the area. The bugbear had begun to climb down the tree and was now close enough to the base to swipe at Bedim. Pristine pushed him out of the way, her foreleg getting caught in the swipe instead. She cried out in pain as blood began to trickle from the shallow cut. Bedim landed on his hindquarters and caught sight of Pristine’s injury, for the third time today his faculties left him and his eyes begun to glow once more and a snarl spread across his mouth. He stood tall, shadow and smoke trailing from his body as he jumped at the bugbear, tackling it to the ground. The two slammed into the ground, the bugbear falling on its back with him on top. It swiped at him once more, the same result as last time occurring as the wound closed quickly. Bedim reared back and slammed his hoof into the ground next to the creature’s head, sending a shockwave through the dirt and causing fracture lines to appear. “Nopony takes what’s mine,” he whispered deadly as he pulled back his hoof to stomp onto its face.

“Stop!” a white hoof grabbed Bedim’s neck from behind, pulling him away from the bear. Bedim fell back into Pristine’s tight embrace, he shot her a glare while his eyes were still glowing but they subsided as he saw her face. She held him tightly, her eyes closed with a gentle smile that filled the black stallion with warmth. She opened her eyes once more and pointed up into the tree. “Look.”

Bedim followed her gaze and saw three tiny bugbear cubs attempting to crawl down to their parent. Their mews of worry now carrying through the air. The bugbear rose from the ground to its full height and let out a sympathetic growl to its cubs then returned its attention to the ponies. Bedim frowned and attempted to stand up to it but was stopped by a white hoof yet again. Pristine walked up to the beast and looked it in the eye. “I’m sorry for scaring you and your children,” her smile was sincere. The bugbear stopped its growling and looked into her eyes. “I promise that no harm will come to you or them.”

The bugbear stood still, supposedly contemplating the words of the white mare. After a long moment with everypony holding their breath, the bugbear let out a loud roar and returned to the tree, beginning to climb it toward its cubs. It turned back one last time to look at Pristine and then returned to its nest hidden high above.

The Old Mare rushed up to Pristine, her hoof over her chest. “That was completely irresponsible!”

Pristine lowered her head. “Yes, mother superior,” she muttered.

“What a blockheaded thing to do!”

“Yes, mother superior.”

“What confounding, foolhardy, brave and selfless thing to do.” The Old Mare pulled Pristine into a tight hug and smiled. “You are an amazing girl. But completely thickheaded.” The Old Mare pulled away from the hug to knock Pristine over the head.

“Ow!” Pristine rubbed the tender spot she had just received.

“And you,” the Old Mare turned to Bedim, her eyes were narrow and accusing. Bedim gulped in trepidation. The Old Mare had seen him in whatever form that was, she seemed like the type to judge much more quickly than Pristine. “I don’t know what illusion spell that was but you certainly scared that bear senseless.”

Bedim breathed a sigh of relief. So she just assumed it had been an illusion. Luckily she hadn’t seen him before when he was moving like liquid shadow through the trees or running up a vertical trunk.

“Just where did you learn that level of magic?” the Old Mare asked.

“Uh…” Bedim had to think of an answer fast. “I…”

“He was trained by the northern commander!” Crisp interjected, trying to save his friend. “Commander Javelin.”

“Oh,” the Old Mare looked surprised. She turned to Pristine who also bore a happy surprised look. “You know the commander? It just so happens that we were on our way to meet him.”

Pristine trotted forward to stand in front of Bedim. “The commander sent a message to Canterlot about an epidemic. The Canterlot Triumvirate thought it would be best to send me.”

Bedim and Crisp frowned. An epidemic? They hadn’t heard of any epidemic. However in order to keep up appearances Bedim asked, “So… just what makes you suitable to tackle this, um, epidemic?”

The Old Mare humphed and held a hoof out to Pristine which she took. “Surely the commander told you? This is Pristine LeBlanc, the ‘Angel in White.’ Canterlot’s premiere nurse and healer.”

She gave the two of them a small bow. “It’s a pleasure, Bedim and…”

“Crisp!” the tan colt replied with yelp. He held out his hoof and the white mare accepted it.

“Well,” the Old Mare continued. “With introductions out of the way, what do you say you strapping young colts carry our wounded and take us into town? I’m sure the commander will be pleased to see all of us.”

Bedim stiffened. “Swell,” he murmured as he and Crisp began to pick up the two enormous stallions with armor. He leaned over to Crisp who seemed to be struggling with his load. “Why did you say I knew the commander?”

“I had to say something believable!” Crisp whispered back.

The two shot each other a glare, the two mares already behind the forest line. “Are you coming?” Pristine asked.

“Yeah,” Bedim shouted with a smile. “Be right there!”

Crisp snorted. “You got it bad, Beddy.”

Bedim elbowed him in the side and Crisp winced. “Don’t call me Beddy!”

Pristine arrived in Crystal Falls just as the sun began to set. After slogging through the outskirts of the slums, the Old Mare complaining all the way through, they had reached the entrance to Main Street. The road which would lead straight to the center of the city with Town Hall and the hospital. Pristine took in a sharp breath as she took in the sight of the bustling pioneer city. She had spent her whole life in Canterlot, a city praised for its absolute beauty and gorgeous architecture. It felt so good to be travelling through the woods, seeing all that nature she had never come in contact with. Now this city offered something else new. The buildings were not as tall or grand as the ones in Canterlot, but they had a rustic charm that Pristine had only read of in books. She did a little spin to take it all in.

Behind her and the Old Mare were the two handsome stallions that had rescued her hours before. Crisp, the smaller one, was shy and handsome in his own right. Clearly not a natural fighter or workhorse judging by how he carried himself with the soldier on his back. But the other, Bedim, was something different. They had only known each other for a few hours and already Pristine probably knew something about the stallion he hadn’t even known about himself until recently. That power that exuded from him would fill any normal pony with trepidation. To Pristine it felt, well, beautiful.

Though the mare hadn’t earned her cutie mark yet, that was what she believed it would one day be about. She was able to see the beauty in anything, even the monstrous bugbear that attacked her and her friends held the beauty of motherhood. It was why she worked so hard to become a nurse. At a young age, she had received permission from the convent she’d been a part of since birth to study medicine and nursing at the Canterlot hospital. She immediately excelled at her lessons, surprising most if not all her professors and when it came time for her first procedure, the birth of a newborn foal, she passed with flying colors. More than that, her calming presence had the mother experience next to no pain and the foal was born completely healthy with no complications. Twenty births later the doctors all had to agree this was no fluke, and so they nicknamed her the “Angel in White.”

Pristine caught sight of a fruit stand that was selling a small purple fruit she never seen before. She walked over. “What are these?”

Bedim approached from behind, pulling out a bit. He dropped it on the counter and the vendor gave him a piece. “It’s called a mountain plum. Here.”

She accepted the fruit and took a small bite, her smile spreading even further. Juice began to dribble from her chin and she let out a giggle with her mouth full. Bedim laughed as well raising his hoof to wipe the juice from her face. Their eyes met and a blush ran through both their cheeks.

Pristine’s face began to burn as she turned away, her smile staying put. In the heat of the moment she had said some pretty amazing things, so had Bedim. Sure, she liked the stallion, but he had some secret that needed to be explored should their friendship go any further than that.

“Ahem,” the Old Mare appeared between the two blushing ponies. “Mr. Bedim, we would like to arrive at the hospital by sunset if possible.”

Bedim coughed to clear his head and turned back to leading the way. “Of course.”

When they entered the Market Square at the center of the city Pristine did another twirl. It was late so the square was not as populated as it was during the day, but it still filled her with wonder at the bustle of ponies going about their daily grinds. The hospital was just north, located just behind Town Hall. The group passed the auspicious building to stand before a relatively large white two story building. A red cross had been painted above its door and there appeared to be an additional structure hastily attached that jutted from its side. Pristine pushed the doors open and breathed in the antiseptic air.

The inside wasn’t entirely what she had expected. Canterlot hospitals were famous for their sterile environments and easy working conditions. When she’d heard she was going to a mountain hospital, Pristine assumed the worst. However, the inside of the Crystal Falls hospital was almost top notch. There was no loose floorboards or splintered paneling and the waiting room appeared to be properly kept. The Old Mare, Bedim and Crisp walked in, the latter two dropping the stallions on their backs. Two nurses rushed forward to tend to them as a brown unicorn, a doctor from her attire, approached the group.

“Those two need attention for some light head trauma and perhaps a fractured wing,” Pristine pronounced to the nurses. “Wrap the fracture lightly but keep the other in bed for the night, make sure he gets plenty of fluids.”

The nurses frowned as they gathered the two large stallions on their shoulders and looked at the doctor. The unicorn shrugged and they trotted off. “You certainly seem to know your injuries,” the doctor smiled.

The Old Mare stepped forward. “We have been called from Canterlot by Commander Javelin about an epidemic. We arrived as soon as we could.”

The doctor’s face flushed and she looked pale. “C-Canterlot! Then you’re…” she turned to Pristine. “I’m sorry, Miss. I didn’t know we’d be expecting you so soon. I assumed the commander would welcome you first.”

The Old Mare frowned, growing impatient. “If there is truly a threat to ponies here then the commander will forgive us for skipping protocol. Will you take us to the nursery?”

The doctor nodded her head frantically, “Of course!” She stopped after noticing Bedim and Crisp standing to the side. “Um, may I ask who these two are? The commander said no unspecified guests.”

The Old Mare seemed about to say something when Pristine interrupted. “These are my auxiliary guard!” she blurted. The two colts looked stunned. “If it hadn’t been for their presence earlier today then I wouldn’t be here, right?” She gave a small wink to the Old Mare. The Old Mare pouted and took another look at the colts but nodded in agreement.

The doctor sighed. “Oh, okay. Then please, right this way.”

The group followed the brown mare down a few halls. Pristine trotted over to be next to Bedim, her face slightly concerned. “I know I said all that but you can turn back if you want. I know this might be hard for you to see.”

Bedim frowned as if trying to comprehend her words. “I’ve seen sick people before,” he chuckled. “I haven’t heard of any epidemic though.”

Pristine’s brow furrowed. “You haven’t? But I was sure that the entire town would know about something like-“

“We’re here.” The doctor announced. The group stood before a long blue curtain hanging from the ceiling in front of it read the sign “NO ADMITTANCE.”

Crisp leaned over to the two conspiratorial ponies. “This is a nursery?” he asked under his breath.

Pristine bit her lip. They really didn’t know what was going on. She hoped the scene ahead of them wouldn’t shock them too much.

The doctor pulled the curtain back, the fading light of the sun from the windows being the only source of illumination in the room. The room was large lined with close to twenty or thirty cribs. The Old Mare was the first to walk in as she looked into one of the cribs. A hoof went to her mouth in shock and she clicked her tongue. Bedim and Crisp followed wearily, peering into the closest crib. Crisp let out a short high pitched gasp as he lost his balance and fell over. Bedim simply frowned, his expression one of deep confusion and trepidation. Pristine followed in and looked at the crib’s occupant. Wrapped snugly under a blanket, a foal made completely of stone lifted its chest in rhythm as it slept.

Wit/Quill - Chapter 18

“No way!” the rainbow maned Pegasus shouted. “You know A.K. Yearling, the writer of Daring Do!?”

Wit sat to the side of the conservatory where everypony had decided to convene after today’s long events. The room was of relative size for a castle, certainly bigger than the apartment the brothers shared. The walls were a deep green crystal with soft cushions adorning the floor all around the room. Wit had decided to set down the large luggage he had been carrying for hours and recline in one of these comfy cushions. A few hooves away, his egotistical brother had begun a conversation with two of the mares present, just happening to mention his acquaintance with the great Miss Yearling.

“Agatha and I have known each other for good few years now,” Quill bragged. “We were in the same seminar at the Historical Academy for a few years. Shared a discussion table and everything. I even helped her out with one of her artifact recoveries once.”

The rainbow maned Pegasus beamed uncontrollably. “That is so awesome!”

The orange mare grinned. “Must be nice knowing a celebrity.”

Wit chuckled. “What? Not going to mention that she added you as a character in one of her books?”

Quill’s eye twitched as the cyan Pegasus sucked in a gasp of air. “Seriously!? Which one are you?”

His brother shot Wit a glare but Wit continued. “What was that character’s name again, Quill? Shiver-something?”

“Shiverus Snipe?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow. “That dweeby coward in book fifteen that ends up falling in a pit and delaying Daring Do for two days?”

Quill’s face took on a deep shade of crimson as he turned away to pout. “I had a broken leg! What were we supposed to do? Just keep on going through the jungle?”

The mares began to snicker before the blue one burst into laughter, rolling on the ground. Quill pouted some more and left the room, steam almost coming out his ears. The orange mare nodded to Wit before sitting down next to him. “You’re brother has quite a bit of pride.”

Wit shrugged. “He’s got enough for everyone in Canterlot. Best to deflate his ego every once in a while or he’ll float away.”

The orange mare laughed out loud, covering her face with her large Stetson hat. She turned to face him and held out a hoof. “Name’s Applejack. My friend over there on the ground is Rainbow Dash.”

Wit smiled and politely tapped Applejack’s hoof. “Pleasure. I’m Witwell, but my friends just call me Wit.”

Applejack polite smile turned slightly. “So now that we have a free moment, can I ask what yer doing here?”

Wit sighed and pulled his suitcase next to him. He opened it, leafing through the contents until he came to a small circular metal object. He pulled it out for Applejack to see. “From what I can understand from the explanation Prince Shining Armor gave, you’ve been dealing with some mysterious circumstances surrounding a lost journal and this symbol, correct?”

He placed the pin on top of the suitcase. Embedded in the orange metal was a dark rune, one it seemed the other pony had seen before since she let out a short gasp.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted as she appeared hovering above the two. “That’s the signal!”

“Sigil,” Applejack corrected her. Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof. “So, why do you have this?”

Wit paused to place the pin back in his suitcase. “Actually this is an heirloom from our mother. It’s been passed down our clan through the ages so it’s pretty much an antique.”

“The Black Dragon Sigil,” Applejack mouthed, trying to remember Twilight’s words. “That’s what Twilight called it. So you must have some idea about what it does?”

Wit frowned and shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid not. The symbol has never really meant anything to us and my mother never spoke about it. However, I think I know who created it.”

The mares waited on his words. Wit smiled, enjoying the audience, as he opened another suitcase. He really wasn’t a pony that enjoyed attention like his brother, but Wit did have his weak moments when it came to pretty mares. He grinned as he produced an ancient set of letters for the mares to view. “This is the second reason we came. Princess Twilight was looking for any historical records of a pony named Sun Tide. Well, it just so happens that Sun Tide is actually our clan’s great ancestor.”

Applejack began to sift through the letters, her face blushing profusely as she read one. “These all seem pretty personal. Are you sure it’s okay to show these to us?”

“What’s personal?” Rainbow asked as she reached for a letter. Applejack swatted her hoof away quickly.

“Maybe when you’re a little more mature,” she chuckled.

Rainbow threw up her hooves and groaned at the ceiling. “We’re the same age!” She forced her lower lip out to pout and slowly hovered out of the room, leaving the two alone.

“I really don’t mind,” Wit replied. “It’s pretty much the reason why we brought them in the first place. Quill thought they might be of some use.”

Applejack continued to read the letters, her blush not receding in the slightest. “So these are all from the same pony? Then why are they signed differently?”

Wit’s smile faded as he grabbed a few of the already read letters to put back in his suitcase. “It’s… Well, my brother believes that Sun Tide is actually a pretty famous pony that went under a pseudonym to avoid suspicion.”

“Do I know this pony?” Applejack asked.

“Maybe. Starswirl the Bearded.”

Applejack rubbed her chin in thought. “I remember Twilight talking about that guy. Some famous unicorn that was around way back when, right?”

“Yeah,” Wit replied as he continued to grab letters to put them away. “Lots of historians have written about him since he’s a pretty pivotal historical figure. He lived for nearly five hundred years, way beyond the lifespan of a normal unicorn and he even acted as a mentor to Princess Celestia at a time. However, there’s this black period during his life that no historian or archaeologist has ever been able to dig up. It’s my brother’s theory that these letters are from that dark period and can shed some light on his early years.”

Wit grabbed the last letter just as Applejack did, their hooves touching for an instant. Wit let go and shyed away, blushing, while Applejack took the letter unerred. She read it and handed it back. “I got to say, that’s an interesting story.” She winked at the stallion. “It’s nice that a kid your age is helping out his older brother.”

Wit’s eye twitched. “A kid! My age?!”

“Well, yeah,” Applejack replied. “You look about thirteen, right?”

Wit’s face grew pink as he ground his teeth. “And why would you assume that?” he asked as nicely as he could.

Applejack shrugged. “You’re shorter than me and I’m not that tall. So I reckon that’s appropriate.”

“We’re a year apart!” Wit shouted angrily. Applejack drew back at the outburst, surprise and a little bit of aggravation in her eyes.

“You don’t have to yell,” she murmured. “I didn’t know. I mean you looked so-“

“Small!?” Wit cut her off, raising an eyebrow.

Applejack winced. “I was going to say… compact?”

“Unbelievable!” Wit threw his hooves in the air. “Every time. This happens every time! Do I have to wear a sign around ponies like you?”

Applejack frowned. “Ponies like me? What in tarnation is that supposed to mean!?”

Wit rose from his seat, his face a blur of rage. “Exactly what it sounds like! Everypony always thinks I’m a filly or they can just walk all over me. Nopony ever takes me seriously and it’s infuriating!”

Applejack rose from her seat as well, a similar look of disdain on her face. “Well, excuse me for not realizing sooner! It’s not my fault you look like a filly. Don’t go insulting me for it!”

Wit grit his teeth, shooting a harsh glare at the taller pony. “You’re lucky you’re a mare!”

“Excuse me?” Applejack retorted.

“I was taught never to fight with mares. Otherwise I’d give you a piece of my mind.”

Applejack began to grit her teeth as well. “You’re the most ornery little pony I’ve ever met!”

“Little!? Gaaaaah!” Wit stamped the ground harshly before turning back to the conservatory’s entrance to leave.

“Where are you going?” Applejack yelled grabbing his shoulder before he could go.

“Away! Before I do something I’ll regret!” Wit shot back.

Applejack scoffed. “You think you can hurt me?”

“Pretty damn sure!”

“Them’s fightin’ words!” The two ponies spun around to face each other, their faces mere inches apart and anger plastered on their expressions. Wit let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine! Tomorrow. Dawn. I’m not going to fight you, but let’s see who’s stronger. You or the ‘little filly!’”

“Sounds good to me!” Applejack smirked and held out a hoof. They briskly yet angrily bumped and the duel was set. “If I win, you owe me an apology! If you win, I owe you. See you tomorrow, sweet pea!”

Wit growled again as the orange mare left the room, in a teasing walk. She flipped her tail up so it snapped against his nose as she left. Wit threw up his hooves again and let out a groan. He slumped back into the cushion and began to rub his forehead. After a moment the adrenaline began to fade away and Wit came back to his senses. He frowned and pursed his lips. Just what had he gotten himself into?

Quill left the conservatory in a huff. After Shining Armor and Princess Luna left the group to go to their rooms, the castle staff had been kind enough to show he and his brother where they would be staying. Quill walked down the lone hallway as he made his way to the room. While his face was still a little flushed at the two mares that laughed at him, his mind couldn’t help but race at the idea of what could be accomplished here. Shining told him about the sigil, his family’s crest, being hidden here in the Crystal Empire. This was a big break. Now all he needed was to see that book Princess Twilight had mentioned and he could have legitimate proof of his theories.

A grin slowly spread across Quill’s face as he thought of the future. The academy would have to retract everything they ever said about him. He might even have enough prestige and influence to get the jerk, Senilex, kicked out of the board of trustees. Hay, he just might even own the board of trustees. If he could only prove that he was directly related to Starswirl, then he could get his reputation back, for him and for Wit.

The gray unicorn paused as he remembered his brother’s plight. Wit could have gone on to do so many things. Yet because of him, his brother was forced to abandon his dreams. He wanted so badly to make things right. Quill sighed.

“Mr. Quill?” a feminine voice appeared from around the corner in front of him. Princess Twilight Sparkle had returned from her errand with the pink mare.

“Miss Twilight,” Quill greeted her with a phony smile. “I take it everything went well with your pink friend and her letter.”

Twilight shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Pinkie can get a little off track so it was necessary to be there to help write the letter.”

“I do apologize for my lack of knowledge,” Quill gave a polite bow. “But just what acquaintance could your friend, Pinkie, have that could be helpful to us?”

Twilight gave a half lidded expression and sighed. “You don’t want to know. You’ll find out when you meet her.”

Quill nodded and the two stood still in the empty hallway for a brief awkward second. “So…” they both said at the same time.

“Sorry,” Twilight giggled.

“No, my apologies,” Quill replied. “You were saying?”

Twilight shifted her hooves and walked a little closer to Quill an uneasy expression on her face. “I really didn’t mean for my brother to get you involved in this. Princess Luna is right when she says that this may become dangerous. I appreciate you offering to help but I’d feel a lot better if you just went home.”

Quill felt his stomach lurch. He couldn’t abandon this. This was the best lead he’d had in years. He clenched his teeth, trying to think of an excuse to stay. “Miss Twilight, while it’s nice that you’re thinking of our wellbeing I must reiterate that I and my brother wanted to be here.”

Twilight waved a hoof. “I know your historians and I love your books,” she blushed, “really I’m a huge fan, but this isn’t your ordinary every day study session or archaeological expedition. This is a legitimate curse with ancient magics. There’s no telling if what we saw today with the doctor could happen to any of us.”

Quill gave a polite smile and placed his hoof over his chest. “You’re concern is noted. However, what members of the Canterlot elite would we be if we did not lend our services to our princesses.”

Twilight pursed her lip and frowned but sighed and gave way to a smile. “Alright.”

Quill lip curled into a clever grin. “By the way, your brother said you had a book that contains the name of one of our characters. Would you mind if I took a look at it?”

Twilight smiled and retrieved the book from her saddle bag. “Sure, I’m going to need all the help I can get anyway.”

Quill took the book and stared at the scale covered cover with some trepidation. He took a deep breath and opened to the first page. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the date in the center of the page. Sun Tide. He couldn’t hide his smile.

He continued to star at the date, finally becoming aware that Twilight was now standing right next to him reading off his shoulder. Quill’s face turned pink for a brief moment before returning his attention to the book. He raised an eyebrow. “Do you think it’s a birthday of some sort?”

Twilight frowned. “I had considered that, the only thing I can conclude is that it’s Bedim Haze’s birthday. But maybe you can tell me just who Sun Tide is.”

Quill smiled broadly. “That’s a long story, probably left for tomorrow. However you should know that he was a king of an island called Lesbos. One of the only kings the island ever had since it was predominantly ruled by a feminarchy.”

Twilight smirked. “So you’re book is actually historically accurate? I don’t recall reading about Lesbos or Sun Tide.”

“That’s because the island has been lost to history.” Quill’s face became passive and it was clear he was not going to expand on the point. “However, this birthday could very well mean that this Bedim was born on Lesbos.”

Twilight pulled away, moaning and rubbing her forehead. “Gaah! This is all so confusing! An island. Black sigils. Shadow ponies. And now a curse! Just what does it all have to do with each other?”

Quill began to flip through the pages, landing on a passage in a foreign language he recognized. “’The mountain rose above the clouds and the wind whipped at my short furred flesh. I would have died if not for the aid of a friend.’” He read slowly and carefully, trying to remember certain syntax.

Twilight peeked over his shoulder again. Her eyes shot open. “Wait, that’s one of the passages I couldn’t decode. You can read it?”

Quill looked over his shoulder at the princess. “It is a bit old fashioned and a little hard to make out, but I’m pretty sure it’s written in Yaki.”

“Yaki?” Twilight asked. “As in what Yak’s speak?”

“Right. A little esoteric to be sure, but I did study Yak culture for a close to a year in Yakyakistan. Fascinating creatures.”

Twilight’s smile increased broadly. “This is fantastic!” she cried as she wrapped her hooves around the unprepared stallion. He was forced to step back as he lost his footing and the two fell to the floor. Twilight scrambled for the book and began to flip through it some more. “With this we can decode another third of the book.” She found another page with a different written language. “What about this?” She showed it to Quill.

The princess still lay on top of Quill, causing the stallion’s cheeks and entire body to become red. However, he still adjusted his glasses to look closer at the passage. He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s not just chicken scrawl? I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen that before. Maybe some kind of pictograms?”

Twilight sighed despondently as she rose to four hooves again, freeing the stallion. Her mood lightened a little bit though as she began to page through the book again. “Still, now we’ve got some more to work with.” She placed the book back in her saddlebag and turned to Quill. “See me tomorrow morning and we’ll start decoding it.”

Quill smiled as he brushed the dust from his vest. “As you wish, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight squeed in glee as she bound down the hall, missing the shorter tan stallion that passed her. Quill smiled broadly as his brother approached. Wit looked dejected.

“You seem to have had a good day,” Wit murmured.

Quill lifted his brother in his arms and hugged him, twirling him around the room. “It’s here, Wit! It’s really here! All we need is that book and we can prove Sun Tide really existed. Of course it would also be prudent to prove that this Bedim Haze existed so as to help the claim. But I’m sure we can figure something out. The book is the answer!”

Wit stepped away from his brother, shaking off the dizziness that came from the twirl. “Okay, okay. I get it. But you know these ponies aren’t going to give up that book until they’ve dealt with whatever’s going on here.”

“Leave that to me, my fine brother of mine,” Quill grabbed Wit by the shoulder and pulled him close, his cheek pushing against his brother’s. “With luck, we should have this finished by tomorrow.”

Wit sighed. “I hope your right because it looks like I have a ‘date’ with that Applejack character.”

Quill gave his brother a puzzled expression. Then he read the context. “You lost it again didn’t you?”

“Yup.”

“Challenged a girl to a strength contest since you couldn’t beat her up?”

“Yup.”

“You know, since these mares are the Elements of Harmony that would make this Applejack part of the Apple clan, wouldn’t it? Aren’t they renowned for their strength?”

Wit’s eyes shot open and he slammed a hoof into his face. “Aw, buck me.”

Luna/Javelin - Chapter 19

Luna sipped from her glass of water as she placed it next to her bedside table. The sun had set long ago and after finally raising the moon to its zenith she was ready to begin her meditations. Luna did not truly sleep, at least during the night. Long ago she had learned to manifest a form of waking sleep that would help keep her concentration on the task of guarding the night while also allowing her to guard that other realm she held sacred, the world of dreams. Luna sat on her bed, aligning her body into a comfortable position, and closed her eyes. When she opened them everything appeared the same, only Luna could tell the difference.

The dream world existed much like the real one, everything was like a mirror reflection of Equestria. On the edges of her vision Luna could see the faint auras and trails of dreams ponies were having throughout the castle. If she wandered closer to these colorful strands she could be able to see the personal dreams of these ponies, however that was an ability she saved for only the most dire situation or for most trusted subjects.

While it was night in the real world, the sky outside in the world of dreams did not have a day or night. The sky, for all intents and purposes, was actually a mass collection of every loose strand of dream or emotion that the sleeping ponies of Equestria had. After a night of dreaming the ponies’ reveries would float into the sky and become a part of something beautiful. Thus the color of the sky was indicative of the emotions of Equestria. Luna smiled as she looked out the window. Far on the outer reaches of the sky where Canterlot stood she could still see pink above. However directly above her sat an ominous cloud of purple, the color of melancholy, of uncertainty.

The Crystal Empire was worried. It had almost been a full week since the festival and things seemed to be going from bad to worse. Crystal ponies were now locking themselves up in their homes, afraid to walk the streets. The issue with the doctor did not make Luna feel any better. The pony’s petrification shared many traits with that of the Crystal Heart’s. Luna was unable to help in any way. However, here in the dream world she could investigate just a little further.

“Let us see just what our young doctor is thinking,” Luna whispered to herself.

The Princess of the night passed many rooms on her way through the halls. The sound of ponies dreams echoing out the doors of their rooms as she passed. This was background noise she had heard many times before in the world of dreams, however something strange caught her ear. For a brief second she swore she could hear the sound of crying. A young filly’s cry echoed through the corridor for a moment and then was gone. Luna stopped and strained her ears to hear it again but no sound came. “Curious,” she stated.

Luna made her way into the infirmary where two dreams were playing out. One was the young dragon Spike’s who slept curled in a ball at the end of the beds by the window. She could see into his dreamscape that he was basking in a luscious lagoon made of what appeared to be soda and candy. The dragon looked perfectly content. “No problems there it seems,” Luna noted with a smirk.

The other was a dream from the orange stallion who had been injured during the earthquake. Luna only stole a glance into the stallion’s dream but it looked like he sat at a table in some restaurant, Princess Twilight and the Element of Generosity on either side of him. They appeared to be having a double date without the second stallion. Luna turned from the dream, her face blushing red, when the stallion leaned over to kiss one of the ponies. “Perhaps I’ve seen too much,” she chided herself.

Finally she came to the doctor who stood frozen in the corner. Luna frowned as she looked for the aura or strand that would lead her to the mare’s dream, but there was none. “That’s impossible,” she uttered. “That would mean that her mind is gone. No petrification spell could do that, there is always a cure for every poison.” Luna furrowed her brow in thought as she contemplated this new situation. Suddenly the cry from before echoed through the halls again, this time louder.

Luna shot her head up and looked to the door of the infirmary. Her mouth fell agape. A ghostly image of a filly stuck its head around the corner and watched Luna with curious yet sad blank eyes. It noticed Luna had caught sight of it and disappeared. “Wait!” Luna called and ran from the room. “What are you doing here?” She took a quick accounting of her surroundings but found nothing, then a flash of white passed the hall a few meters away. Luna sprinted after it and followed the winding path it took. The ghostly figure moved with speed Luna had never seen. Though she was the guardian of dreams, Luna was still bound by the restrictions of her physical body here. She could not go through walls and she could not go faster than normal. She could however use magic.

The filly turned another corner and Luna summoned her magic creating a barrier in front of the ghostly white filly. It stopped dead in its tracks and huddled to the ground, crying. Luna approached slowly. “Please. I don’t mean to harm you. I simply wish to know how you came to be here.” There were creatures that could live in the dream world; spirits, celestials, even demons. She needed to determine just what this creature was.

“I… I don’t know.” The voice was small and choked with fear. It was a young voice as one would expect from a filly, but Luna recognized that that didn’t mean much. The creature could be some kind of shapeshifter. “I woke up and I was here.”

Luna approached a little more slowly, finally getting a good look at the filly. Its coat and mane were marble white, the color of precious stone. “Do you know where you are?” she asked calmly. The filly raised its head from the huddle and shook it. Its eyes were blank with no irises or pupils, the same color as the rest of its body. Its lips trembled as it began to cry again.

Luna panicked as the filly’s cry turned into a bawl. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Just… um… just calm down.”

“But I don’t know where I am!” the filly cried profusely yet no tears came out. A full look at the creature before her almost gave the impression that it was a moving statue cut from marble.

Luna furrowed her brow trying to think of a way to calm it. “What’s your name?” she asked kindly.

The filly stopped its cry as it got back onto all fours. It rubbed its nose and sniffled before furrowing its own brow in thought. “I… don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember your name?” Luna asked sympathetically. The filly shook its head.

Luna considered what this could mean. Perhaps this was a lost spirit. The soul of a pony that had died but never found its way to the heavens. It was rare to see such cases in the dream world but it did happen. Before her long imprisonment in the moon and the nightmare that arose from that Luna had helped guide many like this from the dream world to the beyond. There were not as many today though.

Luna smiled. If this was a lost spirit she wanted to help in any way she could. She leaned down so she could speak eye to eye with the filly. “Just what is the last thing you remember?” she asked with an affectionate smile.

The filly seemed to have calmed down and took a deep breath. It closed its eyes in concentration and then opened them excitedly. “I remember everything going dark. Rocks and dirt and earth falling all over me.” The filly put a hoof to its chest as it continued with a grim expression. “I remember being buried alive. By the stars, I remember being buried alive!”

The tears threatened to come again but Luna wrapped a hoof around the filly and brought it into a close hug. “It’s alright. You don’t have to relive something like that. It’s alright.” Luna felt the filly shiver in her grasp. In the dream world spirits had just as much substance as the living. Luna could feel the cold radiating off of the filly. It felt like ice, but Luna kept it close nonetheless until its shaking stopped. Luna leaned back and placed her hooves on its shoulders to look at it directly. “I will not ask you to recount such a grim memory. However, we should find some way to help you move on.”

“How?” the filly asked.

“We find your closure,” Luna replied with a smile. Granted it was going to be hard without a name or a face, but Luna needed to do this. This was the first time in a long time that anypony needed her. She was the only one who could help and it gave her heart warmth to be needed again.

“I do not appreciate ponies going above my head, mother superior.”

Javelin sat at an impromptu desk in town hall, having confiscated it for this meeting. A few hours ago the “Angel in White” and her guardian had arrived in Crystal Falls. Deliberately breaking protocol they went ahead to the hospital without him to see what the hospital staff had been calling the “Stone Garden.” Now the supposed healer from Canterlot and her guardian, an old purple unicorn stood before him. It was night so town hall had been emptied. Javelin sat across from the two in one of desks that accounted for the many rows on the main floor. Two chairs had been pulled up for his guests.

Javelin sighed, pushing a hoof through his dark mane. “I thought we had agreed that you would see me when you arrive and then we would introduce you to the ‘Garden.’”

The Old Mare merely shrugged. “Your letters seemed quite desperate, commander. I thought it best to skip etiquette and tackle the problem directly.”

“Why haven’t you told anypony about this?” The pure white mare spoke up, a look of indignation in her face.

Javelin leaned against the desk as he scanned the earth pony. She truly was as beautiful as the ponies from Canterlot said. She certainly earned her monicker of “Angel.” However, the mare’s actions were brazen and could have disrupted everything he had worked for.

“Miss Pristine,” he replied coolly, his dark eyes never wavering. “Bringing this news to the public at such a time would cause mass panic. Crystal Falls and the surrounding settlements are in a state of change right now and things could not be more fragile.” He crossed his hooves in front of him to accentuate the importance of his statement. “You are here to deal with this problem as quietly as possible. If you cannot accomplish that then there are other roads we can take.”

Pristine pursed her lips in frustration but slid back into her seat. Javelin grinned. “I’m glad you understand. And I’m glad you made it here safely. It truly must have been a scare losing your security detail.”

“We certainly were lucky,” the Old Mare replied. “If it weren’t for your stallions, my ward would have died.”

Javelin grit his teeth. “Yes, my stallions.” None of his soldiers had been in the forest that day. Whoever had rescued the two was not from his battalion nor were they under his command. Moreso these petulant fools had brought them to the “Stone Garden.” Let them see the very secret he tried so hard to maintain. To bring up the fact that those stallions were not his would put him into a compromising position. Javelin’s authority and his capability to protect could be questioned if there was a leak in the system. This was something he’d have to deal with very quietly and most likely personally. “Thank you, mother superior. Miss Pristine. That will be all for the day. I’ve arranged for you to stay in the finest room of the Crystal Falls Mayor’s estate. My stallions outside will escort you there and the mayor will greet you personally. I’m sure you’ll get along splendidly.”

Javelin rose from his seat and nodded a polite goodbye to the two mares. Pristine still looked angry as she proceeded to the door, only for a stallion to open it before they could leave. He was a deep shade of red in both coat and mane. And wore a standard Pegasus uniform with a metal clasp that signified his rank as captain. He held the door open for the two as they walked out. Javelin stayed behind and waited for the Pegasus to close the door behind him.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure, captain?” Javelin grinned as he walked back to his seat.

Gladius’ face did not show any emotion as he placed a rolled up scroll on the desk where he sat. “Reports from my ponies scouting the high north,” he said dryly.

Javelin took the scroll and unrolled it hungrily, taking in every word. He lowered the scroll a little bit so he could look his nephew in the eyes. “Is that all?”

Gladius frowned and scoffed, “What do you mean is that all?”

Javelin slammed the scroll on the desk. “Your pegasi have only scouted thirty miles of tundra in five months! That’s unacceptable!”

“It’s plenty!” Gladius shot back. “Expansion doesn’t mean going to the ends of the earth. That thirty miles is viable land and its safe!”

“This is about more than being safe, boy!” Javelin chided, rising to all fours. “It’s about creating a dynasty. An empire to rival all!”

“Empire?” Gladius asked.

“One that WILL reach to the ends of the earth!” Javelin’s smile grew and he began to stare into space. “I have a vision. A wonderful picture of the world as it will be. And you,” he pointed to Gladius, “and I will stand at its forefront.”

Gladius gritted his teeth. “You’ve really lost it, haven’t you?”

Javelin’s eyes shot open as smacked his hoof across the pegasus’ face, drawing blood. “Bite your tongue, boy! I am your commanding officer and the stallion that raised you. There are many more allies I’ve made that can easily take your place.”

Gladius grimaced as he wiped the blood from his lip. “You don’t scare me anymore,” he grinned. “I’ve got allies now too. The Wonderbolts all respect me. The only other pony they’d probably accept as captain is Lullaby.”

Javelin sneered at that name and turned his back. A small grin forming on his face. “And what if they couldn’t accept you anymore?”

Gladius frowned. “What?”

Javelin turned around to face his nephew once more. “What if everypony found out just what a failure and coward their beloved Captain Gladius truly is?”

Gladius’ grew stiff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Javelin stepped forward, his face coming close to Gladius’ ear and whispered, “I saw you at the race.”
Javelin pulled back and watched the blood drain from Gladius’ face. “Nopony else noticed those two single racers in that canyon, but I did. I saw you try to help him. Try to pry him from that rock.” The grin grew wider. “And I saw you fly away. Leaving a pony everyone loved to die.”

Gladius looked at the ground and dug his hooves into the wood floor until they cracked underneath. “It wasn’t my fault,” he replied shakily. “He told me to leave. He wanted me to live!”

Javelin’s grin faded and his face grew colder. “Some may believe that. But that little seed of doubt is all you need, don’t you.” He gripped his nephew’s chin in his hoof and pulled his face to look at him eye to eye. “You’re still that little weakling from fifteen years ago.”

Gladius clenched his teeth and pushed away, trembling as he stood in silent contemplation. He took a deep breath. “I’ll tell the scouts to expand the area,” he said solemnly.

Javelin walked up to him and patted his shoulder. “Good boy. Now there’s just one more thing I need from you.”

Gladius scowled but nodded. “What’s that?”

“There’s a leak out there,” Javelin replied. “Two stallions impersonating soldiers. They have… information of vital import. Find them.”

“Anything to go by?” Gladius asked.

“No,” Javelin replied. “But follow that mare that arrived today. She’ll lead you to them.”

“And what will you do when they’re found?”

Javelin grinned again. “We’ll see.”

In the back of the hall, hidden under a desk, a brownish yellow pony with a red mane and green visor sat silently holding his breath. He grinned ear to ear, he had the story of a lifetime. And what was even better was that it wasn’t over yet.

Lullaby/Bedim/Gladius - Chapter 20

Author's Note

Warning: Slight gore in this chapter as well

Lullaby/Bedim/Gladius - Chapter 20

Lullaby walked through the forest, the fall breeze starting to nip at her face. The trees were beginning to turn their beautiful shade of orange and red. She smiled to herself, she always loved this time of year.

Today was a weekend and Bedim had gone to hang out with Crisp so the mare was by herself for most of the day. She decided to go visit her old training grounds, for old time’s sake. Honey’s visit had reminded her of one thing, she hadn’t seen her old friends in a while. She hadn’t even spoken to Gladius in years. Ever since she left the Wonderbolts, Lullaby had slowly distanced herself from everypony. Every now and again the red Pegasus would come for a visit, stopping by the schoolhouse or even on the street and they would share a pleasant conversation. A few folks even assumed they were dating for a while.

Sure the fully grown pegasus had turned into quite the handsome soldier. Lullaby had even heard that he had a fan club among the youth in Crystal Falls. Girl fillies wanted to meet him, boy fillies wanted to be him. However they just never seemed to share that little spark that Lullaby had felt only once before. There was no doubt that Gladius had a certain crush on her, she recognized that right away, but her feelings could never be reciprocated. Not while certain other feelings were colliding in her chest for the past fifteen years. Still, her ex-student had really grown into something to be proud of. This brought a smile to her lips.

Lullaby entered the grounds through the trees. A short look of disbelief crossing her face. Since Javelin’s promotion he had not stopped at expansion, aiming to increase the northern settlements battle capabilities as well. This called for more troops and more troops called for more space to train the troops. What had once been a moderately sized clearing in a dense forest had turned into a vast open encampment. The oval track was still present in the dirt but the surrounding trees had been cut down profusely to the point one might call deforestation. Large barracks and sentry towers were perched outside the track and some small sheds that held weapons as well. Further back she could make out an area laid out with benches, most likely used for meals. Taking the place of the previous officers’ barracks in the center of the track were several blacksmith, carpenter, and leatherworkers huts. The place looked busy today, as Lullaby imagined it was most days.

She spotted a group of pegasi and earth ponies running around the faded track. As they passed the huts and came back around a few spotted the blue maned Pegasus and shouted in delight. Lullaby was swarmed by two or three ponies she had known as a Wonderbolt. The rest trotted over, interested in learning about the mare.

“You kids aren’t going to believe who we have here today!” a pink unicorn shouted placing a hoof over Lullaby’s shoulder. “This mare is a legend!”

“No,” Lullaby waved a dismissive hoof with a smile. “I’m really not.”

“She went so fast she shot a griffin into the horizon!” another declared. “Plus, she trained Captain Gladius.” At the mention of the esteemed captain’s name, the younger ponies began to smile and murmur in excitement. Lullaby couldn’t help but hide a blush. “So what have you been up to?”

Lullaby shrugged. “Oh, you know. Teaching fillies arithmetic and grammar. Life of a schoolmare.”

“Boring!” the pink unicorn sighed. “You must be so exhausted dealing with little kids all the time.”

Lullaby gave a small smile. “No, I like it. I really do.”

“Well, look who decided to drop by.” A large red Pegasus glided gracefully to the ground as the throng of ponies parted for him. He wore the standard Wonderbolts uniform, sans helmet. A shiny medal placed over his chest. On his sides were two long sabers that seemed to attach to a device girdled around his stomach and wings. He smiled broadly as he approached, taking Lullaby’s hoof in his and placing his other hoof over it. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Lullaby smiled. They held their pose for a few moments, earning an embarrassing cough from the soldiers around them. Lullaby let go of Gladius, her cheeks glowing red.

Gladius smiled, his red complexion hiding his own blush. “So what brings you here?”

“Nothing really,” Lullaby replied. “I just feel like we haven’t spoken in a while.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel.” The stallion frowned and rubbed the back of his head, glancing to the side. The group was still around them, some stifling giggles while the rest felt the need to listen closely to what they were saying. “Don’t you all have some laps to do?” he asked harshly.

“Yes, sir!” they all replied and returned to their run with smiles.

Gladius sighed and looked at Lullaby again. “It really is good to see you,” he reiterated.

“Yeah.” Lullaby smiled but melancholy seemed to seep into it. Gladius frowned once more, noticing.

“Let’s go find someplace to talk,” he said, placing a hoof on her shoulder and leading her into the compound. They talked as they walked.

“So how’s it been?” Lullaby asked. “I haven’t spoken to you in…” she tried to remember the last time.

“Almost a year now,” Gladius replied. An awkward pause passed between them. “So… How’s Bedim?”

Lullaby smiled at the mention of her son. “He’s struggling a little bit with his apprenticeship. He doesn’t like to talk to me much about it but I can tell when he’s having a hard time.”

“He’s at the bank, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure that’s entirely the reason he’s struggling,” Lullaby smiled knowingly.

Gladius grinned at the mare’s cryptic response. “What’s that mean?”

“It means I think he’s got a marefriend he’s keeping from me,” she chuckled.

“Really?” Gladius chuckled as well. The two sharing a brief moment of laughter.

“Either that or he’s in love,” Lullaby spouted. Instantly the laughter ceased and another awkward moment passed between the two. Lullaby bit her lip.

Gladius’ frown increased as he began to look at the ground. The moment passed and he raised his head once more, hoping to change the subject. “Have you given any thought to my offer?”

Lullaby slumped her shoulders, herself now looking at the ground. “I appreciate it, Gladius. I really do. But I can’t just up and leave the schoolhouse. Besides, half the team is gone or retired, would the new recruits even accept me as your second wing?”

Gladius beamed. “Are you kidding? As they were saying back, there you’re a legend! Hay, if it were up to me I’d give you my position.”

Lullaby smiled. “Thanks, but I just can’t. Not… Not right now.”

Gladius sighed and nodded, looking up. “We’re here.” Lullaby turned her head up at the large barracks they had come to. The plaque on the door read “Captain Gladius.” He stepped forward into the room and held out an inviting hoof. “Care to come in?”

Lullaby smiled and took it, entering the humble barracks. The inside was very basic. A small cot in the corner with a window above, a desk with writing tools on the side and various papers and charts hanging from the walls. Lullaby recognized them as flight plans and maneuvers. However, above the desk was a large map of the area. Above the Eastern and Western mountains there had been a black circle drawn with the words “scouting perimeter” below it crossed out. A long arrow rested above the line, pointing north with the words “new scouting perimeter.” Lullaby studied the map intently as Gladius prepared some tea.

“What’s this?” she asked raising an eyebrow at the map.

Gladius turned from the pot of tea to look at what she asked about. His face grew slightly pale and he let out a sigh. “My uncle believes that the reconnaissance area of the northern scouts is too small. He wants to expand it another hundred miles.”

“A hundred miles!” Lullaby asked surprised. “That’s insane.”

“I know,” Gladius clenched his teeth in frustration. “But you know how it is around here. The stallion always gets what he wants.”

Lullaby frowned, not envying her old student’s position. “You’re sure you’re ponies can handle the journey? That far north is yak country, the harshest of climates.”

Gladius shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“And honestly, why does he want to scout for settlements so far north? Nopony would be able to survive that weather year round.”

Gladius didn’t respond, simply returning to the whistling teapot and pouring a couple cups. Lullaby sat on the bed while Gladius took a seat by the desk. A long silence followed. Lullaby glanced at Gladius but it just seemed like the stallion did not want to talk, his eyes continuing to avert themselves from her. Lullaby set her cup down and furrowed her brow. “Okay, what’s up? Something’s wrong and it’s more than stress about the scouts.”

Gladius looked up surprised then smiled. “You always could read me like a book.”

Lullaby smiled back and leaned back on the bed. “You got to when you’re a teacher.”

Gladius sighed and placed his cup down as well. “It’s… It’s something pretty complicated.”

“Complicate me,” Lullaby replied.

Gladius frowned as he tried to find the right words. His eyes misting over for a brief moment, but the stallion brushed a hoof over his face and it was gone. He straightened his composure. “So apparently there’s been a leak.”

“A leak?” Lullaby replied.

Gladius rubbed his hooves together pensively. “My uncle has… a lot of secrets. Some he’d rather keep private. He tasked me with finding whatever pony might have stumbled onto one of these… secrets.”

“Did he tell you what it was?” Lullaby asked.

Gladius clenched his hooves together. “No.”

He was lying. Lullaby knew it in her gut. First Honey and now Gladius was keeping something from her. Still, like Honey, she just had to respect the choices and secrets her friends made. No matter how helpless it made her feel. She rubbed a hoof over her eyes. “Is it dangerous? You’re… mission?”

Gladius leaned back in his chair finally letting out a long breath. “Honestly, I don’t think so. For all I know it’s just some punk kids that got where they shouldn’t have.”

Lullaby gave a small fake smile. “Right.”

The conversation continued but the friendliness in it had disappeared. Lullaby left the barracks an hour later, giving the stallion a hug goodbye and went home to where she hoped her son would be.

Hidden below the window to Gladius’ barracks, sitting in a barrel, a mustard yellow pony scratched feverishly on his notepad recording every word he could hear. He had snuck into the encampment late last night and would leave once more when night fell again. He grinned ear to ear as he placed a home made sandwich in his mouth and took a large bite. “Captain Gladius,” he snickered. “You are going to make me a very wealthy pony.”

Bedim stood before the bank forlornly, a long sigh seeping from his lips. The frustrating burning in his head was just getting worse whenever he came near the building. He hadn’t been to work in close to a week now, even though he’d told Lullaby otherwise. The stallion hated himself for lying to his mother figure but he just didn’t want to disappoint her. He stepped toward the door one more time only to have the pain resurface violently. He clutched his head in pain and pulled back, his face a storm of emotions. With one last sigh he turned away and headed into the square.

He thought about going to see Crisp but the pony was a master forger now, he was probably busy. Bedim had seen Crisp only sparingly in the week since the two met Pristine. He had only recently learned that the white mare was living in the same house as his best friend. Once again, emotions swelled in the young stallion and he could only grimace. He knew nothing untoward would happen between Crisp and Pristine, especially with his mother, Aunt Honey, there; but Bedim’s mind continued to race into areas he’d rather leave closed. It was like the burning in his mind was turning him into a different pony. One he did not want to become.

Then there was the whole problem of the epidemic. Clearly he and Crisp had just stumbled into discovering that little detail that nopony wanted out. Crisp had brought up the argument that they should tell the town, while Pristine had no argument to give, opting for silence. Bedim agreed that it was a big problem that ponies deserved to know about, but at the same time what would telling them accomplish? Bedim thought about this all the way to his house. Lullaby, he knew, was out meeting friends so he might have the house to himself for an hour or two. All he wanted was a nap to lessen the burden on his head.

He opened the door to his home and found Lullaby curled up in a chair with a book. “Oh, hi, Beddy,” she greeted warmly. “They let you off early?” Lullaby was one of the only ponies Bedim allowed to call him Beddy. As a filly he had rebelled against Aunt Honey’s use of the moniker, but that stopped when Bedim found out just how truly terrifying the mare could be to rebellious fillies.

Bedim looked at the older mare with sad eyes and slowly closed the door letting out a sigh. Perhaps it was fate that he’d come home now and find her. Crisp’s words about talking to his mother rang through his head. Time for the truth. “No, mom,” he sighed. “I… I haven’t been to the bank in a while.”

Lullaby frowned and put down her book. She pulled up another chair by the table she was reading at and patted its seat. Bedim came closer and sat beside her. “What’s wrong?” she asked kindly.

Bedim felt his face flush and slammed his elbows on the table, covering his face with his hoofs. “I’ve been getting these head aches,” he mumbled.

“Headaches?” Lullaby replied.

“Yeah,” Bedim lifted his head to look Lullaby in the eyes. “There’s this… burning in the back of my mind when I’m around that place or even when I’m around…” he trailed off, not feeling like bringing up Pristine to his mother just yet. “Anyway, the feeling just seems to get stronger every day and recently I’ve been having… blackouts with it.”

Lullaby deepened her frown but she did not relinquish her kind smile. She turned her eyes to the side as if trying to recall a long lost memory and sighed. “Do you remember anything from these blackouts?” Worry seeping into her voice.

“Nothing much,” Bedim replied. “Bits and pieces. There’s just this one emotion that flares up like a volcano.”

Lullaby inhaled. “And that is?”

Bedim looked his mother figure in the eyes, worry across his face. “Jealousy. Like whatever someone else has I want.” He grit his teeth. “And I want all of it.”

Lullaby grabbed the stallion and embraced him in tight hug. Bedim felt his anger and stress subside as he rested his head against Lullaby’s chest. His breathing slowed and before long he closed his eyes in peace. “Don’t let it define you,” Lullaby said softly while petting his mane. “It’s foolish to assume you’re alone. When you have a problem you can always come see me.”

Bedim raised his head, a frown still on his face. “So do you know what’s wrong with me?”

Lullaby opened her mouth to respond but closed it once more as nothing came out. She gave him a reassuring smile and restarted. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are who you are and what you are is Bedim Hush.” Her smile was infectious, finally spreading to the stallion. He embraced Lullaby once more and the two stayed like that for a moment.

A loud knock interrupted the familial moment as Lullaby raised her head. “You expecting company?” she asked with a grin.

Bedim parted himself from her and walked over to the door. “No, but it’s probably Crisp asking for something.” He opened the door to find a brilliant white mare standing alone in the doorway, a gray cloak wrapped tightly around her to hide her features.

“Pristine?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. The mare lowered her hood and smiled, taking another look side to side as she waved a hoof, silently asking to be let in. Bedim ushered her in and took a glance around the empty street she seemed to be so wary of before closing the door. He took her cloak from her and hung it up. “So what are you doing here?”

A loud crash sounded from the table where Lullaby sat. She had shot up in her chair and knocked it to the floor. The look on her face was like one had seen a ghost. Her mouth hung open, quivering, as she never tore her eyes away from Pristine.

The white mare tried to smile politely as she walked toward the older one. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, you must be Bedim’s mother. I’m-”

“Pristine…” Lullaby whispered under her breath, her eyes filling with tears.

Pristine frowned. “Y- Yes. I’m sorry. Have we met?” She moved forward again and the older mare backed away more, the tears now clearly streaming down her face. Pristine’s features softened. “I’m sorry. Have I upset you?”

Lullaby shook her head vehemently. “I… I just need some air.” She rushed out the back door and slammed it shut behind her. The two ponies inside stared dumbfounded.

“What was that about?” Bedim asked with a confused expression.

“I don’t know,” Pristine responded. “I don’t think I’ve ever met her before.” Pristine furrowed her brow, still a little upset by what happened.

Bedim shook his head. “No matter. What are you doing here?”

Pristine returned to the present, her focus centering on Bedim. “I… I think somepony’s been following me.”

Bedim frowned and looked out the window. “Following you?”

Gladius sat low to the ground in the alley across from Lullaby’s house. The mare he had been tracking led him here. Though she had tried to ditch him with a cloak and a few dead ends the red Pegasus proved to be a formidable stalker. He watched as the white mare knocked on the door and Bedim answered it, calling the mare by name. “Damn,” he swore under his breath.

If Bedim knew the mare by name then he must’ve been the one his uncle had ordered him to find. The supposed leak. Gladius was sure it could only be a coincidence. There was no way in Tartarus that Bedim was a spy, let alone somepony who could not be trusted. He watched the white mare walk inside and he leaned back against the wall letting out a long exhausted sigh. He watched the late afternoon clouds above begin to coalesce as rain started to drip down.

Just what was he going to tell his uncle? Regardless of Bedim’s backstory he was sure that the over paranoid stallion would condemn him as some kind of “traitor to the north.” His uncle wanted a witch hunt, plain and simple, and Gladius was helping him achieve that. He ground his teeth as he stared up at the rain. A small chuckle sounded from behind the house whose alley he now sat in. He darted his head back to see a pony his age turn the corner. He was mustard yellow with a red mane and a green visor. A grin was splayed across his face.

“Damn good story, wouldn’t you say?” the pony chuckled. Gladius simply watched him wearily, standing from his prone position.

“Who are you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The pony’s grin didn’t diminish. “The name’s Rumor Mill. I hope you can consider me a friend since our lives are about to get a whole lot more intertwined.”

Gladius got into a defensive stance. The pony was a little shorter than him and clearly didn’t look like he had the capacity to hurt him, but it was safe to be sure. “What do you mean? Story?”

Rumor Mill tilted his visor to block his eyes from the rain. “I mean the story about a blossoming settlement in the north being ravaged by a terrible disease or curse. The conspiracy to keep said epidemic a secret and the pony they called for help. Then that pure innocent girl finds a nice stallion whom she happens to let slip the secret to. This causes the conspirators to send a dog on the chase for an enemy that doesn’t exist.” Gladius drew in a breath. He knew almost everything. “But that’s not all is it?” Gladius raised an eyebrow. Rumor Mill’s grin seemed to reach to his ears. “That dog has a secret of his own. One he can’t tell anypony lest he be labeled a failure and a coward. You see a death is on his hooves and he fears everyone will blame him, should the truth ever arise.” Gladius face flushed and he grew pale. “Now I think the dog is probably the most interesting character in this little story, don’t you?”

Gladius felt his knees go weak and lowered himself from his defensive stance. His lips quivered as he replied. “What do you want from me?”

Rumor Mill strolled closer, his hooves splashing through the forming mud. “I want a million bits. Enough to get me out of this podunk doomed town and into some place a little classier.”

“A million bits!” Gladius replied. “I don’t have that much.”

Rumor Mill turned to face him, his eyes unfeeling and hungry like a bird to a worm. “Loan it. Steal it. I really don’t care how you do it, but I want that money. And precious stones won’t cover it. I can get all the stones I want in the mines but I’d rather not get my hooves dirty.” He smirked.

Gladius head fell and he grit his teeth in anger. “You bastard,” he whispered.

“Bastard I may be,” Rumor replied with a smile. “But soon to be a very rich bastard.” A small squelching noise could be heard over the rain. At first Gladius assumed it was Rumor walking in the mud once more but then he noticed a blossom of red cover the pony’s chest. Rumor coughed as he looked down, a hole with a horn driven through his neck. He choked on the blood that began to fill his mouth and collapsed his legs, falling to the ground. The horn slid out with a slurping noise and a tall gray unicorn in a brown cloak stood behind him, wiping the blood away.

Gladius’ face paled once more as he stared into the cold eyes of his uncle. A look of rage on his face. “What have you done?” Gladius asked shocked.

“What have I done?” the older unicorn asked back. “I saved your life and everything we’ve worked so hard for.” He pointed at the lifeless body. “This snoop was going to destroy it all. I did what needed to be done. What you should have done?”

Gladius breathed rapidly, his mane and coat slowly getting soaked by the rain. “You were following me?” His uncle did not respond. “Why? Why go through all this then?”

“To teach you some backbone!” Javelin shouted. “You are the softest waste of time I’ve ever had. Stars above! I have to blackmail you just to get a little job done! That is not what a leader does!”

“And what does a ‘leader’ do!?” he shouted back, emphasizing the word.

“A leader takes control of the situation,” Javelin smiled darkly. “And makes it his own.” He used his back legs to kick a barrel in the alley and smash it to bits. A loud noise rang throughout the neighborhood. Gladius heart stopped as he saw his uncle disappear and the door to Lullaby’s house open. Bedim exited to investigate the loud noise.

“You’d better hide if you don’t want to be caught.” The voice rang through his head. It was his uncle’s. Gladius took one last look at Bedim before he grit his teeth and flew away to a safe distance. He watched from above as Bedim walked to the alley and discovered the body. A short scream of panic cut through the air as a neighbor walked up moments later and discovered the stallion above the body.

“Murder! Murder!” a pony called. Soon all the neighbors had come out to witness the young stallion standing before Rumor’s corpse. Lullaby and Pristine soon followed looks of shock and terror on their faces. Bedim pled with them that he was innocent but another pony screamed something. “Look! His horn!” Bedim had not noticed that the rain washed away the ash surrounding it and the blood red appendage stood out against the dark atmosphere. More screams followed and Gladius could simply watch as the neighbors turned on the young stallion.

He felt tears fall hard and fast with the rain and screwed his eyes shut. It was all happening again, and he was too weak, too pitiful to stop it. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered before flying off at top speed through the storming rains.

Fluttershy/Applejack - Chapter 21

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Lullaby/Bedim - Chapter 22

Lullaby saw Bedim pushed into the mud before Town Hall. The wet dirt splashed everywhere as rain pelted down like a storm of arrows. Lullaby felt every piercing drop like a knife. This was a nightmare. Just moments ago they were at home, sharing a moment as mother and son. Then a ghost from the past walks through the door reminding her how that wasn’t so. Add to the fact that everypony in town now thought he was a murderer. After the commotion with the body a few unicorn soldiers had appeared and placed Bedim into custody, taking him directly to see the commander for judgment.

Lullaby and the young mare, Pristine, rushed to Bedim’s side as he rubbed his aching head. The mob had carried him all the way to Town Hall, eager to see justice done, while Lullaby and Pristine cried for them to stop and consider things all the way.

A pony soldier at the head of the mob knocked loudly on the wooden door to the tall building. A moment later the door flung open with Commander Javelin and Honey in pursuit. The green mare seemed hysterical, begging Javelin to call this off.

“This is insanity and you know it!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “You honestly think Lullaby’s son is capable of murder?”

Javelin shot the three ponies in the mud a stern glare and spoke to his soldier, ignoring Honey. “Is this him?”

“Yes, sir!” the pony replied with a salute. “The ponies of the neighborhood saw him standing above the body with what they presumed to be blood on his horn.”

Javelin narrowed his eyes on Bedim, a small grin peaking out. “His horn is red,” he muttered.

“Yes, sir,” the soldier agreed. “It’s not blood, but… we don’t exactly know what it means.” The pony took a gulp as he nervously returned his attention to Bedim.

“I didn’t kill anypony!” Bedim shouted, attempting to stand up in the mud.

Javelin snickered. “No offense, child. But that’s what all murderers say.” He walked forward, circling the three ponies as he studied Bedim.

“Please, commander,” Pristine asked with a look a desperation. “Why would you put Bedim through all this?!”

“Put him through this?” the unicorn asked with a raised eyebrow. “My dear, I’m only doing what settlement laws dictate must be done in the case of homicide.”

“But he’s your student!” Pristine shouted angrily.

Javelin pulled his head back shocked, then an evil smile grew across his features. “Oh, I see now.” He got up into Bedim’s face. “You’re the spy!”

“Spy!?” Lullaby shouted in disbelief. A strange murmur of hesitation and fear spread across the gathering crowd. Javelin wasted no time in using the hysteria. He trotted back to the Town Hall doors where he could be seen.

“That is right my fellow ponies. Spy!” he yelled with a stern face. He leaned down to whisper to Honey. “I think it’s time they all learned the truth, don’t you?” Honey frowned, confused to his words, then her eyes widened in realization. She tried to speak but could not cut through the volume of Javelin’s speech. “The truth, my little ponies, is that we have been guarding a secret from you. One that affects all of you! And that was not right. The truth of the matter is that this humble place, our home, has been afflicted with an epidemic. Something others might even call a curse!”

The murmur grew louder as ponies began to panic in the rain. Lullaby felt her heart beat faster as she felt the situation slipping further into chaos.

“A little bit ago I sent word to Canterlot of this… plague!” he deliberately changed the wording to increase the panic. “They sent over a doctor, one they thought would be able to help.” He motioned to Pristine and the young mare glanced nervously around at the eyes pinned to her. “However, our doctor, our chance at salvation, was intercepted by a pony claiming to be under my command.” He pointed to Bedim accusingly. “This pony right here!”

The panic grew abundant and murmurs gave way to aggravated arguments. Pristine frowned in concern but her supportive hug around Bedim did not diminish. Javelin walked back to Bedim and held his face inches away from him. “Are you a spy, boy? Do you work for whatever the source of our misery is?”

“No!” Bedim shouted angrily.

“What about your horn?” Javelin flicked the bright red horn over Bedim’s head. “Can you explain that?”

“I… I’ve just always had it,” Bedim stuttered back.

Javelin sneered and drew his face closer to Bedim’s ear so only the young stallion and those around him could hear. “Are you a witch?”

Bedim gritted his teeth as anger flared through his body. A dark corona appeared around his horn as his eyes grew dark. “I am not a witch!” he shouted. A dark pulse bellowed from him, knocking back both the crowd and the ponies closest to him.

Lullaby scrambled up from the mud and let out a shocked gasp as she saw the dark energies around Bedim recede. She had hoped this day would never come and now that it had it was worse than she ever imagined. Bedim grew panicked as he noticed the havoc he had caused.

Pristine lay a few feet away in the mud, unconscious. Honey had been knocked over as well, the green mare now mouth agape at the display of power she’d just witnessed. Only Javelin who had dug his hooves into the mud and dirt stayed aloft. His eyes widened as an evil sneer crossed his face. He lifted his head high so that everypony could hear.

“You see his power!” he shouted angrily. “You see how he hurts even those that protect him!” He pointed to Pristine and Lullaby. Lullaby tried to get up to argue but was cut off by Javelin again. “Pray tell, just who did this… witch kill?” Stressing the word “witch.”

A unicorn soldier stepped up to answer. “A journalist for the local newspaper, sir. One, Rumor Mill.”

“Ah,” Javelin sighed and returned his gaze to Bedim. “So a journalist figured out your nasty little deceit and tried to tell the truth. Only for you to cut him down!”

“No!” Bedim replied with a slightly scared demeanor. “I swear I didn’t do it! I’m not a spy and I’m not a witch!”

Javelin would not let him speak for long. “Ponies, I ask you, will we allow this outsider to get away with his transgressions?!”

The fearful murmur of the crowd had now turned entirely against the young stallion. Angry shouts of affirmations echoed through the square. Lullaby caught sight of more ponies beginning to converge on the scene, Crisp being one of them. Bedim’s best friend gasped in disbelief as he saw him lying in the mud and his mother on the ground. Crisp rushed to his mother’s side, eagerly asking what was happening. Lullaby could not hear but whatever Honey said made Crisp’s face pale and the stallion sank to his knees.

Javelin continued. “Will we let this spy simply escape to warn his brethren that we are on to him!?” A loud “NO” chorused from the crowd.

Lullaby glanced up at the sky as she saw a red blur speed in and land in a big splash of mud between Javelin and Bedim. His mane and coat were soaked through, as if he’d been flying in the rain for hours. His eyes were red as well. Her heart seemed to lighten as Gladius stared down his uncle.

“This farce ends now!” he shouted angrily.

“Stand down, boy,” Javelin hissed. “You don’t want this to turn into something you’ll regret.”

“You have no proof!” Gladius shouted, his face twisted in anger. “You want to do something this dreadful to somepony who’s still a child?” He turned to the crowd. “You all should be ashamed!”

A slight murmur of concern rippled through the crowd. Gladius held a lot of sway, some might say even more than his uncle. Javelin pushed his nephew aside. “Are you telling me that you’re not afraid of this boy? Afraid of what he can do?” He pointed to Bedim and shouted loud enough that he dwarfed the thunder in the skies. “Even if he didn’t kill this pony, who’s to say he won’t? We know he’s a spy and we know he’s a witch!” He waved an accusing hoof at Gladius. “You’d sacrifice the safety of our people to protect the feelings of a mare?”

Gladius froze as his gaze shifted to Lullaby. Her eyes were pleading, filled with tears. Gladius just had to help her, if not who else would?

Gladius ground his hoof into the mud as he seemed to ponder both his uncle’s words and Lullaby’s pleas. He grit his teeth and clenched his eyes shut in concentration. Suddenly they burst open. “The Mines!” he shouted.

A new murmur of confusion passed through the crowd and even Javelin seemed startled. “What?” he asked.

Gladius walked forward and placed his hoof on Bedim’s shoulder. Bedim looked up as the red Pegasus gave him a sorry look. He returned his attention to the crowd. “You have no proof he’s a murderer or a witch!”

Javelin jumped to protest. “But he’s-”

“No concrete proof as of yet!” Gladius finished. “Therefore you cannot harm him! We are all bound by the laws of the Triumvirate!” The crowd grew silent, eager to see where Gladius was going with this. Even Lullaby and Javelin had quieted down, the mare’s cries now stopped. “Instead, if you’re so afraid of him, why not make him work off his presumed guilt!”

A small murmur of realization echoed through the square. Lullaby now knew where Gladius was going and it might have been even worse than what Javelin had planned. “Send him to the mines!”

The ponies in the crowd began to mutter an agreement. Pretty soon a chant had begun. “Send him to the mines! Send him to the mines!”

“Enough!” Javelin shouted. His utterance seemingly making the rain stop. All in the square grew quiet. Javelin glared at his nephew, but surrendered to a complacent grin. “Fine. You want him in the mines? I’ll take him to the mines!” He leaned in closer so that only Gladius could hear. “But it will be my choice where he goes. Javelin returned to the Town Hall doors and ushered a unicorn soldier to take Bedim with him.

The soldier grabbed the bound stallion and pulled him away. Bedim reached out to Lullaby as he passed. “No, wait! Mom!” Lullaby held her hoof out and grabbed her son’s. They shared a moment of tears as he was pulled away once more. Bedim glanced at the unconscious Pristine before leaving, a look of guilt on his face.

Gladius sank down and draped a hoof over Lullaby’s sobbing shoulder. She turned her head and began to cry into the stallion chest. Gladius pulled her close. “He didn’t do it,” she cried. “He didn’t do it.”

“I know,” Gladius whispered, his face a cacophony of emotions. “I know.”

Lullaby took a deep breath trying to get her bearing. She pulled away from Gladius and stared at the stallion. “I know you did what you could but…”

Gladius sighed, his face full of guilt. “I swear! I will find who did this.” He grit his teeth to the point of cracking. “And they will pay.”

Lullaby nodded reluctantly and glanced across from her. The white mare was still unconscious. Crisp had regained enough sense to begin to try to help Pristine up but he was nowhere near strong enough. Lullaby lifted herself and walked over. Crisp gave her a beleaguered look. “Let me get her,” she said calmly as she placed a hoof over Pristine’s shoulder and her head underneath the mare’s foreleg.

Honey did not seem capable of standing or even making eye contact with her friend. Her eyes were filled with tears as she tried to hold her cries in. Crisp got up and looked between his mom and Lullaby. “So what do we do now?” he asked.

Lullaby looked at Pristine’s sleeping face and Honey. “I think we need to talk about a few things.”

Bedim felt the soldiers push him down outside Town Hall. His face smearing the mud. “Hey, what are you-” He tried to call out but was immediately interrupted by the a loud snap. A jolt of pain shot through him starting from his forehead. “GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

Bedim looked up to see that the soldiers had forcefully removed his horn by stomping on it, leaving a red stump behind. His vision began to blur as dark spots encroached and he lost himself to the dark void of unconsciousness.

The next thing he knew, a large sack was yanked from over his head. Bedim struggled to adjust his eyes to the bright red sun that shown down. As his vision began to clear he noticed the sun was dyed such a color from the various acrid smokes and hues rising from the terrain around him. The ground was a flat tundra with the mountains mere yards away. No grass or flower grew and almost all the space was covered by tents and cabins. Large machines were affixed to the sides of excavated mountains and worked tirelessly drilling holes into the hard rock, smoke trailing from their exhausts. Bedim saw several unicorns in military uniform working tirelessly to power the awful machines.

A solid kick was made to the back of his head as Bedim was pushed forward into a line of other ponies that seemed to be in just as much disarray and confusion as him. Bedim saw that a few of the others were unicorns as well, their own horns broken as well. The pegasi in the line winced harshly as they tried to stretch their wings, revealing a hollow hole through the center. The earth ponies had their back legs shackled together with a chain connecting to a harsh metal collar around their neck. Any attempts they made to buck their way free would probably only end up hurting them or breaking their neck. A tall dark brown unicorn with a soldier’s uniform approached the line of ponies from Bedim’s side. A deep frown on his face.

Bedim furrowed his brow in worry, feeling the dried blood around his horn crack. He began to breathe heavily as the unicorn approached. “This is the mines, isn’t it?” he whispered anxiously.

The brown unicorn smiled grimly and leaned down to him. “Oh, you’ll wish you were at the mines soon enough.” He grabbed Bedim’s mane and roughly shoved his face to stare at a large gaping hole that had been cut into the side of the mountain. “Welcome to the Pit.”

The Pit, as the unicorn called it, was quite apropos. The top of the hole reached nearly fifty hooves above into the crag and came down into a nearly right angled decline into the heart of the mountain. Bedim watched as he saw other ponies, much like him and the others in the line, walk into and out of the hole. The brown unicorn let go of Bedim and began to walk along the line of new recruits/prisoners.

“You are all here for one reason,” he began, pacing back and forth. “You are the worst that society has to offer. Thieves. Cheats. Swindlers.” He paused in front of Bedim. “Murderers.” Bedim grit his teeth, the sensation sending a shockwave of pain from his skull and horn stump. “This is where ponies like you are sent to be forgotten! Nopony is coming for you. Nopony cares about you.” He stopped his pacing and now turned to face the line. “However, all hope is not lost. This is a work camp and so you will work. You will attempt to repay your debt to society. You will even receive a small stipend. And when you’ve finished repaying that debt, then you may go free. Free to do whatever you wish. But let me assure you,” he smiled grimly once more, a small diamond tooth gleaming from the sun, “that will be a long time coming.”

The unicorn waved a hoof and Bedim and the others were ushered into a small barracks. Four rows of cots were lined tightly into the small space with two other cots resting on top of each bed like bunks. The unicorn spoke again. “This will be where you sleep, eat, and,” he pointed out the window to a small rusty spigot sticking out of the ground outside, “even bathe. Morning duties are at 5 am! Breakfast is served outside at 6! Mine work until 2! 15 minutes for lunch! Mine work again until 7! Hour for dinner! Night duties at 8! Then to bed at 10!” The unicorn grinned maliciously once more. “So smile. You will have some time to yourself. However, keep an eye open.” He pointed to his right eye and smirked. “Cause we’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

The prisoners were given the next ten minutes to choose their bunks. Bedim chose the middle cot of a bunk on the far right. A green Pegasus took the top with a dark blue earth pony taking the bottom. Bedim tried to introduce himself. He leaned out of his bunk and put his hooves on the edge of his top bunkmate’s bed. “Hi, I’m Bedim.” The Pegasus merely rolled over with his face toward the wall, refusing to make contact. Bedim frowned and went back to his bed, leaning down to lower his head over the edge at the bed below. “Hi, I-”

“I heard,” the earth pony spat at him. The older stallion seemed to lounging in his cot, crossing his legs and resting his head on his crossed arms and pillow, his face pointed at the bottom of the bed above and his eyes closed in relaxation. The pony had a yellow mane and what appeared to be a set of scars around his mouth. His cutie mark was obscured by scars as well. He opened one eye and gave Bedim a stern glare. “You really think anypony’s gonna care about your name?”

Bedim blushed and pursed his lips. “Well, it’s just easier that way if we all know each other’s names, right?”

The earth pony laughed and opened both eyes to stare at Bedim. “Seriously?” he asked with a smirk. “You’ve never been to prison have you, kid?”

“No,” Bedim replied hastily, rolling over in his own bed to look at the bottom of the bunk above him.

The earth pony snickered. “So what you in for?”

Bedim didn’t reply for a long time then he sighed, “Something I didn’t do.”

The earth pony scoffed. “Aren’t we all?” He lifted himself from the bed and stood to look at Bedim. “Titus. That’s my name.”

Bedim gave Titus a look before extending his hoof in greeting. Titus accepted it. “Glad to meet you Titus.”

A soldier unicorn was coming around inscribing names on the bed posts for the prisoners. He came to the three on Bedim’s bunk as he read from a list. “Top to Bottom,” he said. The Pegasus above said his name and the unicorn shot a tiny controlled blast from his horn to inscribe his name. Bedim was next.

“Bedim Hush,” he stated. The soldier searched through his list and nodded, inscribing the name on the bed post. Titus was the next to reply, the earth pony taking a look at Bedim’s bedpost.

“So you’re name’s Hush?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, why?” Bedim replied. Titus pointed to the name and Bedim noticed a slight difference. The sign on the bedpost read “Bedim Haze.”

Bedim frowned as he got up to follow the unicorn soldier. He stopped him a little down the row. “Excuse me,” he grabbed the unicorn’s shoulder turning the soldier around to face him, “my name is wrong. It’s Bedim Hush not Haze.”

The soldier looked over his sheet and shrugged. “Huh, must be a clerical error.” He went back to what he was doing. Bedim frowned as he tried to push him further.

“So are you going to change it?” Bedim asked, anger starting to swell.

The unicorn turned back to him and smirked. “You get your name back when you’ve repaid your debts. Till then,” he pointed to Bedim’s bed, “consider that the name you were born with.” The unicorn went back to his duties and Bedim grit his teeth as he trudged back to the beds.

Titus gave a mocking grin. “It’s okay, kid. I think you’re much better as a Haze. Kind of suits you.” He patted Bedim on the back and returned to his bed.

After a few minutes a loud horn was heard from outside. The same brown unicorn from before entered the barracks and magically loudened his voice. “Alright, scum! Afternoon bell! We’re gonna fill your bellies and then… you’re gonna start the rest of one of the longest days of your lives!”

The prisoners trudged out in a single file line and came to a long table set up in the middle of the camp with several large pots of steaming gruel. Bedim could see that the most of the gruel had already been picked clean, most likely by the other prisoners already in the camp. He doubted there could be enough for his own group. Titus lagged behind him catching sight of the dwindling food as well. “Damn, warden, treating the new guys like this,” he muttered. “We’ll be lucky to get a spoonful.”

Sure enough when Bedim’s turn had come around there was barely any left. He managed to spoon a few globs of the edible muck. It didn’t look appetizing in the least but he still had to eat something. Bedim sat with his back against a cabin as he ate his meal alone. Titus coming up alongside him to sit.

Titus took a big slurp of the meager portions in his bowl and set it down. “Don’t make anything like it,” he smirked with a shiver of revulsion.

“You can say that again,” Bedim muttered, staring into his bowl.

“No, really. Don’t make anything like it.” Titus smiled, making Bedim turn to him and smile as well. The two sharing a brief moment of laughter. Bedim took a deep breath and simply shoved the bowl up to his mouth, taking down gulps of the gross gray mass. He pried it away and stuck his tongue out in revulsion, trying to scrape what remained off of his tongue. Titus chuckled. “Yeah, it’s an acquired taste.”

The older stallion laid his head back on the wall as he stared half lidded at the commotion of the camp before him. Bedim set his bowl down and looked nervously at Titus. “This might sound weird but could I stay close to you?” Titus’ eyes widened as he turned his attention to Bedim. “You seem to have it all figured out and I… well, I really don’t think I’m cut out for this.”

Titus frowned as he pulled his legs in closer and turned to fully face Bedim. “How old are you, kid?”

“Sixteen,” he replied. “Seventeen this march.”

Titus sighed and leaned his head on the wall once more, giving Bedim a crooked look. “And how old do you think I am?”

Bedim gulped and rubbed the back of his head in apprehension. The side of his mouth twitched as he tried to form an answer. “I don’t know. Thirty six?”

Titus scoffed and held his hooves over his stomach as he roared out loud laughing. When he was done, the stallion wiped away a tear that wasn’t there and turned back to Bedim. “I’m nineteen,” he proclaimed.

Bedim’s mouth fell agape and he immediately slammed it shut. “But… But your so,” he stuttered.

“It’s the scars isn’t it?” Titus motioned to the collection of scars around his mouth and hind quarters. “They do tend to get me into the big boy places without anypony asking questions. Kind of why I’m in this mess.”

Bedim folded his forelegs and frowned. “Why are you here?”

Titus smiled. “Can’t be a hypocrite now, kid. You tell me yours, I tell you mine.”

Bedim sighed and looked at the ground. “I was… blamed for a murder I didn’t commit.” He left out the mention of witches.

Titus didn’t seem to mind the confession, merely nodding his head. “That’s some tough breaks there. Me? I got busted trying to sneak out of a general store with a hoof full of sweet corn. Times got a little hard, y’know?”

Bedim nodded in agreement. “So this is your first time at one of these places?”

“Technically, no,” Titus replied with a shrug. “First time in a mine, yes. First time in prison, no.”

“Did those happen in prison?” Bedim asked as he pointed to Titus’ scars.

Titus frowned and got up from the ground. “Let’s keep a few secrets to ourselves shall we?”

Bedim got up as well, just as another horn blew. The brown unicorn, now identified as the warden, drew near to the mulling crowd. He smiled grimly, showing off his diamond tooth. “That’s the end of lunch! I hope you enjoyed it cause it’s going to be another five hours till you can eat again! Single file, ladies! It’s time I introduced you to the Pits!”

The group followed at a slow pace as they approached the eponymous Pits. Bedim gulped hesitantly as he neared the lip of the deep cavern, its interior barely lit by hanging lanterns giving off flameless magical light. He set himself and stepped into the mine feeling himself slide as he trailed down the steep incline. When they had reached the bottom the prisoners had begun to break from a line formation and turned into a small formless crowd. Many more lanterns hung from the walls illuminating a small flat outcropping of rocks in the large atrium-like area. The warden stood atop it.

“Here’s where we give you your assignments. The Pit is split into sectors. Once your sector is determined report to your sector and a sector head will tell you what to do. Obey your sector head and nothing bad will go on your records.” The prisoners began to murmur in hesitation before the Warden coughed once to silence them again. “And this goes without saying… but stay aware cave-ins.”

The warden began to list off names and sectors. Bedim and Titus were called to Sector 34. A soldier proceeded to march them deeper into the tunnels toward their workplace. Titus leaned over to whisper to his fellow as they walked. “You ever mine anything before?”

“Nope,” Bedim shrugged. “Though I can’t imagine it’s going to be any easy without a horn.” He gave a pained look at his forehead and the dried blood that still caked it. “It’s going to take years to grow back.”

“Least you’ve got your kickers, kid,” Titus motioned to his chained back legs. “I used to buck my way out of every situation. Can’t exactly do that now.” He rubbed his hoof over the tight metallic collar on his neck.

Both stallions did not notice they had stopped. The soldier had begun to talk to another pony in a hard hat and a golden badge right below chest. He was an earth pony but he had no chains which said he wasn’t a prisoner. The pony came over to them as the soldier left. “So, fresh meat, eh?” he mused, his voice dry and gravelly. Now that Bedim got a look at him, the pony was almost as ashen black as his surroundings. Bedim didn’t know if that was from the environment or his natural coat. The pony noticed him staring and brushed his chest revealing a bright yellow coat. He smirked. “You’re just gonna blend into the background, ain’t ya? Be careful we don’t lose ya.” Bedim gulped. Day one.

Twilight/Rarity - Chapter 23

Twilight rushed into the lab with Rainbow Dash, panic taking over as she saw her friend splayed across the table. Princess Luna was emitting some kind of aura spell from her horn but stopped to turn to the other alicorn. The rest of the ponies in the room turned as well. Cadence and Shining Armor stood to the side, watching Luna work. Shining with his hoof over his wife’s shoulder. They both shared a grim expression. To the side, Applejack and Wit sat in a corner. Applejack trying to both worry over Fluttershy and fuss over an injury Wit had on his forehead. Wit tried to shrug the help off. Quill and Capper stood next to Princess Luna, his eyes never leaving Fluttershy’s prone form. Twilight approached.

“Just what happened?” she asked apprehensively. “Rainbow Dash told me Fluttershy collapsed! Princess Luna do you know what’s wrong?”

Luna frowned and resumed her aura spell, bathing Fluttershy with a faint blue light. Capper mewed sullenly next to her. “Unfortunately I do.” Twilight frowned in confusion. “Mr. Quill told me that she was coughing quite hard this morning so I did an x ray spell to see what was wrong.” She stopped the bombardment of light and sighed. “It’s her lungs. They’ve begun to petrify.”

Twilight’s face lost all color. “Petrify? But… But Fluttershy isn’t a Crystal Pony, how can she be affected by what’s going on?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna spoke authoritatively. “We still have no idea just what is going on. For all we know any of us could be affected.”

“I have a theory,” Cadence spoke up and drew the attention of the crowd. Her face was gaunt as if consumed by guilt. “The urn. It’s gone but the dust isn’t. What if all this petrification started because the dust got loose?”

Twilight tried to follow her sister’s chain of logic. “If that’s true, Fluttershy was there at ground zero.”

Cadence nodded, her eyes full of sadness. “We all breathed in that cloud of dust, maybe it just works slower on non-crystal ponies.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Twilight argued, her eyes growing wide. “We were all there! It should affect us too!”

Cadence’s head lowered even further. “We’re alicorns, Twilight. Our immunity to such things like curses is stronger than a pegasus’.” Cadence grit her teeth as tears formed in her eyes. “Either way it’s all my fault. My kingdom. My friends. If I just hadn’t gone down there in the first place.”

Twilight walked over to Cadence’s side and hugged her close. “You’re not to blame. I found it. This is my responsibility.” She drew back and looked at her motionless friend. Tears welled up. “Fluttershy shouldn’t suffer for something I did.”

Rainbow Dash watched this play out from afar, her eyes centered on Fluttershy. Twilight noticed the cyan pegasus’ gaunt stare and frown. The two had known each other longer than any of them. No telling what Rainbow Dash thought of all this.

Quill spoke up, “Did you manage to stop the spread, Princess?” he asked Luna.

Luna nodded solemnly. “For now. However, as I said before, this magic is ancient even to me. I cannot tell if my spell will hold. Fluttershy will need to be watched twenty four seven for any changes.”

“I can do it,” Rainbow lifted her hoof in the air. “I’ll watch Fluttershy.”

“We can all take turns, darling,” a female voice appeared from the corridor and Twilight turned to see Rarity walking in with Pinkie Pie in tow. “Fluttershy is dear to all of us.” Pinkie Pie ran to her friend on the table, her usual cheery demeanor all but gone.

“I’ll take a shift or two as well,” Wit said as he approached the table with Applejack, the cowpony looking slightly guiltily at his back.

“And I as well,” Quill replied solemnly. “Miss Fluttershy is indeed in dire straits and needs all the support she can get. However what disturbs me even moreso is Princess Cadence’s theory. If it’s true and the dust is the catalyst then I’m afraid we may all be in danger.” He used his magic to pull back a curtain letting in a small ray of light. The room stared at the light in silence as tiny motes danced through the air around it. “Dust can get everywhere quite fast. No doubt we’ve all breathed in a little of the stuff.”

Twilight shuddered. Even more of her friends were in danger. “So what you’re saying is we’re all on a time limit,” Shining Armor asked.

“Essentially, yes,” Luna replied. “It may take longer for the dust to affect me, Cadence and Twilight, if it affects us at all. But for you ponies it’s a different story. We have no way to determine when it will affect you.”

A long moment of silence passed. Twilight paced with worry. “Princess Luna, how soon can you get word to Celestia? I think we’ve reached the point of no return.”

Luna’s face grew somber. “My sister is not needed,” she snapped. “I simply need a little bit more time and I can fix this. I can fix everything!” The ponies in the room backed away slightly at the sudden change of tone. Luna noticed the change and cast her gaze at the ground guiltily. “I… I’m sorry. Please just give me another day.”

Twilight stared at the Princess’s pitiable look and succumbed. “Alright. But don’t hesitate to ask for our help.” She turned to grab Quill. “You. You’re with me.”

Quill stumbled as he was pulled magically by the collar of his vest into the hallway. Rainbow shouted to them as they walked away, “I’ll take the first watch!”

Twilight continued to drag Quill at a quick pace even as he began to keep up with her. “Princess,” he coughed. “Do you think you could relinquish…”

“Huh,” Twilight replied, having been too focused to notice. “Oh, sorry!” She disengaged her telekinetic grip and Quill took a deep breath of relief as he straightened his collar.

“Phew,” he exhaled. He turned his gaze to Twilight who had begun to tap her hoof impatiently. “I know you’re in a hurry, Princess, but haven’t you heard the expression ‘good things come to those who wait’?”

Twilight’s eyes shot open. “How can you be so cool about this!? You might be turned to stone in the next hour or minute or second! I don’t even know how I would react!? And my friends! What do they think of me after all this? I brought them here! I put them in danger!” She began to hyperventilate. “I’m the one who brought Fluttershy down into that room.” Her last words were muffled behind a cry as tears began to flow freely from her eyes. Instinctively she grabbed a hold of Quill and hugged him close as she sobbed into his vest.

Quill stiffened slightly at the sudden display of affection but soon receded into a more comfortable position. He paced a hoof around the distraught princess and patted her lightly. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered.

“Yes it is,” Twilight cried. “It’s all my fault. I just… If I hadn’t…”

Quill put a hoof to her chin and gently raised her face to be eye to eye with his. Twilight noticed his bright emerald eyes through his glasses. He smiled warmly at her. “Everypony here made the choice to be here. Either to help a friend, defend a country, or even… to help a princess.” He trailed off slightly at his last example. “Any way you put it we are all here for noble reasons. It’s what we chose, not you. Our choices are ours alone, you can’t blame fate or yourself for that.” His smile diminished but still seemed to give off the same warmth. Twilight couldn’t help but smile as well, pulling back and blushing at her proximity to the stallion. “Regardless,” he continued. “A friend is in need of our aid and we wouldn’t be proper ponies if we didn’t do everything a couple of scholars like us could do to help her.” He winked playfully.

Twilight gave a small chuckle and took a deep breath. She felt a little better. “You’re right. Let’s start on the translation as quickly as possible. Follow me to my room.”

Twilight began to trot off as Quill’s body went rigid again and his face grew red. “Y- Your r-r-room?” The proper pony took a gulp before shaking his head to get the dirty thoughts out. He quickly ran after her.

Rarity was beside herself with worry. Now three friends had succumbed to whatever was going on with the Crystal Empire. Slowly but surely, Rarity could feel her previous fascination with this place disappear, replacing itself with misery and fear. She feared for her life. She feared for her friends’ lives. And Fluttershy, poor Fluttershy. If anypony deserved this it certainly wasn’t Fluttershy. She had known the mare for years, regarding her as a sister. Fluttershy babysat for Sweetie Belle! What would Sweetie think if she had to tell her sister something had happened to her? Rarity could only feel cold as all these thoughts swirled around in her head. Pinkie took notice.

“Are you alright, Rarity?” she asked.

Rarity shook her head to clear it and cleared her throat. “I… I’m fine, Pinkie Pie. Just… Just a little worried.”

Pinkie’s hair sunk and her expression fell. “I know what you mean.” She tried to give a brightened smile but it came off disingenuous. “But I’m sure Fluttershy will be alright! After all, we’ve gotten out of every mess we’ve ever had. Why would this be any different?”

Rarity frowned. Certainly the six had accomplished many great things and lived to tell about it. But what was going on here seemed much bigger than anything they’d dealt with before. They’d fought monsters and villains but now they fought for the preservation of an entire race. The sheer enormity of it made Rarity shiver. She took one last look at Fluttershy on the table before she turned her eyes and began to walk out. “I’m… going to go out and get some fresh air.”

“Oh, okay,” Pinkie replied. “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” Rarity almost shouted. “No, Pinkie. I… just want to be alone for now.”

Pinkie stepped back with hesitation, her face clearly showing her surprise and grief. “Alright, Rarity.” Rarity nodded and walked away from the dining room.

Rarity did not know why she wanted to be alone. At times like this it was best to be together with family or friends to be comforted. Pinkie was right that they had accomplished so much together, but the six hadn’t truly been together since they got here. Rarity could feel a cold hardness forming around her heart. A little nagging voice in the back of her head telling her to be alone. She looked at the ground as she walked.

I don’t want to push away my friends, she thought. So why do I feel so alone? Rarity turned back towards the dining room. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to go back, spend more time with Pinkie and the others. She didn’t notice how far she had gone as she walked into the hallway of her and the others’ rooms. Rarity glanced around and sighed. Perhaps she just needed to take her mind off things. She had brought a sewing kit with her to the Empire, maybe she could make a quick scarf to pass the time. It was getting chillier in the air and that mist outside hadn’t dissipated yet.

Rarity opened the door to her room to find it cleaner than when she left it. She had been spending most of the week in the infirmary with Spike and Flash so she hadn’t had any need to go back here. She noticed that the only untidy thing was her bed, which a member of staff was turning down.

“Thank you for your help,” Rarity smiled somberly. “But I can take care of that.” The staff had her back turned to her and she didn’t move. In fact the pony seemed to be simply frozen in place like a… “Oh no.”

Rarity rushed forward and turned the pony around. Surprisingly the crystal pony was still conscious, her skin still the slightest bit vibrant. But her eyes were glazed over, looking at something that was far away. “Are you alright?” Rarity asked nervously. She held the pony by the shoulders.

Suddenly Rarity noticed it. It started at the pony’s legs. Like color draining from her, a cool stone gray began to overtake her faster than Rarity had expected. Within seconds it was up to her chest. Rarity’s eyes widened and she tried to shake her. “Wake up! You’ve got to wake up!” she shouted. The stone reached finished with her tail. In a last ditch effort Rarity tried to slap the pony awake, delivering a swift hoof to her cheek. The pony’s eyes widened slightly, still glazed over, but her expression changed. Her eyes settled on Rarity as the stone crept up her neck. She breathed a final, almost incoherent, phrase before the stone overtook her. “Hearts as cold as stone.”

Rarity watched as the pony’s face became frozen, her eyes centered on Rarity. It looked almost like pleading with her to help. Rarity felt her eyes begin to water and tears soon followed. She knelt by the statue and cried.

Author's Note

Just to let you guys know I do welcome feedback. I may be writing this primarily for exercise but I do love the story I have in mind and want to make it better. Let me know what you think. :twilightsmile:

Pristine/Bedim/Crisp - Chapter 24

Pristine wiped the sweat from her brow. The hospital had been plagued by ponies for months now, ever since Bedim’s banishment. Javelin’s reveal of a plague made every pony on edge, believing that the slightest cough or sprain could be the plague affecting them. Javelin had given permission for the Stone Garden to be open to visitors and thus the ponies had come to know the nature of the affliction, but that didn’t stop the hysteria. She scowled as she thought of that horrid stallion. Commander Javelin had banished Bedim and unleashed a torrent of panic and suspicion in his wake.

“Pristine,” the Old Mare called to her as she spaced out. “Pristine! Get the anesthetic!” They were in the midst of surgery. The Old Mare, while being old enough to be on the operating table rather than above it, was a master surgeon and clinician. Most of what Pristine had learned she had learned from the Old Mare. Pristine nodded and grabbed a small syringe of liquid set aside. It glowed a violet aura before the Old Mare took it with her magic and injected it into the convulsing patient.

A middle aged stallion had come in with lacerations around his chest where a sword had cut deep. When he arrived he wore a blue tunic that indicated he was part of the Pegasus team of the North. His compatriots that brought him said he had been hurt in a joint training exercise with the unicorn regiment. Pristine did not have trouble believing this. Javelin’s unicorns were known for going too far. Recently, with all the panic in town, they had taken up patrols. Javelin had even given them authority to enter homes and businesses. It took all the authority the mayor had to convince them to only enter with reason.

Pristine liked the mayor, whom she had learned recently was Crisp’s mother. Mayor Honey was an honorable mare, the total opposite of Javelin. She only wanted peace for her town, while it seemed Javelin wanted disquiet and unrest. Pristine knew exactly why too. She was learned, had read nearly every book in the convent library back home. “Sic semper tyrannus” was a phrase that popped up to her. “Thus always the tyrants.” And Javelin wished to be a tyrant, no question. All she could do now was stay low and wait. The time would soon come to help her friend and this city.

Pristine and the Old Mare exited the operating room, the Old Mare removing her face mask and giving a long exhausted sigh. Pristine matched her enthusiasm by sliding into a chair in a very unladylike manner. “Ahem,” the Old Mare coughed, giving her a stern glare. Pristine pursed her lips and straightened up in her seat.

“Is that her?” A voice came from the hallway beyond the doors. Pristine caught sight of two ponies, a unicorn mare and a nurse were looking at her through the door. “Yes,” the other voice replied. “She’s been working her non-stop. I think she might be living here.” “She’s that witch’s mare, right?” “Shh! Quiet!”

“AHEM!” the Old Mare coughed once more and delivered her evilest of eyes to the two snoops. They gasped in shock and trotted off. Pristine gave a little smile at her mentor. Score one for the Old Mare.

She could hear what the ponies in town said about Bedim. The insults, the threats, the insinuations. Deep in her heart she knew it all to be false. Bedim wouldn’t hurt somepony else, couldn’t hurt somepony else. Sure there were things that she previously didn’t know about Bedim, even Bedim didn’t know about himself, that were incredibly dangerous. But that didn’t change the fact that she knew he was a good pony at heart and that he was innocent. She frowned as she began to recall that night after the “trial,” where she learned just what Bedim was.

Two weeks ago, Bedim’s mother, Lullaby, had invited her, Crisp, and Mayor Honey to her home after Bedim’s banishment. A red Pegasus was there as well, Lullaby insisting that he hear the truth as well. They all sat in a circle around a small fire place, the red Pegasus standing off to the side against the wall. Lullaby stared into the fire for a long time before breaking the murky ice that encapsulated the room and everyone’s mood.

“What I’m about to tell you is very personal,” she began, never looking up from the fire. “But it’s something I probably should’ve told a long time ago.” No one spoke, simply listening to every word she said. She took a deep breath and continued.

“I come from an island far far away. A little speck in the vast ocean, beyond even the Old World. On my island there was no winter. I hadn’t even seen a snowflake until I came here. It was… a paradise.” She paused to recollect her thoughts. Her eyes darted to Pristine for the briefest of moments. “I… lived there with my sister and father. My mother died when me and my sister were born so the only figure I ever looked up to was my father. He was… special. A pony from a faraway land that fell in love with a beautiful exotic mare. He wasn’t a Pegasus but he taught me everything he knew about it, which was a lot. My dad was… amazing.” Her gaze became distant and her eyes began to mist over. She brushed a hoof against her face and returned to her story. “When we were eighteen, my sister… fell in love. Fell in love with… a monster.” Everyone’s faces became slightly skeptical. “And I don’t just mean a bad pony. I mean a literal monster. The island had a volcano and there was a nest and… You know what? All that’s not really important. What matters is that from that love came something beautiful.” Pristine pressed her hooves to her mouth as her eyes began to water. “Bedim is my nephew. Not my son. And he’s the only thing I have left of my sister.” Her lips began to tremble and she turned to the red Pegasus who also seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. “He’s not a monster. And he’s not a witch.”

Honey stood up, her head down making it hard for anypony to see her expression. She began to walk forward toward the door which made Lullaby sigh as if it was an expected reaction for keeping something so monumental from her friend. However, Honey merely circled around a chair coming back toward her and wrapping Lullaby in a large warm hug. The two mares broke down in each others’ hooves as Crisp and Pristine sat silently and cried out their frustrations. By the end of the night Lullaby said goodbye to them all, ensuring Honey that she was okay staying alone. The red Pegasus was one of the last to leave, lingering slightly at the door as if he wanted to say something that might comfort her. He didn’t seem to find the right words, and so he left.

Pristine and Lullaby were the last two in the house. Pristine giving Lullaby a big hug which Lullaby graciously accepted, squeezing the younger mare just a little bit tighter than she was used to. They parted and Pristine’s face grew stern. “I promise,” she stated. “I’m going to fix this.”

Lullaby gave a small smile. “You don’t have anything to fix, Pristine.”

Pristine frowned once more. “That’s another thing, how did you know my name?”

Lullaby’s smile dropped and she darted her eyes to the ground. “Maybe another time,” she murmured as she began to close the door. “Thank you for everything.”

Pristine was left alone in the cold as she stared at the door in front of her. Lullaby had more than one secret, and she had kept it from her. She wanted to know what that was.

“Pristine,” the Old Mare called to her as she zoned out again. They were still in the down room of the hospital, recovering from the surgery they had just performed. The Old Mare sat beside Pristine, her hoof on her knee. “Are you alright, child?”

Pristine gave firm nod. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

The Old Mare nodded in affirmation and looked off. “There have been a few more stone births in the past few weeks.”

Pristine turned her head sharply in shock. “What? When? Every birth I’ve been to has been flawless.”

The Old Mare sighed. “Exactly, every birth you’ve been to. You can’t be to them all.” She rubbed her neck in worry. “I fear the citizens may be realizing this. They may start to think you yourself are the cure to this affliction. It’d be awful if the commander began to use you as some kind of messiah figure. Heavens know, we need to give that stallion even more power.” She tapped her hoof lightly but worriedly. “I fear that we may not be what this place needs. The commander believes he can keep it in line through fear, but ponies need more than that. The problem with this place runs much deeper than a curse.”

Pristine nodded at her mentor’s words. It was true, she hadn’t been doing anything to actively fight the problem. She had simply been going about her duties like this was Canterlot, but it wasn’t. Crystal Falls needed something more. She needed to start being proactive. She stood from her seat, earning an upward glance from the diminutive Old Mare. “I’m going to get some air,” she said. The Old Mare nodded and she left.

Pristine walked with purpose towards the only place in the hospital that could help her. The room where she could start working on something, maybe actually making a difference. She parted the curtain and walked into the Stone Garden. Baby foals lay silent in their cribs asleep. Pristine walked to the end of the room and picked up a paper attached to a hook on the wall. It was all the observations made about the stone foals. Two lines were all the paper contained. “Sleep most of the day. Do not require food or nourishment.” Pristine frowned. Not much to start with, but she was determined. She took a look around the room. All but one crib had a name tag in front of it, a small note on it instead. “Abandoned.” It wasn’t uncommon for a mother to abandon her child in a situation like this, but it still made Pristine angry. She gazed down into the crib at the sleeping foal. Though its skin was gray stone, it still glowed of beauty that only Pristine seemed to see. She lifted the foal, finding her lighter than she imagined and held it in her arms.

This unicorn foal was like her now, an orphan. She nudged its horn earning a tiny giggle from the small bundle of joy as it groggily opened its eyes. It’s pupils and irises were blank but did not scare her. Pristine’s smile grew wide. “Do you want to help me find out how to help you and your friends,” she asked. The foal gurgled an affirmative response. Pristine tapped her hoof against her chin. “Well, I cant have a lab assistant without a name. Let’s see… What’s a good name for one so lovely as you? How about… Amore.” The foal giggled. “I agree. It’s a wonderful name.”

Bedim wiped the sweat and accumulated dust from his brow. He and Titus had been assigned a rather deep area of the Pit for a few weeks now. The other prisoners and guards liked to call it “The Disappearing Wing” since so many went missing in it. By all descriptions it seemed perfectly normal, like any other tunnel he’d seen since coming here. But there was one thing that nagged at the back of his mind. He constantly felt watched, and not just from the guards and shift leaders that patrolled the areas.

He lifted his pickaxe and brought it down with a hard thwack to the stone. The rock fell away and a shiny wall of obsidian revealed itself. Bedim sighed with grief. He had been working this wall for the past three days hoping to find a vein of precious stone or something. Obsidian looked cool but it did not earn him any favors. Suddenly a blue light flashed across the surface of the shiny stone. Bedim quickly turned to face it but whatever had shown the light was gone now. The tunnel was empty except for a guard posted at the opening. Bedim took one last look down into the dark where no lantern had been hung. He squinted his eyes and could swear he saw a blue light retreat deeper down around a corner.

A couple weeks had passed and while they didn’t tend to speak to each other during shifts, Titus had begun to open up to Bedim during the nights in their bunks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, kid,” Titus sighed with his hooves crossed behind his head. They both sat in bed, each one looking at the bottom of the bunk on top of them.

“You seriously don’t feel that tingly feeling you get when you’re being watched in there?” Bedim asked.

“Only from the goons,” Titus replied, his word for the guards. “Seriously, I just try to keep my head down. Stay low and no one will know.” He produced a small emerald and shined some moonlight off it into Bedim’s eyes.

Bedim gasped. “How the hay did you smuggle that out?”

Titus grinned mischievously. “An earth pony never reveals his magic tricks.”

Bedim frowned as he looked at the precious stone. Something that big would have set him off back in Crystal Falls. Yet here he was with no burning sensation or glowing eyes whatsoever. In fact, he felt even better when he was in the caves. His first few days had been so tragic and hard but, in reality, after a week he’d grown accustomed to the work. Even looking forward to going into the mines. Something about the atmosphere and dark just soothed his soul. He rolled over in bed. “So you have it, what now? Not like you can spend it.”

“Au contraire,” Titus tossed the emerald back and forth. “There are some things that can’t be bought so easily. They need to have some stuff in place.”

Bedim leaned over and eyed his friend curiously. “What are you planning?”

Titus smiled as he hid the emerald again and closed his eyes to sleep. “You’ll see. You’ll see.”

At a month, another prisoner had entered Bedim and Titus’ wing. He was another earth pony with spotted gray coat and brown colored mane. He was old. Probably one of the oldest ponies Bedim had ever seen. His cutie mark was a hammer and hard hat. Their sector head, the yellow pony that had greeted them their first day, introduced him.

“Seriously?” Titus asked as they were all introduced to the newcomer. “You’re putting us on a quota and we get an old fogy? How are we supposed to pick up his slack?”

The yellow pony groaned. “No complaining! I’m just as angry about this as anypony. Just do your job and everything should work out.” The group moaned as they returned to their jobs. To Bedim’s surprise, the sector head brought the newcomer over to him. “You. Give him a bit of a lesson.” He tossed a pickaxe to the old pony. “If he doesn’t learn right away… do what you want with him.” He skulked away with a low cackle.

Bedim frowned as he turned to the new pony. The old stallion seemed quite lost as to what he was doing or even where he was. He lifted the pickaxe unsteadily and let it lower onto the cave wall with a very soft thud. Bedim sighed as he walked over to him. “How high can you lift it?” he asked. The old pony lower lip quivered as he tried to respond but no words came out. Bedim placed a hoof over the stallion’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of it. You just… You just sit there.” He took the pick axe from the pony and leaned in close for a whisper. “If the boss comes around just pretend you were getting me a drink.”

The old stallion’s face seemed lighten as the ghost of a smile crossed his face. Bedim began to work the wall with the stallion sitting and watching him to the side. Bedim decided he’d start the conversation. “So have you lived in the mountains your whole life?”

The pony shook his head.

“Okay. So you moved here. Where?”

The pony did not speak for a long moment. Just as Bedim was about to give up and focus on his work the pony spoke up. “Trottingham.”

Bedim raised an eyebrow. “Oh, a foreigner. So how long have you been in the North?”

The old pony licked his lips. “Fifty years.”

Bedim nearly dropped his pickaxe in surprise. “Fifty?” The old pony nodded.

“I… worked in the mines before.”

“You did?” Bedim stopped his work for a little bit to turn toward the pony. “So what was it like? In the older days.”

The old pony lowered his head in memory of days past. “Better. Better than here.”

Bedim smirked and huffed a reply. “No doubt.”

A lantern flashed out of the corner of his eye and he glanced a look at a guard making his rounds. A small lantern hanging from his hoof. He eyed the two sharply as Bedim began to work again, obscuring the old pony from the guard’s view. The guard seemed to accept this and moved on. Bedim let out a small sigh of relief, but then furrowed his brow. The lantern had reminded him of something. He turned to the old pony.

“Hey,” he asked. “Do you know a lot of stuff about these mines?”

The old pony nodded.

“Do you know anything about blue lights?”

The old pony lifted his head and frowned at Bedim. He seemed to be concentrating really hard as if trying to access a long forgotten memory. “Blue lights?”

“Yeah.”

“You must be talking about the fairy folk,” the old pony grinned.

“Fairies?” Bedim asked with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

“Bluecaps are what they’re called. These ethereal lights that take the form of ponies to fool you into following them.” He leaned in closer. “They say that anypony that follows a bluecap disappears. Whisked away to the fairy kingdom.”

Bedim chewed his lip in thought. It was a pretty far-fetched story. Still there could be such things as fairies, the world was filled with odder things. Plus he was sure that something was in the mines with them. Whether it wished them ill will or not only time would tell. Better to learn as much as he could, he had nothing better to do today while he worked. “So what’s the deal with these fairies?”

The old miner grinned a semi-toothless smile, seemingly happy to have an audience for an implausible old stallion rant. “They hide underground in the caves because the sun and moon don’t agree with them.”

Bedim continued to work at the wall as he listened. “The sun and moon?”

The old pony nodded his head. “Really any kind of natural light will scare ‘em off.”

“Good to know,” Bedim smirked. “What else you got?”

He rubbed his chin in thought. “Never tell a fairy your name.”

“My name?”

“Names have power, boy. You don’t want a magical creature playin’ around with what’s yours. Anything that’s yours.” The old stallion gave a stern glare.

Bedim chuckled. “You know that from experience, old timer? Or do you still have a name?”

The old pony straightened his expression and grinned. “Gentry.”

Bedim took one last thwack at the wall before putting his pick down and turning to face him. “Well, Gentry, nice to meet you.” He held out his hoof in greeting. “Bedim.”

Gentry raised a hoof and tapped his. “You’re not bad for a kid,” he chuckled.

Bedim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m still the guy stuck with twice the work.”

“Aw phooey,” Gentry waved a dismissive hoof as he grabbed his pickaxe with the other, surprisingly stronger since the last time he tried to wield it. “I’m no slouch kid. The feeble act is just for those ponies I don’t like. You’d be surprised by how cold hearted you may be, how many would still try to help a feeble old stallion.”

Bedim stared in disbelief at the renewed vigor in the old pony, who seemed to go to work like it was his calling. Which judging by his cutie mark it may very well be. Bedim threw his head back laughing before returning to his work as well. “You know, I got a friend who’d love to meet you.”

Crisp just finished up forming a blade on the anvil when unicorn soldier came into his shop asking for him. Crisp wiped his brow and walked over to the uniformed pony. “Can I help you?”

The pony shoved a sealed letter into his face. “Message from the Commander,” he stated and left.

Crisp frowned as he flipped the letter over to look at the seal. “Yup, that’s him.” He hated the Commander for what he did to Bedim. A little over a month had passed and they still hadn’t heard one word from him in the mining camps. Captain Gladius had apparently tried to get permission to visit and even personally deliver any messages but his uncle, the Commander, denied it. Just what was that pony’s deal?

Crisp threw the letter on the front counter of his shop. His shop. Still hard to say really. Less than a year ago he was an apprentice and now a master forger with his own shop. Not that he would even be here if it weren’t for… the curse, as ponies were calling it. Girder, his old master, had been so happy to learn of his wife’s pregnancy. However after the fiasco with the Commander revealing the plague of stone births, he and his wife’s worst fears were realized. Their child had apparently been born stone. Pristine and the other Crystal Falls doctors tried to explain that they were doing all they could but Girder was a stoic pony, not trusting many others. He packed up his family and took the baby south to Canterlot where some cure might be found. He’d left the shop in Crisp’s hooves, to the delight and the dejection of the young stallion.

An orange pony in a large dirtied apron walked out from the back. “Everything okay out here, boss? Thought I saw a soldier.”

Crisp leaned against the counter and held his head. “Its fine, he was just dropping something off.”

The pony frowned and looked at the letter with its seal. “Isn’t that the Commander’s seal?”

“Yup,” Crisp stated.

“…You going to open it?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

Crisp turned to the pony and grabbed the letter, beginning to pace around the room. “Well, gee, let me think. Maybe because he’s a jerk? Maybe because he’s a nut case that thinks my best friend is a witch? Maybe because I just really don’t feel like talking to him? Take your pick.” Crisp eyed an open flame coming from a burner in the shop area. He walked past the curtain and began to hold the letter up to flame.

“Wait!” the other pony shouted and ran toward him. “It might be important!”

“Anything the Commander has deemed important has nothing to do with me!” Crisp shouted. He began to lower the letter once more but the other pony caught his hoof.

“Look, boss, I know you got a hate on for this guy, but think logically about this. You’re not even going to at least look?” He caught Crisp’s gaze and the master forger yielded. He rolled his eyes opened the letter. He began to scan it lazily at first but then became very interested. Once he was finished reading it he opened his mouth slightly to say something but nothing came out. The other pony frowned. “So what’s it say?”

Crisp cleared his throat. “It says I might have a way of getting Bedim back.”

Later that day, Crisp took a stroll through the woods. He was heading to the Training Area, where Commander Javelin had asked him to meet. In the past few hours since receiving the letter Crisp had plenty of time to think about the position Javelin was giving him. On the one hoof, it would be a way to ensure Bedim’s release. On the other hoof, he’d be putting a lot of faith in a pony that condemned others as spies and witches. This was a big decision and he couldn’t make it without talking to the pony himself. He wanted to deny the Commander his request. No doubt actually speaking to the slimeball would assuage himself of that.

Two unicorns greeted him at the track, guiding him to a small, rather reserved looking, hut. Not at all what he was expecting as a home for the Commander. He shrugged and entered. The inside was even more Spartan. A simple cot, not even a bed, lay in the corner. A desk sat to the side. Crisp scanned the room some more but really that was it. Some scrolls and papers were shoved under the cot or on top of the desk but nothing else. Crisp frowned, this was not what he was expecting.

“Ah, young Master Crisp,” a strong masculine voice announced from behind him. The Commander had just entered from outside, he turned to give a parting order to one of his unicorns and they saluted to leave. He turned back to Crisp. He wore no golden uniform as he usually did, instead wearing a simple red scarf. With nothing to cover his body, Crisp could see many scars, some healed, some half healed. Around town it was hard to imagine the Commander in anything but his uniform. To see him so open and fragile looking was a shock. “I hope you made it through the forest safely.”

“I-I was fine,” Crisp stuttered. “But, really, I-I’m no Master.”

Javelin raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Youngest in your field to achieve the title of Master Forger. I’d say that gives you rights to be called that?”

“Well,” Crisp rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. “I probably never would’ve gotten that title without your words to my master.” Crisp straightened his posture, realizing that he had just complimented the pony he hated. He cursed himself in his mind.

Suddenly Javelin was right by his side, putting a hoof on his shoulder. He stared straight at him, never breaking eye contact. “Never doubt that what you earned, you earned yourself. Take credit for your genius, young master.” His words were smooth as silk and Crisp hated that he was falling for it.

Crisp took a deep breath. “About your letter. I’m afraid I can’t just-”

“And your genius is what I need you for,” Javelin interrupted, leading Crisp over to the desk. He pulled out a scroll from a drawer and unfurled it so that both could see. Crisp studied it unintentionally, his own curiosity overcoming his distrust. His eyes opened wide in shock.

“This… These are my plans?” he questioned.

Javelin smiled. “Indeed they are, young master. I was truly fascinated the first time I laid eyes on them. A magical engine. Energy for all ponies! It’s forethought like that that I so desperately need in the Crystal Falls that I plan to build.”

Crisp frowned. “I’m sorry… I thought you said in your letter that you wanted me to work for you?”

Javelin smiled broader and waved his hooves. “I do! But not in any official capacity. You’ll still have your freedom at your shop. Plus I’ll make sure to stop any intrusive patrols onto your street. However I just want you to come here to the camp every week. Work with some other ponies I have here. Great minds like you! I’ve shown them your designs and they’re all very impressed.”

Crisp opened his mouth but found it hard to say anything. Finally he found it. “And this will get Bedim free?”

Javelin’s face grew solemn. “Young master. I swear that what happened with your friend was something that needed to be done.” A chill of hate swept through Crisp. “But,” he continued. “I do realize that it was an awful thing to do.” He walked over to the window and motioned for Crisp to join him. He swept his hoof over the view outside. “What do you see?”

Crisp squinted through the dirty glass. “I see soldiers training?”

Javelin smirked and shook his head. “Look past that.” Crisp sighed but continued to look on. To his surprise he actually did see something else. In the soldiers’ barracks, several fillies and undressed ponies were playing or even eating picnics. It took him a moment but he realized that they were actually families. The soldiers’ families to be precise. Husbands and wives with their children. Javelin saw that he saw them too. “That is who I did it for.” Crisp turned to the Commander. “These ponies are scared. They need somepony to believe in. I truly wish that could be me, but… you have been around town. I’m not as popular as I used to be.” He chuckled a little, his face becoming very melancholy. “However, I learned a long time ago that belief and fear can be equally powerful. Belief can bring ponies together stronger, but fear can be an adequate replacement. I don’t like it, but it works.” He turned his attention to Crisp again. “Your friend was a scape goat, I will admit that.” Crisp felt his face flush with rage, but not as much as he had expected. Javelin continued. “I don’t condone what I did, but I’d do it again. Those ponies out there need to know they are being protected.”

“So why blame Bedim as a witch!?” Crisp shouted.

Javelin grew silent then looked out the window again. “I don’t know if there are witches or not. However I do know that your friend was a danger to everypony he met and himself!” Javelin’s voice raised only slightly and yet the air grew cold. Crisp shivered a little. “I sent your friend away where he couldn’t hurt anypony. Where he could discover things about himself without putting the ponies I love at risk.”

The two stared at each other with determined glares for a long moment. Crisp contemplating his words. One the one hoof, the Commander had done something absolutely despicable. On the other hoof, he did it because he honestly didn’t know what else to do. Crisp still wasn’t sure if he could trust him. “Again,” he stated cold and simply. “If I do this, will you let Bedim return?”

The Commander did not move for a moment, keeping eye contact. Then he slowly raised a hoof toward Crisp. “You have my word.” Crisp looked at the offered hoof and clopped it gently in a gesture of agreement.

A few minutes later, after having hashed out the little details, Crisp left the small hut and went home. The Commander sat at his desk and eyed the young master’s blueprints. He opened another drawer and pulled out a light almost see through parchment. He placed it over the blueprints, black lines and redesigns drastically changing the look and purpose of the machine. He grinned evilly.

A soldier knocked at his doorway and the Commander hid the parchments away. “You called sir?”

“Yes,” Javelin said, running a hoof through his mane. “Make contact with the warden at the Pit. I need that stallion dead. Accident if possible.”

“And if not, sir?”

Javelin grinned once more showing off a fearsome set of teeth. “Tell him to be creative.”

Titus/Bedim - Chapter 26

Titus was goofing off once more. He knew the guards schedules by heart now so it was pretty easy to determine when he should be pretending to work and not working. He was determined to make this stay of his at casa del Pit as painless as possible. Still that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun. He also liked to spy on the guards when he could. As he was doing so now, having followed a guard to the entrance to his team’s wing. The guard seemed to be waiting for somepony. Titus hid behind an outcropping of rocks waiting for something to happen, which it most of the time didn’t. He spent the time waiting practicing his pocketing techniques for the gems he stole from the mines. So far he had smuggled out nearly five diamonds and emeralds. Not a bad haul. But he needed more if he was ever going to get out of here.

Suddenly another pony approached from further down the main tunnel. Titus stopped what he was doing and squinted as the pony approached. He wore no uniform but a small dazzling in his left molar signified to Titus that he was the Warden. Odd, Titus thought, why was the Warden out of uniform so deep below? The Warden began to talk quietly to the guard in hushed whispers. Titus frowned as he tried to listen but couldn’t get anything. Then an old lesson about stone walls came to mind. It was something his egghead sister had always impressed on him. So many useless facts and tidbits. “Did you know,” he recalled her saying, “that if you stand on the opposite end of a large cavernous room with somepony, then you can hear every word they say?”

Titus rolled his eyes at the memory. True he missed his sister dearly, but not that knowitall side to her. Still, that was some good advice. He looked both ways before dashing to the opposite end of the cavern. When he was properly in place he turned his attention upward as the sounds of the ponies’ conversation on the opposite end of the room traveled upward and over the walls down to him.

“Do you get it yet?” the Warden asked with a harsh whisper.

“No, not really,” the guard replied. “You want to seal off the tunnel?”

“No!” the Warden shouted. He darted his head back and forth seeing if his mistake was noticed but there was nopony there to his knowledge. “Well, yes. But only at the end of the day. When everypony’s leaving for the night, start the quake. Doesn’t matter who else you bury but just make sure that that black stallion gets his.” The Warden strengthened his words with a clean motion of his hooves across his neck.

Titus’ eyes popped open as he heard. They were planning on killing somepony? Titus tried to remember just who in the tunnel wing had a black coat. They had all been so dirty the past few weeks that everypony started to look similar with black ash covering their bodies. Then he recalled his first day. The pony that greeted him. His bunkmate. The one that kept wanting to be his friend. They were going after Bedim. “Aw geez,” Titus sighed as he rolled his eyes in disbelief.

A few minutes later Titus was back at his post pretending to work. The shift guard was right on cue to pass and check up on him. He waited silently as the guard passed, debating what to do. He could easily slip off and go warn Bedim about the impending attempt on his life. Then again, he could also get himself killed in the process. He didn’t know why these ponies wanted the kid dead but something was telling Titus that getting involved would not be in his best interest.

What had the kid said? Something about him being framed for murder? Titus knew about bum raps. His entire life was one. Still, whatever that colt had gotten himself into was on him. He didn’t owe the kid any favors, in fact if anything the kid owed him. Suddenly his mind and conscience began to work in tandem. Yeah, if the kid died then he wouldn’t be able to pay him back for all the help he’d given him. Heavens know, it’s good to have a pony in your pocket, especially on the inside. When the time came, he would definitely need someone like the kid during his great escape. He nodded to himself at his conclusion and gave a victorious grin.

A few hours later night fell, while the ponies of the Pit had no idea. Night in the mines was the same as day. Titus smiled as the final horn of the night blew through the tunnels. All the workers were going to leave soon. This was his moment. He slipped away and dashed from the wing to where Bedim was. Luckily, Bedim hadn’t moved yet. The young stallion appeared to be waiting for something. Titus ducked behind an outcropping of rocks and peeked his head over to “psst” at him.

Bedim took notice and cautiously walked over with a confused expression. “What’s up?” he asked.

Titus pulled him behind the rock to talk. “We’ve got to get you out of here,” he said.

Bedim frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Today I listened to a very interesting conversation between the Warden and one of the guards.” Titus smiled unseriously. “Apparently somepony wants you dead and their willing to collapse the tunnel for it.”

Bedim’s eyes shot open. “Are you serious!” he shouted.

Titus grabbed the kid by the mouth and stealthily looked around to make sure he wasn’t heard. He took a look further down the tunnel and noticed that the other prisoners were already beginning their march outside with a soldier making his way down to them. Titus cursed to himself. “We need to get you to the front of the line where you can slip in,” he whispered. “Listen, I’ve got an escape plan in place but its not going to be ready for another day or two. If we can just get you out alive and hide you somewhere, everyone might think you’re dead already and we can escape.”

Bedim nodded slowly at the logic but then removed Titus hoof from his mouth. “Wait! I need to wait for Gentry.”

Titus gave him a weird look. “Who the buck is Gentry?”

“The old stallion that got assigned with me,” Bedim said. “I’ m not leaving without him.” His words were resolute.

Titus facehoofed. “Are you serious? They want you dead and in a matter of minutes they’ll succeed. We don’t have time to worry about some old geezer!”

Bedim’s eyes grew cold as a scowl Titus had never seen on the kid surfaced. “I’m not leaving a pony behind.”

Titus growled. “Grrrrrraaaah. Fine! Where is the old fogey?”

“He went to take a piss,” Bedim replied. He peaked over the outcropping to where Gentry had gone and to his surprise found the soldier that was approaching them had already made his way over. Gentry had reappeared but only to find the guard who began to nag and prod him about where Bedim had gone. “Damn it.”

“What is it?” Titus asked as he peeked over the edge. When he saw the sight he let out an even worse swear. When Gentry couldn’t produce Bedim, the soldier began to prod the old stallion further. It started with nudging but then the two hiding stallions saw Gentry backslapped across the face. Bedim’s eyes grew wide with rage as he saw his friend fall to the ground. Titus took notice. “I seriously hope you’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do.” In a cry of rage Bedim rushed from his hiding place and back tackled the soldier. “He did.” Titus thought he saw something weird going on with the kid’s eyes as well. Did they turn green for a second?

Bedim thrashed on top of the soldier as he began to shout for backup. Blasts of magic shot out of his horn in random direction causing stalactites to fall from the ceiling. Titus continued to hide as he saw one fall and pierce Bedim in the leg. He cried out in pain but didn’t let go. Finally Titus took action and sprinted forward as fast as his chains would allow. He unpocketed the diamond he’d been hiding and jumped high as he brought the incredibly hard mineral down on the helmet of the soldier. With a resounding thud the unicorn crumpled to the ground unconscious. Bedim rolled off of him with a groan as he clutched his back leg. “Thanks,” he murmured.

Titus grinned but his face fell when he noticed several shadows approaching from the tunnel entrance. “Alright, so a little change in plans,” he said. “We go now!” Bedim nodded through the pain and wearily stood up to raise Gentry off the ground. The old stallion seemed pretty dazed from that hit. Titus waved them over to another tunnel out but to his surprise he found more shadows approaching from there too. “Damn it! We’re backed into a corner.” Bedim took a look behind him. There was still one more way to go. Deeper down the tunnel. Titus saw him look. “What? No! Are you crazy? That’s where they want us!”

“There could be an outlet,” Bedim reasoned.

“There could also be a hundred rocks and a mountain falling on our heads!” Titus shouted. “Nopony knows where that tunnel leads! Even the guards are too scared to go down it!”

Bedim took another look down the dark lightless path. For a second he seemed to grin at something he saw. Titus turned back quickly but saw nothing. “It’s the best chance we have,” Bedim said.

Titus rolled his eyes and groaned as he debated with himself about just ditching the kid and turning him in. Unfortunately more moral ponies won over. “Fine!” he shouted. The three turned and hightailed it down into the deep dark cavern just as the soldiers ran up to find the unconscious unicorn. Titus grit his teeth as he descended into the darkness. He was going to regret this. He was sure of it.

Bedim struggled to carry Gentry while at the same time limping on his wounded leg. Titus seemed to have no quarrel with Bedim carrying the old stallion all alone. He looked back to see the first of the guards run into the area they had just been in. Luckily they were deep into the unlit part of the cavern so the guards wouldn’t be able to see. At least they would have been if the guard hadn’t flashed a light from his horn into the darkness to see the three escaping figures. “There they are!” shouted the guard as more came in. “After them!”

Bedim swore to himself as he turned back and increased his speed, his leg killing him. Titus had dashed quite far ahead and Bedim was stunned to see him stopped. “What is it? We have to keep moving!” he ushered him.

Titus gave him a stern glare. “We can’t! The tunnel ends here!” he shouted. Bedim felt around the wall as he found this to be true. How? He could have sworn he saw that thing in the darkness. There had to be a way out, it couldn’t just disappear. Titus punched the cavern wall causing a few pieces of rock to scatter. He turned angrily on Bedim. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you! Of course this path just ends! Why wouldn’t it?”

Bedim did not pay attention to Titus’ insults as he continued to scan for an alcove or something that could help them. Then his eyes spotted it. That blue light. Bedim caught a glance of the blue light he’d seen before as it darted into a hole just a little further up the wall. A hole just large enough for a pony to get through. Bedim turned to Titus who continued to berate him and slapped rolled his eyes as he slapped some sense into him. “Titus!”

Titus reeled at the slap and almost came back at him with a right hook but something in Bedim’s eyes stopped him. For a brief moment Titus went rigid and Bedim could see fear in his pupils. Then he returned to normal. “What, kid?” he muttered.

Bedim pointed to the tiny hole above. “That’s the only way out,” he exclaimed.

Titus tilted his head up and began to shake his head in defiance. “Oh hay no! I’m uncomfortable enough as it is in these mines! Why in heavens name would I want to go into someplace even tighter and more likely to crush me?” The guard’s lights were getting closer and yells and orders for their heads could be heard threw the caverns. Bedim nodded over to them with a look that said “really?” Titus turned to them as well and pursed his lips. “Point taken.”

Titus quickly climbed up the wall and wiggled his way into the hole. “Wait!” Bedim shouted. Titus barely squeezed enough to turn around and look down at him.

“What?” he shouted back. Bedim struggled to raise the unconscious Gentry up to him.

“Take him!” he shouted. “I can’t carry him up on my own.” Titus groaned and rolled his eyes but complied taking a hold of Gentry’s hooves and pulling him up.

Just as Bedim finally pushed the old stallion off him and into the hole, he felt the weight of a unicorn plow into him from behind. Another guard soon followed and dogpiled him, holding him down and putting his head beneath one of their hooves. Another guard walked over and looked down at him, his horn glowing with power. “Orders say to put you out to pasture,” the guard joked. “But I seriously can’t see what somepony like the commander would want somepony like you dead.”

“The commander?” Bedim asked as he continued to struggle.

The guard held a hoof to his lips. “Damn,” he muttered. “I stink at this secret mission stuff. Aw well, doesn’t matter since you’ll be dead in a minute.” The guard leaned down to finish his threat. “By the way, so will your friends.”

Bedim’s eyes grew wide. Not only did they want him dead but they were still going to go out and slaughter Titus and Gentry just because they knew him? And the commander. Just what did he have to do with all this? There were so many questions he had and he was not going to die here with no answers. Anger began to seep into him. An anger he’d never really felt before. Other times he felt this way he had been overcome with greed or lust or even envy. Now his eyes began to blaze with a green aura as wrath overcame him.

The guards on top of him went sailing as he pushed himself up in an impromptu burst of strength. He felt the stub of his horn tingle and crackle with energy as he turned to the guard that had threatened him. “You dare to threaten me?” he shouted in a voice that was not his. The guard felt his knees began to shake as the pony before him moved closer, his hoofsteps shaking the cavern with every step. “You dare to take from me!?” In a desperate act the guard lit up his horn and caused a stalactite to fall on top of Bedim. He smirked as the long pointed rock pierced his side and Bedim screamed in pain. However his smirk died when the stalactite broke off of Bedim’s body and the wound immediately began to heal itself. Bedim’s eyes now blazed like two green stars giving off a purple corona of death. His face grew cold as he continued to march on the guard. The guard took another step back, one final trick at his disposal. His horn began to give off an even stronger glow as he stomped on the ground as hard as he could. The cavern began to shake.

Rocks began to fall around them as the guard smiled triumphantly. “You’re going to die here!” he shouted. He turned around to run but was surprised to find that Bedim was in front of him once more. He looked into the guard’s face with cold glowing eyes as they stood mere inches apart.

“So will you,” whispered Bedim. The young stallion reared up and drove his hooves down onto the guard’s chest. His armor did nothing to stop the blow as bone and flesh gave way. The guard dropped like one of the many rocks falling around them and Bedim stared into his lifeless eyes. He looked down at his hooves, now stained with blood, and felt something that he’d never felt before. He felt strong. He smiled at the thought of how strong he was. With this kind of strength he could free himself from this cursed place. Return to Crystal Falls. Then he would take care of that deceitful commander. He would kill, maim, destroy, annihilate, disembowel, crush, behead-

Bedim grabbed his head as horrible thoughts of atrocities flew through his mind. Images of those he loved and cherished began to fill the bloody images as well. He stood over them all, blood decorating his coat and mane as he towered supreme above all the dead. Stop it! He shouted to himself. Stop it! That’s not me! But it was no use, he could feel himself slowly begin to slip away into the darkness.

Suddenly a scream came from outside his head. Bedim darted his gaze toward the hole in the wall. Titus had just screamed in pain. His friend, Titus. Or at least the best friend he could ask for in this hell. Something within him clicked and Bedim shook off the dark energy surrounding him, his eyes returning to normal. The cave was still coming apart and he needed to get out. Titus was in trouble.

He grabbed a hold of the stone wall and lifted himself with the last bit of energy he had. Finally he crawled through the hole just as the cave behind him was blocked by falling debris. Bedim breathed a sigh of relief and began to wiggle through the darkness.

Once the cavern behind him had stopped caving in, all was quiet. Bedim stopped to see if he could hear a shuffle or a movement from where Titus must have gone. “Titus?” he whispered, not wanting to risk another cave in. “Titus, are you there?”

When nopony answered Bedim continued to crawl through the hole. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few minutes, Bedim noticed a small blue light in the distance. He began to crawl faster, his leg still killing him. Finally he made it to the edge of the hole. He peered down to see that it ended in a perilous drop, one that Titus hadn’t prepared for as he was splayed at the bottom, Gentry off to the side. “Titus!” Bedim shouted. He slipped out of the hole and slowly but carefully climbed down the wall, constantly thinking of what had happened to his friend. When he reached the bottom he let go and rushed over to Titus’ side. To his relief he found his friend still breathing. He walked over to Gentry who seemed to be in worse straits. A leg was clearlt broken, but the old pony held on since he was still breathing. But just barely.

A small mewing sound came from behind him as Bedim turned to finally noticed the blue light which had led him here and probably saved his life in the process. It floated in the center of the large cavernous room they were in and Bedim could even make out a form now. The ghostly image of a pony holding a lantern looked back at him, tilting its head at the odd look he gave it.

“Uh, thank you,” he muttered. “Really I can’t thank you enough for helping us escape.” Gentry had said that this being was a fairy. Bedim had to be careful. He’d never dealt with fairies before. While it had saved their lives it still was unknown and could try anything. He held out a hoof as he approached it. “Easy there,” he assured it. “I’m not going to hurt you.” The fairy leaned a little forward as if taking in his scent like a dog. It reached the lantern toward him as if for him to accept it. “You want me to take this?” The fairy didn’t respond. Bedim shrugged as he reached forward and touched the lantern.

Suddenly images played through his mind. They were images of him and Gentry, even Titus. It took him a moment to realize that this is what the fairy had seen when it spied on them. For some reason it had taken an interest in him. Bedim laughed to himself at the thought. Then he became serious once more. He drew back from the lantern and stared at the fairy. “I really appreciate what you’ve done for me. Really. But we still need to find a way out of here and to the surface.” He emphasized his point by pointing to the ceiling. “Surface. Can you tell us how to get there?”

The fairy nodded its ethereal head and held out the lantern once more. Bedim touched it without hesitation this time and images flooded his mind of a path. The fairy had apparently taken this path many a time and it led to a small opening up into the light of day. Bedim released the lantern and smiled at the fairy. “Thank you,” he simply uttered.

With a grunt of effort he lifted his two friends over his back and limped slowly away into the dark tunnel. To his surprise the fairy began to follow, giving off a guiding light for him to follow. “Well, glad to see you feel like sticking with me for a little longer,” Bedim chuckled through the pain. “If you’re going to stick around then we probably need some introductions. I’m Be-” But Gentry’s warnings rang through his mind of never giving a fairy your true name. Despite the fact that this fairy had helped him greatly, it was probably still best to play it safe. “… Haze. Call me Haze.” The fairy did not respond but Bedim continued to talk. “So what’s your name? Or do fairies even have one.” Bedim couldn’t quite make it out but it almost looked like the fairy shrugged. He smile to himself. “Well, Gentry called you lot Bluecaps. How about… Capper? That sound good to you?” The fairy turned to him and let out a mew of appreciation. He was pretty sure that if it had a face then it would be smiling. “Capper it is then.”

They continued down the path for a good two miles. Bedim felt the weight of the two ponies on his back grow worse as time passed. His leg was now literally killing him as he noticed the wound had not healed at all, leaving a trail of blood as they walked. Bedim could feel his head grow light as he looked up at the opening Capper had described. Capper did not approach the morning sunlight beaming through the hole as Bedim did. He looked back to the kind fairy and smiled. “You’ve been a good friend, Capper. I really can’t thank you enough.” Capper mewed in dismay at the state he was in but Bedim did not respond. Instead he started the arduous task of lifting his friends through the hole above and into the surface air. First came Titus who moaned slightly at the mishandling of his chest being pushed upward. Bedim heard his body land on some soft grass and he went back down for Gentry. This pony was easier as Gentry was lighter, however he was also growing colder. Bedim struggled up the side of the cavern to the hole once more. He let Gentry go with a push and heard him land on grass as well. He gave one last look to Capper and nodded to him in appreciation. With his final burst of strength he lifted himself out of the hole and rolled out onto a small patch of dried grass. He could barely lift his head as he scanned the area around him. What he saw surprised him.

Standing in a circle around him was a group of yaks. Their fur was matted and covered in dreadlocks and colorful threads. Around their back were heavy hoofwoven saddles and nearly all of them had their eyes covered by fur. One in a dark blue hand woven poncho stepped forward with a grin. He leaned down to Bedim and held out a hoof for him to take. Bedim wearily accepted it and sat up. “Welcome, puny pony,” the yak uttered. “To Yak country.” Without so much as a warning the yak thwacked Bedim in the back of the head and he went down once more. Darkness encroached on his vision and all went black.

Twilight - Prologue

Twilight took a quick look at the clock in the castle library. It was close to one in the morning. It seemed like Cadance had just gone to bed a few minutes ago.

“Ugh, I guess I should really wrap up here. I’m so glad Cadance let me borrow the Crystal Castle’s library while we were here.”
She turned to see the nonspeaking recipient of her conversation snoring soundly on an ataman. Spike had spent most of the day out in the festival unlike Twilight. Candy and bits of gems were still stuck around his cheeks.

Twilight smiled to herself. “Looks like you’ve got the right idea” she let out a long yawn “We should probably get to bed before I pick up another book.”

Twilight proceeded to lift the tiny dragon with a purple luminescent miasma and place him on her back. On another look at the ataman she noticed a small bit of candy on top.

Better clean this up. Don’t want the castle staff thinking I’m some kind of slob.

With her magic once more she grabbed a small broom and swept the crumbs off the ataman and into a dustpan. However just then a small breeze blew through the window and picked up the bits before they could land. Twilight frowned and followed the detritus through the air until it landed by a stone pillar. She looked up at the imposing piece of architecture.

Funny, I don’t remember seeing that before.

She looked around the empty library and came to a rather peculiar conclusion. This pillar was not supposed to be here.
It’s not even standing in the middle of the room and it’s not touching any walls. Plus there’s not others around like it on the other side of the room so it’s not some form of symmetrical architecture.

Twilight put her hoof to her chin and stared at the pillar puzzled. She took a step closer to the candy bits and the force of her step blew the bits even further. What surprised her though was that the rubbish seemed to blow underneath the pillar, out of sight.

Now fully engrossed in this mystery, Twilight set Spike down once again on one of the library couches. She crouched her head to the ground and turned it sideways to get as good a view of under the pillar as she could. As suspected, the pillar was slightly off the ground. Not only that but there appeared to be some kind of hole. Twilight pulled herself up once again.

Maybe some kind of secret door? Well if it is a secret door it’s got to have a secret key or secret switch.

She began circling the pillar looking for anything that might be significantly out of place. She locked her eyes onto a small hole in the side facing the wall. It was perfectly circular and appeared to have a sort of cone shaped depression. Twilight scrunched her eyes in frustration feeling as if she’d hit a dead end.

Then she noticed her shadows cast by the flickering torchlights. A long ethereal shadow moved silently on the pillar before her. The horn on her head pointing like an arrow to the hole.

Can it really be that simple?

Hesitantly she lowered her head and pushed her horn into the shallow depression. A soft click could be heard above. Twilight shot her head out when the sounds gave birth movement. The pillar was rising into the ceiling. In a few short seconds it was like there had never been pillar at all and in its place, a hole with no light at the bottom.

Twilight shined a light from her horn and peered into the abyss. Luckily enough the bottom seemed to be merely a few feet down. She took one last look back at Spike and spread her wings.

She slowly hovered down into the pit and soon reached bottom. Dust billowed out in all directions and Twilight silently coughed. She shined her light again and this time noticed a passage way. She began to follow through the tight corridor.

Is this one of Sombra’s old tunnels? Maybe an emergency escape in case of trouble?

After taking a small turn in the tunnel Twilight noticed a light coming from the room at the end. The only place this strange corridor lead. She approached with caution.

Through the open doorway she could make out a candle sitting on a desk. Twilight nervously entered the small room and found no one there. The room was small with only a desk, a bed, and a chest. No windows, the only source of light being the flickering candle.

Twilight examined the candle. The wax did not drip or melt from the flame.

Amazing! This must be some kind of spell. If Cadance or Shining Armor haven’t discovered this place then that could mean that this candle has been burning for centuries.

Finally Twilight noticed the only other item on the desk. A book. Yellowed with age. Wrapped in a fine green leather that had refused to be weathered by time. Twilight sat in front of the desk and ran a hoof over the cover. It felt familiar. Scaly.

Dragon Skin!

For a brief moment Twilight’s mind went to Spike. She had never heard of dragon hide or anything being used in such a manner. Most books she knew were made from fake leather. Only the oldest she knew of contained real leather. For someone to skin a dragon just for a book meant it must be extremely important.

Twilight slowly opened the tome and stared at the words written on the first page. “The Journal of Bedim Haze. Last of the Shadow Ponies. May they rest in peace.”

Last? But Sombra was the last Shadow Pony.

Twilight turned the page…

A dark mist obscured the murky water as a boat silently slipped through the waves. A tall figure wearing a tattered brown cloak stood at the prow, an oar in its mouth. In the distance a young black pegasus filly with a light and dark blue mane waited by the shore, a pensive look upon her face. Her cutie mark was rolled up scroll embossed with a musical note. The boat finally reached shore and the tall figure let go of his oar, turning to stare at the Pegasus.

“You told me to wait on the shore so here I am,” she said with a slight grin. “You know I could have just flown over to you on the boat.”

“No wings,” the cloaked figure said, its voice heavy and cracked. “No magic.”

“No magic, right. Are you sure about this?”

“It’s too late to stop the devastation. If you do not take the burden then it will reappear somewhere else. Somewhere we cannot find it.”

“I understand, but here? It’s a country still crawling out of the mud. The founders nearly bickered themselves to extinction. There is still so much tension between the races here. To introduce something like this into such world will be-“

“Did you not say you were capable?”

The black Pegasus looked away with a morose expression. “Yes, I am.”

The hooded figure reached a hoof down and touched the filly’s face. “Then do not worry. You will be a wonderful mother.”

The filly looked up into the eyes of pony before her, his cloak and hood now hanging loosely from his horned head. He reciprocated her by giving her the biggest smile under his long trailing beard and sparkling blue eyes. She couldn’t help but smile back.

The bearded unicorn reached into the boat and pulled out a small basket and blanket with his teeth. The Pegasus grabbed it in turn and placed it on the sand. She pulled the blanket back to reveal a small dark baby pony sleeping soundly, a tiny red horn protruding from its head. She turned back to the other pony.

He reached down and took her in his hooves holding her close. “Be safe, Lullaby,” he whispered into her ear.

Lullaby pulled back hesitantly and picked up the basket strapping it to her back and saddle bag.

“Where should I go?”

“To the north, that is where he will find his destiny.”

Lullaby nodded resolutely and began to walk away. At twenty yards she turned around.

“I won’t let you down, Starswirl!”

“I know you won’t,” he whispered. “I know.”

When the baby and Pegasus were finally out of sight, Starswirl returned to the boat and pushed off. Those two had a story that was just beginning and while he wished to the stars that their’s was the only one, he knew it wasn’t true. He still had one last mission to accomplish. He checked the second basket in his boat. An earth pony baby of pristine white slept soundly.

Author's Note

This is my first story on this site so its pretty exciting! Mostly I've just always wanted to know more about the Crystal Empire's history so I figured my own head canon would make for a fun story. The chapters will be titled by the character they focus on and number. I do hope to have more out every week.

Dachuur/Rarity.Fluttershy.Applejack - Chapter 8

Dachuur pierced through the sea of clouds and reached the apex of an arc that would take him down. He stared at the moon for a brief and wonderful second, his back to the earth below, and began falling again. He dived back into the clouds and came out the other side.

Snow was everywhere but it did not stifle his vision. The dark of the night held no secrets from him thanks to his feline ancestry and powerful vision. He flew fast and swift and made land on the tallest peak in the western mountains. He landed on the snow covered peak before a large tent slightly higher up the incline. Scattered around the various lower peaks nearby were small huts and nests crafted from strong driftwood and rock. Some clung to the sides of the mountains with strong adhesives like bugbear sap and the griffins’ own caustic phlegm. Sariel was waiting for him at the folded curtain door to this peak’s tent.

(Translated from Griffin Speak)

“You went above the cloud line again, didn’t you,” Sariel asked with a grumpy expression.

“Now you can’t prove that.” Dachuur gave one of his trademark grins.

Sariel simply stared with disdain. “The Highest is not merely a title it is a symbol to the entire griffin race.”

“If he’s grumpy about it he can tell me himself,” Dachuur insisted.

Sariel expression did not shift. “He’s been waiting.”

“I figured as much seeing as your still up.”

“Just get in!” Sariel snapped as he held the curtain open for Dachuur to enter.

Sariel followed behind as Dachuur entered the tent. The inside was an open area, the ground completely snow free. In the center of the tent, growing from a small mound was a large trunk that bent at a near right angle half way up. It held no branches and its bark seemed to have been stripped revealing a smooth, ancient looking, white and grey wood underneath.

A large griffin, twice the size of Dachuur himself, lay on top of the protruding trunk. His face and beak were short but he made up for it in plumage. His feathers were red and yellow like Dachuur’s but not just the tip like his. This griffin’s entire body was covered in beautiful feathers of crimson and gold all the way down to his long red tail which was long enough to wrap around the trunk to the floor. His hind legs were that of a mighty lion and his claws were dug deep into the trunk. He took notice of the two and nodded his head solemnly in greeting.

“Zenfon,” Sariel proclaimed with a bow. “Your son has arrived.”

“You may leave us,” Zenfon replied in a deep throaty voice.

Sariel made one last bow and left the tent. When both occupants were sure they heard the flapping of wings which signified Sariel had left the peak, they both let out a sigh of relief.

Zenfon stretched his talons forward like a cat and let out a long exhausted yawn. “I cannot understand how that cock expects me to just stand here all day and night.”

Zenfon released his claws from the trunk and slid down so he was now hanging like a sloth. Dachuur flapped his wings and perched on the end of the horizontal trunk, standing slightly higher than his father now.

“You know if Sariel saw you like this he’d have an aneurysm,” Dachuur joked.

Zenfon rotated his head one hundred and eighty degrees like an owl so he could see his son. “And if he saw you standing up there he’d try to rip your wings off.”

They both shared a hearty laugh for a few brief moments. When it ceased Zenfon continued, “So tell me more about this mare you find so fascinating.”

“Where to begin,” Dachuur started as he lay his body down on the trunk, positioning his talons to rest under his chin to get comfortable. “You should have seen the way she flew. It was like she had been born in midflight. I could have easily caught her, but I really wanted to see what she was capable of.” Dachuur’s face lit up more. “And she didn’t disappoint! The way she commanded the storm itself around her. Did I tell you how she shot herself at me using a lightning bolt! I mean, that’s just incredible!”

Zenfon smiled. “Sariel tells me you saw her at the army camps a few months back as well.”

“Not a big chance to talk then,” Dachuur replied. “Sariel kind of ran the whole show there.”

“What did you expect? You didn’t know a word of pony then.”

“I knew some,” Dachuur said defensively. “It’s just that only recently Sariel agreed to teach it to me.”

“Just enough for your little conversation tonight?”

“No I’m actually pretty fluent in-“ he cut himself off, realizing what his father had said. “How’d you know about that?”

Zenfon smiled again and knocked his talon against the trunk. “It’s a bit of a pain on the old back but it does have its perks.”

Dachuur smacked his head with his talon. Of course his father had heard. The trunk, or Griffin’s Throne, could hear all. It was said that the trunk reached deep into the mountain and that its roots spread and touched every rock and stone for hundreds of miles around. Vibrations could be heard and felt in the smallest corner of the country and the furthest reaches of the mountains. The reason this place was so sacred was because it was a place of omniscience. It was a perch for kings.

“I’m sorry for disobeying a promise,” Dachuur lamented. “Sariel said we would not return until ten months’ time and I broke it.”

“Oh, I don’t recall Sariel ever promising that specifically,” Zenfon chuckled. “Besides, you need to be young while you still can.” He gave his son a warm smile.

A single feather fell from his plumage and landed on top of a small pile of similar feathers Dachuur had just noticed surrounding the Throne.

“It’s getting worse isn’t it?” Dachuur asked, raising his head concernedly.

“Nothing can be done about age, boy,” Zenfon chuckled. “My father used to say we have phoenix blood in us, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an aunt or uncle rise from the grave yet.” Zenfon’s chuckle now became a hearty laugh which gave way to a cough and then a fit.

Dachuur landed on the ground and began to stroke his father’s back as he hung from the trunk. Zenfon’s coughing fit soon stopped and he shuddered.

“The mountain is lively tonight.” Dachuur stopped rubbing his father’s back and listened. “I had hoped that the ponies’ excavation of the eastern range wouldn’t disturb things too much. But it looks as if it’s causing more change than expected.”

“Is it awake?”

“No,” Zenfon gave his son reassuring smile. “It will not wake for something like this. It rests. For now.”

Zenfon turned his head to his son. “This will be your duty one day. I know you enjoy the spoils of youth, but remember that this is a sacred duty. One that protects the world, above even ourselves. When the time comes to mature to the task you must be ready.”

“I know,” Dachuur replied simply as he returned to rubbing his father’s back.

Zenfon tensed a second time and frowned.

“What is it?” Dachuur asked.

“The yaks are moving again.” Zenfon’s head now pointed north toward something Dachuur could not see.

“They’ve been moving quite frequently these past few months,” Dachuur inquired. “And at night too.”

“Yes,” Zenfon lay still in consideration, “their hoofsteps are quick and eager. As if in pursuit.”

“What would an entire tribe of yaks be pursuing?”

“I never said they were the ones pursuing, boy.”

After a long and interesting day, the moon had finally rose and all ponies in the Crystal Empire went to sleep. All except five suspicious individuals that were sneaking about the darkened hallways.

Rarity slinked her way past Applejack’s adjacent room. Making sure not to make noise that would awake the sleeping earth pony. She sighed in relief as she turned down the right corner of the hallway and continued to her destination.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash peeked out of their rooms at the same time. They looked across the hall at Rarity and Applejack’s respective rooms and then turned to each other, putting their hooves to their mouth in a “shush” expression. Silently they crept out of their rooms and made their way past Applejack and Rarity’s rooms. They sighed with relief as they turned down the left corner of the hallway and continued to their destination.

Pinkie Pie stuck her head out of her door and looked at the four doors in front of her that her friends were sleeping in. She slowly stuck a hoof out and began to silently crawl past the four rooms. She sighed with relief as she reached the end of the hallway and proceeded to throw herself off the hallway balcony.

Applejack rushed from her hiding spot to the bannister where Pinkie had just jumped from. Instead of a splattering of pink pony on the castle floor below all she saw was nothing. Now where did that varmint go? She thought. And what in the hay are any of those fools doing?

Rarity had a little trouble finding her way in the dark but luckily the light of the moon was bright enough and the castle interior reflective enough to discern just what was where. It took her a few minutes but she found the T shaped hallway that was her rendezvous.

“Flash?” she whispered, scrutinizing the area through the darkness. “Flash? Are you there?”

She felt a light tap and jumped as she noticed the slightly taller orange Pegasus standing behind her. He had abandoned his royal guard uniform and his blue mane was now coifed back in a stylish, yet youthful manner.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh no,” Rarity assured him, her hoof to her chest. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. It took a bit longer for everyone to fall asleep then I had assumed.”

Flash gave her a genuine smile and they sat down to talk.

“So,” Rarity began. “First we need to determine all the things Twilight likes…”

Applejack stood perched on a crystal pillar looking down on her friend and the orange Pegasus she had met with in the middle of the night. She couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Y’know, frankly I don’t think I want to know. This might be something personal for Rarity. It’d be rude to spy. On the other hoof, why’s that girl having a secret date when we should be on a mission. I swear, sometimes I think I’m the only sane pony here.

Applejack thought all this while she straddled her lasso and swung silently to another pillar, like a bat.

Fluttershy turned her head back and forth down the hall, whispering softly, “Capper! Capper!”

“He’s not gonna hear it if you just whisper, dummy,” Rainbow stated. “In fact, how can that thing hear? It doesn’t have any ears!”

“I’m sure he has his own way of understanding us,” Fluttershy replied defensively.

“Just like you have that weird way of understanding him?”

Fluttershy recalled how random thoughts and words had flashed through her mind when she touched the sentient blue flame for the first time. “I admit it is kind of strange, but Twilight and Cadence are wrong about him. Capper couldn’t hurt a fly.”

A small sound rattled and echoed in the hall behind them. The two mares spinning around and peering into the darkness.

“Did you hear that too?” Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy gulped. “Yes.”

Applejack cursed her clumsy hooves. It had been pretty easy to find and follow Rainbow and Fluttershy but that last jump to the opposite parapet from them wasn’t as stealthily quiet as she intended. Applejack now clung to the edge of the pillar right in front of the two, their positioning obscuring her from view. However if they were to just walk around the pillar and look up they would catch her.

Rainbow slowly crept forward.

“It’s probably nothing,” Rainbow assured herself as much as Fluttershy.

“Yeah,” Fluttershy replied. “Probably the castle settling.”

“Wait,” Rainbow replied. “I don’t think crystal settles, I mean, its crystal.”

Fluttershy wanted to repute this but was stumped. Once again Rainbow Dash had shown her oddly specific knowledge of mineralogy that nopony could dispute. Fluttershy pursed her lips in an expression of confusion and acceptance.

“I’ll just go take a look.” Rainbow began to creep forward.

Rarity jumped again slightly as she heard a small sound echo through the hall.

“Everything okay?” Flash asked.

“Oh, yes,” Rarity replied returning her attention to the stallion in front of her. “Anyway where were we? Ah, yes. Twilight loves knowledge above all else.”

“So,” Flash scratched his thin thoughtfully. “I should become a bit more learned?”

“Not exactly, dear. Though it wouldn’t hurt,” she said jokingly. “Have you ever heard the expression: ‘Opposites Attract?’”

“Yes.”

“Well, the way I see it. Twilight already has all the knowledge she could ever want. Anyone with relative smarts she meets will inevitably just be a conversation piece for her. Someone to discuss… smarter things with.” She finished her thought with a wave of her hoof and a thoughtful turn of the head. “You want to become the white knight!”

“But I’m already a knight,” Flash replied.

“Not that kind of knight, silly,” Rarity laughed. “Though, once again, it doesn’t hurt.”

“See anything?” Fluttershy squeaked out from her hooves covered head.

“No,” Rainbow replied. “Guess it was the castle settling.”

Up on the ramparts Applejack had successfully pulled herself up above the pillar and out of sight once more. She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and gave a silent sigh of relief. Then she returned to spying on her friends.

“Do you think Capper left the castle?” Rainbow asked as she returned to Fluttershy’s side.

“I don’t think he can leave the castle,” Fluttershy replied. The two began walking down the long hallway once more. “One of the things I noticed when I touched him was a fear of the sun and moon.”

“The sun and the moon?” Rainbow replied disapprovingly. “Then how did he get here?”

“Well,” Fluttershy raised a hoof to her chin in thought. “Cadence and Twilight said he might have come from the hole in the library they found. Maybe he was an original part of the castle?”

“So he could be like some kind of… pet?” Rainbow asked.

“Hmm, I did get the strong impression of somepony that was close to him. Though I don’t think I saw his face.”

Just then, at the end of the hall a ghostly image of a pony hold a lantern with a blue flame came into view. It caught their glance and immediately disappeared into the floor.

“If he’s a pet,” Rainbow said with a devilish grin. “Then he is the coolest pet ever!”

The two mares proceeded to sprint back down the hall in an attempt to follow where the blue flame might have gone.

I knew it! I knew they were hidin’ something from me!

Applejack fell loudly to the floor as her friends halted in front her.

“Applejack!?” Rainbow shouted.

“Just what is this all about?” Applejack yelled, her cheeks flushed with anger. “Why didn’t you two tell me you had found the thing that attacked Cadence and Spike?”

“Capper didn’t attack them!” Fluttershy said resolutely. “At the very least he just put them in a compromising position.”

“And who is Capper?”

“That’s apparently the thing’s name,” Rainbow replied.

Applejack eyed her friends wearily. “And you couldn’t tell me this why?”

“Well that’s because,” Rainbow started. “… Hey, why didn’t we tell the others?” she directed at Fluttershy.

“Um,” Fluttershy kicked her hoof on the rug in an innocent looking gesture. “Capper didn’t want anyone to know about him.”

“Don’t you think that’s something a villain would say?” AJ pointed out.

“To be fair,” Fluttershy remarked. “He didn’t actually say anything.”

“I don’t think he talks,” Rainbow replied with a half lidded expression.

“What makes you say that?” AJ asked.

“Because I’m pretty sure he’d talk if he was this close to somepony,” she pointed behind Applejack with her half lidded expression and a slight grin.

Applejack turned to find a ghostly image of a faceless pony right in front of her eyes. Applejack screamed and lifted her front hooves to bring them down on the creature. Before they could connect the blue miasma descended into the floor once more.

“That’s what y’all been chasin’ and hidin’ from me?” Applejack spun around and asked.

“Um, yes?” Fluttershy replied.

“That’s terrifying!” Applejack proclaimed. To which she heard a loud scream below.

Flash gave Rarity a confused look. “So what kind of knight am I supposed to be?”

“A white knight,” Rarity clarified. “Is a gentlecolt who comes in to save the princess when she needs it most. Somepony to take an awful burden from her shoulders and carry it for her.”

“I see,” Flash nodded in approval. “But Twilight’s an alicorn. Just what kind of problems is she going to have?”

“Well,” Rarity considered the question. “Besides the quite obvious one right now with the crystal heart, I suppose Twilight is also worried about Spike.”

“Her assistant in the infirmary?”

“Yes,” Rarity’s eyes brightened. “I’ve been assured it’s nothing serious, but something like this must weigh heavily on her. If we could find a way for you to wake Spike and, say, a certain unicorn witnesses you do it, then Twilight would be eternally grateful.”

“I suppose it could work,” Flash frowned. “But I don’t know anything about dragons.”

“Yes, well, that’s true,” Rarity clenched her teeth and looked to the side in an expression of consideration. “I guess we’ll have to learn all we can tomorrow. I’m sure the crystal library has more than enough information.”

“I thought I didn’t have to be an egghead to do this,” Flash gave Rarity a joking smile.

Rarity reciprocated. “A little knowledge never hurt anypony.” She lightly slapped her hoof on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. Then they were both silent for a brief moment as they awkwardly caught each other’s gaze.

This ended when a ghostly image lit by blue flame fell from the ceiling and landed in between them. Rarity let out a curdling scream.

“What the hay was that?” Rainbow shouted.

“That would be Rarity,” Applejack replied.

“What’s Rarity doing up so late?”

“Some kind of secret rendezvous.”

“What pony has a secret rendezvous in the middle of the night?”

“Remind me what you two were just doing?”

Rainbow considered the question for a moment before answering. “Touche.”

“Hey, where’d Fluttershy go?”

Rarity was still screaming when Fluttershy arrived. Some orange Pegasus was in front her, trying to protect her from the blue ghost thing.

“Capper!” Fluttershy shouted angrily. “Don’t scare my friends!”

Capper turned its ghostly head toward her and took notice, but he did not move from where he stood.

“That’s right,” Fluttershy said in a scolding tone as she walked closer. “We don’t scare other ponies. We make friends with them.”

The ghostly visage nodded in agreement and inched closer to Rarity and the orange Pegasus, its ethereal lantern raised and casting a menacing shadow.

Rarity then screamed again and tried to fire a bolt of magic at the encroaching figure. The bolt passed through the image and the blue flame exploded and grew to touch the ceiling. This caused the orange Pegasus to fall backward in surprise, tumbling over onto Rarity. Fluttershy held a hoof up to her eyes as the scene before her brought blood rushing to her cheeks.

Applejack and Rainbow charged into the scene before them with no clue what to make of it. To the right was Fluttershy trying to calm down a ghostly blue flame. To the left was Rarity and some stallion in a, more or less, compromising situation. The orange Pegasus, eyes closed, had his back legs interlocked with Rarity’s own as he tried get up from on top of her. Rarity had her eyes closed and made strange noises as she too tried to dislodge herself from their entanglement.

“There are plenty of rooms, you know,” Rainbow joked, a perverted grin playing across her face.

The two ponies on the floor immediately opened their eyes and noticed their situation. Wordlessly the two extricated themselves from each other and stood back to back awkwardly. Both their cheeks looking red as apples.

“If all of this nonsense is over,” Applejack began as she trotted toward the three. “Maybe we can get something accomplished.”

She walked to Fluttershy and eyed the ghostly fright beside her. Applejack sighed and smiled, “So, Capper, huh?”

Applejack held out a hoof to the figure. It turned to Fluttershy who nodded to it in approval. It lifted it’s lantern to Applejack’s hoof and she briefly touched the blue flame within.

Applejack felt a surge of emotions and pictures flash through her mind. The biggest one, she felt needing to be addressed first.

“I’m sorry we all made you scared,” she said apologetically. The flame jumped a little and gave a small sigh.

Rarity proceeded to walk over. “So,” she said hesitantly. “I take it this is the thing we looked for all of today?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said and motioned a hoof to her new friend. “Meet Capper.”

Soon everypony present was greeting the glowing ghost and touching the flame to speak with it.

“Well,” Rarity spoke up as the commotion began to die down. “Now that we know where it is and have someone who can control it,” she looked at Fluttershy who gave a polite smile. “That just leaves one question. Who’s going to tell Twilight?”

“I’ll do it in the morning,” Applejack replied. “We should all get some sleep before then.”

At that, Flash bid goodbye to the mares and left. The four of them leaving the other way. Applejack furrowed her brow.

“Wait a minute,” she said scratching her chin in thought. “Where’d Pinkie go?”

Elsewhere, in an infirmary, a heavily bandaged pony slept soundly on his slightly torn up mattress when there came a creaking noise from the door. The pony awoke in a daze. The doctor was gone for the day, there was no night shift nurse. He heard the sound of clopping coming closer and closer to his bed. Sweat began to bead his forehead as he soon heard the sound of a knife being drawn. He tried to scream but the bandages covering his face muffled his words.

A sinister shadow was cast on his bed curtains from the moonlit window. His eyes widened as the silhouette raised a knife and somehow grinned in horrific glee. He shut his eyes as he heard something soft be cut into with a quiet *splorch.* He heard the curtains part and then the sound of a tray being placed on the bedside table. He opened an eye in confusion.

“Sorry we couldn’t really celebrate your birthday properly,” Pinkie whispered as she pulled a present from her hair and placed it next to the slice of cake on his bedside table. “There’s always next year!”

And with that she left. He rolled over to his side to inspect the cake and present. Tears began to fill his eyes as he reached for the slice of cake and held it up to his mouth. He pulled his hoof away with a mound of chocolatey goo and frosting, his facial bandages plastered with the confection. He let out a small sigh.

Lullaby/Gladius/Honey - Chapter 13

The big day arrived. Lullaby had decided to stay in the Training Area barracks the previous night since the griffins would be arriving to escort the pegasi to the racing grounds pretty early. She left Bedim with Honey last night, Honey promising to come see the race when the second group of griffins came to transport the citizens who wished to watch. Large chariots had been prepared weeks in advance to pull all the non-flying ponies.

Despite the nerve wracking anticipation that the race had created, Lullaby was still in the dark as to the location. Sariel had only shared it with Cloud Catcher and the other captains. Even Dachuur had been tightbeaked on it. When she questioned her captain, Cloud Catcher simply stated, “It’s a perfect area. Should be safe.”

Lullaby stood at the front in line as Cloud Catcher paced back and forth in front of his squad. Gladius stood next to her, his face nervous but determined. Many other ponies stood to the side in expectation including the two other captains, Javelin and Dusty Crop. Cloud Catcher checked the purple early morning sky.

“Not like him to be late,” Cloud Catcher muttered.

“You sure we can trust this griffin?” Javelin asked snidely.

“If you ever went to a damn meeting, you’d know we could. Sari is perfectly trustworthy.”

Lullaby’s image of the black slender griffin popped into her head. A face only a mother could love.

She chuckled and Gladius noticed, his firm expression breaking for a moment.

“Ah ha!” Cloud Catcher exclaimed. “There they are!”

He pointed to the north and everypony turned to watch as the three griffins everyone were most familiar with glided over the treetops and landed before them. Sariel stepped up to Cloud Catcher and gave him a friendly hug as the Pegasus returned it.

“Thought you weren’t going to make it,” Cloud Catcher said.

“We had a few… misgivings to deal with,” Sariel replied as he shot a look behind him toward Dachuur.

The usually boastful and grinning prince was now quiet and stone faced. He didn’t even pay her a glance. Lullaby knit her brow in confusion.

“Shall we?” Cloud Catcher asked as he signaled for the Wonderbolts began to get in a takeoff position.

“Not so fast,” Javelin shouted. The pegasi un-tensing their muscles with a sigh. “There’s some things we need to discuss.”

“We had the ten months to discuss things,” Cloud Catcher insisted. “You wanted to push your nose into the game then you should have been at the meetings.”

“This isn’t about the game,” Javelin remarked. “Not entirely anyway.”

He walked forward to Sariel until he was right in the griffin’s face.

“I need your word that no harm will come to anypony here,” Javelin said with a strong determination.

“The race is completely safe,” Sariel said. “No griffin has died so far.”

“Your word!” Javelin insisted.

“You have it!” Dachuur spoke up and everypony turned to face him. A stern look of determination plastered on his face. “You have the word of the son of Zenfon. No pony will be harmed in this race.”

Javelin turned his attention to Dachuur, scrutinizing him with eyes like daggers.

“Very well,” he said resignedly as he returned to his squad.

Sariel waited a moment for the tension in the air to dissipate. “If that’s all then I believe we should be going. The tribal elders are awaiting us for the morning rites.”

Sariel nodded to Cloud Catcher, who nodded in return. He signaled his squad to begin take off once more. Sariel turned once more to Javelin and the other soldiers. “A resolute of griffins will arrive in a few hours to take you to the racing site. In the meantime, the racers will be treated like any other griffin and have seats at our morning rites.”

The three griffins pushed off into the air and the Pegasus squad followed. Lullaby shot a glance back at the camp before breaking the tree line and then returned her attention to the formation.

After about twenty minutes of flight, having passed Crystal Falls and the other settlements, Cloud Catcher gave the signal to his squad that they could break formation. There was really no need to follow protocol at the moment. Lullaby took this opportunity to fly up to the three griffins. She came into line next to Soracen who greeted her warmly. Dachuur flew in the center with Sariel to his right.

Lullaby leaned over, “So anything you can tell me about the racing site? Cloud Catcher’s been keeping it pretty hush hush,” she asked Dachuur.

Dachuur did not reply, keeping his attention at the forefront. Sariel noticed this and began to answer her, “There is a gorge that is considered sacred to several griffin tribes just beyond the eastern mountain range. We kept it secret because of its revered status and we ask that you keep it that way.”

Sariel frowned slightly as he continued. “Some of the elders do not believe that this is a wise decision. It took quite a bit of convincing to even get you pegasi involved, let alone the others of your settlements.”

Lullaby frowned at Dachuur who refused to speak. “I assume you had something to do with convincing them?”

“The master hunter did have a claw in it,” Sariel admitted, recognizing that Dachuur would not speak. “But I must also take some of the credit. You ponies have begun to fascinate me and I truly believe that a harmonious existence with you is required if we are ever to see eye to eye.”

Lullaby’s frown did not go away as she continued to stare at Dachuur. Finally after getting nothing from him she simply talked to Soracen the remainder of the flight.

Close to an hour later the group emerged past the eastern mountains. Lullaby took in a deep breath as she explored the view before her. Past the snowy peaks lay a large series of crags and canyons. Plateaus were everywhere in various shapes and patterns. The gorge Sariel spoke of was truly something to behold. In the center of the vast patterns of canyons lay a large bowl shaped depression in the earth. It looked as if time and nature had smoothed the gorge into a near flawless surface. When they approached closer Lullaby could make out small steps carved into the walls of the concave crater.

This is where the group landed as Cloud Catcher signaled them to return to formation. Each Pegasus landed neatly in a row on one of the large stone steps. The three griffins flying just a bit further into the hollow bottom of the bowl. Awaiting them were two groups. One was a pack of younger, virile looking griffins. Lullaby assumed they had to be the other racers. The other was a group of five older looking griffins. This was the group that Dachuur and Sariel went to, Soracen returning to the racers’ pack. Those were most likely the griffin elders.

Cloud Catcher tapped his hoof gingerly as he waited for Sariel to return or tell them what to do next. Lullaby held her pose on the stone step and caught a glance at the griffin pack. They were staring at them. Though none seemed particularly angry to have newcomers here for their tradition, there were many skeptical, curious gazes thrown their way.

Sariel finally turned back to the squad as he waved a claw for them to approach. The squad lifted off once more and touched down on the bottom of the gorge next to Sariel and the elders. This was the first time Lullaby noticed but the ground seemed to be covered in some kind of gravel and it was perfectly even and flat. Now looking from the lowest part of the stone bowl she realized that it was shaped like a colosseum. The carved steps were seats for spectators and the bottom seemed to be shaped like a field or track. She also noticed the bowl was not complete. Six equidistant holes in the wall of spectator seats seemed to lead into the maze of plateaus and canyons. The six holes were topped with archways completing the illusion of a round colosseum from the birds’ eye view.

Sariel approached them, along with Dachuur and a member of the elders. “May I present Cloud Catcher and the Wonderbolts of the pony settlements,” he directed to the elder.

The elder held his gaze on the squad and began to hum softly to himself. When it seemed like he was done scrutinizing them he turned back to Sariel and whispered in his ear. Sariel sighed with relief.

“He says you are fit to join us in the race,” Sariel said.

A couple of pegasi whooped in excitement, earning a stern look from Cloud Catcher. Lullaby took this opportunity to look once more at Dachuur. He had his head down, an indecipherable expression on his face.

“Then with that settled,” Cloud Catcher stated as he walked forward to stand next to Sariel. “When’s breakfast?”

“The morning rites will begin when the gatherers return from the early morning hunt,” Sariel said.

“Wait,” a random Pegasus spoke up. “So morning rites are basically just a meal?”

“A very special meal,” Cloud Catcher winked. “You’ll see.”

After a few more minutes several griffins appeared over the horizon. Lullaby’s first thought was that these were the resolute of griffins bringing the spectators from Crystal Falls, however what trailed behind them was too large even for the chariots they had built. Trailing behind these griffins were nets full of fish of every color and hue, bags of fruit and vegetables never seen before, and trailing at the back was an enormous wart hog carried by ten different griffins. Cloud Catcher had certainly been right about it being a special meal.

Preparing the food did not take long at all as the hog already appeared to be roasted and the griffins seemed to prefer the fish raw. Pegasi gathered around the bags of vegetables and fruit, picking at them and finding them delicious. Lullaby grabbed a purple root-like vegetable from the bags and took a bite of it. A satisfying crunch accompanying her grin of pleasure.

Pretty soon the scene was like something from a party. Pegasi were talking to griffins quite casually. Though it was clear that only a few of the griffin participants actually knew Pony. Lullaby occupied herself by speaking to Soracen, often catching Gladius in her sights standing off to the side and not interacting with anyone. Dachuur seemed to be fine and talking to others but Lullaby knew that he exuded the same kind of solitude that she saw in Gladius. When Soracen broke off and began to talk to another group of pegasi mares, Lullaby took the chance to go speak to Dachuur once more.

The griffin now stood alone, having just finished a conversation he didn’t seem at all interested in. Lullaby approached him from behind and sat next to him as they both stared at the party before them.

“So are you going to talk to me or do I have to knock you in the head?” she asked jokingly.

When Dachuur frowned and didn’t respond Lullaby decided it wasn’t a joke anymore.

“Ow!” Dachuur cried as he rubbed the back of his head. Lullaby was now facing him, her amber eyes locked on his.

“What the hay is your deal?” she exclaimed. “This is what you wanted, right? We’re finally going to see whose best! Haven’t you been pestering me the entire past year just for this moment? I assumed you’d be happier.”

“I am!” Dachuur shouted angrily, drawing some unwanted attention to himself. He lowered is voice. “I am. It’s just… I’m a little on edge at the moment.”

Lullaby grinned. “Don’t tell me the prince is getting cold feet? What are you afraid to lose in front of your people?”

“I’m afraid to lose something,” he agreed.

Lullaby waited for a continuation, but none came. She decided that it was probably best to let it go. At least he was talking again.

“I haven’t known you that long,” Dachuur said finally, his face still turned away. “But I want you to know… I’m glad I met you.”

Lullaby eyes widened and she felt blood rush to her cheeks.

“You remind me of something that I always thought I would someday lose.” He turned his head to face her, eyes connecting again. “Never stop being free.”

A moment passed as the two simply stood still. All sound seemed to fade into the background and all that could be seen was right in front of them.

A loud horn broke the moment. Dachuur tore his gaze away from her and she slowly turned her attention away as well. The first of the spectators were approaching. Within thirty minutes the seats of the colosseum were packed with ponies and griffins.

Lullaby caught sight of Honey as she exited the chariot she was on. She waved at her as she took her seat far above. Honey saw her and responded with a wave as well. Bedim and Crisp securely fastened to the saddle bags at her sides.

The elder that had judged them before called the pegasi and griffins together to the center of the colosseum. Lullaby stood next to Cloud Catcher and caught a glance at Dachuur who stood next to Soracen. Sariel stood next to the elder, no doubt acting as a translator for the ponies. The elder cleared his throat and held his talons aloft, a signal for the crowd to grow quiet. Gradually the echoes died and silence filled the area. The old griffin lowered his talons and spoke,

“Let us begin with the rules,”

Gladius moved his hooves impatiently. He stood three rows behind Lullaby who stood next to Cloud Catcher. Gladius felt his teeth grind against each other.

“The first rule and most important,” the elder spoke in a harsh dialect while Sariel translated. “Is no attacking. Attacking will mean automatic disqualification.”

The elder affixed a strong glare at the ponies before continuing. “Second is that there will be no use of short cuts. All must stay within the prepared corridor and not go above the plateau line.”

Gladius took a glance around him. The colosseum connected to the canyon corridors through several outlets. During the morning rites, Sariel had explained how the race would start by sending the racers through one outlet. The direct route would lead them back out through another outlet back into the colosseum and they would be directed to the next outlet. This would repeat until everypony had completed each of the three legs of the race. That meant no jumping ahead to the fifth outlet before completing the first or third. Further they should not try flying above the canyons to get to another outlet or even find their way out.

A random Pegasus looked around confused. “Hey, if were going into the corridors, how are the ponies in the seats going to follow the race?”

Cloud Catcher turned toward the pony and winked. “Oh, you’re going to like this.”

“If that is understood,” Sariel translated. “Then let’s begin!” A series of griffins flew into the air from stands and up into the atmosphere. They began to gather as many clouds as they could find pushing them together and working to form a large dense rain cloud. Then they began to pulverize it. The griffins sped through the cloud, bursting it into droplets of rain that seemed to form a mist that hung in the air. When they had finished destroying the giant cloud they had built a thin film of mist and rain had covered the top of the colosseum. Instantly the mirrored picture of the corridors surrounding the colosseum came into view in the mist. The griffins stayed in place, each at a corner of the mist and continued to blow against it with their wings to keep it steady. The crowd gasped with delight and began to stomp their hooves in applause at the display.

“Now prepare yourselves at the first corridor,” Sariel stated.

The racers proceeded to the southern outlet and lined up, ponies and griffins intermixed. Gladius stood by a fearsome looking green feathered griffin. He shot Gladius a look expecting him to startle. Gladius did not budge. He was focused.

Then another feeling swept through him. The world was watching right now but one pair of eyes seemed to bore into the back of his skull. He turned to look. Sitting on the sidelines, by where the other soldiers had taken seats, Javelin crossed his forehooves and watched silently. His eyes were indiscernible.

Gladius turned back to the corridor in front of him and bit his lip nervously. He tried to get his focus back but his mind fell flat. In a blaring moment, a horn sounded and the world rushed by him.

Feathers were everywhere as they pelted him in the face or pushed past him extremely fast. The world was a blur of hundreds of different colors and then it was gone. Gladius stood alone at the starting line for a brief second and then cursed as he pushed off. He wanted to hit himself for being so stupid. He was in dead last. Lullaby and Cloud Catcher were probably already a good mile in. He beat his wings furiously and pushed forward, regaining his focus.

The first few he passed were pegasi, the griffins trailblazing ahead. He kept his eyes on the griffins ahead following their every move. The griffins made a hard right turn that Gladius had not expected and he collided with a solid wall. Luckily his reaction was fast and he planted his hooves into the side of the wall, small fractures appearing beneath. He felt his entire body tremble a he pushed off the wall with great speed and propelled himself past the couple of griffins in front of him.

The corridor began to swerve and zig zag. Gladius was able to keep up a strong speed as he blew through it but those behind seemed to have a harder time maneuvering. He cleared the final turn and was greeted by blinding light and cheer. He was back in the colosseum. He looked down at the center to find the elder motioning to which outlet he should go through next. He peaked ahead and saw a few pegasi and griffins turning into the next corridor. He sped to catch up with them.

The next leg of the race was not filled with break neck turns but rather large obstacles. Rocks and boulders lay strewn about the canyon floor and blocked most ways to pass. Some griffins and pegasi had even come to a semi halt before a small hole in a wall of rocks they had to maneuver through. Gladius decided he didn’t have time for this.

He had practiced the maneuver only once with Lullaby. And that was only after weeks of begging. Lullaby never fully told him how to do it since the first time he tried he nearly wrecked his legs. Gladius steeled his resolve and began to spin in the air, gradually picking up speed.

The long straightness of the corridor made it easy to build up momentum. But he was taking a chance on whether or not the stone wall before him would be thin enough to punch through or thick enough for him to break every bone in his body. He continued to spin, a cone forming in front of his outstretched forehooves. A split second before hitting the wall he closed his eyes. The collision sent vibrations echoing through his body and the corridor but he felt the wall give way. He opened his eyes once more and stopped the spinning, straightening his path to compensate for the dizziness.

He had just blown through a stone wall. His muscles ached and his body screamed at him but he continued to persevere. He rounded a corner and saw the object of his focus. Lullaby flew at the head of the pack, neck and neck with the griffin prince. Trailing behind was Cloud Catcher. Gladius pushed a little harder to catch up to them.

Once again he burst through an outlet into the sun and the screaming crowd. Lullaby and the griffin prince had already gone into the final leg and only Cloud Catcher was still in sight. The two entered the fifth northernmost outlet, Gladius staying just behind Cloud Catcher unable to come up side by side. The last leg continued in a straight line for about a mile before splitting off into four different paths. Gladius was sure that all paths lead to the goal but he still cursed himself. He had lost sight of Lullaby.

Cloud Catcher took the right most path and Gladius swore under his breath as he decided to follow him. He grew closer and closer as they dipped and dodged new obstacles. He could even make out Cloud Catcher’s labored breathing as he came up closer. Just when he was about to touch the captain’s back hooves he was so close, a loud rumbling grew and echoed through the canyon.

The rumbling grew as they flew further ahead. Gladius shot a look up at the plateau line. Running above, just ahead in a huge stampede across the cliffs, were the yaks. Hundreds of them. Gladius braced his hooves over his head as they passed below the stampeding horde. Small rocks and debris fell on top of him as he flew. He heard a loud crunch as a boulder dislodged itself up ahead and fell. He dodged out of the way in time and let out a breath of relief. Then a cry of pain echoed through the corridor. Cloud Catcher was pinned below the enormous rock, his leg crushed.

Honey’s expression darkened as she watched events unfold. The northern plateaus were now swarming with yaks, their heavy hoofsteps causing rocks to fall and injure the racers. She looked down at the center of the colosseum. The black griffin that translated before was waving his talons enthusiastically, trying to talk the elder griffin into something. A loud rumble echoed and one of the griffins controlling the mist mirror above lost concentration. The mist dissipated and all the spectators began to panic. The black griffin flew up to the mist handlers and called for them to get the mirror back up.

Honey brought her hoof to her mouth in horror as she stared northward toward where the action was. Beddy and Crisp began to cry.

Applejack/Luna/Cadence - Chapter 25

Applejack poured some lemonade into a glass and handed it to Wit. The two had pardoned themselves from the lab, giving Rainbow Dash and Luna some privacy with Fluttershy. Wit still rubbed his sore head that had been cut during his toss early this morning. “I’m really sorry about that,” she apologized for the tenth time.

Wit accepted the lemonade. “I keep telling you, it’s fine.” He smiled half-heartedly as the two sat side by side in the kitchen. Silence dominated the room. Wit turned and opened his mouth to speak but noticed a stone statue of a chef standing in front of an oven just past Applejack. Applejack noticed his mood and turned as well letting out a short gasp.

Applejack grit her teeth in frustration. “It just makes me so darn frustrated! All this is happening and I feel like I can’t do anything to help!”

Wit lowered his glass onto the counter and talked to Applejack without looking at her. “I know what you mean,” he sighed. “Quill and Princess Twilight are deciphering that book. Princess Luna is helping Miss Fluttershy. I feel so helpless right now.”

Applejack continued with her own rant, not looking at Wit. “I’m probably the strongest pony here and yet I’ve never felt so weak.”

“I trained my whole life. Studied to be like my brother, but that never worked. The only thing I ever truly had that was mine was the academy and my strength. What’s that got me now?”

“Sometimes I wish that I was more like my friends.”

“Sometimes I wish I was more like my brother.”

“I just feel so…”

“Useless.” They both spoke in unison. The two looked at each other for a moment and chuckled.

“I really think we got off on the wrong hoof,” Wit said.

“I agree,” Applejack replied. They raised hooves and lightly shook. “I’m Applejack.”

“Wit.” The two shared a smile. When the moment passed another wave of melancholy washed over the two. Applejack turned to stare at the petrified chef.

“Gaaaaah!” she screamed frustratedly. “There’s got to be something we can do here? We can’t just sit around while ponies are in danger.”

Wit furrowed his brow in thought. “You guys mentioned something about the library beginning to fall apart right?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?”

Wit stood up and slowly paced back and forth in thought. “Well, why just the library? From what you described, that earthquake could have toppled down and entire section of the castle, maybe more.”

Applejack stood up, beginning to see where Wit was going with this. “You’re saying you want to investigate?”

“It wouldn’t hurt.” Wit shrugged.

Luna completed her umpteenth scan of Fluttershy. While the petrification had halted for now, the extent of the damage was already severe enough for Luna to apply a small wind spell to bring oxygen to her lungs. She showed Rainbow Dash the basics of the spell and allowed the Pegasus to take over. “Now you’re sure you’ve got this handled?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, I got it, Princess. You go get some sleep. You look like you really need it.”

Capper, always at Fluttershy’s side, mewed in agreement. Luna gave a small smile and headed to the corner of the room. “I’ll just be in a light meditative state. If anything goes wrong, wake me up immediately.”

Rainbow saluted and Luna proceeded to sit herself in the corner of the room. She closed her eyes and within the span of a breath opened them once more. She was in the Dream World. Her first action, as she always did was to look at the sky for changes. The purple hue that had worried her so much before had receded, but that did not fill her with confidence. She noticed less and less dream wisps rising into the sky. This made the sky less melancholy, but also told her that more and more crystal ponies were becoming trapped in stone, unable to dream or even think.

She also noticed something that struck fear into her. A small trail of black rose from beneath the castle and into the sky, dyeing it dark. Black was the worst color of all. It meant jealousy, anger and frustration. Black led to nightmares.

“Luna!” a small voice brought her attention back to the castle. Before her was the filly spirit she had tried to help the night previous. The spirit was still marble white with blank eyes, though its demeanor seemed to have changed. A small smile on its face. “You came back!” It wrapped it hooves around her in a hug. Luna returned the affection.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry I had to leave, but my friends were in danger.”

The filly let go and turned to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, still in the waking world but visible. “Are those your friends?”

Luna walked over to them. Though they couldn’t see her, she still kept her distance. “Yes. My friend is in dire need of help and I’m finding myself completely useless in this situation. Again.” She muttered that last part under her breath.

The filly put a hoof on her leg reassuringly and looked up at her. “Don’t be sad, Luna. When you’re sad, I’m sad.” Luna looked down and gave the filly a melancholic smile. At this the filly smiled broadly and laughed as it ran toward Rainbow and Fluttershy. It proceeded to jump through them like the ghost it was and make spooky silly noises. Luna almost laughed at the attempt to cheer her up.

During one of its jumps the filly landed next to the ethereal form of Capper who jumped in surprise. Capper let out an unearthly hissing sound that echoed through the room, causing Rainbow Dash to hold her ears shut. Luna also was forced to shut her ears. The filly backed away in fright and ran to Luna’s embrace. When Capper finally settled down, he began to float aimlessly around the room as if searching for something unseen. “Geez! What was that for!?” Rainbow shouted at the blue flame.

Luna rubbed the back of the filly’s head as it cried into her chest. Did Capper just notice the spirit? Did that mean that Capper was some kind of spirit as well? Perhaps he too had some connection to the Dream World. Regardless, it seemed that Capper had lost track of the filly or Luna for that matter, returning to his post.

The filly shook in Luna’s hooves and Luna let it cry for a while. “Sh. It’s alright,” she whispered sweetly. When the filly stopped shaking Luna lifted it onto her back and they began to walk through the castle. “Let’s start looking for clues again,” she mused. The filly sniffled but nodded in agreement.

The previous night, Luna had been through almost the entire castle except for one place. She stayed silent as they made their way to the library. The filly was the first to speak. “Luna, tell me a story.”

Luna smiled and looked up. “A story?”

“Yeah!” the filly replied happily. “Story!”

“Why do you want a story?” she asked.

The filly grew silent and Luna could feel it grab a tighter hold on her mane. “There’s… there’s some things I don’t want to think about right now.”

Luna stopped moving. “You remember something?”

The filly buried its face in her mane. “Please just tell me a story, Luna,” it said in a muffled voice.

Luna sighed and gave a small smile as began to walk again. “Alright, I know a good one. It’s about redemption.”

The filly lifted its head. “What’s redemption?”

Luna gave a small laugh. “Redemption is a new beginning for somepony who has done something bad in the past.”

The filly seemed to straighten up at this. “I want to hear this story, Luna!”

Luna smiled. “Alright. It begins over a thousand of years ago. Two sisters were born with abilities beyond what anypony had ever seen. By day, one would rise and lower the Sun. By night, the other would rise and lower the Moon. The ponies loved these two sisters very much and all was peaceful.” Luna stopped, a little hesitant to continue her story. “However, one of the sisters became jealous of the other. While the ponies of the land loved them and thought of both as princesses, their lives had not been as beautiful as one would believe. It was from this tragic past and the echoes it rang through the younger sister that drove her down a path of jealousy and envy. Her sister had a blessed life with all the ponies lauding her during the day, while at night the younger sister was ever alone. Nopony to talk to. Nopony to care.” A silence pervaded the hallway as they walked and Luna could feel the filly grab her mane tighter in anticipation.

“The younger sister had an ability, one that even her own sister was not aware of. She could reach into the world of dreams and see into the fantasies and hopes of others. In her loneliness, the younger sister found herself going to this realm both night and day. Eventually shutting herself off from the world. It was by doing this that the younger sister engaged the attention of an evil spirit. An ancient nightmare given form in this realm of dreams. The nightmare approached the younger sister, offering her power and prestige. In her jealousy, the younger sister succumbed to desire and gave herself willingly to the nightmare, giving the being a physical form. As the Nightmare, the younger sister brought suffering and misery to the ponies that once loved her. Finally in a desperate act, when all else had failed, the sister of the Sun was forced to lock her only sister away in the moon. Banishing the evil she had become, but also taking away the only thing in the world she truly loved. One sister locked away on the moon, only nightmares to comfort her. The other locked away on the earth, only guilt and loneliness by her side.” The filly’s grip seemed to falter at the sad story. Luna found herself also becoming melancholy at it. But a small smile began to spread across her face. “However, that’s not the end of our story.”

“It’s not?” the filly asked.

“No,” Luna chuckled. “I told you. This is a story of redemption.” She waited for the filly to once again grip her mane with excitement and she continued. “You see, the younger sister’s banishment was not permanent. A thousand years later, she was freed from her prison. However, the Nightmare had stayed with her all that time, the older sister never being able to find a way to free her sister from its grasp. Once again the Nightmare spread its darkness across the land. But this is where the story diverges. For after all those years something had changed in the land that the sisters called home. There were ponies that understood the magic one could have in simple gestures of kindness, generosity, laughter, honesty, and loyalty. All of that together brought forth a new kind of magic, one strong enough to separate the sister from the Nightmare. It was by these elements and the magic of friendship that the sister was once again free, reunited with her older sister. And they lived happily ever after. The end.”

“But did she change?” the filly asked.

Luna froze. “What?”

“Did the younger sister change?” the filly asked again.

Luna grinned. “Of course she changed. She was freed from the Nightmare by the power of friendship.”

The filly seemed to consider this. “But you said she was jealous before the Nightmare came to her. She wasn’t still jealous anymore?”

Luna pondered the question. “No. Of course she wasn’t,” she answered. But her mind had begun to think. All those years trapped in the moon. Alone with her nightmares and insecurities. It had certainly done a number on her. But she was better now. She loved Celestia and the Elements. Her sister and her friends were the best things to ever happen to her. Yet…

“You don’t believe somepony can change?” she asked the filly.

The filly shrugged. “Change is in the eye of the beholder. If it is in a pony’s nature then it will always be a part of them.”

Luna frowned at the wise words coming from the filly. However, they did make her think. She was a changed pony, right? Those feelings of inadequacy and jealousy were gone. Right?

A few silent minutes later they had made it to the library. Luna’s astral body simply passed through the fallen debris and columns. “This is the only place we haven’t looked for clues,” she stated. She looked up at the filly on her head. “Bring back any memories?” The filly looked around and shook its head. Luna sighed as she turned to leave. Just then two ponies walked into the doorway to the ruined library. Luna walked closer to see and found it to be Applejack and the pony called Wit. They walked by the princess, unaware of her presence.

“So you really think we can find something to help everypony out here?” Applejack asked.

Wit lifted a fallen column that was standing in their way with one hoof and waved Applejack to pass first. “I don’t know but don’t you think it’s weird that this place started to crumble first?”

Luna watched the two carry on, smirking a little at Applejack’s blush when she saw Wit’s feat of strength. They continued to a room where a large pillar stood, its enormous mass the only thing keeping the ceiling above from falling. Wit went closer to inspect it. “Y’know, I’ve been wondering about that house outside the courtyard.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, what about it?”

“For something made of crystal it fell apart way too easily don’t you think?” Wit examined the pillar closer and saw a slight crack in the base.

“So?” Applejack asked with a smirk. “Maybe I just don’t know my own strength?”

Wit chuckled and turned to her. “Or what’s happening to the crystal ponies could also be happening with the structures. Come take a look at this.” Applejack walked over and looked at the crack Wit was pointing to. “I think maybe all the crystal in the kingdom is turning into stone.”

Just as he said that, the crack suddenly widened and an ominous creak could be heard above them. The two ponies looked up wearily as the top of the pillar began to crack as well, raining tiny debris over them. The roof was the next thing to follow.

Luna gasped as she watched the roof begin to crash down on the two. She tried to use her magic, but in her astral form she could not access it. She couldn’t do anything to help them like this. Gritting her teeth in shame she grabbed the filly from her head and turned herself and it away from the carnage, shielding its eyes. However, the inevitable crash did not come. She turned slowly around and saw something unbelievable.

“You need to get some rest,” Shining Armor told his wife as they retired from their room.

Cadence trotted slightly faster than her husband, not wanting to be asleep when so many ponies needed her. “I can’t! Don’t you see? I’m the Princess of the Crystal Empire! I’m supposed to protect them!” She was beginning to get hysterical as tears welled up in her eyes. “I just… I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Shining sighed as he thought about how to help his wife. Nothing came to mind. Sensing his awkwardness, Cadence began to trot away again. Shining tried to catch up. “Cadence, wait!” he shouted. But Cadence’s horn lit up and she disappeared in a blink. Shining stopped midflight and looked wearily at the ground.

Cadence reappeared just outside the library. She tried to hold in her tears but the sniffling overpowered her and it turned into a full on bawl. She pressed her head against the wall as she slid down to the floor. Her tears wetting the crystal floors.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound. Cadence shot her eyes open as she looked into the abandoned library. Far off in the distance she could see Applejack and Wit looking up stupefied at an oncoming hail of debris and masonry. Cadence pumped her legs hard to get to them. When the ceiling was merely a few hooves away, she knew she would not make it. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Cadence shouted. A beam of light, the likes of which she’d never seen, flashed from her horn. She stopped in surprise as pure white energy encompassed the falling mass. Wit and Applejack looked on as well, their mouths agape. The white energy pulsated through the debris and even into the struggling column and down into the floor. The ponies watched in stunned silence as the debris began to freeze into a crystalline substance that flowed from the ceiling like a waterfall. The column as well, righted itself and was fully restored to its crystal beauty. The floors were bathed in the energy as they changed to a brilliant sheen in a pulse of color and vitality. When it had finally dissipated Cadence walked over to the two, her own mouth agape. Applejack turned to Cadence, too surprised by what she’d seen to be surprised to see her.

“Cadence,” Applejack whispered softly. “What did you just do?”

Cadence stared at the brilliantly vibrant crystal shower and muttered, “I don’t know.”